“You’re late, Elliot,” sheriff Blake said without looking up from his morning paper. “What took you so damn long?”

“No, I’m not,” I retorted. “The joke is getting a little old, sheriff. Don’t you think?”

Blake Woodkins put down his morning paper and eyed me very carefully. Blake was the opposite of a straight shooter, and working with him meant having to endure a bunch of bullshit.

“Joke? What joke?” he asked, dead-faced. Then, he turned to one of our fellow officers. “Hey, Daniel!”

“Yes, sir?” Daniel turned around with a silly grin on his face.

“Did you hear someone make a joke?” sheriff Blake asked.

Daniel ruffled his brow and scratched his chin. This cartoon act was more than tiresome. If they pulled this shit in Texas, they’d get their teeth knocked out.

“No, sir,” Daniel muttered. “I didn’t hear any jokes.”

The sheriff mimicked his grin and picked up the morning paper. “No jokes here. What do you make of that, officer?” Blake asked.

I sighed angrily. “I’m two minutes early, sir,” I said.

“Check your watch, beta,” he said, turning serious.

I held up my wrist to my eyes. It was now a minute past my scheduled time, but only because Blake set me up. “Okay, sheriff. You win. I’m late. You going to write me up or something?”

The other officers were looking at me with the wildest expressions. I had just talked back to our sheriff, and in this town, that was a huge red flag.

Sheriff Blake took a stand out of his seated position. He slowly walked toward me. He stopped right in front of me and put on his favorite pair of sunglasses. He stood there for at least a minute straight, just chewing his grape gum.

I got the hint. At this station, I needed to keep my mouth shut. Worst of all, he wanted me to apologize. “Look. I’m sorry. Okay?”

The sheriff tightened his expression until finally, I saw his lips quiver. He burst out laughing. Of course, the other officers followed his lead.

“You betas crack me up. I was kidding around, Elliot,” sheriff Blake said, tearing up. He clasped his hand around my shoulder and squeezed. “You need to lighten up. Seriously.”

“Noted, sir,” I said, walking to my desk.

The rest of the guys kept their roaring laughter at a much-too-audible volume. I went to fill out the paperwork that was due by the end of my shift.

I kept thinking about what Tate told me yesterday. If this Sid Carwell guy was really as bad as Tate made him out to be, I had a moral obligation to bring him down. Then again, if I brought it up to the guys, they’d probably kill me themselves. I was in a lion’s den, trapped.

I ignored them. I couldn’t help but get lost in a thousand daydreams. Tate was gruff, rough, and rugged. Usually, that wasn’t my type, and if someone were to ask, I’d say that I wasn’t looking. However, there was something so honest and real about that man that I couldn’t get him out of my mind.

When we were sitting together in his car, I couldn’t help but glance at every intricately designed muscle on his body. He was a real man, unlike any of the other guys in this town.

But at the end of the day, I was a beta. No matter what, I’d always be inferior to other omegas. I was just another outsider.

After another three hours, another officer named Daniel Thornton leaned forward against my desk. He still had that silly grin on his face. Lucky for me, no one else seemed to notice or care this time.

“You’ve been havin’ a rough time,” Daniel said.

I shrugged my shoulders and dropped the pen onto my desk. “Not really,” I lied. “You should see how it’s run back in Dallas. Talk about hard.”

“I bet you like it hard, beta,” he muttered.

Instead of getting too angry about the constant abuse, I felt curious. “I’d like you to shed some light on something, Daniel,” I said. “What’s with your obsession with me? I mean, I see you looking at me constantly. It’s okay if you have a crush. Just tell me. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get lucky, but you have to be honest.”

I knew that would set him off. Daniel’s arms shook under the weight of my crushing observation. He shot a glance back at the sheriff to make sure he wasn’t looking.

Daniel grabbed the pen off my desk and squeezed the center tightly until it snapped in half. His amusing threat didn’t go over too well. The ink splattered across his face, and in the center of his mouth.

“Don’t you say one fucking word,” Daniel whispered, shocked.

I didn’t have to say anything. The damage had been done. Daniel turned around, completely covered in ink. The whole station roared with laughter. Some of the guys even thanked me.

I didn’t care about this clown school. I cared about doing my job, and that was about it. I didn’t want to say anything to the sheriff, but I desperately needed to find out more about Sid Carwell.

