Desert Heat (Complete)

{Dorian’s P.O.V.}

“Wait, so you mean to tell me that the demon who kidnapped my son for Heather has already been killed, but not before he sent my son to God only knows where!?” I repeated. After Lucifer showed up at the pack hospital and told us everything he knew about Gideon, Heather, and all that ensued after they had Demarco kidnapped, Allie ended up shifting in the hospital room out of pure instinct. Because she was still recuperating from the effects of the drugs, which Luther determined was some sort of heavy acetone mixed with a gas compound of medical-grade anesthesia and wolfsbane, Dr. Quinn felt it was necessary to sedate Mercury. In doing so, she ended up fully sedating Allie as well. We’d taken the conversation out of the hospital and into my office.

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Then where the f**k is my son!?” I snarled.

“I do not know. Unfortunately, my demons aren’t the same as Gideon’s demons. Mine don’t have magical powers. They can’t leave whenever they please the way magical demons can. In reality, Gideon is the only one who would be able to locate your son.”

“Brother, there is another way,” Uriel pointed out to him.

“Oh, and what might that be, oh dear brother?” Lucifer asked in a condescending tone.

“We could always have the demon resurrected.” Everyone furrowed their brows at him.

“How the hell do you resurrect a vanquished demon?” Mikey asked while coming into my office. Earlier, I had ordered him and the others to get cleaned up once they disposed of the demons they had captured.

“You can’t,” Aria replied, lifting her brow at Uriel, who just lifted his own in return. “At least, not completely,” she said and rolled her eyes.

“Well, spill it already!” I shouted at her, making her jump a bit because she failed to elaborate fast enough.

“Normally, you can bring back their magical remains, kind of like a soul, if you will, but not really. It’s the magic that’s leftover after their demise. The problem is that it can only be done by a dark sorcerer or sorceress. Also, it’s kind of harder to do when the demon was already vanquished in demon hell by the Demon King himself.”

“And why is that?” Brandon asked.

“Because when Gideon kills, he doesn’t leave anything behind,” Lucifer answered.

“You’re the devil. Why can’t you just get that d**k to tell us where his dead demon sent the Alpha’s pup?” Carter snarked.

“I may be the devil, but Gideon, sadly, doesn’t answer to me. We have the same rank if you will. As much as I would love to command him, I can’t,” Lucifer replied and looked visibly disappointed. “Also, you there, Aria, is it? Just thought I would let you know that the Demon King isn’t behind your … How should I put it? Assault?”

“What?” Aria responded. We all looked at her and then back at Lucifer. “What are you talking about? Of course, he is. He literally threw me at the guards of the underworld and ordered them to punish me however they saw fit!”

“No, he didn’t. That was his human whore.”

“What?” Aria gritted her teeth. Her eyes flashed a bright red and stayed that way.

“Oh, dear. Hit a nerve, did I?”

“What do you mean that it was Heather!?”

“Well, my apprentice said that Heather admitted to blackmailing a dark sorceress. She caught her stealing or something along those lines, made her use magic to mask Heather to look like Gideon along with his powers, and she then used that to get rid of you. Oh, and she apparently killed the sorceress too,” Lucifer explained ever so casually. I looked at Brandon and Mikey, and they both had the same expressions I did. I guess murder wasn’t a big deal to him. But then again, he’s the devil. Why would it be?

“Wait, did you just say Heather killed the sorceress?” Mikey asked. Lucifer nodded and gave the douchiest smile. Part of me really wanted to punch him.

“Desiring to punch me won’t make you feel better about disliking me, Alpha,” he insisted to me. What the hell? “I’m the devil; I hear all of your deepest desires. For example, my brother and Aria. They both want to jump each other but are holding back. Though, I can’t imagine why.” We all snapped our heads to Uriel and Aria, who denied the allegations. “Oh please, you can’t lie to me. I’m the devil!”

“Lucifer, enough!”

“Oh, you’re no fun, brother.”

“Dorian.”

“What, Mikey?”

“That sorceress that Heather killed, I wonder if she’s the same one whose daughter is willing to help us?”

“Do you know how to get in touch with her?” I asked him without hesitation.

“I need to go back to the underworld. She said she would only come up here if I was the one to seek her out.”

“Aria, can you send him back there?” I asked her.

