An Alpha for Nyx (Shelter Falls #5)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Nyx

I park my bike in the back lot of the police station and take my helmet off. My hair drops free, and I shake it out to cool off. Despite the cooler temperatures today, the sun has been a bitch on this ride. And the fact that I’m long overdue for a haircut only adds to the level of discomfort.

Granted, I didn’t need to take the scenic route to get to the station. I could have just as easily made the three turns it takes to get there without breaking a sweat.

But I didn’t want to.

The country life calls to me. There is no resisting the need to take my bike through each dip and curve of these backroads. For someone who grew up in the city his whole life, I feel oddly amused that I’m finding peace in the wide-open spaces.

Ever since I made the move to Shelter Falls, I’ve been restless. There’s an energy here that I can’t place. I’m not sure if it’s because I only know the brief history of what happened that required more manpower be brought in or if there’s something else entirely going on.

What I do know is that this meet and greet is not going to start off the best if I’ve got pit stains and hair stuck to my forehead because I was looking to blow off steam. Now the best way to make a good impression on my boss.

I hook my helmet on my bike, then straighten myself up to head inside the building. It’s an old brick structure, charming as well as intimidating. I don’t feel much better once I walk through the door. Sure, the setup is familiar in a way. I can see the bullpen area and the back offices past the partitioned off entryway. It’s quintessential police station setup.

Instead of bringing comfort though, my restlessness escalates to a fever pitch. I want to run right back out the door, avoid this feeling. I don’t know how I’m expected to make it through this meeting if I can’t focus.

Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes in an attempt to calm whatever the hell is going on with me. I can’t lose my shit like this.

I already have it hard enough being an Omega in a usually all Alpha profession. They don’t need to think I’m weak and pathetic on top of it.

Not that they’ll know I’m an Omega right off anyway. I’m wearing scent cancelling perfume to help hide it. Hopefully if anyone catches a whiff of me, they’ll think the scent belongs to some mated Alpha.

When I open my eyes, I notice a woman at the front desk giving me an odd look. I grin and shrug my shoulder. “First day nerves,” I say coyly.

Her mouth ticks up in the corner, an understanding grin forming. “Ah, yes. I can remember my first day too. Don’t you worry about a thing though. This is the best station around. Sheriff Bates is committed to his team more than most.”

I nod along to her words, thankful she’s giving me some positive intel. I know very little about Sheriff Bates. He did the initial call to let me know he’d approved my application for review, but that a panel would do a virtual interview with me instead of him directly.

A few weeks later he emailed to let me know I had the job. Past that, I know nothing about the man I’m meant to work under for the foreseeable future.

“Can you direct me where to go for the meet and greet?” I ask the woman who’s name tag says Norcross on it. Thinking it best to start on a good foot, I reach out a hand across the desk. “I’m Nyx by the way. Nyx Pointe.”

She smiles while giving me a firm handshake. “Nice to meet you, Nyx. I’m Nadine Norcross. Welcome aboard. For the meet and greet you’ll just turn right once you’re in the bullpen. There’s a hallway and it’ll be in the conference room to your left. Door should be open already.”

“Thanks so much, Nadine. Was a pleasure chatting with you.” I give her my most charming smile, then I take off in what I hope is a casual strut. Being an Omega means that I’d prefer a softer, simpler walk, but when I need to intimidate or imitate Alphas, I have to pretend to be more than I am.

A few of the men stationed around the room give me head nods of acknowledgement, though none stop me from moving ahead. I guess they know Nadine is the guard to prevent anyone unwanted from coming through.

I find the room without any trouble since there’s not much more to the building. There are chairs setup in a circle around the room with a podium at one side. Most of the seats are filled already. I ease my way inside, grabbing one of the empty ones before it’s time for things to start.

A guy on my left elbows me. “What’s your name?”

“Nyx,” I say as I face him. He’s an Alpha — easy to tell from his scent — with buzzed hair and a scar running from his ear to his shoulder. It disappears beneath the collar of his shirt. Past that, he’s pretty ordinary looking with deep brown skin, honey brown eyes and features that say he’s not the kind to standout. If it weren’t for the scar, he’d be great with undercover work.

“I’m Dev. You’re new too, huh?”

I nod. “I thought everyone here was new.”

“Nah,” he tells me with a smirk. “I’ve already clocked a few people in here who are long timers. Their either he to make us comfortable or to get first judgement on us. What you thinking?”

Laughing at his theory, I take a minute to look around the room. It’s just as he said. The people who are paying a little too close attention to things are obviously looking for something. I spot five of them mixed amongst the other eager newbies.

“It’s anyone’s guess what they’re looking for. Thanks for the heads up though. I doubt they’ll find any reason to send me packing though.”

