"Given her condition as I recall it, she'd been away from her true mates for a long time. She'd been beaten down to a completely submissive stance. She wouldn't even look at me without his permission. No, she'd been with him long enough. Plus I know who her true mates are and they'd filed a Missing Persons on her that predated my birth by six years. You're human, Lacey. Not a Luhpyne that, in a fit of full-blown rage, could level a building if they put their mind to it."
"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry. How could she have you, though?" she asked honestly. "If during the mating rituals you are mated how would she be able to carry and have another person's child? That's why I asked what I asked, love."
"A woman can become pregnant by another not her mate after the mating if she's fed a specific concoction. It screws up the system and confuses it. Only a few people know of the mixture let alone how to make it. He bought it from a Spiryte with no morals, that much I do know. No decent Spiryte would ever make that for anyone. It has one use and only one use, the rape and impregnation of a woman not your mate who's already mated."
"That's terrible." Lacey gasped and found herself squeezing him tighter, holding him closer. "I'm so sorry, Ansell. God, I just don't think that I have words to tell you how sorry that I am that you have been hurt as you have been. It's not right, at all."
"My life wasn't all that bad," he said. "Zhubin's parents are good people. They took me in and gave me a safe place to grow up. And Zhubin's always been a friend from the moment we met. He's truly the only reason I keep moving some days."
"And now you have me. I'm annoying on the best of days and downright a bitch on the worst. I feel bad for you boys, in having me as yours but I will be there. I only need to hear it one last time and then I promise I will not ask you again." She took a deep breath and whispered, "If I choose Zhubin to be the father of my children, will you be able to remain as a part of our lives when and if we are blessed with them? I never want to lose you, Ansell, and if it means no children then we won't have them but I have to know. I need to know and then I will let it rest."
"I will always be a part of your life, Lacey," he told her. Reaching out he cupped her face and looked into her eyes. "Whether you choose Zhubin to be the father of the children or whether you choose never to have them, I will be there. I do not want any of my own but I will always care for and guide any you may have. I may even love them but I can't promise that. I have to keep a fairly tight lid on my emotions but you've already broken through, something I'd never have guessed at."
"And if I do choose to have children, will you still love me as much then as you do now?" Lacey wanted the honest truth from him. For now. For all time. She wanted to know how he felt about everything because it was the only way she could make the choice she needed to make.
"Probably even more," he told her with a small, crooked smile. He leaned in closer, their noses just brushing. "Nothing will change my feelings for you, Lacey. Nothing ever could," he added in a rather vehement tone.
"Good. I never want that to happen. It would hurt me to my very core if anything changed how we felt for each other. I've fought so long against my feelings, trying to protect you when you really never needed it and now that I'm accepting it, I want it all," she warned him. "Everything, Ansell."
"I can't promise everything but I will try, for you." Pressing a kiss to her lips, he pulled back and turned his head toward the doorway. "Didn't you mooches get anything out of Zhubin?" he asked. The wolves let out a whine and, when she turned her head, saw them playing up to herself and Ansell so that they could get more food. Demon was lying on the ground looking like he was passed out while Devil played the wounded paw trick. "I think they get their overly dramatic natures from Zhubin." Standing, he pulled her up to her feet. "We'd better go and eat or we'll have to contend with more of this display."
That had her laughing and she shook her head. "All right, let's get us some food and we will deal with these two hams later. For now I'm happy just being here and spending time with you," she assured him happily.
Walking at her side, he waved a hand and the wolves suddenly were back to normal and raced off ahead of them. "Unfortunately, with those two you must deal with them immediately, otherwise they think they can continue to get away with such displays. They are amusing though, most times," he muttered.
"I think that they are utterly adorable. I know, not a term that I should use for them because I'm very sure that they are deadly, but I honestly do think that they are just too cute. I like them, a great deal. Just as I like you boys."
"They like you," he said as they walked into the kitchen. "Just remember that they are wild animals. That while Zhubin has, for the most part, housebroken them, they can revert back."
"He's right," Zhubin said, walking across the kitchen toward the table. "I was lucky and found them when they were young. Their mother had been killed in a trap and they were half-dead themselves. While they grew up in the house and around us they still have their natural predatory inclinations. Though"-he waved a hand toward the two sitting in a begging position-"you would never know it from that."
She looked at the animals and smiled. "Yeah, they are deadly but I have a feeling those two would do anything at all for you guys. They love you two completely and fully and you both know it as well as I do. Admit it. I love that too. I love that they have such a deep trust in you. It says a lot."
"As long as I keep feeding them they'll love me. But God help me if I take a day off." He chuckled. Pulling out a chair, he looked at her. "Come and sit. We don't stand on much formality so just dig into whatever you like. Ignore whatever you don't like. I will admit I asked the docs about allergies and was careful to avoid anything that could potentially harm you."
"That was actually very sweet of you." She didn't think that anyone had ever thought to ensure that she wouldn't get ill from food before. This was, it was unique and surreal. She liked it. A lot. "Thank you for taking care of me. You have no idea how much it means to me."
"You're our mate. It's our honor, privilege and duty to keep you healthy and happy. Now, did you want a beer, wine, juice, milk or water?" he asked her. He headed toward the fridge and grabbed out two beers before pausing to look her way.
"Beer for me as well, please. We are off the clock and I'm totally going to enjoy myself and have a beer with the two guys that have been running from me every bit as much as I've been running from them."
Nodding, he grabbed a third and came back to the table. He twisted the cap off one and handed it to her. Passing a second to Ansell, he moved to the other spot and sat down opening his own bottle. "I'm slightly offended by the running comment but I suppose it's accurate enough."
"Meh, it was me more than you guys. I could have at any time said something. But so could you. So I think we just let it drop and we will take life as it comes now. What do you think about that? I really happen to enjoy that idea, a lot."
"We're all equally at fault. Could've, should've, that's the past. We all are on the same page now and the future is before us. I say we move forward, ignore our own foolishness and blindness and live."
"That sounds like the best plan. From now on we won't run from what is between us. We will figure out what to do when the time comes but for now we focus on finding and eviscerating this son of a bitch that has been a bane to my existence and yours, for far too long. Please," Lacey said with a straight face.
"We can do that," Zhubin said softly. "After dinner, eat." That said, he and Ansell began to dish up food onto their plates, offering her some of everything. Finally they were all eating and just talking about things of no importance, music, movies, books. They all had their own tastes but amazingly there were a few similarities and they ended up in a debate over a TV series of all things.
Chuckling, Zhubin leaned back in his chair and then made a face. He shifted and drew out his phone. "Yeah, Cap," he said into it. He frowned suddenly, "Where?" he asked, getting to his feet. Pacing to the counter, his voice dropped down to a murmur she couldn't quite catch. Then he hung up and turned. "We have to go," he said, looking at her.