Desert Heat (Complete)

{Allie’s P.O.V.}

“LEAH IS IN LABOR!!!” we all shout.

“Okay, Eleanor and Amber, please watch the twins. Ben, please mind link Joe and Bridget. Babe, call C.J. and have him tell Leah’s parents,” I say as we play hot potato with the twins. Dorian and I chase after Brandon and sure enough Sin and everyone else is running down the stairs.

“Hey, you’re done?” Sin asks as we run to the hospital.

“Yup!”

When we get there, Brandon and Leah are already in a hospital room. Before I get to the room,

“Hold up!” I put my hand out stopping everyone midtrack. “You all know the drill, only Bridget and I are allowed in there, everyone else goes into the waiting room,” everyone turned around and went to the waiting room. Dorian gave me a quick k**s and left as well.

“f**k!!!” I heard Leah scream and I went in there.

“Hey, perfect timing right? I just finished my heat, and you go into labor,” I tell her.

“Shut up Allie!” she shouts.

“Okay,” I tell her and smile. Leah was always mean when she was in labor when she had Sawyer, she damn near killed Brandon and even broke Nina, an Omega’s hand. Luckily, Brandon made good on his promise to compensate her for it and gave her a $500 Visa gift card. Even luckier, he was home this time around.

“Sweetcheeks, do you want an epidural?” Brandon asked her wiping the sweat from her forehead.

“No, I didn’t have one with Sawyer, I don’t need one for our daughter,” she replied.

“Have you guys thought of a name yet?” I asked them.

“We’ve gone back and forth between Alina Brooklyn or Delilah Janelle,” Brandon replied

“Please do not do Delilah,” I tell them quickly. They both look at me. “That’s Heather’s wolf’s name,”

“Well, Delilah is out,” Brandon said, and Leah nodded in agreement.

“But what if she doesn’t look like an Alina, we need a backup,” Leah said.

“Does it have to start with a D?” I ask.

“Yes, we’re using the initial letter of yours and Dorian’s names,” Brandon replied. I grabbed my heart and made a pouty happy face. I pulled out my phone and started to dig through unique baby girl names that started with a D. After a few minutes of searching, I found the perfect name,

“Danica,” I said looking at them. “It’s Slavic and means morning star or Venus,”

“Oh my gosh, that’s per…AHHH!!!” she was about to say as a contraction came on.

“Where is Dr. Quinn?!” Brandon shouted.

“Come on, you know as well as I do, that this takes a while buddy. She just started labor, Dr. Quinn should be here soon,” I tell him as he helps Leah through her breathing. After about fifteen minutes, Dr. Quinn comes in and checks on Leah. She has a lot more to go.

Seven hours have passed, and Leah’s contractions are about three minutes apart. She is exhausted and so is Brandon. Luckily, their little girl has turned fully and is ready to come out any minute now. Brandon and I had left for an hour so we could eat and check in on the other pups while Bridget came to watch Leah. Andre and Dani were watching over Sawyer, and our twins were having a blast with their cousins. There was definitely no shortage of babysitters in our family.

After another hour of contractions and Leah’s screaming, Dr. Quinn came back in to check on her,

“Okay Beta, let’s see where we are,” she said as she lifted the drape. “Oh, perfect timing, this little girl is ready to come out,” Dr. Quinn called in the nursing staff and put on some gloves. “Beta, on your next contraction, you’re going to push,”

“Brace yourself, Brandon,” I tell him and stand back. Brandon holds Leah’s hand and the pushing began.

————-

After what felt like a lifetime of pushing, Leah and Brandon’s daughter was finally welcomed into the world. She was a healthy plump little girl that weighed 14 pounds and 7 ounces,

“How are you doing?” I ask Leah as Brandon and Bridget were watching the nurses clean up the baby and Dr. Quinn cleans up Leah.

“Why did that seem harder than Sawyer?”

“It shouldn’t have been, she’s three pounds smaller than he was,” I tell her and we both start to laugh.

“Oh my, what a perfect little angel,” Bridget says as she holds her new granddaughter.

“What does she look like?” Leah asks

“She’s a good mixture of both of us sweet cheeks. She has your nose and eye shape and your dark brown hair. She has my hazel eye color and my lips,” Brandon says while coming over and kissing Leah on the forehead. “You were amazing, Leah,”

“She also has a small head like Leah,” Bridget says

“Then why did it feel like I was pushing Brandon’s big head out of my v****a,” Leah asks, and we all laugh.

