Jaded Anchor: The Wolf

Chapter Three - Alexandra

“Stay with you?” Alexandra pulled her arm away and stood up straighter looking over at him like he had three heads. A cloud of confusion clouding her face. She knew she looked like he had asked her to jump out of a boat into shark infested water, but that’s what it sounded like to her. A bad idea. A very bad idea.

“I’m not asking for a hookup. Just offering an old friend a place to stay for the night. I have a guest bedroom that you are more than welcome to. We can watch old cartoon movies or cheesy zombie flicks like old times.” He offered her a smile which honestly looked sincere.  

“Yeah. Of course, it wouldn't be a hookup. You've clearly moved on." Alexandra nodded her head in the direction on the blonde who had been standing with him before. The blonde’s face was puckered up like she had just sucked on a sour lemon and her eyes seemed to be trying to shoot daggers in Alexandra’s direction. Amusement flashed in Alexandra’s eyes but so did something else. She quickly changed her expression hoping Rowen wouldn’t notice. She found that she was jealous of the lemon face girl. What the hell, Lex?

“I don’t even know her name. You didn’t interrupt anything.” He assured her with a lopsided grin. “It wouldn’t be a hook up because I am a gentleman.”

“Okay. Big bad.” Rowen smiled when she used his old nickname. It had been a running joke between them. He was big bad because he would be the next alpha and he admittedly used to have a big head about the whole thing. She was a little siren because well he used to tell her she swam like a mermaid. The fact that she was short helped the nickname a little, not to mention her fiery red hair.

“I will take you up on that offer. I mean I really don’t want to sleep in my car. And old movies with an old friend doesn’t sound half bad.” Alexandra told him finally accepting his offer. She couldn’t help but smile when she seen him trying to hide the grin. Alexandra had agreed to stay with him for the night. After six years of radio silence between the two of them she had agreed to stay with him. She didn’t know if that made him crazy or her. She looked up at him and was slightly taken back at their height difference. He towered over her, even more now than he had at sixteen. He had aged well.

“Good, let’s get going. Let me do something really quick and I will meet you outside.” He told her before he hurried off to the back office.

Alexandra had been caught up in her own thoughts when Rowen joined her outside. His scent was the only reason she turned. It had hit her like a brick wall. She knew the exact moment when he walked out into the night air. It frightened her at first. No one's scent had ever called to her the way his was at the moment. Her wolf started stirring. It surprised her given that she had been fairly certain that her wolf had abandoned her after her years of suppressing it. She didn’t know exactly what it meant, but she knew she was going to have to be on her absolute best behavior. If not Rowen would have her in his bed before morning. Don’t be a b***h Lex. You have a boyfriend! She subconsciously chastised herself before she heard him speak.

"You ready? Just follow me. I don't live too far from here." He dug his keys out of his pocket. She noticed he looked nervous, maybe she had the same effect on him as he did her.

“Yep.” Alexandra answered almost too quickly.  Hating the way she popped her ‘p’ at the end of that word. She held up her own keys giggling them like an i***t before going to her car.

The drive to his house hadn't taken long. She noticed he lived in a cabin by the ocean. It was a beautiful two-story house that overlooked the ocean. It was her dream house. She had told him as much years ago because they had talked about stupid things like this when they were young and dumb. It was exactly the type of place she always pictured them living once they got married. At sixteen they had no idea how fragile and naïve their dreams had been. He turned to face her when she stepped out of her car. He didn’t bother to hide his amusement. Cocky Big Bad.

 “You actually live in a cabin by the beach. I remember you always said you would get a house out here. I didn’t know you preferred the ocean over the trees, Ro.” She glanced back watching the waves break onto the shore, trying desperately not to seem so excited about his house. The house was exactly as she had described when she was a teenager. She had told him about the type of house she wanted to live in when they got married.  

“I don’t, Lexie. You’re the mermaid remember? You always preferred the water over the forest. I was indifferent about them. I choose to live here because until recently I tried to stay out of pack business. Plus, it has a killer view that ladies love.” He told her. She could feel his eyes on her, so she turned to face him. She saw something behind his eyes. He wasn't being completely truthful with his answer. His words held some truth, but also a lie. It terrified her that she could tell that much from simply a look on his face. It was as if no time had passed between them at all.

“You’re right. The view here is amazing. I’m a little jealous. If we move down here, I’ll have to look for a beach house for us.” Alexandra followed him into the house letting her curious eyes take in the view. He kept a pretty clean house. A few things cluttered here and there but for a bachelor pad, it wasn't too bad. Color her surprised.

“We?” Alexandra watched as Rowen stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face her. It had been a clear question. He wanted to know what she had meant by ‘we'. He wanted to know if she was in a relationship.

“I. I meant to say if I move down here.” Alexandra said quickly, for some reason she didn’t want him to know about Carter. She had no reason to hide the fact that she had a boyfriend. If she moved to Silverport then he would find out eventually. Silverport was a small town. People liked to talk, but for whatever reason she couldn’t stand the idea of him finding out about Carter.

“I said ‘we’ because if I move then Jules is going to get a place with me. She said she was ready to break away from the pack a little, but her parents wouldn’t let her move out on her own. I tried to tell her she is an adult now and she didn’t have to listen to them. She insisted I had been gone for too long and no longer understood pack ways.” Alexandra took a breath realizing that she had been talking a lot. She bit her lip and shrugged. It was her way of apologizing for the word vomit. She used to do it all the time when they were together, talk so much without taking a break to breathe. Usually, she only did it when she was nervous. Rowen made her nervous. He made her feel like a sixteen-year-old again.

“Some things never change,” Rowen said when she finally took a breath. He laughed softly looking down at her with those blue eyes. Alexandra narrowed her eyes at him for laughing at her but smiled just the same. She always smiled when he looked at her. i***t!

“What do you mean?” Alexandra finally asked, finding herself fiddling with her fingers the way she always did when she was feeling self-conscious. She needed to get a grip quickly if she had any hope of staying with him tonight. Not staying with him, just staying at his house. Aww hell, I'm screwed. She grumbled to herself inside her head.  

“You and Juliet never change. You’ve always been more like sisters. I did know you guys kept in touch, but she never told me anything about you. I never pressed because I knew the day, I left you on the beach, I lost all rights of knowing about you.” He glanced over at her and she felt her heart jump. Yep, totally screwed.

 “Honestly, I wouldn’t even be here doing the interview if she hadn’t agreed to move in with me. We stick together. I know we aren’t really sisters but she’s the closest thing I have. My parents, and my pack are gone. It’s just me now in Tuscaloosa since my Aunt and Uncle moved up North after my college graduation. I wanted to come home, I have no attachments to Tuscaloosa anymore. I still don’t know if someone will try to finish off what’s left of the Silverstreak Pack. A part of me feels guilty for even asking her to move in with me in the first place. If something happens to her because of me, I’d never forgiven myself.” Alexandra took another breath realizing how deep their conversation had suddenly become.

“Sorry. I don’t know why I said that. I guess I’m just tired from the drive. You know how hysterical I get when I’m sleepy.” She said realizing she had been the only one speaking. Lifting her ocean colored eyes up Alexandra finally stopped talking so he could have a chance. She gave him a little smile and shrugged her shoulders. Thankfully, he saved her from her word vomiting and spoke.