Reckless Regrets
Chapter 71

Morgan

I don’t know what time Kade got home, but I felt the warmth that washed over me when he finally joined me in bed. Knowing that my boys were both safe was an incredible feeling, and I was able to sink further into a deep rejuvenating night’s sleep. It was much needed.

The next morning when I woke up, I felt an arm draped across my stomach, but when I opened my eyes, no one was there. I began to panic until I lowered my eyes a few feet and landed on Cameron’s head of curly sandy blonde hair. He’d spent the night in the bed with us and found comfort by wrapping me in a hug while he slept. I don’t think I’d ever felt so special.

“Once I got him back, It was hard to take him back to his room immediately; I hope you don’t mind, Sugar,” Kade said from the bathroom door.

“I don’t mind at all. This is the best way to start this day, with both my guy’s beautiful faces to greet me.”

“Especially since one of those faces belongs to your brand new husband, right?”

I couldn’t help the squeal that escaped me. Yesterday had been a roller coaster, but the high was hands down the moment Kade and I became man and wife. Finally, this man was all mine, and no one would ever be able to take him from me again.

“Absolutely, that might just be the greatest thing to ever happen to me,” I replied. Kade walked over and slid a hand behind my head then gave me the deepest, sweetest, and most passionate k**s we’d ever shared. It stole my breath and made my heart race, and I wanted it to go on forever. But Cameron began to squirm beside me just as Kade was getting ready to round second base, making me freak out and slap my palm into his face, pushing him away.

“What the hell, Sugar? I brushed my teeth, so why am I being done so dirty this morning?” Kade asked.

“Mommy? Your tummy sounds funny. I think you might be hungry,” Cameron finally spoke.

Kade realized what was happening and replaced the shock and hurt on his face with realization. No morning nookie with a little person in the bed.

“I am hungry; what about you? What did you have for dinner?” I looked down and asked.

“Mr. Luca made some carbon lava. It wasn’t red or hot like lava, but it was really good,” Cameron replied. I must have looked confused because Kade took the opportunity to explain.

“Carbonara.”

“Ohh, got it. Well, would you like some breakfast? We can do pancakes or waffles if you want.”

“Do you know how to make Incredible Hulk pancakes? He’s my favorite Avenger,” Cameron stated.

I frowned and looked over to Kade, who laughed and walked to the closet to get dressed. This kid was really testing my skills in the kitchen, and my husband was offering no help at all.

“Uhh, I can make the pancakes green, will that work?”

“That’s amazing, mom! I love the color green!”

Cameron wrapped his arms around my waist and squeezed, making me laugh. He had big expectations, but the simplest thing would make him smile, and I loved that about him.

“Perfect. Why don’t you go to your room so you can wash your face and brush your teeth then meet me in the kitchen? We’ll make enough Incredible Hulk pancakes to feed the entire house,” I said.

“You’re a really good mommy,” Cameron replied with a smile before he jumped from the bed and ran from the room.

“I think he might be in the running for the sweetest guy in the house. Matt had better watch his back,” I said to myself.

“Matt? Don’t you think I’m sweet? You can’t be serious,” Kade replied.

“You have other qualities that are just as endearing,” I replied.

Kade crawled up the bed and settled himself between my legs. “I’m going to need you to get ready because, at some point today, I’m going to get you alone and do the filthiest, most incredible things this body of yours has ever experienced, Mrs. Thomas. I’ll let you eat first so you can fuel up, then it’s you and me.”

He ground his e******n against my crotch, and I heard myself m**n with desire. Maybe it was the fact that we were now married, but I had never wanted this man more, and I knew that the anticipation buildup from having to wait a little longer was only going to make things that much hotter.

“Pancakes!!” Cameron ran down the hall and yelled. Kade took the hint and climbed out of bed and rushed from the room, scooping Cameron into the air and tickling him all the way down to the kitchen. It seemed that this was my life now, and I didn’t see one single reason to complain.

***

“Next time I want to see Ironman pancakes, Morgan. You can’t leave the best member of the team out,” Xander said.

“Who?” I asked.

“As a boy mom, and a living breathing person with a pulse, you should really brush up on your Marvel knowledge,” he replied.

“I knew the Hulk was green, what else is there to know?” I asked.

“So much! It’s an entire universe, and it’s totally bananas,” Taylor replied.

We all sat down and enjoyed our breakfast and discussed our plans for the upcoming week. Plans for the Oregon rebuild were taking longer than expected, which irritated Xander, who wasn’t used to having to wait for anything. Alaia, being the rockstar of a wife she was, smoothly distracted him from his construction and permit woes by bringing up the memorial we’d been planning.

“The full moon is Thursday, so that’s when the memorial and pack run will be held. Does that work for you?” Alaia turned to Xander and asked.

“Thursday is good. I’d like to hear the details of everything you ladies have planned, but that can wait until the kids are gone,” he replied, momentarily glancing at Cameron, who was trying to sneak a sausage link into his nose. I smoothly removed it then wiped his sticky little face.

“Tyson and I have to go over the new border security tech he’s got for us; hopefully, we can have it installed in the next few weeks here, then in Oregon a couple of weeks after that,” Kade stated.

“Can I come too, dad? I can even bring my tablet if you need it,” Cameron offered. His tablet was only built to handle simple reading comprehension games and videos, and it definitely wouldn’t help with whatever Tyson was working on, but the fact that he wanted to help was precious.

“Sure, you can. My dad started to take me to meetings with him when I was about your age, but you’ve got to make sure you sit and listen quietly, okay?” Kade replied.

“Okay!”

