Reckless Regrets
Chapter 62

Marisol

Kade, I know that I have caused you so much heartache and grief, and I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to make one last request. I don’t see myself making it out of this room alive, so please make sure Cameron is alright. He’s such a sweet little boy, and he loves you and Morgan so much. Maybe this is how it was always meant to happen; why you’re the only father he’s ever known but-

I was violently pulled from my mindlink by my father, slapping me across the face as hard as he could. But he couldn’t hurt me anymore than he already had. I suffered years of being treated like I was the scum of the earth, then being thrown into that filthy prison and forced to sell my body to pay his debts, and now this. He’d taken one of the last things that mattered to me. I was so incredibly thankful that I’d left Cameron behind. He wouldn’t be hurt, and he wouldn’t see the bloodshed; he wouldn’t lose his childish innocence.

“I would ask you who you were talking to, but it won’t matter. No one will save you; the only people who care are either dead beside you or hundreds of miles away,” my father spat at me.

“How did you do this? This isn’t your pack anymore; how did you even make it onto the territory?” I asked.

“This will always be my pack, little girl. I don’t care what some young rich wolf from California or those f*****g elders say. It’s my family’s b***d, sweat, and tears that built this pack; they could never take it from me!”

“I’m sure Alpha Xander would beg to differ. So what do you want? Just kill me already, since that’s what you’re planning, right?”

My father walked across the room and took a seat in the corner. He was still naked from his earlier shift, and he didn’t care one bit. He was the center of attention, even if it was just the attention of one, and he felt like a king.

“Usually, I’m not the kind of guy to monologue. You know I always hated the movies when the bad guy decides to have a five-minute speech where they reveal all the details of their evil plan before the good guy swoops in and saves the day. But in this case, no good guys are coming, so here it is.

I gave you everything, and in exchange, all I wanted was for you to do your part to strengthen this pack. The fates seemed determined to make us weak and phase us out with subpar matings, and I was tired of it. You being paired with a ranked wolf would have been just what we needed to get some powerful, healthy b***d flowing.

But you got that i***t beside you. And even when I set things up for you to marry the f*****g Beta of Blue Moon, you still couldn’t cooperate. You still had to run back to the omega. It didn’t matter what I did for you, you always went your own way, and no one goes against me.”

“You can’t decide who I love, Dad! It didn’t matter what you did; I would always come back to Nate. We were made for each other, and now you’ve taken him away from me.”

“I did you a favor. You don’t want weak children; trust me, it would be the biggest disappointment of your life.”

I looked at the smug sense of satisfaction on his face, and I wanted to slap it off. But there was no way I could fight him. I was still recovering from the magical infection, and I wasn’t a trained fighter. Attacking my father would be a death sentence, but at this point, death would be better than listening to him talk while Nate lay beside me lifeless.

“Cameron is not weak. If all of this bullshit has taught me anything, it’s how incredible that little boy is. Nothing about him is disappointing.”

“Cameron is an Alpha; he got his strength from me, and you got lucky. The rest wouldn’t have been like him.”

My father flicked his wrist in my direction, completely disregarding my statement, feelings, and existence. Just kill me already.

“I’m guessing you used Steven and Kevin again? Those two idiots would do anything you asked; I’m sure they are probably just as loyal, even now,” I assumed.

“If there is no loyalty, then a pack is nothing. Yes, I used them, and they did everything I needed them to do. They let their Alpha-”

“You’re not their f*****g Alpha; Xander is. You were never a leader; you were just an evil old man with too much power to handle. You ran this pack into the dirt and didn’t give a s**t who suffered because of it. Don’t ever tarnish the alpha title again by claiming it for yourself. You never ever deserved it!”

I didn’t know where my outburst came from, but I meant every single word. My father was a horrible person, the exact opposite of everyone I’d grown to know and love from Blue Moon. He and Xander were not the same.

“You could never understand the pressures that come with this life, and I don’t have the time or desire to explain them to you. But no one takes what’s mine. I’ll burn this place to the ground, with every one of you traitorous wolves locked inside before I ever let Blue Moon take it from me. You know what? That’s a good idea; how about we have a nice bonfire to celebrate my return?”

As he spoke, I saw the first tendrils of white smoke creep under my bedroom door then slowly begin to fill the room. He’d set the house on fire with us both in it, but the relaxed way he sat and watched me told me that he didn’t care one bit. My father likely knew that he wasn’t leaving this place alive, and if he could take me out at the same time, that would be a bonus.

“Do you remember when you were seven, and you set your bedroom on fire playing with that stupid little oven Simon bought for your birthday? That wasn’t an accident; you just happened to make it out before my plan could play out. But there won’t be any escape today.”

Tears slid down my face as I listened to him. Who would try to kill a seven-year-old child? And with a toy? What was more innocent than a child playing with their new toy? This man was pure evil.

