Desert Heat (Complete)

{Deacon’s P.O.V.}

Thanksgiving Morning

“Yo! Let’s go!” I shouted to my brothers who were still packing their stuff. I don’t know why they were packing so much when we were only going to be Las Vegas until Sunday morning. They both ran down the stairs, and we headed out to the airport. Thankfully having your own private jet comes in handy, there’s no real time frame you have to arrive.

“Las Vegas here we come!” Lucian shouted as we got in the air.

“Deacon, have you told you Shorty that we’re going to be in Vegas this weekend?” Apollo asked me.

“No,”

“Come on man, it’s been over three months,” he replied

“I f*****g know that Apollo! You think I like pretending one of my closest friends doesn’t exist!?”

“You’re not only one that has to pretend she doesn’t exist man. You don’t want us contacting her either,” Lucian chimed in.

“You still love her don’t you?” Apollo asked

“Of course, I do, and I always will. That b***h f****d up my chances of ever having a mate again, and now I’m stuck being in love with a woman I can never have,” my brothers just lowered their heads. “Look, this trip is for us to let loose and have fun. We are going to gamble, check out some good buffets, and hit up a strip club, and a show,”

“We’re down bro,” Lucian said.

The flight was short and sweet. I ordered a rental and we got to the Bellagio hotel and checked in. It was still early afternoon, and so we decided to just go down and gamble for a few hours before we went to get something to eat. Lucian was a big fan of the Bellagio buffet, so that was the main reason why we were staying here. I personally wanted to see the seasonal garden they had up.

Lucian and Apollo stopped at a blackjack table, and I decided to walk around some more to see what else there was. As I was walking around, I got a text and saw it was on my old number. When I opened the message, I saw that it was from Allie,

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 read the message and couldn’t but smile. I missed Allie, and surprisingly, I missed Dorian as well. Even though he and I talk business a lot, I haven’t contacted Allie. I decided that given it was Thanksgiving I should text her back,

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.

I waited a minute or so and decided that I wanted to see her and Dorian. It had been too long, and knew it was f****d up of me to be here and not try and see them,

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

A few minutes passed, and she never answered. I was about to put my phone away when I received a call. I look at the screen and it’s Allie requesting to FaceTime.

“Hey, baby girl,”

“What do you mean you’re in Vegas right now?!”

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, it’s just that…”

“D!!”

“What?” she gave me a really concerned expression.

“D, Heather is in Vegas right now too,”

“WHAT?!”

“Lacie called Amber last week and said that Heather planned a trip to Vegas with her and few unmated she-wolves from their pack. They are literally in Vegas right now too,”

“Where?!”

“Amber, do you know where they’re staying?” I heard her ask Amber. I assumed Amber and her family were visiting them for the holiday. “Hold on, she is texting Lacie right now,”

“Sure,” I waited a minute and just focused on Allie. Damn, I almost forgot how pretty she was.

“Lacie said they are staying at the Bellagio,”

“f**k! That’s where we are staying too,”

“Oh shit… Hold on…What?… She will?…Okay…D, Amber says that Lacie is willing to help you avoid them,”

“Why would Lacie help me?”

“Because she feels bad about what happened. Even though she isn’t directly involved, Lacie knows what Heather did was f****d up on more than one level, and she doesn’t condone it. So, she is on your side,”

“Tell her I appreciate that,”

“D, Amber will text you regularly, so keep your phone on you at all times,”

“Hold up, I don’t use this phone anymore because Heather somehow figured out his number and has been harassing me. I have a new number for close friends, I will text it to you and give it to Amber,”

“Okay, D,”

“Hey, Shorty,”

“Yeah?”

“You and big man up for dinner tomorrow night?”

“D, how about you come to the packhouse? I think everyone would like to see you,”

“Sure, that sounds like a plan. I’ll let Lolo and Luci know,”

“YAY! Can’t wait! Bye!”

“Bye,”

I hung up the phone and about two minutes later I got a text from Amber. I saved her number and read the text,

Lacie says that they’re currently walking the strip outside and are nowhere near the Bellagio. So, you’re safe for now. I would suggest trying to find another hotel to stay at.

That’s going to be hard Amber. It’s Thanksgiving weekend, and a lot of the hotels are already booked.

s**t, I forgot. Sorry, Deacon. I will try and keep you apprised of their movements as soon as Lacie lets me know.

