Part 7

"It's nice to meet you," Penelope said after she had walked into JJ hospital room. "I'd shake your hand, but I wouldn't want to hurt you anymore than you already have been."

"It's alright," JJ said. "I'm very pleased to meet you to. I'd love to hug you, but I just said I don't think that's a good idea right now considering my injuries. Dave told me that you shouted at the men that were attacking me and I wanted to thank you personally for doing so."

"I didn't really think about what I was doing," Penelope admitted. "I just saw this woman being attacked and I think a shout came out my mouth before I really even thought about it. It was sort of an instinctive reaction."

"Still, what you did probably saved my life, as Dave believed that they meant to kill me," JJ said. "I don't know if he's right about that, but it's certainly more than possible."

"So your mate was telling me that he believes someone was behind it, that he believed that it was revenge," Penelope said.

"I agree with him from all I know of this person," JJ said carefully, as it was clear Dave hadn't given Penelope any details. "I've never met this person personally, but Dave has told me a lot about them."

"Dave said one of you would give me the details once he was sure," Penelope said.

"I'll be happy to once we are sure of who did it as there is no point of accusing someone if we're not hundred percent positive," JJ said.

"I agree with you, but I sure am insanely curious," Penelope admitted.

"I would be too," JJ agreed, smiling. "Still, I suspect it won't be more than a few days before we know, especially not if you were able to give them a decent description of one of the attackers."

"They had me look through their book of mugshots and I was able to identify both men," said Penelope proud of herself. "They should already be in a cell by now, because it's been a few days and I'm sure the detective I worked with has grilled them. They seemed to stupid to disappear, so they couldn't be found easily, you know? They did attack you in broad daylight after all."

"I'm so glad," JJ said relaxing at the news. "You're right, they should have already been arrested by the police unless there are smart enough to not be caught like some criminals are, but I don't believe that's the case this time. I don't see that being the case this time really, because if it had been they would have covered their faces with ski mask or something or disappeared into the wind. No, I'm guessing or maybe I'm stereotyping, but I don't think they're very intelligent, because if they were they never would have accepted the money from whoever paid them to beat me up and possibly kill me. Of course, they are probably greedy, as there are plenty of those types around as lots of money lures a lot of people and some don't care what they have to do to gain it."

"I don't understand why anybody would do something like that money or not," Penelope admitted. "I know that there are lots of evil or at least stupid, delusional people in the world, but I don't know why we can't just all get along."

"Believe me, I agree with you," JJ said. "That's not the way the world works though no matter how much we wish it was otherwise."

"To right," Penelope said.

"I wanted to ask you if you wanted to maybe come to my home and meet mine and Dave's children?" JJ offered. "You can never have too many friends and I'd love to have you as one."

"I would love to, so long as you're sure," Penelope almost squealed.

"Of course I am," JJ said. "Just as soon as I'm healed up we can start doing things together go to the movies or out to dinner without our men present. Kind of a ladies night out."

"Sounds great," Penelope said. "I do have a couple of lady friends I hang out with, perhaps they could join us."

"Sounds just fine, the more the merrier," JJ smiled. "I have a few lady friends too, but I make time to spend a few hours here and there with them, even though I have a very busy life with my mate and my children. Dave doesn't mind when I do so, just as I don't when he goes out with his male friends, because no matter how much you love each other you have to have a life outside of each other. It also gives us a chance to relax and recharge, so we are not short tempered and snapping at each other or worse our children."

"It sounds wonderful," Penelope said her tone wistful. "I've never been mated, as I've never gotten close enough to anyone to actually live with someone, even temporarily. That's not to say I haven't dated, because I have, it just hasn't worked out."

"That happened to me and then I met Will," JJ said telling her new friend all about her former life.

"At least you tried to make a relationship between you work and then you met Dave soon after so I would say everything worked out fine," Penelope said.

"Will's been really good about visiting in Henry and Michael, taking them on outings with their half siblings and generally showing that he still loves them, even though he's not mated to me anymore. I have to admit he's been better than I expected him to be in that area and it also gets two of my children out of my hair for a little while which does help."

"It sounds like this Will is really making an effect and so many Alphas who have children and get unmated don't, you know," said Penelope.

