"You'll have a good time with your grandparents for the next few days," Diana told her offspring. "They'll make sure you get to school and either Dave or I will call you to come home after my heat is over.

"You've never sent us away before," Spencer commented. "Well, except last time," Spencer corrected. "Is sending us away going to be the normal thing now? Or this only because Dave is going to get you pregnant tonight?"

"Yeah, you usually just have our grandparents come look after us," Meriel said.

And once or twice, Uncle Danny," Spencer added.

"I should have," Diana told her children. "I should've gotten someone temporary to help me with my heat. I was afraid you all would pitch a fit if I did so, because it was right after your father abandoned us. You have to remember you were only five and still reeling from his betrayal.

"Our kinds heat is very hard to get through by oneself. If I'd had my ovaries removed, then I wouldn't be able to have anymore children and now, I am glad I did not go that route, though I thought about it often enough over the last few years. If I had not met Dave I might've gone that route in another couple of years.

"Even if I was unavailable for a few days, you knew I was in the house and that I hadn't abandoned you. As to your question son, this is only temporary, as this is the first time Dave is going to penetrate me without a condom while I'm in heat. After this, I suspect that his housekeeper Ariel will look after you if we're busy elsewhere. This doesn't mean that I don't love you Spencer or your sisters, just that I can't take care of you when I'm in heat and you know this."

Spencer nodded believing his mother. She had never had anybody to help her with her heats before, not even his father after that first time. His dad had never been interested in helping his mom through her heat and totally forgot what it was going to take place so that she'd had to go it alone. He had totally ignored their needs, which is why he vaguely remembered spending time with various members of the family, before his dad had left. He doubted if their father had even missed them, as he hadn't even called around to various family members to find out where his children were. He just hadn't cared one iota, where they were and if they were safe.

This was true, Mercia thought.

"Why can't we just stay here mom the heat room is soundproofed after all," Spencer asked.

"Because I went this time to be just Dave and me," Diana tried to explain gently. "Your grandparents will spoil you rotten and you'll be back in just three or four days, though sometimes actually having an Alpha releasing pheromones speeds up the process. One never knows."

"That's what happened last time," Spencer realized.

"Yes, it did, so you might be back in just a day or two instead of three or four, though I will need a day to recover."

"I'm not looking forward to hitting 21," Meriel said making a face.

21 was the age that heats started for the females. They could not have children until then, which prevented things like teenage pregnancy, unless of course, a male of they're kind got a human pregnant, as they were compatible in that way.

"You'll appreciate the ability once you find a mate of your own," Diana assured her daughter. "That's years away yet, so why don't you not worry about it until then?"

Meriel nodded, because she was just over a decade away from being 21 and 10 years was a long time.

"I love you mom I'm glad you met Dave," Spencer told his mother. "I never believed I would say that about any Alpha, but Dave is just the kind of man you need to be happy."

"I'm glad I did too, sweetie," Diana said hugging her son and kissing him on the top of his head. "I'm glad you learned that not all Alphas are like your father."

Diana finished packing for her children, just as she heard a car pull up outside.

"That should be your grandparents," Diana said. "You go and enjoy yourself kids and we'll call you when we're ready for you to return.

Her triplets rushed out the front door and Diana heard them enthusiastically great their grandparents, as they climbed into their car.

"Well, finally, we are alone," Dave said.

"Yes, we are," Diana agreed. "We knew my heat was coming and you're good at telling when it will arrive within a day or two."

"What can I say, except my nose is pretty accurate," Dave grinned smugly. "It probably won't be more than a few hours now, probably after dinner."

"That's probably about right," Diana decided. "We have all the supplies and things that we are going to need."

"Are you sure we have everything? Is there anything that I need to pick up at the grocery store at the last minute?" Dave asked solicitously.

"No we're all prepared," Diana promised kissing him tenderly. "I've been doing this by myself for a long, long time, except for the last one, where I had someone to help me with it for the first time in years. I'm sure you can guess that Will never helped me with my heats, not after the one that produced my children."