“Mom, will you give her to me and go get Sawyer?”

“Of course,” Bridget says and hands the little angel to Brandon and leaves to get Sawyer.

“Do you want me to get Demarco?” I ask

“No!” Brandon protests and I just laugh. “She was just born, her mate can wait,”

“Speaking of mates, you guys totally missed it,”

“Missed what,” Leah asks as Brandon gives her their daughter.

“Demarco’s first word was ‘mama’,”

“Oh, that’s awesome! What about Daisy?” Leah says while cradling their pup.

“Hahaha! Um… Well, her first word was Kiki,”

“What the f**k is Kiki?” Brandon asks.

“I think it’s short for Keegan,” I say and press my lips together and they both look at me in shock. “And she said it right to Dorian’s face,” I say as I cringe.

“Oh s**t!” they both exclaim.

“Dorian is heartbroken right now,” I say while laughing.

“Damn, having your daughter’s first word be her mate’s name rather than mama or dada must suck,” Brandon said.

“Speaking of daughters, are you going to tell me what my future daughter-in-law’s name is?” I see both of them look at each other and back down to their daughter and I can see that they are debating through the mind link. After a minute or two, they turn to me and smile.

“Her name is Danica,” they both say.

“Danica Janelle Kane,” I say out loud. “Beautiful name for a beautiful girl,”

“Do you want to hold her mama in law?” Leah says with a big smile. I smile back and take Danica into my arms. I stare into her beautiful hazel eyes and sure enough, I can feel Demarco’s essence and it’s strong.

“Wow,” I say

“What is it?” Leah asks.

“Demarco’s essence is strong on her, like really strong,” I tell them. “I think it’s because Demarco is the future Alpha, and baby Danica is the future Luna of our pack,”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. If Danica is Demarco’s mate, then she will be the Luna,” Leah repeated.

“So, hold on, Demarco will be Alpha, Danica will be Luna, Sawyer and Monique will be Beta, Allen and Madison will be Gamma, Daisy, Keegan, Matthew, and Arlene will be the highest level Omegas, but can produce Alpha offspring because of Dorian and C.J.,”

“Wait, there’s no Delta,” I reply.

“Not unless Andre and Dani produce a son,” he says.

“Look who is here to see his baby sister!” Bridget says walking in Sawyer.

“Hey buddy, you ready to meet your new baby sister?” Brandon says picking him up. He places Sawyer on the bed, and he crawls over to Danica and gives a small baby giggle.

“Be gentle my prince,” Leah says as leans closer to Sawyer. “Can you give her a k**s?” she asks, and Sawyer gently places a k**s on Danica’s cheek.

“Oh my gosh, that has to be the cutest thing ever,” I say smiling with glee.

“Hey,” Dorian says at the door and he has Demarco.

“Babe, why do you have Demarco? I thought he was with Amber’s kids?”

“Believe it or not, Demarco ran away and somehow made it half-way to the pack hospital before Cam caught up to him. When he tried to take him back to the dining room, Demarco started to scream and cry,”

“Why was he coming to the hospital?” I ask and take Demarco from him. Before Dorian could answer Demarco started to fidget in my arms. “Baby boy, what’s wrong?” I ask him but he keeps pushing me away.

“Eh! Eh!” he kept whining and struggling. I put him down and he speed walks over to Leah’s bed. He is putting his hands up asking to get on. Dorian picks him up and puts him on the bed, and Demarco crawls over to Leah and lays next to her opposite of Sawyer.

“What the?” Brandon said. Dorian and I look at each other.

“Wait, you don’t think…” Leah says.

“Could Demarco sense Danica?” I ask no one in particular.

“Danica?” Dorian asks.

“Oh yeah, Dorian, meet your future daughter-in-law, Danica Janelle Kane,” Brandon said giving Dorian a fist bump.

“Okay, hold on, I know that wolf pups are drawn to their mate when they’re young, but can a 16-month-old really sense their mates from the other side of the house?” I asked Dorian.

“Allie, didn’t you say that Danica had a strong essence?” Leah asked me, and I nodded. “Maybe Demarco picked up on it?”

“But at 16 months?”

“Demarco is going to be powerful, baby,” Dorian says, and I look up at him. “I’m a high-level Alpha and you’re a blessed wolf which in turn makes you a high-level Luna. All of our pups will have amazing genes, and given who their mates are, their future pups will too,” I just nod and look down at Demarco who has his hand on Danica’s little feet and is passed out.

