Dave rushed into the hospital and asked about his mate. Diana had promised him that she was okay, but he had to check for himself, something he knew that Diana would understand.
"You okay, sweetie?" Dave asked as soon as he saw his mate sitting up in bed.
"I'm fine, I promise," Diana said. "They just wanted to make sure that me and the babies were okay, though I suppose that I'm not far enough along to call them babies yet."
"I have to admit I panicked when I heard about your former mate breaking down your door," Dave said.
"I don't blame you for that," Diana said. "I've never seen Will so angry. I know he was a lousy Alpha, but that's totally different, from being batshit crazy."
"Yes, it is," Dave said, as he kissed Diana's forehead, not bothering to correct her language, considering there were no kids present. "So how are the babies?"
"The doctor says they're fine," Diana promised, rubbing her stomach gently. "Really, I didn't even get a nick thanks to that collar you bought me. That collar probably saved my life or at least saved me from being seriously injured. I don't think Will even noticed the collar I was wearing, as he wasn't really paying attention, he was so furious."
"Then I'm definitely grateful I had it made for you," Dave said fervently, as he held Diana close, kissing her temple gently.
"It did came in handy and I haven't seen whether it's damaged or not," Diana said.
"If it is damaged then we'll just get it fixed," Dave said waving aside his mate's obvious concern. "I'll always be grateful that it likely saved your life. At the least it stopped him from shoving the knife he had into your throat."
"I don't think he was really paying attention," Diana admitted. "He was so enraged, as angry as I've ever seen him. It was like I had offended his dignity or something."
"What you did by putting his name on the list was only right. It was the proper thing to do, but that doesn't mean that your ex-mate agreed with you," Dave suggested.
"I know, but I never imagined that he would risk trying to kill me. Shout at me yes, yell and scream at me definitely, but I never imagined he was capable of murder," Diana said shuddering just a little with a reaction that she had been holding back. "I always knew that he would at least yell at me for putting him on that list, but I never imagined, that he would be so stupid, as to try and kill me. That it never even occurred to Will that I might have mated again, is just dumb. I mean did he expect me to remain alone for the rest of my life?"
"It's okay, honey," Dave said, as he held Diana, after having climbed into bed with her.
The bed was wide enough so that Alphas could join their mates. Hospitals had learned that Alphas, in particular, could destroy expensive hospital property when looking for their families, so accommodations had been made.
Dave held Diana to him again grateful that she was okay. William Reid could very well have stabbed Diana in the stomach, where she very likely would've died. Stomach wounds were nothing to trifle with, especially not with her pregnant.
"You going to deal with him, aren't you?" Diana asked, a little apprehensively.
"You know our laws," Dave said gently, kissing her forehead again beyond grateful Diana had come to no harm. "What he did went against every single one of them. He could have killed you and the babies you're carrying, even his own kids and while I'm grateful you, the triplets and the babies you are carrying now are okay, he deserves death. He had to know what would happen if he followed through with his scheme, if he allowed himself to get so furious that he did something so heinous or at least he had to deep down. I'm sure that his parents taught him our laws and the consequences for certain actions. If that's the case, it's hardly either of our faults that he didn't take his parents lessons to heart. It doesn't matter what you really think of someone you were once mated to or of the children you produced together, trying to kill them whether or not the adult is mated, is that person signing, sealing and delivering their own death warrant. I have to admit a Omega usually isn't at fault for trying to kill their former mate or children it's usually a Alpha and occasionally a Beta."
"And usually the man, since females tend to have high maternal instincts, so I won't object," Diana sighed. "You're right, I know you are. He threatened to kill my children, something I know he would have done if he had managed to get his hands on them, so for that alone I'll never forgive him. What I ever saw in him is a mystery to me now. Do what you have to do and I'll be there for you when you are done."
While Diana wanted to plead for mercy for her ex-husband, she knew that Dave would never agree. She had been raised in a certain way, the same way all Omega that came from proper households were raised, a household where there was an Alpha and Omega for parents or possibly a Beta. Dave was as angry as Diana had never seen him, and really she couldn't blame her new mate for being so furious. He had gone back to his home in Virginia just to make everything was ready for their arrival and the thing with Will had happened. That Dave hadn't been there to protect her, would really be sticking in his craw. His instincts and the alpha in him would be demanding justice.
"People have more than one side to their personalities," Dave reminded his mate, even as he cuddled her close. He would be grateful forever that she had come to no harm, other then having the life frightened out of her and neither had the three children he had begun to consider his own.
