Desert Heat (Complete)

{Allie’s P.O.V.}

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The two people who abandoned me solely based on the reason that my father didn’t come from money. Even though they were technically family, I hated them. They disowned me before ever getting to know me and had the nerve to label me as a mistake when I was born from true love. My parents didn’t care about each other’s background and loved one another wholeheartedly. I was a product of that love. They risked everything to raise me in America, only for them to tragically pass two years later.

“Baby, are you okay?” Dorian asked. “We can go home if you want.”

“No, I’m not going to run away from them. I’m honestly not okay, but I refuse to avoid them. They passed judgment on me because my dad was poor. Well, I’m going to shove it in their face that I’m anything but. My husband owns a multi-billion dollar security company.”

“Allie, don’t be spiteful,” he scolded me.

“I’m not going to be spiteful. I’m going to hold my head up high and show them that, no matter what they say about me, I’m proud of who I am. I’m the wife of Dorian Shaw, and the mother of two perfect kids with another on the way.”

“That’s my girl,” he replied and kissed my temple.

“Mr. Shaw!” We turned around to see an Asian gentleman that looked to be in his mid-thirties approaching us. “Welcome, it is an honor to have you here. My name is Alexander Kim.”

“Mr. Kim, thank you for the invitation. I assume you are the event coordinator?” Dorian asked him.

“Yes, I am, how keen of you to notice. I run a non-profit that helps fight human trafficking and s*x slavery. I hold one of these events every year. Normally it’s in Los Angeles; however, we decided that Vegas would be a good choice this year.”

“I see, well, it’s good to know that someone is working to fight the injustices of the world,” Dorian replied.

“And who is this lovely young lady?” Alexander asked.

“This is my wife, Allison.”

“Please, call me Allie,” I greeted him, shaking his hand.

“Allie. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you look of Korean descent.”

“You are, in fact, correct,” I answered with a smile.

“Mr. Shaw, will you and your wife be joining the auction this evening?”

“Auction?” we both asked simultaneously.

“Yes. That is how this event works. We pick some of the more attractive individuals and auction them off. All of the money collected is what helps fund our quest to stop the injustices we spoke of.”

“What do we have to do?” I inquired, cautiously.

“Nothing. You spend the evening with the winning bidder and then go back home to your spouses. It’s more of a business tactic. Most of the guests in attendance are also married but are willing to open their checkbooks for a good cause.”

“What are the rules?” Dorian asked.

“You cannot bid on your own spouse.” Dorian looked down at me and I just shrugged my shoulders.

“It’s for a good cause, babe. I think you should do it,” I told him.

“What about you?” he asked me.

“I’m pregnant. Who’s going to bid on a pregnant woman?”

“Please, Allie. You’re glowing, and you look marvelous. I’m sure we can get, at least, in the high five figures for you this evening,” Alexander told me reassuringly. He sounded genuine.

“Come on, Allie. You said it yourself. It’s for a good cause,” Dorian said.

“Oh alright, fine, I’ll join the auction,” I answered reluctantly.

“Wonderful! I will get your names on the list. We will start with men first, and then women.” We nodded our heads, and he took off.

“What did we just get ourselves into?” I asked Dorian, and he laughed it off and shook his head. We went around and mingled with a few individuals. A lot of people recognized Dorian, and I was surprised to sense a few other werewolves in the mixture. They all bowed their heads to Dorian and me as a sign of respect. We bowed in return.

Dinner was an amazing seven-course meal complete with wine pairings. Unfortunately, I had to settle for sparkling cider to accompany my food and was quite envious. The food was delicious though the fact that it cost $25k a plate was outrageous. But, I did realize that everyone here had very deep pockets which is what I assume was Alexander’s goal. Those who RSVPed with a plus one could easily afford it and even had more to spare with the upcoming date auction.

“Babe, I’m going to use the bathroom, I’ll be right back,” I told Dorian and kissed his cheek. He nodded his head and went back to socializing with our table. I made my way to the restroom and ran into Sam.

“Hey, how’s it going in there?” she asked me.

“Ugh, it’s all mostly business and people wanting to get something out of Dorian.”

“You good? You seem a little out of it,” she said.

“Yeah, I’m just avoiding a certain couple in there. Thankfully, there’s a lot of people, so it’s making it easy,” I answered truthfully.

“Who?”

“My maternal grandparents.”

“What!? They’re here?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry. Do you need me to take you home or anything like that?” she asked.

“No, I’m good. I’ll be fine,” I said with a smile. I loved Sam and knew that she would always be there for me when I needed to get out of a jam. I was going to say something else when I caught the scent of someone familiar. I turned around and saw a woman walking into the restrooms. “Wait,” I told her and walked away.

“Hey, where are you going?” Sam asked as she began to follow me. I walked into the bathroom and concentrated on the scent. “Hey, what’s …”

“Shhh …” I shushed Sam right away.

