She shook her head. “Why you?”
That was quite the question. “Exactly. I don’t know. I mean, we all planned to sacrifice our lives during the final ritual, because that was the deal. Each one of these guys fought the idea of matehood, and each one fell on his face and took the chance anyway. I won’t do that to you. You’ve already lost one mate, and who knows if you’d survive taking the virus again. I’m not worth that.”
“You’re not worth that? Are you insane?” she asked.
“Some would say,” he agreed, glancing at the face of his phone. “Oh. Mercy has dinner waiting in the main lodge for us. It will probably be a more comfortable place for us to grill you, just so you know. I’ve held off as long as possible.”
Karma jolted. “Grill me?”
He coughed out a laugh. “Not like a steak, sweetheart. But you have lived with our enemy for centuries, and we have a lot of questions for you. I wanted to wait until you were more comfortable and everything, but we probably do need to get on it.” He turned and winked at her. “Don’t worry. You can handle anything we throw at you.”
“You’re going to throw things at me?” Her brow wrinkled.
He let the laugh loose this time. The woman truly had been sheltered. “You’re a fun one, Karma. You really are.”
* * * *
Karma was accustomed to hiding her feelings and masking exhaustion after working long hours for the Kurjan nation, so she naturally slid into the familiar role as Benjamin led her into what he called the main lodge of the Seven. It was much smaller than the one at the Realm but built with wide logs that had been finely cut. The main room appeared to contain a few sofas and not much else. In the dining area, she sat at a round table that would comfortably seat twenty people.
Had the Kurjans caught Benjamin’s mention of the mating mark on his hand? She couldn’t worry about that and instead studied the area.
The table was of hand-carved cedar, and the chairs matched with the addition of bright red cushions. Oil paintings decorated the walls, but she couldn’t get close enough to see signatures. Glass French doors comprised the final wall and appeared to lead out to the forest and a mountain range. She’d have to look at the area in the daylight.
Benny held out her chair, and she sat, feeling more comfortable when he sat next to her. “All right. Here we go. We’re missing three members of the Seven as well as their mates, so it’ll be a smaller group than usual tonight.” He gestured toward a green-eyed demon who looked familiar. “That’s Logan Kyllwood and his mate, Mercy O’Malley.”
Mercy had shoulder length, curly brown hair, one blue and one green eye, and her smile was contagious. “Hi. This is my sister, Haven.” She manacled a blonde around the neck and yanked her so close their heads smacked. “We only found out we were sisters about five years ago. I’m a Fae. She’s part demon and part Fae, which makes her a little crazier than me.”
Haven shoved Mercy away and smiled. “I am nowhere near as crazy as Mercy. Trust me.” She had one black eye and one green and luxuriously thick blond hair. She patted the muscled male next to her. “This is my mate, Quade Kayrs. I think you already met briefly?”
Quade just nodded at her, his gaze seeking. Curious and intense.
All right. This wasn’t so bad. She’d been afraid she’d have to meet everyone at once, and as much as she wanted her girls to be safe, the less information she could send back to the Kurjans, the better. Six people for dinner wasn’t so many, and thus far, no ghosts had visited asking for favors.
Until the French doors opened and two more males stalked inside. One was Garrett, and he didn’t look any more peaceful after his run. The second looked shockingly like Logan, except his eyes were a darker green.
Logan motioned with a tilt of his head. “You’ve met Garrett. This is Sam, my older brother.”
“Hi,” Sam said, taking the seat next to his brother. Garrett sat over on the other side of Quade, immediately reaching for the platter of steaks in the middle of the table.
“Hi,” Karma said quietly. She had been ordered to ask questions, but she didn’t want to betray these people who’d been nice to her so far. She also didn’t want to betray Benjamin. But if she didn’t do her job, the twins would be harmed. “Are you a member of the Seven, Sam?” She already knew that he was not.
“Nope. I’m just visiting my brother.” He poured wine from a bottle and passed the glass on to Quade.
It was good that he’d lied. The Kurjan nation already knew he had a role to play in the upcoming ritual, but they didn’t know what that was. At least, that’s what Terre had told her while training her for this obscenity. She smiled. “It’s nice to visit family. I’ve missed mine for so long.”
Sam smiled, looking even more like his brother. “It definitely is nice to see everyone.”
Benny took the salad bowl, dumped piles on their salad plates, and passed them along. “Please tell me that Logan cooked, not Mercy.”
Mercy threw a roll at Benny, which he easily snatched out of the air and placed next to his salad. “I made the salad, Logan grilled the steaks, and Haven baked the potato dish and dessert. Start being nice, or you don’t get any huckleberry pie.” She rolled her eyes. “Ignore his manners, or lack thereof, Karma. If he doesn’t learn them soon, he’s going to find another snake in his bed.”
Benny gave a mock shudder. “That’s just cruel of you, Mercy. Logan, control your woman.”
Logan snorted and reached for the wine. “You deserved that garden snake in the bed, and you know it. Besides, I’d rather have her evil genius directed toward you than me.” He leaned over and kissed Mercy on the cheek. “Isn’t that right, baby?”
“Yep.” Her smile at Benny was a little evil.
Karma had never seen such interactions. There were some Kurjan mates who seemed to feel love, but even they didn’t have this much, well, fun. For the very briefest of moments, she let herself dream. What would it be like to belong here? With Benjamin? She’d heard of females enjoying the act of love, and by the way her body reacted to his nearness, she might find simple pleasure with him. It was too much to hope for, but still, heat slid into her face.
Quade chewed on a roll and then cleared his throat. “Have the Kurjans created a plan to set Ulric free?”
Karma sipped on the red wine. It was full-bodied and warming. “I have no idea. You must understand that I’m not privy to the soldiers’ plans.” It was unthinkable, actually.
Mercy poured herself more wine. “That makes sense, since you’re not a soldier. Don’t worry. Do you know how many women they’ve managed to kidnap over the last few years? We’ve stopped several attempts, but I know we haven’t rescued them all.”