Desert Heat (Complete)

{Allie’s P.O.V.}

Today is Deacon’s and his brother’s birthdays and I have an entire dinner planned. But before that got underway, Dorian and I were woken up by a knock on the door. I grabbed Dorian’s t-shirt and quickly put it on because I was naked and opened the door,

“D?”

“Hey, Shorty, I’m sorry to wake you guys,”

“No, it’s fine. Is everything okay?” I asked and let him in. Dorian was sitting up in the bed still half asleep.

“No, it’s not,” he replied. Dorian and I just looked at him. “Yesterday, not too long after the party ended, Cianna and Lacie found out that Heather saw the video,”

“Isn’t that what we were expecting?” I asked.

“Yeah, but not this,” he gave me his phone. “Those are screenshots of Heather’s DMs to Cianna,” I read the messages, and I swear my poor eyes were scarred from the language Heather used.

“Wow,” was all I could say while handing the phone to Dorian so he could read them for himself.

“Damn, she really is stupid,” Dorian said, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Not only did she just admit she was at the club the night she tried to kill us, but she also just threatened your Luna and your pups, those are both crimes punishable by death,”

“Stupid or not, she threatened Evie and my unborn pups! I couldn’t sleep at all last night!” Deacon shouted.

“D, take it easy,” I try to calm him.

“TAKE IT EASY!? EVIE AND MY CHILDREN ARE BEING THREATENED! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT FEELS LIKE!?” he screams in my face.

“DEACON!” Dorian growled and got in his face completely disregarding the fact that he himself is still naked. “I get that you’re pissed off, but do not talk to Allie that way! The two of us know better than anyone what that feels like!” Deacon took a deep breath and lowered his head.

“You’re right,” he sat on the chest at the foot of the bed. I stood in front of him and hugged him. “I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you like that, I’m sorry, Shorty,” he apologized.

“It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean anything by it,” I tell him and rub his back. “Baby, put on your boxers,” I tell Dorian.

“I’ve never been so protective over anything or anyone, even my brothers. Evie is the most important person in my life, and now that I have three daughters on the way, the smallest thing is setting me off,”

“Deacon, when it comes to your mate and your pups, no threat is considered small,” Dorian says to him. He would know exactly what Deacon is feeling. “Allie’s life has been put at risk in more ways than one, and we actually lost a pup, our first pup. We know exactly what you’re going through and feeling,”

“I wish there was some way we could just track the b***h down and figure out where she is,” he replies.

“Why? So, you can go kill her?” I ask.

“No, actually. I want to know that she is far away from me and my family so I can be at ease, at least until the pups are born,”

“Hm, I think there is a way, but it’s a long shot,” I answer, and he looks up at me.

“How?” they both ask.

“Uh, what I have in mind requires good magic, but it also may not be possible,” I reply honestly. “I need to call someone to see if she can do it or not,” they both nod, and I grab my phone. I pull up the number of my favorite good witch and hit call,

“Hello?” I hear a groggy voice

“Hey, Max, I’m sorry to wake you,”

“Allie? Why are you calling me so early in the morning? Everything okay?”

“Uh, not really. I need your help, or well, I’m asking if you can help,”

“Are you pregnant again?”

“What? No, I’m not pregnant again,”

“Then what’s up? Are you okay? Are you in danger again?”

“Well, kind of sort of,”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s a long story Max, and I promise to tell you all the details, but I need to ask you a favor,”

“Sure,”

“You know that thing that the Halliwell sisters do on the show Charmed, where they spin the crystal over the map and get locations on demons and other supernaturals?”

“You mean scrying?”

“Yeah, that,”

“What about it?”

“Do good witches actually know how to do that?”

“No,”

“Oh, damn,”

“Witches don’t, but wizards do,”

“WIZARDS?!” I exclaim, and Dorian and Deacon stare at me due to my outburst.

“My husband is a wizard, Allie, he knows how to scry,”

“I still have so much to learn,”

“Hahaha,”

“Anywho, do you think he would be willing to lend us his craft? I have a friend whose mate and unborn pups have been threatened by his ex-mate, and he wants to see where she is in the world,”

“If his goal is to find her to kill her, then we can’t help,”

“No, it’s not, he really just wants to know where she is, so he can put himself at ease or on alert, nothing more,”

“Let me ask Stuart if he will help,” I hear muffling and mumbling for a few minutes. “Hello?”