Mind link only, Sam.

What’s going on?

The woman that just walked in here. She’s giving off the same essence I picked up at Lacie’s wedding.

What? You mean?

Yeah, I think it’s Heather.

No sooner had I finished my thoughts, out she came from the restroom stall; I was right. The moment this woman saw Sam and me, she froze, and I could see the fear in her eyes. “Oh, what a giveaway,” Sam spoke directly to her.

“Hello, Heather,” I said. She was disguised differently than she was at the wedding.

“Allie.”

“Wow, you’re not even going to try and deny it? Either you’re really cocky, or you’re really stupid,” Sam said, closing the door to the bathroom and locking it.

“I’m going with the latter,” I replied.

“You can’t hurt me,” Heather declared insolently.

“Hurt you? b***h, I’m going to f*****g kill you!” Sam proclaimed and took a step towards her.

“Sam, stand down,” I ordered.

“What? But, Allie!?”

“I said stand down,” this time in my Luna tone.

“Yes, Luna,” Sam replied forcefully.

“Awww … Too scared to come at me on your own. Don’t have any drugs or decoys to use on me?” Heather taunted.

“No, I’m just tired of letting your sorry a*s dictate my life. Fine, you got away, but not on your own. I know you had the help of dark magic and, at first, your escape almost ruined my marriage. But then I realized that I spent too much time worrying about you. You’re worthless Heather. That’s why you’re in hiding.”

“Hiding? Who’s hiding? I’m f*****g standing right here!” she shouted.

“Yeah, you might be standing there, but you’re not you. You can’t be yourself anymore, well, because if the wrong person sees you, you’re going to be executed on sight. I mean, that is what an open bounty is for.” Heather clenched her teeth. “Heather, Heather, Heather. You may be alive, but you lose either way. Now you get to spend the rest of your sorry life witnessing everyone else be happy. Lacie, Deacon, and me, while you lurk in the shadows and constant disguise.” I watched as her jaw ticked in anger.

“You better watch yourself, Allie! I won’t hesitate to kill you for real this time!”

“How? You’re human now, Heather,” I postured, and she glared at me. “Yes, I know you’re human now. I’m protected by the moon goddess, there’s nothing you can do that can harm me. Not only that, but I’m also protected by good magic. So, whatever dark magic is helping you remain hidden, just take it and stay hidden. You’re only alive right now because I can’t have my high-ranking officer arrested for the murder of a human.”

“I don’t care if you’re protected, Allie! I’ll find a way to get rid of you! Gideon will do whatever I ask!”

“Who the f**k is Gideon?” Sam asked. Where have I heard that name before?

“My mate is none of your concern!” Heather exclaimed and shoved past us. She opened the door and left the bathroom.

“f*****g b***h, I’m going to …”

“No, Sam, you’re not,” I ordered, stopping her.

“Allie! We had her!”

“I know but, just as I suspected, pissing her off forced her to make a mistake,” I answered.

“What?”

“Sam, she gave us the name of the person who is helping her.”

“Oh …”

“Yeah.” We looked in the direction that she went, and I was surprised to see her go into the same convention hall I came out of. Whoever this Gideon guy was, he had money, and everything started to make a lot of sense. But where had I heard that name before?

“Allie, shouldn’t you get back to the boss?”

“Yeah, I should.” I did my business and went back to Dorian. He gave a look and I just shook my head. I didn’t want to ruin the night with more drama and kept what happened to myself. I spotted Heather within the crowd, and she was with someone. I tried to get a lock on his scent, but there were too many humans in the mix. I would have to get closer, but something told me that man was Gideon, Heather’s supposed mate.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you all enjoyed dinner,” Alexander addressed everyone while holding a microphone and going up to the podium. “As is tradition with any of these events, we will be holding our auction here in ten minutes. Gentlemen, if you are one of the entrants in the auction, please make your way to the back of the stage, and you will be given a random number. That will be the order in which you will proceed.”

“See you soon, baby,” Dorian said before parting ways with a k**s on the cheek. It was just my luck that I saw the man Heather was with getting up as well. I knew I had my chance to get close to him. I was going to have bid on him, and I was going to have bid high. Thank the goddess I still have money saved from our time in the Bahamas. I would gladly give up that money to get to the bottom of who this mystery mate is. “Ladies get those checkbooks ready, our male auction is about to begin,” Alexander declared.

“Chagiyah! Saranghae!” (Honey, I love you!) I heard someone shout from the crowd. I looked around and saw a young Korean girl waving at Alexander with hearts in her eyes. Then I saw who she was sitting with. My grandparents. She looked to be about my age, which meant she was their granddaughter. I also saw two others seated with them, also of Korean descent and they looked to be in their forties or so. The woman had an uncanny resemblance to my mother. Could she be my aunt? I wasn’t even aware that my mom had siblings.

