CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

Nate walked into the residence, forgetting about the struggles outside. He left the door open and walked through the main hall. No sign of life, except for the energy of a wolf on the second floor.

Not Luciano Polenta, though. That wasn't an Alpha's aura.

He walked there, opened the door, and saw the girl sitting on the bed, trembling like a leaf and bowing her head in front of him. Her eyes were shut, her lips red from biting.

«You're his sister, right?» he asked.

He took note of the short nod and turned on his heels.

Luciano Polenta wasn't in the residence, meaning he had fled. It was time his pack saw his real nature and abandoned that foolish idea of following him to their death. It was time for Mayford to disband.

He walked out, leaving every single door opened for them to see the absence of movements.

«He is not here,» he said while reaching his people. The wolves from Mayford, all of a sudden, lost any will to fight. The few still standing let go of any weapon and raised their hands. Those tied stopped struggling.

Even those consciousness seemed to lose colour.

The war was over. Why fight to defend an empty place?

They surrendered and gave up any potential ideas to gain some advantage. After all, there was no reason to fight alone.

Their eyes stopped on Renato, still unconscious, and they worried about his wounds. He was wounded in many places... He needed some care, but no one could reach him.

Also, what for? They were done for.

After the last bit of hope left them, the moon finally rose in the sky. A shy half-moon. There was no need to shift, either way, so no one actually noticed it. No one but Nate.

They did it. They conquered the whole base before the moon was revealed, so no one could shift. They had used human techniques and equipment, and that had brought them to victory. With most packs, it wouldn't have worked. But Mayford had a lot of weak points, and their arrogance would make them underestimate anything smelling human.

«We can go back,» Nate said. «There's nothing for us here. I came for Luciano Polenta, but he's already gone.»

He walked away, followed by the soldiers retreating in order and the guards running behind them a little messy.

Once left, the Mayford pack could get up from the dust. They grouped in front of the residence and untied those tied.

When Renato woke up, he shoved them off and sat in a corner, leaning his back on the gate. What a shit day. Everything hurt, and he just wanted to be alone.

«Leave it,» he said when a girl offered to treat his wounds. «Let me be.»

The others were being treated and glanced at him a couple of times. They didn't know it yet, but he had noticed: there was no pack anymore. No link connecting them one to the other. They were done for, and there was nothing he could do to save them.

The only person who could do so was missing.

«We don't need an Alpha,» said one of the warriors. «What for? We can just live alone if that is what having an Alpha means. We don't need to go to war because Nathaniel Woods hates our Alpha. He can solve it on his own, right? Why involve everyone else?»

And... there it was! The first sign of mutiny.

«That's right. He can stay wherever he is now.»

«But... Alone? What can we ever do without an Alpha?»

«I don't know. Let's just go back home now. I'm tired, and everything hurts like crazy.»

«Someone should take care of Renato... Look at him.»

He was sitting without any trace of life, his head bowed and his hair covering his eyes.

«Let him be. His pride hurts more than any wound right now.»

«Mhm... Yeah. He could just tell us there was no one in there. It would have ended sooner.»

«He was doing what he thought right.»

«Yeah... But still...»

They walked away, someone limping or holding an arm because it was broken. They would have needed a few days to heal. And, as a pack, they needed a miracle.

A miracle wasn't going to happen, Renato realised.

They weren't that lucky, and they were alone. Was there any reason to bring Amanda back? There was no home for her. Without an Alpha, her status as an Omega was unchangeable. But, also... Were there Omegas without a real pack?

«Damn it,» he whined, pressing a hand on the most painful wound. His muscles were shouting, and his bones had almost cracked. He was useless for the moment, and he just wanted to stay there, on the ground, alone.

He just wanted to forget about the world and be forgotten.

«Let him be,» the others agreed. «He'll go home when he gets over the failure. He could never win against those soldiers. There were too many.»

«But... He did his best.»

«Sometimes, our best is just not enough.»

«Let's go. Renato is not a child. He will ask for help if he needs it. Now, he wants to be alone.»

As such, they left him there. Sitting at the gate as if to defend the fallen residence. It was hilarious, actually. Even after losing, he didn't move from there.

If only his stomach hadn't been pierced a few times, he would laugh.

«Damn Norwich,» he cursed. «Damn Alphas and damn Luciano Polenta!»

And, what was worse, his pack still didn't know the real reasons behind that war. Nathaniel Woods forgot to tell them after revealing the Alpha's flee.

They still thought they had been attacked without any real reason. Renato wished he had the courage to tell them at once. But, at the same time, he knew no one needed one more disappointment.

«We will meet in a few days and decide whether to disband,» he heard in the distance.

That thought didn't even hurt anymore. Maybe, they really needed to disband.