Reckless Regrets
Chapter 28

Marisol

“Are you going to be okay? Do you need me to ask Kade for anything for you before we go?” I asked.

“No, it’s not your job to take care of me, Mari; you’ve got this all wrong. And I’ll be fine. If not, I will go to Alpha Black myself to ask.”

“Is the house, alright? What about groceries?”

Nathan shook his head and laughed.

“I’m going to believe that you’re just worried about our son being safe and comfortable and that all this isn’t a reflection of how inept you think I am. We will be fine. This house is more than I could have asked for, and it’s fully stocked. There are plenty of toys in Cam’s room and a playground right down the path.

I won’t have to work while I’m here; I just have to attend daily training, which I’m really excited about. It’s not how I would have planned things, but I’m being forced to grow up and stop acting like a spoiled kid all the time. I’m going to take advantage of it, Mari. I want to be better. I want to be a mate you can be proud of, so when I finally mark you, you won’t ever feel any shame behind it.”

“I’m not ashamed of you, Nate, not anymore. I think I was just trying to make my father happy by doing everything he wanted me to do. At times I took it too far, but I’ve always loved you. And even though it’s just day one, I’m proud of you for stepping up and doing this. It’s major.”

“Hey Mom! Are we having a sleepover? My stuff is in that room, and it’s got a race car bed. Can I sleep there tonight?” Cameron rushed into the room, and excitedly asked.

It was then that he noticed Nate. Even though we’d walked right in together with Nate in plain view, Cameron was too busy exploring the new surroundings and took off down the hall to see what adventure awaited.

“Hi Nate, are you staying for the sleepover too? Is my dad staying?” he asked.

Nate’s face dropped, hearing Cameron refer to another man as his dad, but he powered through.

“It’s going to be just you and me for a while, kid. Your mom and dad have to go back home and get some work done,” he explained.

“Work is boring. I hate it.”

“Me and you both. So, are you hungry? I can make some mac and cheese for you.”

“That’s my favorite!”

“Good, because it’s pretty much all I know how to make.”

I watched the two of them chat about random boy things while Nate went to work on the box mac and cheese. Even if Cam thought Nate was just “mom’s friend,” they still got along really well. I couldn’t wait for the day that our family could become official, and this would be a part of our everyday routine.

I walked to Cameron and kissed the top of his head, and took a deep breath of his sweet scent. I would miss him so much, but I knew he would be safe from my father and his insanity. And I’d also miss Nate. It was a strange thought, but I was thankful that we hadn’t marked each other yet.

It’s hard to be away from your mate, but when that mate is marked, it’s almost impossible. I didn’t want to have to deal with that on top of everything else. I didn’t want to have to deal with what Kade was fighting through.

“Call me tomorrow, I want to hear all about your first day of training,” I said as I backed out of the kitchen.

“Let’s hope I survive! These wolves are massive,” he responded.

Cam didn’t register my departure, so I quickly slipped out and into the late afternoon sun, where Kade was waiting.

“Have you been waiting out here long? You could have come in; I doubt Nate would have minded,” I said as I approached.

“Just a couple of minutes. And you three deserved this time together. It’s going to be a while before you get it again.”

I looked him over as the sun danced across his colorful skin. He was a rugged type of sexy that any woman could see herself falling for. And I was positive that he knew it.

But he was also a really good guy. He never took advantage of me, even when I was shamelessly throwing myself at him, and even afterward, instead of shunning me, he decided to do all he could to help me.

And I’d gone into this entire thing with plans to look out only for myself and use him to get what I wanted, disposing of him when he was no longer useful. I hated myself for it.

“I was going to kill you. Or have someone kill you,” I blurted out.

His eyes narrowed, and I saw them darken a bit, but he didn’t speak. So, I did.

“When this all began, I had a plan—a selfish one. I wanted to be Luna, and I could only do that with you as Alpha. So, I would make you fall for me and play the perfect doting wife and partner. Maybe even get pregnant again and make you believe it was yours; we see how well that worked the first time.

