Reagan’s POV
Aaron pulled to a stop in front of the pack house steps and I have to admit I am scared that Blake is about to come unglued on me. I could see where he would be pissed off enough to do it too, and I do not want to get out of the truck. The SUV with our warriors in it pulls up behind us and stops. Aaron had brought three warriors with us to come and pick up what we were supposed to transport, and Jeremy was advised as going to be riding back to Blood Tracker with us in the truck. We usually take an SUV as well, but we are picking my mother up from the cold storage that her body has been stored in today. Aaron was going to put her in the bed of the truck for transport. Clive and Aaron get out and shake hands with Blake and I reluctantly got out of the truck too. I am dragging my feet, and I am on edge waiting for any fast moves from Blake. I almost cannot breathe I am so scared right now. I decide to make the first move, but I did not go to shake his hand. I just tell him what I wanted to say.
“Blake I am so very sorry for the horrible things that my father did to you, and Cheryl. I knew my father was not a good man, but I think he has become worse than he was before. He has never involved a child in his plans, other than what he did to Raven. I would like to apologize to you on behalf of both my mother and myself for what he has done. We had told him to drop it, and apparently, he felt the need to proceed anyway. I was not aware of what he was doing, I am sure my mother wasn’t either, until recently. She knew I didn’t want my life to be wrecked by him doing this, and yet here we are. Aaron just filled me in on what has happened here. I am sorry for the pain, and suffering, that he has put you and your family through. I wish I could fix it for you. I do not blame Cheryl at all for what she had to do to get free, as the life of her pup was on the line. My father is excellent at making plans. I am positive that he did what he is being accused of, but I would still like to hear the recording that you have. I want to make sure I get everything off my chest with him on this trip. I do not plan on coming back to Black Moon to visit him ever again. I am afraid that this visit will not be the heartfelt family moment that he thinks it is going to be. I am disappointed and ashamed of his actions. I want you to know that I did not ask for him to act on my account. My incident happened over 15 years ago. I am over it. I am in a good place. It was dad who refused to let it go. Whatever punishment you deem is necessary, I am absolutely OK with” I told Blake.
The expression he had on his face was visibly shocked and blown away by what I had just said to him. Whatever he thought I was going to say, was clearly not what just came out of my mouth. He waited a moment before he nodded at me and we headed to his office. I was more nervous with each step we took as we got closer to it. This was when my life changed, and the memories came flying back to me. I was so bold, so assured that what I was doing was a good decision. I did it because I couldn’t stand for Cheryl to be in a better position in this pack than I was. It infuriated me, as I knew without a doubt that I was the better choice for Luna. I was raised to be one and thought myself way better than Cheryl in every aspect. I came from strong Alpha stock, and she was just a Gamma. There was no real reason that she should have been chosen over me.
Well, from what I knew of her at the time. When I exited the SUV when we got here, and the group of them all stopped speaking, both dad and I thought that it was a good thing. We thought that it was because they were excited for me to be here and that they wanted me as a potential mate. I know that both dad and I were making plans from that point on for me to rise up in rank here. To see Cheryl be chosen by Blake was a complete slap in my face. I was more attractive than her, especially after Raven marred her face with that scar. I remember that Blake set the whole thing up to test us, he knew exactly what Sierra was going to do. He was watching the monitor so he could watch it play out. I was so happy that Cheryl protected me. She protected all of us, my mom, her mom, and me. She didn’t even think about it, she just did it. She had trained hard, and her father was a strong Gamma. She stepped up, and into the line of fire for us, and how did I repay her for it? I deliberately hurt her. I knew it was going to cause her pain, and I still did it anyway.
I realized that day that I needed to train too, to be able to protect myself, but I didn’t really put a lot of effort into it. I did the bare minimum. I was kicking myself for it a few months later when I got attacked, and I had no way to protect myself from them. If it happened today, things would have ended up completely different. I would have killed them both, and I wouldn't permanently bear the scars from that night. Clive trained me the bulk of the time, but Aaron helped occasionally, as did his Beta, Darren. Judy was a strong fighter and she sparred with me and gave me some great tips too. Now I am confident that I can protect not just myself, but my children as well. I was proud of that fact, even though it disappointed my father to no end.