“Fuck this,” I muttered. I left the station and stepped into my police vehicle. Inside, I could finish my reports with some dignity, rather than suffer the abuse of the other officers.

Within one minute, Daniel ran outside, looking for a fight. He knocked three times against my window before I rolled it down. “You’re just going to leave?” Daniel asked. Whatever Daniel did to try and alleviate the ink situation didn’t work.

“I figured it would help you get some clarity. I don’t have a problem with you, Daniel. I just want to get my work done,” I said. “I’m a beta. I get it. I’m inferior. You don’t need to badger me about it. I’m not leaving this town, this department, or my cases.”

Daniel let out an exhausted laugh. “I didn’t have a problem with you until I saw you with that alpha,” Daniel said. I must’ve revealed something in my expression because he quickly nodded his head. “That’s right. Tate Highland. You know who I’m talkin’ about.”

I kept my cool. “You caught me. I responded to a disturbance. What’s your point?” I asked.

He leaned inside of my car, smearing ink on the inside of the door. “Just the other day, you got into his car. What are you hiding, Elliot?” It was the first time Daniel used my real name, instead of the quintessential “beta.”

“You’re out of your mind,” I said, turning the key in the ignition. He placed his hand on my arm and squeezed. “Let go, Daniel.”

“Stop running away and tell me what’s going on,” Daniel said. “I saw you.”

“He’s a citizen of this town too. He deserves some respect,” I said.

I really liked Tate. I didn’t care how many people told me he was bad news. From what I knew and experienced, he was an honorable man.

Daniel couldn’t help but pry further. “You talking to him about Sid?” he asked. Daniel dropped the bomb.

“Sid? Who is Sid?” I asked.

Daniel ducked from my window and coughed. “I was just wondering,” Daniel muttered.

He knew that I caught him, and I wasn’t the beta to let him off the hook. I quickly stepped out of the car. “Don’t you walk back inside, Daniel. Who is Sid?” I asked.

He started to walk even faster, toward the entrance of the station. I ran and grabbed him. “Tell me, dammit!” I growled. “Who is Sid? What does he do around town?”

The pressure rose until Daniel popped. Without any warning, he socked me right in the jaw. I fell back and hit the pavement. It was a cheap shot, but it hurt nonetheless.

“What the fuck?” I asked, more to myself than anyone else.

When I opened my eyes, Daniel was trembling in front of me. “Just stay away. Got it? Stop messing with me.” Daniel ran back inside. I swear, I heard him mumble the words, “It’s election year.”

I had seen some shit back in Dallas, but this experience was probably the weirdest experience of them all. My jaw hurt, but I had taken in the right amount of information for the day.

It was obvious. Somehow, Daniel was involved with Sid. Now, it was just a case of watching his next moves. I decided to wait a few days before acting.

I jumped back into the vehicle and sped out of the parking lot. I made my way toward the lake in the center of the forest, where Tate and his son lived. I peeled into his dirt driveway and stopped.

Tate was outside chopping wood. He stopped and stared at me. “Evening, officer,” he said.

Tate’s skin was glistening against the sunset. His muscles were practically ripping his shirt wide open. Dirt covered his rough hands that wielded the freshly-sharpened ax. Tate dropped it and smiled.

“We need to talk. Now,” I said, walking quickly toward his house.

Tate ran to catch up to me. “Wait,” he said. “Stop running. What’s going on? What happened to your face?”

I walked into the house and sat down in the kitchen. Tate paced as fast as he could and sat down next to me. “What’re you doing barging into my house like this?” he asked.

“Something weird happened today,” I said. “I’m still wrapping my head around it. The bastard socked my jaw.”

Tate frowned and placed his hand lightly on my cheek. His fingers brushed past my lips. “He knocked you pretty good,” Tate said, sighing. “Fucking assholes.”

“It’s nothing,” I said.

I could deal with the pain, but I had only been here for a couple of months. I had suffered, day in and day out. I wasn’t one to get weepy about these things, but it was hard not having a real friend to talk to.

“You don’t deserve it, though,” Tate said. “Here. Let me get you something to take down the swelling.” Tate opened the freezer. He tossed a bag of frozen peas onto the table, alongside a towel.

“Thanks,” I muttered. I felt the cold sting filter through my face.

“Anytime,” Tate said. “Okay, so tell me what happened. And slow down. We’re not in a rush.”

I leaned against the table and shook my head. “The usual. I walked into the station, got berated for a few hours, and then officer Thornton followed me out to my car,” I said.

