Reckless Regrets
Chapter 68

Kade

“Xander, don’t play with me right now, not today. Where is he?” I asked.

“Does it look like I’m f*****g playing with you? You can let Morgan know right now, or we can try to figure out what the hell is going on before you stress her out. You make that decision, but I’ve got to go speak to Henry and get this search started.”

It didn’t look like he was playing at all, but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t still hoping that this was one big joke. It seemed like every time we solved one problem, another even bigger one cropped up, and we were continually putting out fires, no pun intended.

As much as I didn’t want to worry Morgan, I also knew that she was just as invested in Cameron as I was, and she would never forgive me if I kept her out of the loop; I had to tell her. I walked back over to where she was standing with the twins, putting a French braid in Rose’s hair. She was so happy, and I hated knowing that I was about to destroy that, but I didn’t have a choice.

“Morgan, baby, can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked.

When she heard me address her by her name, she immediately froze, and once again, I was internally kicking myself for my approach. So I tried to smooth it over quickly.

“I promise it’s nothing that can’t be fixed, I just want to let you know about it now,” I said as I took her hand. Morgan still looked skeptical, but she nodded then leaned over Rose’s shoulder.

“I’ll be right back, sweetie. Then you can finish telling me about this boyfriend of yours.”

“She does not have a boyfriend. I don’t know how many times I have to say it, but I don’t have the time to go into that right now. Let’s step into the backyard, Sugar.”

I gave Morgan’s hand a reassuring squeeze and began to weave between the noise and bodies until we reached the fresh air of the back porch.

“What’s wrong? And don’t try to sugar coat it because of the baby; that will stress me out more. Just tell me straight up, we’ve always been straight up with each other,” Morgan stated.

From the very beginning, we didn’t mince words. We put the truth out there and let the other person process and accept it however they saw fit.

“Someone has taken Cameron; we don’t know who has him or where he is. Xander has started the search, but I needed to tell you before I joined in.”

Morgan stared in my direction, but it looked like she was looking through me rather than at me. She furiously chewed on her l*p, and her breathing became labored; she was a few seconds from a panic attack. I pulled her to my chest and began to rub soothing circles on her back.

Bean, I need you on the back porch now. Morgan isn’t doing too well and could use a song.

A few seconds later, a frazzled looking Alaia burst through the back door and rushed over to us.

“Is it the baby? Why haven’t you called the doctor? Wait, have you called the doctor?”

Before I could answer any questions, Alaia finally looked at Morgan, who was at this point, hyperventilating.

“You need to explain this when I’m done,” she looked at me and said.

Alaia took my place and wrapped her arms around Morgan, who now had tears streaming down her face as she gasped for air. I knew the extent of Bean’s powers, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous. I needed both Morgan and the baby to be alright, and nothing about this current situation was okay. My entire family was in danger, and I was helpless.

When the song ended, Morgan’s breathing went back to normal as she gently cried on Alaia’s shoulder.

“Shh, it’s alright, honey. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out. We’ve got this,” Alaia gently cooed.

What the hell is going on, Kade? She shouldn’t still be this upset after the song. Her heart is breaking. What happened?

Someone has kidnapped Cameron. I don’t have details yet; you’ll have to get them from Xan, but I had to tell her, I couldn’t leave her in the dark.

Took him from the house? And on your wedding day? I can’t believe it, but I’ll take care of her, go replace your little boy.

“I’m going to bring our son home. I promise you. Do you trust me, Morgan?” I took her face in my hands, so she had to look me in the eye. The tears never stopped flowing, even though I could see Alaia was still holding her hand, and her eyes were still purple. Even with the strength of her powers, it wasn’t enough to stop the hurt flowing through my wife.

“I trust you, but clearly, we can’t trust whoever took Cameron. We don’t know their intentions, and we don’t know if he’s hurt or hungry. And it hurts so much, Kade.”

“I know it does, baby. But we have to believe that he’s alright. He’s a smart and strong little guy; he can sweet-talk his way into anything, so I know he’ll stay safe until I get to him.”

Morgan broke down again, and as I hugged her tight, I could see how drained Alaia was becoming. I nodded to her, letting her know that she could stop; the only thing that would fix this was Cameron’s chubby little face running through the door.

Taylor, sweetie, could you come to the back porch? Cameron’s been taken, and Morgan is understandably taking it pretty hard.

Oh, my god! I’m coming now.

When Taylor came through the door, she ran over to Morgan, and I took a step back to allow the ladies space to try and offer her any comfort they could.

“Go, we’ve got her,” Taylor looked over to me and said.

I turned and pushed my way back inside, where a few pack members were still assembled talking to one another. I didn’t want to be rude, they were here to celebrate Morgan and my wedding, but I didn’t have time to talk. I needed to replace Xander.

Xan, what’s the status, and where are you? I’m coming your way now.

We’ve still got nothing, but Henry and his team have spread out across the territory looking for any trace of Cameron. Come up to his bedroom; maybe you can replace something that we’re missing.

After Nate went back to Oregon, we moved Cameron onto the third floor with the rest of us. It was only meant as a temporary arrangement since he was so close with Morgan, but after the fire, it became evident that the move was meant to be.

When I walked in, I saw that whoever had taken him had done so in a rush. His toys were all over the floor, and there were pieces of clothing hanging out of the drawers. This was a spur of the moment job, not thought out at all.

Xander and Tyson were looking under the bed and out the small window next to the bed. I didn’t know if they were looking for clues or Cameron, but at least we were looking.

