Honored Vow

cross that bridge when I come to it. As for now, they can see if
    corresponding strengthens their new bond or destroys it.”
    “You could just let her go with him now.”

    Honored Vow

    275

    “She’s not ready,” my mate informed me. “And neither is he, not
    really.”
    I believed him. “So are you going to ask Artem to be sheseru?” I
    asked as Logan began leading me toward the semel of Khertet and his
    yareah to say our goodbyes.
    “No. Artem shifted too easily with your power, and besides, I have
    someone else in mind.”
    “Who?”
    “Avery Cadim.”
    I was surprised. “But he’s Christophe’s sheseru. You can’t just take
    the enforcer of another tribe, and I doubt that Christophe would ever
    release him.”
    “He will. If word got out that he was keeping Avery against his will,
    he’d lose honor in front of his tribe.”
    “But Avery hates me.”
    “No, he doesn’t,” Logan assured me, “and he wants to be my right
    hand very badly, and if you gave him a chance to be your champion… I
    think he would make an excellent one.”
    “He was just married, you know. His mate might not take too kindly
    to him becoming the sheseru of a gay man.”
    He scoffed, brushing his lips over my forehead. “The lady in
    question is one of Delphine’s good friends, Jin, and a member of our tribe
    that I had to give permission to join Christophe’s.”
    I didn’t recall that.
    “You’ve been dealing with your power for some time.” He smiled,
    easing me forward so I could shake Khongordzol’s hand and thank her.
    “Saikhan zochluullaa,” I said, using the words Danny had taught me.
    “Zugeer.” She smiled at me, telling me it was nothing, patting my
    hand. “Sain yavaarai,” she finished, wishing me a safe journey.
    “Sain suuj baigaarai,” I sighed, hoping that she would, of course,
    stay well.
    After Logan thanked Orso Bataar for his gracious hospitality and
    extended an invitation for he and his family to come and hunt with him on
    his land whenever they wanted, we headed toward the waiting Jeeps.

    276

    Mary Calmes

    “So.” Logan picked the conversation back up. “I know Avery’s mate
    well; she will be thrilled to see Avery change tribes so she can return to
    her own.”
    “What if Avery doesn’t want to be your sheseru?”
    Logan chuckled as he held open the door of the first Jeep for me.
    And he was right; I knew how badly Avery Cadim wanted to be
    Logan Church’s sheseru. He would come running when Logan called. To
    be the hand of the semel-netjer, his enforcer, the protector of his greatest
    treasure, me. Oh yeah, Avery Cadim had been praying for the chance to
    take Yuri’s place, and finally, the opportunity was there. If Logan called
    for a challenge in the pit, which he never would, Avery would kill anyone
    who stood in his way.
    “There will be new faces in our home, Jin,” he said, leaning me
    against him once we were on our way, making the long drive back to
    Ulaanbaatar from the semel of Khertet’s home in the mountains. “But it
    will always be our home, and the people in it will always be a family.”
    I nuzzled against him and felt his hands in my hair, stroking.
    “And now I get to have my mate share my name and see the birth of
    my child,” he said as he inhaled my scent. “But for me, wherever you are,
    that’s my home. I see you, and I’m home.”
    I pressed into him, my face burrowed in the side of his neck as he
    held me tight.
    “I love you, Jin Church. You’re all there is.”
    And he was the same for me, and I didn’t need to tell him.

    About the Author

    MARY CALMES currently lives in Honolulu, Hawaii, with her husband
    and two children and hopes to eventually move off the rock to a place
    where her children can experience fall and even winter. She graduated
    from the University of the Pacific (ironic) in Stockton, California, with a
    bachelor’s degree in English literature. Due to the fact that it is English lit
    and not English grammar, do not ask her to point out a clause for you, as it
    will so not happen. She loves writing, becoming immersed in the process,
    and falling into the work. She can even tell you what her characters smell
    like. She works at a copy store but has been unable to incorporate that into
    a book… yet. She also buys way too many books on Amazon.

    Read how
    Jin and Logan’s story started

    http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

    Also by Mary Calmes

    http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com