Desert Heat (Complete)

{Vivienne’s P.O.V.}

After I roused myself out of oblivion, my senses returned, and I found nothing made sense at all. My body felt weak, my head felt as though it weighed a thousand pounds, and my skin burned as if I were a roasted chicken on a spit. What in the world was happening to me?

Tempest? I called out to my wolf. Nothing. Tempest? Are you there? Still nothing. Where was she? “Mmm …” I winced when I tried to move. I lifted my hands but soon realized that I couldn’t. I tried again but to no avail. I heard a sound, repetitively, whenever I moved my hands; it dawned on me that my hands were shackled together. I felt my consciousness coming back, and I summoned every last bit of willpower I had to open my eyes when I started to hear voices.

At first, the sounds of their voices just mumbled and caused ringing in my ears. Undecipherable words until little by little, the words started to make sense and my blurred vision began to clear. I could definitely see two figures in front of me.

“How much of the Nightshade did you inject her with?” someone unknown asked.

“All of it, why?” another voice responded. This one was familiar, but I couldn’t place it. My head felt like I had been on a merry-go-round a hundred times over. I wanted to throw up, but it seemed as if there was nothing to throw up. Now that I thought about it, I was starving, and I could feel my thirst for b***d. My having any thirst was rare, as I never allowed for it to get to that point. When my wolf genes were more dominant, I rarely, if ever, felt the need to feed on b***d.

“Are you mad!? That amount could have killed her!” the other voice shouted.

“You told me to use as much as I needed to subdue her. So, I used it all,” the familiar voice said. “Besides, it should be out of her system soon. Once she’s awake, we will talk, we will wed, and then we will reproduce.”

“You best pray that the King and her family do not find out about this!” the other hissed. And not just any hiss – a vampire hiss.

“Please, I am not afraid of the Royals.”

“Then you are stupider than you look! The King and her father are best friends! Why do you think Adrian is the General of this coven! She and the Prince are still friends!”

“The Prince? What a quack! He’s never worked a day in his pathetic 300 years of life. He didn’t deserve to be wed to a vampire as pure as Vivienne.”

“Pure? She’s half wolf! How is she pure!?” I took offense to the unknown individual practically insulting my mother.

“Pure, as in the fact that she was a virgin! Vampires and wolves are s****l by nature, yet she held on! She should have been mine! And now she is tainted by that disgusting mutt!” Hearing the familiar voice call Mon Loup, a mutt forced a growl from me, and one loud enough that I knew they heard.

“She’s awake,” the unfamiliar one said. I saw them approaching closer, and my vision continued to improve as time went on.

“Vivienne? Es-tu réveillé mon amour?” (Vivienne? Are you awake, my love?) the familiar voice said my name. I felt someone touch my cheek, and it felt like a thousand knives had just stabbed that one spot. I quickly moved my head away and hissed at the feeling.

“Where am I?” I managed to croak out.

“You are safe,” the familiar one tried to reassure me, but his voice was filled with hatred. “You are where you belong … with me,” he concluded, and I saw him smile. I stared at him, and soon, his face became perfectly clear.

“Claude!?” I exclaimed.

“Ah, so you do remember me, mon amour?”

“Ne m’appelle pas comme ça!” (Don’t call me that!) I growled. I continued to try and reach Tempest, but it was as if she was no longer with me. “What did you do to me!? Why can’t I reach my wolf!?”

“You mean your mate?” Claude spit.

“Non, putain de connard!” (No, you f*****g a*****e!) I shouted as loud as I could. Of course, Claude didn’t know anything about being part werewolf. “My wolf spirit, Tempest! Why can I not speak with her!?”

“What is she talking about?” Claude asked, looking at the other person. He, too, gave Claude a look that translated to how stupid he was for asking that question.

“She is half wolf! She has a wolf spirit as a full werewolf does,” he answered him. Then he turned to me, “Vivienne, the Nightshade this imbecile injected you with put you into a deep sleep. Nightshade is like Wolfsbane for werewolves. He gave you so much of it that it also affected your wolf. She should be alright in a few more days. It can’t kill her, do not worry,” he explained to me and gave a warm smile. Something told me that this man was not doing this willingly. Knowing Claude and his sick ways, he had significant leverage on him.

