Months later

"It's so frustrating," Aaron told Dave. Aaron looked close to tearing his hair out and normally, he didn't get frustrated so badly.

The two of them were sitting in a bar enjoying some companionship, at a table in a dark corner. Since Diana knew where he was, as he'd called, Dave didn't worry that she would be concerned for him.

"I've dated a lot of women over the last few years, but they didn't work out for one reason or another," Aaron said. "One of them didn't get along with my kids and they absolutely hated her. You know I would never mate with anyone that my kids didn't get along with, as kids often sense things that the adults don't or just dismiss. She treated them like they were stupid, with no intelligence of their own, talking down to them like they were babies. I don't really blame my kids for hating her."

"Neither do I. I certainly shows she doesn't know how to act around children," Dave agreed. "Luckily for me, Diana enjoys children and is really good with them. It probably helps that she has three of her own that are just now 11."

"Probably," Aaron agreed looking broody. "I'm glad you found someone after your ex-mate left. You've certainly been happier over the last year or so."

"So am I," Dave said smiling, as he thought about Diana. "I never expected to meet Diana in a million years. It was rather unexpected, but the attraction was immediate and fairly strong."

"Attraction isn't everything," Aaron agreed to Dave's unspoken words.

"No, it's not, but we agreed on so many subjects from our first date," Dave said. "We agreed that we wanted more children, but with a proper mate and not just a one night stand or a temporary relationship. We agreed that if we ever got mated again that our partner would treat each others children like their own and not as a inconvenience or suggest they needed to be put in boarding school or foisted off on some relatives or worse they could've suggested putting them in an orphanage."

"Any Omega or Beta that makes that type of suggestion to me had better be prepared to have their butt kicked out the door," Aaron growled.

"I agree, you know I do," Dave said calmly, taking a sip of his beer as Aaron visibly calmed himself, knowing that Dave was not the enemy. "I think that's one of the reasons Diana didn't date for so long. She knew how males could be Alpha or Beta or even humans thought. She was aware how many of them make inappropriate suggestions if whoever they are courting or dating has kids from a previous relationship. No female of our species in her right mind, would just send her kids off to boarding school or dump them permanently on a relative unless they wanted to go. Diana's kids didn't need anyone like that to enter their lives, considering their father was similar in that regard. The idiots that suggest such a thing don't even consider the kids feelings on the matter, as to them they aren't important. The sad thing is that some humans listen to idiots like that and totally ignore their children, even if they don't send them off to boarding school."

"Some of the females are just as bad," Aaron said.

"Yeah, they are, but they're maternal instinct are usually so high that it's usually the males," Dave agreed. "There are exceptions to every rule however."

"You were so lucky," Aaron said enviously. "Diana is a treasure and those triplets she had recently are just adorable."

Aaron had met Diana on several occasions now and had immediately liked her. Dave had indeed chosen well, as Diana was intelligent, well-educated, kind and loving. She also adored children just as Dave had suggested and she was always gentle and patient with them, never allowing herself to get frustrated with them, even if they bothered her when she was busy doing something else. Dave had indeed been extremely lucky to meet her and was aware of it.

"Yes, they are," Dave grinned, as he thought about his recent born sons and daughter who were only about a month old.

He'd been wanting daughters for so long that even getting just one, plus Diana's two daughters made him incredibly happy.

"So are you going to have anymore?" Aaron asked.

"Probably," Dave said. "If we do we'll have to do it within the next year or two. That's something I'm going to have to discuss with Diana first. I wouldn't mind having a few more, but it's also Diana's decision."

Aaron was nodding at this, because a proper Alpha would never force their mate to have children when she didn't want to. Such decisions were discussed by both partners before such actions were taken. "I certainly have the space, but its also her body. I bought such a big place, because I expected to have a lot of children by Carolyn and as you know that didn't work out. Really, it was to big just for my sons, Ariel and myself, now that there is a possibility that it will soon be filled with children that makes me happier than I can express. We now have eight children if you count mine and Diana's that we had with our previous mates, especially since my sons are sharing a room and so are Diana's daughters, so we're well on our way to filling the rooms. Only if Diana agrees to have more will we have more babies. While I would like to wait at least two or three years Diana is around my age and she's already said that she doesn't want to get pregnant at 50."

"I can understand that," Aaron agreed.

"So can I," Dave agreed calmly. "I won't risk her life by her getting pregnant so late in her life. While I know that plenty of women get pregnant at 50 and come out of it fine, why take the chance? I have just found someone that I'll be happy to spend the rest of my life with and I won't have anything happen to her, as I doubt I'll be so lucky a third time. I doubt very much I'd ever get over Diana's death enough to even try to find another mate, so I don't want anything to happen to her."

"That I definitely agree with," Aaron said soberly, as he took a sip of his half gone beer. "If I could only be so lucky as to find a second mate I would definitely treasure her and protect her with everything I had."

