I have to say, I agree. Anyone can get in and
out of his home, and I for one never thought that was safe.‖
―It‘s not a fortress, Vanya.‖ I forced a smile, tired suddenly, using
the familiar form of his name. ―It‘s a home, and any member of the tribe
should be able to call on us whenever they like. Logan is their leader.‖
34
Mary Calmes
―Agreed, he is their leader, and as such, they should make an
appointment if they need to see him. Both of you make yourselves far too
accessible, and if this… attack… has taught us anything, it‘s that you and
Logan need to take your safety much more seriously.‖
―Nice that you worry,‖ I said, rolling the Jeep forward onto the
property, stopping because he called out instead of driving on up to the
house.
Mikhail, who was behind me in a car with three others, drove past,
leaving off tailing me now that I was safely at home. Apparently I could
be trusted to make it to the front door alone.
―Jin,‖ Ivan said, looking in the window at me, ―I just want you to
know that if I knew you were hurt, I would have never left you.‖
―I know,‖ I sighed. ―Sorry if I snapped at you. Hopefully I can talk
Logan out of you guys having to be out here all night. It‘s stupid.‖
―No, it‘s not, my reah,‖ he said, reaching for my hand but stopping
himself. ―It is my honor to protect both you and my semel.‖
Just a short time ago, Domin Thorne had been his semel, and he
himself had been a sylvan just like Mikhail. After Logan and Domin had
met in combat, Domin‘s tribe, the tribe of Menhit, had been absorbed into
Logan‘s, and Domin had stepped down as semel, thus instantly demoting
both his sheseru and sylvan to normal tribe members. I had worried that
Ivan Tenchenko and Markel Kovac would resent Logan for being the
reason that Domin relinquished his birthright, but neither man ever gave
any indication that this was the case. In fact, the exact opposite seemed to
be true. They both wanted to belong to Logan Church‘s tribe, wanted to
serve their semel and protect their reah. I found their sincerity strange, as I
didn‘t think I would be able to switch my loyalties that quickly had I been
in their place.
―Jin?‖
I reached for Ivan‘s hand and squeezed it tight. I watched the relief
wash over him as he covered our joined hands with his other.
―Please know that I would protect you with my life, my reah.‖
I looked into his eyes but was aware of the other two men closing in
on us.
―Could I…,‖ the taller man said, the muscles in his jaw clenching as
his hands fisted at his sides.
Trusted Bond
35
Again, this was the part that I didn‘t get. Everyone, every panther,
suddenly had the need to sit with me and talk to me, and mostly, to touch
me. Letting Ivan go, I got out of the Jeep.
―Thanks, you guys, for keeping me and Logan safe,‖ I said,
gesturing the panther to me, his name coming back to me. ―Anthony,
right? Anthony Lauria?‖
He nodded, unable to speak as he tentatively moved toward me. I
shook his hand and then reached for the third man‘s hand, who was
introduced to me as Antoine Palmer. All three just stared at me with wide
eyes as though I were the second coming or something. I didn‘t think I
was ever going to get used to it. Not the attention of the men in front of
me, not the interest of the people back at the Varda house, no one‘s. I was
just me. I was nothing special, and yet everyone treated me like I was.
Back in the car, I drove slowly up to the house and parked as far
away as possible. It would have been different if it were just Logan there,
but he wasn‘t. I would have to see everyone, answer a barrage of questions
just to get to my bedroom. But there was no way around the inquisition, so
I grabbed my duffel out of the back seat and headed for the porch. The
wave of apprehension rolled over and through me, and I stopped as my
vision blurred. Standing there in