"That's very right," JJ agreed. "I have to admit that I never expected Dave to welcome Will into his life or his home, but he's been really good in that area as well and they seem to get along just fine which surprised me at first. We did talk about it and Dave said that he thought he might like to get to know my former mate and he didn't hold the fact that Will had been mated to me first against him, because it wasn't like he expected me to be a complete virgin when we found each other. I thought at the time it was a very mature attitude to take, but it's clear that Dave really meant his words at the time because he doesn't seem to bear Will any ill will and they've become casual friends."

"Well, it sounds like you really got a winner for a mate," Penelope smiled, well aware of the fact that sometimes Alphas said things but then didn't follow through, but Dave seemed to do the exact opposite of those others though. Now if only she could find someone like that.

"Did you know I'm pregnant," JJ asked and Penelope shook her head. "I didn't even know when I was attacked, but I instinctively protected my stomach, so I think I knew subconsciously. It was discovered when the doctor had some tests run."

"I hope the babies are alright," Penelope said, looking worried.

"They are according to Dr. Madison," JJ said. "And I'm so glad that nothing happened to them. I only wish that there was a way to prevent a female of our kind from getting pregnant unless they wanted to. I was hoping not to get pregnant for at least another year, because my other children also triplets are only a little bit over a year old and Michael isn't much older."

"That's a lot to handle," Penelope agreed. "I've been wanting children for awhile, but I just don't want to get pregnant by some random Alpha or even a human, even though I make plenty with my job to support multiples that our kind almost always have. Unlike you though I haven't had much luck in the relationship department."

"I don't blame you, I really don't. Having someone to love has been my greatest joy and also having their children. All the pain a woman has to go through to have children is definitely worth it, when it's with someone they love," JJ said smiling. "I love every single one of my children and I'll love the 3 I'm carrying now, but one baby is a lot of work much less three or four of them, which is why I had hoped not to get pregnant for at least another year give the others a little more time to grow up, so they weren't so much of a handful. I hope you meet someone just as good as Dave. I'm so glad I met him as I definitely don't know what I'd do without him."

Dave listened from the doorway and it warmed his heart to hear his mate talking about him in such a positive way. He was glad to know that Jennifer was genuinely happy with him, as he definitely was with her. She was perfect for him in every way. She was not only gorgeous on the outside, but on the inside something that Carolyn had lacked. Oh, sure, Carolyn had been very beautiful on the outside, but inside had been somebody that had been well hidden from him when he had first mated with her. Dave felt regret that Carolyn was the one behind the attack on Jennifer, regret that he hadn't seen her real personality or at another side to her for several years. If only he had known that Jennifer was in his future he never would have had anything to do with Carolyn. That was in the past though and there was no reason to bring the ghost of his former mate into his and Jennifer's lives.

Dave listened for a few more minutes as the two Omegas chatted and thought he now knew what he could do for Penelope that had risked her life to help his mate.

He could understand wanting to find somebody to settle down with and apparently Penelope hadn't had any luck in that area. He had plenty of friends and acquaintances that were unmated and either never had been or weren't at the present time. Perhaps, one of them and Penelope would click and they would start dating at least and who knew it might even lead to something permanent. He knew that Penelope was several years older than his Jennifer so she didn't have as many years to have some children, so he really hoped his idea to find her a mate worked out. If it didn't though, he and Jennifer would at least be her friends for the rest of her life. Perhaps she could even be godmother to the triplets that JJ was carrying now, but he'd have to talk that idea over with his mate before any decisions were made. Dave was sure that Jennifer would agree considering how well they were getting along at the moment, but still, it was a decision that both of them would have to agree on.

As for Penelope he would talk over his idea about finding her at least boyfriend with Jennifer when she felt better and wasn't in as much pain, Dave decided and he was sure that she would have plenty of good ideas. Since Penelope was several years older than Jennifer, if she didn't settle down soon it was likely she would never have any children of her own or at least not as many as she wanted and Dave knew that she desperately wanted them, but then most females of their race did, even the Alphas.

"Hey ladies, how you doing in here," Dave said making his presence known.

"We are doing just fine Dave, Penny and I have been chatting, getting to know each other," JJ promised. "I was just telling her that when I felt better we'd find time to go to the movies together or maybe out to lunch or dinner."