“Wow, it looks like I’ve already been replaced…This sucks,” I say and pout.

“At least his first word was mama,” Dorian whined, and we started to snicker, so we didn’t wake up the pups.

“I’m sorry man, Gizmo told us what happened with Daisy,” Brandon said putting his hand on Dorian’s shoulder.

“If we have another pup and it turns out to be a girl, I will make sure that her first word is dada,” Dorian said. I just smiled and shook my head. I went to pick up Demarco, but Leah stopped me,

“It’s okay, we can watch him. Bridget and Joe will be here too, so you can leave him. I’m sure he wants to be with Danica for a little bit,”

“You sure?” I ask, and she nods. “Okay, thanks,” I give Demarco a k**s on his forehead, and Dorian and I leave.

{Brandon’s P.O.V.}

“Damn, I hope Danica’s first word isn’t Dede, or Marco, or something like that,” I say to Leah picking up Sawyer and placing him on the couch in the room. She just giggles.

“Okay…Oh wow, there are a lot of pups in here,” Dr. Quinn says as she comes back into Leah’s room. “Why is the future Alpha in here?” she asks pointing at a sleeping Demarco.

“Danica is his future mate, and apparently he could sense her all the way in the dining room and followed her scent on his own. Dorian had to intervene and brought him here,” I reply.

“Really? That’s astonishing, though not surprising given his bloodline,”

“That’s what Dorian said,” Leah replies.

“Anywho, let’s check on the future Luna then shall we?” Dr. Quinn said and took Danica, but as soon as she picked her up Demarco started to cry but in an angry way. “Oh my,”

“It’s okay, Demarco, Danica is right there. She’s not going anywhere,” Leah says and holds him.

“Come here buddy,” I pick him up and bring him close to Danica and he calms down.

“My, I don’t think I’ve seen a 16-month-old react so possessively,” Dr. Quinn said while looking over Danica. As soon as she was done, she put Danica back in Leah’s arms to be fed and Demarco almost jumped out of my arms to be next to her.

“Damn, Demarco is straight-up claiming her and is already super protective. I don’t know whether to be sad or happy,” I said to Leah. Leah just shrugged her shoulders.

“It looks like Danica will be napping in the Alpha nursery,” she replied, and I just shook my head.

After an hour passed, the nurses were coming to take Danica to get her newborn tests done, but Demarco wasn’t having it. I had to mind link Allie and Dorian to come get him,

“What’s going on?” Allie asks as she came into the hospital room.

“Come get your son Gizmo, he’s making it impossible for the nurses to take Danica to get her tests done,” I tell her. Dorian comes in and picks up Demarco and he starts fussing even more.

“Demarco!” Dorian raises his voice with his Alpha tone and growls. Demarco stops fussing and starts to cry.

“Mama!” Demarco cries and reaches for Allie.

“Oh, my goodness, you silly boy,” Allie says and takes him. Allie apologizes to the nursing staff and they leave.

“Finally,” I sigh, and the nurses take Danica to get her tests done. I lay down with Leah in her bed and just hold her.

“Hey, Brandon,”

“Yes, sweet cheeks?”

“Danica will be gone for a few hours, and your parents have Sawyer,”

“And?”

“I think we should make the most of our alone time,”

“Leah, you just gave birth a few hours ago,”

“I know we can’t have s*x, but it doesn’t mean we can’t make out,” I c**k my head and smile. I don’t say anything. I k**s her with everything that I have and used every second of our alone time.

{Allie’s P.O.V.}

Thanksgiving Day

It’s the early afternoon of Thanksgiving and I’m in the kitchen helping Mrs. Johnson and the kitchen staff with the food. Most of the food is done and sitting on warmers across the kitchen island and main table. Dorian, Brandon, and Mikey are out back working on frying the three turkeys, and the other six that were in the oven just came out. I was working on my famous mashed potatoes and potato salad. Famous in a sense, that the first time I made it last year, the entire packhouse wants it every year now,

Making three large pans of each is hard work, thankfully all of the girls helped peeled all the vegetables so all I had to do was chop it up and make it. All the older pups helped out too, which was really nice,

“Alright, fried birds are done!” Dorian says as he and the guys bring in fried Turkey’s.

“Baby put one on the main table, and the other two here on the island for the packhouse,” I tell him.

