Reckless Regrets
Chapter 15

Kade

Ohh, I wanted to laugh so badly. The look on this kid’s face was priceless. But I had to keep up the charade, at least for now. He started stuttering and looked like he was a second from fainting, so I threw him a lifeline.

“Chill. Maybe I was wrong, I just thought I smelled her on you, but obviously, that’s not the case, right?”

“Yes, sir, that’s right.”

“Thought so. So, can you tell me where the gym is? I’m going for a run now, but I’d like to know for next time.”

When he could finally catch his breath, he gave me directions to the gym then stood waiting to see what I would do next. These omegas needed a f*****g vacation.

“What’s your name?”

“Nathan, sir.”

“When is the last time you had any time off? Or any of the staff?” I asked.

“Uhm, we get one day off a week.”

“No, I mean like a vacation. Time away.”

“Oh, never, sir. Alpha Thorne doesn’t believe in vacationing for the staff. We’re here to work, not relax.”

Just like I thought, I really did hate this place.

“That’s all going to change very soon. I’ll let you get back to your work, Nathan, but if you’re ever up to spar or work out, let me know. I wouldn’t mind the company.”

He again looked confused but nodded his head in agreement. There was definitely something going on with him and Marisol, not that I cared, but it was just another piece to the puzzle. I ran into the trees and made my way through the forest. When this place was absorbed into Blue Moon, we would have to make new maps and establish new patrol points. As Beta, it would be my job to make sure it was all done quickly and accurately. No mistakes.

Every member of our pack was necessary, new or old, so we would make sure that this territory was just as protected as the one we held in California. I ran for over five miles, and in that time, I maybe saw four or five wolves making rounds. I was going to have to ask Thorne about that.

I didn’t see any trouble starting here, they were a quiet and relevantly peaceful pack, but this was insanely unsecured. There was no way I could lay my head down every night and rest, knowing how easily they could be taken out if ambushed. When my run came to an end, I headed back to the house for a shower, then hopefully breakfast.

Back down in the dining hall, there were plenty of wolves around eating and talking.

“Take a seat at the head table, please, Mr. Kade, and I’ll have your breakfast brought over to you,” Hellen walked up to me and said.

My stomach growled at that moment, making it known just how hungry I was. I then leaned down and kissed Hellen’s wrinkled cheek.

“You’re an angel, and probably my favorite person here.”

She blushed then chuckled.

“I’m happy to hear that, sir. The table is through those doors.”

I moved in the direction she was pointing and entered the room where I’m guessing only the ranked members took their meals.

“Ah, Kaden. Here, come sit next to me, and I’ll introduce you to everyone,” Alpha Thorne stood and said.

With my presence officially announced, everyone at the table stood to their feet as I passed. I was not used to this; it was weird, and I didn’t see how Xander dealt with it every day.

“Everyone, this is Kaden Thomas; he will be your new alpha, hopefully taking over for me in the next few weeks so I can finally get a decent night’s rest,” Thorne joked.

A few weeks? He expected me to marry his daughter in a few weeks? Negative.

I was introduced to the Beta Simon and his daughter Gabriella, and the Gamma Gregory. None of them had sons, and Gregory had no children at all, so I could see now how they were so open to bringing in an outsider to take over.

It wasn’t that we didn’t believe women could be alpha, there were plenty of female alphas, but old-school by the book wolves like Thorne didn’t go for that kind of thing. And now here they were.

I took my seat, and as promised, my plate was almost immediately sat before my eyes.

I began to dig in when out of nowhere, a little ball of energy burst into the room and ran up to me.

“They said you’re my daddy. Is that true?”

He had chubby cheeks that were pink from the run, with deep blue eyes and messy curly blonde hair. This little guy was adorable, and it hurt my heart, but I couldn’t lie to him. So, I dodged the question.

“You must be Cameron. I’m Kade, it’s nice to meet you,” I said, holding my hand out to shake.

He proudly took it and smiled at me while giving me the firmest grip he could. This kid was alright.

“I like your pictures; can I have one? You must have a lot of markers to make so many colors,” he said while pointing to my arms.

“I like my pictures, too; they mean the world to me. If you could have one, what would it be of? It would have to be something you truly care about.”

He thought for a minute then smiled.

“Chocolate cake! I love chocolate cake.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. I loved the innocence of children.

“Alright, well, chocolate cake it is. Come replace me later, and we’ll get that picture put right here,” I said, pointing to his tiny bicep.

“Cool. Thanks!”

He ran off the way he came screaming at the top of his lungs about cake. Awesome.

“You’re were very good with him, I wasn’t expecting that,” Thorne said beside me.

“What were you expecting?”

“Honestly, the same ice-cold demeanor you’ve given his mother. If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t be here away from your mate. You don’t blame him?”

“He’s a child, why would I ever blame him? None of this is his fault, and I won’t treat him like it is. Besides, I love kids.”

“You’re a fascinating man Kaden. There’s more to you than you let on.”

“There is, and I take pride in the fact that not many people know the real me. It takes years of built-up trust to earn that honor.”

“I can respect that. Hopefully, one day I can become one of those people.”

Marisol came to the table and sat next to me. I wanted to ignore her, but the way she moved her chair so that our bodies were touching made that impossible. Damn her.

