Desert Heat (Complete)

{Allie’s P.O.V.}

With Dorian and the guys away helping out Jed, again, I was left to deal with the aftermath of Aria and Anna. Well, I should say the current math that is them fighting for the millionth time in the last 48 hours. Anna was still having a hard time accepting that I allowed Aria to stay within the pack territory in an empty townhouse while she healed from her injuries. Even though she is a demon, Aria only healed about as fast as an average human, so she was incapacitated while Dr. Quinn ran tests and x-rays. There was some internal damage, in addition to two fractured ribs, a broken orbital socket, and a torn labrum in her right shoulder, but nothing life-threatening. Aria admitted that her shoulder was why she missed Uriel’s head when she first tried to throw the energy ball at him.

Unfortunately, Anna took no issue aggressively voicing her objections to my decision to allow Aria to stay within the pack territory. Uriel had already explained to her that as a mortal angel, she needed to learn to open her mind to different possibilities and outcomes to scenarios that an angel would never encounter in Heaven, but Anna was very closed-minded. Sly had also been trying to help her come to terms with it, but it was proving to be difficult. Why? Because, well, it seemed that Aria and Uriel were becoming fast friends—and Anna was not happy about that at all. Which was the root of the current argument that was being witnessed by dozens of pack members.

“I’VE TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM URIEL!!” Anna screamed.

“Okay, one, stop acting like you have the right to tell me what to do. Two, instead of bitching at me that your angel lover is hanging around me, how about you tell him to stop coming to my townhouse!? If you haven’t noticed, I can barely walk!”

“You don’t need to walk; you can shimmer! You’re a demon!”

“You do realize that shimmering takes up more energy right now because of the fact that I’m injured! Just like a vampire!” Aria screeched back at her. “Besides, why the f**k do you care if Uriel hangs out with me!? You have a mate!”

“My being mated to a werewolf has nothing to do with this!”

“It has everything to do with this! You’re getting pissed off like some jealous girlfriend!” Aria shouted and then winced while grabbing her side.

“THAT IS ENOUGH!!!” I roared in my Luna tone. The crowd of spectators split like the Red Sea when they heard my voice and immediately went in every direction to run away from the situation. “Aria, why are you in the packhouse? You should be at home resting! And Anna, I will not tell you again to leave Aria alone! She’s a guest of the pack!”

“I came because I had a follow-up with Dr. Quinn. I shimmered here to the main foyer instead of the hospital because I didn’t want to startle any of the nurses. It just so happened that Anna walked by when I landed. And thanks to her, I’ve missed my appoint … ugh … ment,” Aria winced again mid-sentence.

“Aria, go to the hospital. Dr. Quinn will make time to fit you in. And Anna, you come with me.”

“But!”

“Anna! Either you follow me, so we can speak in private, or I will lecture you right here in front of everyone. The choice is yours!” I cut her off.

“Allie, I’ve told you that speaking to people that way isn’t always the solution to everything! Stop yelling at people like they’re beneath you!”

“Like how you’ve been speaking to Aria!?” Anna didn’t respond. “Ever since you’ve become mortal, you’ve become quite the hypocrite, Anna. You tell me how I should speak to others a certain way because I hurt their feelings, yet that’s exactly how you have been screaming—not speaking, but screaming—at Aria ever since she arrived here. I told you, she is MY guest. This is MY pack. What I say goes!”

“I’m only looking out for you. Demons are not good company to have!”

“Though I appreciate the offer, I don’t need you to look out for me.”

“You were almost killed by demons! And there are others still out there doing God only knows what!”

“Those demons are not Aria! Aria has done nothing but try and help me! And even if she hadn’t tried to help find Heather, she still needed my help. Unlike you, I don’t discriminate against one’s species. I judge someone based on their character, and from where I’m standing, you’re acting more of a demon than Aria!” I snapped at her.

“I am not acting like a demon!”

“Aren’t you? You said that demons were vile, evil, unforgiving, and capable of betrayal. The way I see it, you’re acting exactly like that. You’re being vile and evil because all you do is judge Aria for who she is. She didn’t ask to be born a demon. She just was. Just like I was born human, Sly was born a werewolf, and you were born an angel. You’re unforgiving because she threw an energy ball at Uriel, which was a complete misunderstanding. She apologized, and Uriel accepted it. If he can move past it, then you have no right to hold onto it because you weren’t even the one who was attacked. And you’re betraying Uriel by undermining his decision to be civil with Aria. Just as Aria said, Uriel is the one who has been seeking her out to make sure she’s okay. Also, I know for a fact that he has asked you multiple times to stay out of it, and yet, here you are, provoking Aria, again.”

“She doesn’t belong here! She belongs in the underworld! You tell me to be forgiving of her for hurting Uriel, but demons don’t deserve to be forgiven!”

