Honored Vow

bed. He lay down, paws in front, head lifted, and growled.
    I looked at Crane and saw him tremble, saw the tears dripping down
    his cheeks, and then saw the beginning of his shift. It took long minutes,
    and then he was a panther, standing there, still shaking, head lowered.
    Logan opened his jaws and made a chirping noise at Crane. It was
    high-pitched, the call, and seconds later, when he called him again, it
    became a churr. I had never heard him make the sound; as leader, he
    didn’t have to invite anyone to him, coax anyone but me. But he was
    calling Crane, and I watched my friend react.
    He bolted to the bed and then sprang up onto it, sinking down
    instantly beside his semel, leaning against him, pushing his muzzle
    forward to touch Logan’s. Slowly, carefully, my mate lifted his head only
    to lay it gently on the back of Crane’s neck. I heard the whine come out of
    my best friend, and I was flooded with relief and sadness all at the same
    time.

    94

    Mary Calmes

    Clearly Crane did not believe that I was powerful enough to keep
    him safe. No matter what I was, nekhene cat or no, Logan was the semel
    and I was the reah. He was the tribe leader and I was his mate. He would
    always be stronger than me. I was thrilled that Logan knew exactly what
    Crane needed—to feel utterly and completely safe. I heard Crane begin to
    purr, and I knew that he would finally sleep. I turned to go.
    The low churr caused me to turn around.
    Logan lifted his head, waiting.
    “I don’t wanna do anything to upset him.”
    Logan rubbed his head against his own shoulder and then called to
    me again.
    “But he doesn’t need me, he has you.”
    There was a whine from my mate, and I finally got it. No, Crane
    didn’t need me at that moment; it was Logan’s strength and dominance
    that was necessary. But for my mate, to have me at his side, that was vital.
    I moved around the room, picked up what was left of the broken
    lamp, and turned it off. I flipped off every light but the desk lamp before I
    stripped out of my clothes. My mate watched me with hungry eyes, and
    when I was done, I shifted and padded over to the bed. I was up and lying
    down beside him seconds later.
    He ran his chin over the top of my head and down the back of my
    neck, rubbing and nuzzling until I rolled over, my back to his side, and
    wiggled around until I got comfortable. He licked the side of my head
    before gently biting my ear. The message was clear: I needed to settle,
    already. When he put his head down on his paws, he began to purr. We
    were a warm pile of fur, the three of us snuggled together, and I was glad
    that Logan could be there for Crane and that I could be there for him. I
    went to sleep content.

    Honored Vow

    95

    Chapter Nine

    DANNY had saved Logan. He had warned him and Derek Jackson of the
    trap to kill both semels. He was a hero, he had risked his life, and
    everyone was treating him as such. I had been jealous because I loved my
    mate desperately, so when he had told me that Danny, my cousin, had
    come home with him, I had been unsure. The following morning, I
    understood everything.
    I had woken to find Logan gone and Crane wrapped around me.
    Lifting my head, I shifted and smiled at him.
    “I’ll take a shower. You take one, ’cause you stink, and come down
    and eat with me.”
    His shift took longer, but he did it, for me, so we could talk.
    I waited while his muscles elongated and reformed, twisted and
    pulled, and the feline gave way to the man.
    “I wrecked the room,” he said quietly.
    “We’ll fix it.”
    He cleared his throat. “I can’t go back to that apartment in Vegas,
    Jin, I—”
    “It’s gone, honey,” I told him gently and waited while understanding
    sank in.
    “What’d they do?”
    I cleared my throat. “They torched it.”
    After a minute he nodded. “Okay, so, I need stuff.”
    “A lot of stuff.”
    He just looked at me.

    96

    Mary Calmes

    “If you don’t want to leave the room, we can stay here.”
    “It’s trashed; it looks like I had a killer party in here. I need to get
    out for a while.” He exhaled, and I got just a trace of warm eyes and a
    smile.
    “I know Delphine packed whatever you had left here at the house for
    Logan to take you when he went to Chicago. Do you know where that is?”
    “Yeah, it’s there”—he tipped his head toward the opposite side of
    the room—“in the bathroom. I have clothes I can change into.”
    He sounded so good; he looked so good. My