“Yeah, I’m here,”

“He says that he will help, but only this one time,”

“That’s all we need,”

“Are you at home, Allie?”

“No, we’re in California. My friend, the one who needs the help lives right outside of Olympic Valley,”

“If you text me your GPS location, Stuart can teleport there,”

“Wow, that’s totally awesome. Sure, I will do that,”

“Okay, I can’t go because I need to watch the kids,”

“That’s okay. We will hook up again soon, love you, Max,”

“Love you too, tell Dorian I said hi,”

“Okay, bye,”

I hung up the phone and looked at the guys, and Deacon looked utterly confused.

“Maxine is a good witch who helped conceal my pregnancy with the twins. Sin, Dani, Siobhan, and I worked with her Kane Beach Club. Her hubby is a wizard who has agreed to help us this one time to locate Heather,” I say really fast and then text Maxine our GPS location.

“When is he going to get here?” Deacon asked, but before I could answer, the doorbell rang.

“Now,” I reply. Dorian and I change quickly and go do the front door. Standing there is an average-sized middle-aged man. “Stuart?” I ask and he nods. “Hi, I’m Allie, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” I say with a smile and put out my hand.

“Allie, it is a pleasure to finally meet you as well,” he shakes my hand, takes one look at Dorian, and jumps back. “Wow, the rumors are true. The Desert Moon Alpha is quite large,” I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Please come in,” I tell him, and he comes in.

“Maxine tells me that you are needing me to scry for someone because she poses a threat to a friend and their unborn child,” Stuart says walking in.

“Children,” Deacon corrects him. Stuart looks up. “My children to be exact. My mate is carrying triplets and she can go into in labor in the next few weeks. I need to be sure my ex-mate is far enough away so I can be more at ease,”

“I can do that, I need a fully detailed map of the United States and something of hers to use,”

“We don’t have anything of hers,” Deacon replied.

“Well, if we don’t have an object of hers, this won’t work,” Stuart said. We all stood there for a minute but then something hit me.

“Stuart, would b***d work?” I ask him.

“Yes, that would work,”

“We don’t have Heather’s b***d, baby,” Dorian tells me,

“No, but we have a b***d relative that shares 50% of her DNA,” I tell him. Both Deacon and Dorian look at each other, and Deacon runs upstairs to get Lacie.

Once Lacie and Aries came down, we went to Deacon’s office where he laid out a map of the United States on his desk,

“Okay, so do I need to draw my b***d for this work?” Lacie asked.

“No, because you are b***d-related to the subject we are trying to find, I just need you to hold his amulet by the thread, and I will guide it magically by putting my hand on top of yours. Your bond as sisters should allow us to find her relatively quickly,” Lacie nodded and held the amulet by the string. Stuart grabbed the top of her hand, and Aries immediately growled.

“STOP IT!” Lacie and I shouted at him and he backed off.

“Ugh, dominant male wolves are so f*****g possessive,” I muttered. “Please, continue Stuart,” I say nicely, and glare at Aries. Watching Stuart and Lacie spin the amulet was exactly like the s**t I saw on T.V. It made me wonder if the screenplay for the show Charmed was written by a witch or wizard. After a few minutes of trying, we got nothing.

“Well, that was a bust,” Lacie said.

“No, it’s wasn’t, the crystal was glowing, which means it was working. Not getting a result on this map means that your sister is not in America,”

“That’s a good thing,” I reply

“If you want a more concrete answer, we’re going to need a world map,” Stuart says.

“We have a globe, does that work?” Deacon asks while pointing at the large globe in the corner of his office.

“Yes, it should,” Stuart and Lacie go over to the globe and start again. It takes several minutes because they have to spin the globe around, but after the fifth try, the crystal starts to spin super-fast, and lands on a spot on the globe.

“What country is that?” Lacie asks. Stuart marks with his finger and moves the crystal out of the way.

“She appears to be in the UAE,”

“How the f**k did she get all the way in the UAE?” I ask. “And why?”

“The ‘how’ isn’t important, but I think I know why,” Dorian replies. “The UAE has no extradition treaty with the United States,”

“Regardless of the reason, Heather is on the opposite side of the world right now, so that’s all I care about,” Deacon replied letting out a sigh of relief.