"I truly hope you find someone," Dave told his friend. He definitely sympathized with Aaron's plight. "I've been so much happier this last year, really closer to two years, ever since I met Diana. We share so many of the same ethics and morals that it's amazing. She's beautiful and kind, but no pushover and loves children just as much as I do. Even my twins adore her, though they were prepared to like her just from what I had told them about her. Now though, that love is genuine, as they've gotten to truly know her now. Diana always makes time for them as well as her own kids and I have no problem understanding why they adore her for that. My boys are as smart as whips and know that they can come to her with any problem and she'll make time to talk to them like they're intelligent."

"She doesn't patronize them other words, like my past girlfriend did. The one that talked down to my kids, treating them like they were stupid," Aaron said.

"Exactly," Dave agreed. "It likely helps that her own three are super intelligent particularly her son, Spencer. Her daughters are intelligent too, but not as much as their brother, I think or maybe they're just better at hiding it," Dave said pensively.

"That intelligence means that you didn't send them to add ordinary high school," Aaron said with certainty, knowing how his friend thought by now. Dave would be one that would want to nurture that intelligence not stifle it.

"Yes, I did, though I originally thought about it for Spencer only, but from all reports Meriel and Mercia are doing well there too, even though schools only been in session for a few weeks. I'm getting glowing reports and Spencer is actually happy there and I know he was miserable in an ordinary high school or at least bored. He comes home all excited every school day talking about all he's learning and trust me for Spencer that's unusual."

"Why?" Aaron asked.

"Because he learned early from his father not to voice his opinion or talk to much and just to stay as quiet as he possibly could, so he wasn't harshly criticized," Dave said snorting in disgust. "William Reid wasn't interested in listening to what his children learned, even though they were only five when he left and had just started school. Diana said that he was yelled at so often for talking about what he was taught that he learned how to keep his opinion to himself after he started school."

Aaron grimaced at what he was hearing and was just as disgusted as Dave for William Reid's bad attitude.

"Diana, of course, paid attention and asked him questions so Spencer knew he could depend on her. I could tell you some of the things that Diana told me about William Reid and I'm sure they would disgust you just as much as they do me," Dave added.

"So sending the three too a private school was a good decision," Aaron

"Yes, it was, and they're blossoming there, particularly Spencer. Diana said that she would've loved to send Spencer to a private school with harder courses, but couldn't afford it on her professor's salary, especially not since Spencer has two siblings."

"So William Reid didn't even bother to pay child support?" asked Aaron and Dave shook his head, his expression totally disgusted.

"He felt they were useless and worthless, so absolutely refused to support them," Dave revealed. "How he could tell that at a mere five years old don't ask me, as children that age have barely had a chance to live, much less be able to tell they are worthless. Really, no child is worthless if they are encouraged in the right way, no matter what some people believe. William Reid's twin brother Rob though, is a totally different kind of man and supported his brother's family after Will left. Those payments of course, stopped once Diana and I mated, which is fine. I'm very happy that Rob supported his family. I talked to Rob myself, once Diana told me about him and I really like him, which I wasn't sure about before I met him. He's a really good guy and it's clear he loves his nieces and nephew. He's also really fond of Diana, in a platonic way. He had no trouble believing how dishonorable his brother had been. He acted as if he had been expecting his death ever since he hit adulthood, which tells me that Diana's ex-mate was always like that. You can say that Rob and Will were more than estranged, that they were nearly bitter enemies, which is pretty unusual for siblings, especially twins."

"I wonder how two brothers can turn out to be so different from each other," Aaron mused.

"I've seen it a time or two, though they usually aren't enemies, just so different that they aren't very close," Dave admitted.

"So what was William Reid's real reason for his actions?" Aaron asked. "I'm assuming you know."

"Not for sure, but both Diana and I suspect that it's because Spencer's an Omega. He's the type to believe that Omegas are worthless. Diana has told me that her former mate was particularly hard on his son and that she believes that he wanted Spencer to be at least a Beta. Since you can't really control what comes out of the gene pool while that was possible...

"The odds were low," Aaron finished.

Dave nodded curtly. "That he married an Omega, totally escaped the Senior Reid's understanding of the situation and didn't make a dent in his opinion. I suspect he married an Omega only because he believed that she wouldn't put up too much of a fight, when he acted like a total douchebag. I'm not sure where his opinion of Omegas came from, but since others share his opinion it's really not the least unusual. He felt the laws should be changed to kill of anybody that someone considered useless or weak."

"Now, that's stupid," Aaron snorted in contempt. "There would be chaos if anybody was allowed to kill off anybody they considered weak, Omegas, children, humans that had something wrong with them, like some type of mental illness, autism for example, old people."

"That's exactly what I told him to, but luckily, the people in charge have more sense," said Dave shaking his head and disgust. "You'd lose some of the world's greatest scientist, greatest musicians, brilliant engineers or doctors, or architects. There are so many professions that take brilliant people and if you started killing them by the hundreds who would that leave? That brilliance might not be as obvious as Spencer's is, but that doesn't mean it isn't there."