I remember his lectures to me about it. That I should be protected, and I should never have to fight to protect myself. That it was unladylike for me to be able to fight well. He always pointed out how he always took care of my mother, and how she never had to defend herself. I wonder if she knew how to defend herself, maybe she would have shown those she-wolves that cheated with dad a lesson or two. Shown them that she was not a weak Luna, and would not allow them to touch what was hers. Because I know for a fact I would. If a she-wolf thought she was going to take Clive away from me, I would show her quickly how wrong she was. Dad had never been disappointed in me before. He was always my biggest supporter, he got me out of every bind I got myself into. I was stunned that he would be so ugly to me after I learned how to fight. He had never done anything like that to me before.
He changed after my incident. My face having those faint scars on it frustrated him. It didn't matter to him that they could be covered with makeup, and almost unnoticeable. Yet that is where his eyes went with every visit. It was almost like, now that I was not perfect anymore, he loved me less. It was a slap in my face. Mom was not happy that I had been hurt, but her love for me remained the same. It just went to show that the thing that was most important to my dad, was appearances. His love for me was now conditional because of my perceived flaws. As we entered the room, the warriors stayed in the seating area outside the door to wait for us. The door to the stairwell to the stairs down to the cells was just down the hallway from where we were. I knew after Blake spoke, that I would have to go and face my father, but I wanted to hear from his own mouth what he had done on that recording.
“Your father wanted you to be moved back here to Black Moon. He petitioned me to allow you to have a home built near his. He did want you to come back here, where he could keep an eye on you and your family to make sure that you would be kept safe. I had not met with, or spoken to you, for almost 15 years, and I just couldn’t bring myself to allow it. I will tell you that I have taken over his bank account. I see the clear change in you, and I am fine with splitting the money in the account with you. There is a total of 30 million dollars in it right now. So that would be 15 million coming to you at this time. His money gets transferred into the account with some going in there on a monthly basis, and some going in on a quarterly basis. He is your father and you are someone he would want to take care of. So each year I would split the proceeds from the year in half with you, and transfer the money into your account. I am spending some of it to cancel out Cheryl’s debt to Black Adder on the money that she cost the pack. I am also paying funds to Alpha Cole for the same reason. I do not want to scare you, but they have known for 5 days where your father, and you, are currently living” Blake started out.
I am not going to lie, everything he started out with, was overwhelming to me. I am shocked and speechless and I am glad to feel Clive’s hand reaching out to support me. I am surprised that dad wanted me here, bad enough to beg Blake to allow me, and my family to live here again. I am also in disbelief that Blake managed to gain control of my father's money. Dad loved the money, more than he loved me and mom. So I know that had to be a dagger to his heart when they told him, I don’t know if dad actually knew it or not, but the shock of that was going to hurt him. The biggest surprise came at the end of what he said. That they know exactly where I am, and what pack I am staying in. I feel the need to race back home, what if they take my children away from me? I am starting to hyperventilate, and Clive just picks me up from my chair and places me in his lap, and comforts me until I calm down. I do not know how long it took, but I knew what my first question would be.
“I do not want them to hurt my children, I will turn myself into the council. I cannot allow war to come to my door over mistakes I made in the past. Maybe I can reach out to Raven to see if she would let me go. I don’t know what to do to fix this. But money isn’t as important to me now, as it used to be to me. I don’t need it. Dad gave me like half a million, as mom insisted on him giving me money on the last two visits. The kids wanted a pool installed, and I was going to make it like I did the playground, open to the whole pack for them to use as well. So half of that money they gave me, was earmarked for that project, and to build an addition to the playground. I do not need that kind of money. I do not want to be that person again. I am ashamed of the things that I did back then, I was a spoiled and immature girl. I hurt a lot of people, and I just want to live in peace, I don’t need 15 million dollars, Blake” I told him, and I saw him give me a genuine smile this time.
