Reckless Regrets
Chapter 32

Kade

Marisol and I had been sneaking calls back to Blue Moon whenever we could, and I was ecstatic when I found out that Morgan had come home. It let me know that she trusted me and believed that I would come back to her. It was major and made me fall for her even more if that was even possible.

But what I wasn’t too happy about was her getting close with Cameron. I had a feeling that she was doing it because she believed he was my son, but what would happen when everything was revealed? I didn’t want her or him to form a connection that would inevitably be severed once Thorne was gone, and Marisol and Nate were free to live their lives in peace.

Xander assured me that Morgan was keeping things with the little guy light, besides him claiming “dibs” on her, and that was more than appreciated. It would make things easier; I didn’t want either of them hurt, and this seemed to be the best way to make sure of it.

It had been raining non-stop for the last three days, and the sun had finally come out, so I took the opportunity to go for a walk, after which I ended up on the porch swing. Marisol seemed to have had the same idea because she was also outside, but when she saw me, she smiled and skipped happily over to where I was.

“You’re still pissed off with me, remember. No skipping and absolutely no smiling,” I told her.

She nodded her head then sat down next to me.

“I was getting tired of the rain. And with both Cam and Nate being gone, it was becoming so depressing. This sunshine was needed.”

“Your mood seems to be a little too good to give all the credit to the sunshine. Did you talk with Nate?”

“I did! He sounds so happy; it’s like he’s becoming a new man there. I’ve never heard him like this, it’s weird,” she told me.

“He’s being treated like a wolf and a man and not a faceless machine. It would make anyone happy.”

“When this is all over, that’s what I want for my pack. Things need to change here, and I’ll make sure they do. I’m not going to be a selfish Luna.”

I wanted to tell her that she wouldn’t Luna, Alaia would, but I held that close to the chest. There was no way she would continue to work with me once she found out that Xander was positioning himself to take over.

“Things will be different. Everyone has seen the wrong way to run a pack and the right way to do it; I don’t see things going back.”

She nodded and smiled.

“You guys really train every day? Before the sun even comes up? That’s insane.”

“Maybe, but we also rarely lose a battle. To be honest, we rarely have battles, but when we do, we’re confident of the outcome.”

“I think that’s what he’s enjoying the most. Getting stronger and having the feeling that he can protect Cameron or me if he ever needed to; I know he’s always been self-conscious about his size and his lack of fighting skills. So, getting to train with wolves of your caliber has been heaven for him. I don’t know what he’s enjoying more actually, training, or the sweets that Cameron keeps talking Morgan into making. He says she’s an incredible baker.”

“She’s a professional pastry chef, so yeah, incredible is an understatement. Everything she touches is perfect. She’s working on opening a bakery soon, or she was before all this happened.”

“Maybe one day I’ll get to try something of hers. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks again, the guys are basically on vacation while we deal with s**t here, and it’s thanks to you and Alpha Black.”

“f**k off, Marisol! Nate and Cam are probably enjoying every minute away from all your bitching and whining. I have to admit I’m jealous. Maybe I can get asylum from your mouth,” I yelled.

She looked so confused. I almost laughed until Thorne walked up and sighed behind her.

“When will you two get over this? Cameron is fine; if anything happens to him, it’s war, so chill out. I have an idea that you may want to consider, maybe wedding planning might help take your minds off things,” he suggested.

“You can’t be serious! My child is hundreds of miles away from me, and my pack is under investigation for s**t I don’t know anything about. This pack is my son’s legacy, and it’s getting dragged through the mud! I’m not marrying anybody until Cameron is back home, and everything is back to normal,” Marisol stated.

“We may not have time for that, Marisol. We need to transition-.”

He stopped mid-sentence and looked at me.

“Kaden, could we talk in private, please? There are things the investigation has revealed that need to be discussed.”

“Sure. I’m done here anyway,” I replied as I stood up.

Thorne stood up and walked away, and I shot Mari a wink and smile before I too disappeared into the house. I guess it was time for him to start sharing his secrets.

***

“I’m going to cut to the chase; we need to move the Alpha ceremony up ASAP. If I’m no longer alpha, then the investigation goes away.”

There was a real sense of urgency here, on his part. I was happy to stretch this out for as long as I could. Besides, I loved watching him sweat, and he still needed to pay for what he did to my mother. So, I was going to take my time.

“What’s your idea of ASAP? Isn’t my becoming alpha, contingent upon me marrying Marisol? How can I be alpha before that even happens?”

“Don’t bullshit me. I can make anyone Alpha as long as an elder oversees the ceremony. The wedding can take place afterward.”

“I see two issues with that. Number one, what elder will oversee the ceremony knowing you have an active investigation against you, and number two, what motivation will I have to marry Marisol if I’ve already got the pack?”

“Loophole. The transfer of power was in play before this current investigation began; we’re just seeing it through. And I believe you’re a man of your word, and you will do everything in your power to make sure your son is alright. Marrying his mother and legitimizing his existence would be a part of that, wouldn’t it?”

