Reckless Regrets
Chapter 36

Kade

It didn’t take me long to get back to the border post, and thankfully, Steven and Kevin were on guard and doing their jobs like they were supposed to be. When they saw Simon and me walking towards them, they straightened up and stood at attention.

“How are the patrols going, gentlemen?” Simon asked.

“They are good, Beta. We’ve checked in with the other three posts, and all is quiet. Shift change is coming up, and we will stay behind to make sure the transition is smooth,” the one I remembered as Kevin proudly stated.

“So, you do know how to do your jobs; you’ve just not been doing it? Why is that?” I asked.

They looked at one another then back to Simon and me. Neither one of us spoke; I was ready to have a tense and quiet stare down for as long as it took to get answers.

“Our pack has never had any real enemies, and over time the need for tight security became less and less of a priority. The Alpha-”

Simon cut Steven off mid-sentence.

“This is your Alpha now, not Bill Thorne. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Beta.”

We waited and allowed him to continue.

“The old Alpha didn’t seem to push the issue with us too much; he seemed content with the way things were.”

I sighed and looked at Simon. Technically, this was on him too, but the fact that Thorne didn’t care was complete bullshit. But that was old news.

“When’s the last time you saw Thorne?” I asked, confusing them both.

“Yesterday morning. We didn’t see when he was escorted off the territory though; we were here on patrol,” Kevin stated.

“Where were you yesterday when you saw him?”

They looked at each other again, trying to figure out how to answer. I saw Steven’s eyes cloud over for a second and laughed when I realized he was trying to link someone with me standing right in front of him. I loudly clapped my hands in front of his face, breaking his concentration and stopping the link before it was fully established.

“You can’t be that stupid, can you? I see you; I’m right here! Why would you need to link anyone to answer a simple question?”

“I needed to know if it was alright to tell you,” he replied.

“Who were you linking?” Simon asked.

“The Alpha, I mean the old Alpha.”

He really was an idiot.

“Steven, listen carefully, okay? Any loyalties you had to Thorne are out the window now. If I ask you something, you answer. You don’t check with him or anyone else; this is my pack now, I’m in charge. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Are you sure? I can explain it again if you’re still a little confused.”

“I’m sure, I understand.”

“Good. So, back to my question: Where were you when you saw Thorne yesterday?”

“At the packhouse. The old Alpha asked us to help him with Marisol.”

Now we were getting somewhere.

“Help how?”

“He said she was disloyal and needed to go away. She was hurting the pack, so we needed to help him make sure everyone was safe.”

“What about Gabby?” I asked.

“He said she was a casualty,” Kevin chimed in.

Simon growled next to me, making the idiots take a cautious step back.

“Where is my daughter?”

Neither said a word; they just hung their heads and occasionally glanced up in my direction.

“Answer the question!” I yelled.

“They’ve been sent to The Badlands, Alpha.”

The look on Simon’s face hearing this told me that I probably didn’t want to know, but I asked anyway.

“What in the hell is The Badlands?”

***

After we locked the i***t brothers down in the cells, Simon and I went back to my office to try and figure out what the hell was happening. I’d never heard of The Badlands, but it seemed pretty evident that this place was no Disneyland. He slumped down on the sofa and held his head, and I had no idea what to do.

“What did I miss? You guys replace anything out?” Tyson looked over from my desk and asked.

“Have you ever heard of The Badlands?”

Tyson scrunched his face and slowly began to shake his head. It looked like he was thinking of something that did not bring him joy.

“Please don’t tell me that that’s where the girls are. Please.”

“It’s what the guys who were helping Thorne said. It seems that he’s sent more than a few wolves there over the years when they became a threat to him.”

“It’s hell on earth, Kade. I can’t believe someone would send their child, let alone anyone who wasn’t a crazed psychopath.”

“Can you explain to me what this place is? I’m at a complete loss,” I admitted.

Tyson sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“It’s bad. Beta, this is your daughter, and I don’t know if you’re going to want to hear this,” he warned Simon.

“Just tell us. I need to know as much as I can if I’m going to get Gabriella back.”

Tyson then nodded his head and spoke.

“It’s basically a third-world grade, maximum security, private prison for supernaturals. The place has wolves, bears, vamps, angels, demons, fairies, everybody. Because it’s privately run and encompasses all supernaturals, it isn’t governed by any one set of laws.