Hopefully they don’t. I’ve already signed a six-month lease on a place in town and I’d hate to have to let it go so soon. The space doesn’t quite feel like home, but a roof over my head is better than nothing. I could have stayed at a bed and breakfast or something until I got my bearings. It’s just not my preference. I like having my own space to spread out and chill. Being cooped up is exhausting.

“Doubtful. You’ve got your shit together.”

“How do you know that?”

He leans closer. “Call it a gut feeling. Why else would an Omega come into a den of Alphas so confidently?”

I bristle at his words as I fight the urge to discreetly sniff myself. There’s no way he should know what I am.

Dev puts a hand on my shoulder, causing me to jerk at the touch. “Easy, Nyx. I’m not here to out you.”

“How the fuck can you tell?” I grit out.

“I come from a long line of … let’s call them hunters. We can sniff out scents better than anyone else I’ve ever come across. I pegged your designation the minute you walked in. The scent blocker you’re wearing means shit all to people like me.”

Well, fuck.

That’s no good.

“How rare is this skill of yours? Should I be worried?”

He chuckles. “Nah. Like I said, I haven’t met anyone else outside of my family that can do it. And I’ve met a lot of people. My life before becoming an officer was — different. Traveling the world and all that jazz. Nobody else would know what you are if you keep it together.”

Nodding, I turn my focus to the three newcomers at the entry. They all look like I did when I first came in. All wide eyed and curious while trying to maintain some sense of authority.

They take the last empty seats and conversation naturally simmers down as the mood in the room shifts. It’s as if we’re all sitting on the edge of our seats while waiting to see what comes next.

We don’t have to wait long. It’s only a few minutes of silence before a figure appears in the doorway. He’s an older man with gray spread throughout his short, wavy hair. His grave gaze sweeps across the room taking in the group gathered.

I don’t need anyone to tell me that this man is Sherriff Bates. His authority rings out through the room without him having uttered a word.

He moves around the back of the group until he reaches the podium. I watch every nuance of his movements, my heart racing faster than it ever has before. If I thought my scenic route this morning was enough to fuel my need for adrenaline I’m sadly mistaken.

Nothing has ever excited me as much as looking at Sheriff Bates, my new boss.

But.. why? What is it he’s doing to me? He hasn’t even spoken for fuck’s sake.

At my thought, he begins his welcome speech. “Welcome to Shelter Falls, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Sheriff Bates. You’ve all been chosen based on your credentials, along with a thorough background check and a review panel of unbiased peers.”

The rest of his words cut off as my brain goes into a meltdown of multiple things at once. A scent hits my nose nearly knocking me out of my chair. I want to sniff violently to follow it, but I can’t. Not right now. Maybe not ever.

In the midst of my thoughts, Sheriff Bates finishes up. “For now, we’ll all stand and introduce ourselves one by one. Then the rest of the morning will be a time for you to talk and eat. I’ll be in and out since you never know what police work might pop up.”

Dev grumbles beside me. “He totally just jinxed himself.”

I want to laugh at his words, but I’m too stuck in this anxious state of being. Too caught up in watching the Sherriff to truly react to anything else.

The others around the room stand up to give their elevator pitch about themselves. As Dev first noticed, there are a few plants in the group. They all smirk as they admit their long standing on the Shelter Falls force. I guess they figured no one caught on to their ruse. From the looks at the others, they hadn’t.

By the time it gets to me, I’m trying to remember anything about myself that will be worth sharing. What the hell did I do before coming here?

I stand when Sheriff Bates nods my way. I don’t think there’s a command he could give that I wouldn’t follow at this point.

“My name is Nyx Pointe. I’m forty-one years old. Came in from San Panino city after working there for fifteen years. Before that was an array of odd jobs until I realized I needed to focus myself in one place. Shelter Falls sounded like a good place for a bit of change when I decided the city was too stuffy.”

I drop into my seat once I’m done speaking. No need to keep all the attention on me. I’d much rather just be ‘one of the guys’ instead of being singled out.

Dev speaks next, then there’s only a couple of more guys before it gets back to the Sheriff. His shoulders have dropped a bit since he first came in. I guess the ice breaker activity was for him as well as for the group.

“Since turnabout is fair play, I’ll share a bit about me too. My first name is Julian. I’ll be fifty-five in a few days. Been an officer of the law since I was old enough to sign up. Every generation of my family has some type of civil service person, and I figure fighting fires wasn’t for me.” A few people laugh at his joke before he continues. “Never married or had kids. This job is my life and I hope you understand you can come to me if you need my help. You might have noticed this is a big intake for such a small area. Thanks to an unfortunate series of events we’ve had to lay off and/or arrest several former officers. I’m sure you’ll get all the gossip once you all start mingling. Now I’m done yapping so everybody get to it. I’ve got to make a call in my office, then I’ll be back.”

He steps out before anyone can move. It’s like he’s there one second and then gone the next.

It wouldn’t be weird except for the fact that it takes everything in me not to follow him.