Chapter 11

BRYCE

Growing up in the West Bay, you got used to the kind of people around here. Drug dealers. Gang members. Random punks on the streets who were up to no good. They weren’t all criminals. There were a lot of honest, hard-working people, especially with the docks right there. The good outweighed the bad in this part of Snow Falls.

But I’d been around long enough to know the type.

Uriah… Uriah could’ve gotten by as one of those thugs. Dark hair. Scruffy facial hair. Tan skin from being out in the sun. The bandage on his cheek added to the picture. But having gotten to know him better, it was all just a hard exterior. Uriah was a good man underneath all of that. A good man I was proud to have as my Alpha.

“Where’s your uniform?” I asked.

“What?”

“You’re a police officer. Don’t you have a uniform?”

“I do,” he said, chuckling softly. “But considering the case I’m on, it’s not a good idea to be wandering around with a badge on my chest. T-shirt and jeans work a lot better. Why are you asking?”

“No reason,” I said with a shrug. “Just wondering.”

“I have everything else I need. Gun. Phone. Cuffs. If anybody gets out of line, the badge and the uniform is the last thing I need. But… now isn’t the appropriate time for that kind of talk.”

He picked up a piece of chicken and took a bite out of it. I watched as the smile formed on his face.

“This is good,” he said, his mouth half-full.

“Thanks. I wasn’t sure what to get tonight but I just had a craving. I guess this is what happens when you’ve got a baby on the way. Figured I would make some fried chicken. I made enough to satisfy even me. That’s all right with you, isn’t it?”

“How could I complain about something like fried chicken? This is a nice spread, Bryce. Thank you.”

I couldn’t deny my hunger so I helped myself to a generous portion of chicken. There was more than enough to stuff my belly with. Along with the food, having Uriah there with me made everything perfect. I couldn’t ask for anything more than this quiet evening.

“Did you make all of this yourself?” he asked.

“I did. I picked up a thing or two when I was growing up. I worked at this place that sold chicken like this. It was busy. Everybody loved it. I was there long enough to realize that it didn’t matter how good the chicken was, you could make it yourself.”

“And here we are.”

“Here we are,” I said.

We smiled at one another. Uriah had a way of making me feel so comfortable that I felt like I could tell him anything.

“What about you?” I said. “Did you grow up in Snow Falls?”

“No. I’m from the east. Place called North Peaks. That’s where I was born and raised. My parents are still there. All of my friends, too.”

“What made you decide to come to Snow Falls?”

“When I finished at the academy, there were openings. I wanted to go to a place I could make a difference. I looked at the numbers and statistics.”

“And you saw that Snow Falls has the worst crime rate?”

I smiled at him but he just shook his head.

“There are worse cities than Snow Falls,” he said. “I didn’t come here trying to be a hero. I came here because I know it’s a good city. It’s got its fair share of problems but what town doesn’t? I figured I could really make a difference here.”

“I’m glad you decided to come here.”

He was smiling but it was mostly hidden behind another piece of chicken. I turned my attention back to my own food and searched for something else to get to know him better.

“What about you?” he asked.

“What about me?”

“You’re from Snow Falls. What’s that like?”

“Not just Snow Falls. Just the West Bay. Not that interesting.”

“I’m sure it’s interesting enough. I can’t imagine that your life was boring.”

“Boring… I would’ve taken boring for most of what I got. My brother and I bounced around because we were a couple of orphans. One shelter to the next. Never found guardians who cared about us. We even lived on the street for a bit. But we made it.”

“Bryce…”

There was a look on Uriah’s face that I’d never seen before. He almost looked hurt.

“…I know you’ve been through a lot,” he said. “I won’t say that I’m glad that you’ve gone through what you did. But you’re here now. All of that made you into the person you are today. You should be proud of who you are.”

I couldn’t help but smile back at him. His hardened exterior was just that. Every moment I looked into his eyes, I saw a man who seemed like he actually cared about me.