“I hear you’re going to give our son a tattoo? Why didn’t anyone clear this with me?”

“He likes my ‘pictures’ as he calls them and wants one of his own.”

“I guess it’s fine, but who tattoos a child?”

“An i***t,” I said, finally turning to her.

“Please tell me you didn’t think I’d actually ink a four-year-old. Markers Marisol, I’m going to draw it on with a marker.”

The look on her face told me that she really thought her son was getting a tattoo, and she’d said it was “fine.” At that moment, I felt bad for Cameron. His mother was a fool, and he was the one who was going to suffer because of it.

“Well, you should have said that in the first place,” she huffed.

I created some distance while I finished my breakfast and spoke with the others at the table. They all seemed to have a decent head on their shoulders, but I couldn’t understand why training and security weren’t more critical here. So, I asked.

“I’m curious, why do you only train your warriors once a week?”

It was Simon who answered.

“We feel that too much training will weaken the men. Muscles need time to recover and heal, and there is no training that can top real-world experience.”

For an i***t who didn’t know any better, they may have thought this was a solid answer. But I wasn’t that i***t.

“What real-world experience? If your land was to be attacked right now, what experiences are the warriors partaking in the other six days of the week that would help them successfully defend the pack?”

Simon looked to Alpha Thorne but didn’t reply. His argument was weak, but I at least hoped for a rebuttal.

“What would you suggest?” Thorne asked.

“It’s simple; they need to train six days a week. And in the mornings, when they are fresh, well-rested, and not sluggish from a heavy meal. I wouldn’t suggest moving from the current schedule to one so intense immediately, so you will need to acclimate them to it slowly. Move the once a week training to 5:00 AM, then slowly add in additional days until they reach six. Do you have a trainer?”

Simon looked embarrassed when he answered.

“We lost our trainer in a battle a couple of years ago. We’ve never replaced him.”

Oh, God. This place was a nightmare.

“Alpha, could we discuss a few of the changes I’d like to see implemented after breakfast? Coming from Blue Moon, I’m used to the pack having a certain strength behind it, and I do not see that here; that needs to change.”

Thorne looked at me and smiled.

“You are the perfect man to lead this pack, Kaden. I can’t wait to hear what you have in mind.”

If he knew what was going on in my mind, I doubt he’d be so accommodating.

***

Morgan

I woke up in the morning with a pounding headache. Probably the result of me crying myself to sleep the night before. I tried to pull myself together, but unfortunately, as soon as I crossed the pack border, the weight of reality hit. I didn’t know much about it, but I was pretty sure that this was what depression felt like.

“Morgan, stop leaking all over my new sofa. When I agreed to let you stay, I didn’t say that you could ruin the furniture,” my brother Mitchell said when he walked in the room.

I tried to plan and have an apartment in place when the results came back, but the only one I could afford would take another week before I could move in. So, I was crashing on Mitchell’s couch.

I looked up at him and into his eyes, our family eyes: one brown and one hazel. Seeing them made me hurt all over again. Kade loved my eyes.

“Get up. I made breakfast, and it’s time for you to tell me what’s going on. Let’s go.”

He snatched my blanket off and walked away, leaving me having a silent tantrum where I was lying. Mitchell was my older brother, and we were all ways extremely close. He’d always been there for me and now was no different. But he had the same matter of fact, no filter, attitude I did. It was one of my favorite traits about myself, but being on the receiving end of it wasn’t as fun.

I stomped into his small dining room and saw that the breakfast he’d made was a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. Mitchell was a professionally trained sous chef who could make damn near any dish in the world. I knew that this was an homage to our childhood. Back when we were young, and life was carefree. And I loved it.

“Sit and start talking.”

He already knew everything that had happened since Kade and I met. He understood our cousin was once the best hitman in the world, that Taylor was now a wolf, and that I was now a full bear. What he didn’t know was how Kade was taken away from me with such finality.

I ate and told him everything while he listened silently, absorbing it all. When my bowl was empty, and I’d poured out all the drama surrounding my love life, I sat back and closed my eyes.

“That’s f****d up, sis. So, what are you going to do?”

“This. I left. I’m moving on as best I can. Kade is gone, and I can’t do anything about it now; all I can do is take care of myself. That’s what I’m going to do.”

“So now you’re stupid? Did you being changed into a full-blown bear turn your brain to s**t?”

“What are you talking about? I told you there are laws. Who am I to change them?”

“You’re is mate! Do their f****d-up laws supersede the will of the Moon Goddess? She picked you for him, not that Marisol chick.”

I smiled at him.

“Since when do you know about the Moon Goddess?”

“My baby sister joined a wolf pack and got engaged to one of its leaders. I learned everything I could; I had to make sure you would be alright.”

“Well, that’s all over with, and now I go back to being celibate. It wasn’t so bad; besides, no one will ever be able to do the things that man did to my body.”

Mitchell frowned, then stood up and left the table.

“Don’t ever tell me that s**t again. That’s not my business, understand?”

“All the times I had to listen to you and your girlfriends banging on the other side of my wall when we were in high school, and now you want to be a prude?”

“That was different. Anyway, you conveniently left out the most important part of all this.”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t leave anything out.”

“Oh, really? So, the fact that you’re pregnant and trying to hide it, you didn’t leave that out?”