I watched as Cameron copied every move Kade made, from the way he held his fork to the way he sat in his chair, and I knew then that Kade would have to always be on point with everything he did when Cameron was around. If things went the way we hoped, he would be our next beta, so he needed to get that solid foundation that his grandfather failed to provide him with now.

***

Kade

Tyson, Xander, Cameron, and I sat in my office and reviewed the new motion sensors, cameras, and dampeners he’d designed specifically for Blue Moon. They were highly sensitive and incredibly intuitive, so something like a squirrel or raccoon crossing the border wouldn’t sound any alarms, but any human or shifter who wasn’t stored in our community database would be flagged for clearance. To say it was impressive would be an understatement.

“So how does it tell who is and isn’t supposed to be here?” Xander asked.

“It’s biometrics, so the pack’s physical characteristics will be stored and used to determine their identity,” Tyson replied. “I’ll show you a quick demonstration. Cameron, will you stand up for me, please?”

Cameron happily jumped from his seat and walked over to stand in front of Tyson, who held one of his super-computer tablets and taping away on it.

“I’m going to scan your eyes and face, okay? I promise it won’t hurt,” Tyson said.

“This is so cool,” was Cameron’s reply.

A single green light shot out from the tablet that then transformed from one lone dot to a grid pattern consisting of hundreds. They danced across Cameron’s face and down to his shoulders before three loud beeps were heard.

“You’re all set, little man, and you can take your seat; thanks for your help.”

Cameron smiled at me, then went back to his chair next to Xander and watched the screen. A detailed 3-D rendering of his face popped up then the system began listing measurements and dimensions that were uniquely my son’s.

“The slope of his forehead, space between his eyes, the curve of his nose, etc. are all characteristics that go into Cameron’s biometric profile. A full scan would be 360, as we’d want to capture both ears as well as the back of the head,” Tyson advised.

“When I get big like you, won’t I look different?” Cameron asked.

Xander and Tyson both smiled down at him, and I felt nothing but pride. Not only was Cameron listening to what was going on, but he was understanding and asking questions.

“I’ve thought of that too, and we’ll just have to scan you every year until you get big like me. How does that sound?” Tyson asked.

“Oh, that sounds okay,” Cameron replied.

“Forgive his lack of enthusiasm, man. This entire thing is incredible, and it will make patrols so much easier, and cut breaches down considerably. What do you think, Xan?” I asked.

“My mind is blown; it’s perfect. How long will it take to have everyone scanned and uploaded?”

“The administrative part can take forever, but each person’s scan will only take me about five minutes to make sure we get everything and don’t have any gaps in the data. Once we’re up and running, I’ll delegate upkeep of the servers that will house everything, but I want to do the scanning and loading myself to be sure they are all perfect and untampered with. That being said, realistically, it will take a couple of months since I have other obligations outside the pack.”

“Is there anything that can be done to speed the process?” Xander asked.

“I can create and send a link out to the pack to have them fill out their basic identifying info: name, birthday, height, weight, eye color, things like that. That way, when its time for their scan, they will already be in the system, and I’ll just have to confirm what they’ve submitted, then add the biodata. That will shave a couple of weeks off,” Tyson advised.

“You can use my tablet too, it’s got Paw Patrol,” Cameron offered.

Tyson laughed and shook his head.

“Then there’s that, what can’t Paw Patrol do?” I asked.

“Cam, you hold onto that tablet for us; we may need it later on. Tyson, send the link, and I’ll make sure everyone completes it within the next few days. We’ll call it a census, which we haven’t done in a while and are well overdue for. I’m sure the ladies will help get everything clean and organized in the system, so when you come in, your job is as easy as possible,” Xander advised.

“Sounds good to me. Once we’ve got the census completed, I’ll start getting everyone scanned. I’ll move as fast as I can, but I’m a perfectionist, especially with something like this, so I’ll only move as fast as I feel comfortable going,” Tyson warned.

“I understand, and I appreciate the attention to detail. I knew you were the right man for the tech and security job,” Xander said.

“The right man? I was the only man, and got the job by default; you’re not fooling anybody,” Tyson replied with a laugh.

When we were finished, the guys left, leaving Cameron and me alone. This was his first time in my office, and he walked around and began touching things, uncovering memories of me doing the same thing twenty years ago.

“Do you like my office?” I asked him.

“It’s a big people office; you need some LEGO blocks so it won’t be so boring,” he advised.

“I’ll look into that, and thanks for the honesty. How about we get you to the playroom with the other kids where there are plenty of LEGOs; I’ve got some business to handle with Mommy.”

I walked around the desk and tossed Cameron over my shoulder as we made our way towards the sounds of crashing toys and high pitched squeals. Michelle was working this shift with another nanny named Amanda. When Michelle saw Cameron, she pulled him off my shoulder and gave him a tight hug. Cameron didn’t understand what was happening but returned the hug anyway.

“I’m so sorry, Beta, nothing like that will ever happen again,” she told me.

“It wasn’t your fault, so don’t beat yourself up. The important thing is that we got the little guy back safely and quickly,” I responded.

Cameron pulled away from their hug and rushed over to Xayden and Alex, who were stacking blocks for their train set. When I was satisfied that he was alright, I slowly crept out then ran through the house to find Morgan. She was sitting with the girls talking, and I immediately lifted her into my arms and began the walk up to our bedroom.

“I was busy. What are you doing?” Morgan asked.

“I’m carrying my wife to our bed, where I intend to spend the next few hours making love to her. Is that alright with you?” I asked.

“Yes, it sounds perfect.”