Thanks, Amber.

I put my phone away and went back over to my brothers to let them know of the situation. They were both stunned at our shitty luck and were now afraid they would lose all their money this weekend. I couldn’t help but laugh. I figured since Lacie said they were nowhere near the hotel; we were safe for now.

{Lacie’s P.O.V.}

“Alright bitches! Let’s have some f*****g fun!” my sister yelled as we walked the strip. The first thing she wanted to do was see the fountains in front of our hotel at the Bellagio. I couldn’t believe she dragged me here with her. I liked spending Thanksgiving with our parents and pack members eating lots of good food. But no, this crazy b***h had to drag me to Las Vegas, of all the f*****g cities in the country.

She knows for a fact that the Desert Moon pack is located here, and yet she still chose to come here, even though, she loathes the Desert Moon Luna because it was somehow her fault Deacon rejected my sister. Heather was a f*****g i***t and a self-centered w***e. She knew damn well she was rejected because she was immature and marked her mate without his consent.

While we were watching the fountains, I got a text and looked at my phone. It was from Beta Amber,

Lacie, I know you guys are in Vegas right now. What hotel are you staying at?

Hi Amber, we’re staying at the Bellagio.

There was no response. I found it strange that she was asking me this. Why did she care? After a few seconds, I got a response,

Delete this message as soon as you read it. Deacon and his brothers are also in Vegas, and they’re also staying at the Bellagio.

I couldn’t believe what I had just read. I looked at my sister who was still watching the fountains, so I quickly deleted the message. Deacon was in Vegas and staying at the same hotel we were. I couldn’t let Heather find out or find him. She would think it was fate bringing them back together or something stupid like that.

Beta Amber, I will help Deacon avoid Heather. I will let you know where we are at all times so Deacon doesn’t accidentally end up in the same area.

Why are you willing to help Lacie?

Because my sister f****d up his life. What she did I do not condone and feel that this is one way I can make it up to him. She’s my sister, and I can’t help but feel somewhat responsible.

Thanks, Lacie. I will let him know. Remember, to delete all of our messages as soon as you send or read them. And make sure Heather doesn’t know your phone password.

Yes, Beta. Please let him know we are currently walking the strip and are nowhere near the hotel.

As soon as the last message sent, I deleted the text thread.

“Hey, let’s go!” my sister shouted.

“Where to?” I ask

“Let’s go shopping at Caesars,” Selina, one of our friends said. We all nodded. Please moon goddess do not let us run into Deacon while we are here.

{Allie’s P.O.V.}

Once I got off of the phone with Deacon, I let out a big sigh,

“Why? Why? Why?” I huff and hang my head.

“Is it just me or did things get really freaking awkward?” Brandon asked.

“Only if you make them awkward,” Amber said. “Look, I know we’re all worried about Deacon now, but it is Thanksgiving, and we are surrounded by family and friends. Let’s eat, drink, have fun, and deal with s**t tomorrow,”

“Amber is right, Deacon just needs to avoid Heather for the rest of today and half of tomorrow,” I said with a big smile. I was not going to let Heather ruin the best holiday of the year where everyone gets to stuff their faces without any guilt. “HAPPY THANKSGIVING!” I shout raising my wine glass.

“HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!” the entire table responds in unison.

“AHHH!!!” all the pups at the table shouted.

“Oh! Are you guys trying to tell us Happy Thanksgiving too?” I ask all of them.

“Mama!” Demarco shouts and gives off his little baby giggle. I k**s his chubby cheek.

“KIKI!” Daisy shouts. Dorian immediately hangs his head and we all laugh. I k**s Daisy’s chubby cheek too and just smile at Dorian. I felt so bad for him, but I couldn’t deny that it was funny.

The rest of the day was filled with laughter, more food, and more laughter, and just all-around a happy day. All of the grandparents were more than happy to watch over the pups, while us adults went out back to hang out around the campfire that Dorian the guys put together so we can have a few shots and enjoy each other’s company. Everyone told jokes, Amber told us embarrassing stories about the boys when they were growing up.

“Listen, so when Dorian was a junior in high school, it was senior skip day, and mom and dad knew it was. So, they specifically told him not to skip school, so what does he do?”

“He skips school!” we all day in unison.

