Letti's Heart

I was bone tired, I had done my 8 hours at the diner and when Travis our bartender couldn't make it, Mrs Lee asked me to work his shift at the bar. So here I am at 2 45am feet like lead, unlocking my front door and dragging myself to my room and bed. When the door opened a black snout came around and a pink tongue furiously attacked my hand " Shadoooow mommy's tired baby boy, I can't play right now " my midnight black wolf ran circles around my feet, I chuckled and side stepped him to avoid falling over him " ok ok when I'm done showering I'll take you for a walk you needy boy " I went upstairs, undressed and took a quick cold shower to help my muscles. I put on a tank top, panties and short shorts, I can take Shadow for a walk and sleep in these as well, I run back down the stairs put Shadow's leash on and we head out the door. He basically pulls me along to where he wants to go, sniffs a rock or a tree marks a few areas and rolls around in dirt and dead leaves " ya know, I'm gonna stop bathing you if this is what you're gonna do when I take you for walks you filthy brute " he looks at me and looks off. I laugh and let him go on for a few more mins, when I look back and realise I can no longer see my roof I know we have gone far enough, I live alone out here and I'm not taking any chances, not even with a huge wolf on my side. " Okay boy time to go back home, mommy needs some rest before my afternoon shift at the diner tomorrow " I turn and start walking back towards the house and I hear a twig snap, a reddish brown wolf bound out of the brush and growls at me, Shadows bares his teeth and growls as well, when I realise who it is I tighten my hand on his leash and motion for him to sit, my boy is very well trained. I lower my head in submission as the beta of our pack Ted shifts and puts on a pair of shorts. " Leticia...what are you doing out so late? " Head still lowered I tell him I worked a double shift and when I got home Shadow needed to go outside so I just took him for a short walk, he nodded and shifted back to his wolf form and took off. I shook my head " rude " and headed back to my cottage. When we got back inside I went to the kitchen, changed Shadow's water and made my way upstairs to my bed, I fell in and got comfortable and waited for sleep to come. My name is Leticia Summers but I prefer to be called Letti, I am a member of the Sunrise wolf pack but you might as well say I'm not part of the pack. I live alone with my wolf Shadow who I rescued while I was walking through the woods one evening. He was small and he was limping, favoring his left hind leg, it had a large wound on it and I took him home with me and cared for him until he was walking properly, then I took him back to where I found him in hopes that his pack or his mother would find him. A few days later I heard scratches on my door and when I looked out there he was laying on my doormat panting and whimpering. I took him back inside fed him and he never left, it's been about 2 years and my boy is so big now and he's so beautiful. I live on the outskirts of our community in a little cottage, my parents had asked me to leave their house when I failed to shift at 18 years of age, the Alpha had offered to put me up in an apartment in our village but since I was wolfless and basically disowned, people treated me differently. There was no bullying or shunning as Alpha Thomas didn't allow those things in his pack, I just prefer to be alone than have people look at me with sadness or pity in their eyes every time I walked by. I got a job when I was in my last year of high school and I still work there today, at a diner/bar in the town a few miles past our pack lands, they know about us and we coexist peacefully. I'm 21 now and managing the place, Mrs Lee my boss wants to retire and begs me to let her sign over the diner to me. I keep refusing and she keeps offering, maybe one day I'll cave and take her up on it. I drift off into an over worked sleep and think about where my life was going. I woke up after 10am and went to check on my boy, I found him on alert looking out the front window, " Shadow what is it boy, what do you hear or smell out there? " I go to open the door and he places himself between me and the door, I step back and as I do my door flies open and a naked man rushes inside, he's bleeding badly and smells horrible, he must be a rogue. Shadow puts himself between the rogue and I baring his teeth and growling loudly. " I mean her no harm brother wolf, I just need help dressing my wounds and then I'll leave " he said looking at me as Shadow paced back and forth between us growling louder than ever. I step back and ask him to leave, if Shadow doesn't