Reckless Regrets
Chapter 34

Kade

When Thorne was walked out of the house, I immediately pulled out my phone to call Xander. Everyone here was thrown into complete chaos, so no one paid any attention to me sneaking away to make a phone call. It took him a while, but he eventually answered, and I launched right into it.

“Xan! I didn’t think you’d get the prick detained! He just did the walk of shame in front of his entire pack; no one knows what the f**k is going on,” I stated.

“Hell yeah, I got him detained; he deserves to die for what he did to us. But one step at a time. What’s going on with the Beta there? Simon, right? You think he’ll step up since Thorne is gone?”

“To be honest, no. None of this team seems like the type to step in when times get tough. I’m just waiting for s**t to collapse, which should be any minute now.”

“Well, as soon as it does, I’m moving in. The recording is more than enough, but since I’m such a fair guy, but I’ll wait for Simon to see if he can run things. No one wants to leave hundreds of wolves in limbo, that’s a much bigger problem, so when I do make a move to take over, there shouldn’t be any resistance.”

“I’m sure Marisol will have a lot to say; she still believes that she and Nate will be running the pack when this is all over.”

“You have fun explaining the truth to her, but that pack is mine. Besides, Nate won’t be any better at running it than Thorne was. He’s a good kid, but he’s never been taught how to manage that big of a responsibility; it would be foolish even to try.”

“Very true. How is he doing? Marisol said that he seems to be enjoying himself.”

“He’s doing surprisingly well. But he’s got a long way to go. It’s hard to transition from being a selfish boy to a man, father, and possibly husband. The important thing is that he’s trying, though. He’s always talking with us about handling everything from raising the kids to arguments with our mates. He’s putting in the effort to be better, so I have hope for him.”

“I’m happy to hear it. We’ll still be in contact since we’ll be one pack, but I plan to step away for a while for Cameron’s sake. It will be tough for the little guy when he finally knows the truth, so I don’t want to hang around and make it harder for him.”

Xander laughed, making me wonder what was so funny.

“You’re going to have to fight him for Morgan. He follows her everywhere; I think he’s bonded with her more than anyone else here.”

“I’ll fight a kid, no problem,” I joked.

I heard Xander say something else, but I was distracted by a frazzled looking Simon, rushing you to me.

“Kaden, I’m sorry to interrupt your call, but I could use your assistance if you have a moment. Please,” he said.

“Let me give you a call back, something has come up here,” I told Xander.

“That was quick. Keep your eyes and ears open; we’re almost to the finish line, so don’t let up.”

“You’ve got it, Captain.”

I hung up and tucked the phone in my pocket.

“What’s up, besides the obvious?” I asked.

“I’m in unchartered territory, and I’m a bit lost as to how to proceed. I’ve never had to step in for my Alpha before,” he nervously replied.

“It’s a shock for sure. I’ve had to do it a couple of times; it’s never easy, and I was trained for it since I was a kid. No offense, but it doesn’t seem like anyone besides Thorne was equipped to run things, and even he wasn’t the best,” I honestly replied.

“None taken.”

He let out a long sigh and looked around. The pack was still in a high state of disarray, and if something wasn’t done soon to calm and reassure them, there was sure to be an uprising.

“I need your help here. I don’t know what to do; I’m not ashamed to admit it. I’m a man, and men admit their faults and shortcomings. I cannot lead this pack, at least not right now. I’ve never been shown how to do it properly, and I refuse to do them any more harm by stepping in blind.

And on top of that, my daughter is missing. She’s never left without letting me know where she would be, and I cannot replace her. I love this pack, but my daughter is my world. I need to make sure she is okay. So, I have to ask if you will take over here in the short term until I replace Gabby, things calm down, and I know enough to step back in.”

I wasn’t expecting him to hand things over to me so quickly, but I had nothing but respect for his decision. As a beta, it’s your sole purpose to step up when your alpha can’t. It’s ingrained in us since birth, so for Simon to push that aside and think of what’s best for the pack said a lot about the person he was.

Did I want this responsibility? Not at all. But as I said, it was my job to step in for my alpha. I was no longer bound to Xander by b***d by the bonds still held firm. He’d always be my alpha, and the way things were going, this pack would soon be his.

s**t.

