Desert Nightmare (Book 3 to Desert Series)

Chapter 8

            {Dani’s P.O.V.}

            “Mom,” she looked at me and smiled then looked down at Monique and c****d her head.

            “Delta is everything…” Derek came up behind me and when he saw my mother, he snarled at her.

            “Derek, stand down, she’s my mother,” He retracted his claws and his canines and calmed himself.

            “Mom, what are you doing here? In daylight?”

            “We’re in the shadows, I’ll be fine,” she replied and then look between Derek, Monique, and me. “Daniella, why is there wolf with you? And who is this child?”

            “Derek is my guard, and this is my daughter,” she looked at me in shock and then back at Monique who was just minding her own business.

            “You…You, had a baby?”

            “Yeah,” I said bluntly and coldly. “You didn’t answer my question mom, what are you doing here?”

            “I came to see you. It’s been almost three years Daniella, and you haven’t tried to contact us,”

            “Why would I?”

            “Excuse me?”

            “Why would I contact you, mother? You and dad obviously cared more about money than you did your only child, so why would I bother contacting you?”

            “Daniella, that’s not true. Your father was just upset, he didn’t mean any of the things he said,”

            “Well, then he can blink his sorry butt to me himself and apologize to my face. If you’re here to try and put a guilt trip on me for being distant, forget it. Unless you’re here to apologize for turning your back on me, don’t waste your time,”

            “Daniella, please, don’t be so harsh,”

            “HARSH!? Are you serious right now mom!? Dad called me a mistake, selfish, stupid, and every other degrading name there in the book, which I will not repeat because I don’t need my toddler learning them. What did you do? You stood there and let him. What kind of mother allows their child to succumb to such derogatory terms from their father!? Let alone being hit by them!” she couldn’t say anything because she knew she f****d up when she took his side instead of mine. “All you and dad cared about was his business deal with Harry, you didn’t care about my happiness,”

            “Honey, Harry loved you,”

            “Loved me!?" I laughed and scoffed. "Is that what he told you!? Did he also tell you that he cheated on me, not once, not twice, not even three times, but four times!? Did he tell you that he stalked me at work, almost ruined all of my friendships, and then had the audacity to accuse me of cheating all because of what I had to wear at the beach club while working there? No, I’m sure he didn’t because Harry is the innocent one. Harry can’t make mistakes because he’s a man, and owns a company, and makes millions a year, well forget that, and forget you and you dad!”

            “Dani, you can’t keep Harry’s child from him,”

            “Who said anything about my baby being Harry’s? That’s disgusting,”

            “If she’s not Harry’s then who’s her father?” she asked and then looked at Derek.

            “No, Derek is not her father either!” I exclaimed stopping her thoughts right there.

            “Then who!?” she asked almost hissing.

            “My mate!”

            “Your what?”

            “My mate, mother,” I annunciate the word ‘mother’ to let her how annoyed I am with her. “I have a mate, who loves me, for me. You know that lifelong partner that you said never happen to our kind. Well, guess what, it did happen, and he is my baby’s father!”

            “When did you find your partner?”

            “A few months after I broke things off with Harry. Now if you will excuse me, I have a whole day planned for my baby and me, and it doesn’t include you,” I scowl at her and turn to walk away, but before I can, she’s in front of me again.

            “Daniella, you could at least introduce me to my granddaughter,”

            “Until you and dad decide to apologize to me, you can pretend that neither I nor my daughter exists,” I push past her walk right into the sun, knowing she can’t follow. Thankfully, Monique’s genes being mixed with warlock and wolf helped her be immune to the sun.

            “Delta, are you alright?” Derek asked.

            “I’m fine, Derek, thank you,” We made our way through the mall and stopped at every department store that sold baby clothes. I even stopped at Lush to stock up on my favorite body lotion and sent a mass text to the girls to see if they wanted bath bombs while I was here, and sure enough, I ended up with five yes’ in big capital letters. I was even more surprised when they all sent me $100 through PayPal. This meant they wanted $100 worth each. Rather than making it difficult, I just bought $600 worth and made sure the total number of products would be split evenly amongst us.

            “Wow, you must really love bath bombs,” the sales associate said as she rang me up.

            “Oh, they’re not all for me. They’re for me and best friends, we live for them,” she smiled at me and rang up everything. I had Derek take them back to the car, so he didn’t have to carry them since the weight was pretty extensive. I waited for him outside of Bath and Body Works. Humans passing by were giving Monique compliments and she was just milking it all up. They made more comments on her eyes more than anything else. She had my dark hair, but Andre's baby blue eyes, so she was a sight to see.

