Trusted Bond

Your word is law.‖
    ―In the short time that Jin has been here, can you think of one
    instance where he hasn‘t supported me?‖
    There was a long silence before Mikhail‘s irritated sigh.
    ―You see, that‘s what I mean; when I allow Jin to choose his own
    path, he always chooses the correct one.‖
    ―I‘m not saying that Jin is not a good reah. You could not be blessed
    with a mate more schooled in our laws and customs and protocol, but he
    must submit to your will—he must.‖
    Heavy sigh from my mate. ―He has to choose it, I can‘t force him.‖
    ―You‘re the semel. You make the laws.‖
    Quick scoff. ―For all but my reah.‖
    ―When the others see Jin not submitting to you, they will question
    you.‖
    ―But Jin would never humiliate me with a public show of —‖
    ―Then make certain that all your commands for your reah are done in
    public so he must do as you tell him.‖
    ―And have him figure it out and skip all public appearances with
    me?‖
    ―He wouldn‘t dare.‖
    ―Oh yes, he would. That‘s exactly how his mind works.‖
    And Logan was right, because even after a mere six months, the man
    knew me well.
    Instead of demanding I be happy, my mate let me be sad. He
    understood that I laughed when I was nervous and coughed to cover the
    noise. He could follow my very fragmented train of thought, got my jokes,
    and had an uncanny talent for finishing my sentences. He always knew
    when I needed to eat even before I did and never made me come up with
    dinner suggestions. He knew when I wanted to be held and when I wanted
    to be held down. He brought up random subjects to pull attention from me
    when I got upset and kissed me, always, like it was both the first and the
    Trusted Bond

    67

    last time he would ever see me. He understood when I told him to go away
    that I meant he should stay and fight, just as he knew that some days I
    needed to be all by myself. I really was very lucky, and even though I
    knew it, there was always the nagging doubt in the back of my head that
    someday everything would simply go up in smoke.
    ―Jin?‖
    Startled, embarrassed for being caught eavesdropping, I turned fast
    to face Domin, who had just come in from outside. He smelled like wind
    and something else that I couldn‘t place.
    ―Sorry,‖ he muttered.
    I noticed how wrung out he looked. ―Domin—‖
    ―You look like crap,‖ he commented, looking me over. ―Should you
    be up?‖
    ―I‘m fine.‖ I studied him. ―You‘re the one who—what‘s wrong with
    you?‖
    Quick head shake, forced smile. ―Nothing.‖
    But even if his words could fool me, there was a weariness radiating
    off the man that I had never seen in him before, and the usually laughing
    brown eyes were flat. ―That‘s bull—‖
    Shoving me through the door cut me off and killed all the
    conversation in the room we entered as everyone looked up from the table
    at the same time. I had thought since I didn‘t hear anyone else that Logan
    and Mikhail were alone, but that was not the case. Crane was missing, and
    Koren, and Russ, who was still in Los Angeles, and Logan‘s mother Eva,
    who was still in Pittsburgh, but everyone else was there, staring at me. I
    muffled a groan as mouths fell open, breath was caught, and, in
    Delphine‘s case, tears were quickly swallowed.
    ―I‘m fine,‖ I assured her.
    She nodded fast, her eyes filling.
    I looked at Ivan, saw how pained he looked. He had seen me last
    night outside, but apparently in the light of day I was giving him heart
    palpitations.
    ―My reah,‖ he said, his voice low, subdued.
    ―I really look like crap, huh?‖ I tried to tease.
    68

    Mary Calmes

    Sharp inhale of breath as Yuri rose and crossed the room to me.
    ―It‘s not your fault,‖ I said firmly, wanting him to hear me and
    believe me.
    He stopped inches away, and I had to tilt my head back to look up
    into his face.
    ―We both know there was nothing else you could have done.‖
    Slowly, he sank to his knees in front of me.
    ―We look like twins.‖ I smiled just a little, reaching out, touching his
    face as I stared at the cut lip, bruised eye, and yellow and purple blotches
    over his jaw and throat.
    He swallowed hard, unable to keep from leaning into my palm,
    lifting his head so my hand ran the length of his cheek. The others needed
    to touch and be touched by Logan—it was the pull of his power on regular
    cats—but Yuri, as a sheseru, craved mine. ―I‘ll kill them all, Jin… I