“Sure.” Aria waved her arm, and Mikey shimmered away.

“Brother, why are you withholding yourself from this delicious creature? She’s powerful and beautiful. If you don’t want her, then I’ll gladly have a piece of her.”

“Lucifer!” Uriel shouted.

“What? What do you say, dear Aria, would you like a dance with the devil? Preferably in my hell house? Naked?”

“LUCIFER, THAT IS ENOUGH!!!” Uriel roared in a voice that was both deep and terrifying.

“Jealous, are we?”

“Yeah, no thanks,” Aria replied.

“Oh well, your loss.” Brandon looked at me uncomfortably. I wasn’t going to touch the subject. I was going to pretend they weren’t here until Mikey got back.

“Ask, and you shall receive,” Lucifer said to me as Mikey and a young woman shimmered in. I looked at Satan and furrowed my brows. “What?”

“Are you always this big of a douche?” I asked without realizing it.

“Always,” Uriel answered on his behalf.

“Why is the human devil here?” the unknown woman asked.

“That’s a long story,” Mikey replied. “Can you help us?”

“I can try. I am not as strong as my mother was, but getting in touch with a demon that was recently vanquished is fairly simple.”

“Even if he was vanquished by Gideon?” I asked.

“You did not tell me that!” she accused Mikey.

“Miss.” She turned to face me. “Please. Help me find my son,” I pleaded. “My wife is a mess right now. We’ve lost one child already. We can’t lose another.”

“Alright,” she said and sighed. She had us fan out away from her to give her plenty of space before drawing some sort of weird symbol onto the carpet in my office. I would normally be annoyed, but if this worked and the demon could tell me where he sent Demarco, I would get over it. She started to chant in some bizarre language, causing the lights to flicker, and paper started to fly everywhere. Then the lights died for a second before slowly coming back on. When we looked in the center of the symbol, a figure stood in it, but he was completely transparent.

“Tank?!” Aria exclaimed.

“Aria? How? What am I doing here?”

“You were summoned by me.”

“Why?”

“My powers sensed that you were in recent contact with a werewolf child before the King vanquished you.”

“Yes, I was …” He paused when he heard me snarl. He slowly turned around to face me, and Bandit was on the surface. “Alpha Shaw.”

“You’re lucky you’re already dead.”

“Yes, I’m sure I am. What can I do for you?”

“Where is my son?”

“Safe.”

“WHERE IS HE!?” Bandit roared.

“Safe! He cannot come back here until the Queen is killed! She wants your son to be raised as the King’s own. She’s gone mad! She’s unstable!”

“Tank.” He turned to face Aria. “Where is the boy? He belongs here with his family.” He hesitated a bit but finally nodded his head.

“I sent him to a contact in Istanbul, Turkey.”

“Where in Istanbul?” Mikey asked.

“A hotel called the Galaxy.”

“YOU SENT A TODDLER TO A BOUNTY HUNTER HOTEL!?!” all of the guys exclaimed.

“Tank, why did you send him there?” Aria continued.

“My contact is an advocate for trafficked children. Sending him there was for his protection. My contact would assume he was a victim and hide him to keep him safe.”

“Guys, let’s go!” Mikey ordered.

“Wait!” They turned around to face Tank.

“My contact, she doesn’t know that the child is a kidnap victim. Nor that I was the one who did it. She won’t give up the boy without proof that you all know him and that he knows you.”

“Demarco is my godson! I don’t need to show proof!”

“Mikey!”

“Don’t worry, Dorian. I’m going to bring him back. You have my word. Take care of Gizmo and the girls. Aries, call our friends Sinbad and Persephone, tell them to meet us in Istanbul. Anyone that gets in our way of the Alpha pup dies. No matter who they are,” Mikey said, throwing an accusing glance at Tank.

“Why did you take my son?” I asked him.

“I told you, it was Heather’s instructions.”

“That’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking why you took my son when you did? You had months to take him. Why now?”

“Because you left your mate and children unprotected. We weren’t going to attack while an Alpha was present. That would have been suicide. But then again, we didn’t know your father would be in the room with them. That threw us off, or at least, it threw off the others when he shifted and attacked. The Queen wanted all of the children, but I was only able to take the boy.” I was appalled, hearing his explanation.

“Are you telling me that you never would have even tried to abduct my children had I been home?”

