Rebel's Karma

by Rebecca Zanetti

  Emma patted her hand. “That’s not your fault. How would you know?”

  That was true. However, she still had a job to do. For once, she longed to see a spirit or a ghost hovering nearby, but the space around her was clear. So much for seeking input from others. “In that case, I would like to be exposed to the virus you discovered, the one that will negate my mating bond.” There. She’d said it, as she’d been ordered to do.

  Emma’s eyebrows rose. “That’s your decision. Guess you want to mate again, huh? Awesome!”

  * * * *

  “Now, wait a minute.” Benny stormed into the queen’s lab, his hair fresh from a shower and his clothing nice and clean. He still had a few bruises from his sparring hours with Talen, but they were slowly mending. Hopefully Talen’s broken jaw was doing the same.

  Emma leaned against a far counter, once again dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and lab coat. “Morning, Benny. I heard you caused quite a ruckus earlier today.”

  Karma sat on the examination table, looking sexy and alluring in another long skirt with flowers on it. She’d twisted her thick hair into an intricate braid, making his fingers itch to untangle the sunshine-filled mass. “Good morning, Benjamin. What ruckus?” Then she jolted as if surprised she’d asked a question.

  He took a deep breath and tucked his thumbs into the jeans Emma had provided for him earlier. They fit perfectly and didn’t have one hole in them. “Good morning, ladies.” All right. He needed to calm down so he didn’t frighten Karma again. The idea that she’d asked a question warmed him. “Dage asked me to train the younger soldiers, but apparently he should’ve given me more direction.”

  Emma snorted, and she leaned conspiratorially closer to Karma. “Benjamin stripped them naked, hung them upside down, and fired honey at them from a squirt gun. We still have bees around here, even though it’s fall.”

  Karma gasped, her eyes wide. “Benny. Why would you do that?”

  He shrugged. “Training means dealing with the unexpected. They should’ve known that.”

  “The honey was mixed with superglue,” Emma exclaimed before bursting into gales of laughter.

  Karma chuckled and then covered her mouth with her hand. The mirth showed in her pretty eyes, and damn if Benny didn’t decide right then and there to make her laugh every day. She moved her hand. “Do you like it when people think you’re crazy?”

  He grinned. “It doesn’t hurt.” Plus, it allowed him to snoop around a little bit. They’d gotten some very shaky intel about an anti-Seven group working within the Realm that not even the king knew about. But despite his investigations, Benny hadn’t found anything…yet. For now, he got back down to business. “I take it the two of you had a nice discussion and now you know that Emma isn’t going to peel off your skin?”

  Red bloomed across Karma’s smooth cheekbones. “Yes. I was misinformed.”

  When she sounded all formal and hoity-toity like that, he really wanted to kiss her. Full-on, deep, and wild. Instead, he grinned. “God, you’re cute.”

  She blinked.

  Apparently, the female wasn’t used to compliments. He’d have to change that during their short time together. “You’re also very pretty, and you smell like the freshest breeze off a warm lake.”

  She froze.

  Emma looked up. “You flirt good, Ben. Who knew?”

  He stood straighter and smiled. “I have hidden talents, Queen. Now, we’re going to discuss what’s happening here.”

  Emma looked from him to Karma and then back. “I figured you’d have a thing or two to say. Do you want me to give you some privacy?”

  “No,” Karma said softly. “You both have said I have freedom here or insinuated that fact. If so, I wish to take the virus and negate my mating bond. My mate died two centuries ago, so I’m a perfect candidate, correct?”

  Emma nodded. “Virus-27, as you might not know, was created by the Kurjans to kill the vampires. We found a cure for it, but we also have been able to tweak the little bug to use it to our advantage. We’ve found the longer the mate has been gone, the weaker the bond. So far, we haven’t tried the virus on anybody whose mate is still alive.”

  Karma hadn’t known the Kurjans had created the virus, but at the moment, that fact did not matter. “If I take this virus, then the bond will disappear?”