The smoke began to thicken, and it was becoming harder and harder to breathe. I wanted to scream and fight, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. So I pulled the blanket up over Nate’s body so that only his beautiful face was exposed. I then laid my head on his chest and looked up at him. I wished I’d appreciated him more; he deserved so much better.

I began to choke, so I shut my eyes and relaxed as best I could. My son would be taken care of; I had no doubt about that, and I’d get to live my afterlife with Nate. I could accept this.

***

Kade

“Aires, I need you to shimmer me to Oregon. Now!” I burst into the common room and boomed.

She jumped up from her spot in the chair, and I internally kicked myself for scaring her the way I did.

“Aye, Wolfie! What is wrong with you? Don’t scare me like that!” she yelled.

“I’m sorry, sweetie, I didn’t mean to. But the Oregon campus has been attacked, and I just got a mindlink from Marisol. She’s in trouble, and I need to get to her.”

Aires didn’t ask any questions. She just nodded her head and walked over to me.

“Will you let Mi Amor know that I will be back as soon as I can?” she turned to Alaia and asked.

“I’ll let him know, and I’ll make sure Isabella is looked after too. Just go.”

Aires took my hand and squeezed before everything went black, and I was sucked through the vortex then spat out on the Oregon packhouse porch. This had been my first shimmer, and I was not ready; I didn’t see how everyone else could do this without barfing.

“Deep breaths, Wolfie, it will go away in a few seconds,” Aires advised.

“I’ll be alright, don’t worry.”

I was about to direct her to Xander’s office where we’d had the good sense to stock b***d bags in his mini-fridge for times like these, when I noticed the smoke spilling from the windows, making my stomach drop.

Xander, the packhouse is on fire, man. I don’t see any flames yet, but the smoke is thick and starting to turn black.

f**k! Can Aires come back for me? If not, I’ll have to push Alastair to get us there in a couple of hours.

“Gorgeous, have you got one more shimmer in you? Xander really needs to be here right now,” I turned to Aires and said.

“I’ll need a drink, but I can do it. I’ll be right back.”

She disappeared, and I immediately ran into the house.

She’s on the way for you, Xan, but I’ve got to go in and make sure everyone gets out. I’ll see you in a few minutes.

It was pure chaos on the first floor, and I couldn’t understand why everyone was running around like idiots rather than getting the f**k out.

“What are you doing? Get out now!”

“But what about all of the-”

“Who the f**k cares? Out!!”

It seemed that they finally understood the magnitude of what was going on; everyone began to rush out the front and back doors. Just then, Xander and Aires showed up, and I took the opportunity to go replace Marisol. I knew that Xan would get everyone to safety and calm the escalating insanity.

I stormed up the stairs and tried to remember where she said she was.

I won’t make it out of this room alive.

The third floor was where Nate and Marisol would be; I remembered that from Xander’s construction plans.

When I finally made it, I saw that this was where the fire was probably concentrated. Smoke was creeping out from under all the doors except the one at the end of the hall, and everything in me told me that this was where I needed to go.

I slowly crept up to the door and placed my ear against it. I couldn’t hear anything on the other side, but my gut said Marisol was in there, so I drove my shoulder into the wood and forced it off the hinges. Walking in, the first thing I saw was the b***d-soaked blanket and Nate’s lifeless body underneath. Marisol was lying across his chest, and I had no idea if she was alive or dead.

“Kaden. I have to admit that I’m surprised to see you here. I figured that once you’d finally gotten rid of Marisol, you wouldn’t waste your time with her frivolity,” Thorne casually stated from the corner.

“Did you do this?” I asked, pointing to the bed.

“I did. I warned my daughter that if she let that boy mark her, I would kill him. She did, so I did.”

“And her? Is she alive?”

“I really don’t know or care. Marisol’s been useless since her first breath, so what difference does it really make?”

I was trying to contain my anger so that he wouldn’t know how close he was to me snatching his life from his body.

“You have a thing for taking mothers from their children, don’t you? Are you really that hateful that you can’t let a child be happy?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Nine years ago, you attacked my pack, and my mother died. I was sixteen, and my twin sisters were only three weeks old. You never paid for that day, but you will now.”

I was slowly making my way towards him, and my wolf was fighting to come out and rip him apart. He had no regard for anyone other than himself, and he didn’t see a problem with that. How he ever thought that he was a good leader was beyond me. There was nothing good about this man, and never would be.

I was finished talking to him, and I wouldn’t be waiting for tomorrow night to end this. As the smoke that was filling the room turned to flame, I decided that we’d wasted enough time talking.

“Stand the f**k up. You can even shift if you want to, but it won’t make a difference. Your life is over.”

Before he had the chance to stand, my wolf Elias had made his way to the surface and forced my shift. A small bit of fear flashed in Thorne’s eyes before I felt that first s***h of claws ripping through flesh.

I’d waited so long for this, and now it was time to have some fun.