Reagan’s POV
This time the bullets really slowed him down. The stunned look on his face at his not healing immediately after being shot was enough for me to give him a smirk. I had the warriors already taking my children downstairs as I didn't want them to see what was about to happen. Clive and two warriors phased into their wolves and attacked one of the vampires. They got him down and start ripping into him, as the other vampire tried and failed to get up to help him. Anton stepped forward and Draven screamed in frustration as he figured out that we were not quite as unprepared as he thought we were going to be. Draven pulled something from his pocket and stabbed Anton in the heart with it. Anton dropped the sword and went down onto his knees quickly because of it. I took the opportunity to shoot Draven again several more times, as he was not weakened enough.
It was clear that he was much stronger than the other Vampires in his coven were, and he saw that one of his men was almost dead, being torn apart by Clive and the warriors. They turned their focus on attacking the second vampire who was still slumped on the floor trying to get up, and they attack him too. Draven turned and leaped out of my room through the window he had entered. Cheryl grabbed Anton and helped him down to the floor asking him what to do to help him. It was clear that he was messaging the rest of his team to tell them what happened before he slumped against Cheryl as the pain of the silver stake to his heart took a heavy toll on his body. I ran to the window and kept firing on Draven, and the other two vampires who had been trying to find an entry point into my house. They gave up and ran away with Draven as they realized that we had vampires ourselves. I could hear screams ringing out from the direction that Draven ran in, and from the pack hospital, as that was closer to my home, than the pack house was. I could see the four members of Anton’s group running in to get Draven and the two running away with them. The two of them never saw it coming and I had to back away from the window in horror at the ruthless way they were killed. They literally had their heads ripped from their bodies by Dmitry and Adrik. Draven slid to a stop as he was approached by Alexei and Ivan.
I was backing away from the window when I saw Draven look back at me with anger as if I had betrayed him by calling these other vampires in for help. I can see that Alexei was going to let Ivan get a shot at Draven, as this was his first real-life fight. I thought that they needed to start him out with an easier person to fight, but Ivan surprised me. He moved so fast my eyes could not keep up with him as he stabbed Draven on his side, back, and then into his other side, before stopping in front of him. I guess my bullets did weaken Draven and slow him down. I guess it will be a fair fight. I see Raven walking over to the first man attacked and he was lying still on the floor, we knew that we needed to chop his head off. I am glad that the children were not here, but Anton stopped Raven from even attempting it.
“ Raven, you will not be strong enough to do it. It is much harder to cut off a head than you think it will be. They are working on Draven right now, Dmitry and Adrik will be here soon to take care of them” Anton told us. Cheryl looks scared for him and is holding him in her arms to try to comfort him. He looks a lot bigger than her, as he lies against her. She is still very frail, but she refused to allow the doctor to hold him. It is like she needed to do this, for both of them. Whatever the reason, we hear a sound at the door, and it is Blake, He must have heard the fighting going on and came up to check on us. He does not look pleased with seeing Cheryl holding Anton like she is. We can all tell that he wants Anton away from Cheryl as quickly as he can get him away from her.
“Cheryl, you are too weak to hold him, let me do it,” Blake said to her and got down on the floor next to her to take Anton away from her.
Cheryl glared at him and said, “No, Max already offered, and if I wouldn’t let the doctor do it, why would you think that I would let you do it? At least Max was qualified to try to take care of him.”
Blake glared at Anton who was not speaking, but clearly listening to the exchange between them. He did not move at all. He just lay there in her arms and waited for his strength to come back to him from his injury. We heard a noise outside as feet hit the roof outside my room and I lifted my gun to fire again. I lowered it as soon as I saw Dmitry and Adrik on the roof outside my window. They nodded at me and dropped into the room to come and check on Anton first. Nothing was said out loud, but they were definitely communicating with each other. Dmitry and Adrik each took one of the slain vampires over their shoulder and exited through the window again. They jumped down to the ground with the bodies on their shoulder as if they did it every day and it was a normal thing. I did not have to go to the window to know what happened. I heard the sickening sound of their heads being ripped off of their bodies and knew what had just happened. I messaged the warriors with the children to make sure that they do not go outside until we get it all cleared up. I know that the sight sickened me, and I didn’t want the children to see it. Seeing something so horrific really tends to stay with you.
I looked at Anton, who was still leaning on Cheryl, but I could tell that he wasn’t giving her his whole weight to deal with. Something was going on there, but I am going to leave it alone for the moment. Especially with Blake sitting there next to them glaring at them both. Cheryl kept her shoulder turned away from him, and continued to hold Anton against her. I couldn’t wait any longer, “Anton, could you check the other members of your team and see what the headcount is? I need to know if Raven needs to have Justin and Brandon ready to go after any of them that got away.”
Anton nodded, but never opened his eyes. A few minutes later Anton advised the room, “All 13 of them, have been killed here. Alexei is already having their remains burned. Aaron came out with Kira and Irina when they left the pack house. We will burn each of them, and scatter them to where they cannot come back. We will burn their heads separately. Alexei likes to do it that way, just to make totally sure.”