"That's very true," Diana signed. "They want to keep me overnight, but really, I'm fine."
"They just want to make sure you're okay," Dave told his mate in a gentle chiding tone. "While you weren't seriously hurt they just want to make sure that nothing serious happen to the babies you're carrying. This will give them a chance to settle down and for the doctors and make sure you really are okay."
"I suppose," Diana said slowly. "The kids know I'm alright, as I made sure I saw them first thing, to reassure them that I was fine. I still need to sign a statement for the cops, but they can either bring it to me or I can go to them after the hospital releases me."
"As soon as the hospital let's you go in the morning and the doctor says you're okay, we'll go do that," Dave promised. "I will also have William Reid remanded into my custody."
Diana sighed and nodded knowing she couldn't talk Dave out of it and truth be known, William Reid more than deserved to lose his life. Unfortunately, Alphas like William Reid were not uncommon and they just wouldn't accept that their name was on their kinds list. A proper Alpha never would've just walked away, from their family or mistreated them in anyway.
"You sleep, honey and I'll be right here with you," Dave promised. "You and the babies need to rest."
Diana obeyed suddenly feeling very sleepy and laid her head on Dave's chest only to drift off the sleep seconds later. Dave kissed her on the temple gently before he to closed his eyes and slept.
~~~Dave and Diana~~~
"You had to know this would be your fate the second you decided to attack your ex-mate," Dave told William Reid in an unsympathetic tone, as the cops released him into his custody. "You had to know that you would be caught. What you did went against every single law we have."
"The laws are stupid," William muttered. "We should be able to kill those we consider weak."
"If you did that you'd kill off half the populace," Dave said shaking his head in disgust. "If people had the right to kill who they considered weak, then you get vigilantes who kill off people they hated whether they were weak or not. And what do you mean by weak really? Kill those who are sick? Or who are mentally unstable? Ones who have cancer? Or dementia? Or are geniuses? Kill a five year old kid, because you consider them weak? It would be chaos Reid something that you apparently don't care about. We'd have parents determined to save their child from being killed for such a stupid reason, as five-year-olds haven't learned anything about the world yet, they've hardly had time to prove how strong or weak they are. You apparently don't have a conscience at all, or it is likely knocking on your skull, chastising you for thinking like that. It's people like you that don't deserve to live. While your type of thinking is not the least unusual unfortunately, luckily, those in charge have more sense. It would be chaos otherwise."
Dave led William Reid to his SUV and shoved him into the trunk. Some cops had followed them and looked on, though many looked disapproving. However, all the Alphas looked approving of Dave's actions. The human cops thought that William Reid should go to prison, but that would never change his attitude and Dave knew it. Even though Diana was moving to Virginia with him in just a few weeks Dave knew that it was possible for her former mate to find out where she had gone and come to Virginia to specifically kill his target as well as the children, that he considered useless, even though they were only 10 and had only been five the last time their father had last seen them. It was just better to end the situation in the proper way, as dead men couldn't come back and cause trouble.
Dave made sure that William was secure with his hands above his head handcuffed to a hook on the roof and also that his legs were shackled together.
"You would've killed your own kids, just because you didn't approve of the way they were turning out, but my god! They were only five when you left. How in the world could you even think about killing a five-year-old, much less more than one, unless you are one sick piece of shit."
Will didn't respond as deep inside he knew that his thinking was wrong, but he was so overcome by anger and disgust that his conscience couldn't get through and it was trying hard.
"We have laws for a reason, Reid and as an attorney you should know this. What do you think would happen if people were allowed to kill anyone they liked?" Dave asked rhetorically.
"Someone wanting to kill old people, because they had somehow been offended by one of them, they would kill kids, because a lot of people consider kids weak, they would kill someone who was a minority, simply because they hated anyone who wasn't white or black or any other ethnicity, a lot of Alphas would kill any Omegas they came across, thinking they were weak and that they didn't deserve to live. You would kill off many people that had immense talent. A future great musician for example, a great writer, a talented engineer, a future doctor or even a future attorney. If there weren't laws in place people would simply kill off anyone that had a talent they didn't, but wanted, because of jealousy, anger or disgust, because they didn't have that talent."
