Lacey's Luhpynes(19)

"Sounds good. What is it now?" she asked quietly. "What other mess has  hit the fan?" She was not going to like it, whatever it was. She was  certain that whatever happened was not going to be good, she knew that  whatever was going to happen was going to be something that was going to  cause them all a great deal of hurt.

"Your admirer has left us another scene," he said to her as he walked  closer. Then his eyes moved to Ansell. "You up to coming? May need your  nose just in case he's left another bomb. I'd prefer not getting blown  up again. Once was more than enough for me."                       
       
           



       

"Give me two minutes, I'll grab my gear." His friend nodded and got up from the table.

"I would really rather not be blown up again as well," Lacey said  simply. "I truly think that being blown up again might just get me  pulled from duty and that would really, really piss me off like crazy. I  would much rather be able to be in the field with you guys if you  wouldn't mind, please."

"And we're going to keep you out there with us," Ansell told her. He  turned and headed off, leaving her standing with Zhubin at her back.

"That's why I want him there. His sense of smell is much better than  mine. He can actually pick through the layers of scents. He'll be able  to tell if there are explosives there even with all the blood. Gods, I  wish all this had waited until after the full moon. I'm so not in the  mood to deal with this shit right now."

"I couldn't agree more." Lacey looked up at Zhubin and frowned. "What do  you mean? Why can't you wait until after the full moon? I'm a little  lost here. Is it because you have to shift during the full moon?" She  knew that during the full moon her guys got more and more wound up.

"We get extremely agitated here in your realm when the moon rises. We  try not to be here during that time. That's why the dinner is planned  for that night, gives us a good excuse not to be here," he murmured.  Rubbing his hand over her back, he pressed a kiss to her temple. "Let me  put everything away so we can get moving."

"Sounds good." She turned to face him and licked her lips. "I have never  been on the other side of the Veil," Lacey admitted quickly, quietly.  "I don't know what things are like over there, what do I wear? What do I  do? I'm a little lost. Will you guys help me?"

"Of course we will," he said, sliding his arms around her. "Just be you,  Lace. Wear what you normally would wear to meet the parents of any  other-worlder of high rank. You know." She could feel his smile against  her cheek. "The usual."

"Right, yeah I've met so many people of higher ranking here in this  world." Lacey rolled her eyes and then shook her head. "I need to go  shopping and since I freaking hate to shop I'm making you guys go with  me to help me pick something out. Both of you," she added and looked  pointedly at Ansell.

Poor guy had just walked back into a shitstorm and didn't even know it.  Oh, he looked like a deer caught in the headlights and even wary, but he  kept coming. Slower though, definitely slower. "What's going on?"

"Apparently, Lacey feels the need to go shopping to get something to  wear to impress my parents," Zhubin said as he let her go. He began to  stack dishes. "She's volunteered us to go along on this excursion of  pain and agony."

"She doesn't need anything special," Ansell said before looking at her.  "You really don't need anything special. Just be you and dress how you  are comfortable. Besides, given the pets in that place, you'll just end  up covered in fur the moment you walk in."

"I want to look nice for meeting the people that might be my in-laws one  day." Or something like that. "I'm just so worried that I won't be good  enough, that I won't be what they had envisioned for the two of you all  your lives. That's what worries me."

"Lacey." Ansell moved in closer and put his hands on her shoulders.  Leaning down, he looked her in the eye. "You're our mate, the Fates  determined this, which means you are perfect as you are. You could show  up naked with your hair shaved into weird patches and they wouldn't  care. They likely would stare at you, but they wouldn't care."

She laughed and shook her head. "Well since I really don't wanna show up  naked I think that this will be good." She took a deep breath and  sighed. "I guess I am worrying a great deal about something that I truly  shouldn't, aren't I? I'm worried because I want them to like me."

"They will like you, they will love you," he said. He tapped her nose  lightly. "But first we have business to attend to. You can freak out  about meeting the in-laws later." He pressed a kiss to her forehead  before pulling back.

"I hope so." She sighed and nodded. "Right. I can handle hunting and  killing. I can totally handle those things because I can be in control  with those things." Well at least as much control as she could be in,  she supposed. Thanks again, for the reassurance. You know me and how I  work far too well don't you?"                       
       
           



       

"I have been paying attention for the last five years." He gave a lazy  shrug. "But you still find ways to surprise us both. Not usually good  surprises, but they are still surprises. Grab your jacket. We need to  hit the office and get you geared up before we go to the scene. We can  take hits but you can't," he said softly.

"Yes, body armor is needed," she agreed. They could take a hit and keep  on going but not her. She was far more fragile than they were, if one  could call her fragile that was. "And weapons, lots of them. I don't  want to have to think about wishing that I had this or that when I  didn't. I think that it's going to be very good to get some weapons and  body armor." Repetition was something she did when her mind was already  moving on to what they needed to do, planning and anticipating.

"We'll load you down, darling," Zhubin said from behind her, his hands  landing on her hips. "But we need to get moving. We have to get to the  scene before Briar moves the body. I want to see it in place. So grab  your boots and jacket, we'll take my truck."

"Sounds good." She grabbed her boots and put them on, then pulled on her  jacket. "We will take your truck because it is bulletproof and mine  isn't." Her car was low and fast, not armored at all, where their trucks  were heavily armored and fast as well.

"Kind of my idea by suggesting it," Zhubin told her, moving past her to  pull on his boots. He crouched to tie them. "Don't need to give this  asshole stalker of yours any more ways of getting at you. This way he's  got to get through us both and the truck."

"Which, given the additional tweaks we've done to them both, won't  happen," Ansell said, shrugging into his jacket. He moved to the door  and pulled it open. "No human will ever get their hands on most of the  tech."

"Which is likely for the best. Yes there are some good people out there  but honestly humanity as a whole … sometimes I wonder if we are worth  fighting for." It was sad to say but even worse to feel. When she saw  some of the things that happened because of "humanity," it broke her  heart into pieces.

"People as individuals are decent, kind and generous. People in groups  are assholes who do whatever the strongest personality amongst them  says. They stop thinking as individuals and turn into a hivemind. Just  look at your Salem witch trials, prime example," Zhubin said as he  locked the door and moved with them to his truck. "As a whole I'd say  no, flat out, humanity isn't worth bothering with. But it's the  individuals, the good ones like you and Briar, that I focus on. We can't  save everyone and we can't save the world. But if you focus on one  person, one soul and do everything you can to make that person's world  better you end up making everything a little better on the grand  scheme."

Lacey sighed and nodded. "And I hate that people as a whole are like  that. We will do whatever we can to hold that line because it simply has  to be held. We will do whatever we have to in order to ensure that  people are able to live and enjoy their lives, right?"

"Of course we will," Ansell told her softly, wrapping his arm around her  shoulders. He was leaning back against the door as Zhubin drove and  tugged her in closer. "But stop thinking about them as a whole. Focus on  that one person you need to make a difference for, someone that needs  it and deserves it. If you make their life better, then you choose  another."