Reckless Regrets
Chapter 74

Gio

“Good afternoon, Alpha. Thank you for considering me to oversee the northern campus. I promise I won’t let you down,” I stated when I walked into Xander’s office.

“Cut the formalities, man. We grew up together; you don’t have to be so stiff with me,” he replied.

Sure, we’d grown up together, but Xander was my brother’s best friend, not mine. Even only being one year apart seemed like an eternity when the three amigos, Xander, Kade, and Matt formed; I was almost invisible as a child.

I took a seat and sat close to the edge, stiff as a board. “I’ll try to loosen up. So, did you need to go over my qualifications or credentials? I’m sure I can do anything that you need me to do, but I have no problem interviewing.”

Xander shook his head and laughed, but I didn’t think anything I’d said was funny. Maybe I was the joke; if the past six years was any indication, that was surely the case.

“Gio, will you relax? Please? Would you be more comfortable if Matt were to join us? We’re going to be working very closely together if you become Captain, and I need you to be able to talk to me freely.“

I took a deep breath and let it out. I didn’t know why I was so wound up, sure this position was a big deal, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. But at the same time, my entire life was up in the air, and nothing was making sense anymore. Maybe that was why I was bombing this meeting so majorly. While I tried to get myself together, there was a quick knock on the door before Matt walked in. He was carrying Julian with him, and I felt like s**t for interrupting his time with his family.

“What’s going on, you two?” he asked as he took a seat.

“I just want to discuss the duties that come with the Captain position, but Gio seems a little nervous, and I was hoping that having you sit in with us would make things easier on him,” Xander replied.

Matt looked over at me and frowned. Queue the big brother lecture.

“What’s the issue, Gio? You can do this job, and it’s a new start, in a new place; a clean slate. Don’t let Sasha hang over your head forever; take the first step to move on,” he told me.

“I know I can do it; there was never a doubt about that. I’m just torn at the idea of starting over. What if Sasha and I just lost the spark or something, and I’m walking away from my other half? How could I be expected to serve my pack like that?” I asked.

“Oh, cut the s**t. She’s not your mate, and you know it; there never was a spark, and if it was, it wasn’t put there by the Moon Goddess. You’re just scared, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but don’t let that fear stop you from living the rest of your life.”

I looked down at Julian, who was chewing on and drooling all over Matt’s finger, and Matt never once budged. He’d become a family man, and it was all because he’d found his true north; he’d been made whole by Taylor, so caring for their children was second nature. Whenever I thought of the idea of having a child with Sasha, it would bring me close to a panic attack, and that never sat right with me, but I always thought that I was just nervous about becoming a father. I see now that it was nerves about becoming a father to Sasha’s child. I wanted what Matt had. I wanted what all of them had, even Luca had found his destined mate, but here I was, almost twenty-five and alone. I needed to make a change.

“Okay, Xander. What do you need me to do? As I told Matt, I can leave tonight after the run and be ready first thing tomorrow morning if the project managers are ready. I found a hotel close by that I can stay at until one of the new cottages is built, then I’d plan to move in there until the packhouse is complete. You know us Stone men are true alphas, so I can take whatever you throw at me,” I proudly stated.

I slumped back in the chair and finally allowed myself to relax. It was right in time, too, because I could feel that I was on the verge of giving myself a tension headache.

“It’s about time Giovanni showed up; I was a few seconds from disowning you,” Matt said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, sure. You can leave now; I can handle this on my own,” I replied.

Matt stood up and held Julian close to my face; he gave me a gummy smile then swiped a chubby, drool covered hand across my cheek before giggling. Satisfied with the interaction, Matt placed the little guy on his shoulder and walked out of the office. Once the door closed, I looked back to Xander, who held Kleenex out to me.

“We stay covered in drool in this house. For some reason, both of your nephews like to do that, and I have no idea why,” Xander said.

“Let my mom tell it; they are just spreading their sweetness to the rest of us. She’s crazy over those kids, and I can see why. I know I’m a bit biased, but they are a good looking bunch. It’s kind of hard to be anything else though when you look at their parents,” I stated.

“I’ll have to agree with you on that. So, are you ready to get down to business?” Xander asked.

“Yes sir, let’s do this.”

***

Kade

“So, we’ve got a new Captain for the northern campus, huh?” I asked.

“That we do. He just needed a small kick in the a*s that only his big brother could provide, but I know he’s going to be great,” Xander replied.

“Nice. You can introduce Gio to everyone tonight after the run. I think it will be a good way to start things off for them since none of the northern members know who he is,” I thought aloud.

“Yeah, that’s the plan. I know they still hold biases towards Blue Moon natives, but after the run, any more of that nonsense with be dealt with by me.”

Alaia’s mass mindlink did the trick because when we walked out the back door, there were between five to six hundred pack members patiently waiting.

“So, just curious, but who is watching all the kids?” I leaned over to Xander and asked.

“We have plenty of teenaged wolves who haven’t had their first shift yet. They’re on duty tonight, but once the run is over, parents are free to return to their families if they feel the need to,” Xander replied.