“How did she get there? My sister has no money,” Lacie said going back to Aries.

“I’m sure she has been coming up with a way to make money, Precious, if she was smart enough to go to a country with no extradition treaties, then she is smart enough to make money to stay off the grid,” Aries said holding her.

“May I ask why finding this person is important?” Stuart asked.

“She tried to kill all of us on New Year’s Eve, and almost succeeded with me and Lacie,” I tell him. Stuart’s eyes were wide with shock and he blinked rapidly several times.

“Please tell me you’re joking, Allie,”

“Nope, and it’s a long story. One I will gladly tell in great detail to you and Maxine later,” I tell him, and he nods.

“Stuart, thank you for your help, this really means a lot to me. If there is anything you ever need, please do not hesitate to drop by. I will make sure you are on the guestlist to my territory, you and Maxine are always welcome here,” Deacon tells him while shaking his hand.

“Please, think nothing of it. That’s what good magic is for, but as I said, this is a onetime deal,”

“I understand,”

“It was a pleasure to meet everyone. Allie, I’m sure Maxine will be giving you a call very soon,” I smile, and he disappears into thin air.

“Whoa, now that’s cool,” I say to his magic trick, and everyone chuckles. “Feel better, D?”

“Much, thank you, Allie,” he replied.

“Okay, now that is taken care of…” I look at him and smile. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!” I squeal and jump into his arms. Everyone laughs at my sudden change in tone.

“HEY! Whatever you guys are doing up there, stop and come down for breakfast!!” we hear Chelsea shout. We all go downstairs and get ready for a full day of birthday fun.

After breakfast, we all went outside to the lakebed and hung out by the water. I really wanted to get in, but it was still too cold to go swimming, which I was totally bummed about. I did however wade in the shallow edges and enjoy the crisp cold water on my feet. The sun was shining bright which made the cold water bearable. Even though today was about the triplets, Dorian and I still made time to have some private moments.

After everything that had happened, we never took for granted having each other in our lives, and it was the same for Aries and Lacie. Lacie’s birthday was back in February, and we had both just came out of a coma around that time, so Aries took Lacie for a small weekend getaway for just the two of them. I was secretly hoping they would get hitched, but they didn’t. I was bummed because Dorian told me that Aries wants to propose to Lacie, but my guess is that with everything going on, Lacie wouldn’t be up for it right now.

“Hey! You two quit having ‘private time’ and get back over here!” Cianna shouted at Dorian and me. We both laughed and went back to the group. “Today is about the triplets!” she demands.

“Sorry, but you know Dorian and I like to have a private moment when we can,” I tell her.

“Well, wait until you get home on Monday,” she snubs. I just roll my eyes and smile.

“So, Shorty what is on the menu for dinner?” Lucian asks.

“We just had breakfast not even an hour ago Luci, you’re already asking about dinner?” I reply.

“Well yeah, I mean, that’s the main reason why we’re excited that you’re here,”

“Geez, thanks. Now I know you guys only love me for my cooking,” I sneer.

“Nah, that’s only one reason why we love you, among many others, Shorty,” Apollo replies.

“Yeah, what he said…But seriously, what’s for dinner?” Lucian interjected again. I just laughed and shook my head. Deacon and his brothers were so different, it was ridiculous.

“All I know is that lamb chops and lobster are part of it, otherwise I wouldn’t have to have bought five racks of lamb and half a dozen lobster tails,” Deacon said.

“What do you mean by ‘you bought’? Allie sent you money dipshit!” Dorian defended. Everyone burst into laughter.

“If you really want to know that badly, I will be making Lobster Risotto, Pomegranate-Maple Glazed Lamb Chops, wedged iceberg salad, and Skillet Gnocchi with Sausage and Broccoli,”

“What the hell is gnocchi?” Lucian asked. All of our mouths dropped at the question.

“How…” I pause a minute “…How do you not know what gnocchi is!?” I ask.

“Luci,” Cianna grabs his attention and shows him on her phone.

“Ohhhh… just kidding. I know what it is. I never knew that’s what it was called,” he says and scratches the back of his head.

“That’s a load of bull Lucian, and you know it,” Chelsea says. “You’re just trying to play it off because you’re the only one who doesn’t know what it is, out of the fourteen people here,”

“Yeah, even our kids know what it is,” Melissa says.