            I wasn’t surprised when a couple with a large husky walked by and Monique went crazy for it. She’s so used to seeing wolves at the packhouse, and she thinks all dogs are wolves.

            “Woofy,” she said

            “Awww, your daughter is adorable,” the girl said.

            “Thank you, she’s obsessed with dogs, we have a few at home,” I tell her. “May she pet your dog?”

            “Sure, our dog loves kids,” Monique reached out, and the husky licked her hand making her squeal with excitement. The dog’s tail started to wag and licked her face making her giggle with sheer happiness. I couldn’t help but smile. After another minute or so, the couple left, but Monique was not happy she started to cry for the dog to come back.

            “Pas de bébé qui pleure,” (No crying baby girl)

            “Delta, is everything alright?” Derek asked jogging up to us.

            “Yes, everything is fine. She was playing with a husky and is upset that it had to leave,” I say while laughing. “Derek, will you show her your wolf side for a minute?”

            “Of course,” he picked her up out of the stroller and made sure no humans were around, and quickly showed her his eyes and canines. She immediately stopped crying and started to giggle again. “There, all is right with the world,” he said to her. Even though Derek was my guard, Monique absolutely loved him. It helped that this mate was also Monique’s nanny, so she saw a lot of him whenever they were babysitting so Andre and I can go out on dates.

            Derek decided to hold her a while longer while we went to H&M so I could buy some stuff for myself. As I was shopping around, I got the nagging feeling that I was being watched, and started to look around, but didn’t see anyone I recognized. As if sensing my uneasiness, Derek kept his place by my side,

            “Delta, what’s wrong?”

            “Someone is watching me. My vampy senses are on high alert,” I whisper to him. I watch as he keeps a firm hold on Monique, and stays next to me, almost hovering. I decided to cut my shopping experience short, and only get a few long t-shirts, some leggings, and sweat pants for Andre since the ones he currently had were wearing out.

            “Delta, I think we should go home,” I didn’t protest, and we quickly made our way back to the car, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched. We loaded up the car, and I quickly and safely placed Monique into her car seat and got in next to her. Derek made haste and got us out of the parking garage, but just as we turned the corner, something caught my eye, and I looked to my right, and sure enough, I saw him. He made direct eye-contact with me even though the windows were tinted. Harry.

            {Andre’s P.O.V.}

            It has been several hours since Dani left to take Monique shopping. I figured that everything was alright when all of the other ladies had received texts from her, so I was not worried. The pups were all being watched by their respective nannies, and all of us were hanging out in the dining room when Dani suddenly burst through the door.

            “Derek, mind link Crissy and tell her to watch over Monique,”

            “Yes, Delta,” I watched as she handed Monique off to Derek.

            “Jed, Lucas, will you please get the shopping bags from the car?” they didn’t move for a moment. “PLEASE!!!” she screamed and they both got up and went to the garage and I was by her side in an instant.

            “Dani, what is wrong? You never shout at people,”

            “Wait, I know that look,” Allie said.

            “Yeah, same,” Sin also said. “That’s the look she always made whenever Harry showed up at the club,”

            “Dani, did you run into Harry?” Allie asked. I looked down at her and she just nodded. “Where?”

            “Downtown Summerlin, but not before my mother decided to pay me a surprise visit,”

            “Quoi? Ta mère?” (What? Your mother?) I asked her and just nodded again. I brought her over to the dining table and sat her down. “Tell me what happened,”

            “Nothing really happened, my mother came out nowhere. I gave her a piece of my mind, and she had the audacity to assume that Monique was Harry’s daughter. I told her that I had my partner and that he was Monique’s father. Then after a few hours of shopping, my vampy vibes were going off and I felt like someone was watching me. When we pulled out of the garage I saw him, and I know he saw me,”

            “What the f**k?!” Allie exclaimed.

            “Seriously!? That fucker has some nerve showing up three years later,” Sin sneered in disgust.

            “Wait, who is Harry?” Sam asked.

            “My ex-fiancé, the one I was with before I met Andre,”

            “Why would he be following you?” Lacie asked.

            “He’s a wealthy warlock who was humiliated when I broke off our engagement. I’m pretty sure he’s been looking for me,” I couldn’t help but growl at the fact that this parasite had the nerve to try and come near her and my pup. “I get the strangest feeling that my mother is the one who told him I was at the mall today. It’s too much of a coincidence. My mother shows up, and then not even a few hours later, Harry shows up,”

            “Amour, I need to know what this fucker looks like,” I tell her my eyes black as night.

