Page 9 of Jacob

He knew it was ridiculous to feel this way.It wasn’t like he wanted to find a job as an engineer or something like that.He’d be fine with working at a coffee shop or something like that.He just wanted a job that made him feel like he was accomplishing something, and being a guard for the pride didn’t make him feel like that anymore.It hadn’t in a while.

But it was easier to focus on what he knew he could do rather than on learning new skills.He felt too old to do that, even though he wasn’t.He had plenty of time to find a new job and learn how to be good at it.

He just had to let go of the comfortable past he was still living in.

So what could he do?Or maybe, what did he want to do?He should probably start with that, since the answer to what he could do wasnothing.Drake had mentioned using the skills he already had as a guard, but he didn’t think anyone in town needed a bodyguard.That didn’t mean that he couldn’t find something else.Taylor was a deputy, and he seemed to enjoy his job.If being a deputy didn’t appeal to Jacob, maybe he could look into becoming a firefighter.It would allow him to help people, too.

Both jobs scared him because he knew how much he’d have to learn before he was allowed to do them.He felt like no matter how hard he tried, he would never manage that.

That wouldn’t stop him from trying.Hell, if he failed, he knew that Gal would take him back as a guard for the pride.Gal was supportive of every single pride member.He would push Jacob to get what he wanted, but if Jacob failed, he’d always have the pride to rely on.That was more than most people could say.He realized how lucky he was.

Once, he hadn’t felt lucky to be part of this pride.Alpha Carter was long gone, though, and he was nothing more than a bad memory.

Jacob finished his round around the house and huffed.He hadn’t found or seen anything.He hadn’t even smelled anything.Like he’d thought initially, this patrol had been for nothing.

Staying out here would be useless, so he decided to go back inside.Maybe he could check the camera feeds.He’d watched the recordings to see if he could find anything from the day Drake had visited, but whoever the shifter was, they hadn’t come close enough to be able to see them on CCTV.That didn’t mean they hadn’t visited before or after.Even though watching the feed would be boring as hell, it was better than doing nothing.

Jacob trudged back inside through the back door into the kitchen.He noticed the gate opening as he stepped in, but he didn’t think anything of it.People came and went these days.There were no restrictions on who could leave the house and when anymore.

He stopped by the fridge to get something to drink, then made his way to the small security room.It was tucked behind the stairs, just feet away from the entrance.

He had to walk past the front door to get there, which he would have done anyway because of the level of noise coming from there.It sounded like people had gathered, which didn’t make sense.Why would everyone be in the entrance instead of the living room or kitchen?

He was surprised when he found almost ten people gathered by the front door.They were talking excitedly, and Jacob felt like he was missing something.As a guard, it was his job to know what was happening around the house.

“What’s going on?”he asked no one in particular.

“It’s the sheriff,” Lisa said with a grin.

That didn’t tell Jacob much.“What do you mean?”

“He’s here with Taylor.They’re meeting Gal.”

That made sense.Jacob heard about a new sheriff from Taylor.Taylor liked the man, which hopefully meant that he’d be a good sheriff, unlike the one who had been in charge before him.Jacob had never met him, though.

He eyed the small crowd waiting for the poor guy.As much as Jacob wanted to meet him and possibly ask him about a job, now probably wasn’t the best moment to do so.The visit would be overwhelming enough as it was without adding Jacob’s questions to it.

“Why are you so excited to see the sheriff?”he asked.“The man works in town.If you want to see him, you can visit the station.”

Lisa shrugged.“I don’t know.I saw him from afar a few times, and I’m curious about him.He’s here, so why shouldn’t I try talking to him?”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t.I just think it’s kind of weird.”It was almost as if the sheriff was a celebrity or something, which was ridiculous.

When Jacob heard voices on the other side of the front door, he knew he had to leave.Taylor would tease him until the end of time if he found him in the crowd waiting for his boss.

Lisa’s attention had moved to the front door again, so Jacob slipped into the hallway and reached the security room.

He wasn’t surprised to see it was empty.It was what he expected.None of the other guards took their job seriously, and he couldn’t blame them.Most of them were older and only had a few years before they retired.The same couldn’t be said about Jacob.He flopped into the chair in front of the screens and sighed.

He really needed to start thinking about what he wanted to do with his life.He’d never even enjoyed being a guard, for fuck’s sake.He’d been chosen to be one, but he hadn’t had a say in it.Alpha Carter had decided what everyone in the pride did.

Maybe that was the scary part.It had been easy to follow orders, but it was much more complicated for Jacob to make his own decisions because he’d be the only one to blame if he failed.Even knowing that he’d always have the support of the pride didn’t help as much as he wished it did.

But he didn’t have a choice.He couldn’t do this for the rest of his life, which meant he’d have to stop hiding behind this job.

The thought was terrifying.

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