“I know,” I said with a nod. “My brother and I don’t regret a single thing. Sometimes life has other plans for you. There’s no point in complaining about it. You just take it and move on.”

“That’s a good way to look at things.”

I helped myself to another serving of chicken. I’d lost count of how many pieces I had but my stomach still growled with hunger.

“Speaking of your brother,” he said. “Cade… When am I going to meet him?”

Uriah reminded me of everything that stressed me at the moment. I had no idea what Cade was up to and it only made me more anxious.

Think, Bryce…

I had to figure out a way to stall this. A way to keep the two of them away from each other for as long as I could.

“My brother would never judge me for who I am or anything I’ve done,” I said. “When I told him I had a one-night stand with a man and he impregnated me, he only teased me a little bit. But he was happy for me. He smiled at me in a way that I knew he was telling the truth.”

“Cade sounds like a good man.”

“He is. He might be a little rough around the edges. Most Alphas in these parts are. But I know he’s always doing the right thing.”

“Bryce… Why are you telling me this?”

“I’m telling you because you’re not meeting him because he’s a bad person or he’s going to judge you. I’m just… I’m still embarrassed about introducing a man I only just met to my brother when I barely know him myself.”

“I see… I think I understand what you’re saying. Truth be told, I haven’t told anybody yet either. I don’t have anybody to tell, but I don’t imagine that I would.”

“I know we didn’t have much control over what happened. But we do have control over what happens now. I think it’d be nice if we just relaxed and got to know each other. Then we can go from there. That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”

The smile slowly curled onto his lips. With it came some of the relief I was looking for. I knew that Cade and Uriah would eventually run into each other. There was no stopping it. I just had to make sure they didn’t do anything when it did happen.

“All right,” Uriah said with a nod. “You know a bit about me. What else do you want to know?”

“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “I think everything else will come with time. But there is something I’m curious about.”

“What’s that?”

“How is your investigation going?”

He arched an eyebrow at me and I immediately realized why he was so suspicious.

“I’m not trying to be nosy,” I said. “You won’t blame me for being a bit concerned for you, considering how big of a deal this is. I-I really do just want to make sure you’re safe.”

“…I appreciate your concern, Bryce. There’s nothing for you to be worried about though. The investigation is coming along fine. More of the police department are looking into it. They’re starting to question more people. It’ll take some time but we’ll get the answers we need to.”

“That’s what I figured. You know, I get the feeling that you were always an overachiever. I bet you graduated from the academy at the top of your class.”

Uriah burst into laughter and shook his head.

“Is that what you think of me?” he said.

“Well, I don’t think of you as the type who’s lazy and undisciplined. I can’t imagine you’d make it through the police academy with that kind of attitude.”

“Right. Well, I wasn’t at the top of my class but I was around there. A lot of capable men came out of that academy. I’m just proud to be doing my part.”

“Top of the class or not, it’s still impressive either way.”

“What’s real impressive is this chicken…”

He took another chunk between his teeth and chewed on it with a satisfaction that couldn’t be faked.

“…This is good,” he said with a smile. “You should think about opening up your own place.”

“Now that’s funny,” I said. “I don’t think I could open a restaurant.”

“Why not?”

“Because cooking for everybody is different. I wouldn’t be as into it. Cooking for you… It’s special… You’re…”

Uriah stared at me, his eyes slightly narrowed when I hesitated.

“…You’re my Alpha.”

Saying it made me realize just how important Uriah was to me.

“And you’re my Omega. I’m lucky. Having meals like this on a regular basis. I could get used to it.”

“I never pictured myself cooking dinner for an Alpha but now that it’s here… I think I could get used to it, too.”

Uriah took another piece of chicken. With plenty of food still left on the table, the evening was only just getting started. I wanted to get to know Uriah even better and I was sure he felt the same way. We had the whole night to figure each other out.