            “Andre, he’s not worth it, please, can we just let it go?”

            “Non, someone needs to put him in his place. You are mine, and if he believes that he can come near you or Monique, then he has another thing coming to him,” I tell her.

            “He’s right Dani,” Dorian says. “You’re our Delta female. Which means if Harry is threatening you in any kind of way, or Monique, who is our future Beta female, then he has to answer to all of us, and not just Andre,”

            “Look, you guys…” Dani was cut off midsentence when Brandon interrupted.

            “Uhh…Dorian, the guards at the gate are saying there is a guest,”

            “What guest? We’re not expecting anyone,” Dorian replied.

            “He refuses to give his name, but they’re saying that he’s not a werewolf,”

            “What the f**k, unless he’s human, werewolf, or one of our pre-approved guests, this territory is off-limits,” Dorian growls.

            “He’s saying that his wife is here and that he demands he be let in,”

            “Wife?!” we all exclaim.

            “Harry,” Dani says under breath. “It has to be Harry. He must have followed us from the mall!” She was getting frustrated, and I knew that her vampire side was taking over.

            “Mon amour, go to our room and take care of Monique, let us handle this,” just as I said that Jed and Lucas came with dozens of shopping bags.

            “Boys put those down and go with the guys to the front gate. We have an unwanted visitor,” Allie says to them.

            “Dani, please do as I say,” I tell her once more and she nods her head goes to our room.

            “Andre, go, we’ll take the shopping bags to your room for her,” Allie says, and everyone gets up from the table. The girls grab the shopping bags and go upstairs to accompany Dani, and we men go out to the front gate.

            We pile into one Tahoe and Derek comes down to accompany us as well. When we get to the gate, there is a scrawny man about 5’8 or 5’9 in a suit and tie staring down the guards. He has hands behind his back and is standing poised and yet quite snobby. I know that Dani said he was wealthy, and he was definitely the type that flashed his wealth. We all got out of the Tahoe and approached the gate. The moment our unwanted visitor saw all of us, he flinched. Good, I thought to myself. This fucker just thought he could follow my amour home and try to claim her as his wife. I do not think so.

            “Who are you?” Dorian asked through the gate.

            “Who I am is of no importance, I am here to take my wife home,”

            “Without identification, I will not allow you to enter,” Dorian said with authority. The entire time they were conversing, I was watching him. Warlocks tended to double-cross you, and they always carried weapons on them. Some even had the power to blink.

            “Look, I’m trying to be nice. I don’t think you want to deal with someone like me. Hand over my wife and no one gets hurt,” he said smugly. This guy had no idea who he was messing with. “I know for a fact that this is a werewolf pack, and I have no earthly clue as to why my wife is hiding out here, but she doesn’t belong here,”

            “And who are you to say where she belongs!?” I growl. This Harry fellow was starting to get on my last nerve. “How do we even know that your wife is even here? You haven’t given us your name or hers. You must be mistaken, because everyone who lives in this pack is here of their own free will, and we do not know anyone that is married to an outsider,"

            “Do you even know what pack this is?” Brandon asked him crossing his arms.

            “I don’t know, and I honestly don’t care. Just open the f*****g gate so I can fetch my wife,”

            “That’s not going to happen, so I suggest you leave,” Dorian said sternly and crossed his arms as well. Dorian was a big man as it was, so crossing his arms the way he did made him look even bigger. As if we all rehearsed it, we all showed our wolf sides to him. He took one look at me and glared. 

            “This isn’t over. I’ll be back, and you won’t like it,” he got in his car and left.  After he was gone, Dorian turned his attention to Dingo in the security booth.

            “Ding, grab a snapshot of this guy and email it to me,”

            “Yes, Alpha,”

            “If he comes back, kill him,”

            “With pleasure Alpha,” with that said, we got back into the Tahoe and headed back to the packhouse. I didn’t even wait for the car to stop before I jumped out and ran to my room.

            “Andre,” Dani acknowledged me, and out of sheer instinct, I scooped her up in my arms and kissed her passionately. I was hungry for her lips, her tongue, and her blood. I nicked her bottom lip with my canine, making her yelp, and sucked on her lip.

            “Where is Monique?” I asked softly, our lips barely touching.

            “She’s in the nursery with Sawyer and the nannies,” I just nodded my head and started to pepper gentle kisses across her face, jaw, and neck. “Andre, what happened?”