I was a little surprised that the women managed to kill two vampires against one of them, the 2 to 1 odds were tough. I then realized that was the same thing people did to me. They judged me by my appearance. They underestimated me, as well. I should have realized when they showed up, in their simple outfits that had no place for anyone to be able to grab them that they would all be a force to be reckoned with. They all looked like badass Barbies that had come to life to kick butt. I hated that I had doubted them even for a minute.
The pack had come out to check out the scene after the rouge vampires had been dealt with, with the families staying back so they didn’t have to explain what had happened to the pups. Seeing a body, without a head on it, is hard to explain to a young child. I know my children were asking a million questions as soon as they saw that the women had come back unharmed. I could scent blood on them, and I now know why they wear black. I can imagine how bloody you get ripping off the heads of the one you are fighting. I saw Dmitry and Adrik coming from the woods with two more bodies over their shoulders, and Justin and Brandon right behind them. I guess Draven had some backup that he had called for to come in to help them. One male, and one female, had been shot with the dipped arrows, and a second arrow was sent to make sure they stayed down. So Alexei and his people killed a total of 15 vampires tonight.
I shudder to think of what would have happened if I hadn’t reached out to Raven today. I know exactly what would have happened. I would have lost my shit at losing Clive. I would not have been able to manage after losing him. I would have made it my mission to hunt down every vampire I came across and kill them. I would have left my children with Aaron and just killed every vampire that I ran into until I was put out of my misery. I already know in my heart that is what would have happened. My heart was already broken from losing my mom, and then dad disowning me. If I had lost Clive on top of it, I would have gone mad from the pain of it all. My loss would have been too much for me to bear and it hits me, this was the decision that I needed to have made. It wasn’t me letting Cheryl off the hook. It was me reaching out to speak to my sister, if for no other reason than to tell her that I was sorry, and goodbye. That was exactly what I was meant to do.
In my pain and suffering, I would have drawn Aaron, and probably Blake into it too. We would have had the packs in a circle of violence as we attacked and killed vampires until we had found them all. I would have become just like dad as I got them to help me eradicate the world of all vampires. I would have used every cent that dad had made, and would ever make, just to get this done. I would have lost myself completely in doing it. I staggered a little at the realization that I would have turned my back on my children to make all the vampires pay for the act of a few. I am sickened at how close I really am to becoming Graham myself. I do not want to live like that, to be like that. I feel Clive’s arms surround me and his scent helps to calm me down. I let my tears fall as the weight of what I would have done to so many innocent people hits me. I would have been the same vicious, uncaring asshole, that Draven had been. Killing others for not being the same type of supernatural as me, so they are less important than me. His calling me a dog, hit home in his thought process against me and my kind. I called him a blood-sucker, and that was just as offensive to them. The knowledge of how vicious I still am at my core startles me. I am just like my piece of crap father. I vowed right now to make sure that I never allow myself to make that kind of choice ever again. I am not like him anymore. I will not become who I used to be. I am thankful that Clive keeps me pointed in the right direction. He keeps me going in the direction I need to go in, and I will not be looking back.
I needed Raven and Cheryl in my life for accountability. For them to hold my feet to the fire, and make sure that I was doing right, and will continue to do the right thing. I want to be a great mom to my children. One who not only takes care of her children but shows them the way to be as they grow up. To love and care for others. How to fight well, and that they need to be good brothers and sisters to each other. They may be part of the pack too, but their siblings are so important to them as well. Clive is holding me up completely now, as I cannot seem to calm down at all from what just happened. The horror of what Draven was going to do to my family, to try to destroy it like he was. To want to kill my mate right in front of my eyes. I would never have been able to come back from that. Even if he had been successful and taken me away with him, I would have bided my time, until I could have killed him. I would have plotted against him to my last breath to get him back if he had harmed my mate or my daughter like he planned to. I still cannot believe that he was mad at me like I caused his demise. He blamed me there at the end with Alexei, and Ivan as they were about to deal with him. He had the gall to turn to me like he had the right to be pissed at me. He was the whole reason for it, the whole reason that they are even here was to end his reign of terror that he had over this pack.
“Reagan, you will be fine. This was a very stressful incident. The things he said to you were absolutely horrible. You will be able to calm down soon, but I would suggest that you move your family into the other rooms in your home, until you can get your room cleaned of all the blood. I had them take the bodies outside to deal with them, so your room would not be covered in it when they removed their heads. Draven was bad, but you need to remember that you are not who you used to be. I do not think that you would have killed innocents. I think that you would have focused on killing the ones like Draven. The ones who needed to be weeded out of the garden, but I cannot see the future. I can only read minds, I just like to think that you would have realized what you were doing before you went too far with it. Luckily, we were here to help and took care of the problem. Remain calm, and let your mate soothe you. Sometimes that is all you need, is the one you love to hold you in their arms” Anton said as he stood next to me and Clive. I can tell that he is speaking about more than just me with his comment. I can see him watching Cheryl carefully. She was sitting on the ground as she is still recovering and she is still weak. Blake was on one side of her, and Max on the other. I can see that they are both stressing Cheryl out with their bickering over her.