“Well, now that we have that out of the way, tell me, Vivienne, have you come to your senses?”

“Do I look like I have come to my senses, you moron! You pumped me full of Nightshade!”

“I’m not talking about that. I mean …” he paused and grabbed my chin to face him. He smelled of rotten eggs. “Have you come to your senses about being my bride?”

“I have told you once, I have told a million times, Claude! I don’t want to be with you! I didn’t want to marry Henri, and he is a vampire Prince. What makes you think I would be with you, someone as old as my father!?” His eyes flashed red, and he pushed my head back.

“You can play hard to get all you want, Vivienne. But eventually, you will give in to me.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath, Claude. When my family and my mate find out I am gone, they will move mountains to find me!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” he said and looked back at me over his shoulder. “It’s already been a week since I have taken you, and yet, no one has come for you.” I took a sharp breath inward when he mentioned this. “No one is coming for you. Because they will never find you.” He laughed maniacally as he walked out of wherever it was that I was being held. I felt moisture accumulating on my cheeks, and I realized that it was from my very own tears.

“Mademoiselle, do not cry,” the other man said to me. I glanced over at him, and he seemed to be sympathizing with me.

“You are not here on your own accord, are you?” I asked him.

“Non, I am not. He kidnapped my family and is holding them in an undisclosed location.”

“I see. So, I guess that means you will do whatever he wants so you can get them back. Even if it means giving me up, the General’s daughter.”

“Non,” he replied immediately.

“Quoi?”

“Mademoiselle Vivienne, my wife would exsanguinate me if she ever found out I sided with a mad man like Claude. My loyalties are to you, and the King of our coven. She and I always spoke of situations like this. We promised that if either one of us were ever taken, for whatever reasons, we would never give up what our captors wanted.”

“But you gave Claude the Nightshade.”

“Yes, but only because Nightshade cannot kill us. It only weakens us. Had I known that it was you he was going after, I would never have given it to him. I did not know it was you until he showed up with you in his arms. The moment I sensed that you were half-wolf, I knew immediately you were the General’s daughter.”

“Where are we?” I asked.

“I do not know.”

“Why can’t I shimmer?”

“Magical barrier.”

“Your handy work, I presume?”

“Non, this one Claude came up with on his own. You know as well as I do that Claude is a vampire with sorcerer’s powers.” I grunted in frustration. As we continued to speak to each other, I felt my strength coming back slowly but surely. “Here, let me get these restraints off you. With Claude gone for the time being, you are not a risk.” He undid my shackles and gave me a bottle. At first, I thought it was water and shook my head to refuse it. “You need to feed, mademoiselle.” I looked at the bottle again and realized that there was b***d in it. I snatched the bottle and quickly drank the thick red liquid.

“Mmmmm …” I m****d as I emptied the bottle. B***d never tasted so heavenly.

“That should be enough to curb your thirst for a while,” he said as he took the empty bottle from me. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and looked at him. His face started to look familiar to me.

“Wait, who are you?”

“My name is Marco,” he replied. I stared at him more closely, and he smiled. My eyes widened in shock when I realized who was in front of me.

“You’re … You’re …”

“Yes, I am he.”

“You’re supposed to be dead.”

“A story the King and I concocted together. My time reigning over our coven had come to an end, and, well, I knew that I would be still be hunted to no end, so we faked my demise.”

“You’re the oldest vampire of our coven. The strongest. How could someone like Claude overpower you?”

“When your wife and son are tied up and have stakes ready to pierce their hearts, you kind of do whatever you need to do to keep them alive.”

“I am sorry my liege,” I bowed my head.

“Don’t be. As I said, they will be fine.” I nodded my head.

“Have I really been here for a week?”

“More like five days, but, technically, yes,” he replied. I let out a sigh of hopelessness. “Do not worry, and do not lose hope. We will find a way to get word to your family and your mate where you are. I need you to trust me.” I nodded my head. “Now, let us rest. You will need your strength if you are going to get through this.” He walked over to the other side of the room I was in, and I saw two beds, well, more like mats. He took one and left the other for me.