"He's one of the worst Alpha's in the history of our race," Dave snorted contemptuously. "You were forced to handle your heats alone, because you're mate refused to help. That shows a complete disregard for your feelings and your needs. It's not like you could get anyone else to help, because that would have been considered a betrayal since you were in a legitimate mated relationship."

"I had to send my kids to spend time with various members of the family back before Will left," Diana revealed. "If you think he saw to their needs, even when they were just toddlers then you don't know him very well. It was only after Will left that I started having their grandparents come over to look after them instead of them going to their place. At least they knew I was around, even if I wasn't available for a few days. I know my parents hated to see me go through such pain alone, but that was my choice, until I met you."

"It's a hard to get yourself off, even with toys," Dave said.

"Yes, it is, but I managed it. Now, I don't have to worry about getting myself off, since I have you," Diana replied.

"You better not even think about it, my lady," Dave playfully growled, obviously not serious. "It is my responsibility to help you deal with your heat, one I will take great pleasure in performing, I promise you, so if I find you using toys instead, there will be trouble. It could be considered a betrayal and you know what that means."

Diana knew that she would find herself being spanked until she learned her lesson and swore never to do it again. Spanking was not considered abuse like it was amongst the humans a lot of times. She had no doubt that Dave would tear her rear end up until she couldn't sit down without pain for quite awhile afterwards, but since that's the way it had always been among their kind Diana didn't take offense.

"I'd rather have your cock in my body I promise you," Diana said knowing Dave wasn't serious, considering the playful tone in his voice. "My heat last time, went so much easier with you helping me with it. I won't say I look forward to my heat, as I would be insane to look forward to it, but it was much easier with an actual cock in my body and not just a toy. I haven't had anyone to help me with my heat since college, not after I mated to Will anyway."

"Good," Dave said in a more normal tone of voice. The Alpha in him was very satisfied with his mate's response.

The two of them simply held each other sitting on the couch with Diana on Dave's lap, now that there were no children present. The two began to neck and enjoyed the interaction with no kids to interrupt their intimacy.

Time passed faster than Diana thought possible, as she and Dave simply sat on the couch absorbed in each other, until it was time to head to the heat room. It had been a long time, since she'd had a mate to enjoy some causal intimacy and alone time with.

~~~Dave and Diana~~~

Meanwhile...

William Reid stared at his name that was their kinds bad bets list in astonishment and even more at the two asterisks beside his name. He had been so sure that he had gotten off scot-free, when he had left his former mate Diana. He had just walked out without leaving a note and he knew very well that was bad behavior for their species. He had also refused to pay child support as he figured that Diana had a job and could support them on her own. Actually, he had barely thought about paying child support for his triplets, because he considered them waste of spaces, especially his son.

He had been enraged that the Omega he had been courting for the last few weeks had politely refused to mate with him. When Will had asked her why he had been told that his name was on their kinds list.

He could barely believe that Diana had had the gall to do that.

You do not really know her, did you? his conscience said. You treated her and your children like crap what did you expect? Did you really expect her to just put up with the way you treated the children you had made together? You could've caused at least one of them to commit suicide and what do you think the charges would've been for that? You treated her as if she was stupid, didn't listen to her opinions and made decisions without consulting your mate or even informing her that there was a decision to be made. This is not how a true Alpha acts Will.

Will shook off the voice in his head and clicked on the link that gave him more information. He read about how it was unlikely that he would ever treat another mate with equality. It went on to explain his behavior towards his former mate and his children. There was even a video of inside the house that showed clearly that he had treated his family like crap and while what he had done was not strictly illegal it was a pretty serious offence for one of his species. Will watched the video and began to get even more enraged. He would make Diana pay for putting him on their kinds list. He was sure that she was still in the same house, as there was no reason for her to move. He would make her pay, Will swore. He would teach her a lesson about daring to put his name on the bad bets list.

Will never thought for a moment that he deserved to be on that list as to him it was an offense that was unforgivable. Things had been going so well to, once he'd gotten rid of his former mate Diana and his useless children, especially his son who was just a stupid, useless Omega.

It never even occurred to Will that Diana might be mated again to another Alpha and that such actions might very well cost him his life.

William begin plot and plan, as he sat in his office and filled out paperwork, all the while seething with rage at the injustice of it all.

