Honored Vow

calm you felt in his presence and the
    way the laugh lines in the corners of his eyes deepened when he smiled.
    He took in pain and confusion or anger and rage and breathed back out
    soothing quiet. It was what was needed in the semel, the leader of the
    tribe, but not often found.
    “Your friends probably feared for you because an unmated reah, if
    they were to come across a semel mated to a yareah, could possibly end up
    being that semel’s mate. There is always the chance that a semel mated to
    a yareah could still find his true-mate, his reah.”
    “So somewhere in the world could be Miguel’s reah.”
    “Yes.”
    She let that sink in. “That is really scary,” she told him. “I mean
    there you are, a yareah, and you’ve put years in with your mate, maybe
    had kids, and then one day he’s walking down the street and he just runs
    into his reah and your life is over.”
    Logan nodded.
    “I mean, that’s what you’re telling me, my life could end tomorrow
    if he finds his mate.”
    “No, you would become taurth, second-mate.”
    “It sounds horrible.”
    “Some female werepanthers refuse to even be considered as yareahs
    for that very reason,” he told her. “Better to never love a semel at all than
    lose him.”
    She nodded.
    “But they’re foolish,” Logan told her. “The chance of a semel ever
    finding a reah is miniscule at best.”
    “Spoken like a man.” She smiled at him, pointing at me. “Because
    there sits your reah, and even though my mate is straight, he has not taken
    his eyes off him since he got into the car.”
    “What?” Miguel snapped at her.

    Honored Vow

    83

    He had obviously not gotten around to telling her what he had
    planned between him and her and I back at the hotel.
    “I understand,” she said as she nodded, smirking at him before
    returning her eyes to Logan. “But a mated reah, why do I care about a
    mated reah?”
    “Precisely.” Logan smiled at her. “A mated reah is no threat to any
    yareah and should be seen only as a friend.”
    She looked at Logan hard. “Were you mated when you met your
    reah, semel-netjer?”
    “No, I was not.”
    Her smile was huge. “That’s good, so no lives were lost in the
    forming of your partnership.”
    “No,” he said, chuckling at her wording. “I was very fortunate.”
    “I’m sure an unmated reah would be someone that a yareah might
    even want to kill.”
    “Yes, but most yareahs will never even see a reah in their lifetime.”
    “It’s hard to imagine a reah being so rare when I can see one right in
    front of me.”
    He was quiet.
    “I am curious to see if the power is really as great as I’ve been told.”
    “Unfortunately a display of my mate’s power in this car would get us
    all killed in the ensuing chaos.”
    “He is that powerful?”
    “Ask your mate,” Logan said, which basically brought all chitchat to
    an end.
    At the airport, Logan thanked the semel for his hospitality and told
    him that Mikhail would be in touch about reparation and the arrangements
    for the transfer of funds that would be decided on. The semel seemed
    uncomfortable, and I was certain that now, late in the night, when the
    anger and pain and humiliation had dissipated, the idea of having Logan
    pay him for his own weakness and that of his men seemed petty.
    “Perhaps instead I might be allowed to visit with my household, and
    we could hunt with you. I have not been on one in years.”
    “Your tribe must hunt together,” Logan told him, “or one of the most
    basic of bonds is lost. And I would be honored, semel, and so would my
    house.”

    84

    Mary Calmes

    Miguel Garza’s face lit up, and he bowed, and then Logan bowed
    and everything felt better. I noticed that the semel still could not meet my
    eyes, and unlike his yareah, he didn’t want to touch me.
    Erin offered me her hand, which I took. Eyes that had been
    combative had softened, and when I smiled at her, it was returned.
    When they were gone, the semel and his household, Domin and
    Artem joined us for the walk toward the doors that led inside the airport.
    Logan was ahead of me, with Yuri and I behind, my sheseru’s hand on my
    shoulder.
    It was nice that now we were mated, Logan allowed others of his
    own household to touch me and be close to me. I reveled in his trust.
    Logan promised to call Justin if he needed help with the challenges
    that he would face during the sepat and of course to tell him if he became
    semel-aten.
    “It seems like a dream