“You know what, screw you all. Today is my birthday…”

“OUR birthday!” Deacon and Apollo correct him, and we all laugh.

“Deacon, come on,” Apollo says. They both grab Lucian from the arms and legs and take him down the dock. Lucian is fighting them, but it’s no use.

“OH MY GOD! NO!!” Cianna exclaims and chases after them while the rest of us roll over laughing. They end up throwing him into the icy cold water of the lake. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone swim that fast.

“We’re not kids anymore!” Lucian shouts as he gets out of the water.

“That’s what makes it more fun, brother!” Deacon replied. “We can throw you a lot farther now than we could when we were kids,”

“You guys suck!”

“You know, that looks like fun,” Dorian said with a suspicious tone. I looked at him and as soon as I did, he had me over his shoulder and was running down the dock.

“DORIAN!!!” I shrieked in fear. Dorian didn’t need any help. He lifted me in the air like I weighed nothing and threw me into the lake. The temperature of the water was freezing. “AHHH!!! IT’S FREEZING!” I screamed when I surfaced and swam back to the dock as fast as I could.

“Hahaha, give me your hand baby,” I was going to get him back. I grabbed his arm with both of my hands, put my feet on the edge of the dock and pulled him with all my body weight, “Oh f**k!” he shouted as he went in headfirst into the water. I pulled myself up onto the dock and ran away just as Dorian surfaced. Everyone was rolling over laughing.

“That’s what you get a*****e!!” I shouted from a safe distance. Had we been human, all of us that went in the water would have caught a cold; thankfully, being werewolves prevented that.

“Allie! My phone was in my pocket!” Dorian shouted when he got out of the water and showed me his phone.

“Sucks to be you doesn’t it!” I stuck out my tongue. “We can just throw it in a bag of uncooked rice overnight,” I tell him as he comes up to me soaking wet. He was about to say something when we heard more splashing. Dorian turns around and I look past him, and we see Deacon and Apollo were in the water, and Lucian was flexing his biceps. My assumption was that he somehow pushed both of them. Everyone that didn’t get thrown, pushed, or pulled into the water was just having the time of their life.

This whole being thrown into freezing water turned into a big game, and eventually, everyone except for Evelyn and Eileen was thrown, pulled, or pushed in. Because she wasn’t a full wolf, Eileen could still catch a cold because fairies apparently could get sick the way humans can. Evelyn’s exclusion was an obvious reason. After our shenanigans in the lake, we all went inside to take hot showers.

When that was said and done, I got ready to make dinner for everyone. I kicked everyone out of the kitchen because I didn’t like anyone helping unless I specifically asked for it. I cleaned up the lamb chops by boiling them for eight to ten minutes to wash off any excess b***d and bone shards. While those were boiling, I preheated the oven to 350 and juiced two pomegranates to make the glaze that would go over the chops when they were being baked in the oven.

Once I threw the chops in the oven, I cut five lettuce heads in four sections, removed the core, and made sure to rinse them in some saltwater to get out any dirt and debris. I flipped them over to drain the water and would finish preparing those at dinner time, so they would be nice and fresh. I put on another pot of boiling water to cook the lobster tails, and while those were cooking, I put a saucepan on medium heat and cooked up the risotto in some butter, garlic, and different seasonings. Once it was nice and toasty, I added chicken broth, and let that simmer on medium to low heat. I pulled out the lobster tails and let those cool down until the risotto was ready.

Lastly, I cut up the kielbasas and broccoli and browned those up on high heat with a little bit of butter. Once that was done, I added some chicken broth to bring up all the good stuff at the bottom of the pan, threw in minced garlic, other seasonings, and added uncooked gnocchi. When the gnocchi was nice and soft, I added grated cheese and fresh parsley. I set that aside, pulled out the chops from the oven, and finished the risotto. I put everything into serving dishes and took it all island in the kitchen, and then went back and finished preparing the wedge salads.

The entire time I was cooking, all I heard were “oohs, ah’s, that smells good” from everyone in the living room. Once everything was nicely placed on the island, I snapped a picture as always and smiled in contentment. Everything I made was something new for me, so I prayed that it came out alright.

