Rebecca Zanetti - Consumed

An hour later, safely being poked by needles in the large lab at the above-ground Realm Headquarters, she awaited the queen’s diagnosis, fidgeting on the examination table and wrinkling the paper. Lemon cleanser and the queen’s strawberry shampoo mingled in the air. The king’s mate worked impossible hours, every day, trying to cure the virus.

While Katie had given more blood during the last ten years than she could count, the above-ground lab was her favorite place to be tested. Wide windows showcased the stunning ocean spreading as far as she could see. “Well? What happened in the alley? I swear, I felt like—”

“Your blood is the same.” Emma Kayrs, looking nothing like pampered royalty, scribbled notes in a file, her black hair clipped at the nape. She leaned back against a granite counter lined with test tubes and humming machines. One blinked green lights, spitting out data. “Your chromosomal pairs are holding steady at twenty-five pairs. Even without medication.” She tapped her pen on the paper. “Maggie’s are back up to twenty-six after a quick dive to twenty-four, which gives me great hope. Male shifters drop to twenty-four pairs, turning them into werewolves. Female shifters seem to stop unraveling at twenty-five, which makes you nearly human but not quite.”

Emma flashed a sympathetic smile. “As far as we know, only Maggie dropped to twenty-four pairs, probably because of the experiments conducted on her by the Kurjans that we don’t really know about. We don’t even know how long they kept her captive. Either way, I just can’t figure out why she’s different from all the other affected female shifters. Why are her chromosomal pairs back up to twenty-six? Is the cure somehow in her blood?”

“What about Cara’s chromosomal pairs?” Emma’s sister Cara had been human with twenty-three chromosomal pairs until she mated Talen Kayrs, shooting her pairs up to twenty-seven. Before she contracted the virus.

“She is back up to twenty-six pairs, which also gives me great hope. But no matter what I do or try, or what Talen tries, we can’t get her pairs back up to the twenty-seven of a mate.”

Katie shook her head. “For the first time in ten years, I felt like me. Like the shifter inside had returned.” Before getting on the plane, she’d tried to shift. Repeatedly and with no luck. But if the lioness had returned, she might beat the virus. Maybe the cure lived in Katie’s blood.

Emma slapped the file closed, her lips pinched. “I don’t know. Maybe being close to Jordan after so long did it— the cougar inside you recognized a potential mate in Jordan and woke up. Or perhaps”—she took a deep breath—“the lioness recognized the virus in Jordan—the same one you have.”

Perhaps she’d returned to say good-bye to the only man Katie would ever love. She shoved the thought away. “What about this antiviral you’ve been working on from Maggie’s blood?”

Emma’s blue eyes darkened. “We’ve had some success in test tubes, but it’s nowhere near ready to use.”

“There isn’t a choice.” Jordan would be a monster within a few days.

“I know.”

“What about,” Katie cleared her throat, rolling her shoulders, “if we, I mean, what if we—”

“Mated?” Amusement lifted the queen’s lips. “I truly don’t know.” She lost her smile. “Mating might work, might halt Jordan’s virus like it is in you ... or might turn you both into werewolves. When a shifter bites a mate, their physiology is altered, as you know. Forever. Who knows what would happen in this case.”

Katie would take the risk.

Voices echoed down the hallway, and Cara Kayrs swept into the room. “I think you’re being ridiculous.”

Her husband and mate, Talen, stalked in behind her, a scowl on his broad face. “She’s too young to date.”

Cara rushed forward and enveloped Katie in a hug. “I’ve missed you.” She leaned back, studying her. “It’s been too long.”

Katie smiled at her friend. “You look well.” Actually, Cara had been unnaturally pale since contracting the virus, but her blue eyes were clear, so that had to be a good thing. As sisters, she and Emma shared the same eye color, but her hair was a much lighter auburn. “What is the cranky vampire growling about now?” Katie gave Talen a grin.

“Hi, monster.” He leaned in and tugged her hair. “It has been way too long.”

Warmth flushed through her. The dangerous soldier had been calling her monster since she dumped a soda on him during a picnic thirty years before. She’d only been four, for goodness sakes. The Kayrs men had been family her entire life. “I’m a grown-up now—you shouldn’t call me names.”

“You look sixteen.” He scowled at his wife. “Too young to date.”

“Nuh-uh,” Katie countered. Geez. She might look twenty, but she’d lived thirty-four years, and after a moment in his presence, she felt four years old again. “I look my age.” Right. If her genes cooperated, she’d always look twenty-five.

Cara sighed, shoving curls off her face. Her dark jeans and simple white T-shirt held splotches of dirt. The woman had probably been gardening, which was a favorite hobby. She gave her husband a glare. “The grumpy vampire is irritated his daughter wants to go to a movie with a panther shifter next week.”

“She’s too young.” Talen crossed his massive arms. His eyes were a deep gold, his features rugged and powerful. Not many people challenged the head of all military strategy for the Realm. “That panther ... he looks at her funny.”

Emma snorted. “You’re such a dork.”

Katie jumped off the table. “I suppose you’d rather Janie dated a vampire?”

“Hell, no.” Talen lifted Cara and set her down gently on the table. “I’d rather she didn’t date at all. In fact, she’s too young. Period.”

Emma grabbed another file. “I think it’s good she wants to go on a date with someone, anyone, instead of pining for that Zane.”

Cara nodded, rolling up her sleeve. “Yeah. I have to admit, I was seriously relieved when he stopped visiting her dreams about five years ago.”

Katie inched toward the door. Something told her Zane hadn’t disappeared for all time ... just while Janie grew up. No need to tell the overprotective parents, however. “Speaking of Janie, I’m supposed to meet her in the game room. See you all later.” She turned and ran smack into a hard chest.

“Aunt Katie.” Strong hands steadied her, and she looked up an inch into metallic gray eyes.

When had he grown so tall? “Garrett.” She enveloped him in a huge hug. She loved that he’d given her the honorary title of “Aunt.” Very cool. The kid definitely had his father’s size, though gangly was an understatement. “What are you, about twenty years old?”

He returned the hug, large hands patting her shoulder awkwardly. “Funny. You know I just turned ten.” Humungous feet shuffled as he stepped back, a dimple flashing in his already handsome face. Good humor lifted his smile, but a clear predator lumbered beneath the surface of that sharp face. There was no question Garrett was his father’s son. “Dad? The panther called again. Thought you should know.”

Talen growled low. “That kid needs to be relocated somewhere else.”

Garrett nodded. “Yeah. He looks at Janie funny.”

“See?” Talen gestured wildly. “Even he sees it.”

“In fact”—a mischievous light entered Garrett’s odd eyes—“Uncle Dage thinks I should go to the movies with them next week.”

A smile crossed Talen’s rugged face. “Now that’s a fine idea.”

“No,” Cara said.

Talen and his son shared a look.

“We’ll see about that,” Talen said.

Chuckling, Katie maneuvered around Garrett and strolled by windows showcasing a tumultuous Pacific Ocean on her way to the game room. She found Janie chalking a pool stick in front of the only pool table, the balls already racked. Several dartboards adorned the side, while a huge, fully stocked bar lined one entire wall.