“Hell no. I mean, eventually, we would have tried because the Queen would have become even more impatient, but truth be told, we may have given up sooner rather than later.”

“And what about Leah? Why drug my wife?” Brandon asked.

“Simple. To keep her from having her visions. We know about your wives and how they have powers. The Gamma is able to read the minds of other wolves. That’s why we didn’t drug her. She wasn’t important. The Beta has visions of danger, so we had to stop her from having one. And the Luna can incapacitate males just by touching them. And you, well, you’re just big.” I couldn’t believe it. Allie was right. This was entirely my fault. Had I not left to help Jed, then this never would have happened.

“Oh, stop blaming yourself,” Lucifer ridiculed me. “This would have happened either way. You would have been drugged too.”

“For what it’s worth, I am sorry. I never should have taken a son from his father. I deserved my death ten times over for that. But, the Queen deserves hers even more.” With those final words, Tank departed us. Hearing what Tank said gave me the push to do what I’ve needed to do for months.

“Lucifer.”

“Yes?”

“Take me to Gideon.”

{Mikey’s P.O.V.}

We didn’t have the luxury of time on our hands to find Demarco. We needed to get to Turkey in the blink of an eye, and there was only one person I knew that could make it happen faster than you can say ‘Bob’s your uncle.’

“Hello?”

“Max?”

“Mikey? What’s up?”

“We need Stuart’s help.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Demarco was kidnapped, and the demon who kidnapped him said that he sent him to Istanbul. We don’t have time to get the jet ready. We need to get there now.”

“Okay, yeah, yeah, I’ll tell him. He will meet you guys in the front of the packhouse!” Max hung up, and not even a few seconds later, Stuart appeared in front of us.

“How’s Allie!?” he asked me.

“Her son was kidnapped. How do you think she’s doing?”

“Good point. Where in Istanbul are we going?”

“Whoa, hold on there, buddy, you’re just our ride,” Aries said to him.

“Aries, Allie is one of my wife’s closest friends, and she is one of the biggest reasons why Demarco and Daisy are alive right now. If I don’t help you guys find him, Maxine will magically castrate me.”

“Eeeeh…” we all cringed.

“Exactly. Where are we going?” Stuart asked again while putting out his hands. We all grabbed a part of each of his arms.

“The Galaxy Hotel,” I told him.

“Ah, bounty hunter central. I’m assuming that you will be portraying your hunter side?” I nodded my head. “Very good. Let’s go find Demarco.” In a flash, Stuart had us one block from the hotel.

“Damn, too bad we can’t always travel like that,” Fury said, shaking off the feeling of being burnt.

“Where are they?” Aries asked, looking at his watch.

“Where’s who?” Stuart asked.

“Our assassin friends,” Carter replied.

“Am I going to get shot?”

“Not as long as you stay quiet and do exactly as I say,” I answered and led the way to the Galaxy.

“This is like a scene right out of John Wick,” Stuart commented.

“That’s where the idea came from,” Poseidon snarked.

“Keep your head down and shut up,” I snapped at them. I pushed the doors open to the hotel, and the world stood still. People all throughout the lobby were staring as we walked in. But it wasn’t because of Aries and the others, or even Stuart for that matter. No, everyone was staring and started to whisper under their breaths because of me.

As one of the best bounty hunters in the world, I was well-known in this world. But I upped and disappeared not too long before meeting Sin, and I haven’t stepped into one of these hotels in years. So, I was pretty sure that seeing Razor alive and active was a sight for most, if not all. We walked up to the reception desk, and it was someone I had never seen before.

“Welcome to the Galaxy Hotel of Istanbul, gentlemen. I am the Alfred of this location. How may I be of service?”

“I’m looking for his child?” I said and showed him a recent picture of Demarco. He looked at it and froze. I didn’t miss the fact that he gulped.

“Why are you seeking this boy?” he asked while shaking.

“I’ve been hired to retrieve him. We all were. His parents are worried sick. Plus, the father is willing to pay quite a bit of money for his return. Now, where is he? And I won’t ask again.”

“He is … uh …”

“Razor is that you!?” I heard a very familiar voice. My skin crawled. My jaw ticked as I looked up and behind me.

“Katana.”

