Change of Heart

Delphine."
    "Andrian told me."
    "What's your name?"
    "Jin," I said back.
    She swallowed hard. "Can I... closer?"
    I smiled and she flung herself at me, wrapping her arms around my waist, her face pressed against my throat. I held her tight, and the immediate deep tremble surprised me.
    "You... you saved me. You were amazing.... I wanted to find you and talk to you and thank you, but they... they wouldn't... and now here you are, and you're even more beautiful than I thought possible."
    37
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    "You were the one?" someone asked. "You saved the sister of our semel?"
    Of course I had; that was the only way my luck worked.
    Andrian had told Crane and me those months back that she was the sister of the semel, but hearing the awe now in the voices clustered around me was almost frightening.
    "We must thank your properly," Delphine said, her face still buried in my shoulder. "You must come and meet my brother."
    "There's no need," I assured her, holding her out to arm's length. "It was my place, every male's place, to protect females. Those that attacked you should be punished."
    "It's an old feud." She forced a smile. "One that I'm happy to see has not moved up this mountain. The hunting lands are here, though. You must join us."
    I didn't hunt; it was not something reahs did. "Sure," I smiled back, scowling as the man who had bared his teeth came around to stand beside Delphine. "We'll see."
    "Please, reah," the man said, going down to one knee.
    "You have shown me your bravery by facing me, the sheseru of the tribe of Mafdet, and now I find that it was you who saved our sweet girl from the animals of the tribe of Menhit.
    Please, reah." He held his hand out for me. "Accept my apology and let us take you to meet with our semel Logan Church."
    The longer I stayed with them, the greater the chances of them realizing that I wasn't a mated reah. A reah could only mate with the tribe leader, and if there was no semel that I belonged to, then I could be forcefully taken to any semel to 38
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    see, when our eyes met, if we were mates. I hated the idea of a mate, a person you were destined to be with; I preferred free will, so I steered cleared of all tribes and tribe leaders. It was why my greatest wish would never come to pass. A reah could only truly belong to the tribe that their mate led. Since no semel would ever take me, a male mate, I would never have a home anywhere.
    "Please, reah."
    I gave him my hand and heard his exhale as he placed it on his face, holding it there.
    "Your name is Jin?" he asked, looking up into my eyes, leaning into my hand.
    "Yes."
    "Jin what?"
    "Rayne."
    The eyes that had been so combative and angry had become warm, soft and heavy-lidded. He was a sheseru, and because I was a reah, his place was to stand as my champion. Instinctively, he wanted to be my shield, as I was supposed to be the mate of a semel. The longer I was around him, the more protective he would become. It was all hard-wired into him, and I saw it sliding across his face, the turmoil and the conflicting desire. He wanted to throw me over his shoulder and take me to his semel so from there, beside his leader, he could watch over me. "You'll stop feeling like this as soon as you leave," I assured the sheseru.
    He shook his head just a little. "Something's wrong. I can sense it."
    39
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    The man was scrutinizing my face. I had to get them out of there before he put it together and read the lie on me. I didn't have a mate, and he'd know that any second. "You need to go."
    "Please come with us to meet our semel and receive his thanks."
    Absolutely not! I shook my head, trying to pull my hand away.
    His fingers tightened instantly, digging into my wrist, holding on. Our eyes met, and I saw him studying me. He was not a stupid man, and his instincts were good, or he would never have been chosen to be sheseru. If I struggled, if I showed any fear, he would simply drag me out of there and take me to his semel by force. Once there, the truth would come out. Logan Church would know instantly that I had no mate.
    I couldn't be taken to him so I stalled for time. I dropped my eyes to stare at the ground, hopefully looking penitent. "I would go with you, but my semel would be displeased. It would not be maat for me to go without him."
    Through my lashes, I saw him nod and rise slowly to tower over me. "Of course. I understand. It would not be maat , right,