Decent answers, I had to give him that.

“What are you hiding? From where I’m standing, I can agree to hold the ceremony tomorrow or next month; I get the pack either way. So, what is it that you’re trying to keep hidden, and why should I help you do it?”

“Who says I’m trying to hide anything? I’ve been Alpha much longer than most, and I’m tired. I’m ready to retire, and having to deal with this bullshit investigation is draining the last bit of patience I have left in me.”

“You don’t need patience for retirement, so that’s not any real motivation. As soon as you step down, I have three hundred wolves to care for. If I’m going to rush into that, it’s going to be for a reason. So, you can either tell me what it is or let Lewis replace out. I don’t have a preference one way or the other.”

“Whatever I did before you arrived is none of your concern; you just need to focus on the future of the pack, not it’s past. Now, if you don’t want to cooperate and assist me in this, it’s fine. But don’t expect me to trust you and divulge confidential pack information to you when you’ve given me nothing to motivate me to do so,” Thorne angrily stated.

“As I said, either you tell me, and I help you get out of the hole you’ve dug yourself into, or you keep quiet and let the elders replace out. Telling me might cause some shame and embarrassment, but the alternative is death if it’s as bad as the rumors I’ve heard. So, it’s your choice, retirement, or death. Once you figure that out, let me know; or don’t. Just stop wasting my time.”

He didn’t like my answer or the fact that I wasn’t bending over backward to take the heat for him. But that was never going to happen. And he was selfish; it was the number one thing I’d noticed about him, so I knew he would eventually crack if it provided him even the smallest way out.

Maybe I would try a different approach.

“You said that there were things the investigation had revealed that we needed to discuss. What kinds of things, and what could I possibly do about them?”

These were his words, he lured me in here under the pretense of telling me something, and I was all ears. After he weighed the pros and cons of actually opening up to me, he sighed and finally opened a bit.

“There are allegations of abuse against the omegas, and Lewis has collected testimony and photographic evidence to support the claims. Before you turn your nose up at me, know this; the ‘abuse’ was more like discipline. For me to run this pack smoothly, I need disciplined workers who aren’t lazy. Laziness is a luxury we wolves do not have, and the omegas needed to understand that. If they suffered a bruise or broken bone here and there, it was all in the name of progress,” he explained.

“So, you beat your lower-level pack members. Women and children too? Is that why they are all so skittish around higher-level wolves?”

“As I clearly stated, they are disciplined. And no one is exempt; if they misstep, they are swiftly and firmly put back in their place.”

“You are aware that ‘discipline’ as you call it is ‘abuse’ to everyone else. It doesn’t matter if its physical, mental, emotional, or s****l; it’s still wrong and against the law.”

“f**k the law! The law doesn’t have to manage a pack with such a weak bloodline! For generations, our ranked members have been cheated by the Moon Goddess and gotten trash for mates. My mate was an omega who was too weak to handle childbirth and died.

My mother was a Gamma, but not a strong one. We have been trying for years to position ourselves in a fashion that will level the playing field, if only just a little bit, only to get more and more omega and bullshit weakling matings! So, excuse me if I’m taking the garbage I was given and trying to make the best of it.”

“You can’t control who your mate is, that’s not the way it works. If the Goddess wants an Alpha with an Omega, it’s for a reason. At my old pack-.”

“Don’t you dare bring them up now. Your Luna is an amethyst wolf and the daughter of an Alpha. Your current Beta held the title of Gamma when all along, he was an alpha himself. The Bear is a descendant of the original family; your pack is bursting with power, and it only grows stronger with each new generation. Blue Moon has been unfairly blessed for years, and its time for that to be over.”

I don’t think he meant to say the last part out loud, but when he realized that he did, he looked over and plastered on a fake smile.

“Excuse my outburst. I’ve just had a long stressful day, and the whole ordeal with Alpha Black is causing me to hold some animosity.”

“Animosity, huh? That’s what we’re calling it now? It sounds like you’ve f****d up running this pack, and now you’re looking for someone to blame for it. Xavier nor Xander made you treat your members like s**t; you did that all by yourself, so don’t sit here and make excuses. You are an a*****e, and you know it. So, own it. Then I could at least respect you for embracing who you are.”

I stood up and walked out of the office, pissed. Thorne continued to act like he wasn’t painted into a corner and that he had the upper hand; that he wasn’t going to go down for all the dirt he’d done. He had no hand, just me, and I was waiting for the perfect time to end him. I guess he needed more pressure, and I had just the thing.

I pulled out my phone and shot Xander a quick text.

Let’s move on phase two. Thorne still thinks he can talk his way out of this, so let’s turn up the heat on him.

I tucked the phone back in my pocket and smiled. I didn’t need to wait for a response; I knew Xander would do what needed to be done. And Thorne was about to have a f*****g heart attack.