“DINNER IS SERVED!!” I shouted. It was like a stampede of people; I was thankful that Harvey’s and Tommy’s pups were spending the night at a friend’s house because trying to make enough food to feed fourteen full grown werewolves a lot of work. If I had to add five prepubescent pups to that mix, I would have said ‘let’s just cater.’ Everyone grabbed a plate, filled it up, and sat down.

“Deacon, how about a birthday speech,” Harvey suggested. Deacon stood up and held his whiskey glass.

“Well, I’m not sure exactly what to say, except that this is probably one the best birthdays that my brothers and I have had, ever. We are surrounded by those we care about the most in this world. To our mates, Evelyn, Eileen, and Cianna. I’m not only speaking for myself when I say that you three are definitely the best birthday gifts we received, and Evie, baby girl, you gave me so much more. Looking at you and your beautiful pregnant belly gives me butterflies, and I feel like I can accomplish anything, as long as you are by my side. Harvey, Melissa, Tommy, and Chelsea, all of us have grown up together in this pack, and you four have always been a wonderful support system to my brothers and me. Aries and Lacie, you two have become fast friends of ours, and we are happy to have you in our lives. Dorian and Allie, even though the first time we met was not a great start, I’m glad that we were able to get over it all and become allies, and more importantly, best friends, especially you, Shorty. You have done many amazing things for my brothers and me, and we can’t thank you enough for always being so kind, compassionate, and loving. Thank you, for this amazing dinner you have prepared,” All of the girls at the table were in tears and the guys were holding up their glasses.

“Deacon, Apollo, and Lucian, here’s to you all, happy birthday!” Harvey cheered.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” we all shouted in unison and dug in.

“YO!!! THIS IS THE BOMB, SHORTY!!!” Lucian exclaimed as he tore into a lamb chop.

“I need the recipe to this risotto, Allie!” Melissa said

“Just the give us the recipe to everything here!” Chelsea replied.

“OH MY GOD!! This is the best cooking I’ve ever had!” Cianna exclaimed. “Uh, sorry Mel, sorry Chels,” she added feeling bad.

“No worries, we already know our cooking can’t compare to, Allie’s” Melissa replied.

“Your cooking is still really good though!” Eileen answered. “But I have to admit, Allies’ is pretty awesome,”

“The pups are going crazy! Let me eat in peace will you!?” Evelyn shouted at her belly. We all had a good laugh.

“Shorty, why are you going to school to be an engineer, you should seriously become a chef,” Deacon said holding onto a lamb chop. I looked around and saw that at all of the men were holding the chops by the bone.

“You guys, seriously? You have forks and knives, why are you holding the chops like you are animals,” I say to all of them. “Those aren’t ribs!” they all look at each other and just shrug and keep eating. “Ugh, worst table etiquette, ever,” I grumbled.

Once we cleared all of the food, and I mean cleared all the food, everyone except for the triplets and myself did the dishes and cleaned up. After that, Cianna brought out a special birthday cake she made for the birthday boys,

“Cici, what kind of cake is this?” Lucian asked her.

“It’s a French Apple Pie cake,” she said and placed in the middle of the triplets. She put two candles, a number 2, and a number 8 to make out 28 for the guys. We sang happy birthday and then enjoyed the cake. The m***s and g****s that came from everyone at the table were ridiculous.

“BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!” Lucian shouted, and we all laughed. I made eye contact with Deacon and we just smiled at each other. He held his whiskey glass and I held my wine glass. “Dance with me Cici!” Lucian said and pulled her from her chair.

“Get up, Princess,” Apollo said pulling Eileen from her seat as well. They just spun them around to no music. Deacon held onto Evelyn’s hand and just look at her with so much love and desire, it was crazy. She gave the same look right back. I realized then that Deacon wasn’t in love me with at all, he just thought he was. That look they gave each other, that was the look of truly being in love. I knew because it was the look Dorian always gave me and I always gave him.

Deacon was finally in love with the right woman, and she was just as much in love as he was. I couldn’t be happier for him. Seeing him this happy only fueled my desire to catch Heather before she tried to ruin his life again. The only problem was we couldn’t touch her as long as she was in the UAE. I thought that this would be easy, but it wouldn’t. Even if Dorian put out the bounty, no one would be able to bring her back, not even a bounty hunter. I had to admit that Heather was smart hiding out in a non-extradition country.