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?”
“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 ask.”
“And if he doesn’t, then I basically have to tell Samantha anyway, right?”
“Yeah, probably, because you’ll have to move—he’ll drive you from his territory.”
“But I live here, I work here.”
“That’s no one’s fault but yours. You should have never put yourself in this position.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Oh, fuck you,” I groused at him. “I told you from day one that you should contact the semel of Los Angeles and speak to him. Before you even moved here, I wanted to come see him, just like I did the semel of Las Vegas, and Crane’s not even shacking up with a human, so all he needed was permission to be in the other semel’s territory, not special status.”
“I fucked this up.”
“Yeah, ya did.”
“So how do I get to talk to the semel?”
“You start by talking to the maahes, but you really need to know if this is what you want, Russ.”
“I know I—”
“Because you’re making a promise to the semel of the tribe that has granted you the status of duat that you will no longer act as a panther,” I told him. “It’s a big deal; breach of terms is punishable by death.”
“Jesus,” he groaned.
“Hello.”
I turned my head, and there was another man there, just as beat-up as Russ. “You must be Tony.”
“And who are you?”
He was cocky and I didn’t like him, and Delphine was right; I was not myself. I breathed out to try and relax, but instead my pheromones washed over him in a drowning wave.
“Ohmygod,” he moaned, falling to the floor, his body bent in half as he began his shift.
“Jin!”
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?”
“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 ask.”
“And if he doesn’t, then I basically have to tell Samantha anyway, right?”
“Yeah, probably, because you’ll have to move—he’ll drive you from his territory.”
“But I live here, I work here.”
“That’s no one’s fault but yours. You should have never put yourself in this position.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Oh, fuck you,” I groused at him. “I told you from day one that you should contact the semel of Los Angeles and speak to him. Before you even moved here, I wanted to come see him, just like I did the semel of Las Vegas, and Crane’s not even shacking up with a human, so all he needed was permission to be in the other semel’s territory, not special status.”
“I fucked this up.”
“Yeah, ya did.”
“So how do I get to talk to the semel?”
“You start by talking to the maahes, but you really need to know if this is what you want, Russ.”
“I know I—”
“Because you’re making a promise to the semel of the tribe that has granted you the status of duat that you will no longer act as a panther,” I told him. “It’s a big deal; breach of terms is punishable by death.”
“Jesus,” he groaned.
“Hello.”
I turned my head, and there was another man there, just as beat-up as Russ. “You must be Tony.”
“And who are you?”
He was cocky and I didn’t like him, and Delphine was right; I was not myself. I breathed out to try and relax, but instead my pheromones washed over him in a drowning wave.
“Ohmygod,” he moaned, falling to the floor, his body bent in half as he began his shift.
“Jin!”
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