Honored Vow

table,

    Honored Vow

    49

    each man going down to one knee, the woman standing, preparing to
    kneel.
    “No.” I stopped her, moving fast, offering my hand.
    I watched her shiver as her hand clasped mine. “Reah.” She bit her
    bottom lip. “It’s an honor.”
    “You are?”
    “I’m Liza Dempsey, mate of the maahes of the tribe of Deshret.”
    “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
    Her dark-brown eyes locked on mine. “Reah, may my mate and I
    accompany you to the home of our semel, Miguel Garza?”
    “I would be honored.” I smiled at her.
    Her indrawn breath was shaky as she nodded. All the men stood
    after that, and I felt the whole room exhale as I turned back to Blake
    Dempsey. “May I please see Ruslan Church?”
    “Of course,” Blake breathed finally, turning to one of the men.
    “Bring both Russ and his friend Tony,” he said sharply before his eyes
    were back on mine. “Once he joins us, we should go immediately to see
    my semel.”
    “Of course,” I agreed, offering him my hand.
    He took it gently in both of his and tugged me forward without
    meaning to, just wanting me closer. If Yuri had been there, the
    impropriety would have never happened, but I was alone, so whatever I
    offered could be accepted.
    I felt his hands around my one, watched him breathe me in, my
    scent.
    “May I introduce the sister of my mate?”
    He turned to meet Delphine, and Liza did as well, and then I met the
    other men, all speaking with lowered eyes that quickly flicked to my face
    when I took their hands.
    “Oh, what the fuck.”
    I turned to the door and there, with a split lip, black eye, and various
    scrapes on his knuckles, cheek, and chin, was Russ.
    “Jin, why did you come?”
    I stalked over to him. “Because, you fuckin’ idiot, your girlfriend
    called me.”
    “Shit.”

    50

    Mary Calmes

    I grunted, reaching for him. “Are you alright?”
    He sucked in a breath, and I watched him swallow hard.
    “This was really stupid,” I said, putting my hand around the back of
    his neck, stepping into him, easing his head down onto my shoulder. He
    was bigger, but I was older. “You’re gonna be all right.”
    He clutched me tight, and when Delphine put her arms around us
    both, I felt him tremble. He had been scared, and bitching or no bitching,
    he was glad to see me.
    “Listen to me,” I said, leaning back. “You have a very important
    decision to make, and unfortunately you’re going to need to make it like
    right now.”
    “What’re you talking about?”
    “The choice you made not to be part of a tribe has blown up in your
    face. So now you have to either tell Samantha the truth, and she and you
    come back home with me so she can meet Logan and be initiated into our
    tribe, or you stay here and keep your secret.”
    “Jin—”
    “If you stay here, then we have to speak to the semel, Miguel Garza,
    and ask for the status of duat, and you’re dead as a panther.”
    “What does that even mean?”
    “That means that you can never shift again on punishment of death.”
    “Here or at home?”
    “Anywhere, ever,” I told him. “You never shift again.”
    “How is that even possible?”
    “If you don’t want to share your secret with Samantha, then you can
    live on another’s land, but you have to do it as a human and not a cat.”
    “And if I want to live as a cat?”
    “Then you can only do that on Logan’s land.”
    “Why? You can live wherever you damn well want.”
    “Not if I was taking a human for a mate. If you want to mate outside
    your species and live as a cat, then you only live on the land you were
    born on. That’s the law.”
    “But first I would have to tell Samantha my secret and have her
    meet Logan.”
    “Yes.”
    “Why? Why can’t I just ask the semel here to accept me?”

    Honored Vow

    51

    “Because you’re asking to bring a human into the tribe,” I told him.
    “Only your original tribe will accept a mate outside our species, and
    normally not even then. It’s a huge deal, Russ, but you have more options
    than most because your brother is a semel. I don’t think you get how lucky
    you are.”
    “So basically I can either tell Samantha about werepanthers and go
    home with you and Delphine or stay here and I’m only human, never a
    cat?” he asked me.
    “Yes.”
    “The semel here, will he let me live on his land as—what is it called
    again?”
    “A duat.”
    “Okay, so will the semel accept me as a duat for sure?”
    “We’ll have to