"Diana's ex-mate had to know there was a good chance that he wouldn't get his wish when he had children," Aaron said. "I mean it's simple logic and also common knowledge. If you marry an Omega for example you're bound to get at least one when you have children."

"Exactly. Apparently, that simple logic, didn't occur to William Reid. Either that or he was hoping to beat the odds and have all alphas or betas," Dave agreed. "It doesn't make his actions right and I'm only giving you my opinion, but that's what both Diana and I believe, as it does make a certain amount of sense. Diana is also sure that he rather would've had three sons instead of two daughters and a son. Considering how he thinks I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't consider his daughters as marriage bait only. I can see him trying to arrange a couple of marriages and getting a large dowry for them like this was hundreds of years ago, once they were of age at 21. He probably wouldn't even send them to college when they were of age to go, as it isn't a legal requirement after all."

"I doubt very much that they would've cooperated," Aaron snorted with a grimace. "Or that your mate would have agreed with him."

"You're right, there's no way, Diana would have agreed to arrange a marriage for her offspring, as she believes in letting them make their own choices. So long as she doesn't think that making a bad one, then, she'll try convince them to change their minds, though she can't really stop them. I can also see Meriel and Mercia themselves protesting and not agreeing to anything their father arranged, as he likely wouldn't even have consulted them, since he's that kind of man. He's the type that didn't listen to anybody's opinions but his own, so I can't see him caring about their feelings.

"He likely never would have considered their feelings or their opinions and even if those thoughts crossed his mind he would have considered them invalid, as only his opinion mattered. It likely never would've occurred to him that his daughters never would've agreed to it. The Senior Reid might've been furious when they told him no, but this isn't centuries ago, where women aren't allowed to work, at least not those from well-to-do families. Its just as well that the marriage ended after a mere six years. I could see William Reid ending up in the hospital if he tried to marry his daughters off, as Meriel and Mercia are quite tough and can be ferocious if they lose their tempers. The Senior Reid would've been changing his name to mincemeat and that doesn't even account for Diana's reaction."

"I would've loved to have seen that," Aaron chuckled at that description.

"So would I," Dave said grinning evilly, a grin that Aaron echoed. The two shared a look that said they were in total agreement.

"You wouldn't have been able to mate with her if she had still been with someone," Aaron pointed out after taking a sip of his beer and Dave nodded in agreement.

"I know," Dave agreed. "We're not going to have to worry about Diana's former mate popping up sometime in the future, as he's dead," Dave said and began to tell his long time friend all about what had occurred right after he and Diana had mated.

"William Reid must of been truly stupid to go after his former mate," Aaron said, shaking his head in disbelief. It was just idiotic to get so angry that you went after the object of your rage. That it had never even occurred to the Senior Reid that his former mate might have mated again was just dumb. To allow oneself to get so angry that he didn't think through his actions, was suicide. Also, threatening that mate's children, even if they were from another relationship was just more than idiotic, it was basically a death sentence. The laws of their race were very harsh and for very good reason.

"I'm sure that Diana will agree to have a few more when the time is right," Aaron suggested changing the subject as everything that needed to be said had been. He watched his friend's face turn into a goofy expression. Yes, his friend was definitely in love and frankly, that was the way it should be. He didn't see his friend's relationship ending like his first had, as Dave would've made sure that they had at least a lot of the same goals, values and ethics before taking things to the next level. The way Dave talked about Diana's children showed that he genuinely loved them and that was a good thing. Now, if he could just find someone for himself he'd feel like the luckiest man in the universe.

"Probably, I'm going to mention it to her sometime soon, though I think that can wait a few months, give us time to get used to our newest children," Dave said finishing his beer, changing the subject. "Normally, I would never suggest having anymore children in the next year or two, as I would've liked our newest additions be at least three years old, but with Diana's age being a factor, it's just safer if we have them closer together."

"This is what you get for not marrying someone a few years younger," Aaron said, finishing his beer.

"You can't help who you fall in love with," Dave shrugged. "When I saw Diana for the first time it was like being struck by lightning. I was really hoping she wasn't in a relationship or mated and it turned out that she hadn't been mated in about five years, as her former husband just walked away with no word or note."

"Now, that's in bad taste," Aaron winced.

"Personally, I think she was glad to be rid of him," Dave said. "Things definitely would have been more peaceful without his disruptive presence."

"I might not know the real situation, but I can basically guess what happened," Aaron said in understanding what his friend was implying without Dave having to say word.

He wasn't stupid and he knew the way some Alphas could be, careless, thoughtless, rude, demanding, arrogant, high-handed, domineering, treating their mate like crap and sometimes their children. Considering he had ended up dead, because of his loss of control, well, that ought to tell him everything he needed to know about the Senior Reid's personality and temperament.

The two shared a look of understanding between them as they both headed for the door. Dave prayed silently that his friend would find someone that would make him as happy Diana had made him.

~~~Dave and Diana~~~