Raven’s POV
I am very glad that Reagan pointed out the fact that Anton was interested in Cheryl to us. I wanted Cheryl to be happy, and doctor Max is nice, but I can tell that she is not as interested in him, as he is in her. That won’t work at all as a relationship cannot be all one-sided. Both parties need to be interested, and it was now painfully obvious to all of us, that both Cheryl and Anton were indeed interested in each other. They were just too nice to take the first step, as they were not sure if the other was interested in them. She was hesitant in starting a new relationship after this experience with Blake. Plus, I am sure they are both concerned about the werewolf and vampire thing too. But now that it has been pointed out, we all can see how cute they are together.
This was going to take forever if we let them do it, as they were both trying to apply the breaks to their budding romance. We all wanted them to be happy, and as quickly as possible. So as we got ready to leave this morning, we had Alexei tell Dmitry that he needed to ride with the rest of the group and let Anton ride in our vehicle with us. Cheryl was right in front of him, and I could tell that they were both excited to see that they will be riding together. Although they both tried to downplay it, I could tell that they were both happily surprised by the new seating arraignment. Max was less happy about the new arrangement, as he can see it too. I let Justin ride up front with Brandon so I could sit between the doctor and Cheryl. I also kept the conversation going too. I wanted them to get to know each other better, so I was asking a lot of questions of everyone. I tried not to make it obvious by including the doctor, and Alexei in the conversation too. I know that Anton was suspicious of my sudden interest, and was probably trying to read my mind.
I switched gears, announcing that Cheryl needed to be protected while we were here at Black Moon. It was a reminder to all, with Anton and Doctor Max both quickly agreeing to it, so they could stay with Cheryl. Alexei nodded in agreement as well. I believe that when we arrive with vampires in tow, they will be leaving us alone. But Cheryl had it bad here for numerous years. Some just cannot resist digging in on someone who was an underdog like that. Bullying behavior doesn’t just stop. As soon as they see you again, they will want to start up on you and take up where they left off. I will not allow it on my watch. I was glad that Clive and Reagan were also coming with us, as they were transporting the four women who were set to be killed back to Black Moon. I hope that Blake keeps them alive long enough for them to annoy the hell out of Graham. I will make sure that I mention that to him, to keep them alive for a while before he passes their sentences down to them.
Blake let us and the SUV that the vampires were riding in to park the SUVs in his personal garage so they could enter the packhouse without getting in the sunlight. I appreciate that he was thoughtful enough to do that. But I am sure it was because he was just not fully aware of the interest that Anton had in Cheryl just yet. I know that when he does realize it, he will no longer be willing to accept Anton inside his pack. But we will still have another hour and fifteen minutes of driving to get back to our pack, and another 15 to 20 minutes after that, as their coven was further away than our pack was. I will make sure that we drive her there so she gets as much time with Anton as we can get for them.
Alexei was much nicer about his brother being interested in Cheryl than any of us could have expected. Apparently, Anton had someone that he loved a long time ago, and she had been killed by Draven. It was part of the reason that Draven was banished. She was not either of their mates, but she was lured to Draven by all that he gave her. She was motivated by things, instead of the love and care that Anton gave her. Anton had just as much money as Draven did, it was just that he preferred someone to love him for him, not what he could give them. So she ended up with Draven, as Anton's love was not enough for her. I did not hear about what had happened to her. None of them had ever mentioned it to any of us, and we left it alone. We did not want to offend any of them over it. Anton shut himself off from the rest of them because of it. This happened over 100 years ago, and it was still a touchy subject, so we know something bad had to have happened.
The vampires hung out upstairs outside of Blake's office. It was darker over there, with no windows and a lot of dark wood paneling, but close enough to the cells for them to get downstairs to us quickly if they were needed. Cheryl had received quite a few looks, as we entered the packhouse, but with the size of our group, no one had the gall to say anything to her. At the top of the stairs, I stopped and told Max to wait upstairs. He wasn’t happy with it, and said, “I can’t go, but these two can?” He was using his finger and motioning it back and forth between Blake and Anton.
“Yes, Max, it is Blake’s pack. He is the Alpha here and it was kind of him to let us speak to Graham one last time. Anton can read minds. He is a human lie detector and we need him down there. Do not worry, we will take care of Cheryl. But she needs this closure too. The hallway down there is not that large, and there are already 10 of us going down there. It will be easier to just let us say what we need to say, and have less of an audience while doing it” I told him. I see his mouth thin out, and I could tell he wanted to argue more with me, when Brandon ended it by saying, “We will be back soon. It will be fine. We will take care of her.” Max just nodded and stepped back to go sit down.