  Emma drew air into her nose. “We think so. We’ve successfully used the virus with demon mates, shifter mates, and vampire mates. However, Kurjans are a different species, and I’ve only gained a few samples of their blood through the years to test. I can’t guarantee the results. You need to know that the virus can be deadly, and there’s a chance your system will reject it, or a chance that you will become infected in a way I can’t predict or possibly cure.”

  Karma appeared to weigh the words and then softly answered. “I understand your concerns, but I wish to proceed anyway.”

  Benny had no right to dictate to her, but the protectiveness sweeping through him had his jaw tensing. Even so, he kept his tone gentle. “Karma? For a moment, just consider the danger.” The female was far more delicate than he’d realized when he’d met her three years ago. “You could keep the mark and live a good life, although you wouldn’t get to have, well, sex.” That sort of life was unthinkable to him, but she’d gone without for a couple of centuries, so who knew what she thought? Of course, maybe abstinence had made her crazy. She seemed sane, though. Perhaps she was good at self-pleasuring.

  The idea smashed through him, landing in his balls. He shifted his weight to keep the jeans from killing him. “Just a thought,” he managed to croak out.

  She looked him right in the eyes. “I have no plans to mate again, and yet, I’d like the freedom to choose. It’d be nice to shake hands with somebody without getting a rash.”

  Why did it warm him that she didn’t want to go off and mate somebody again? Benny looked at Emma. “If she takes the virus, will she still be immortal?”

  Emma’s shrug was anything but casual. “I can’t guarantee that, Ben. Everyone I know who has taken the virus has gotten re-mated fairly quickly, so we don’t have a trial to compare to. I know immortality lasts at least for a little while, maybe a year. After that, I just don’t know. It’s possible an enhanced human’s chromosomal pairs, which have increased to grant immortality, will unravel again down to those of a mortal human. Or it’s possible the pairs will stay strong, even without the mating bond. I truly don’t know.”

  Benny exhaled. “All right. Well, if her chromosomes start to unravel, I’ll mate her.” That only made sense, considering the mark he wore was for her. At her soft gasp, he winced and focused on her. “I mean, if that’s what you want. If you wish to be human, that’s okay, too. Although why anybody would want to be human is beyond me.” Could he really allow her to be human, get old, and die?

  If that’s what she wanted, he didn’t have a right to stop her. Especially since he couldn’t mate and still do the job he planned to do. “Karma?” he asked.

  Emma held up a hand. “You need to know that the second I inject you, there’s no turning back. There’s no way to stop the virus once you have it. So, you have to be perfectly sure. It’ll do its job until it runs its course, and if all goes well, you’ll be fine.”

  Benny winced. “No risk there.” It wasn’t his decision to make. “Karma?”

  She remained perfectly still. Pretty but pale. Now that he looked closer, he could see soft lines next to her eyes where the delicate muscles were pinched. “I’d like to take the virus,” she said.

  He moved toward her, ducking his head to peer into her eyes. “Does your head still hurt?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “You can’t heal it?” The marking on his palm burned hotter now that he was close enough to touch her.

  She shrugged.

  Well, what the heck. He reached out and rubbed his thumb across
her eyebrow, trying to pull the pain into himself. Agony flared in his head, behind his eye, and then detonated in his ear. He blinked several times and pulled away. “That’s a hell of a headache.”

  Her eyes went wide, and the pupils contracted. “You took the pain away.”

  He took a couple of steps back. “Well, yeah.” That mating mark had some power.

  Chapter Eight

  Karma’s limbs felt weak. Jittery. Rubbery. She allowed Benjamin to escort her back to the suite of rooms after spending most of the afternoon in the lab. The queen had injected her with Virus-27, and the Kurjan plan was going as they’d directed. She walked to the sofa and sat, shivering as rain clipped against the sliding glass door.

  Benjamin flipped on the gas fireplace and took a furry blanket off the adjacent chair to settle over her. “How are you feeling?”