"Sounds like a plan," Dave said smiling. "I just knew the two of you would become friends, it's nice to know I was right."

"There's no reason to be so smug about it," JJ playfully scolded him.

"By the way, I was just talking to the detective, the one that on our case," Dave said.

"Oh, what did the detective have to say?" JJ asked interested.

"He finally got a confession out of one of the thugs whose name is Bruno Wilkinson. He had to offer this Bruno a deal, but in exchange he got a full confession and also the name of the person who hired him and his partner."

"So was it who we suspected?" JJ asked.

"It was," Dave sighed. "I guess I can reveal to you exactly who I suspected from the beginning of orchestrating the attack. I just didn't want to say anything until I was sure," Dave told Penelope looking rather and sad and melancholy.

"You don't have to, even though I'm extremely curious," Penelope said. "After all, it's your business not mine."

"I did promise and you deserve to know, since you saved Jennifer's life, just by calling out," said Dave. "A few years ago I was mated to this beautiful Omega Carolyn Emerson. I thought she was everything that I could possibly want in a mate and a life partner. I knew it was possible that I would meet my lifemate, but such a thing happening was so rare that most Alphas just start dating until they fall in love like humans do. Most of those relationships work out very well and it's how we've kept our species viable. I came home one day a little early I admit and found Carolyn in bed with another Alpha."

Penelope gasped and looked horrified at that. "You didn't kill her or the Alpha?"

"I should have," Dave admitted. "No, what I did was throw the Alpha out of my house and threatened to kill him if he ever came back or ever hurt anybody I cared for. As for Carolyn I did what I had to do and unmated with her in the worse possible way."

"You don't have to go into details I know how it's done and it's always a sad event," Penelope said.

"Yes, it is," Dave agreed. "In any case, the stink of her betrayal and of her guilt will follow her for the rest of her life and I doubt very much that any Alpha or Omega has even spoken to her if they didn't absolutely have to for the last seven years. I figured that she would take her life after a couple of years, since so many Omegas who have committed such a crime do, but apparently she's made of sterner stuff then I believed, because she's the one that paid those thugs to attack Jennifer when she was doing something she normally does. Their intent was to kill her, but you interrupted before they could finish the job and I'm very grateful to you for that interference."

"This Carolyn seemed to believe that if she can't have you so no one can," Penelope suggested.

"Something like that," Dave agreed. "I've got an appointment to talk to her tomorrow and that's only after I promised that I would let justice be served and not kill her like I have every right to do. I had every intention of turning her over to the human authorities so she could rot the rest of her life in prison as that's even better then me killing her outright, because this way she gets to suffer a lot first. I suspect that some of the other women and men in prison will use her as a sex toy. I doubt very much she'll last more than two years before she finds a way to kill herself, because you know that our species don't like to be caged and the Omegas are even more suspectable to that then the Alphas are at least for the most part."

"I won't say the punishment isn't appropriate, not after what you told me," Penelope said, shuddering at the thought of being caged, "but killing her outright would be kinder."

"I don't want to be kind, not in this case, not after what she did," Dave said and Penelope and JJ both nodded at that as they understood.

What Carolyn had done was worse then the betrayal that she had pulled on the same Alpha years earlier, because this made her original crime 100 times worse. To attack the mate of an Alpha that she had betrayed in the first place with the intent to kill, just made the situation worse than it already was."

"I know," Penelope said. "Her original crime was bad enough and yet you let her live."

"A mistake I never intend to make again," Dave swore grinning fiercely. "If you hadn't interrupted them even now I'd be burying Jennifer and I'm not sure I could bear that, not even for our children. It hurt me deeply when Carolyn betrayed me in such a way, mostly because she didn't come to me so we could discuss it. I would've been willing to release her if I somehow couldn't convince her to stay and while that would've hurt me to, I would've gotten over it. I was attached certainly, but not as deeply in love as I am with Jennifer. I'm not claiming I didn't love her, but it was a shallow kind of love compared to what Jennifer and I have together. I'm not sure our relationship would have lasted, but if it had ended like Will's and Jennifer's did then we likely would have remained friends at least. What really upsets me was that she tried to make me out to be the bad guy and the one that was unreasonable and yet I never knew she was unhappy, because she never said a word."

