Once Mated Twice Shy (6 page)

“I love you
Jordan.”  She finally said.  “I’m not ready to get bitten again, not yet.  Be
patient with me, okay?”  He nodded understanding.  It wasn’t that she that she
didn’t want to wear his mark or that she didn’t want him to claim her.  It was
the rape.  This had to be the strongest woman on the planet.  If he were in her
place, he wouldn’t want to be touched again.  Ever.  He wondered how much of
the attack she remembered.  She remembered the bites.  If she needed him to
wait then he would wait, forever if need be, as long as she stayed.  He didn’t
care what anyone said, he had his Lettie back.  Nothing else mattered.

Lettie woke up
screaming from the nightmare.  She’d just relived the attack of the six
rogues.  Jordan tried to soothe her but she fought him.  “Sweetheart, calm
down, it’s okay, I’ve got you.”  He cooed.

“This is your
fault!  All of this is your fault, the attack, the illness, the nightmare. 
It’s all you Jordan!”  Lettie scrambled across the bed away from him and across
the room.  She began searching frantically for her clothes.  “Where are my
clothes Jordan?”  Lettie threw tee shirts and jeans about the room. 

“Come back to bed
Lettie.”  Jordan put his arm around her.  Lettie screamed again and jumped
away.  He tried to shush her but she wasn’t having it.  “Please talk to me. 
Tell me what happened.  You promised that we would work this out and we can’t
do that if you won’t share with me.”  Jordan’s strong arms were around her now
and she couldn’t get loose.  The tears started followed by violent sobs.  “Oh
baby, you’ve remembered it, haven’t you?  You’ve remembered all of it.  I’m so
sorry.”  He lifted her and carried her to the bed.  Jordan curled his body
behind her and held her tight.  If he didn’t she would bolt.  “Tell me.”  He
murmured against her ear.  Lettie shuddered.

“I heard a noise
and I went to guard the store.  I thought it was burglars and since I live over
a human owned business, I assumed they would be human.  I went down the diaper
aisle and there were three of them.”  She sniffled.  “They followed me and I
didn’t know where I was going but I just wanted to get away.  I knew they were
stronger, they were all males.  When I got to the back, there were three more. 
They made me shift and then they…”  Lettie started to sob again.  “I tried to bite
the leader and that was when they all started biting me.  The leader tore a
chunk out of my breast.”  Jordan’s eyes were moist but he stayed strong for
her.  “The leader raped me first, he’s was their alpha and he stuck his filthy
cock into me, my mouth, my ass, my…”  The sob tore from her throat.  Jordan
tightened his arms around her and she fought him.  Lettie was having trouble
holding her form.  All she knew was that her wolf needed to get away, to run
until she couldn’t remember.  “If you hadn’t left me, if you hadn’t rejected
me, if you didn’t need to be the alpha, none of it would’ve happened Jordan!” 
Lettie sprung across the room.  He’d let her get up feeling her anxiety.

“Lettie.”  Jordan
tried to calm her with his soft soothing voice.

“No!”  She
snarled.  “Then you did the same thing when I was asleep.  You’re no better
than they were!”  She screeched at him.

“That’s not so
Lettie, you wanted that.”  He was getting closer to her and when he got close
enough he would hold her until she was reasonable again.

“I guess I wanted
to be raped and torn apart too.  I must have since I live alone over a grocery
store.  Any man could take advantage, isn’t that right Jordan?”  She hissed.  “It’s
what you said.”  Lettie shifted and bolted for the door.  Jordan shifted and
followed but Lettie was like a streak once she was outside.  The gravel flew up
behind her and he knew that it was best to let her get it out of her system.

Hours later, she
returned.  Jordan sat on the porch waiting for her.  She came up the steps
still in her wolf form and went inside.  Jordan followed her until she shut the
bedroom door in his face.  He heard the lock click.  Jordan leaned his head on
the door listening.  She was crying again.  This was going to rip his heart
from his chest.  Her bleak desperation was more than he could handle.  He
needed to soothe her, to hold her and to make her understand.  Jordan went to
the kitchen and made her lunch.  He prepared steak and grilled vegetables then
placed them on a tray.  He knocked softly on the bedroom door but she wouldn’t
answer.  “I have food for you.  It’s out here by the door Lettie, please eat, I
don’t want you to get sick again.  I’m going to my office if you need me.” 
Jordan called through the door then walked away.  He needed to get ready for
the pack meeting later.  He would have to find a way to sort this out.  He did
not intend to give up alpha yet, he’d had the position for ten days.  Ten days would
have to be the shortest term any wolf in history had ever served.  She had to
understand that it was for her.  It was all for her.