“Repay no one evil for evil but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. Romans Chapter 12, Verse 17.” Anna gaped at me. “I used to go to Church when I was human, Anna. I was part of the praise team in high school when one of my foster families found me singing in the shower. I know my scripture, at least, the ones that those who counter devout Christians use for being hypocritical.” I tell her and take a deep breath before citing another that seemed appropriate for the current situation. “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself because you who pass judgment do the same things. Romans Chapter 2, Verse 7.” Anna continued to gape at me as tears formed in her eyes.

“Allie, I …”

“That’s Luna to you, Anna. You have lost the right to call me by my first name. You may have been born an archangel, and you may still have your wings, but your blinded hatred towards those I consider friends is blatant disrespect towards me and this pack. You wanted to come here because of Sly, and I allowed you to because you’re his mate. You also asked me to be forgiving towards him, which I was. I even did what you asked of me to keep Brandon from killing him. Being part of a pack means knowing how to work together as a team. We are a giant family here, and not everyone will get along. We have fights and arguments all the time. There will always be grievances, but what you’re doing to Aria is nothing short of immature and petty. I get it. You hate demons. But how much of that hatred is influenced by the fact that you were once an archangel, and how much of it is influenced by an actual logical reason?” Anna didn’t say anything and just lowered her head.

“I’m sorry, All … I mean, Luna,” she whispered.

“I’m not the one you need to be apologizing to.” Anna snapped her head up in surprise. “Yeah, you should be apologizing to Aria and seeking her forgiveness. I don’t care if you do or don’t, honestly, because the fact of the matter is, I just don’t have time to be dealing with your petty bullshit anymore. I have enough on my hands to deal with. And if there’s anyone here who should really hate demons, it’s me. After all, me, my daughter, and one of my best friends were almost killed by them. But neither Simba nor I hold that grudge against all demons because not all demons tried to kill us. Believe it or not, a lot of them are trying to help us. They may be helping us to get thirty million dollars out of it, but they’re still helping us in trying to find a way to get to Heather in demon hell. I don’t care about your personal issues anymore. But I am telling you one last time, leave Aria alone.” With those final words, I left and made my way back upstairs to check on Katrina since it was past her feeding time. But when I got to the nursery, I found Eleanor already feeding her with prepackaged breast milk.

“Everything okay?” she asked me.

“No, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” I answered and sat in the rocking chair. “Where are the twins?”

“Raquel and Sylvia took them for a walk not too long ago. They should be back soon.”

“With guards?”

“Of course, sweetheart. What do you take me for, an irresponsible grandmother?” she said, acting offended.

“Of course not, Eleanor. I couldn’t have asked or prayed for a more loving and responsible grandmother,” I replied with a smile. “I’m just … a little overprotective at this point. And I’m exhausted.”

“Are my sweet angels keeping you up?”

“Goddess, no, the twins are sleeping through the night now, and Katrina sleeps a good three to four hours before needing to be fed and changed. I’m not sleeping because I’m terrified that if I fall into a deep sleep, I’m going to wake up to the kids being gone.”

“Allison, that’s not healthy. You need sleep, darling,” she told me as she burped Katrina and put her back down in her bassinet.

“I know that, but I can’t. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep comfortably until Heather is gone. I never thought she could get to me like this, but she has, and I hate it!”

“Oh, sweetheart, come here.” Eleanor opened her arms and gave me the most motherly hug any daughter-in-law could ask for. “Do you want me and Benjamin to take the kids for one night?”

“No, I can’t let them out of my sight. And it’s not that I don’t trust you or Ben, because I do, and I trust the guards, but I’m just too afraid.”

“Sweetie, I meant here in the packhouse. We will get a blow-up mattress to put in the twins’ room, and we will bring Katrina’s bassinet in there with us. Then we can have all three kids with us, safe and sound, and you keep the baby monitor with you. That way, you can try and get some sleep.” I pulled away and looked up at her. She smiled down at me, and I finally nodded my head.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try that.”

“MAMA! MAMA!” I was woken up by the sound of screaming and crying, but when I tried to open my eyes, they were really heavy, and I felt super groggy.

“f**k,” I muttered.

“MAMA!!!”

“Daisy?” I tried to sit up in my bed but fell right back down.

Pups are in trouble!

What did you say, Mercury?

Pups are in trouble!

Her words were trying to fight through the grogginess.

“MAMA!!!” I heard screaming. It finally registered that one of the twins was crying. I lifted the blanket off of me, but it felt like it weighed a ton. I stumbled and fell onto the floor of the bedroom. When I opened my eyes, everything was blurry, and the room was spinning a million miles an hour. “MAMA!!!” I heard more crying. I grabbed the nightstand and got to my feet, but something was terribly wrong. I opened the door, and I immediately smelled b***d.