“Has anyone found anything up here?” I asked.

“Before we jump into that, how is Morgan? I assume you told her,” Xander said.

“Not good. Alaia was able to get her to calm down a bit, but she’s a wreck. If we don’t replace Cameron, I don’t think she’ll ever recover; he’s already got her heart,” I responded.

“I can’t imagine why you two are going through; if you replace that you need to take a step back, do it. Heightened emotions are probably the reason all of this is going on in the first place, and we don’t need anymore, making things worse. Understand?”

“I understand. So, back to my question. Has anyone found anything up here?”

“I’m not picking up any scents that shouldn’t be here. Not that I ever questioned it, but I don’t think a stranger took Cameron. They would never have been able to make it onto our territory undetected, let alone get into the house to steal a child,” Tyson said.

“This is like Drew all over again. There one second, gone the next without a trace. But it can’t be vamps, right? We don’t have any beef with them right now, and if they wanted to start a war, this would not be the way to go about it,” I thought out loud.

“The smoke left behind when a vampire shimmers has a scent; it’s unmistakable. So unless they shimmered in and out in the hall or something weird like that, no one besides trusted pack members has been in this room,” Tyson replied.

“Trusted members. Who’s missing? Xander asked aloud.

“Uhh, besides Cam? No one. Everyone is downstairs in the dining hall or back yard,” I stated.

I could see the gears turning in Xander’s head while he tried to think this through.

“Who linked you and told you Cameron was taken?” Tyson asked.

“Michelle did. She was doing her rounds in all the kid’s rooms, and when she came here, Cameron was missing, and the place was a mess,” Xander replied.

Michelle was one of the five nannies we had on rotation to look after the little ones when we had something going on. Between our core group, there were eight children, including Cameron, and the baby Morgan was carrying would make nine, so we needed a ton of help to keep everyone alive and sane.

“Cameron might just be the neatest kid I’ve ever seen, and I’ve never seen his room like this, so I can understand the suspicion,” I stated.

“Lockdown the house, we’re checking all five floors, room by room,” Xander commanded. It seemed a bit like overkill, but if it found my child sooner, it would get done.

I sent out a link to the house security team and let them know that no one was allowed in or out of the packhouse unless cleared by a ranked member, then made my way to the basement. Cameron would have no business coming down to the cells, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be down here. Thankfully, we rarely had the need for guests in this part of the house, so if he had wandered down, there was a minimal chance he could get hurt since the entire area was currently unoccupied.

Matt met me, and we began to unlock and check every square inch of the basement and came up completely empty, which was expected.

“Maybe we should check the cottage he shared with Nate? Cameron could have missed it and went back to reminisce,” Matt suggested.

“Nah, the omegas are there, remember?”

We went to the first floor where everyone had been packed into the conference room, allowing us the opportunity to search with no interruptions, and still nothing.

“How many places can a kid be? Like, is this just a really f****d up game of hide and seek? If so, not telling everyone that we’re playing is really uncool,” I complained.

“I doubt it. Kids suck at hide and seek. I can clearly hear Genesis giggling and see her standing behind the lamp when we play; I doubt Cameron could be too much more advanced than that,” Matt replied.

Xander and Tyson came down the stairs and shook their head, letting me know that they too had nothing.

“Alexi is at the southern border with Henry, and so far they’ve picked up a faint scent of Cam, but nothing strong enough to follow. The-”

“Damn it! I can’t believe this s**t,” Matt mumbled next to me.

“What? What’s going on,” I turned and asked.

He turned his phone in our direction and frowned. “Text message from Luca; he’s got Gabby at his condo…and she has Cameron.”

“How did I not notice that she was missing?! We welcome her into our home, and she steals my son? That b***h is going to pay,” I yelled as I made my way to the garage.

“Wait! Kade, Luca says that Cameron isn’t hurt, and he’s not afraid. Gabby is like an aunt to him,” Matt stated.

“She took him without our permission, and that’s kidnapping. I don’t give a damn who she is; she’s not getting away with it.”

Matt moved to block my path, and I took everything in me to not throw a punch. He was keeping me from my son, and he’d be fuming if I tried to do the same to him.

“I’m going to get my kid, so you can either get out of the way or get run over. It’s your choice,” I warned. I hated the thought of ever having to hurt Matt, and if I was being honest, I didn’t even know if I could beat him in a fight, but he’d feel every single punch if it came down to it, I could guarantee that.

“Let’s go get Cameron, but leave Gabby alone; just until we figure this all out. She’s still dealing with the trauma caused by The Badlands, and then her best friend gets murdered by her own father. Cameron is one of the last links to a time when everything was different. She just needs time to heal, and Luca can help her do that,” Matt pleaded.

The fact that Luca was probably at the bottom of Matt’s “favorite person” list told me that it was taking a lot for him to campaign for his little brother’s happiness like this. Luca had just found his mate, and I didn’t want to take her away from him. But taking Cameron without saying s**t was not cool, and wouldn’t go unpunished.

“She’s coming back here and going in the cells. Luc can visit if he wants, but Gabby can’t just run off with her Beta’s child, no matter how close she is to him, and think it’s okay; it’s the farthest thing from it.”

“Luc says she doesn’t know we’re on the way; she’s going to be devastated when she replaces out he ratted her out. But no more destroyed than Morgan is right now, so let’s go get them.”

We piled into the truck and took off to Jade City, where I prayed Gabby would have a good explanation for this. I knew she was hurting, but her hurt didn’t mean s**t to me compared to Morgan’s. I needed answers, and I was going to get them.