“Thank you, Anton. I believe that you are speaking to more than just me with your message. I don’t have to be able to read minds to know that you have special feelings for Cheryl. You are such a gentle soul. I hope that you will be willing to come with us tomorrow, to visit Graham. I would like someone who can read minds present with us, as I speak to my father for the very last time. I believe that our arrival should be a shock to him, as he hates me, Raven, and Cheryl. He also hates Cole, Justin, and Brandon. He should be pretty pissed off when we get there to see him. Should be quite the show, and I know that it will be stressful for Cheryl, as he wanted her dead. I am glad that she is willing to go and see him, and let him know that he was not successful in what he wanted to happen to her, and to her son. He did hurt her, and he did break her, but she didn’t stay broken, and she rescued her son from the plans he made for him. I don’t know how it will play out for her, but I do know that I appreciated what you and your team did here. You saved my life, my mate's life, and my daughter's life. I cannot begin to pay you back for it. What I can do, is help you out though, starting in the morning. But if you ever need our help, we will be glad to give it to you” I told Anton with a smile on my face. I already knew what needed to be done here.
Blake had his chance and he almost killed Cheryl over the choices that he made. I think the doctor likes her, but he is not in love with her. I watched Anton with Cheryl. He sensed her right away. He could feel it when she watched him. His wink causing her to blush means that there is probably something there between them. Something that I think needs to be explored. I turned and gave Clive a kiss that had all the love I could give him in it. He was quick to respond in kind. I will make sure I show him how much I love and care for him tonight. But first I need to find my sister to have a little talk. I think that we need to help them out a little with this budding romance. It is almost unheard of for a werewolf, and a vampire to be together. They will need help along the way and I was thrilled to see Alexei standing with Raven, Justin, and Brandon. That does make it easier to get this done.
I asked Raven if we could speak, and she was glad to do it. The first thing I did was hug her tight. She is the very reason that I am safe, and with my family now. She spearheaded this whole thing, and her mates did it because they love and trusted her. I told her how much I loved and appreciated her, and I could see the tears in her eyes as I let her go. Then I mentioned my purpose for approaching her. The men spoke together as we all watched the bodies burn down in separate piles. They had already arranged for containers for them so their ashes could be separated and spread well away from their heads. The more the ashes were spread around in a large area, the more impossible it would be for even a powerful witch to ever bring them back from what happened.
I was glad that Raven could see what I saw too, and I told her what he had said to me. That he didn’t argue with me about me telling him that I could see he cared for Cheryl. She had also been there in the room when Cheryl held him, even in her weakened state. Raven knows how much it means to be with someone that you love, versus someone that you like. We needed to do this for them. I am sorry that Blake will be furious about this, but we need to put this in motion. First, we needed to speak to Alexei about this. His input will be the most important for us, as I do not even know if this is feasible or not. Anton was being the bigger person and stepped back because he knows that Cheryl loves Blake. She did, and she still may, but there is no coming back from what he did to her.
Six years of disrespect and abusive behavior, by the very people she worked hard to take care of. There was a real disconnect there. The fact that she came here to keep the women who betrayed her, from being killed by the vampires, showed what kind of a person she was. I don’t know if I could even have been as strong as her over this. She even had her parents, and her children, willing to speak against her too. I don’t think that is any way she will be coming back to be the Luna of the Black Moon pack again. I am not even counting the last 6 months of her stay there. I am just counting the fact that he allowed her pack, to disrespect it's Luna. To the point where she was no longer safe in her own pack, all because he was eaten up with jealousy. He had absolutely no excuse for what he did, at all. He heard her warn him, and didn't care enough to listen His choosing to listen to a man that he knew could not be trusted, instead of his own mate, was his downfall.
There was no coming back from that, I think it would be impossible. Plus, the fact that Anton, despite just having met her, was completely wrapped around her finger. Raven brought it up to Alexei, Justin, and Brandon. We all watched as Anton tried not to make it obvious that he was keeping an eye out for her, in case the men got out of hand. She was doing the same thing, and trying to not be obvious either. Every time their eyes met, she blushed, and they both looked away. But it was clear to anyone watching them that they both had an interest in each other. Not a curiosity about werewolves, or vampires, but actual interest in each other and seeing where this could lead them in the future. The problem is that they are both nice people. They will not be actively or aggressively seeking each other out. I already know that Anton wants her to be happy and willing to let her be with her mate, but if he really looked at her memories, he would see that it cannot be possible for her to go back into that situation. It would be bad for it to even happen. I am hopeful that tomorrow's visit will be one where they will all see that clearly. Because Blake needs to see the damage that he has done to her as well. I am positive that sometime during the visit tomorrow, this point ill be driven home to Blake.
A Nice Visit with Graham