trust him neither do I, he's never behaved like this with anyone in town or in my pack. The man's eyes harden and he smirks, " smart girl, lucky you have protection but I don't think even he can stop me from getting what I want today, he kicked Shadow in the ribs and he yelped and slid across the room, he rushed at me and tackled me to the ground, I screamed and struggled but nothing I did mattered, he climbed on top of me and tried to kiss me in the neck " what the hell do you want! " I screamed " any money and valuables you have......maybe a little comfort, it's been a long time since I have been with a woman. He grinned at me and panic set in, I tried to struggle some more and tears burned the corners of my eyes " please, please I'll give you any money or valuables you want but I can't have s*x with you please " he got angry and shouted at me " what..I'm not good enough for you? " he slapped me across the face and then licked the spot where he had slapped me, his breath was atrocious. I called out for Shadow and realized he wasn't where he landed when the man kicked him, I hope he's ok he got kicked pretty hard. The rogue bent closer to my ears and whispered " if you would stop struggling you might actually enjoy this sweetheart " I whimpered and pleaded with him to just take the money and go, he stretched my arms over my head and held them there with one hand, then he used his other hand and tore my shorts clean off my body. Big fat tears made their way down my cheeks as he gripped my waist and kissed my neck, I felt so dirty I just closed my eyes and hope it would be over fast, what a way to lose one's virginity. I heard my front and back door burst open and a blur of black rammed the rogue and knocked him off of me, Shadow ran back over to me and covered me with his body growling at the man he'd just knocked off me. Ted, Alpha Thomas and his son Rick ran into the room from the front and back doors, they grabbed the rogue and beat the hell out of him before dragging him out of my house. Alpha Thomas dropped to a squat next to me and asked if I was ok, " I'm fine just a little shaken up Alpha Thomas, thank you so so so much " he shushed me and grabbed a blanket off my couch to put over my bare legs. He patted my shoulder and told me I had Shadow to thank for my rescue " that wolf of yours blazed into the village and sniffed Teddy out, nipped at his hand and kept walking away, Teddy mind linked me asking what might be wrong and I told him I think he wants him to follow him. I got Rick and we followed your boy, we smelled the rogue and moved from there " I hugged Shadow and planted a big kiss on his snout " my sweet sweet boy, thank you for bringing help " Alpha Thomas stood " Leticia I'll have Teddy come back over and fix your doors immediately, I'll stay till he comes back ok ". " How ya been doing Letti, don't you think it's time you move back to the village, being out here all alone is getting dangerous now honey " I shook my head " Alpha I can't, people don't really know what to do when I'm around they're uncomfortable and they pity me, I don't want it to be like that everytime I come to dinner or attend a pack function " he sighed and asked me to at least consider it. I told him I would think about it, Ted came through the door with a tool box and Alpha excused himself before leaving, Ted cleared his throat and got straight to work on my back door, he then came back to the front and started on the front door, I rubbed Shadow's head and got up off the floor when I did the blanket Alpha Thomas had thrown over my legs slid off and I was standing there in my tank top and panties. Ted looked over at me, his eyes widened and he dropped the screwdriver he was using, my cheeks flushed cherry red and I grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around my waist. I run upstairs and find a pants to put on and go back down to clean up any debris that may be down there from the break in and from when the guys came to help me. When I get to the bottom of the stairs Ted is scratching Shadow behind the ears, heard him talking to my boy " good boy Shadow, you saved her life today and I'm eternally grateful to you buddy " I wondered what the hell that was all about, he's nice to me but we hardly speak or socialize, it's just in passing or if they're patrolling in my area they check in. He clears his throat when he sees me at the bottom of the stairs and starts to pack his tool box " uh I'm all done Leticia, your doors are on and you should be good to go ". He patted Shadow on the head and he left " thanks I guess " I turned around and went to clean up my kitchen. Ted Goddess I hope she didn't hear me talking to the wolf, I let my feelings and my