“YES! f*****g i***t. So, check this, Dorian was on highway 15 right and was taking the Flamingo or Spring Mountain exit, I can’t remember, whatever, something like that, right. Mom calls dad and asks what Dorian’s license plate number is, and dad tells her without even thinking…”

“No!” I say knowing where this was going.

“Yes! Mom was f*****g right behind him at the traffic light!”

“HAHAHA!”

“Dorian had no idea that mom was behind him, it’s like, you would think he would look in his rearview mirror once in a while. Anyways, so mom doesn’t even call him or anything. She just follows him the entire time, and eventually, Dorian ends up somewhere in Chinatown,”

“Wait! Oh f**k, I remember this day!” Brandon shouts.

“Wait wait wait, let me guess. Dorian met up with Brandon and Mikey?” Sam says

“YES! All three of them went to one of those Chinese massage places where they give you more than massages…” Amber continues

“OH MY GOD!” All the girls scream.

“DORIAN!?” I shout looking back at him. “You went to one of those places at 17?”

“I was actually already 18 because it was my senior year, not my junior year,”

“We were all 18,” Mikey said trying to defend himself too.

“Don’t lie, fucker! You and Brandon were still 17!” Dorian shouted.

“Whatever, either way, instead of barging in and raising all hell, mom called Aunt Bridget and Aunt Helena, and all of our dads,”

“Ohhh!!!”

“Hahaha! So, by the time the boys walked out of there happy, they were met with our pissed off parents!”

“HAHAHA!” we all start laughing.

“Goddess! I wish I could have seen their faces!” Sin says leaning back against Mikey who was covering his face.

“So, wait, how were the boys punished?” I asked.

“Oh, all of their cars and bikes were taken away, our mom had to drop them off every morning and pick them up for the rest of the school year, and the boys had to do double everything during morning training before school. So, they had to wake up 2 hours earlier than everyone else,”

“I honestly wish I had known you back then, I think we would have had a lot of fun,” Andre says taking a sip of whiskey.

“That’s not even the best part,”

“There’s more?!” Leah asked

“Oh yeah, the best part, all our dads took off the doors from their rooms for six months,” all of our mouths dropped. “And at that time, all of the boys were sexually active, well, except for Brandon, but Dorian and Mikey were, so they had to sleep with open door bedrooms for half a year,”

“So, I guess Mikey and Dorian didn’t get have to s*x for six months then right?” Dani asks.

“You would think,”

“NO!” we all shout.

“Yup! These little fuckers couldn’t handle the pressure, so they either went into the girls’ rooms or just had s*x in their rooms and let the whole packhouse see and hear,”

“DORIAN!!!”

“MIKEY!!!” Sin and I shout at the same time.

“No wonder you two were open to orgies more than Brandon was!” Leah shouted.

“Hey! That’s not the same! Those girls weren’t our mates, and we were just doing it to piss off our parents. We didn’t do it all the time either. We thought that doing it would make our dads give us back our doors, but they didn’t,” Mikey said.

“Wait, if Brandon was still a virgin, what happened at the massage parlor?” Leah asked.

“Nothing! At least for me, I was punished because I was an accessory after the fact,” he defended. “I swear to the higher powers above, I only got a massage. Though the lady did try to suck my d**k, I stopped her. She tried a couple of times, but I told her I was gay, and she stopped,”

“Oh my gosh,” Leah responded.

“What I want to know is how the hell you didn’t see your mom behind you?” I ask looking turning back and looking at Dorian.

“The boss was probably too excited and anxious he wasn’t paying attention,” Sam said.

“I never got to witness this side of the boss, I was already away at college,” Lucas said.

“Hey, speaking of college, is that where you and Sam met?” Dani asked.

“Yeah, you never guys never told us how you met?” Sin said.

“I thought you guys met here at the pack?” I said.

“No, I’m not originally from this pack, my former pack is actually located in Washington,” Sam said.

“Wait, what?” I said and looked at her. “Then how did you two meet?”

“I actually met Sam when she was only 15,” Lucas said. All of us gave him a weird look. “It was my Sophomore year at Washington state, and I wanted to earn some extra money on the side, so I started working as an assistant instructor at a local Tae Kwon Do Dojo. I think I was working there for about a week when I met Sam. She was already a second-degree blackbelt by that age,”

“Damn, you go, girl,” I tell her and cheers my wine glass.

“Sam was a little hell-raiser, and she didn’t take s**t from anyone,”

“Wait, did you know she was going to be your mate?” Sin asked.