~~~Dave and Diana~~~

Will parked outside the house that he had used to live in and simply watched. Somebody was home as the lights were on, but he still didn't see Diana's car, so it was likely just the children. It never occurred to him that Diana would never leave her 10 year old children by themselves, or that she might have a new car now. Will just assumed the car parked out on the street was somebody else's, as it was far too nice for a university professor. It was a Mercedes, except it was a full-sized van so that the children could be transported to. A Mercedes was something that wasn't within a university professor salary, especially not one that had children to raise.

He would show her, Will seethed. He had actually been seething ever since he had found his name on that list, so that had been since last night. He should've confronted her then, but he hadn't yet decided what to do.

He decided that kicking in the door would be the thing to do, his ego had been damaged and she and those waste of spaces would pay. Will didn't even stop to consider that what he was thinking about doing would see him at least in prison for the rest of his life and that's only if David Rossi didn't kill him for his actions.

Will had no idea that his former mate had found someone that would treat her like she deserved and even though, Dave wasn't there right now that didn't mean that William Reid wouldn't get what's coming to him. It never even occurred to him.

When Will kicked the door and it was a total surprise. All the children were in the kitchen helping to prepare dinner.

"Will what are you doing," Diana cried. "Are you fucking insane?"

"I'm here for my pound of flesh," Will said.

"So you finally found that I had put you on the list," Diana said in instant understanding. "Even if you did that doesn't give you the right to kick my door in Will. This is private property and if you plan on doing me or my children harm you will regret it for the rest of your life, which won't be very long once Dave finds out."

Will was rather shocked at his former mate's calmness and he didn't even consider that the children were probably calling the authorities from a neighbors house, as they had gone out the back door that was in the kitchen. To him they were inconsequential.

He also had never considered that Diana might have mated again, as it has never entered his thoughts.

Will grabbed Diana who wasn't quite fast enough to get away.

"I will have my revenge," Will proclaimed. "You should've just left it alone. If only you hadn't put my name on that list I never would've thought about you ever again."

"I only did what was proper, Will," Diana protested. Diana knew that the collar that Dave had given her protected her neck to a certain extent, but also that their species was unnaturally strong and it was only gold after all, a rather soft metal, unless it was combined with other things. "You left in the middle of the night without even leaving a note and then you refused to pay child support. A proper Alpha wouldn't have refused to at least pay child support, Will, nor would they treat them like you treated your own children. It's not like I had them out of wedlock. I was in a proper mated relationship."

"I am the Alpha, I can do anything I damn well please," Will claimed.

Diana said nothing, but knew that Will had gone insane or at least was so angry that he wasn't thinking properly.

"What no reply? Have I rendered you speechless?"

"No, I'm just wondering how you can really believe that. I can hear the siren's now and you know they're headed right to this house," Diana said. "You're already facing your death once Dave hears about this. Not only will you kill me, you'll kill the children I'm carrying and if you think Dave won't want revenge for that then you have sealed your own fate. He won't just kill you, you know. He'll torture you for a very long time and be well within his rights. Alphas are as territorial as hell, something that you should know."

"He'll never know who did it," Will claimed. "He'll arrive just to see your dead body."

"If you really believe that then you really are an idiot, Will," Diana said, trying to remain calm. "I've told him all about you and you'll be his first suspect I promise you. Really, if you think about it the only suspect. He knows his history very well and he'll have no trouble having you remanded into his custody."

Diana was trying to distract Will from remembering the children, as she didn't even want him to think about her former husband going after them and killing them one by one. Diana knew her children and once they had called the cops from a neighbors house then they would be trying to figure out a way to get her loose.

