Reckless Regrets
Chapter 75

Kade

The memorial and pack run was a huge success, and it was great to have the northern pack members come down and see what life was really like for Blue Moon. During the barbecue, I had someone ask me where the jewel-encrusted wine glasses were, and if they would be getting a set now that they were members. At first, I thought she was kidding, but no, she was dead serious. After I explained the truth, she looked disappointed, but accepted my answer nonetheless; they’d really been brainwashed to think that we were a bunch of wasteful, greedy, idiots with endless amounts of cash.

Anyway, a few days had passed since that night, and it was time to start rebuilding. Gio had kept his word and gone up to Oregon bright and early Friday morning, and was on a FaceTime call with us going over the schedule for the day.

“How are things so far? Any issues or things that you foresee might become issues down the line?” Xander asked.

“Everything is good so far. I’ve connected with the project manager Garret, and he should be here with the crew in the next hour or so. Everyone seems to be excited about the groundbreaking, and I’ve even had a few people come to me with some questions and concerns they’d like to have addressed,” Gio replied.

“Like what?” Matt asked.

“Disputes over property lines, employment opportunities with Black Enterprises, rules for traveling between campuses, things like that.”

“Those are all easy. Number one, there are no ‘property lines’; the land and homes are all owned by me, and they’re allowed to live there rent-free. We have plenty of pack members on a waiting list for a cottage, so they either figure the petty squabbles out or replace someplace else to live. Second, there are plenty of job opportunities; they just need to go online and apply. Being a pack member gives them an advantage, but does not guarantee employment. Third, they can come and go as they please, but I’d like most travel to wait until Tyson finishes with the biometric scans, so it doesn’t cause issues with border patrols. If they feel that they just have to cross over, just make sure they let patrols here know of their arrival before they come,” Xander quickly replied.

“Got it. I’ll pass that along this morning.”

“How are you settling in? We changed the plans a bit to have your cottage built first, before the packhouse, so you can stay on campus with the pack and be accessible if anything happens in the middle of the night. I’m sure Garret will discuss the change when he gets there,” Xander advised.

“It’s a little bit of a challenge because I try to be here the majority of the day; it’s a twenty-minute drive to and from the hotel. I’ve started arriving around 5:30 and connecting with Roberto to get a regular training schedule going; then, I spend time in the village, ensuring no one has any issues. It’s exhausting, and I’m wiped out at the end of the day, so I’ll be happy when I can be stationary and allow the pack to come to me, instead of me going to each one of them,” Gio replied.

“I understand that, which is exactly why we changed the plans around. It will take a while, but Garret has been told to do whatever needs to be done to get you set up as soon as possible,” Xander stated.

“Have the junior warriors began to train?” I asked.

“They have! Today was their first day, and we had about sixty total; boys and girls from age six up to seventeen. I spoke with Henry last night, and he let me know everything that needed to be done to get them started, and it worked out well. They all seem eager to learn, which is more I can say for the adults.”

“Old dog, new tricks; you know the saying,” Tyson stated with a laugh.

“No dog jokes, don’t think I didn’t catch that,” I replied.

“We just need the adults ‘adequate’. With the new security measures and the fact that it’s now a Blue Moon campus, the chances of it being attacked are slim to none. The junior warriors are the main priority at this point, and as they age out and join the adults, the main warriors will get stronger,” Xander cut in.

“That’s the plan. Besides that, I don’t have anything else to share. Did you want daily updates on construction?” Gio asked.

“Absolutely not. That’s what you’re there for; if Garret has an issue, he is to go to you, and you don’t need to pull me in unless it is something serious. The teams are running late, a slight delay in materials, or a building schedule change, you can handle. Failed inspections, permit issues, or the construction crew walking out; those are things to get me involved in. We’ll have a weekly call where you can share any updates you feel are pertinent. Does that work for you?” Xander asked.

“I feel like you just don’t want to look at this gorgeous face of mine every day, and it breaks my heart. But that’s fine; I’ll take care of things,” Gio replied.

“Just what I need, another smart-a*s on the team. What happened to you being just like Matt?” Xander asked.

“I have the work ethic of my older brother, with a personality almost identical to my younger brother. So, you get the responsible smart-a*s with me; our parents are so proud,” Gio stated.

I looked over to Matt, who just shrugged his shoulder. There was never a dull moment with the Stone brothers; at least one of them had to have something insane going on in their lives at all times. How their parents hadn’t lost their minds yet was beyond me.

“Get off my phone and go do something constructive. If everything goes according to plan, we’ll have a call every Monday morning, but if you need anything throughout the week, reach out to any of us, and we’ll make sure to get you taken care of,” Xander said.

“Cool. One more question, though. Is it okay for me to require the pack to say ‘Aye aye, Captain’ when responding to me? I mean, technically I am their Captain, and out of respect-”

Gio was cut off by Xander abruptly disconnecting the call. “Matt, what the hell is wrong with your brothers? They are both insane,” Tyson said.

“I don’t know. Gio and Luca have always been like that, but Gio grew up and learned when and when not to be an i***t. Luca’s still working on that part.”

“I’m just happy that Gio has finally loosened up. He wasn’t going to last long otherwise,” Xander advised.

“Well, you brought it up on the call, but I wanted to let you know that we’re ahead of schedule with the scans. My lovely wife helped me this weekend, and things moved much faster than I thought,” Tyson said.

“I thought you didn’t trust anyone to do this first step, but you,” Alexi stated.

“I didn’t, but Taylor is smart as hell, and she understands the program just as well as I do. She was there with me all the long nights when I was up designing it, so if anyone besides me can get a perfect scan, she can.”