“Not at first, because honestly, I thought Sam was just this little annoying teenage girl because I can tell you right now, Sam did not look like the way does now back then,”

“What do you mean?” I asked

“I had barely developed by that age and believe it or not, I was kind of overweight,”

“You? Overweight?” Amber asked.

“Yeah, even with all the self-defense training was I doing, I couldn’t seem to keep my weight down. It got worse when I was in high school because I was bullied a lot. I wasn’t the Sam you guys know today. I was a weird kid that really had no friends. So, as Lucas said, I was a little hell-raiser. I used what I knew in martial arts to beat up the bullies, but that’s not how Lucas saw it,”

“No, I didn’t. So, one day right before class, I actually caught Sam beating up one of her peers. I pulled her off and tore into her for using training the wrong way. She tried to explain to me what happened, but I didn’t listen,”

“What did you do?” Leah asked.

“I ended up convincing the headmaster to ban Sam from our dojo, saying she was a danger to the other students,”

“Wow, that’s harsh,” Ronnie said.

“Obviously only being 19 at the time, I thought highly of myself and let my ego get in my way. It actually wasn’t until Sam stopped coming that I started to realize the void in the dojo,”

“Oh, so you started to sense her absence in more ways than one,” I said.

“Exactly, I wasn’t aware that it was my wolf reacting to her absence. I thought it was guilt for being so harsh on a 15-year-old girl. I didn’t see Sam after that for an entire year,”

“Oh wow, how did that make you feel?” Dani asked.

“Empty really, Quentin actually stopped talking to me, it was strange,”

“Wait, you said you didn’t see her for a year, where did you run into her?” I asked.

“I ran into Sam at the state fair, and I actually didn’t recognize her. By that point, she had lost a lot of weight and was more developed, but she sure recognized me,”

“Sure did! Lucas actually had the nerve to come up to me and start hitting on me,”

“Oh s**t!” Brandon exclaimed.

“Yeah, I thought it was hilarious that he was trying to get into my pants, and not even know who I was,”

“Hold up! You were 20 years old and you trying to get into the pants of a 16-year-old!?” I shouted.

“I didn’t know she was only 16! As I said, Sam had developed in all the right places, and her being somewhat taller than average made her seem older. So, I tried to take her back to my dorm,”

“Oh my god! Lucas!” Amber shouted.

“Look, I’m not proud of it, but nothing happened anyways,”

“Why? Did Sam kick your a*s for being a pedophile?” Brandon asked.

“No, thank the moon goddess. I never even learned her name because I didn’t recognize her,”

“So, what happened after that night after the fair?” Leah asked

“I couldn’t stop thinking about her, I was so drawn to her, and it was killing me not knowing her name. A couple of weeks after that, I was at the dojo one day preparing for a class when the headmaster said a prior student that trained with us will be coming in to apply for the other assistant job that was open. I had no idea that there was even a position open, but I didn’t care much about it. The class was getting ready to start, and in walked Sam. It blew my mind. I was excited to see her again, and possibly even get in her pants, still now knowing she was underage. Then when she introduced herself and I almost s**t myself,”

“I knew that he didn’t recognize me at the fair, and I was sure he didn’t recognize me even when I walked into the dojo. I watched his facial expression when I said my name, and it was glorious,” Sam added while making an evil smile.

“After class that day, Sam and I stay behind to clean up and lock up the dojo. I was so nervous, one because I hit on a minor, two because I didn’t know it was Sam, and three because Quentin started to stir,”

“But Sam wasn’t of age yet…” I said

“Baby, even though Sam wasn’t of age, his wolf was, so he could sense that Sam was his mate, even if she didn’t,” Dorian explained to me.

“That’s actually how our pups know who their mates are when they are young, they can sense each other, but when they get to adolescence, those feelings will dissipate for a little while until one of them turns 18, that’s when the feels come back,” Amber explained. I made an O shape with my mouth and looked back at Lucas so he could continue.

“When I asked Quentin what was wrong, he told me that he had a feeling Sam would be our mate, but I couldn’t believe it. I was happy in a sense because my mate was standing right in front me, and I was already attracted to her, but she was a minor, and she had no idea I was hers, that and she lived in Washington, my pack was here, in Nevada,”

“Did you make any moves on her?” Mikey said. Sam and Lucas just looked at one another and smiled.

“Well…”