"That's what a lot of females do when they know they're in the wrong," JJ commented, speaking for the first time. "They often try to turn their actions back on the male and blame it on them, even when they had nothing to do with it. It's a tactic that works a lot of times I'm afraid. I don't believe you mistreated Carolyn at all if you treated her the same as you do me. We make a lot of our decisions together and you do as much about the house as I do since we have a lot of children to look after and chores to get done. You could allow me to exhaust myself trying to do everything, with no help—look after the children, clean house, do laundry and so many other things that go into keeping a family our size running—but you don't and help out a lot. If you did the same thing with Carolyn then she's the one that's delusional. Unlike Carolyn and I appreciate everything you do for me."

"I know it," Dave said kissing JJ's forehead. "That's probably why I enjoy spoiling you so much, because you truly appreciate everything I do."

Penelope watched this feeling a little sad that she hadn't yet found anyone for herself, but still it warmed her rather soft heart to see the woman she had rescued and her Alpha obviously very much in love. Now if only she could find someone for herself, she sighed internally.

~~~Healed Hearts~~~

"Well, look who it is," Carolyn said pretending she was all confident and smirked at Dave, as he came to stand outside her cell door.

Dave studied Carolyn for several long minutes and Carolyn tried to show that she wasn't getting nervous as Dave continued to stare at her intently not saying a word.

"I wanted to kill you for what you did," Dave said finally without preamble, his tone deadly calm. "However, that would be much too quick, so here's the deal. You will go through a normal human trial, you will plead guilty."

"And if I don't?" Carolyn interrupted trying to appear confident.

Dave simply stared at her before allowing his Alpha teeth to drop, his expression to turn feral and his eyes to start simmering with anger and hate. "If you don't I will make your life even more of a living hell than it already has been over the last nearly 7 years. You thought you were being shunned before, well, the last few years will seem like a Sunday picnic. I could have done much worse and you know it, but I let it go. It was a mistake I never intend to make again. You know what kind of power I really have Carolyn, you know how many connections I have, how many connections my family has. I can and will make sure that you can never get a job anywhere in the world, not even among the humans and that the only places that will hire you are seedy establishments that don't care about my wrath, places where you will be leered at by human men and likely used as different men's sex toys whether or not you agree."

"You wouldn't," Carolyn protested automatically. Carolyn looked into Dave's eyes that were snapping so angrily that they were nearly sending sparks out of them. Carolyn was rather surprised her former mate wasn't setting things on fire with that look alone. Carolyn knew then that Dave would indeed do what he said because she had hurt his new mate, nearly killed her and all because of her petty need for vengeance. She might not have participated in the actual attack but she was the one that paid those men to do what had been done, so that made her equally guilty in Dave's eyes, probably even more guilty then the thugs she had hired in the first place.

"You really think I wouldn't after what you did?" Dave roared finally losing his calm causing Carolyn to move as far away from Dave as her small cell would allow. "As if your crime nearly 7 years ago wasn't bad enough you make it a 100, even 1000 times worse by attacking my new mate, when she's just going about her normal routine. Believe me, when I say if you had killed her I would have tortured you for the next year at least before I killed you and then killed myself after making sure my children were taken care of. I would have made you feel every single bit of pain I was feeling inside. You forgot Carolyn I might act like a gentleman most of the time, but I'm also an Alpha, an Alpha that would have lost their mate for the second time and in this case it would have been the Omega who had betrayed him less than a decade ago fault. You nearly destroyed my life with your actions and if you think I'm going to forgive and forget, then you have seriously lost your mind and never really knew me at all. I didn't kill you like I should have seven years ago because I still felt some affection for you, but that is a mistake I never intend to make again. Would you have still carried out your plan if you had found out Jennifer was pregnant? You would have destroyed four lives physically and a lot of others emotionally."

Carolyn looked at Dave and saw in his eyes that her death was a sure thing if she didn't take this deal.