“You don’t have to use it for you, though Reagan. You can use it to help secure Blood Tracker. We can share the costs of building a perimeter fence all the way around your pack. I already told Aaron that I would help him get it built. You can make improvements to areas that need it in the pack. You can start savings accounts for all of your children. That way they can always be taken care of. You can make the pool even bigger now since it is for the whole pack. You can design one with different areas, with a smaller pool for the little ones and one of those sprinkle pads for the babies. The bigger pool allows for the older kids and adults to have a deep area to play in. You have the potential to create something wonderful for the whole pack if you wanted to. After this vampire scare, I know that everyone will feel safer with a wall to prevent people from just wandering onto your land, and surprising the whole pack. I hope you will reconsider, Reagan. I will be transferring it to you anyway. You can take a trip with Clive to have a vacation together, some downtime, without the kids, and then take one with the kids. The options are unlimited for you now, and I want you to know that I see the change in you. I am sure that Raven would too. If you wanted to you could use the money to make things right, and give some of it to Raven, and the council. There is so much you could use the money for, which in the long run, is the betterment of your pack. I hope you will consider what I am saying” Blake told me, and I can see his point. I could use it to make things better for all of us.
“Thank you, Blake. I will accept it. I will discuss with Clive and Aaron where they think the best place for the money is. I know that we will all rest better with more safety features in the pack. I know I would. That perimeter fence was going to be expensive to be built, but it is also totally needed and is the most pressing matter for our pack right now. I would also like to provide for our pups, including the ones that Darren and Judy are raising. If they want to go to college or start a business of their own, I would love to provide them that opportunity to be able to do what they love in life” I told him, and his smile got even bigger. I can see that Clive and Aaron both thought that was the correct answer, as well. I am quite sure that they are already coming up with plans for it, that I didn't even know we needed. I want my children to thrive, and having this to secure their futures with was a blessing from the Goddess.
“I am glad for the protection the border fence will provide and we can do the same thing that Blake has here, with the pressure plates at the top to let us know that we need to expect a visitor in our pack land, and from which direction they are coming. I have to say that I have been jealous about that since your fence was built, Blake” Aaron said, and I could tell that Aaron was happy too. He saw that I wanted to stay there at Blood tracker, even with unlimited funds. I wanted to make it be beneficial to my fellow packmates as well. I know that he had mentioned me and Luna in the same sentence several times in the last few days. I know that he has to be missing her, as the bond between them had been strong. But he knew her flaws too. He knew that she would have been no help at all in this issue we are currently facing. Her Luna work had all been done by him, he just covered for her, but I knew he was the one doing it. She only cared about Austin, and him becoming the next Alpha. She didn't even really care for the pack. I am sure that she was just waiting on Aaron to change his mind and make Austin be announced as the Alpha heir. Knowing Eloise only then would she start caring about the pack She didn’t care as much for their daughter, as she did Austin, and was infuriated that she could not bear Aaron more children. I know that he is better off without her, but I know that despite all her bad traits, he still loved her very much. He had to, because he chose her, over his own pups. I know that he loves them, but that bond of his had not made him think clearly.
“Blake, can I listen to the recording please?” I asked him. He nodded and about 15 seconds later my dad's voice rang out into the room. There was no mistake, he can deny it all he wants, it was him on the recording. It was shocking to hear him laugh at Cheryl as she begged him to leave her son out of it. I cannot imagine how much distress and suffering she had been under, that my dad deliberately caused her. I can hear the pain in her voice, as you could tell that she didn’t want to beg him, but she did, to try to save her son. I thought that I could not be more disappointed in my dad, but I was wrong. I could be more disappointed in him, and I was. He outlined his plan to her and carried it out. Why didn’t she show Blake what was on the recording? At the end of the video, Blake told me the time and date of it and turned to phone around to show me her setting it up to record. She must have heard him coming. That was over 4 years ago, why did he just have it now? I had to ask because he could have stopped this whole thing. He could have made it right. He had plenty of opportunities to prevent the whole thing from happening. So why did it end up happening? I can see the pain written all over him as he calmed himself down before he went to answer me.