“Yes ma’am,” there are only a few days out of the year I can boss Dorian around, and today is one of them. Along with Christmas, my birthday, and twins’ birthday. “Is there anything else you need, baby?” he asks coming up behind me.

“Yeah, see those pans over there?” I point to the stack of empty aluminum pans. “Bring three of those here,” he goes and comes back with them. “Okay, now I need you to hold the pot and pour the mashed potatoes into each one,” he happily does as I ask, and I make sure the scrape out every last bit. “Okay, now put one pan at the main table and two at the island,” he nods and does what I say. “BRANDON!” I shout.

“What’s up, Giz?”

“Bring me that big pot of steamed potato chunks and pour it into this mixing bowl,” he goes and grabs the pot making sure not to burn anyone in the kitchen since it was still really hot.

“Alright what else?” he asks

“See that bowl of mixed veggies, pour that in here as well,”

“Sure,” he goes and gets the carrots, celery, and apples. “What else?”

“Go into the fridge, and there should be a big plastic bowl that says P.S. dressing,” he goes to the fridge and opens the bowl. “Pour it in slowly while I mix this,” Brandon was such a great helper. Once I was done with the potato salad, I had Brandon pour the mix into three pans and gave him the same instructions I did with Dorian. Once everything was done, I made sure that it all looked good and presentable and took pictures of everything because that’s just how I was.

“Baby, are we ready?” Dorian asked.

“We are! Send the mind link, babe,” Dorian’s eyes clouded over as he sent a massive mind link to the packhouse. The stampede that followed after that was ridiculous. “HEY SINGLE FILE LINE PEOPLE!!” I shouted in my Luna tone. Everyone got in a single file and one by one people started to load their plates. Mrs. Johnson was carving the turkeys for the island while Dorian carved Turkey for the main table.

We had the younger pups at the table with us, while the older pups sat with the rest of the packhouse scattered around all over the place. I was sitting in my own chair because I needed to fix the twins their plates. Daisy was normally to my right, but I had to switch her with Demarco because he wanted to be near Danica.

“Here big boy,” I say while giving him turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts to start

“Ahh!!” Daisy started to fuss. “Okay, princess, I’m getting your plate right now,” I gave Daisy turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, potato salad, and green bean casserole. This was their first time eating a Thanksgiving meal, and they were all for it.

“Ugh, why can’t Allen eat his veggies the way Demarco and Daisy do?” Sin whines as she tries to get Allen to eat some green beans, but he just pushes her hand away.

“Probably because you refused to eat your greens while you were pregnant with him,” I tell her while cutting corn off the cob to give to the twins.

“I ate my greens, and Keegan is still picky with his veggies,” Sam said putting a turkey wing on her plate.

“Eating salad drowned in dressing does not count,” Lucas replied

“We all can’t be like Allie,” Dani said giving Monique some ham.

“I’m glad our pups are old enough to eat healthily,” Amber said filling her plate with every side dish there was.

We were all enjoying Thanksgiving lunch when I received a video call from Brittany,

“HIII!!!”

“HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM OUR PACK TO YOURS!” she shouts and moves the phone around.

“HI, MOM!!!” Leah shouted

“Happy Thanksgiving!!” My table shouts as I turn the phone so everyone can see.

“Hey, Squirt! Congrats on the little one!” C.J. shouts

“Thanks!”

“Alright girl, Happy Thanksgiving!” we all wave and so do they. Just as I hung up, I got a text from Maxine and Claudia, while Dani got a text from Siobhan. Although I was happy to hear from everyone close to us, I was sad that I hadn’t heard from Deacon yet. I was hoping that even though he wanted space he would at least text us Happy Thanksgiving.

“Baby,” Dorian interrupted my thoughts. “Just text him,” I smiled and nodded. I pulled up Deacon’s number and sent him a text,

Hi D. I know you said you wanted space, but I figured I would at least say Happy Thanksgiving to you and your pack. I miss you. Hope all is well.

I put my phone down and started to eat my food and made sure that the twins had plenty on their plates. Their appetites were insatiable now that they were over a year old. It’s no wonder Demarco weighed as much as he did.

*Ding* I heard a notification. I picked up my phone and saw a reply from Deacon,

Hey Shorty. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your pack as well. I miss you too, baby girl. I’m sorry I’ve been so distant.

My brothers and I are in Vegas right now. If you and the big man aren’t busy tomorrow night, how about we grab lunch or something?

When I saw his reply, my eyes bulged out of my head.

“Oh, s**t,”