"You know the cops will have to hand you over to him, as it's the law. They might not like it, but they'll still have to do it. Unless, of course, they are our species and then they'll approve of whatever action Dave's going to take."

There was the sound of footsteps just then and the sirens had stopped. Will, of course, hadn't noticed, as he was still holding the knife to his former mate's throat. Diana's throat was encircled by the collar Dave had given her, but Will didn't even seem to notice the collar, much less understand the significance of it. The only time an Omega wore a collar was if they had been claimed by another, usually by an Alpha, though occasionally it was a Beta.

"I should've seen you for what you were a lot sooner," Diana said, as several people came into the house. "You're someone who doesn't care about anything except your own wants. You treated your own mate and children like shit. You really expected me to not report your behavior. I'm only a stupid Omega after all." This was said sarcastically, which Will didn't seem to notice. "I'm sure you thought you had gotten off scot-free."

"I'm going to kill you and then I'm going to kill those useless children, so they'll never grow up."

"You'll never get near my children you monster," Diana decreed, desperate to get loose.

"You need to let her go, sir," one of the cops said holding a gun. "You need to release your wife."

"Ex-mate," Will snarled. "And I'm going to kill her for putting me on the list. The human cops didn't have any idea what Will was talking about but the Alpha amongst then did.

"Mom!" Spencer cried in a frightened voice, as he and his sisters came in through the kitchen door.

"You let her go, you monster," Mercia cried. She made to charge at her father, but he waved his knife threateningly, while still keeping a good grip on Diana.

"I wondered where my useless children were," Will growled menacingly. "Why don't you stay around so I can kill you, after you watch me kill your precious mother."

"Kids get out of here," one of the cop said.

"Spencer you and your sisters both go to the neighbors, you hear me. You are to stay there until I come get you," Diana cried frantically. "Go now! Go! Or you will be punished, you hear me!"

Spencer and his sisters reluctantly left, fearing for their mother's life, but knew better than to disobey that tone of voice. The voice that said she was serious and Dave or her would punish them for disobeying, for risking their lives. The tone that said that their rear ends would be torn up, so they couldn't sit down without pain for at least a week.

Finally, Diana did the only thing she could, once the children were out-of-the-way. Praying that the collar Dave had given her would protect her neck she bit down on Will's hand, that was under her chin.

Will screamed in pain and his grasp around her her neck loosening just enough for the knife to slip away from her chin so Diana managed to elbow him hard in the stomach.

Will grunted in pain and loosened his hold on Diana still farther.

Diana stepped on Will's shod foot, in her sensible shoe, hard and elbowed him again in the ribs. Seconds later Will was on the floor groaning in pain.

"You stay away from my children you bastard," Diana screamed at him, kicking him in the side, causing him to grunt in pain, as several of his ribs snapped.

"William Reid you are under arrest, for attempted murder your ex-mate Diana Reid," The Alpha who had been watching the whole thing said his face expressionless.

"You just wait until Dave gets back from Virginia, you bastard," Diana said, slapping Will on the cheek so hard that it left a huge red handprint. She heard the snap of bone. "He has every right to kill you."

Will said nothing simply hung his head. He had been so angry, but now, that he had calmed down he realized, that he had sealed his own fate. There's no way that this Dave, Diana had mentioned would let him live. He had threatened his mate, a mate that was pregnant and also her children, that this Dave likely considered his now as well.

"I have no doubt it all that's what he'll do what he hears about this, especially since I'm pregnant," Diana added.

"He doesn't have that right," one of the human cops protested.

"Yes, he does," the Alpha told his rookie partner firmly. "This Dave, I'm assuming is an Alpha and her mate and that means that he has every right to kill William Reid legally dead. The fact, that Mr. Reid here is also an Alpha, means that he knew what could happen if he attacked the mate of another, no matter their prior relationship, especially if she is indeed pregnant, which makes the crime at least twice, if not three times as bad. That's at least two lives right there and it's more likely at least three or even four lives since our kind rarely have single births. Look up the laws if you don't believe me. The laws about our kind are different than human laws and I have no doubt that this Dave will be demanding custody as soon as he returns from his business trip."

