Lacey's Luhpynes(5)

Reaching out he ran a very light finger over the scars on her throat and  frowned, his eyes returning to their normal, if odd, coloring. "Those  look like Luhpyne claw marks but they're too narrow," he murmured.  Shifting in his seat he tipped her head gently and leaned in, still  running a finger over the marks. "I've never seen anything that could do  that. Do you know what he was?" he asked, looking into her eyes as he  let her chin go.

"Yeah," she confessed. "Don't have a hissy when I tell you. I was  ordered to never say anything, this was sealed by the highest courts and  if they knew I was telling you now … Well, I would pretty much be pushing  up daisies in a field somewhere," she told him and took another deep  breath before saying, "Full privacy mode." When the vehicle's windows  all darkened she knew that they were sealed and silent. "Have you ever  seen what happens to a Luhpyne when bit by a Vhampire? They turn. It's  nasty and really, really bad. They have the abilities of both races,  that's what did this to me. He was the first case in nearly two hundred  years, from what I was told. Do I believe it? No way in hell, but." She  bit her lip. "The marks on the wall, the scent of Vhampire and Luhpyne,  he's creating an army and he knows that I will stand in his way. He's  toyed with me for years. Now he's ready to just put me in the ground."  And deprive two men of their mate. "He's a sadistic fuck and twisted and  somehow I'm now his favorite pastime. The bomb surprised me, but it  makes sense in a twisted kinda way. He knew I would be there and was  ready for me to be eliminated. He never thought that you would do  anything to save me though."

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked with a frown as he eased back a little.  Resting his forearm on the console he tapped a finger. "I'd heard rumors  of such things but never actually seen one. Sort of like your human  myths of werewolves and vampires, until you're confronted with the truth  you can push it back to stories your parents told to scare you. But  back to your last comment, why would he assume I wouldn't protect you,  Lacey? Luhpynes are extremely protective of females, any female. More so  for those they consider theirs of course," he murmured, his expression  giving nothing away as he let his gaze move over her face. "Homicidally  so, when it's their female."

"How long have we been partners?" she asked quietly and leaned her head  back against the headrest, exhaustion making its way into her very core  being. "You asked why he thought you wouldn't do anything to save me.  Answer my question, how long have we been partners?" She watched him  through barely opened eyes. "And in the time we have been a trio  partnership how many times did I get gifts? Every week, without fail,  for the last several years. He's toying with me. Taunting me. Ensuring  that I know just why he's going to destroy me. He does it for kicks. He  does it for pleasure. He does it because he's a sadistic bastard." For  the last several years she had gotten a golden cuff delivered to her  once a month and every week, without fail, she had a dozen black roses  delivered to her, his way of letting her know just how little she meant  to the men that she was partnered with, how little she meant to the men  that were supposed to be something more than they were. "He didn't think  that you would save me because he wouldn't. He simply wants me dead now  that he's tired of his games."                       
       
           



       

"He has to get through us first and we're mostly indestructible," he  murmured. "Four years, two months, six days, forty-nine minutes and ten  seconds. That's how long we've been partners, Lacey." Shifting in the  seat, he turned on the engine and, before he pulled away, he clicked on  the phone feature on the dash. Hitting a button, he pulled away from the  scene. "It's me, my place in twenty minutes," was all he said before he  hung up.

"Uh, no. My place. Drop me off first, Zhubin," Lacey muttered. "I mean  it. I just want to go home, crawl into a nice hot shower and then bed to  sleep for like a week straight." She was once more closed up tight,  emotionally at least. "I mean it, Zhu, don't make me get shitty with  you. I want to go home."

"You will, later. We have something to do first. Then I'll take you to  your place," he told her as he drove through the city before heading  toward the outskirts. "I'm not kidnapping you, Lacey, but we need to  have a talk in a secure location. And right now, I seriously doubt your  apartment is all that secure if this thing's been watching you all this  time."

"What is there to talk about?" she asked with a frown. "I will file my  report tomorrow and you can do yours tomorrow as well. I think we have  pretty much reached the end of what we need to discuss right now.  Besides, I need to make the Council aware of what has happened and that  I've told you about him." Which was going to be fan-fucking-tastic … not.

"Oh, we'll be notifying the Council, soon enough," he said, shooting her  a look. "But there is a hell of a lot more to discuss first. Sit back,  relax and stop being so tense, Agent Rose. This may actually help us  figure out who the asshole is after you, which I would have thought  you'd like to figure out. You know, before you're fucking dead?" The  last came out on a deep rumbling growl.

"I've been trying to figure him out, you ass," she muttered. "Dying  doesn't exactly rate up there on my list of things to do anytime soon  you know." She shook her head and sighed. "I happen to really like  living. It's a hell of a lot more fun than being dead."

Shaking his head, Zhubin took a deep breath and slowly pushed it out,  his hands clenched on the steering wheel. "At least you don't have a  death wish, which, given you haven't mentioned this before I'd have  thought otherwise. As to the gifts, we just figured it was your  boyfriend and you were pissed at him so he was trying to suck up. Being  non-human, we figured we shouldn't be nosey in our partner's life.  Especially since we all know most of you don't want us here in the first  place."

"Yeah, that's something I haven't had in four years and some change."  Since meeting the men and sudden realization hitting her, she hadn't had  a boyfriend or man in her life. These men had walked into her life and  took her breath away. They ruined her for any other. "I haven't  mentioned it before because I was under strict orders to not say a  fucking word to anyone. When the Council seals your fucking lips you  keep them shut or you end up in the ground. You know that as well as I  do."

Grunting at her words, he stayed focused on the road, the silence  filling the vehicle. It wasn't exactly comfortable but neither was it  wholly uncomfortable. Odd, really. Finally he turned onto a road that  looked to vanish into the trees and wound through until he pulled up to a  gate. Leaning out the window he'd just rolled down he put his thumb to  the pad and the gate slid open, silently.

Parking before the huge, two-level home, he got out and moved around to  her side of the truck. "Come on, we'll get you something for the pain  and some water. You need to hydrate and this won't take long hopefully,"  he said, looking around, his nose in the air as he was clearly inhaling  deep.





Chapter Five




Leading her up onto the porch he opened the door and let her step  inside. Hitting the lights, he moved in front of her when there was the  sound of nails scrambling on the flooring. "Sit," he said sharply and  two wolves slid into view on their rumps, their tongues lolling, giving  the impression they were grinning up at them. "Lacey, meet Demon and  Devil. And their names fit, given the trouble they tend to get into. Do  not let their innocent looks deceive you, they are mischievous and  devious."

Snickering, Lacey held her hand out to the large wolves and asked,  "Please don't gobble me up if you wouldn't mind. I get enough of a  chewing from your master on a nearly daily basis," she teased, smiling  up at Zhubin as she said it. "Demon and Devil, huh?" she said as one of  them sniffed her hand and then headbutted it to demand affection.                       
       
           



       

"They know who's boss in this household," Zhubin told her as he moved  deeper into the main floor. He was flicking lights on as he went, "And  they only bite those that are uninvited, unlike me. I bite anyone that  pisses me off." He reappeared a moment later and handed her a glass of  water and two tablets. "Did you want something to eat? We won't be long  but it will be a little while, at least."