A/N: Hi Everyone. Sorry for the late update. I had a pretty tough year in 2014, so I hope 2015 is better. This story is almost finished. Maybe one more chapter and we say goodbye to the Alpha Next Door. :( It's been a fun journey. Thanks for sticking with me. :)

"Ow. My lady parts hurt like a bitch." Bella winced. "Get me some ice."

'Sorry, Bells. I sincerely apologize on behalf of my dick.'

"Ouch. Ouch." She limped to the bathroom, side eying the Alpha who was in an extremely chirpy mood. "No one told me it would hurt afterwards."

'Babe. Your muscles are sore. It's perfectly normal.'

"Jake. I can see your shit-eating grin all the way from the toilet!"

The Alpha chuckled and zipped up his jeans. 'Of course I'm grinning. Last night was epic. I was Michael Jordan on a winning streak. It was raining orgasms. Hell, I made you pass out from all the mind-blowing pleasure.'

"Jesus. Stop bragging and go get me a bag of ice and some decent breakfast!" She barked at him from the bathroom. "Chop chop, Black!"

'Yes, Mistress.'

.

.

Bella was so famished; she ended up eating five pancakes and a plate of scrambled eggs with beef bacon. Jake could only sit and stare as she wolfed down her breakfast like a champion.

'Are you still sore?'

"Nope." She answered, taking a long sip of coffee. "What time is your flight?"

'I have to be at the airport by three.' He replied.

"Are you excited about kicking Elissa's ass?"

'Hell yeah. I just want to get this whole thing over with. The sooner Alexander returns to California the better.'

"Yeah. I totally agree. It was crazy what he did to you last night. He's such a diabolical carrot head."

'If he comes anywhere near you, I'm going to kill him.'

"Jake. Relax. This is not some cheesy love triangle in some trashy romance novel. Alexander knows better than to piss you off. His family's future is at stake now."

'Yeah. I know. But still…' Jake stood up and tossed his empty paper plate in the trash. 'Maybe I should send Leah here to keep you company.'

"You mean to babysit me?! No way." Bella scoffed, feeling slightly offended by his suggestion.

Her phone started ringing. As if on cue, the she wolf in question appeared on the blinking screen. "Speak of the devil." She chuckled, bringing the phone to her ear. "Good morning, Clearwater."

'Hey, Swan. Did you lose your V-card yet?'

"Yeah. Mission accomplished. Woo-hoo!"

'Yaaay! Congrats, slut.' Leah cheered along with everybody else. 'Guys, Bella finally did it! Give her a round of applause.'

Bella could hear Paul, Quil and Jared in the background. They were clapping and whistling much to her chagrin. "Haha. Very funny, Clearwater."

'Guess what? You can now sit at the grown-ups table.' Leah cackled along with the rest of the pack.

"Screw you, Clearwater."

'Love you too, Swan! See you in three weeks.'

The she wolf hung up, leaving Jake in the clutches of Bella. "Your pack is incorrigible." She huffed. "It's like having a snooping, obnoxious aunt who shoves her nose in your business every single day."

'True. But you love them, and they love you, Bells.'

"Yes. I do." She sighed. "You all drive me crazy, especially Leah." She admitted with a smile. "She gave me an awful pep talk last night."

'Aha! I knew you were on the phone you sneaky little Swan. Did Leah teach you the shower trick? Because it worked. I heard absolutely nothing. Nada."

"Yep." Bella finished the rest of her coffee and stood up. "Now let us get out of here before my mom calls. She's probably waiting for us by the front door as we speak."

.

.

Renee was indeed in the garden, picking out rosemary and basil for lunch. She waved them over enthusiastically with a knowing smile on her lips. 'My adorable love birds!' She chirped. 'You two are glowing. I can see your auras shining like the desert sun.'

"Mom. I have had my fair share of embarrassment his morning. Please, for the love of vegan pie, stop giving us the thumbs up." Bella whined.

Jake chortled from behind her.

"Back me up on this, Black." She elbowed him in the ribs.

'Hey Mrs. D! Your aura is awesome as well.'

Bella snickered. "Do you even know what an aura is?"

'Nope. No idea.'

Renee laughed and bent down to pick up her veggie basket. 'Tell you what. I'm going to cook you both a fabulously nourishing meal in celebration of your carnal joining.'

"Oh my God. You did not just say that."

'Honey, this is what you get for pretending to enjoy my breakfast yesterday.' Renee remarked with a raised eyebrow.

'Oops.' The Alpha coughed. 'We are so busted.'

"Shut up." Bella elbowed him again, flashing her mother an innocent smile. "What are you talking about? We loved your breakfast. Your pancakes were delicious. Right Jake?"

'Uh-uh.' He grunted. 'Absolutely.'

'Excellent.' Renee rubbed her hands together. 'Then you will fall in love with my bean burger and quinoa salad.'

