CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

Ebony made Lara sit close to the window. They sipped tea while conversing, and when the latter was relaxed enough, Ebony started the operation.

She had to make Lara remember her first encounter with her mate.

How could she even forget? That woman sure was strange! The first meeting with a mate would always be magic, cloudy and unclear - of course - but also as pleasant as to make one happy forever.

Not everyone had the luck of meeting their soulmate, yet that woman dared to forget.

«Let's start from the beginning,» Ebony said. «What do you remember about that day? Tell me the location, the day. Some details you remember, even non-relevant ones. I'll help you find the memories in your mind.»

«Okay. Well, it was Friday night. I went to a party with my friends. We travelled pretty far, back then. We went to this exclusive club because... Uhm, wait, what was the reason?

I think one of the girls had the invite. Since it's a luxurious place, one needed hours of waiting to get in. However, she knew a bodyguard and had the tickets. We got in through the backdoor. Once in, we sat at a free table and pretended to be feeling right in that environment. Just as if we had been there forever and many times.»

«What did you drink?»

«Is it relevant?»

«It might help,» Ebony stated. «Every detail counts. However, my purpose is to recall enough images to your mind. Once you know enough, you will start connecting the dots and digging up the hidden memories. It's a matter of patience and hard work, but we'll make it.»

«I was drinking a Tequila Sunrise. But not immediately. Cocktails were hella expensive in that place. Since I hadn't brought my credit card and had money for just one, I saved it for later. At first, we danced and had fun like any other girls would. It wasn't that bad, all in all.

Not worth the price of the tickets, but not bad either. One of my friends was approached by a young man while dancing, and she disappeared with him soon after. No one was worried because we were supposed to loosen up that night.»

«Loosen up?» Nate inquired, suddenly curious. Hadn't he appeared out of the blue, would Lara have found someone else to vent with?

Oh, how lucky of him! He thanked all the spirits, gods, and heavens for making him arrive just at the right moment. He could have lost his mate to another man; that would have killed him!

«What else did you do?» Ebony asked.

«I did have a drink, sooner or later. I danced with friends, observed the place... Nothing much. Then, at one point, they asked me to go look for a couple of our friends in the restroom. I even brought the glass with me because I knew it's unsafe to leave it around, but later I thought it didn't work well...»

«You thought you were drugged?» Nate inquired, scratching his chin. It did make sense in the end. If she couldn't remember, there was that chance.

She must have hated him for that reason!

«No,» Lara said. «Deep in my heart, I knew it wasn't it. I felt okay the day after, to begin with. I thought it was the alcohol only, to be honest. I thought I was a light drinker and didn't have any more drinks after. Except when I was with you, but...

but you know it already.»

«And now that you know it's not that?»

«Honestly? I'm... I'm relieved.»

«Relieved?» Nate repeated, dumbfounded. «About being prisoner of something you don't understand?»

«It's because I'm not wrong, Nate. I just was in the wrong circumstances. If this is my destiny, then it was inevitable. We would have met and fallen in love like this either way.»

«Then, do you remember... Do you remember the rest?» he tried.

«No. From this point on, my memories get blurry and then, they disappear.»

«Your mind is hiding something that might hurt you,» Ebony explained. «But, if you understand what is happening and how it works, you will remember. Just believe in yourself, and love yourself. I'm sure you will find a way through the fog.» Your journey continues with empire

«How?»

«Let's try remembering, simply.»

«But... I did! I tried so many times. However, I could never get past the moment I ventured towards the restrooms. I don't even remember whether I reached there or not. I haven't talked with my friends about it, the day after, so I couldn't even ask them.

All I know is that I woke up in a foreign bed, in a hotel.»

«Let's give it a try, one more time. You now know the reasons behind your trauma, Lara. This time, it might work,» the woman said. She crossed her arms, deciding over the best questions to ask. Better go with the details or with the general happenings?

«While... While walking through the club, I was distracted by something,» Lara said.

«Listen, try like this: close your eyes, focus, breathe. And you don't need to tell anyone. Those are your memories after all,» she decided in the end.

It still was the first night with one's mate, an intimate moment, a private thing. Knowing the few things she knew about Lara, she might have hated telling them like that out loud.

«Every detail is important because it's something your brain kept in store for years. Everything is also right, because you were meeting your mate. Don't forget this last part, and you will remember.»

«My mate?» she chuckled. Somehow, it started to sound sweet.

She could have a mate like the other wolves in the pack. Even though she wasn't one of them, the thought of someone who would stay with her for her life, who wouldn't ask anything... That thought was beautiful. Just what she needed, maybe: a partner for life.

She closed her eyes and focused, returning to six years before. Then, she smirked. Finally, she could see him in her memories as well, and not just in her present: Nate.