“I love you too, darling,” Alexander crooned into the microphone. Everyone awed at them. “Alright, let the auction begin!” he announced, and all of the ladies squealed in delight. “Up first, we have Garret Thompson, owner of several high-end strip clubs in the Los Angeles area. Mr. Thompson is worth a whopping $5 million, and ladies. He’s single …”

“WHOO!!!” I heard women scream.

“Come to mama!” I heard another shout.

“Give us a striptease!” a different person hollered. I was shocked and entertained to see the lack of decency in the women here tonight.

“Alright, bidding will begin at $25,000.”

“HERE!” someone placed a bid at once.

“I see $25, do I hear $30?”

“Me! Me!”

“To the lovely lady in green. Do I hear $40?”

“Over here!”

“Ah-ha, right there to the miss in white. Do I hear $50? … No? … $40,000, going once, going twice, sold! To the lovely miss in white! Come and claim your date.” The woman looked to be in her sixties. I just shook my head and laughed.

This went on for about 30 minutes and there were at least a dozen men that had been bid on. Most were decent-looking and, as Alexander stated to us before, most of them were married. You could see the jealousy in the wives’ faces when their husband was bid on. So far, the most anyone bid on was a real estate investor for $100,000. I hadn’t bid on anyone yet because I was waiting for Heather’s mate.

I was hoping he would be up next but, to my surprise, it was Dorian. I wanted to smile at him when I saw him, but I wasn’t the only one paying attention to him. The room of ladies fell silent the moment he stepped out on stage. I don’t want to sound biased, but my man had to be the best looking in attendance by a longshot. The tattoos that were visible along his neck, and hands just gave him the dangerous look, and I know most women crave a man with that kind of look. He was easily one of the tallest, if not, the tallest man in the room. With his black hair and emerald green eyes, women were swooning and drooling left and right of me. I normally would be jealous, but in this case, I was proud to have him as my husband.

“Alright, ladies, second to the last is Dorian Shaw, CEO of Shaw Security and Surveillance. He’s worth … Holy crap,” Alexander cleared his throat. “Mr. Shaw is currently worth $1.4 billion.” The crowd gasped and women started to whisper to themselves. Men were easily envious. Not only was Dorian one of the richest in attendance, but also one of the youngest. I peeked over at my grandparents and, I knew for a fact, they recognized him which meant they knew I was here as well. I turned my back to them so they couldn’t see me. “We will start the bidding at $25,000.”

“HERE!” I heard someone shout.

“Do I hear $30?”

“Me!”

“Anyone for $40?”

“Over here!”

“I have $40! Anyone for $50?”

“ME!!” someone else screamed. I glanced over and saw it was Alexander’s wife. I looked back up at the podium and Alexander just shook his head and smiled big. I guess he didn’t care his wife was a little overly excited about bidding for Dorian.

“$60,000!” I knew that voice; sure enough, Heather was holding her plaque up.

“$70!” Alexander’s wife bid again. Why am I not surprised that his family had that kind of money. I doubt she would bidding this way if she didn’t.

“$85!” Heather countered. I looked at her in dismay. Where did she have that kind of money? Could her mate be her source of income?

“$100!!”

“$110!!”

“$125!!” they kept going back and forth, but in the end, I was grateful that Alexander’s wife won with a final bid of $175,000.

“Well, that was quite a spectacle. Sarah, come claim your date!” Alexander announced, sounding a bit envious himself. I studied my grandparents; their faces were dark and very unpleasant. This was going to be interesting. “Alright ladies, onto the last gentleman of the evening.”

“Awww!!” the ladies bellowed in displeasure.

“I know, but the night is still young and we have ladies to be auctioned right after this. Now, our final gentleman for the evening is Gideon Sharp, CEO of Sharp Investments. He’s worth $12.5 million and is currently single.” I furrowed my brows when Alexander mentioned Gideon was single. Heather was sitting right there, and her face contorted in anger. Something was off, and I was going to make it work in my favor. “Let’s start the bidding at …”

“$100,000!!!” I called out immediately.

“Oh … Umm …” Alexander was shocked. “I have $100,000 right off the bat.”

“$150!” Heather countered.

“I’m sorry, but you cannot bid on your date,” Alexander informed her. Her reaction was priceless.

“I’ll do $150,” came another voice. I turned around to see a young woman about my age. She had black hair in a high ballerina bun and wore a very revealing dress. I swear, her t**s were about to fall out. She smirked, but it wasn’t geared towards me. I turned to see her vantage point, and it was actually directed at Heather. The expression on Heather’s face was one of pure shock, initially, which quickly gave way to absolute rage. Whoever this girl was, it looked like she and Heather had some beef going on and I wanted to know what it was.