Then one day, you just wouldn’t wake up. I, along with the entire pack, would mourn over the loss of our leader, and instead of passing the pack to the beta, I’d exercise my right as Luna, to name a new Alpha. That was going to be Nate. We were going to be together finally, and there would have been nothing my father could have done to block us.”

I took a break to compose my thoughts. Kade still hadn’t spoken a word, and I knew he was upset, but our relationship had taken a turn. I’d met his pack and saw what he meant to them, what they meant to him. He was a person and not a pawn. And he didn’t deserve this.

“It’s not an excuse, but I’ve been brainwashed since I was a child to believe that Blue Moon wolves were spoiled, entitled, cheats who don’t care about anyone but themselves. That’s what I expected from you when we first met, and to be honest, you lived up to it a bit. You were an a*s, but I see now that you were just protecting yourself.

I apologize for going along with all of this for as long as I did. And I’m sorry for all the calls and texts when you were trying to wrap your head around possibly losing your entire world as you knew it, and for showing up to your home, which should have been your place of peace. I’m sorry for all of it, and I hope you’ll forgive me and give me the chance to make things right.”

He looked at me for a few seconds, then turned his back and walked up the path towards the packhouse.

His legs we so much longer than mine, and his strides covered almost three times the distance, so I had to run to keep up.

“Please say something! You don’t have to forgive me now, or ever if that’s what you choose but just tell me what you’re thinking. Please don’t back out of this, I know we can make things for my pack better, but I can’t do it without your help. They deserve-”

“Don’t f*****g tell me what they deserve, Marisol. I know what they deserve, and it’s this. All of this you see around you, that we have worked so hard to build and maintain, is what they deserve. This is the life that every wolf deserves, not that bullshit you and your father subjected them to.

I knew you were a little psycho, but I didn’t think that you’d go so far as to try and kill me just to get your way but don’t worry. I’ll still help take your father down; I won’t leave that pack to suffer like you have.”

I wanted to scream and make him forgive me, but I had just divulged my plan to take his life from him, so I could understand the hostility.

“Get in the f*****g truck!” he yelled, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I hadn’t even realized that I had been rooted to my spot, staring at nothing. I ran over and slid in the backseat as quietly as I could and thought that if I didn’t annoy him, he would calm down and we could talk about this. About ten minutes into the drive Tyson, who was once again was our chauffeur, finally spoke.

“What the hell is the deal with you two? You’re acting like you just had a lovers quarrel, and now you’re giving each other the silent treatment,” he said.

Before I could respond, Kade answered.

“I guess you could say that. My lovely fiancé back there just informed me that she planned to kill me after we were married so that she could live happily ever after with her mate. So yeah, I’m a little pissed off.”

Tyson looked at me in the rear-view mirror, making me shrink down in my seat.

“Is that true?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“I used to kill people for a living, and I was the best in the world. It’s actually how I came to be a part of Blue Moon; I was hired to kill Matt, but thankfully the world had different plans. Anyway, people can change,” he said in Kade’s direction, making me breathe a sigh of relief. He was on my side.

“And I’m happy you’ve changed your mind. Because if you have any other f****d up plans that involve anyone I care about, I’ll gladly come out of retirement for one more go-round. I’ve never taken a contract on a woman, but there is a first time for everything, right? Do we understand each other?”

“Y-yes. I understand.”

“Good! Now Kade, stop being a b***h and move on. We both tried to rip each other apart before and now look at us. Everyone tries to kill you at least once in their life.”

“f**k you, you d**k.”

***

Kade

By the time Tyson dropped us off at the gas station, he’d successfully defused the bomb that was threatening to blow the second I looked at Marisol’s face. I’d never had someone plan to kill me then share their plan with me like it was a f*****g chocolate chip cookie recipe, so I had the right to be upset. And even though I didn’t say it, her happily ever after would have been more like a commercial break.

There is no way she could have killed me and lived to tell about it. As Tyson explained, none of my team would have just accepted it and walked away. She would have signed death warrants for her and anyone else in her pack who thought they could get in the way of Blue Moon’s vengeance.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, made me extremely happy. So, I let go of the anger and decided to put it behind us.

“So how are we going to play this? Cool, calm, and collected? Or distraught and broken? Whatever you choose, you’ve got to sell it,” I said to her.