“So, you do remember me!” she squealed. Goddess, save me, please. “Oh, and Aries, and Warlord too!? Well, well, the gods and goddesses are looking down on me tonight. Which of you are going to be the lucky man to f**k my brains out this time?” she asked.

“Go away, Katana. We’re here on official business,” Warlord snapped.

“I’m here on official business too. A friend of mine called and said that she has a gift for me,” Katana said and sashayed her way between me and the counter. I stepped back but not fast enough. She rubbed her a*s against my crotch. “Oh, if you wanted some a*s, Razor, you just have to say so.”

“f**k off,” I told her and rolled my eyes.

“Alfredo, I was told by Gloria that there’s a package for me.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Katana, but it appears that your package is also wanted by Sir Razor and company.” I snapped my head to look at them, and she snapped her head to face me.

“Why are you here for the boy?” she questioned.

“Why are you here for him?” I fired back.

“Gloria found a family for him. They want him tonight.”

“He has a family. A biological one. And they’re paying heavily for his safe return.”

“Well, they obviously don’t love him enough if they allowed him to be trafficked.”

“He wasn’t trafficked. He was kidnapped, and the demon who kidnapped him sent him here just before he died to keep him safe,” Aries informed her.

“Well, the new wolf family has already paid heavily for his adoption. So, screw you,” she said and turned back to the front desk. “Give me the boy.”

“I don’t think so,” I said, pulling out my Glock and pointing it at the back of her head.

“Operator has rules, Razor. No weapons are allowed to be pulled against another while in the hotel,” Katana hissed.

“I don’t answer to the Operator any more, Katana. The boy is coming with us. Unless you feel like seeing an early grave.”

“Put the gun away, Razor.” I slowly turn my head to see the manager of the hotel.

“Gloria, I presume.”

“The one and only.”

“You’re a new Gloria,” Fury said.

“I am. The previous Gloria was assassinated.”

“And for a good reason!” I heard a very welcoming voice. I smirked and turned to face our comrades.

“Sorry for the delay, old friend. Traffic,” Sinbad told me and winked. The lobby gasped, and everyone went their separate ways.

“Sinbad and Persephone. To what do I owe the displeasure?” Gloria greeted them, her eyes wide with anger.

“The boy goes with them,” Persephone announced, getting in Gloria’s face. “That is unless you want to join your predecessor?” she added on and slowly put a gun to Gloria’s temple. Gloria gulped and shook her head. “Didn’t think so.”

“Where’s the boy?” Sinbad asked.

“In my office.” Sinbad gestured for me to go ahead of them, so I did. Aries and the others followed. But before we could get five feet from them, Katana grabbed Stuart and held a gun to his head.

“THE BOY COMES WITH ME! OR THE WIZARD DIES!”

“How did you know?” Stuart asked.

“Please, I know every bounty hunter in the world. I’ve never seen you here. Plus, you looked as if you were about to s**t yourself when you saw the guns come out.”

“Well, you’re right about one thing, I am a wizard,” Stuart said before he disappeared and reappeared next to me. “But I’m not an easy target.” Katana snarled at us. I snarled right back, and Mitch made an appearance. Katana immediately backed off. She couldn’t help herself, being a low-level Omega.

“You’re not an Omega.”

“No shit.” I turned my heel, and we all walked away from her.

“This isn’t over!” she called out. I shrugged it off without giving her a second thought. We went to Gloria’s office. The closer we got, the more I could sense Demarco. I picked up the pace and pushed the door open. Unfortunately, I opened it so hard that it broke and startled Demarco, making him cry.

“Hey, hey. Hey, buddy. It’s okay. It’s me, Uncle Mikey,” I said to him and got down to his level. He was crying so hard he couldn’t even hear me.

“Demarco, it’s Uncle Aries, and Fury, and Car Car, and Percy,” Aries told him, pointing to the guys, but Demarco was so traumatized, he wouldn’t stop crying.

“What do we do? If we try to pick him up, he’ll just scream even louder!” Stuart argued. I knew that he was right. Picking up a traumatized child who didn’t know anything or recognize anyone was a disaster waiting to happen.

“Show him your wolf!” Aries said.

“What!?” I asked him.

