***
Lettie scented him before he came through the bedroom door. He’d been with a female and he’d been drinking. Lettie stayed curled on her side watching him in the dark. It felt like a hole was opening in her heart. He stumbled around pulling his clothes and boots off then finally flopped down on the bed next to her. “Who have you been with?” Lettie asked as calmly as she could.
“What do you care?” He didn’t sound drunk at all, in fact he sounded quite sober. Jordan pulled the sheet over himself.
“I care that you’ve climbed into my bed smelling like another female. How dare you Jordan!” Sitting up, Lettie pulled the lamp chain and looked at him.
“Leave it be.” His brown eyes flashed amber and a growl rumbled through his chest.
“I will not!” She glowered down at him snarling.
“Fine.” Jordan got up and pulled his clothes back on then got his duffle bag out from under the bed. He started flinging clothes in the bag while she watched. He didn’t look at her until he packed it as full as he could. His brown tousled hair tumbled over his brow and he shoved it back impatiently. The zipper whizzed closed. “This was obviously a mistake. We don’t want the same things so I’m rejecting you Colette. Have a nice life.” His eyes flashed at her. “See you around.” Jordan stomped through the house and slammed out of the back door like he did every time he left. Lettie waited for him to come back. They’d fought before and he never got to the end of the block. He always came back and apologized. She sat with her arms around her bent knees until dawn. One fat tear rolled down her cheek when she finally accepted that he was not coming back this time. Lettie got up, followed the trail of muddy footprints to the back porch, and got her mop.
Chapter Two
Two years later- Summerville Pack Meeting
“A challenge has been issued by a pack beta, Jordan Giroux to the pack alpha, Francis McKnight.” John, another pack beta announced to the crowd. Lettie sat in the back row, alone. She wasn’t very high in the pack hierarchy anymore. Jordan made sure of that. When he left, she’d gotten a job working for a human in town, a human that knew about them and gave her a fair chance. She worked hard for him but it wouldn’t help her standing in the pack. Still though, she made a decent living and supported herself. Lettie’s pride would not let her touch any of the money that Jordan had in the checking account even though the statements that came every month said that he wasn’t touching it either. She lived on peanut butter sandwiches for the first two months until she’d gotten her job at the small grocers. Now, Jordan was challenging the alpha. Lettie feared for his safety but she also hoped that Francis kicked his butt nine ways to Sunday. If she’d had even an inkling of the ego this wolf had when she mated him, she would’ve found a way to control herself. She followed the rest of the pack outside. She couldn’t care any less about Jordan’s challenge but according to pack rules, every available current pack member must witness challenges. Those were the rules, so she watched from the sidelines. It was disappointing to say the least. Francis was twenty years older than Jordan, shorter, smaller, and weaker. The only thing he had going for him was the fact that he’d been the alpha for the past twenty years. Hopefully, that confidence would win this challenge and he would dominate Jordan. The last thing that Colette needed was for Jordan to be in charge. The two wolves, fully morphed into their animals circled each other in the ring that the other pack members formed in the front yard of the alpha’s house. Some of the wolves around the circle were rooting for Jordan and some for Francis, Frank for short. Some of them eyed her suspiciously. Lettie and Jordan had split but she still wore his mark and that confused the pack. The available males were interested and the females suspicious. More than one of the females paid Jordan a lot of attention. Lettie didn’t care anymore. Well, she did, but he didn’t need to know that and neither did his she-wolves. Jordan lived here in the alpha house as Frank’s guest since he’d rejected her and left her two years before. How rude. Lettie thought. To stay in someone’s house for two years, eating their food and then you challenge them to an alpha fight. Jordan would always be an ass. Jordan was bigger, stronger, younger, and the fact that Frank was the alpha for the past twenty years did not matter in the end. Jordan took him down quickly in a flash of eyes, teeth, and claws.
“You’ll be expected to leave Frank.” Francis nodded and limped away, defeated. The new alpha had no pity for the old one. What an arrogant ass! Colette thought again. “There will be a cookout tomorrow to celebrate. You’re all welcome to come.” Jordan looked directly at her. Lettie huffed out a disgusted breath and turned to walk back to her small empty house. She got her keys and her purse from the bedroom then went outside to the pickup truck. It belonged to Jordan’s Dad at one time, he’d let her drive it since he inherited it, keeping the new truck for himself. The new truck had air conditioning, this one did not. She climbed in and turned the key. The old truck’s engine protested and was not going to start, but what else was new? Lettie climbed out, wrench in hand, and raised the hood with a rusty squeal. Climbing up onto the bumper she looked down into the engine and started tightening everything because that’s what worked before. She jiggled the battery cables as a last resort.