“I’m in the mood for some drama, and my dad hates when I yell and scream. So that’s the way to go,” she replied with a smile.

We arrived at the house a little after 9:00 PM, and as I pulled into the garage, I sent Xander a text letting him know it was showtime.

“Alright, trouble maker, we go in there guns blazing. I need tears and snot and whatever else you can think of. Got it?”

“Let’s do this, Cowboy.”

Marisol jumped out of the truck and immediately screamed at the top of her lungs. I don’t know how she managed it in the three seconds it took her to get out, but her face was covered in tears and red blotches.

It was a masterpiece.

“This is all your f*****g fault! You were supposed to be watching him, not playing on your phone! Now our son is gone. Gone!!”

She screamed the last word so loud that it actually made me jump. Impressive.

“Don’t you dare place the blame on me. I’ve been watching Cameron since we left this morning; you haven’t done s**t,” I tossed back.

“Really?! I raised him for four years by myself, you son of a b***h; don’t you dare tell me I haven’t done anything for him.”

Marisol charged at me and began screaming, crying, and beating on my chest while I tried to push her away.

“What in the hell is going on in here? You two have woken the entire house with this nonsense,” Thorne rushed in and shouted.

“My baby! He’s gone, Daddy. I don’t know where he is, and it’s his fault,” Mari spun around and pointed in my direction.

“Maybe he thinks that if Cameron is gone, he can go back to that w***e of a mate of his,” she spat.

“Careful. You watch your god damned mouth,” I warned. This was not an act; Morgan would not be pulled into this and disrespected.

Marisol realized her error; I saw the apology in her eyes before she spun back to her father and continued.

“Please, Daddy! We need to find him; my baby needs me,” she begged.

She was clutching onto his robe, soaking him with tears, snot, and spit. Thorne looked disgusted, and I loved it.

“Calm down, and let’s go up to my office to discuss this. I need to know everything that happened today. No one takes my grandson and-”

His phone rang in his pocket right on time. Xander was nothing if not punctual.

“Why is he calling me?” he said out loud as he answered.

Marisol was now in a heap on the floor, sobbing and muttering incoherently, and her father dismissively shushed her before he spoke.

“Alpha Black, I didn’t expect to be hearing from you. What can I do for you?”

The call wasn’t on speaker, but I could still hear Xander clear as a bell.

“There’s nothing you can do; this is just a courtesy call letting you know that your grandson and his caretaker are under my protection.”

Thorne’s face turned beet red, and his eyes became black pools.

“You have Cameron? And who is this caretaker?”

“Yes, I have the child and a young omega by the name of Nathan. According to Nathan, Kaden has behaved erratically since his arrival and has shown hostility towards the boy. He fears for Cameron’s safety and his own. He claims that crimes against the pack are an everyday occurrence, so you can see why I couldn’t turn him away. The child of my former beta will always be welcome and safe in my home, and I will keep him here until I know that he will not be harmed in any way.”

“Excuse me? You cannot keep my grandson. This is kidnapping!” Thorne yelled.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Alpha. This is an investigation. I’ve launched a formal complaint citing suspicion of abuse. I hope your house is in order because, for the next thirty days, we are going to tear it apart.”

Thorne threw his phone across the room and yelled. “What the f**k is going on?! You two better explain yourselves immediately otherwise I will-”

“Stop right there,” I cut in. “Don’t threaten me, ever. Xander took my son? Claims I’m a danger to him? Fine, if that’s the game he wants to play, then we’ll play. I can tell you every dark secret that pack has, and take them down without them ever knowing what’s happening. So, we can work together on this and come out on top, or we can let the investigators find what they find and just hope for the best,” I offered.

Thorne thought over my words for a second then nodded his head.

“Come to my office, let’s talk.” He then stepped over Marisol and strode down the hall and up the stairs.

“That was beautiful! You’re a f*****g superstar,” I whispered.

“Thanks. Now it’s your turn. Don’t let me down.”

Everything was on the line now. But she had nothing to worry about; I would play Thorne and leave him holding the bag.

Literally.