Change of Heart

for you to be in the presence of another semel without your mate. Forgive me for suggesting such impropriety."
    He thought I was concerning myself with archaic rules that meant nothing to me, but that was fine. Whatever got him out of there worked for me.
    "Reah," he breathed out.
    40
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    When I lifted my eyes, I saw the muscles in his jaw clenching. He wanted to take me to his semel so badly, almost sure I was lying about who I was but not quite able to know for certain. And if he was wrong and took me anyway...
    his life could be forfeit over a mistake like that.
    "I have never met or even seen a reah."
    "We're rare, so you know my value to my tribe."
    "You're a value to all of us, not just your tribe."
    I nodded even though it was a load of crap.
    "It is said that a semel who finds his reah is favored of Ra."
    Uh huh, whatever.
    "A semel who has found his reah is semel-re, the seat of the eye. It's a blessing."
    "Blessing" was not the word I would have chosen. No freedom to choose who you wanted to love, chemistry and genetics and fate making the decision for you. I wanted no part of it. If I had been born a regular cat, I could have been with whomever I wanted, but because I was "blessed," any semel I came across could potentially be my mate.
    "A reah knows their mate as soon as their eyes meet."
    "Yes, I know," I said quickly, taking a breath. "Please give your semel my best."
    "Give me the name of yours."
    I gave him the only name I had. "Crane Adams," I said softly.
    He nodded, looking me up and down. "And who gave you and your mate safe conduct?"
    41
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    "Your man Andrian Basargin gave my semel and me his name the night we saved Delphine," I coughed, "but he had no idea who or what we were."
    He just stared at me, studying me without saying a word. I stepped back, and since he didn't seem quite ready to leave, I asked him his name.
    "My name is Yuri, Yuri Kosa."
    "It's been a pleasure meeting you."
    "The pleasure was mine, reah... really, all mine."
    I thanked him before I asked him again to leave, as it would not look good for them to stay after so grievous an interchange with me. Everyone agreed to go except Delphine.
    She wanted to talk with me further, but I explained that I was working, after all. They left after paying the bar tab, and Ray came and found me a half-hour later, impressed that I had handled yet another explosive situation so deftly and quietly.
    He told me that I was definitely management material. I got more brownie points with the servers for coming to Owen's rescue so quickly, and the man himself thanked me a good hundred times for saving him. He had been really scared, especially when the psycho snarled at him. I agreed that it had been creepy.
    [Back to Table of Contents]
    42
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes

Chapter Four
    I was walking to the apartment with Crane, both of us having left work early, and he was giving me every reason he could think of to keep us there instead of leaving on the next available flight out of Reno.
    "Why are you freaking out about this?" he asked, keeping pace with me. "So the sheseru of Logan Church's tribe met you, so what?"
    "Shit."
    "So you might hafta go see the guy, so what? You'll look at him, you'll see he ain't your mate, and that's the end of it. I never get why you don't just tell every semel we come in contact with about what you are and just get it over with."
    "I'm not a normal reah. What if they try and hurt me?"
    "What if they don't?"
    "I'm just supposed to take that chance?"
    "You're supposed to have some balls."
    "Fuck you," I snapped at him. "You didn't have to live through it."
    "Didn't I?"
    The way he was looking at me, furious and pained at the same time, I felt terrible.
    "I know I didn't take the beating, but watching it was no picnic either."
    I winced, the memory a brutal one because of the aftermath of my announcement that I was not only a reah but gay as well. Beaten, stripped naked, and left on the side of 43
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    the road, only Crane coming in secret to hide me had saved me from death. My semel had allowed my public torture for being gay, my own father applauding and participating in the act. I was exiled when they learned I had lived. I had not spoken to any of them again, not my parents nor my brother nor even one member of my tribe except Crane. My best friend had chosen to be an outcast with me. And when there had been no one else who