Part 7

The days that followed the burial of Richard’s mother passed by quickly for everyone, including Laretta. She was slowly warming up to the others, making friends. Richard watched with a proud smile when he was able to watch his mate mingling with his pack. The love that she showed them made his heart and his wolf swell with pride.
The closer that his self-imposed deadline loomed, the more nervous Richard became. Sure, Laretta knew what he was, she knew just about everything there was to know about his world. But that didn’t meant that she would accept him as her mate. And the thought of that brought indescribable pain.
Laretta stood in her room staring out the window. The sun had set hours ago, but she was far from being tired. She was growing to love Richard’s pack, but she knew that one day she would have to move on. She was going to broach the subject of finding a job tomorrow with Richard, and then once she found one, she would bring up the subject of her moving out and into a house of her own.
Suddenly, she tensed as she caught the faintest hint of movement from the forest below her window. She watched as a man came to a stop just outside of the tree line, looking up at her window. When their eyes met, a smile capable of making anyone feel as if they were being frozen, bloomed across his blood red lips.
Fear rushed through her as her breath became trapped in her throat. Something nagging in the back of her mind told her that this man was dangerous. A howl suddenly broke the trance between the two and before Laretta could blink, the man was gone. Laretta knew that there had to more supernatural creatures than werewolves, but she couldn't peg what that man was.
Just as she turned away from the window, sounds of glass breaking filled her room. Crying out in fear, Laretta scrambled towards her door, staring at the very pale man who was smiling at her. His lips parted and Laretta's eyes grew when she realized that he had fangs. Vampire, her mind screamed as she finally found her voice.
A loud, strangled scream flew from her lips as the man began to slowly walk closer towards her, the grin not leaving his lips. "You're mine again ... flur." Something about his voice was like dynamite to the memories that she could not remember. Image after terrifying image hit her mind and another scream tore itself from her throat. His laughter filled her ears and Laretta tried to get the door open.
"I can't have you escaping from me again flur," Rhett said as he swiftly bent down and grabbed her arm. He began dragging her back towards the window as if she was nothing but a feather. "Leave me alone, please." Laretta begged as she tried to pull her arm free, but his grip was stone hard. She flinched when she saw his eyes briefly flash blood red. "You belong to me leannan.”
Terror completely filled Laretta's body as Rhett picked her up and jumped through the broken window. The coolness of his skin seemed to burn her as she struggled fruitlessly to be free. She could hear shouting and howling coming from the house and hope soared in her heart. "Richard!"
She screamed as the man began to run, the surrounding whizzing by them faster than her mind could register them.
The loud howl that seemed to resonate deep within her bones filled the air and Laretta knew that it belonged to Richard. She opened her mouth to scream again but Rhett quickly clamped his hand over her lips. “Enough of that noise,” he growled out before something slammed into the back of her head, knocking her out.
Richard had been pacing in his office when the first wave of fear flooded his body. It took him a few moments to realize that the feeling was coming from Laretta. He ran from his office, reaching the stairs just as a scream and the sound of glass breaking echoed throughout the house.
As he neared Laretta’s room, he could hear a deep male’s voice and then Laretta’s. Her tone sounded as if she was begging, fear lacing her words. Anger flooded him as he charged through the door just in time to watch as a vampire jumped out of a broken window, Laretta in his arms. The air was filled with the sounds of her screaming again.
Suddenly, he heard his name and something snapped inside him. Richard’s wolf rushed forward, taking control. Shifting, he leapt from the window, landing on the ground and took off running. The vampire was easy to track, seeing as how their scent stood out like a sore thumb, and it burnt their nose.
The terror that he could feel from his mate just added fuel to the rage that burned inside him. How dare this leech try to kidnap what’s his. Letting out a howl that could be heard clearly across the entire span of his territory, Richard’s wolf sped after the fleeing vampire, intent on killing him. But the leech was faster than those he had come across before, and within moments, he had lost him.
The scent was quickly fading, even the scent of his mate. Richard knew then that the leech had somehow managed to hide it. Sounds of his pack mates rushing towards him filled the air, but nothing could take the weight off his heart. His mate had just been taken from him and she didn't know just what she meant to him.
Shaking his head, Richard turned and hurried back towards the house. He wasn't sure how, but he would be getting Laretta back. And when he did, that leech would die very slowly and very painfully. No one messed with those that Richard loved and lived. A grim smile crossed Richard's face as he entered his office and started placing calls.