  “The same,” she admitted, her muscles aching. “Thank you for taking me out of the lab. I couldn’t stay in there any longer.”

  Benjamin leaned against the stone fireplace. “Emma will be along to check your vitals every hour or so. If you need to sleep, feel free. Besides Em, nobody will bother you.” He stood tall, looking dangerous despite the concerned glint in his patina colored eyes.

  Weariness rustled through her, and her skin prickled. “What’s your secondary eye color?” she murmured. She’d heard vampires and demons had secondary eye colors that emerged during stressful situations.

  His eyebrows rose, and he sat in the chair. “They say my secondary color is kind of a blackish green. I’ve never looked in the mirror, but I’ve been told.” He shrugged, and the muscles across his chest played nicely. “Never thought about it, really.”

  Was it true that the color emerged when a male mated? Her palms dampened, and a trickle of sweat slid between her breasts. It had been so long, but she now remembered what being ill felt like. What a fever actually felt like. Interesting. She was kind of enjoying how mellow she felt at the moment. Almost safe, in a cozy cocoon. “Why have you never taken a mate?”

  He grinned. “Not sure anybody would have me. I’m not exactly a settle-down type of guy.”

  She smiled. Oh, he definitely was not. There was a wildness in him—a pure, primitive energy—that sped up her heart rate, even without the fever. “You’re a soldier. A warrior.” Her gaze dropped to his large hands resting on his jeans. Oh, what he could do with those hands.

  He kicked back and stretched out his legs. “Are you hungry? You didn’t eat much of the soup at lunch.”

  “No.” She’d vomit if she tried to eat. So she concentrated on his rugged face. His skin stretched over strong bones, all angled to create the masculine handsomeness of years gone by. The tough and primal look of a predator. Beautiful and deadly. The shadow along his jaw only added to his maleness. “You’re beautiful, Benjamin.” Yes, that statement would get her beaten when she returned home, but she didn’t care. Not right now, anyway.

  He snorted. “Darlin’, I think your fever is taking over.”

  She laughed before she could stop herself.

  He sobered, and an intense look flashed in his eyes before a heated crimson crossed his cheekbones. “Now, that’s a pretty laugh. The sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.”

  What a kind male. Darkness edged around the room as her vision narrowed. So she kept her gaze on the soldier. “If you ever do mate, I assume you will find somebody modern and strong. Brave and tough.”

  He cocked his head. “Like you?”

  She smiled, her eyelids dropping to half-mast. “That’s funny. I’m none of those things.” She plucked at the pretty material of her skirt. “I am not even comfortable in pants, so how could I be tough? One can’t fight in a skirt.” If she ever got free, maybe she’d work on becoming strong and even wearing jeans.

  He leaned forward, and his delicious scent came to her. “Do all of the Kurjan Sotis dress in such a manner?”

  “Yes. We have not changed much through the ages. Once in a while there is a new mate who might wear current clothing, but that usually changes as she settles in.” She looked down at her skirt. “I like skirts. Is it true your women train to fight?”

  He nodded. “Sure. Emma can probably take on a whole group of shifters at this point, but I don’t see it ever happening. I can train you, if you like. Once you feel better.”

  The idea of her learning to fight was laughable. She could never be like those romance heroines she loved so much. She’d never have the courage to ward off a group of bikers with a plunger like the last heroine she’d read about. She shook her head. “That is a silly thought, Benjamin.” But a sweet one.

  He grunted, but she couldn’t interpret the meaning of the sound. “Did you ever try to escape?” he asked.

  She looked up, her head starting to hurt again—this time at the base of her neck. “And go where?” Two centuries ago, there was nowhere to go. Now she knew nothing of the outside world, hadn’t even known that fireplaces could be ignited with a switch until just a moment ago. She was still working on using contractions in her speech, although that was becoming easier.

  He watched her. “All right. Well, that’s the answer, then. We have to teach you independence. I’ll have a few million transferred into a bank account for you, and we’ll start there. You can always have more if you want.”