Neither the Elder Council, The Grand Order, nor the High Vampire Coven can interfere with Badland business. If you have the cash or clout, you can have someone locked up for the rest of their lives, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it.

Conditions are deplorable, and from the stories I heard back in my working days, the women have it the worst. They get passed around until they break down and lose all hope, then eventually give up.”

Simon began to cry silently, and I knew that there was nothing I could do to console him, nothing I could say would make this any better for him. So I let him have his moment.

“How do we get them out?” I asked.

“That’s the thing. We can’t. Only the person who sent them in can get them out. And the cost for release is double what they paid to lock them up in the first place.”

“Okay, so we break them out. Is that possible?”

“f**k no. It’s protected by all types of black magic to keep the prisoners in and keep everyone else out. It’s impossible.”

“So, we have to get Thorne, the son of a b***h who started all this s**t, to have a change of heart somehow and get the girls out? And who’s going to pay for that? This pack is in the worst debt I’ve ever seen!”

“I don’t know how you’re going to get it done, but that’s the only way,” Tyson solemnly stated.

“Please, Alpha, we have to try whatever we can. I can’t leave her there; Gabriella does not deserve this. She’s a good and sweet girl, please,” he begged.

“Marisol doesn’t deserve it either. She’s a brat for sure, but she’s a decent person underneath it all. Besides, she’s only in this mess because I asked for her help getting Thorne’s confession,” I said.

“So, what do you want to do?” Tyson asked.

I looked over to Simon, who seemed to be dying from grief before my eyes. The fact that his oldest friend would betray him this way was devastating. So, I knew that he would have no problem with the plan Xander and I had been working on this entire time. It was time to fill him in.

“Let’s call our Alpha and see where we go from here.”

***

I had Xander gather Matt and Alexi in his office before I told him what was going on. We needed all hands on deck for this; our entire team had to figure this out. Once everyone took their seats in front of the camera, I began.

“Xan, what do you know about The Badlands?”

Looking at both Alexi and Matt, neither had any idea what I was talking about. But it was clear Xander did.

“I know enough. All alphas, clan leaders, coven masters, or anyone in the leadership position of a supernatural group know about that place.”

“So you’ve known that this f****d up prison existed, and you never told the rest of us?” I asked.

“That’s correct. As alpha, there is a lot of f****d up s**t I know that you guys don’t. It’s my job to hold on to those secrets, only sharing them when absolutely necessary. This position isn’t all fun and games.”

I’d been an alpha less than twenty-four hours, so I was well aware of how factual that statement was.

“Well, we have a major problem. Thorne sent Marisol and Gabby there,” I stated.

He stared at the screen, and I could only imagine the different scenarios playing through his head.

“Sorry to interrupt here, but could someone please explain to Alexi and I what this place is?” Matt asked.

Xander gave them the Cliff’s Notes version, which thankfully was not as harsh as Tyson’s description. I didn’t think Simon could handle any more graphic details.

“Holy s**t. Who would send their child to a place like that? Their own daughter,” Alexi said, clearly disgusted. The three of them were fathers to daughters, the hate and anger that radiated through the screen at the idea that a man could throw away his little girl like this was palpable.

“That’s not all; apparently, he is the only person who can get them back out. But the elders have him, I’ve got his pack, we have no idea how much it will cost to get the girls out, and he has nothing else to lose. I don’t see any reason why he would help us,” I added.

“Offer him his freedom,” Matt nonchalantly said.

“I mustn’t have heard you right. Thorne killed my mother and who knows how many other wolves over nothing. He deserves to die, not go free,” I yelled.

“I know what he deserves, but what other choice is there? And besides, I said we ‘offer’ him his freedom, not give it to him,” he replied with a smile.

Simon moved closer to the computer, intrigued and drawn in by Matt’s train of thought.

“What are you thinking, Beta?” Simon asked.

“If Thorne is the only one who can get them out, he’s going to use that as leverage. Only his freedom will be incentive enough for him to do it, so we offer it and whatever else he wants, within reason, on a silver platter.

Then when the girls are free and safe, we take him out. We just need to be sure that the Elders’ investigation continues, and the charges aren’t dropped or thrown out. Just because he’s not in Elder custody doesn’t mean he’s off the hook. We’d be free to kill him after everything was over, and everyone, besides him, of course, ends up happy.”

I liked this plan. It was sneaky and underhanded but still complied with wolf law, so it was 100% allowed. We just had to get the elders to agree to let the prick out.