Reckless Regrets
Chapter 58

Morgan

The next morning at breakfast, I silently giggled to myself when I saw how miserable Alaia and Taylor looked. I’d felt left out when the cups of punch were being passed around, but now, not so much.

“Did you ladies have a good night? I was up pretty late, making sure our guests were comfortable since the two of you were indisposed,” I said to them while sipping my juice.

“Screw you, Morgan. I feel like s**t, and while you were vacationing with Mitchell, I was left to do both of our jobs. You can handle one night of turn-down service,” Taylor grumpily replied.

I pushed a cream cheese muffin across the table at her, making her smile at me, then snatch it up. She just needed a sweet; then she’d be back to her usual bubbly self.

“It wasn’t bad if I’m honest, so there wasn’t a need for all three of us to stay up. Gabby and Marisol will both need time to process what happened to them, but knowing that they’re in a much safer pack now will help a lot,” I said.

“I have to have the sexiest sister-in-law in the world, no doubt about it. How are you this morning, gorgeous?”

I turned around and saw Luca leaning against the wall, smiling at Taylor. He loved to flirt with her, probably to piss off his brother, which seemed to be his favorite pastime.

“Luca, you’re doing too much too soon. Come sit down and eat something, flirt later,” Taylor told him then pointed to the seat next to her.

He did what he was told, and once he was settled, he smiled at me then Alaia.

“Ladies, you two look beautiful as well. So what’s new?”

I just stared at him for a second. He was so gorgeous, and as obsessed with himself as he was, I was surprised that he didn’t channel his looks into modeling or something. He had his brother’s same sun-kissed skin and golden blonde hair with perfect facial features, beautiful lips, and the biggest blue eyes. Wow.

“Did you bring your laptop? I need you to focus today if we’re going to get this logo figured out,” I told him.

“I’ve got it, and I’ve got a few ideas I’ve already put together for you. I’ll get you taken care of, I promise,” Luca replied with a smile.

The rest of the guys entered the dining room just then, and when Matt saw his little brother sitting next to Taylor, he immediately scowled at him.

“Move your a*s, you’re in my seat,” Matt rudely said.

He was always so sweet to everyone, but I guess Luca didn’t warrant that same treatment.

“Babe, don’t be like that. He’s here to help Morgan out, don’t be so mean,” Taylor replied.

“Yeah, don’t be so mean, bro. You hurt my feelings,” Luca said while scooting closer to Taylor and rubbing his arm on hers.

“You! Stop it. Move down to the end of the table; that’s the last time I stick up for you,” Taylor turned to Luca and stated.

“Aww, but gorgeous, I just want to-”

I sat and watched the scene play out before me and couldn’t help the huge smile that played across my face. Gabriella shyly walked into the dining room, and when her eyes met Luca’s, they both froze in place.

“Ohh, s**t!” Kade excitedly whispered next to me.

“Shh!” I said. I didn’t need any commentary ruining this moment.

Matt walked behind Luca, pulled him to his feet, pushed him towards the door where Gabby was still standing, then sat down and kissed Taylor on the temple.

“Was that necessary?” she asked him.

“It was. He’s been bitching for over three years about his mate, and as soon as he replaces her, he just sits like an i***t staring? This is the answer to my prayers, and the sooner he talks to her and marks her, the sooner he’ll stop annoying the s**t out of me,” Matt stated.

“Hi. Uhm, I’m Gabby,” she softly said while looking up into Luca’s face.

Like most of the men around here, he was over six feet tall, so he towered over her.

“I found you. I’ve been looking for you for years, and you just walk into the packhouse? Where did you come from, where have you been?” Luca asked her.

Remembering what she’d just gone through, Gabby paled, then turned and rushed out of the room. Poor thing.

“That’s brutal,” Matt casually said while crunching into a piece of bacon.

Taylor punched him in the ribs and frowned.

“What’s wrong with you?”

She then stood up and walked over to Luca, who looked like he was about to cry.

“Don’t worry, Luc, she’s just as excited to replace you as you are to replace her. She’s just been through a lot this past week, and she’s fragile. The ladies and I will go talk to her for you, okay?” Taylor said.