She had known from the beginning that attacking her former Alpha's new mate was suicide, but she had done so anyway out of anger and her need for revenge. She hadn't wanted to admit that it was her fault that she had been shunned for the last seven years, that it was because she hadn't even bothered to tell Dave that she was unhappy and it wasn't like Dave wasn't a reasonable man in most ways, much more reasonable then a lot of Alphas. No, she hadn't told him and at the time that it had just seemed easier to have sexual relations with another Alpha, someone who didn't care whether it was the right thing to do or not. She had then compounded her error by not only having sex with that other Alpha in the same bed she shared with Dave, she had then years later tried to have his new mate killed because she had been hurt by Dave's actions and what she had considered his betrayal. She had chosen to forget that she had betrayed him not the other way around by having sexual relations with another Alpha in her and Dave's marriage bed and that Dave had only done what was right and just and well within their race's customs and traditions. In fact, she had originally gotten off quite lightly because Dave had let her live.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you would have cared that Jennifer is pregnant," Dave said finally shaking his head. "You will either accept the deal or not, but I promise you that if you don't then you will not be alive very long. At least you have a chance of surviving in prison, no matter how slim the odds might be, but if you don't take the deal then I'll find a way to end your life and it won't be quick or clean.

"I believe I'll start by cutting pieces off you a few at a time, starting with your fingers and toes, then gorge out your eyes, cut off your beautiful long hair, since I know you're so proud of it and then start peeling the skin off your body a little at a time, so that you are in agony for as long as possible. I would break your bones and they would heal in just a matter of weeks, though not correctly, as I wouldn't bother to straighten whatever bones I broke and do it all over again. Actually I would pulverize the bones to powder, by using a hammer on them, leaving only splinters and I would cauterize any wounds so that there would be no chance of bleeding out, so that you wouldn't die on me before I was ready for you to. I would feed you just enough to keep you alive and only give you little sips of water, so you didn't die of dehydration.

"Finally I would gut you like a fish and then have you watch as I pulled your intestines out of your body and cut little pieces off one at a time as you screamed in agony. Believe me, Carolyn I would enjoy your screams very much. You would die slowly and in considerable agony and the only thing I would not do is rape you, as I would never dishonor Jennifer or myself in such a way. I would assure you were in a much pain as possible for as long as I could manage I promise you and I would enjoy watching as the light slowly left your eyes until you were nothing more than a corpse.

"Before you claim I could never do any of these thing, let me remind you that our kind are partly animal as well as partly human. You have enraged the part of me that is Alpha by what you did and I'm barely keeping him in check. The Alpha within me was merciful the first time around and yet you tried to kill his Omega, his second chance at happiness. You would have left our children without a mother and you would have destroyed over a dozen lives not just mine or Jennifer's. You would have destroyed not only our five children, but the three yet to be born.

"You would have destroyed the lives of Jennifer mother, her sister and her family and several other peoples, but you didn't bother to think about that did you when you paid those thugs to kill a woman who had never done you any harm. In fact, someone who had never even met you, all to get back at me for what I did, even though I was in the right. I should've just killed you back then, but as Jennifer told me a couple years ago if I had done so you cannot learn the lessons that life teaches us if we bother to pay attention, something that you obviously didn't do.

"I never figured you for a stupid woman Carolyn, because normally you're very intelligent, but you went way too far this time and deep inside you know it. You at least had a life, even if you were shunned by our kind, but now you will either take the deal or I'll tell the detective that you refused. Technically, I have every right to take you into my custody and do whatever I want with you, since both of your crimes were against me or my family, but I agreed to let the cops handle it, since I knew in many ways prison would be worse then simply killing you. You probably believed that you would never be caught, that I would never figure out who had killed my mate, but that's just stupid. I know my history and I know what can happen if an Omega's being shunned for betraying their Alpha. Believe me, I suspected it was you all along but I didn't know for sure until just yesterday."

Carolyn stared at Dave and believed everything he had just said, because there was a ferocious, wild and feral look in his eyes that told her Dave would do exactly what he had described. Yes, and enjoy it too, before he killed her and then himself.

"I'll take the deal," Carolyn said finally slumping down in defeat.

"Good, just remember if you happen to survive your prison term that if you ever come after anybody in my family again I won't be so nice next time. I will do exactly what I just described and I'll take months at it, so that you will be in considerable pain for all that time," Dave warned Carolyn with that same ferocious and feral look.

