Honored Vow

safeguard him… what I wouldn’t have
    given to protect my friend.

    124

    Mary Calmes

    “Jin!”
    My head snapped up, and I turned toward the kitchen as Yuri
    emerged.
    “Yes?”
    “Your power,” he said, scowling at me, squinting before he tipped
    his head behind me.
    Turning, I found Danny in his panther form, wrestling with his
    clothes, trying to get free.
    “Oh shit,” I groaned, going to my knees, reaching for him.
    He hissed at me, and I flicked him on the nose.
    “Jin, be careful,” Yuri growled, crossing the room fast even as
    Danny went limp under my hands, having rolled over on his back, paws in
    the air in complete surrender.
    “Of what, the deadly housecat here?” I scoffed, rolling my eyes at
    my sheseru.
    “All cats are dangerous,” he told me, dropping down to one knee,
    rubbing Danny’s chin, hard, then his cheeks, and finally his ears. “Even
    sweet little kittens like this.”
    I heard Danny’s loud purring, watched him run his chin over Yuri’s
    hand and finally curl his body around the man.
    I squinted at Yuri.
    “What?”
    “He’s all cat right now and can’t understand a word, so I’m gonna
    ask you, what’s with all the attention?”
    “He’s cute.” Yuri gave me a lopsided grin.
    “Is he?”
    “Very.”
    “So, uhm,” I said, chuckling. “What are your intentions here?”
    He ended by rubbing Danny’s ass, which of course made him lift it,
    wanting more. He was a panther—I had forced his shift out of my
    frustration, which had translated to sexual heat, and now Yuri had spent
    long minutes petting him, which had over stimulated him. My sheseru was
    also bigger and stronger, and Danny was showing him the depth of his
    submission.
    Yuri stood up, and Danny let out a whine of protest that came out as
    a very resentful meow. My sheseru was right, he was very cute.

    Honored Vow

    125

    “He doesn’t want me,” Yuri told me, his eyes on mine. “He wants
    Mikhail. I get that, he’s handsome, I’m not—it makes sense.”
    “Yuri, you—”
    “Stop.” He smiled at me. “You are my reah, you see me as no one
    else does. I know my value to you and to my semel. I have a good family,
    great friends, I lack for nothing. I don’t need you to extol my virtues; I live
    well in my skin.”
    “Yes, but—”
    “I’ve had women in my bed; I’ve had men as well. Someday I’ll find
    my mate, and he or she will love me as I am. Until then I am content.
    Someone should tell Danny here, though, that as much as Mikhail doesn’t
    give a shit that his semel is gay, or his maahes, he himself is as straight as
    Crane is. Mikhail’s lust runs only to women. Danny’s gonna get his heart
    diced up if he’s not careful.”
    “I think it’s like you said, Mikhail’s not caring what people do in
    their own bedrooms is giving Danny the wrong impression.”
    “Agreed.”
    I rose and, as always, even on my feet, had to tip my head back to
    meet Yuri’s eyes. “I think if you let him know what—”
    “I have no illusions about what Danny thinks of me,” he said,
    smirking. “You shouldn’t either.”
    I didn’t want him to think of himself as lacking, because he wasn’t,
    in any way.
    At six five, the man was massive. He was not the rippling muscular
    that Logan was; his body was not cut and chiseled. He was built, instead,
    like a tank, like a mountain. Yuri’s biceps were as big as some men’s
    thighs, so that what you noticed first was the space the man took up, how
    he seemed to fill any room he was in. Second, you saw his face. He had
    deep-set eyes, dark cobalt, a long straight nose, and dark, full lips. I had
    always seen the beauty in the man, but from seeing the reaction of others, I
    understood that I was in the minority. I saw Yuri clearly, but most people
    saw only his size and strength.
    “You—”
    “Besides,” he said, giving me a sly grin, “I don’t want a boy, I want
    a man.”

    126

    Mary Calmes

    And the way he said it made me squint at him. “Do you have
    someone in mind?”
    “I might.”
    He might? “Who?” I asked, being a total girl at that moment and not
    giving a damn.
    His eyes narrowed, and I knew I was going to have to dig, but we
    were interrupted.
    “What happened?”
    We both turned to Crane as he came walking into the room.
    “I fucked with Danny,” I said, grimacing.
    His smile was endearing because he was looking at me like he
    always did, like I was a total idiot. “Brilliant.”
    “Yeah, well,” I said