“Just shift!” I shrugged my shoulders and did what Aries suggested. As soon as Mitch had fully taken over, he walked up to Demarco and laid in front of him. He nudged Demarco’s leg with his snout and then licked his tiny hand. That immediately caught Demarco’s attention, and he stopped crying. Mitch crawled a little closer and rested his head on Demarco’s lap. He whimpered but pet Mitch’s head. I knew then I could shift back without terrifying him.

“Ooncle Mikey,” Demarco whimpered again when he saw me.

“Hey buddy, yeah, it’s me, Uncle Mikey. Come here,” I said and picked him up. He hugged my neck and sniffled. “Let’s go home to Mama. Gizmo is worried sick about you.”

“Mama.”

“Yeah, Mama.” I held him close, and Stuart conjured some shorts for me. “Thanks, man. Let’s get home. I need to get this guy back to Gizmo, and then I need to hug my wife and son.”

{Third Person P.O.V.}

While Mikey and the others arrived back home with Demarco safe and sound, they didn’t realize they had left some unfinished business back at the Galaxy hotel. Katana, bitter about not only losing out on a multi-million dollar payout that Demarco could have gotten her, but she also lost out on Razor, whose real name she just happened to hear. Not only that, but also that he had a wife and son.

“You’re married with a baby?” she said to herself while leaning against the wall outside of Gloria’s office. “That’s where you disappeared to? You retired and found a wife? A mate?” But what Katana couldn’t ascertain was that she didn’t see a mark on Mikey’s neck. Unless it was concealed. She knew that some werewolves had the capability of growing an extra layer of skin to cover scars and/or marks to protect their loved ones. But she also knew that only ranked wolves and high-level ones, at that, could do something so advanced.

Katana’s submission earlier to Mikey’s growl started to make more sense to her. He was a ranked wolf and a high-level one also. Katana wasn’t going to let this go. She always had deep feelings for Razor and had always assumed he did for her as well. After all, they were always together whenever they ended up at the Galaxy hotels around the world. On and off for years until he up and disappeared five years ago, never to be heard from again.

“You don’t get to just walk away and start a family, Razor, or should I say, Mikey. Not while I’m still alive and breathing.”

Meanwhile, back at Desert Moon, Stuart had teleported the guys back safely in one piece. Mikey wasted no time in getting Demarco back to Allie. The moment the door opened and Allie saw her son safe and sound, she burst into tears.

“OH, MY BABY!!!” Allie cried as Mikey put him in her arms. She hugged him and kissed him all over before checking to make sure not a single hair was out of place on her son’s head. “Thank you, Mikey! Oh my god! Thank you! All of you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” she cried as she held her son tightly and saw the others outside the door.

“You’re welcome, Giz,” Mikey replied and kissed the top of her head and ruffled the top of Demarco’s.

“I’ll get Dr. Quinn so she can check on him,” Poseidon said and walked out.

“If we’re good here, I’m going to see my girls,” Aries announced and waved his goodbyes. Warlord, Fury, and Carter bowed their heads and left as well. Mikey linked Sin to let her know he was back and that Demarco was safe as well. She came over from Leah’s room along with Brandon and Leah, who has woken up from being drugged and was on the road to recovery. Dr. Quinn soon followed and took Demarco into the room next door to get him checked out. As Allie wiped her tears of joy to have her son back, something dawned on her.

“Where’s Dorian?” she asked.

“Yeah, where is Dorian?” Mikey asked, confused that he wasn’t here.

“Um …” Brandon bit his bottom l*p, not knowing how to answer. Leah looked at him and quirked a brow.

“Brandon, where is he?” Allie asked.

“I’m not allowed to say,” Brandon finally answered. Allie’s eyes widened at this response. “Don’t, Gizmo. I can’t tell you where he is. He didn’t ask me as a friend. He commanded me as my Alpha.” Allie’s jaw dropped, knowing that even she couldn’t override a direct command from Dorian as an Alpha. Even if they were technically equals.

“You may not be able to tell her, but I can.” They all looked towards the door and saw Uriel.

“Dude, seriously?” Brandon exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, Beta Brandon, but as his wife and mate, she has the right to know what the Alpha has done.”

“What do you mean by what he’s done?” Allie asked, getting worried.

“He’s compromised with my brother in order to get him to take him to demon hell to confront Gideon once and for all.”

“What do you mean by compromised!?” Allied shouted.

“Simply put, your husband made a deal with the devil.”