the fuck.”
I turned to the door and there, with a split lip, black eye, and various
scrapes on his knuckles, cheek, and chin, was Russ.
“Jin, why did you come?”
I stalked over to him. “Because, you fuckin’ idiot, your girlfriend
called me.”
“Shit.”
50
Mary Calmes
I grunted, reaching for him. “Are you alright?”
He sucked in a breath, and I watched him swallow hard.
“This was really stupid,” I said, putting my hand around the back of
his neck, stepping into him, easing his head down onto my 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?”
Honored Vow
51
“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—”
52
Mary Calmes
“Because you’re making a promise to the semel of the tribe that
I turned to the door and there, with a split lip, black eye, and various
scrapes on his knuckles, cheek, and chin, was Russ.
“Jin, why did you come?”
I stalked over to him. “Because, you fuckin’ idiot, your girlfriend
called me.”
“Shit.”
50
Mary Calmes
I grunted, reaching for him. “Are you alright?”
He sucked in a breath, and I watched him swallow hard.
“This was really stupid,” I said, putting my hand around the back of
his neck, stepping into him, easing his head down onto my 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?”
Honored Vow
51
“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—”
52
Mary Calmes
“Because you’re making a promise to the semel of the tribe that
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