“Okay. Thank you, Taylor.”

He sat in the nearest chair and stared down into his lap.

Taylor then shot her husband the dirtiest look she could muster, making him sigh.

“I can’t even finish my breakfast?” Matt asked.

“Now! Get your a*s over here, Matthew,” Taylor demanded.

He didn’t say another word. Matt got up and walked over to his brother. “Come on, Luc. Let’s go for a walk while the ladies do their thing. Everything will be alright.”

Luca silently stood up and followed Matt out to the backyard.

“Come on, girls. Let’s go see if we can fix this, Luca and Gabby deserve to be together, and we can’t let the actions of Alpha Thorne ruin things for them,” Taylor stated.

I pouted for a second; my logo was probably not going to be too high on the priority list today. But I was all about playing matchmaker, even if the match had technically already been made. “She probably went back to her room. I’ll show you where it is,” I said.

The three of us left the dining room and headed to the second floor in hopes of figuring out how to make the wild child and the wallflower work.

***

Just as I suspected, Gabby was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees and looking pensively at the wall.

“Gabby, are you alright, honey?” I asked as I moved to sit next to her.

She turned her head to me and gave me a small smile.

“He’s so handsome. He looks just like the Beta,” she sweetly replied.

“That’s because they are brothers. The Beta is Matt, and you just met Luca. There’s even a third one named Gio; it’s a real punch to the lady parts seeing all three of them together, trust me,” Taylor joked.

Gabby laughed and blushed.

“Luca. Like Lucas?” she asked.

“No, it’s Lucenzo, actually. His mom is Italian and insanely sweet. You will love her.”

Since Taylor was probably the best person to talk to, I stood up and let her take my spot next to Gabby. I stayed close though; we’d bonded a bit last night, and I wanted her to have a friend nearby.

“Does he know what happened to me? What they made me do that first night? What if Luca doesn’t want me because I let them touch me?” Gabby asked.

I remember when Marisol explained their first few days in The Badlands to Tyson once he’d arrived. That intake exam sounded heartbreaking, degrading, and demoralizing. But Gabby’s innocence was never taken from her. Even if they “checked” her, Marisol was positive that besides emotional scars, no permanent damage was done.

“No, he doesn’t know. But if you’d like, I can ask Matt to explain it to him. And you have nothing to be ashamed of; you didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve saved yourself for him, and he’s going to appreciate that. He’s going to love you, he probably already does,” Taylor responded.

“The Moon Goddess chose me for him, but I can’t bring myself to answer his question. ‘Where have I been?’”

“How about we let the men cover that part, then would you be okay with sitting down and talking with him? I promise he’s an amazing guy, and he’s going to treat you like a queen,” I told her.

She took a deep breath and nodded her head.

“Great! Let’s go down and finish breakfast; the guys are outside, and once you’re both ready, you can replace a quiet place to get to know each other. It will be okay,” Alaia stepped up and stated. She took Gabby’s hand and gently led her out of the room.

“I want to be selfish and mourn for the fact that I’m still without a logo, but I can’t! I’m so happy for them, and I think Gabby will be the perfect person to pull Luca back down to earth. He’s constantly on ten, it’s exhausting,” I told Taylor.

“I get it. Maybe he’ll stop taunting Matt by flirting with me now. Let’s go down and see.”

***

Kade

I followed Matt and Luca to the backyard partially out of curiosity, and partly because I wanted to see if I could help. Gabby was a sweet girl with a good head on her shoulders. And the way she used to handle Marisol when she was still a b***h told me that once Gabby got to know Luca, she would have no problem getting him in line.

“How could she just walk away like that, Matt? I don’t understand; she felt the bond too. She knows that’s she’s mine. She belongs to me. What the f**k?!” Luca yelled.

“She ran because she’s fragile right now; it has nothing to do with you, and it wasn’t personal. Not everything is about you, Luc,” Matt replied.

“My mate doesn’t want me, you a*****e. That seems pretty f*****g personal,” Luca spat back.

Matt stepped up to him and growled low in his chest. Usually, I’d gladly watch them fight it out, but we had too much going on to add a sibling rivalry to the mix.