Will knew that this David Rossi was right, but still, his anger at people, particularly his family, was overtaking his logical thinking. It didn't matter anyway, he was soon going to be dead because of his actions. It should have occurred to him that Diana may have mated again. It had never entered his thoughts, not once, probably because he thought all Omegas were useless and should be eradicated and that included any children that were born. He didn't understand how anybody could love someone who was an Omega, they were weak and useless as far as he was concerned, ignoring the fact that he had been mated to one. Smart geniuses should just be killed to make it easier for more ordinary people, like himself. They should be culled for the good of his race.
Luckily, for people with a genius level intellects William Reid's ideas were not common and weren't the beliefs of those in power.
Finally, Dave drove out into the desert over an hour later. He drove for several miles until he was far enough from civilization that he could do what had to be done with no disturbances.
"You deserve to be tortured for what you did," Dave began without preamble or any warning. He had gotten out of the van and opened the back of the SUV, before he had spoken. "Lucky for you, I don't have the stomach for that kind thing. I saw enough violence in the Vietnam to last me a lifetime. That doesn't mean I won't do what needs to be done or what is necessary, just not torture. If Diana or any of the kids had been really hurt I could've forced myself to, so be glad they weren't."
"Why should I be?" Will asked. "I still would've died after all."
"Yes, but you would've died in far more pain than you are going to. I know ways to torture someone that would make you wish for death and I can keep them alive for a very long time. As it is, your death will be much quicker and not as painful as I could make it if I cared to."
Will didn't respond. He couldn't run he knew that, as his hands were handcuffed behind his back and he had on a pair of shackles around his ankles like they used on prisoners in the old days and sometimes in modern times as well. It all depended on how violent a prisoner was, how big and strong. The chain on the shackles was only a couple inches long so he could walk in a shuffle, but not really stride or run. Diana's mate didn't want him to attempt to get away and he'd run if he could. He suspected that David Rossi knew that, which is why he had borrowed the leg chains. The Alpha that was Diana's new mate had anticipated him trying to avoid his fate, but really, it wouldn't have taken much thought, as anyone who was going to die would try their best to escape, unless there was no way they could. The handcuffs in particular were tight enough that he would be unable to slip his hands out of them, even if his wrists and hands were slick. Also, they were far enough out in the desert that there was no way he could find his way back to the city without at least a compass and since he was never a Boy Scout he doubted he would know how to use one, even if he had one to use. Will knew very well that all this was deliberate.
Dave said nothing and simply removed a long knife from the glove compartment. The knife wasn't long enough to be called a sword. It was a pocket knife, but it was certainly long and sharp enough to do the job. The knife had a serrated edge once Dave had opened it and it had to be at least 4 inches long.
"Lucky for you I don't even own a gun anymore, not with my children in the house and even if I did I couldn't take it on a plane, since I'm not in law enforcement or the military. I bought this, especially for you from right here in Las Vegas."
"Lucky me," Will said sarcastically. He had too much pride to plead for his life. Besides, Rossi wouldn't listen to him anyway, so why bother? He was going to die, knew it, had prepared himself for it, as much as he could. He had lost his temper and tried to kill somebody else's mate, even if Diana had been his mate first, but he had walked away with no note and no warning, which was in bad taste among his kind. Bad taste though, wouldn't get him killed, but trying to kill an Alpha's mate would and was basically suicide.
He had known this really, as his parents had taught it to him, but he had never learned his lessons. He figured he could treat his mate anyway he wanted to and she would have to put up with it. He saw women as generally useless, stupid and good for only one thing, to produce an heir. He had never listened to Diana's opinion and basically ignored her, often treating her like she was two with no intelligence of her own. He had impregnated her and figured he had done his job. When he had gotten two daughters and a son, he had been rather disappointed that not all of them had been boys, but he figured he'd gotten one and was hoping that he would be at least a Beta.
When his son had turned out to be an Omega he was enraged, how dare one of his children turn out to be what he hated. His daughters might be Alphas, but they were no good for anything, except as marriage bait once they reached the proper age. He would marry them off and get nice dowries for them. It never occurred to him that his wife would never allow him to do that or that his daughters would rebel. It never even entered his mind that this was the late 20th Century and daughters didn't have to do what their fathers wanted, as they were perfectly capable of getting jobs or getting scholarships to go to college. This wasn't in the past where daughters had to do what their father wanted or risk being thrown out and disowned. Even if he had disowned them Diana would've thrown him out, if he hadn't just left.
Dave struck suddenly, and the knife was in his belly. It was a death wound and Will knew it. He fell to the sand, clutching his stomach.