            “He left, for now,” she pushed me back gently.

            “What do you mean for now?”

            “He said that he will be back and that we will not like it,”

            “Amour, Harry is a powerful and wealthy warlock. When he means business, he means business,”

            “Mon Chérie, do you really believe that your mother would tell him where you are?” she nodded. “I believe we need to pay her a visit. She just put your life in danger, and I will not tolerate it,”

            “Andre, I don’t want to see them,”

            “I know, but this is necessary, and I need to put a stop to this,” she lowered head and closed her eyes. I lifted her chin with my index finger and gently rubbed my thumb against it. “Dani, do you trust me?”

            “With my life,”

            “Then let’s go. I will text Derek to have him and Crissy watch Monique while we are away,” she nodded her head. I quickly sent the text to Derek, and then leaned in and kissed her deeply, as I felt her shimmer us to our destination.

            {Sin’s P.O.V.}

            “Oooh! I cannot believe that weaseling warlock had the audacity to show his face! Let alone follow her and show up at our house!” I shouted as I paced Allie’s office.

            “Sin, your pacing is giving me vertigo, please, sit down skank,” Allie said to me. It was then I realized that I was pacing with my wolf side having taken over.

           “How powerful is this guy?” Leah asked.

           “Honestly, we have no idea. We obviously didn’t know he was a warlock when we met him, but we knew he was powerful in the sense that he had a lot of money and authority,” Allie answered. “He was controlling of Dani. He tried to get her to quit on a number of occasions but working at the beach club was her vacation away from him. Obviously, he would show up regularly and tried to ruin her reputation by starting fights with customers who got too handsy, and it wasn’t even with the men. He would start fights with her, and even try to hit her in front of everyone,”

            “What the f**k!?” Sam shouted.

            “Patrons would have to actually pry him off of her, and security would have to throw him out on a regular basis. He obviously didn’t use any powers because the beach club catered to humans as well as the supernatural,” I added. “Eventually, our old manager Jake put a ban on him,”

            “Girls are you guys up here!?” we heard Dorian’s voice.

            “In my office babe!” Allie called out. The door was open, so there was no need to mind link. A few seconds later, all of the guys came piling in, but Andre wasn’t with them.

            “Have you guys seen Andre?” Mikey asked us and we shook our heads no.

            “He wasn’t with you guys?” I asked.

            “He was, but as soon as he pulled back up to the house, he jumped out and ran inside, now we have no idea where he is,” Brandon replied.

            “Well Dani was in their room, so he probably went there,” Allie said.

            “We checked, their room is empty, but Monique is in the nursery,” Lucas said.

            “Alpha, I apologize for the interruption,” Derek said standing at the door. We all turned to look at him. “The Delta just sent me a text saying that he and Dani need to take care of family matters, and he wants Crissy and me to watch Monique,”

            “Family matters?” Dorian asked. Derek just shrugged his shoulders.

            “Didn’t Dani say she thinks her mom told Harry where she was today?” Allie asked. “I think they went to go confront her family,”

            “What do you mean by 'confront'?” I asked.

            “Uhhh…”

            “Allie, either you tell us or I read your mind, it’s your choice,” she just glared at me. I rarely used my power on the girls, but every so often, I did.

            “Dani and her family had a falling out after she left Harry. Apparently, Harry was some kind of big business partner for Dani’s dad, and when she left him, her dad insulted her and called her a bunch of degrading names. Her mom apparently just let it happen. Seeing her mom today probably triggered her, and if her mom told Harry where she was, then she probably knowingly put Dani’s life in danger, and we all know Andre. He’s not going to just idly stand by,” she explained.

            “Do her parents know what Harry did to her!?” I asked completely shocked at what she just said.

            “I don’t think so, at least, back then they didn’t. I’m sure Dani told her mom today,” she replied. I scoffed and just crossed my arms. If there was one thing I could never understand is when a parent knowingly tries to hurt their child. Being orphaned at the age that I was left a sour taste in my mouth. My mom loved me, that I know, but she was an addict, and it didn’t help that my dad was a three-time loser serving life.

            There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect my child, even it means fighting with Mikey because of it. Allen is the most important person in my life aside from my husband. Though this may seem cold-hearted, I think every decent parent should love their child more than they love their spouse. Thankfully, Mikey and I are on the same page with that. Disciplining one’s child is one thing but hurting them emotionally or physically is intolerable. I hope that Dani and Andre give her parents more than a piece of their mind, and I hope that weasel Harry burns in hell.