Alpha Alexander

Chapter Thirteen

"I can't feel my feet. Help," Julie groaned as she fell into a chair outside a small coffee shop, half a dozen shopping bags from various stores scattered around her feet.

"You'll live," Kellan deadpanned as he slid into the chair beside hers.

I dumped my bags on another chair and pulled out my wallet. "What do you guys want to drink?" I asked my friends.

"Just water, ice cold like my heart," Julie sighed.

I rolled my eyes and turned to Kellan. He shook his head, indicating he didn't want a sugary, girly coffee drink. Jason and I walked into the coffee shop. He ordered an smoothie while I got my white mocha and an ice water for Julie. As we were waiting for the baristas to finish our drinks, I looked at Jason. He caught my glance and raised a curious brow. "What are you thinking about, milady?"

I sighed at the nickname. "I have a question but I don't know if I'm allowed to ask you."

"This'll be juicy. If it's about Alpha Alexander's previous relationships, you don't need to worry."

I frowned. "Oh?"

"He hasn't really played the field, if you know what I mean."

I blinked, disbelief clear in my expression. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I didn't need images of Alpha Alexander flirting with some girl. I needed answers to a different question. "Well, thanks, but that's not what I was going to ask you."

"Oh," Jason shifted his weight. "Well, what's up?"

"Um," I hesitated. "Well, I was just wondering, what, uh . . . what are rogues?"

Jason's body visibly froze. He broke eye contact with me. "Where'd you hear that?"

I bit my tongue. I wasn't about to get Julie in trouble because I was too curious for my own good. "I just heard some kids talking about it around the house." I picked at my oversized sweater. "So what are they?"

Jason shifted again, uncomfortable. "They're bad news, milady."

I was about to press the subject, but the barista called our names and Jason didn't hesitate to grab our drinks and head outside. I followed him out and pulled up a chair next to Julie. Jason easily slipped back into his normal self, teasing Julie and joking with Kellan, but he glanced at me once in a while, a concerned look on his face. I smiled at him, and he gave me a small smile in return, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Where's Spencer and John?" I asked, realizing I hadn't seen them since we first got to the shopping center.

"They're nearby," Kellan answered. His eyes stared pointedly at a nearby store that stood behind me. I didn't bother glancing back.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I can smell them. Plus, they're keeping contact with us."

"Is that who you keep texting?"

Kellan shook his head slowly, clearly amused, and looked at his friend. Jason laughed and said, "Go for it, dude. I'm curious as to how you're going to break the ice on this one."

Julie rolled her eyes and turned to me. "They're mind-linked."

I blinked. "Uh, what?"

"It means we can read each other's thoughts," Kellan offered.

I made a face. "That's unfortunate."

"Not all the time. The whole pack is mind-linked, but a wolf can turn it off and on. Kind of like a radio station—there's a certain station we can 'tune into' when we need to communicate, but when it's not necessary, we can switch it off."