Chasing The Queen
Part 3

Laretta stood in her room and watched as Richard and Jon talked with several men. One of the men nodded at Richard before turning around and shifting. She gasped softly, her eyes filled with awe as she watched the large wolf run into the woods. Once he was out of sight, her eyes quickly drifted back to Richard.

At the sight of the smile on his lips, Laretta felt her heart beat faster. A soft sigh leaves her as she makes herself move away from the window. Four years and a boyfriend hadn’t taken away the feelings that she still had for the man. She had fallen for him after she had gotten to really know him, but she just chalked it up as a small crush. After all, he was one of the finest looking men that she had ever seen in her life.

Her mind drifted to Thomas but she was quick to push it away. There was nothing to gain from dwelling in the past. Besides, Thomas didn’t know where she was going and she would never see him again. Laretta didn’t know just how true that would be for her.

Lying on her bed, she thought about her life. Mrs. Bell funeral was in four days. Richard had promised her that he would help her replace a job if she wanted one and she knew that it would drive her crazy if she wasn’t working. Well, being this close to Richard and having nothing else to occupy her mind would drive her crazy.

The ringing of her cell phone quickly pulled her out of her thoughts. “Hello?” She said as she quickly answered it. “Hello Laretta.” A cold, emotionless voice spoke and a chill ran down her spine. "Who is this?"

"Who I am doesn't concern you yet sweetheart. Now that Thomas is out of the way, you belong to me." Fear filled Laretta's body as she shot up on the bed. "I belong to no one." Her voice was soft and weak, causing whoever was on the other end to laugh.

“Keep telling yourself that for now sweetheart. I will replace you, and when I do, you're mine." Before she could reply, the line went dead. Staring at her phone, Laretta slowly sets it beside her. A sudden knock on her door brought a startled yelp from her as she surged to her feet. "Who ... Who is it?" She calls out, noticing that her body was shaking.

The door opened and Jon's head appeared around the edge of it. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just had a stupid prank call," Laretta said softly, but Jon had caught the fear in her eyes and how hard she was shaking. A prank call, he thought, wouldn't result in a response like that. "Richard wanted to know if you wanted to go out for supper or stay in and meet the rest of the pack."

Taking a deep breath, Laretta gave Jon a weak smile. "I guess I'll stay. They have to meet me some time, might as well get it over with."

"They'll love you." Jon told her as he followed her down the stairs. "What makes you say that?" He just shrugs his shoulders as he smiled at her. "You became friends with both Richard and I, which isn't very easy for anyone; especially humans. But you did. I know that the pack won't be a problem for you." The genuine smile on his face made Laretta's smile grow.

As both of them entered the dining room, Jon looked up and met Richard's eyes. Richard let his gaze snap towards the chair beside Jon's seat, and Jon quickly led her forward. Waiting until they were seated, Richard stood up and caught the attention of his pack. "As many of you are aware, we have a guest staying with us. But what you did not know, this guest is a very special person to both myself and Beta Marks.

"She is to be treated with the same amount of respect that is shown to both of us. Anyone caught causing her harm or discomfort of any kind, will not like the consequences." Laretta watched as everyone at the table quickly nodded their heads. "As you wish Alpha," chimed most of the people around the table and Laretta turned her eyes to the mountain of a man beside her.

"You didn't have to do that Richard." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but everyone in the room could hear her plain as day. "I know you're only looking out for me, and for that I am thankful. Please don't think I'm not. But respect is earned, not something that can be given so easily."

She fell silent as she realized that almost everyone around her was staring at her. Giving them a weak smile, she took a sip of her water wishing she stayed in her room, or at least kept her mouth shut. With a shake of his head, Richard started eating, hiding the smile that wanted out. He had forgotten that Laretta liked earning the respect of others, not having it handed to her. He could remember that she hated anyone being upset with her, and she had always tried making sure that no one around her felt left out.

Half way through supper, Jon finally made up his mind.

He had been battling with his wolf on whether he should mention how he had found Laretta to Richard. And his wolf had won.

Waiting until after everyone was finished and Laretta was back in her room, Jon quickly made his way to Richard's office and knocked once. "Come in," Richard called out as he sat in his chair, shuffling through papers. When he saw his best friend, he smiled.

"We need to talk”

"What do we need to talk about?" Richard asked as Jon took a seat. "Laretta," Jon said lowly but Richard's head jerked up. "What about her?" Jon didn't miss the protective tone of Richard's voice. A ghost of a smile played across his face.

"Ease up Richard. No one has a problem with her being here. Earlier, when I went up to get her for supper, I could smell her fear. When I knocked on her door, it startled her so bad that she almost screamed. Something happened to her that scared her witless."

"Do you have any clue as to what it was?"

"No," Jon said as he shook his head. He wished that he knew what or who had bothered Laretta so badly. "Since we don't know exactly what happened to scare her like that, all we can do is to keep our eyes and ears open when we are around her." Jon nodded slowly. The men talked for a few more minutes before Jon left Richard to his work.

Richard leaned back in his chair and sighed. Turning on his computer, he settled down to get some work, which had been piling up, done. But as he balanced the pack's check books and worked up several new treaties, he couldn't take his mind off of Laretta.

Normally, his wolf detested being around humans, but when he first met Laretta, his wolf had been puzzled and attracted to her. The more time that he had spent with her, getting to know her and vice versa, his wolf had grown only more attached to this human. And no matter how often Richard would try to pry out of his wolf why he had felt this way; the creature refused to tell him.

It was just after midnight when the last of his work was done and he was finally able to head to bed. Just as he reached the door to his room, a scream filled his ears. Without hesitating, Richard hurried into the room across from his as fear flooded him. Turning on the light, he all but ran to the bed.

Laretta was laying in the middle of the large king sized bed, curled up into a tight ball. Her body was shaking bad as tears poured down her face. Richard reached for her but quickly drew his hand back. Conflicted, he stood there for several seconds unsure of what to do. When another screamed tore its way from her throat, Richard slowly reached forward. His fingers barely brushed against her bare shoulders when she suddenly stilled. But it was too late.

The second that his hand touched her skin, Richard knew. He knew why his wolf had become so attached to her. And he knew why he had always felt different whenever she was around. All these answers flooded his mind as the truth settled over him; Laretta was his mate.