'What the fuck?' Jake hissed.

"Shhh." Bella shushed him and fell into step beside Renee. "I'm sure we will."

The Alpha sulked behind them. Thanks to his fast metabolism, he was already starving. His earlier breakfast did nothing to curb his appetite.

'The things I do for love.' He muttered.

.

.

Lunch turned out not to be so bad after all. Renee showed them how to make her signature bean burger and allowed them to order pepperoni pizza from the nearby pizza joint.

Afterwards, they drove Jake to the airport where he kissed his girlfriend goodbye and promised Renee he'd eat healthier food. She even gifted him a box of organic dark chocolate and roasted peanuts in case he needed a snack.

'Thanks for everything, Mrs. D.'

'Oh you are most welcome, sweetie. Say hi to your dad for me.'

'Will do.' He promised.

"Good luck with Elissa." Bella whispered as she hugged him one last time. "Call me when the meeting is over."

'Ok.' He hugged her back and planted a quick kiss on her forehead. 'Love you, Bells.'

"I love you too."

Jacob said his finally goodbyes and headed for the security check.

Renee linked arms with Bella as they exited the airport. 'How about some dairy-free coconut ice cream?' She suggested.

"Uh-oh."

'Trust me, Sugar Plum. You will love it.'

.

.

The ice cream turned out to be surprisingly delicious, so Bella bought an entire bucket and took it home. She was already beginning to crave the post-orgasmic high she'd experienced the night before.

In an attempt to cool down and forget about sex, she decided to spend the afternoon lounging in the pool with Keira who was mad at Bella for not introducing her to Jacob.

'I hate you, Izzy.' She pouted. 'Especially after ditching me the other night. Everyone was asking about you. My friend Josh has a tiny crush on you. He thinks you'd make a kick-ass vampire.'

Bella almost blanched at the thought. "You kids need to find some other umm...mythical creatures to idolize."

'Why?' Keira frowned. 'Dude, you used to be so into this shit. We used to spend our summers reading The Vampire Diaries and watching reruns of Angel. You lived for this stuff.'

Bella sighed, shielding her eyes from the blazing desert sun. She wondered if the world would have been a safer place if humans knew vampires existed. Was it even ethical to keep Keira in the dark?

"Nothing stays the same, Ki-Ki. You will probably outgrow this phase once you begin college. Your life changes once you graduate from high school. Just wait and see."

'Never!' Keira exclaimed, splashing Bella directly in the face.

The older girl gasped in mock indignation and struck back with a series of violent splashes. She fell off the donut-shaped float in the process, unaware of the pair of striking green eyes watching her from afar.

.

.

Bella was not surprised when she found Alexander waiting for her by the front gates. She had a feeling he would make an appearance once Jake was out of the picture.

"If you are here to apologize, then apology not accepted."

'Good, because I'm not here to make an apology.' He said, leaning casually against the iron gate. 'Nice bikini by the way. Finally. Something that does not scream farm girl…or hobo.'

Bella sighed in exasperation. "Did you come all the way here to shower me with backhanded compliments?"

'Yes.' He shrugged. 'You see, I have so much time on my hands. Forced exile is doing wonders for my sanity.'

"Wow. Were you always this sarcastic?"

'Nope. I was a pleasant fellow who farted sunshine and rainbows back in Cali.' He replied while glancing down at his silver Rolex. 'Any news from Washington? It's been five hours.'

Bella fished out her iPhone from her beach bag and checked it for miss calls. "No. Not yet."

'Perfect.' He muttered, reaching inside his breast pocket for his whiskey flask. He uncapped it and took a long swig of alcohol. 'Fuck. I fucking hate this city.'

"Listen, Coldbane. You have exactly ten seconds before I call the cops." Bella warned him. "So please take your drunken ass somewhere else. You are not welcome here."

Alexander ignored her warning and took another long sip of whiskey. 'Loosen up, gorgeous. I come in peace. Cross my heart and hope to die by a stake.' He drawled.

Bella lost her patience and stepped closer to the iron gate, pushing it open. He stumbled backwards and almost fell on his ginger ass. "Go. Home." She hissed, making a beeline for the front door.

'My home is in California.' He shot back. 'My heart is in California. So no, I'm not going anywhere until your boyfriend calls.'

Bella unlocked the front door and turned to look at him. For someone so preppy and anal about his looks, he sure looked disheveled, tired and ashen with dark circles under his eyes. "Fine." She sighed. "You can stay out here." She slammed the door in his face and locked it. "And no more drinking!"

'Excuse you!' Alexander huffed. 'You are not my mother.'

Meanwhile in Washington…

Elissa sat on a wooden chair with her arms crossed defensively. She looked like a sulking first grader. She practically behaved like a petulant little child throughout the council meeting.

The elders were furious when they found out what she had been up to in sunny California. They harshly reprimanded her brother who apologized on behalf of his conniving sister.

