I looked to Zara as her eyes showed a mixture of surprise and sorrow. "It might be best, Will."
I glared at her, "what makes my kids so different?! I'm different, not them!"
The principle sighed, "but they are, Mr. Maurer." She pulled out some papers from the folder and slid them on the desk towards me. The words at the top of the document sent my heart racing and my mind numb.
'GENDER RESULTS'.
I looked up to the principal, "when was this taken?"
She looked to me with curiosity, "its standard for this to be done the first two weeks of 1st grade. This was completed at their last school. It says you signed it."
"I didn't sign this!"
Her eyes widened, "they have another father... He must've signed it."
I fought not to throw things as I couldn't believe he did this. I took a few deep breaths and looked to the paper.
'Archer Maurer--- Dominant Alpha'
'Ashley Maurer--- Dominant Alpha'
My eyes filled with tears as I felt guilt and relief. "Could I get a copy of this? Their father and I do not associate with each other."
She hesitated, but finally nodded before walking out of the office. Zara rubbed my back as I choked and a few tears escaped. "They're tears of joy, right?"
I looked away, "I'm not sure."
The principal came back in with a slight smile and handed me a copy of the document. "Ashley and Archer will be like everyone else for a while but, soon they will be different."
I glared at her, "I," I growled. "I am different. They don't have to be." I took a calming breath, "I can raise them right, where they will realize that they aren't different or superior."
The principal intertwined her fingers with a sigh, "but they are different, Mr. Maurer. You, of all people, should realize that. Their pheromones will supersede everyone else's and will make it so they can't control themselves around Omegas."
I shot to my feet, "you underestimate my kids. I don't." I stormed out of the front office and to the car. Zara followed me out and we both got into the car.
We headed over to Addie's daycare and I struggled to leave her. I fought tears the entire time as we went back to the house. When we got there, I was surprised to see Alex dressed in professional attire.
"Let's get going. I got a call and another new participant is going to join us. We have to meet him at the lab in the next 2 hours."
I looked down to my clothes, "do I need to dress different?" I smiled toward him, "I've never been to a college, let alone a lab."
"To busy being a hooker at the time."
Zara rushed over and smacked his arm, "stop making shit up."
"I'm not making it up," he said with a straight face. "He's part of my study. I had to learn everything from his past."
Zara looked to me with surprise and I sighed before crossing my arms. "Just answer my question."
He went to a cabinet nearby and tossed a baseball cap to me. "Now you'll fit in, like one of the students."
I watched him with annoyance as he began out the door. After a moment, I followed him out to a small sedan and got into the car. When I got in, he began our drive through the winding valleys until we reached the highway. I was startled when my phone went off. I answered with a deep sigh as Alex made it obvious that he was listening in.
"Hello?"
"Hey, I just got off the phone with the lawyer." Elijah said as I felt my heart skip.
"And?"
I heard him smirk, "he's pleaded guilty to the charges but wants one thing in return."
A shiver went up my spine, "what could he want?"
"He wants to get the chance to see the kids one last time. He wants to get to say goodbye."
I gulped, "what does the lawyer think?"
"He said it would be the easiest option."
"I won't let him in the same room as them."
"Will..."
"ELIJAH!" I yelled and noticed Alex jump slightly, "I don't care if it makes the process difficult. I don't care if I have to fight with everything I have! I've been doing that my whole life and one stupid Alpha isn't going to stop me now!" I choked as tears began to fall, "all this will do is hurt them. They're already devastated. They thought they were finally going to have a father and then, not even a year later, he's gone. But even worse, he chose someone else over them."
"It might be harder on them if we do something else."
I took a hard breath as I tried to think outside of the anger filling my entire body. This is about them, not me. They probably want closure. "We just started our lives here. I can't suddenly bring them back." I took another calming breath to center myself, "could it be done through facetime? Then he can get what he wants and I can feel that the kids will be safe."
Elijah sighed, "I'll see what I can do."
I sighed back to him, "did you know the kids had their genders identified at their last school?"
He paused and was silent for a few moments. "I thought you knew."
My hand began shaking, "I had no clue until their new principal recommended they go to an elite school for...their kind."
"It is better than the other extreme, right?"
"Yea. I'll talk to you later. Let me know what happens." I hung up before leaning on the window and composing myself.
"So?"
I looked to Alex with annoyance. His horrible people skills is not what I need right now. "What?"
"What's their gender? I'm assuming Alpha."
I groaned, "I'd be happy with that." He gave me a side glance of confusion, "their dominant Alphas....just like their dad."
"Then they might be like us," he blurted out and I had to force myself not to punch him.