Desert Heat (Complete)

“You’re telling me,” I scoffed and chuckled a bit. Anna smirked.

“But what he did was not out of malice or even selfishness. He genuinely believed that the woman he was meant to protect at all costs was in danger,” Anna said with conviction. I just blankly stared at her.

“Why are you taking her side?” I asked her.

“I’m not, I’m taking my mate’s side. There’s a difference. I don’t care about Sierra, honestly. As an angel, I can’t hate her, but I can dislike her. I know she used him and his big heart for personal gain and that it drove a wedge between him and you all now. But it’s not his fault that he did what any of you would have done for your mates. It’s not also his fault that she had an ulterior motive. He can’t read minds like Sin can. He can’t read one’s soul the way you can. He also can’t have visions the way Leah can.” I dropped my shoulders at her words because she was 100% right. “Allie, I don’t deny that you make an amazing Luna and that you love your pack members, but maybe instead of giving the tough love all the time, maybe show some actual compassion and empathy.” I gaped at her, but before I could come back with anything, she stood up and walked away.

Wow, for an Angel who just spent twenty years in captivity, she’s very bold.

Yeah, no kidding.

She’s right too.

Yeah, no kidding.

Mercury settled and I looked back out of the window. I leaned back and rubbed my belly. I felt my pup kick, and hard.

“Hm, I guess you’re taking her side too, huh?” I questioned him.

“Who are you talking to?” I turned to see Dorian lifting a brow at me.

“Oh,” I giggled. “Just talking to the pup. He kicked me after Anna practically accused me of being a bitch.”

“She said that?” he asked while sitting down.

“Not in those exact words, but she isn’t wrong, either.”

“This has to do with Sly, doesn’t it?” he asked, and I nodded. “What did she say?”

“She said that we shouldn’t be too hard on him. That he did what any of us would have done if our mates were yelling out for help in the heat of battle.”

“She’s not wrong,” Dorian admitted and leaned back as well.

“No, she’s not.” We sat there in silence for a minute before Dorian asked, “What do you want to do, baby? Do you still want to punish him?”

“Yes, and no,” I answered. “Again, I’m pissed that his decisions to break away almost cost Leah her life, but then again, he did it out of instinct, just like any one of us would have.” Dorian nodded his head in agreement. “Even if we don’t want to punish him, Brandon won’t forgive him. Leah is his whole world.”

“Yeah, and that’s something I can understand fully. If that had been you, I would have killed Sly.”

“I’m surprised Brandon hasn’t tried again, yet.”

“Why do you think I made Brandon and Leah take a commercial flight home instead of the jet with us?”

“Why didn’t you make Sly take the commercial flight home?” I asked him.

“Because Brandon needs more time to cool off.” I tilted my head back and forth in agreement. “Let’s deal with the Sly thing later. It’s water under the bridge for now. Vivienne takes priority. Who would take her and why?” he asked.

“Michaela?”

“I called Scanlan, but he says it’s not possible because Michaela hasn’t left their packhouse since the last time. He has her under 24-hour surveillance because of what she did.”

“Did you tell him about Jed being of Alpha b***d?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s big news, and something like that could make him feel threatened, or even give Michaela more reasons to try and get him back.”

“Oh yeah.”

“He did say he would keep a watchful eye on her, but I honestly don’t think it’s her, baby.”

“Then who could it be, Dorian? Who else would have a personal vendetta against Jed, Vivienne, or André for that matter?”

“What about Dani’s ex? The warlock?” he asked.

“Harry?” I replied in disbelief. Dorian nodded. “How would he even know about her? He doesn’t even know that André is Dani’s mate.”

“You sure?”

“I’m not 100% positive, but unless Dani or her parents spilled the beans, it still wouldn’t explain how he would know about Vivienne or that she’s related to André.”

“Okay, you have a point there.” Dorian clicked his tongue against his cheek and made his thinking face. “We have to find out who has her, otherwise André and Jed are going to tear about the continental U.S. trying to find her.”

“That’s assuming she’s still in the country,” I replied. Dorian gave a knowing look and slumped in his seat.

“I can’t believe that fucker is an Alpha,” he said, referring to Jed. He looked at me and I gave him a knowing look. “Okay, fine, you can say it now, Allie!”

“I told you so.”

{Vivienne’s P.O.V.}

The day of her kidnapping

I was upset when Mon Loup told me that he had to leave again for another mission, as soon as he got back from the last one. But, when he told me that it was a huge deal and that it was an order from Dorian, I had no choice but to suck it up and let him leave.

I was sitting at home bored out of my mind because all the girls were gone too. Whatever was going on, it must have been extremely serious that all of the ranked women left and one of each of their guards accompanied them. I decided to go to the packhouse to hang out with Lacie instead since she was still home. Aries had also left, so I figured we could keep each other company. I went straight to the second-floor nursery where I knew she would be.

“Hey, Viv, come on in,” she said as she smiled from the floor. There were babies and toddlers all over the place, including Allie’s twins.

“How are you taking care of all of the little ones by yourself?” I asked her in amazement.

“Oh, I can’t take all of the credit. They were just dropped off by their grandmothers, and the nannies are all on their way to take care of their respective pups,” she answered truthfully and smiled while bouncing her little girl in her lap.

“Has she started to crawl yet?” I asked while sitting down next to her, and pinching Meredith’s cheek.

“No, she’s still too young. She’s barely going to be five months.”

“I can’t wait to have a pup of my own,” I said out loud without realization. I gasped and covered my mouth.