***

“Summerville pack,
can I have your attention please?”  Jordan stood at the front of the basement
room looking out at fifty sets of eyes but only one set mattered.  The set in
the back meant more to him than anyone else in this room.  Why did she always
sit back there alone?  She should be up front with him.  “I’ve been looking
over Frank’s papers and I have to convey some disturbing news.”  There were
murmurs but he pushed on.  “Frank left the pack in terrible shape financially. 
There is no money.”

“Where’s did the
money go?  We were supposed to be set with him selling the business and
investing the profits.”  Lewis asked.  Lewis was a stickler for pack
regulations and protocol.  His father was the alpha when Frank challenged him a
lifetime ago.  Back then, the fight was to the death.  Now, the new alpha
exiled the old one and if he refused to leave then the challenge may or may not
result in death.  No one knew it but Frank asked Jordan to challenge him.  He
said that he was tired of being alpha, he wanted to enjoy his retirement.  From
what Jordan could now tell, he’d been skimming money for years and his
retirement was probably luxurious.  Jordan was always interested in being alpha. 
When Frank suggested it, Jordan jumped at the chance like the idiot he was. 
Lettie was right, he should’ve stayed home with her, loving her and driving two
hours to Lennox.  She was always right.  His beautiful mate that sat cowering
in the back now on the verge of tears was right about so many things.  This was
not one of them though.  Not now, he needed to see this through.

“The money is
gone.  I’ve been over the accounts and I’m no accountant but as far as I can
tell, the money is long gone and has been for a long time.  The bills were all
behind and several houses were near foreclosure.”  There were gasps and murmurs
that were growing louder by the second.  Jordan clapped his hands and snarled
when they ignored him.  “Lettie and I had some money saved.  I used that to
catch the bills up.  The houses are back on track as are most of the bills.  We
need to come up with some ideas to get that cushion back in place.  When Lewis’
father was the alpha, there was a substantial cushion to get us through.  I
would like to see that again.  I have about a thousand dollars left and that
won’t hold us long.  So, any ideas?”

Jordan was
pinching the bridge of his nose by the time the meeting ended.  Lettie left
with the pack.  Jordan straightened the room and turned the lights off.  What
the hell were they going to do?  The pack offered a few ideas but none that
would create a windfall.  Since Frank sold the cabinet making business, they
had no income.  When Jordan worked in Lennox, he managed a plumbing, air
conditioning, and handy man service.  He’d earned a decent living.  There were
several men in the pack capable of that kind of work.  They could start the
Summerville Plumbing and Air Service.  Why not?  They would need a couple of
vans and some tools.  Jordan trudged up the steps and down the hall.  It was
late and he was exhausted.  Lettie sat in the middle of the bed.  Her duffle
sat packed on the floor beside the bed.  “What’s up sweetheart?”  Jordan pulled
his shirt over his shoulders and her breath caught.  She would miss him, miss
seeing him naked, and miss kissing him.  He hadn’t quit and she would not live
with a man that broke promises.

“I’m leaving.” 
She put her hand up and hopped off of the bed.  “You lied to me.  I’m rejecting
you Jordan, again.  It’s over and none of your bullshit will change my mind.  I
don’t want to see you or hear from you.  I’m going back to the grocery store. 
Leave me alone.  It’s not negotiable.”  Lettie picked her duffle up off of the
floor and walked out of the bedroom.

“So I don’t get
any say in this?”  He was following her.  Her head shook.  Jordan grabbed her
arm.  “Let me explain.”  Lettie stopped and looked over her shoulder.

“It doesn’t matter
what you say to me Jordan.  I’ve already decided.  It’s done.  My mark should
be fading.  Find someone else.”  Lettie took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. 
“And Jordan.”  His eyes flashed at her.  “Treat her better than you treated
me.  Don’t lie to her.  Try to make her feel important to you even if she’s not.” 
Lettie took the key ring off the hook beside the door.  She was taking the new
truck.  She deserved it after all.  Her hard work saved this whole pack from
bankruptcy. 

Once home she fell
back onto the musty mattress and closed her eyes.  Damn him.  For a minute,
she’d believed him again.  For a minute, they were just Lettie and Jordan
again.  They were deeply in love and not able to see past the other, for a
minute.  Lettie let herself drift.  She would return to work in the morning if
she still had a job. 

***

Jordan’s wolf
loped the perimeter of the grocery store.  His ears perked at every little
sound.  Her mark faded soon after the words of rejection left her beautiful
lips.  Now he was guarding the entrances.  Mister Thompson should really
consider a guard dog.  Jordan went to check the back again.  No one would get
to his mate again, no one would ever hurt her again, and that included him. 
He’d been at this for a week now.  Lettie didn’t know that he was out here and
if he could help it, she wouldn’t.  There were more rumors that trio of rogue
wolves was terrorizing the area.  His newly appointed betas were patrolling the
compound at night while he patrolled the grocer.  Apparently, the first group
wasn’t the trio that everyone heard about earlier in the month.  This trio had
a bad reputation.  Several times, they’d shifted in front of humans which put
everyone at risk.  Every wolf knew that secrecy was the best protection.  There
were packs that had taken vows to die if humans suspected them.  His pack had
taken no such oath but he could see the reasoning.  Their population grew every
year but all knew that just one piece of conclusive proof was all the humans
needed to declare war on the species.  The last time that humans found them
out, the wolf population almost went extinct.  Jordan’s ears perked again.  His
cell phone was ringing in the truck.  He shifted and opened the door.  It gave
a loud rusty squeak.  “Jordan.”