  The words were not flowing in a manner that made sense. The fever was robbing her of comprehension. “A million what?”

  “Dollars, baby. Are you even caught up on modern television or movies? Games? The Internet?” Benny wavered in front of her eyes.

  Figures edged in, several who hadn’t crossed over into the beyond. The ghosts were here.

  She swallowed, her throat suddenly parched. “We are not allowed modern entertainment. I like to read, though. We often sneak in books, but not many are modern. The Kurjans don’t mind if we read romance novels, however. Those heroines are amazing. I also read a novel about vampires who sparkled in the sun, and I truly enjoyed it. We all did, but I believe it was left behind during one of our recent moves.” She wanted to sparkle. Who didn’t? “Wouldn’t it be lovely to sparkle, Benjamin?”

  His face seemed to morph in every direction and then settled back in place. “Covert Ops would be difficult if I sparkled, but I guess everyone deals with obstacles. You sparkle to me right now.”

  With that kind thought wafting through her head, she pitched to the side and let unconsciousness take her completely.

  * * * *

  “Get out of my light,” Emma barked, shoving Benny in the gut. “Dage? Get him back.”

  The king grabbed Benny around the waist and pulled him toward the fireplace. “Let her work, Benny. Trust her.”

  Benny let the king pull him because he could still see over Emma’s head as she checked Karma’s vitals while the woman lay still as death on the sofa. He’d bellowed for help the second Karma had gone over, and the guard at the door had radioed for the king. “One second we were talking, and the next she was out cold.” After turning so pale he could see a blue vein running along the side of her temple. “What’s wrong? How bad is it?”

  Emma finished making notations on her tablet and settled the blanket more securely over Karma. She stood, her blue gaze worried. “She’s out, that’s for sure. Her temp is around 108, which is close to the danger zone for a mate but not quite there yet. However, if it keeps rising, we need to get her into an ice bath. Right now, her body is fighting the virus.”

  Dage released Benny and stood ready at his side. “Her reaction is more extreme than what we’ve seen before.”

  Emma pushed a wayward curl out of her face. She’d put her hair up in a ponytail the second she’d arrived. “Yes. I’ve seen temperatures rise, but nobody has lost consciousness like this before. To be honest, I had hoped Karma’s reaction would be mild since her mate died so long ago.” She shoved the infrared thermometer into her black
bag. “I don’t know enough about the Kurjans and their genetic composition or chemistry to make a diagnosis here.”

  Benny’s hands shook, so he shoved them in his pockets. Karma lay covered by the blanket, looking pale and still. Small and defenseless. He growled, long and low.

  Power crackled along Dage’s still form. “Should we take her to the infirmary?”

  Emma studied the prone woman. “There’s nothing in the infirmary that will help her, Dage. I have morphine in my bag if she appears to be in pain, but there’s nothing that can stop the reaction going on inside her right now. Once the virus is in, it’s in until it runs its course.”

  “There’s a cure, though,” Benny interjected.

  Emma glanced at him. “There’s a cure for immortals who contract the virus, but we’ve genetically engineered this version so it will negate the mating bond. There is no cure. I explained that to you.”

  Benny scrubbed a rough hand through his hair. “I didn’t really think there was a risk to her, since we’ve seen the virus work on everyone else.”

  Emma shook her head. “Just a few samples, really. I can count them on one hand, and maybe we got lucky. I don’t know, Benny. More importantly, the Kurjans aren’t like the rest of you. They’re taller, built differently, and are harmed by the sun. Or at least, they were harmed by the sun until they found some sort of protection.”

  Dage stepped forward. “I don’t suppose either one of you got a chance to ask her how they managed that?”

  Benny growled, fire ripping through him. “I’ll ask her when she wakes up. She will awaken.” He didn’t like feeling helpless; he wondered if hitting the king would help him deal with his frustration.

  Dage held up a hand. “Calm down. I was just thinking that maybe her reaction has something to do with the fact that her mate, who changed her biology, could not venture into the sun. Could there be a weakness there we had not considered?”