“What?” I shook my head of my delirium, which only made the vertigo worse, but I held onto the wall and made my way to the twins’ room. When I saw more pools of b***d, my sense of awareness started to come back to me. Once I finally got to their room, that’s when I saw several bodies on the floor of their room. “AHHHH!!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. It didn’t take long for my screams to be heard throughout the packhouse, and I heard a stampede coming up the stairs.

“ALLIE!!!”

“LUNA!!!” I felt someone’s arms around me, and I turned around to see Sin.

“What the f**k happened!?”

“s**t, Benjamin! Eleanor!” Sam yelled as she ran past me.

“Luna, what happened!?” Lucas asked me.

“I … I don’t know! I … I think I’ve been drugged! Oh god, the twins! Where are the twins!? Katrina!?”

“Daisy and Katrina are here! They’re under Daisy’s bed,” I heard Sam.

“What about Demarco?!” I exclaimed as Sin helped me stay on my feet. “Where is he!? Where is my son!?”

“He’s not here,” Sam replied.

“Where’s Leah?” Sin asked. I looked at Sin, and the realization hit Lucas. He turned and ran back down to the second floor. A few seconds later, I got a mind link from him.

Luna, I found her! She’s been drugged too.

Get her to Dr. Quinn. Now!

What about you!?

I need to find my son!

Not in the condition you’re in. I’m waking Simba and the others!

Lucas!

Yes, Luna?

Lockdown.

Yes, ma’am.

“Mama!” I heard Daisy cry for me as Sam carried both her and Katrina in her arms.

“We need to get them checked out by Dr. Quinn,” Sam said as she put Daisy down next to me. She clung to my leg instantly and was crying so hard. Katrina was screaming bloody murder as Sam handed her to Sin. As she did that, Katie, Savannah, and Ava came running up to us.

“Luna, are you okay!?” Katie asked as I was about to topple over again

“Daisy. Pick up, Daisy.” Katie took her in her arms as Savannah and Ava helped me walk away from whatever the hell this bloodbath was. I looked back to see Ben and Eleanor severely injured, but I could sense that they were alive. I couldn’t say the same about the three unknown men in the room lying dead next to them. That’s when I noticed the charring on the walls along with s***h marks.

“Wait,” I stopped the girls and went back to the room. I looked around and saw more charring and more slashes in the wallpaper. “Demons.” I finally saw the extent of the damage to the room. Demarco’s bed was flipped over, while everything had been completely destroyed except for Daisy’s bed.

“Allie!” I turned to see Simba and Leroy running towards me with Uriel behind them. Aria appeared out of nowhere.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her.

“I heard that there was an attack on your kids.”

“From who?”

“Lucas. He was literally screaming it.”

“Aria, do you know them?” I asked while pointing to the dead demons. Simba and the others were getting Ben and Eleanor out of the room and to the hospital.

“Yeah, those are three of the volunteers that Heather recruited.”

“There’s a fourth,” I heard someone say. I looked, and Ben’s eyes were slightly open.

“Ben!? What did you say!?” I asked, completely panicking.

“Four deams …”

“Four demons?” He nodded his head.

“Oh god,” I gasped and fell back. Someone caught me, but I wasn’t sure who. Tears pooled in my eyes faster than a flash flood. “Heather has Demarco.”

“Savannah, Ava, get her to the hospital. Make sure she and the twins are together! Simba, after you hand off Ben and Nor to Dr. Quinn, you make sure that you and Leroy never leave her side! Got it!” Sam ululated.

“Yes, Sam!” they replied in unison. This was a nightmare. One horrible nightmare.

“NOW, MIKEY!” I heard Sin screaming. I saw her with her phone to her ear and realized she must have called him. It took all of a few seconds for the guys to come back along with Dani and Andre.

“Dorian!?”

“Allie!?” He took me from Savannah and Ava and held me up like I weighed nothing. “Someone better tell me what the f**k happened here!” Dorian snarled while picking me up bridal style.

“From what we can tell, Allie and Leah were drugged to prevent them from noticing anything unusual in the packhouse. Four demons came into the twins’ room but didn’t expect Ben and Eleanor to be in here with them. A fight ensued. Three of the demons were killed by your parents, but they also sustained injuries. They’ve been taken to the pack hospital, along with Leah who was still out cold from the drugs,” Sam explained.

“LEAH WAS DRUGGED!?” Brandon cried out and went straight to the pack hospital.

“You said that there were four demons! I only see three!” Dorian exclaimed.

“He took Demarco,” I whimpered in Dorian’s arms. He looked down at me, and I could see nothing but pure rage in his eyes. “Dorian, that b***h has our son.” Dorian slowly put me down and turned to face Mikey. He grabbed him by the collar and snarled in his face.

“What do you want me to do?” Mikey asked as cool, calm, and collected as he could.

“Find my son, Razor.” I saw Mikey’s eyes avert to Sin’s. I saw her mouth the word ‘go.’ Mikey nodded and looked back at Dorian, his eyes suddenly black.

“Yes, Alpha.”