"Your father had me convinced that since she was a cheater and a liar. he told me not to believe anything that she said. She did try to play it for me, I stormed out of our room and refused to listen to it. At the time I was completely under your dad's thumb. I had it backward and thought that he was honestly trying to help me repair my relationship. He tried for 2 years to get me to cheat on Cheryl, but I refused. I loved her, and I knew that she would not forgive me if I crossed that line. So I refused to do it, and Graham took my choice away. He destroyed our relationship, I can still see that she does have love in her heart for me. I know I love her, but the hurt and pain that I caused her may have pushed her too far. She is staying with Raven, at Black Adder right now. I am trying to get on their good side with what I am planning to do. I have already sent three warriors to Blakd Adder to deliver something for Brandon, and something for Justin. I am having some shrubs delivered for Cheryl and Raven. I need her back, I will not survive without her. Your dad knew that and made plans for that as well. Plans that I know included both my Beta taking over for the interim until Forest was old enough to take over the pack. Another one with Forest just going ahead and taking over the pack. What he couldn’t plan on was the fact that Kevin was training so hard to try to earn my love. Graham never saw that coming. It messed his timeline up because I refused to cheat on Cheryl. Forest could not beat him alone or in a fair fight. Forest would have had to have others help him to kill Kevin. Graham was angry over his plan being messed up by my refusing to cheat on Cheryl. I believe that he decided to drug me as a last resort, as his plan had stalled” Blake told me and I can see dad all over this plan. It seemed like something that he would truly do.
“I am ready to speak to him. I can vouch for the fact that he will not enjoy our visit. It will not be going his way, at all. I am honestly surprised that he is still alive though. I know how you are with people who cross you” I told him.
“Yes, he was pretty surprised about it too. He wanted me to kill him, he thought that was going to be his punishment, but he is the one surprised now. He wanted it to be quick, and painless. When I told the women what my plan was for them, they all went crazy. It is a hard plan, but what they did was inexcusable. They drugged me for months, over and over again, and the punishment for what they did to me is death. They will be dying, but we are going to make their deaths work for us, as we have to kill these vampires. I cannot have my pups and pack at risk. they have killed enough wolves, we need to end it now” Blake tells us and then launches in to give us his plan.
At first, I was wondering why he was telling us here in the office when he could just tell us on the way down to the cells. I know why now they are going to hear, and scent him coming and start begging for their lives. But it is too late, he has a plan in place, and even though it is terrible, their lives will save hundreds of lives. I know that these are not the type of she-wolves to be doing something noble. They are going to be furious, and not react well to it at all. Blake has devised a plan that is so crazy it should work. He has worked hard to help us with our problems, and I appreciate it. I do not want to have to leave my children. Plus, I know that no matter what Draven said, I know in my heart that he cannot be trusted. No vampire can be, they have had hundreds of years to master and perfect their lying, and they use it to their advantage. These women are getting the death sentence that they deserved, but I shudder at the horror that will be facing them. This won’t be quick, and it won’t be painless. But Blake has this well thought out and has the measures already in place for this to be successful. Thankfully, the foliage is still in place in the trees, and the leaves haven’t fallen yet, for the most important aspect of it. I am impressed by brilliant the plan is, as it really wasn’t his problem, yet. Although, if it wasn’t dealt with quickly, it certainly could be his problem soon.
“You have got everything planned out now Blake, you didn’t before I left last night. It must have come to you quickly” Aaron said, and he sounded impressed.
“No not quickly, I just am having a very hard time sleeping, even with having Cheryl’s pillow. It has been 5 days and her scent is fading away so quickly. I came up with the rest of it while I was waiting to fall asleep” Blake told us, and I feel terrible for him. My dad did this to him, and now the whole pack could be in danger soon if Blake ends up losing it. My dad has put the safety of every pack member here at Black Moon in jeopardy and I guess I needed to go ahead and speak to him. I don’t want to see him, but I need to talk to him one last time. He needs to know how I feel about what he did, in the name of justice.
Reunited with Graham