"Take all the time to die at you want, I'm in no hurry," Dave told him his face expressionless, as he sat on a nearby flat rock and watched the man on the sand while clutching his belly trying to stop the blood from flowing. "I could've just slit your throat and let you die quickly, but while I won't torture you, that doesn't mean you deserve to die right away. If Diana hadn't been wearing the collar I bought her, something that at least partially protected her neck, she would likely be dead along with the babies she is carrying. At the very least she would be injured and be in the hospital. I think that deserves some form of payback, other than just killing you quickly."
"You're a sadistic bastard," Will groaned, as the blood flowed between his fingers from the fatal stomach wound.
"What did you expect?" Dave asked in a neutral tone, his face grim. "You busted into someone's home, just because you were mad that Diana put you on the list for our kind? I mean really Reid? Diana only did what was right and proper and yet it is apparent that you thought you had gotten off scot-free. I think deep down you believe that Omegas are useless and should be killed, even babies. You married one, but then walked away less than six years later."
"My mistake," Will groaned. "I should've married a Beta instead."
"You might not be in this situation if you had," Dave said calmly staring at the blood flowing out of the senior Reid's wound. "The thing is, it wasn't just walking away, it was the fact, you felt you had a right to bust into a private home, to kill an Omega who had broken no laws, an Omega who was mated to another Alpha. I bet it never even occurred to you, that Diana might have mated again. After all, to you, Omegas are useless, so why would anybody want to mate with them? Ignoring the fact of course, that you did so, no matter how much you apparently hate them. I saw the damage you did to Diana's front door. The door was just hanging off it's hinges. You must've been really mad to do that amount of damage to a locked door, even with our kinds enhanced strength. That's what really got you in this situation, busting into a private home and attacking an innocent woman."
Will barked out a sardonic laugh and muttered, "Innocent, my ass!"
"She is innocent of any actual crime, Reid," Dave reminded him, as he sat casually on a rock and watched the blood flow with a dispassionate, uncaring expression. "Just because you don't think you should be on the list, does not mean that you don't deserve to be on there. I mean, really, you brought it on yourself. Just leaving without any warning, not paying child support."
"Diana had a job," Will muttered.
"Um hmm," Dave said unimpressed sweating in the desert heat. It's felt as hot as Hades, but then the humidity was probably 100% as it was Arizona after all and summer besides. A lot of Arizona was desert and by there very nature deserts were very hot, particularly in the daytime. It didn't help that it was very sunny without a cloud in the sky and the sun beating down on him and his prisoner who was slowly dying at his feet. It was a good thing the wound in William Reid stomach wouldn't have time to go septic in the heat and it didn't matter anyway as he was soon going to be very dead. It felt like an oven out here in the middle of nowhere. No air-conditioning or no wind to cool him off. It didn't matter if he was heavily sweating as he would just get a shower when he got home.
"If you had controlled your temper you wouldn't be in this position now. I've met a few Alphas like you in my time, ones that are dishonorable in the extreme. Ones that leave their mate and then refuse to pay child support, even if they're mate doesn't have a job and is a homemaker. Just because Diana had a job didn't mean you didn't have a responsibility, a responsibility you refused to accept. I'm sure that finances were very tight, as supporting three kids isn't cheap and those child support payments would've come in very handy. It's not like you didn't make far more than Diana does. Even at college level, teachers really are not paid all that much for all the hard work they do and it is expensive to live anywhere because of bills, car payment, insurance, utilities, clothes, food, medicine, though I suppose a lot of medicine would be covered by insurance. They are a lot of costs to living your life even if you live simply without a lot of extras, like the tuition to a private school for instance for children like Diana's three who are extraordinarily intelligent."
Will said nothing else, as he was in too much pain and getting weaker with every passing second.
Finally, more than two hours later, William Reid breathed his last.
Dave just sat there for a few minutes studying the body and then got up to take the shovel he had stored in the backseat out.
He dug a hole deep enough that no animals were likely to get to the body and then unceremoniously dumped William Reid into it. Dave had carefully placed the removed sand to the side and so shoveled it back into the hole, patting it down. Soon, with weather conditions and everything there would be no sign that there was a body buried here, which was good as far as he was concerned.
Once he was sure the body was buried adequately, he immediately headed back to the city
He'd done what had to be done and wasn't about to lose any sleep over it, but that didn't mean he wasn't anxious to get home and back to his pregnant mate. He could hardly wait for his children to get here.
~~~Dave and Diana~~~