“Daniel Thornton?” Tate asked.

“So you know him.” I let out a soft chuckle and lowered my head.

“Grew up with the guy. He’s a worm waiting to be stepped on,” Tate said. His lips quivered with disgust.

“He sucker-punched me. It came out of nowhere.” It was embarrassing to admit that I allowed Daniel to get such a good punch in.

“Of course he did. The guy has never achieved anything in his life. He’s the lout that arrived on the scene when my omega…” Tate’s face turned sour. His eyes shifted and lowered down to the table. “Anyway…”

I reached out and grabbed Tate’s hand. My instinct led me to do it. No one should have to suffer alone. That was a motto I had developed for myself.

“I’m sorry, Tate. He must have been a great husband to you,” I whispered.

Tate nodded solemnly. “Hell, I’ve moved on. I’ve come to terms with the whole damn thing, and I’m not mad at the world anymore. I’m just angry at the lack of empathy in this town. I’ll never get over how they treated me after it all happened,” Tate said.

I squeezed his hand before letting go. Tate stood up and walked to the fridge. He took out two beers and set them on the table, popping the caps open with a lighter.

“Here,” Tate said, handing me a bottle. “This time, I’m not letting you say no.”

The beer looked ice-cold and refreshing. “Fuck it. I’m on the clock, but who gives a shit? The sheriff drinks in his office all of the time,” I said, grinning.

Tate blushed, which pushed me to smile. I held my lips together, worried that my excitement might escape me. The truth was that this house was slowly becoming a beacon of safety.

Tate clinked his beer against mine. “Cheers,” Tate said.

“Cheers,” I muttered. I took a long sip and sighed with pleasure. “Damn. I needed this.”

“I need it just about every day,” he said.

There was an awkward silence between us, as we took more gulps of beer. I kept looking at Tate and analyzing him. He was so rough looking. His beard was unkempt and he hardly ever buttoned his shirt. But his eyes were so pure.

“Daniel Thornton knows Sid,” I said. “That’s why he followed me in the parking lot.”

“Go on. I’m listening,” Tate said. I could see that the gears were turning inside of his head.

“Daniel saw me get in your car the other day. He had been watching me, I guess. He let it slip,” I said.

Tate smiled as he loosely held onto his beer with his fingers. “They’re all watching you, Elliot. I wish I weref joking about that,” he said.

“I know that now,” I said.

Tate looked away angrily. I could tell that he wasn’t someone who could deal too well with feeling helpless. “Sid owns them all,” Tate muttered.

“They’ll turn on him,” I said. “But then what? What’s the end goal of all of this?”

Tate laughed and stroked his dark beard. “You know… I have no fucking clue.” Tate laughed some more and finished his beer. “It comes down to one thing. If Sid and his cronies leave this county, my kid won’t have to worry anymore. I can live a life of dignity.”

I finished my beer and burped loudly. I covered my mouth as fast as I could. Tate snorted. “Well, I should go. I just…” My words faded into thin air, but Tate already knew what I was trying to say.

“You needed a friend. I understand,” Tate said.

I nodded and gave a faint smile. “Well, I should get going. My dad’s at home and I’m worried about him,” I said.

“I have to get to a friend’s house, anyway,” Tate said. “I appreciate you coming by. It means a lot. If you want, I’m making dinner on Wednesday. We’d love to have you over if you can make it. I know you’re busy.”

Between work and watching my father, I never really had any time to myself. But Tate’s presence comforted me, and I did want to go. “I’ll see how dad is doing,” I said. “There are good days and bad, you know?”

“Hey. You don’t have to defend yourself here. If you have family stuff, that’s more than understandable,” he said. I nodded back in thanks and headed for the front door.

Before I walked back out into the darkness, I turned around and looked him in his shadowy and enchanting eyes. “I’m not just a beta, you know,” I said.

Tate bit his lip and furrowed his brow. “I know, Elliot,” he said. “Don’t listen to those guys. They don’t understand life as we do.”

I gulped down my worries. A mixture of pride and defensiveness filled my stomach. I liked Tate, and I knew that would turn into a growing problem for both of us. I was a beta. I couldn’t have children. Even the nice alphas kept their distance.

“Well, I’ll see you soon,” I said, before stepping onto the cold landscape.

I didn’t know how I was going to survive here, but I had to try.