Page 12 of Escalating Alpha

“I tried to tell them that myhusbandis CPD and he said to come by,” she yelled, taking the tone and volume up a notch. She gestured behind her. “Our whole family is here and you’re being rude and disrespectful to the people who keep you safe.”

I moved closer to her and blocked the wolves from her tirade as I held up my hand. “Whoa, for one, yourhusbandkeeps Chicago safe, not you. Being family of a cop is hard. I get that. My family gets that too—who are here. So you’re disrespecting them as well. Let’s just tone that back and keep to what’s going on here.”

“You don’t—” she started to argue.

“But your husband shouldn’t have told you that you could come here,” I continued. “Certainly not your whole damn family. It’s for police vehicles or the actualofficersonly. This is police property, and not just anyone can come here like the parking lot of a police station.”

“Well, that was stupid to have it here then,” she seethed.

I gave her the look she deserved. “No, it was intentional. So we didn’t have the entire family of some asshat taking up the day being greedy and selfish instead of the actual officers who are too busy to clean their own cars.Andso we can control who just shows up and says they can get one. You could be Jane Doe off the street not related to a cop at all.”

She was though. I didn’t smell guilt, only annoyance. The other wolves would have reacted if she’d been lying that she was the wife of a cop.

She sneered. “You really are as big of a bitch as they say.”

I sighed, playing like I didn’t want trouble and the hit landed. “What’s his name and district? I’ll see if…” I gave her a shit-eating grin when she immediately told me like she’d wonand wanted to brag about it. “I’m going to have alongtalk with him and his commanding officer about teaching his family to behave better.

“You just called someone ranked above him who his department works with abitch,in publicbecause you can’t follow the rules of a perk. And made a scene. How embarrassing for him. Do you go demand free Starbucks and food because your husband is a cop too?” I growled when her heart raced. “Disgusting. I don’t even take it as division chief and you—”

Brian was there in a flash and pushing me behind him. I didn’t know why and I got annoyed. Like I knew he hated when people called me a bitch and she’d started to again but so what?

I got it all of the time.

I realized my hand had started changing. Not the whole thing, but my nails had barely started growing out and he’d caught it.

“Thanks, Bri,” I whispered and let him take over.

Other than that, things went well. There were a handful of others who dropped by who shouldn’t have and were trying to sneak in. They took the no gracefully. A few others genuinely misunderstood since they brought in the officer’s vehicle and thought they could since it was theirs.

Those I would have let through and had said as much, but the rules were clear to us that no one but CPD could pull into the area. I wasn’t getting into trouble over something like a car wash. The people agreed and apologized.

Wasn’t it nice when we could all be polite and understanding with each other?

I lost count of how many vehicles were washed. We had a whole area of borrowed stick vacuums and where they were plugged in charging in between uses. There were bags of car cleaner bottles to be recycled. The spray shit for the tires as well. We went all out.

And it was appreciated.

Big time.

I talked to a couple dozen off duty cops who said this was something really great we were doing. That it brought community together when it was hard to bridge the line sometimes, and they were impressed that I was really teaching the young ones responsibility for their actions.

Fine, it was a bit overbearing with some older men feeling like they had room to judge me... But at least it was good. I didn’t need their seal of approval, and it was fucking annoying that they thought they had any right to—leg to stand on and like their opinions mattered.

Still, I accepted it graciously. I would be the bitch if I reminded them that I was pay grades above them or started a scene. They were giving me the pat on the back and acting like I should be grateful.

Again, who were they that they were so awesome to give that pat? What had they done to make them the authority to give out props?

Older males?

Uh-huh, awesome. And I would absolutely be labeled as some sensitive feminist if I voiced this to people. Even men around me who wouldn’t get it and how sexist it was… Especially when they weren’t doing the same to Brian or the other Betas.

Freddie plopped down next to me when we were wrapping up and the others were cleaning up. “I think I need to be petty for a moment and check that I’m not like insane.”

“Hit me,” I chuckled, wondering where his head was or what was going on.

“Did I just witness dozens of people pay grades below you pat you on your head all day and give their approval of you being Alpha or am I just so jaded and sensitive? Like I want to give thebenefit of the doubt when you see a mom with older kids telling a newer mom that she’s doing a good job and be supportive but…”

“But?” I asked, genuinely curious.

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