As I laid down on this disgusting piece of junk, somewhat glad that I was not sleeping on the cold floor, my mind immediately went to Mon Loup. I tried to mind link him, but it was hopeless. Without Tempest’s consciousness, mind-linking wouldn’t work. And even if she were awake, I was probably too far away to reach him.

“Jedediah, please find me,” I whispered, and a stray tear fell from my eyes again. Just as I closed my eyes to sleep, I felt butterflies in my stomach. I contributed it to my nerves of being held prisoner, but when I felt it again, my eyes shot open. This didn’t feel like the usual nerves.

“Vivienne, what is it?” Marco asked me.

“I … I’m not sure,” I replied. It couldn’t be. Could it?

“I know that look,” he said. He sat up and gently took a hold of my wrist. “May I?” I nodded my head. He bit down onto my wrist and, for a few split seconds, I felt the pain of his fangs, but he let go abruptly. “Vivienne, your b***d is sweet. That only happens when you taste the b***d of your mate, or …”

“When a vampire is with child … Oh, mon Dieu, I’m pregnant, and I’m stuck here with that lunatic Claude!”

“Shhh … Do not say this out loud. You know that Vampires have exceptionally good hearing. We must keep this a secret. We cannot allow Claude to find out you are with child. He will not hesitate to rip out the fetus.” I gasped and covered my stomach instinctively to protect it. My eyes pooled with tears, knowing that my unborn baby was in danger. “Do not lose faith, we will get out of this. You will not lose your baby. I will not allow it.”

“The Nightshade, what if it …”

“It doesn’t appear to have harmed him or her. My assumption is that your wolf may be the reason why.”

“My wolf?”

“Yes. Your wolf may have used all of her energy to protect the child.” I nodded my head at this information. It was highly likely that’s why I couldn’t reach Tempest. If that was the case, then I had nothing to worry about, at least, not yet. I prayed that Jedediah found me, and fast. I was going to do whatever it took to keep our pup safe.

{Jedediah’s P.O.V.}

“ARGH!!!” I roared and threw everything in sight. It had been almost a week, and we had no idea where Vivienne was or who had taken her. Gunner was on a rampage in my head, and everyone was pissing him off. Being without Vivienne was driving us to insanity.

“JED!!!” Dorian roared at me. I turned around and he, Allie, Andre, and Dani were in my townhouse. I looked at Dorian and all he could give me was a look of sympathy. I let out a sigh of utter frustration and stumbled backward into the nearest wall. Once my back hit, I slid to the floor. “Come on, man, you can’t lose your s**t like this. We’re going to find her. Your team is out there looking behind every door, under every rock, and every nook and cranny from here to Timbuktu for her.”

“I need her, Dorian. I need my mate. I’m going crazy without her.”

“I know, brother, I know.” Dorian kneeled in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders, giving them a tight squeeze of reassurance. I couldn’t stop the tears that brimmed in my eyes. I missed Vivienne so much. I missed her more than I ever missed my parents.

“Dorian, what’s wrong with me? Why am I so affected by her missing? I mean, I know mates go crazy when their mates are gone, but this is next level, even for me.”

“Actually, that’s why we came by. There’s something we need to tell you.” I looked at him confused. “Anna said something to us after you, Andre, and Dani had left Black Moon’s pack territory when we first heard of Vivienne’s disappearance.”

“What did she say?”

“She asked us if Vivienne was your Luna,” Allie said directly to me.

“My what?! What the hell are you talking about Allie? She’s not my Luna! Vivienne is my mate!”

“That’s not what we’re referring to, Jed,” Dorian clarified. “What Anna meant was if Viv was your Luna. As in, like how Allie is my Luna.”

“What?” I repeated myself again, agitated. “Dorian quit speaking cryptically, and tell me what the hell is going on!”

“Jed, Anna believes you have Alpha b***d in you.” Those words got my attention real fast. Did he just say that I’m an Alpha?