"So what did you do to make him so mad?" asked another cop.

"We unmated about six years ago," Diana explained, casting a disgusted, but dispassionate glance at her former mate. Diana's heart was still pounding in her chest from being held hostage by her ex-mate, but her voice was calm enough, "When he didn't treat his children or me properly and just left in the middle the night, not even bothering to pay child support, I put him on what is known as our kinds bad bets list. Proof, is of course, required. It means that he'd have trouble finding another mate I am assuming that someone rejected him. It's kind of like the pedophile list that you have on those who harm and rape children."

The human cop who had asked the question winced.

"The list is publicly available," the Alpha cop explained. "Any adult, those who are 17 and over, can access the list.

"Will likely looked at the list once whoever he was courting told him no to them mating. I doubt whoever did so knew that Will would lose his temper and attack his former mate. He's always had a temper, but usually, he's not this dumb. He likely assumed that he'd gotten off scot-free and it's not my fault he never bothered to check the list. It's kind of ironic actually."

"Why is it ironic?" asked the Alpha cop.

"Because as soon as I finish this year at the University I and my children are moving to Virginia, as that's where Dave lives. Dave went to make sure everything was ready and to spend some time with his twin sons from a prior relationship. He was due back in just a couple of days. He never would've left if he had known about a threat. I thought after all this time that Will just decided to leave well enough alone. Looks like I was wrong about that. It's not like our unmating is recent after all."

"So only a couple more weeks and you wouldn't have been here," said one cop, realizing it was very near the end of the school year.

"Yes, about that," Diana agreed her heart finally beginning to slow down because of her fear. "Everything has already been arranged. The house would've been put up for sale, as I already know the realtor I was going to use and we've had a conversation. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go make sure my children are alright. I'm sure that they are anxious to make sure I'm okay."

"You'll have to come down to the station, sign a statement," said one cop until his Alpha partner glared at him.

"I think we can allow her to see her kids first, Gordy. Let them make sure the other is okay. They don't look more than 10 or 11, so of course, they're going to be anxious as there only support until now has been there mother. Show a little compassion."

Gordy blushed because his partner was right and he knew it. He wasn't treating Diana Reid like a victim. One who had nearly been killed by her ex-husband...uh...mate."

"I'll come sign a statement once I call their grandparents and have them take them for a few hours," Diana said. "I think I might just stay with mom and dad the last couple weeks until it's time to move."

"I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to come back here," one cop said with compassion. "I doubt you would sleep well with the reminder that this is where you would nearly killed."

"She also doesn't need to bring her kids here," The Alpha cop said in understanding. "I doubt they'll be able to sleep without nightmares, because they know what nearly happened here, even if they didn't see the actual scene. Still, all it would take was a little imagination for the children to see their mother dead or at least severely injured in their dreams. They wouldn't be able to help it as their subconsciouses would force them to imagine what could have happened to the mother they loved. Coming back to the scene of the crime so to speak would only make those nightmares worse."

"And children that age are known for their imagination," said Gordy the human cop who had wanted Diana to immediately go down to the station with no detours in realization. "They're what? 9 or 10?"

"Ten, nearly eleven," Diana said. "Their birthday's in late summer."

The human cop had to admit that that was a good point, as he certainly wouldn't want to bring his kids to where he had nearly been murdered if they had happened to witness part of it.

The Alpha cop allowed his partner to head back to the station while he escorted Diana over to where her kids were waiting. All three immediately jumped on her asking if she was alright. William Reid had already been taken away in a patrol car.

"You should also probably go to the hospital just to be checked out, make sure you and the babies are okay," one cop suggested.

"That's a good idea," Diana decided. "Dave will insist that go to the hospital anyway, just to get checked out, so I might as well forestall an argument."

~~~Dave and Diana~~~