"There was so many other ways you could've handled the situation the first time, as I'm not an unreasonable man normally. We would have talked about it and if you still wanted out, because you were unhappy I would have released you, even if that would hurt me for awhile. Not all matings work out and I'm well aware of this, but you didn't tell me, you didn't mention even once, that you were unhappy, that you wanted to basically divorce me so that you could find someone that was more suitable.

"Maybe I should have noticed, but I didn't, and technically, it wasn't just my responsibility to know you were unhappy, as I can't read your thoughts, though perhaps, I should have paid more attention to your body language and other little signs. However, it was at least partly your responsibility to let me know that you were not content with the way things were and yet you said nothing.

"If only you had and you hadn't betrayed me, none of this would've ever happened. You come anywhere near me, Jennifer, our children or anybody we're close to, I'll make being shunned seem like it was a walk in the park," Dave said more quietly, but with a deep anger still simmering in his eyes.

"I understand," Carolyn said, knowing that her life was basically over. She could now admit that she deserved it though and that she had only compounded her original betrayal by doing her best to kill her former Alpha's new mate, which as Dave said made what she had done before seem like a Sunday picnic.

She had never met this Jennifer so she had no reason to hire those two thugs to kill her just because she wanted to get back at Dave. Her need for vengeance had been strong, but she hadn't bothered to think through her actions. She had known deep down that she would never get away with it for Dave wasn't stupid and would have guessed nearly immediately that she was responsible. If Jennifer and the children she was carrying had died Dave would've gone through with his threat of a few minutes ago and would have made her death as painful as he possibly could before finally putting her out of her misery, months, even a year later.

It wasn't often that an Alpha was driven into this kind of ruthless feralness, but it did happen occasionally. It was probably no different then going insane was for a human and if Dave had reached that stage it would have been totally her fault. Sometimes when an animal felt cornered they reacted with ruthless violence and she had very nearly driven Dave into that metaphorical corner. She had nearly set off a chain of events that would have seen her dead and her death would've been slow and torturous, due to circumstances that she had brought on herself and nothing Dave had done.

"Do you know I nearly set our bed on fire after your betrayal?" Dave asked her suddenly. "The same bed we shared for several years, mated in, played in? I barely stopped myself from doing so and instead donated it to a needy family, someone who needed and appreciated it, but didn't know the history behind it. I'm glad I did so, because there's no way I could've kept it, not after what happened. I could barely look at it without wanting to rip the mattress and everything else to shreds, to totally destroy it."

Carolyn gulped at that and knew that she had hurt Dave more deeply then she had guessed or even cared back then.

"I'll go tell the detective that you agreed to the deal," Dave added quietly turning his back on her. "Don't think I'll ever forgive or forget what you tried to do. Jennifer has two broken fingers, a broken arm, a broken leg, a lump the size of a goose egg on the back of her head from where she was kicked and multiple contusions. Thanks to you she is in considerable pain, although doing well about hiding it and on top of it she has a pregnancy to deal with, which is all thanks to you, you selfish bitch. You might not have caused these injuries yourself, but you paid those thugs to inflict them and had every intention of having them kill her, so therefore, you're more responsible than they are. Oh, those thugs you hired will get what's coming to them to, but they are more likely to survive their prison stint, simply because they are human.

"If not for the kindness of a stranger who instinctively know what was going on was wrong and therefore, shouted out, so that the thugs ran off instead of just calling 911 then Jennifer would likely be dead and I would have hunted you to the ends of the Earth. I won't ever forget or ever forgive the kind of offenses that you did against me, against my family. You hurt someone I love deeply, so I suggest you stay far away from me and my family when you get out of prison, if you survive. I understand our kinds nature very well, but at one time I loved you with everything I was, even after your betrayal cut me deep. However, whatever affection I had for you in the past is totally gone, so don't expect any mercy from me should we ever meet again."

His last message delivered Dave deliberately walked slowly back down the long hallway and knocked on the door to be let back into the main police station.

Once Dave was gone Carolyn's slumped back on what was more like a cot that was in the cell, knowing deep down that she was the one that had majorly fucked up and it all started nearly 7 years ago.

She deserved everything that was coming her way and more.

~~~Healed Hearts~~~