“It’s Lucas sir. 
Uh, Terry told me to check in and make sure that you were okay.”  Lucas was a
nice wolf, he was respectful, but he had such a brown nose.

“Fine.  Everything
quiet there?”  Jordan watched the woods next to the building.

“Yes sir.”  Jordan
narrowed his eyes at something that moved.  It was a squirrel.  No threat but
maybe a snack later, his inner wolf was interested.

“Good, is there anything
else?”  The light in Lettie’s apartment went off now.  He kept watching the
window hoping to see her.  She may have rejected him, but he still had hope and
he would still protect her.

“No sir but I um
was wondering if it was okay if Aimee and me…”  Jordan rolled his eyes.  He
wished someone would fuck her and keep her the hell away from him.

“Wear her out
Lucas, please.”  Jordan disconnected the call.  He shifted after looking around
and loped the perimeter again.

A week later,
Jordan having just finished his lap he heard the cell in the truck ringing.  He
shifted and answered.  “Jordan.”

“Sir, we think the
rogues are in the compound.  Terry thinks he saw some unfamiliar wolves but he
couldn’t scent them downwind.  You should come back sir.”

“On my way, all is
quiet here.”  He disconnected the call and glanced up at the dark window as he
started the truck.  “Sleep tight sweetheart.  I’ll be right back.”  Jordan
raced down the gravel road taking the curves sideways.  He pulled the truck
over in front of his house and got out shifting immediately.  Jordan raced down
the roads scenting the air.  He didn’t smell anything unfamiliar but there was
a scent of pups on the breeze.  Terry came out from behind Lettie’s bungalow. 
They both shifted back to men.  “Well?”  Jordan asked as soon as he could speak.

“I don’t know
where they went sir.  I’m not even sure of what I saw but I saw something, I
know that I did.  I just wasn’t close enough and the breeze shifted then gusted
so I couldn’t catch the scent.”

“Where is Lucas?” 
Jordan still scented the air; he detected the Riley boys and smirked.  At
fourteen, fifteen and seventeen they were in their prime for mischief.  There
were no rogues here, only delinquents toying with the beta patrol.  It would be
good exercise for all involved.

“With Aimee at his
house, I told him to take off.  He’s useless out here anyway.  He can’t keep
his mouth shut.”  Jordan nodded at the smaller man. 

“I didn’t scent
anything that I didn’t recognize.  Have you seen John?”  Terry shook his head. 
“Find John and set up patrols.  If anything happens, let me know.” 

“Yes sir.”  Terry
said and shifted back into his wolf.  Jordan yawned.  Two hours to daylight and
then he was going to crash.  He parked the truck outside of the grocer and
climbed out.  The front door looked different.  Jordan shifted as he went
toward it.  The door was open.  Lettie had her own entrance in the back and
Mister Thompson would have the lights on by now if he’d come in early.  Jordan
trotted to the door and sniffed.  Three distinct wolf scents filled his nose, the
rogue trio.  Jordan slipped through the glass doors and padded across the cold
tiled floor.  They’d gone in different directions.  Jordan followed the
strongest scent perhaps the alpha.  Jordan followed him across the front and to
the meat counter.  The wolf was gorging himself on chuck roast.  Jordan growled
and the strange wolf snarled back at him.  Jordan went straight for his throat
taking him down easily.  Jordan ripped through his flesh, tore through thick
sinew, and ripped out his arteries.  Warm blood flooded over his tongue.  The
black wolf shifted into a dead man.  His mouth was still full of roast.  Jordan
hurried on, silently stalking to find the next one at the service deli.  He’d
ripped into the display of shaved lunchmeats.  Everyone had their preferences
he supposed.  This smaller red wolf never saw him until Jordan crushed him into
the floor.  Jordan was a large wolf.  He was two hundred pounds easily and he was
strong.  Jordan snarled.  The red wolf submitted.  He rolled to his back
showing his throat and soft belly.  This trio didn’t seem very vicious, they
seemed hungry.  Where was the third?  Jordan scented the air.  The last was in
the direction of the apartment. 
Lettie.
 Jordan hurried.  This black
wolf was larger than the last two and was at the top of the stairs outside of
her apartment.  He shifted into a man staring down at Jordan.  He was the alpha
of the other two wolves.