Elissa, however, refused to apologize. She justified her cruel actions by claiming that the Coldbanes were a threat to werewolves everywhere.

'If they continue to mate with humans, the bloodline of many families will be tainted with vampire DNA. Next thing you know, there will be an army of hybrids waging war against our kind.'

Leah stifled a laugh in response and the men exchanged amused glances. Jacob wanted to bang his head against the wall. Elissa was definitely delusional and a racist too.

'Are you listening to yourself, Redhawk? A hybrid army? Really?' Jacob wanted to smack some common sense into her. 'The Coldbanes are a very small family and their children are definitely human. They did not deserve to be treated like shit.'

'Speak for yourself, Black. California is my turf!' She shot back angrily. 'Chase might be the Alpha, but I'm the motherfucking boss. I run the show. Not him!'

'Yeah. We got the memo.' Billy remarked. 'That is why we are holding you accountable for this mess.'

'No. You have NO right!' She protested, getting up from her seat.

'Sit back down and shut your ass, Elissa!' Billy roared, glaring at the unapologetic Beta. 'We are your elders. Disrespect us one more time and you will be stripped of your rank as Beta and sent to New Orleans.' He warned. 'Our Boot Camp is prepared to receive you.'

Elissa gasped in horror and immediately complied. The New Orleans Boot Camp was notorious for being brutal, especially during summer.

'Please…pleaaaase send her to wolf camp.' Leah begged.

Billy shushed her and then whispered something to Quil's grandfather. The old man nodded and scribbled something down on a piece of paper. Everyone else waited in anticipation as Billy and the rest of the council discussed Elissa's punishment. Jacob tried to eavesdrop but his father shot him a warning glance.

Five minutes later, Billy asked his son to approach the council's round table. 'We need to apologize to the Coldbane family. Do you have their phone number?'

'Yes.' He nodded.

'Give it to me and return to your seat.'

Jacob wrote it down and returned to the bench where Leah was doing a silent victory dance with her arms and torso. He rolled his eyes at her silliness so she smacked him upside the head.

'I heard from a bird that you had a hard time getting it up last night.' She whispered.

Quil, Seth and Embry burst into laughter and were kicked out of the room as a result. 'If anyone else laughs, they will be sent to Boot Camp. Do I make myself clear?'

Everyone nodded, including Leah who was at the edge of her seat. She was eager to hear the verdict on Elissa and her epic fuck-up.

'Elissa Redhawk, you have officially violated the Napa Valley peace treaty signed by your Great Grandfather in 1891. You have acted selfishly and immorally. Therefore, the council has decided to intervene by sending you to Tibet for a period of six months.'

'Are you fucking kidding me?' Elissa objected, fuming with anger.

'No. We are dead serious.' Billy hissed. 'You need to learn some manners, young lady. Luckily, we have our very own monastery in Tibet. It is run by disciplined monks who will surely teach you how to become a proper Beta.'

'You cannot force me to go! I'm my own person.' Elissa cried. 'This is so not fair. Chase, say something!' She addressed her brother who was staring at her in disappointment.

'The council is right, Elissa. Your ego has gotten way out of control.'

'Traitor.' She huffed.

'You are not off the hook either, Chase.' Billy added. 'You have indirectly contributed to this Coldbane mess.'

'I know.' Chase nodded grimly. 'This is all my fault. I should have listened to my Omega, but Elissa lied and said the Coldbanes were causing trouble.'

The elders shook their head in disappointment. 'Chase Redhawk, you have failed your pack by neglecting your duties as Alpha. Therefore, we order you to pay the Coldbanes fifty-thousand dollars. Your sister will pay the same amount in damages.'

'Yeah! Justice is served!' Leah hooted.

Jacob immediately texted Bella once the meeting was over.

It was time to celebrate.

.

.

Arizona

'Mom. Stop feeding him. He is not my friend.'

'Oh but he's so precious.' Renee cooed. 'Look at that cherubic face. He looks like a Renaissance painting.' She said while staring at Alexander.

The hybrid was sitting outside, eating a bowl of leftover spaghetti. Renee also offered him a glass of lemonade and cookies. The lucky bastard was playing the victim card pretty convincingly.

"Jake is going to kill me if he finds out that Alex is here."

'Why?'

"Long story." Bella replied.

'We should invite him in. It's too hot out there.'

"No! Like I said, he is not a friend. He just needs a favor from Billy. It's umm…complicated."

Renee eyed her suspiciously. 'You're hiding something from me.'

Bella replied with a quick 'no' and then chugged down her lemonade. She hated lying to Renee.

Her phone vibrated in her back pocket, so she quickly pulled it out and read Jacob's message. She couldn't help but smile and rush to the door with the good news.

"Hey E.T!" She called out to Alexander. "You can finally go home."