“You’ll need to call a meeting with Gregory and an elder. Technically you are the next in line, then Gregory, so you’ll need him and the elder present to pass the pack to me. We also need to be sure that it is established that I will be an interim Alpha only. Canyon Woods is not mine; this is temporary. Then go replace Gabby, I’m sure she’s alright, but I can understand your need to make sure.”

Simon’s face showed his relief. The hard lines of worry eased up, and his shoulders relaxed. What Thorne did to this entire pack was terrible, but this poor guy seemed like he actually cared. He shouldn’t have been a voiceless statue in the corner. I feel like if he had been allowed to do his job correctly, things would have been different.

“I’ll speak to Greg right now, then see how quickly we can get an Elder here.”

“Given the situation, they’ll expedite. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t show up tonight,” I said with a sigh.

“Thank you, Kade. I know this is a lot to ask of you, especially when Canyon Woods has done nothing but turn your world upside down.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just go make the call before I change my mind.”

***

Just as I suspected, within an hour, there was an Elder here, and I was quickly and quietly sworn in as the interim Alpha of Canyon Woods. Only Simon, Gregory, the elder, and I were present; I didn’t want this to be made into a big deal. Besides, I was just a figurehead. Xander would be calling the shots getting everything aligned for the merger.

Like Simon, Greg seemed all too happy to allow me to step in, but I made it clear that their days of standing in the shadows were over. The two would need to pull their weight; they would have to start earning their titles.

This pack was small, but it was in terrible shape, and it would take a lot of work to make it viable again. If I could get started on that now, it would make things easier down the line. So, after everything was finalized and the pack was told of the change in management, I locked myself in a temporary office and began to work.

Thorne’s office was closed off like it was a crime scene. No one was allowed in unless they were from the council, and to be honest, I probably would have burned the place to the ground the first chance I got. So, this was for the best.

As I combed through the paperwork Simon brought me, I felt a migraine beginning to form. The finances were a complete joke. Thorne was in debt to at least four neighboring packs and had little to no incoming revenue to speak of. This was a mess. Could I quit on my first day? As I mulled that over, my phone rang, pulling me back.

I threw it on speaker, then went back to scanning the documents.

“This is Kade.”

“Don’t you mean Alpha Thomas?” Xander asked.

I heard cheers and whistles in the background and couldn’t help the smile. Of course, they would call, these guys wouldn’t let this moment pass, even if it weren’t as monumental as it should or could have been.

“I’m sure I’ll get nothing but ‘Alpha Thomas’ tomorrow; so tonight, I’ll be Kade. How did you guys replace out so fast?”

“Email blast. The Elders always send updates regarding new alphas, even temporary ones. How is it going so far?”

“It’s a clusterfuck. I’ll be up all night just trying to get my head wrapped around everything that needs to happen even to begin to get on track.”

“Just take it slow; start small, and don’t be afraid to delegate. Your team isn’t as good as mine, but I’m sure they can offer some help,” Xander joked.

“Don’t be surprised if I use ‘your team’; this will be all of our problems soon enough.”

“Just let me know what you need, and we’ll make it happen. Just an FYI, tomorrow Nate is taking his DNA test; the council is running it, so we won’t have to worry about any tampering. And the results from your test with Dr. Bennett will be done on Saturday. That will be the last thing we need to start the takeover.”

“I can manage five days, no problem. I’ll manage as long as I have to if it means I get to be front and center when Thorne pays with his life. When my dad finally gets closure for my mom, all of this headache will be worth it.”

“That’s the goal. I’ve got to go now; Matt and I have an international conference call to jump on but give me a ring tomorrow, and we’ll start getting everything ironed out.”

We disconnected, and I sat silently for a moment, thinking over all of the drama of this entire ordeal, so happy that it was almost over. Now I needed to talk to Marisol and begin to explain things to her. I hadn’t seen her all day and was starting to wonder what was up.

I hadn’t known her long, but this seemed out of character, especially when she knew that we were so close to things coming to a head. I prayed that she and Gabby would show up by tomorrow morning; I didn’t have the mental capacity to deal with any more shit.