“Luca, chill out. That’s not just your brother you’re talking to; it’s your Beta. Don’t forget it. Matt, I can take over if you want,” I offered.

“Thanks, but I’ll stay. Even if my little brother is a prick, it’s still my responsibility to at least help. Otherwise, I’ll have to deal with Taylor, and I just got back on her good side.”

“Aww, was your wife holding out on you, bro? I’ve never had that problem before,” Luca said with a smirk.

“And when I first met my mate, she immediately felt safe with me rather than running in the opposite direction. Does your mate think you’re an overbearing d**k? I’ve never had that problem before.”

Hmm, this was not going well. At all.

“Alright. Luca, go sit over there and wait. I’ll come to talk to you in a minute,” I said, pointing to a nearby lawn chair. He stomped over and threw himself down like a pissed off child.

“Matt, what the hell is up with you today? Why are you so hard on him?” I asked.

“You don’t know what it’s like, Kade. Lily and Rose are angels, and they actually listen. Luca is demon spawn, and he drives me f*****g crazy.”

“It’s true that I don’t know what it’s like, but Luca’s found his mate now. That’s going to change him. Instead of making things harder for him, help him out a little. He’s spoiled and entitled, right? But now he’s going to want to get out and do better; he will work hard to give Gabby everything she wants. If this goes south, he’ll be ten times worse, I promise you. So stop being an a*****e, and let’s talk to him. Besides, with a new mate in the family, Aunt Giana will stop trying to make you and Taylor have more babies.”

I saw the lightbulb come on in Matt’s brain, and he smiled.

“That’s true. Alright, so what’s the play here?”

I just laughed and walked over to where Luca was sitting, sulking.

“There is no ‘play.’ Go be the big brother you’re supposed to be. If that won’t work, be the Beta and help two members of your pack replace happiness together. Either way, just figure it out.”

Matt rolled his eyes then gently nudged his brother’s shoulder, making Luca scoot over, so they were sharing the chair.

“Alright, Luc. A mate is a special gift, and it’s rare that they just fall into your lap without you having to put in work. None of us in this house have had easy paths to happiness, but we did the work, and we got there. Now it’s your turn,” Matt started.

“What work? What do I need to do? I’ll do whatever it takes to make her love me,” Luca replied.

“It’s not you this time, which is a shock, but the truth. Yesterday, Tyson broke Gabby and her best friend, Marisol, out of prison. Have you ever heard of The Badlands?”

Matt took his time and explained everything to Luca, from the bullshit that was going on under Thorne, to her being thrown in hell just for knowing something she shouldn’t have known, to Marisol’s sacrifice to keep Gabby pure. Luca sat silently and listened, even though I knew he wanted to do anything but that. He wanted to fight, someone had tried to hurt his mate, and he couldn’t have done anything to stop it.

“Did they touch her? Is that why she was so afraid back there?” Luca asked.

“I don’t think so, Marisol fought hard for that to not happen. But she still needs time, and you can be intense sometimes,” I chimed in.

“Fine. I want to talk to my mate. She smells like honeysuckles, did you guys smell that?” he asked.

“No, we don’t. That’s just for you, her mate, and now that will be your favorite smell. Forever,” Matt told him.

“I can live with that. Can we go back now? I miss her already. Is that weird?”

Matt laughed and stood to his feet, pulling Luca up with him.

“You’re going to feel a lot of things, and yes, they are weird. But you won’t care because it will mean you get to be with her.”

The three of us walked back to the house and entered the dining room at the same time as the ladies. Both Luca and Gabby froze when they saw each other again, and I hoped that things would go better this time around.

Luca took a breath and slowly walked over to where she was standing.

“You’re so beautiful. Can I hold your hand?” Luca asked her.

Gabby looked over at Morgan and the girls, who all gave her an encouraging nod. She then placed her hand in Luca’s and gasped when she felt the first wave of sparks.

Luca decided to try his luck and interlaced their fingers before he pulled her against his chest and wrapped his free arm around her back. When she rested her head against him, they both relaxed, and I knew then that they would be alright.

Young love, was there anything sweeter?