We headed down the stairs to the cells, and I was stunned to see the large pictures of my mother hanging on the walls outside of his cell. Oh, I am sure that is going to piss him off, having to see former his mate staring back at him. Blake is really going to make Graham sorry for tearing him and Cheryl apart. Blake had gotten vicious now that he knew what Graham had done. He hasn’t even put his hands on him yet, but the pictures and the women who had been complaining all night to him would soon return, and that would be very frustrating to him. I was glad that Reagan had given me a heads-up before we got here, that Blake had put our mother's pictures up, just out of Graham's reach. It was a shock to see her after 15 years apart. Blake led us down to Graham's cell. Brandon, Justin, Clive, Alexei, and Anton all stayed back at the start of the hallway, which was about 60 feet away from us, to give us some privacy.
Graham was not happy to see Blake, but the look on his face as I stepped into view, with Cheryl right behind me, was almost comical. He was furious at us for being here. When he saw Reagan, followed by my father, Cole, he went straight to livid.
“Why did you allow them into our packland Blake? Did you bring Cole here to end me? Is that what you are playing here? Or is he picking me up to take me to the council, or to his own pack to be punished?” Graham yelled out in anger at us. When he said that, the hate in his voice was surprising to me. So I could not stop myself from calling him out on it.
“What is up with all the hate there Graham? Do you not realize that there is a common denominator in all of this? I know you have missed it, so I will go easy on you and let you know what is it. It is you, Graham, you are the problem. You are the problem for all of us. You punished me for 18 years, blaming me for your and Cassandra’s own selfish actions. I never did anything to have earned the treatment that I received. You could have done what my dad had asked you to, and given me to him as soon as I was born. But you wanted someone around for you to punish to make yourself feel better. Do you? Do you feel better now Graham? I wanted you to know that what you did is completely unconscionable, and disgusting. Do you realize how much different all our lives would have been if you had only done the right thing? How much pain and suffering could have been avoided? It was the fact that you are a vicious coward who cannot accept the blame that you earned and deserved. You caused this whole thing by taking my father’s true mate, and lying to her, just like you do to everyone. You tricked her into coming rejecting my father and leaving with you on the premise of her getting all the shiny things that she wanted. She was wrong to have made the choice to do that herself. She allowed herself to be charmed and swayed by a con man, and she got exactly what she deserved out of it. Decades in a horribly toxic relationship with a man who only cares about himself. You have ruined so many lives with your petty, selfish actions. I am glad to see that you will finally be getting your comeuppance. I am even more glad that one of your own victims will be the one to pass judgment and dispense justice to you. I cannot think of anyone that is more deserving of punishment than you” I told him, and I can feel my dad reach out for my hand to give me support.
I refuse to cry in front of this odious man. I almost wish I could be here as justice was carried out, but I honestly do not want to ever see him again. I don’t need to see it to know that Blake will do it, I am quite sure that Graham’s life is about to become his own personal hell on earth. This is it, I will never voluntarily see him again, and I will get everything off my chest today. I know things will probably take a bad turn. Graham tries to push Blake into killing him, rather than making him suffer. Graham knows that he will be getting his just desert from Blake. We can all tell that Blake is truly furious at his being led into this whole situation when it never should have even occurred in the first place.
“You already know that you will be staying here, with me, until the day you die, Graham. They were just at Blood Tracker to help with the vampire problem and wanted to stop and say hi to you on their way back through” Blake told him.
“Well, I don’t want to talk to any of these bitches. So you can just take them out of here right now. I couldn’t care less about what any of them have to say to me. Raven and Cheryl don’t mean anything to me at all. Reagan used to mean something to me, but not anymore. She chose to support Blake, and not me, so I disowned her yesterday. I wouldn’t have cared if she had been ripped apart, or taken last night by those awful bloodsuckers. What any of them want to say to me right now, does not have any bearing on me. They all got what was coming to them, and I couldn’t care less about what they have to say, or their stupid feelings. I know in my heart that I loved and took care of my chosen mate. Their implying that I was at fault for her death, simply isn’t true. Cassandra’s blood is only on Cheryl’s hands, not mine. I sleep just fine at night, and I will not allow you to drag my good name into this. Cheryl did what she did because she is a killer and a terrible Luna. What you are alleging about me, is speculation. Cheryl is just trying to feel better about killing three innocent people. But she won’t feel better because she doesn’t deserve to. She was totally at fault for their deaths. I mean, she is so worthless, that even her parents turned on her too” Graham said, and the hallway is silent for a few beats with the nerve he has to say that to her. He is vicious to the end, and I hope he suffers a great deal at Blake's hands.