“Hahaha, don’t be embarrassed. Being a mom is a wonderful thing. Especially when you have a mate like Jed,” she replied and nudged me with her elbow. I blushed knowing she was referring to my first time with Jed. “Girl, we still fan over what you told us. Jed definitely knows how to worship a woman’s body.”

“Yes, he does,” I replied blankly, thinking back to that wonderful night. All nights, days, and even mid-afternoons with Jed were wonderful.

“Oh, I know that look. You’re daydreaming about quickies, aren’t you?” she asked and wiggled her brows at me.

“How did you …”

“Please, we all do it. We all have the same faraway look and rosy cheeks when we do!” she giggled. I pressed my lips together and felt my cheeks flush red even more.

“Hello, Lacie!” we heard several voices. We turned towards the door, and several she-wolves were coming in.

“Hi, girls!” Lacie responded. Each one came into the room and snagged a pup.

“Nannies?” I asked.

“Yup! This is Raquel and Sylvia. They’re the Alpha pups’ nannies. This is Hope, she’s Beta pups’ nanny. This is Mandy, she’s Allen’s nanny. You obviously already know Christine, Monique’s nanny, and this is Arielle, Keegan’s nanny. Girls, this is Vivienne, she’s Jed’s mate. I’m sure you have all seen her around.”

“Hi!” they greeted me with bright smiles.

“Hello. It’s a pleasure to formally meet you all. I’m sorry it wasn’t sooner,” I said smiling at them as well.

“Please, no apologies needed. This pack gets bigger like every five seconds. It’s hard to greet everyone in a timely fashion,” Raquel said.

“Yeah, no worries!” Mandy said very cheerfully and waved it off.

“Vivienne, please tell me you and Jed plan on having a pup of your own? I would love to have another pup to look after,” Christine gushed.

“Oh, they’re trying, believe me,” Lacie said on my behalf, making all of the girls squeal and giggle. I pouted at Lacie who just smiled really big.

“Miss Lacie, are we ready?” Arielle asked.

“Ready for what?” I asked.

“We’re going on a walk around the pack grounds. It allows the older pups to get their energy out, outside of the packhouse, and fresh air for all of us,” Lacie answered.

“May I join?” I asked.

“Of course!” they all answered.

During our walk, we were greeted by many pack members, and the older pups were running to their hearts’ desires. I was worried at first because they were going in all sorts of directions, but the nannies were actually doing quite a good job keeping track of them. I was more concerned with Monique because she started to show signs of shimmering. Because she had more vampire genes than anything, it wasn’t surprising to see her developing those capabilities.

“Has she shimmered at all yet?” I asked Christine.

“No, but she seems like she is trying. Delta Dani did warn me that it would happen sooner or later. I’m only glad that even if she does, she can’t go far.”

“Not yet, at least,” I replied.

“The Delta said that family members can track her shimmers?”

“Yes. B***d relatives like me or my parents. Even Dani’s mother would be able to,” I replied.

“Whew, that’s a good thing.” I nodded and we both smiled. Monique was following Sawyer around like his little shadow, and he was enjoying every minute of it. “Aren’t they cute together?”

“Oui, they are,” I replied.

“Tante Vivi!” Monique called out, and then out of where she vanished. Where she stood lingered light-purple smoke.

“OH, MY GODDESS!!!” Christine screamed and ran over to where she was. “Where did she go!?” Before I could answer, Monique landed in my arms and she giggled with pure delight. “Oh, thank the heavens!” Christine gave an exasperated sigh.

“Monie!” Sawyer called out. Before I could stop her, she shimmered again and appeared in front of him.

“Oh, mon Dieu, she’s figured out shimmering,” I said to Christine. Her eyes widened in shock.

“What am I supposed to tell your brother!?” Christine exclaimed.

“I don’t know why you are worried, I told you that I can track her down if she shimmers too far. As of right now, she’s just getting the hang of it. It will take at least a year before she can shimmer more than a few feet. My brother and Dani will be ecstatic to find out, but they’re also going to have their hands full.”

“Why do you say that?” Before I could answer, Monique shimmered again, but this time into her stroller.

“Because little vampires like to shimmer EVERYWHERE when they figure it out,” I said while looking down at Monique. “They get excited when they land at their destination no matter the distance. The feeling of shimmering is foreign, and they get a small rush of adrenaline just like adults do when we shimmer in long distances. But the good thing …” I said and watched as Monique yawned and leaned back into the stroller. “… is that they tire themselves faster, just like adults do.”

“Wow,” was all Christine could respond when she saw Monique fall asleep.

“She is going to need b***d when she wakes up from her nap, Christine. Just like an adult, a baby vampire craves b***d after shimmering and draining their energy.”

“I will have that ready for her, thank you for the quick lesson in baby vampires,” she replied with a smile and took the stroller from me. “Alright ladies, well, miss baby Delta here tired herself out with her new ability. I will take her back to my place for the rest of her nap. Bye!” Christine called out to everyone and took off in the direction of her home.

“Yeah, we should get the Alpha pups ready for their afternoon naps too. Daisy is getting cranky,” Raquel said.

“Yeah, same with baby Danica,” Hope replied. Everyone else agreed, and we all went our separate ways.

When I got back to my townhome, I shimmered in rather than using the door, which was a horrible mistake. I landed in the living room, only to be met with a foreign scent. Tempest and I both knew who it was immediately. I turned around and was met with a face I hoped to never see again.

“Bonsoir, Vivienne.”

“Claude.”

“Tu te souviens de ce que j’ai dit? Si je ne peux pas t’avoir, personne ne le peut.” (Do you remember what I said? If I can’t have you, no one can.)