Nicholas~
The only thing I got from my vacation was the realization that I need another, more permanent vacation. The dread of returning to my life as usual washes over me as soon as I kill the car's engine in my driveway. I suppose I could sell the house and take up permanent residence on my boat. That would do it, but it would also drive me insane.
All that peace and tranquility with no one other than Zeek to talk to would get on my nerves. I opened the car door and inhaled the mountain air. Wherever we wind up, it has to be unrestricted. Another reason I can't live on the boat is that Zeek isn't much for swimming. My wolf reminds me every day that I am getting too old for the bullshit anymore.
We have been hunting bounties since I was 20. Now, 7 years later, I tell myself the next one will be the last, but it never turns out to be. I purposely did not take a phone or computer with me on my two-week sea excursion. Judging by my overstuffed mailbox, it would seem I missed a lot that I had intended to.
After unloading my bags from the car, I dropped them on the living room sofa and went into the bathroom for a shower. I still smell of the cut bait I was using on the boat. The first thing I noticed afterward was that the light on my answering machine was flashing.
Taking a seat at my computer desk, I breathe deeply, scrubbing my hand over my unshaven face as I see 30 new messages. Zeek is already growling his displeasure. To say he is not happy with my life choices would be an understatement. My life would be very different if I had followed the path my father, Alpha Titus Reins, and my wolf had mapped out for us.
By now, I would hold the respectable title of Alpha for the Moon Hill pack, not the guy you called when shit went south. Without my father's persistence, I would have taken a mate and be raising a few pups; perhaps they were right. However, given some things I have done in my present career choice, I don't consider myself worthy of having a mate or a family.
You can't change the past, I tell myself all the time; it is my go-to excuse for my behavior. Back then, I hadn't wanted the responsibility of being the alpha of a pack. I wanted freedom, not obligations. Hardheaded and hell-bent, I stepped out on my own, and my father passed the pack to my brother, Sean, who is a year and a half younger than I am.
Still, I have no desire to be the leader of the pack; the settling down and mated part is where my secret regrets lie. Wanting to be a father is my guilty pleasure, but you can't always get what you want. I have accepted that no decent female would want to start a family with a man whose life is not his own.
How does one go from an outlaw to a husband and father? Is it even possible? For me, I wasn't so sure; I suppose I could go somewhere where no one knows me. It wasn't like there was a whole hell of a lot holding me here. If I take the bounty hunter out of the hunt, can I take the hunt out of the Bounty hunter?
I hit the play button, and the voices come through the speaker. 'Really, Nick? I thought you would have lasted at least a couple of hours. I knew you couldn't give it up.'
Perhaps he is right. Can a junkie ever be free of their drug? With every beep, I grow more uninterested. It's the same old song and dance. My mate ran off with another man; I have an escaped prisoner from my dungeon. Even one request for me to hunt down a runaway omega suspected of stealing from her Alpha.
Blah, blah, blah. I have heard this and so much more all before. Until I get about halfway through, the rest of the messages are from none other than hemorrhoid on my asswhole Lycan Ian Steel. This is interesting.
They start with, "Nick, I have a job, call me." They end up with. "Nick? Where the hell are you?! I found Harley."
That had old Zeek piping a different tune! Though we have never met her face-to-face, my wolf has been smitten with Harley from afar throughout most of her adolescence, waiting for her to get her wolf. Then one day, she just disappeared. We were both saddened and relieved.
The best thing that ever happened to her was escaping from Ian; he was the lowest viable life form. I can't imagine what he wants with her, but I know it's as dirty as he is. I swore this was the one person I would never hunt for Ian.
'Nick, we must go after her! If you don't, he will send someone else who may hurt her.'
A humorless chuckle escaped me. 'I am a bounty hunter, Zeek. I hurt people for a living.'
'You were a bounty hunter,' he stated matter-of-factly. 'You won't hurt Harley, and we could make this last job count.'
I hear a car engine outside. Since no one is supposed to know I am home, I pick up my revolver before answering the knock on my door. It is my sister-in-law, Delilah. Who was just as dangerous to my health as anyone else who would look for me unannounced! She sashays into my living room and drops the overcoat, revealing her naked form to me.
"Did you miss me, Big Bad Wolf?" She purrs as she steps towards me.
Raising my hands to stop her, I take a step back. "No, Delilah, I haven't missed you. I already told you, this isn't happening. It should never have happened." I cross my arms over my chest. "Put your coat back on."
"I will tell Sean!" she threatened.
I crossed the room and opened the door. "If that's what you feel, do that; be my guest, but I will remind you, Delilah, you have far more to lose than I do."