fear of losing her get in the way, my wolf Hayden was whimpering when he realised the wolf wanted to lead us to her, he figured she was in trouble and when we sniffed out the rogue he had howled in my head thinking we were too late. I had a secret, huge in some ways and if the Alpha were to find out I'd been lying to him for about 5 years now I'm sure him and my dad would kick my ass. Leticia had no wolf so she didn't know, she didn't feel what I felt and she couldn't smell me the way I could smell her. My heart flew to my throat every time I saw her and it took everything I have not to approach or touch her. Leticia has no idea she's my mate, I want more than anything to tell her but I can't.....or won't maybe, I'm afraid of what people will think and of how it would affect my standing as a ranked member of the pack. What if they took the position of beta away from me because my mate had no wolf. I was being selfish and I knew it, I could reject her but I know I won't, I love her. I sigh again and head back to the pack house to report to Alpha Thomas and Rick. I walked into the packhouse, put the toolbox back in the garage and walked up to the Alpha's office. Alpha Thomas and Rick were in there discussing the rogue and the attack on Leticia, apparently he was a lone wolf and was looking to rob whoever lived there, he had said when he saw how beautiful Leticia was he just had to have her. If I could get away with it I'd have killed him, he would be imprisoned here until someone from the council came to get him and take him to prison. " She shouldn't be out there all alone Alpha " I said as I walked through the door, Alpha Thomas sighed " I've asked her more than once to move closer to the village or even into the village, she won't do it. She doesn't want people feeling sorry for her or pitying her and I dont blame her, maybe when she finds her mate he will love her and treat her like she's supposed to be treated, wolves have been mated to humans before, it's basically the same thing " Rick stood up from where he was sitting, I'd take her in if she was willing, Leticia is smoking hot even if she doesn't have a wolf " his father and I looked at him like he was an i***t and shook our heads, the man would have s*x with a log if it had a hole in it. I mean he isnt lying Leticia is breathtaking, with her waist long red hair, emerald green eyes, soft pink pouty lips, perfect golden honey skin. She had perky breasts, just enough to fill my hands, a small waist and a nice round ass, long legs that don't quit and she smelled like fresh pineapple and strawberries. I bit my tongue and warned Hayden not to growl at Rick, Leticia would never sleep with him. She knows what a man w***e he is and she's also waiting for her mate, she's a virgin and she's staying pure in hopes that she meets her mate someday. Just the thought gave me a hard on, I gotta get out of here and cool off, go for a run or take a few cold showers. I decide to go for a run, Hayden would love it and I'd work off the s****l frustration I have from seeing Leticia in that tank top and lacy panties, she was flawless, I mean damn imagine all of that was mine and I wouldn't claim her, I must be the dumbest man on earth. What would she do if she were to find out I knew all this time that she was my mate and didn't claim her, would she still want me? I stopped running right in front of a small lake on our territory and laid down with my head on my paws, Hayden was whining about going by to see Leticia. It would be easy, I mean she can't hear or smell me but Shadow would definitely know I was outside her place. We were all surprised and apprehensive when she came to the pack house to ask Alpha's permission to keep and raise the wolf pup she had found hurt in the woods, I thought he would be dangerous and he looked like he had alpha male genes, which seems to have been the right idea cause at almost 2 years old he's huge. I sighed and told Hayden to just do a quick run pass her house and then let's try to get some sleep, he let out a happy yip and took off in the direction of her cottage. When we got close by her scent filled the air, we stopped running and slowed to a walk, not expecting to find her on her porch, wrapped in a fluffy blanket and drinking hot chocolate. She stood when I walked up and nodded to me " hey Ted, doing night patrols? " I nod and take off for the pack house, I ran straight up to my quarters and shifted back to my human form, going straight to the bathroom. I stepped into the shower, turned it to cold and stood under it for a good 15 minutes, what the hell was I going to do, I can't stay away from her much longer...I had dug myself a pretty deep hole and now I can't climb out