“You are the vilest person that I have ever dealt with in my life. I will start praying to the Goddess that the punishments that Blake gives you, are truly worthy of you. You are without a doubt like a pile of slime stuck to someone’s shoe, that refuses to be scraped off. Just absolutely detestable, and I wish you a long and unbearably awful life. I hope that the Goddess has no mercy on you when you do die. I hope that whatever pain you feel in receiving your punishment, comes back to you ten-fold” I told him. I have never hated someone as much as I hate him in my life. He refuses to admit his wrongdoing, it is always others who do wrong, never him. He gets them to do his dirty work, thinking that it keeps his hands clean. It doesn’t. Whether you plant the idea in someone’s head and lead them to where you want them to be, or he pulled the trigger himself, he is still culpable in it. He just deludes himself into thinking that he has no fault because others carry it out. He is wrong.
“Raven is right, you started this whole thing rolling, Graham,” Reagan scoffed at using his given name. “You used me to give Raven a hard time. You pitted us against each other since we were children. You rewarded me for hurting Raven. You played me in this, as you knew that I wanted to be the Luna for Sliver Blade, making me do as you wanted, to get the payoff that I wanted. You hurt a young girl, one who didn’t have a friend in the world. When she would make one, we tore them away from her. She had no one and nothing, and guess what dad, the Goddess paid me back for it. Nothing escapes her sight. She sees it all. She knew what was done in the shadows, and if you think that she isn’t planning on giving you a taste of what both Raven and I got, think again. I am sure it is coming and the Goddess will be doing it with a smile on her face. She already punished you there dad, remember? All the tries you made to have a son, one to take over the pack, but it never worked out. Why do you think that happened, when there was nothing physically wrong with either of you? That was your warning from her, but you never stopped. Did you never consider that it was payback for all the shit you did? You are a despicable man, who thinks nothing of tearing a family apart. What you did to their son Kevin, I have no words for. I am a mother now, and I swear to you Graham, I would have made you suffer in the same way. To kill you would have been too easy, with no real punishment involved for you. This though, it comes with a daily punishment for you, a loss that tugs at your heart as you miss her every day. Even if you can’t bring yourself to admit it, you killed her, as surely as we are all standing here today. I can guarantee you this, Graham. After you do die, I am absolutely positive that the Goddess herself will want to have a long talk with you. I pray that mom is there too, so she can tell you what a piece of crap you are in her own words. So she can tell you herself, that she had to die to pay the price for your loathsome plans. Mom knew what you had done, she knew the whole thing, before she died. She knew you drugged her too, and I am sure that will be another conversation for you three to have as well. She was a descendant of the Moon Goddess. I am sure that there will be penalties for deceiving mom, cheating on mom, and drugging her to get her to sleep with you. I know for a fact that she had to be so disappointed in you as she took her last breath” Reagan said to him, and although her words were harsh, she was telling the truth, and we all agreed with her on it.
“I refuse to talk to them anymore. I don’t even want to look at them” Graham said, and he turned away so he wouldn’t have to look at us. I heard a snort of laughter from beside me and realized that Cheryl was the one who had snorted. “That makes two of us, asshole,” Cheryl told him. This time Reagan and I snorted in laughter.
“I refuse to speak to you, you are a disgusting she-wolf, and were never fit to become a Luna. Reagan had been raised from birth to be one. Blake made a mistake choosing you over her. You will never be worth anything, and even your parents turned on you. Life must really suck for you right now, huh” Graham said and we looked at each other and laughed.
“Why are you laughing?” Graham asked through gritted teeth as he got up from his bed and approached the bars of his cell. If he thought that he was intimidating any of us, he was wrong.
“You said that you refuse to speak to her, and then you just kept on talking. No one can even take you seriously right now. Seems like you are really losing it after you got my mother killed by your vicious actions” I told him. Reagan and I had discussed it and we were going to work him up with our words. I wanted him to know that everything he allowed the pack to do to me, didn’t work. I am exactly as the Goddess wanted me to be. Did I have it hard in his pack? I sure did. But the Goddess had reminded me that I needed to have those experiences to mold me into being a good Luna to my own pack. One who leads with humility and integrity. One who understands and wants the very best for the people of her pack.
“No matter what you all say, she killed your mother, not me. That bitch took it too far and killed my sweet Cassandra. No matter what, if it is the last thing that I do, I will kill you Cheryl for what you did to her” Graham yelled at Cheryl. Before the growl ripped free of Blake’s chest, Anton was at the bars with a speed so fast none of us saw him coming. He had his hand around Graham's neck and started to choke him as he snarled out, “You will never be putting your nasty hands on her. I will not allow it. You would be dead before your body hit the floor.”
Graham gets Played