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 make my boat my permanent residence.
That would do it, but it would also slowly drive me insane. All that peace and tranquility with no one other than Zeek, my wolf, to talk to would get on my nerves. We have been hunting bounties since I was 20. It was exciting for us both and easy money in the beginning.
Now, seven years later, Zeek has had his fill and reminds me every day that I am getting too old for the bullshit anymore. I tell myself the next one will be the last, but it never turns out to be. It was purposeful that I did not take a phone or computer with me on my two-week sea excursion.
'Nick, you really stink! Open the damn door already!' Zeek piped up.
'Oh yeah? Well, let's switch places, Zeek, after we've eaten a couple of pickled eggs?' I chuckled, but Zeek growled.
After unloading my bags from the car, I dropped them on the living room sofa and went into the bathroom for a shower. My wolf is right; I still smell like the cut bait I used on the boat. The first thing I noticed afterward was that the light on my answering machine was flashing. I breathe deeply, scrubbing my hand over my unshaven face as I see 30 new messages.
Zeek growls at me. 'Here we go again!'
'Like you aren't curious, what happened to my badass no-holds-bar Wolf?'
'I am not in the least interested! 'He got shot a year ago, right along with his human. Did you forget about that, Nick?!'
'No, but did you die?' I snap back.
Saying Zeek is not happy with my life choices would be an understatement. Admittedly, our 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, we would be mated, and I would hold the respectable title of Alpha for the Moon Hill pack.
'Don't start none and there won't be none, Zeek, of course I remember and don't plan on a repeat.'
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.
My sensibility tells me I'd be no good at it. How does one go from an outlaw to a husband and father? Is it even possible? For me, I wasn't so sure 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. Guess not today.
'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, so I ignore him. The first message is from my buddy and fellow hunter, Marshal, seeking a partner to accompany him to Mexico. This could be interesting.
'Don't even think about returning that call, Nick!' Zeek threatened me.
'What are you going to do about it?'
'Nothing, and that's exactly what I'll do when you're getting your ass kicked. Maybe you'd learn a lesson!'
Zeek would never do me like that. 'Whatever you need to tell yourself, Zeek.'
I continue to go through the messages with every deletion, 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.
'I told you so.' Zeek huffs smugly.
'Put a sock in it, Zeek!'
But he's right; I have heard this and so much more all before. Until I get about halfway through, this message is from none other than hemorrhoid on my asswhole Lycan Ian Steel.
The message says, "Nick, I have a job, call me."
'Oh, hell no, not for Ian, you don't, I mean it, I ain't doing it, Nick!'
'What happened to the sock, Zeek?'
I fast-forwarded through a few messages and hit play. It's still Ian. "Nick, where the hell are you? I found Harley."
That had old Zeek piping a different tune! 'Play the next message!' he insisted.
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 poof, she was gone, though the best thing that ever happened to her was escaping from Ian; he was the lowest viable life form. I swore this was the one person I would never go after for him.
The remaining five messages are a repeat of the first two. Ian sounds more frantic in each of them.
'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 come looking 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."