“Got it. Well, let’s get this show on the road,” I said.

Morgan, Taylor, and Alaia walked out, carrying two small bundles wrapped in pristine white cloth and a box of matches. Since Nate burned in the fire, and Alaia and Xander felt that he and Marisol didn’t need to be apart ever again, Marisol’s body was buried with what remained of Nate’s ashes the day after everything when down. We took a few of their favorite items along with some sage and spruce, packaging it for this ceremony to help them cross over. The ladies stopped in the middle of the clearing, and the entire pack instinctively formed a circle around them and went down onto one knee.

“Blue Moon pack, we stand before you not as your Luna, Beta, and Gamma, but as friends, sisters, and mothers. We know what it is to love, and we know what it is to lose, and tonight, we mourn with all of you over the untimely death of Marisol Thorne and her destined mate, Nathan Crockett. We take comfort in our belief in the afterlife and know that all marked and mated pairs will spend eternity locked in each other’s embrace. We send them off to the Goddess, and pray that their spirits have safe passage,” Alaia powerfully stated.

The bundles were placed on two smooth, flat, rocks, then Morgan stepped forward and struck the first match, lighting a corner of cloth on fire. “Your time on this earth is over, but you served well, and we thank you,” she said.

“We thank you,” the pack repeated.

Next, Taylor lit her match and held it to the second bundle. “Rest well; you are forever free from pain, suffering, and heartache. Your memories and legacies will live on through every one of us.”

“Rest well,” we stated.

We quietly watched the flames burn through the fabric and the items placed within. The smoke that rose onto the air carried Marisol and Nathan with it, and it danced and swirled into the heavens. When the last flame burned out and the final puff of smoke disappeared, Xander shifted into his wolf Alastair before howling loudly into the night sky. I went next, followed by the rest of the ranked members, then the pack. Alastair howled once again, and in response, over five hundred wolves replied with howls of our own before we all took off into the woods behind our leader.

I hadn’t let Elias out in a while, and it felt incredible to feel the rush of b***d that pumped through his veins and the fresh night air that breezed across his fur. The only thing that would have made it better was to have my sugar bear running with me, but because of the baby, she was allowed not to participate. We ran for miles through the dense forest that surrounded our territory, dodging fallen trees, splashing through creeks, and strengthening our connection to not only each other but to the earth. It was a good run, and we all needed it.

When it was over, Xander led the group back to the clearing where everyone shifted back and proceeded to get dressed. There were already more people talking to one another than there had been before the run, and the judgmental looks that were so prevalent before were almost nonexistent.

Once he was dressed, Xander stepped forward and addressed the crowd.

“I know that it has been a crazy couple of months, but I’d like to think that we’ve all come out better than we went in. Forces were working to bring some of us down and keep others of us oppressed and hopeless, but we overcame, and now here we all are. Let’s not take for granted the lives of those that were lost in this fight, but let’s be thankful for the sacrifice they made so that we could thrive.

Now, I know many of you are worried about the loss of the packhouse and the thirty omegas who were left homeless, but we’ll be breaking ground on a new, but smaller, packhouse along with ten new cottages next week. I plan to build more cottages, but we only have so much space right now. With the loss of Marisol and Nate, who will be terribly missed, I’ve appointed Giovanni Stone as the new Northern Campus Captain. Gio, please step forward so they know who you are,” Xander stated.

Gio walked over to Xander’s right side and looked out over the pack. If he was nervous, he didn’t show it, and glancing over to Matt, I saw the pride that danced across his face.

“Gio is our Gamma’s younger brother, and an extraordinarily intelligent and gifted man and wolf. He is a skilled fighter, a quick thinker, and will be a compassionate yet firm leader. When you all return home, any command from Gio is to be taken as a command from me, am I understood?” Xander boomed over the crowd.

“Yes, Alpha,” they replied.

“Good. Are there any questions?”

A lone hand rose in the middle of the crowd. We couldn’t see who it belonged to, but it was clearly female.

“Yes?” Xander asked.

“I have a question, Alpha. Is the Captain single, or has he found his mate already? I don’t see a ring,” the mystery woman stated.

Xander laughed and looked to his right. “I think I’ll let you answer that for yourself,” he stated.

Gio nodded and took a small step forward. “I have not found my mate, but my primary focus will be on running the pack as efficiently as possible, not dating at this time,” he replied.

“So, you’re single. Nice.”

Catcalls and giggles rang out from a few of the unmated shewolves, making Gio chuckle and turn around, walking back to his original spot between Matt and me.

“That s**t never gets old, does it?” I asked.

“That’s where you’re wrong, it got old back in middle school, and I thought it was over. I guess breaking up with Sasha is bringing the old charm back; lucky me,” he replied with a sigh.

“So, if there are no more pack related questions, you’re all free to enjoy the barbecue that’s been prepared and get to know one another. We are all one pack now, and that makes us one family; so, deal with it,” Xander joked.

There were collective laughs and whistles from the group, making me smile. It may not have been the smoothest road, but we were finally coming together, and Xander was living his dream of running the largest pack in the country. Putting all the bullshit aside, life was good.