“How long until you two are done?” Xander asked.

“The rest the census data came in yesterday, so we’re finally at 100% there. So give me until the end of the week, and we’ll have everyone loaded.”

“That’s excellent news. See? You’re not just a clumsy, idiotic bear; I don’t care what they say,” Xander replied.

“Wait…who is ‘they’?!”

“That’s it, team! You all have a good day. I’m heading into the city to the office today, so if you can’t reach me, I’m probably in a meeting,” Xander quickly replied with a smile. Payback for the dog joke Tyson cracked earlier; I knew Xan wouldn’t let it slide.

“Really funny, we’ll see what ‘they’ have to say in the sparring circle. See who’s a clumsy i***t bear then,” Tyson mumbled as he got up and walked out. It wouldn’t be a meeting if one of us didn’t walk out with an attitude, it was how we kept each other humble, and we loved it.

***

Morgan

“Babe! I’ve been looking for you, why didn’t you answer when I linked you,” I asked when I saw Kade in the hall.

“Sorry, Sugar. It was the first briefing with Gio on the northern campus, and Xander didn’t want any of us distracted. Are you alright? Why didn’t you text or call me?” Kade replied.

“I don’t know, I’ve never been blocked from linking you before, so I didn’t know how to react. Let me know next time, so I don’t freak out, okay?”

“Okay, and again, I’m sorry. So, what did you need to see me about?”

“Oh! Right! Dr. Bennett has to go out of town tomorrow and wants to know if we can do the scan today. She says that we’re still a little early, but she might be able to tell the s*x of the baby!”

I was so excited, but in my heart, I agreed with Kade and felt like we were having a girl. It would be perfect; I’d have my little princess who’d already have her big brother to look after and protect her. What could be sweeter than that?

“Did she want to see us now? I have a meeting with Henry, but I can bump it for a bit if you need me to. You know what? Let’s go; Henry can wait,” Kade replied. He took my hand and pulled me along towards the clinic, never once stopping to let me answer his question. Luckily for us, the doctor was free and waiting, but he would have been pissed off if she tried to do the scan later that afternoon instead of right that very minute.

We walked into our standard exam room and found a smiling Dr. Bennett setting up the ultrasound. “Good morning, Betas, are we ready to see that little baby?” she asked.

“Yes! I’m so excited. In ready to start buying stuff, so not knowing the s*x is driving me crazy,” I responded.

“As I said before, we’re still a little early, but we may get lucky. Hop on up, and I’ll see what we can replace.” Kade came over and lifted me onto the table and helped me get my belly exposed; it appeared he was just as excited as I was.

After a few seconds with the cold gel gunk and her rubbing the wand around, there was finally an image on the screen. “Okay, so we have the spine here, here are the little legs and arms, you can’t miss the humongous head,” she said with a chuckle, “And let’s see if I can’t get a better angle.”

She gently pushed on and massaged my belly just enough to get the baby to try and squirm out of the way.

“That won’t hurt them, will it?” Kade asked.

“Nah, the baby is perfectly safe in there, this is just a little uncomfortable, so they will move to try and replace it’s happy place again. I just need it to adjust just enough to see…ah-ha!”

She pointed to the screen and smiled. “You see that?” Dr. Bennett asked.

I squinted my eyes, and Kade leaned in as close as he could get without his nose touching the screen. “I don’t see anything, doctor. What are we missing?” he asked.

“A p***s, that’s what we’re missing. This is a little girl you’ve got here,” she proudly stated.

“I still can’t see s**t, are you sure?” Kade asked.

“Have I ever been wrong, Beta? I’m sure, and the reason you can’t see anything just proves I’m right. It’s much harder to see a v****a on a scan, but the male parts are usually clearer. There aren’t any, so this is a female,” Dr. Bennett matter of factly replied.

I squealed with delight. I was having my little girl like I wanted, and I just knew that Cameron would be the best big brother ever. Kade still stared at the screen, like he was in disbelief that it was actually happening. I grabbed his face and pulled it down to mine, kissing him on the nose.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you excited about our daughter?” I asked.

Hearing my words, he immediately smiled and kissed me on the lips. “Our daughter. I’ve never heard something sound so beautiful in my entire life, and I’m very excited,” he replied. I felt the doctor wipe the gel from my belly, but Kade and I were in our own euphoric bubble where the most important things in the world to us were our children.

“Did you want me to print a few pictures for you? This little one seems to be very photogenic,” Dr. Bennett asked.

“Yes, please. I’m ready to send out the announcements, and introduce the pack to Vanessa Faith Thomas,” I stated.

Kade slowly lifted his head and looked me in the eye. “Vanessa? You want to name her after my mom? Are you sure?” he asked.

“I’m 100% sure. Your mother made you into the man you are today, and I’ll be forever grateful to her for that. Her life was cut short, but I hope that some of her will live on in her first granddaughter. And I love the name Faith because it was my faith in you and the love we share for each other that kept me from making the biggest mistake of my life and ending this pregnancy. I’m so happy I came to my senses before it was too late; otherwise, who knows where we’d be right now. Do you like it?”

“Oh, Sugar, I love it! Thank you so much for doing this for me. I can’t even express in words how much it means to me.” Kade leaned down and kissed my exposed belly, making me giggle.

“Your daddy loves you, Vanessa, and I can’t wait for everyone to meet you. Your grandpa is going to spoil you rotten once he gets his hands on you, so get ready,” he told her.

Dr. Bennett quietly left the room, and I leaned back and watched as my husband had a full conversation with our unborn daughter. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life, and I knew that I would forever treasure it.