Change of Heart

like a cat had been rubbing up against our front door. From coming and going only in the dark for the past few weeks, I had missed seeing my place in the light of day. I realized now that my feline visitor was not new but had been watching both Crane and I for a while.
    "Well, everyone else has reported seeing the paw prints before."
    "That's funny."
    "Funny is not what I'd call this, Mr. Rayne. As far as I can tell, you folks have a serious cougar problem here," he explained, rising to stand in front of me. "And it looks like he's marked your apartment as his territory."
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    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    The news just got better and better.
    "Okay," I said, starting to get cold. "What should I do?"
    "Well unfortunately, there's not a lot you can do. I haven't seen a cougar around here for years, so.... I mean, we'll watch it; I'll come by when I can, but...just if you see it, don't do anything but call us and stay inside," he said, pulling a card from the inside breast pocket of his parka. "Don't try and be a hero, Mr. Rayne, because from the size of the prints, we're looking at a full-grown male cougar, and you don't want to mess with that."
    "No," I agreed. "I really don't."
    "Alright then," he said, turning back toward the stairs, casting a glance at first me and then Crane. "You both take care, and call if you see anything at all."
    "Yes, sir."
    I watched him take the two flights of stairs down to the ground before I turned my head to look at Crane. "Is it time for us to go yet?"
    "The sarcasm is not lost on me, but this doesn't mean anything."
    "How have I missed the fact that you're an idiot all these years?" I asked as I unlocked our front door and went inside.
    He tried to defend himself, but I cut him off as I wondered aloud how fast we could pack.
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    52
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes

Chapter Five
    Twenty minutes later, we were walking back to the restaurant. We had decided to go and say goodbye to Ray before we left. Leaving without an explanation was just not an option. The man had treated us both like members of his family, me even more so than Crane, and running out on him was bad karma waiting to happen. I wasn't looking forward to the scene where I would have to be purposely vague and he would press me for answers. I was so involved in thinking about what I was going to say that I didn't hear someone calling my name. When I finally registered a voice, I turned and saw Yuri, Logan Church's sheseru, standing beside a car with blacked out windows. He tried to wave me over. When I didn't move, another door opened, and a man I had never seen before climbed out.
    "Jin?" he asked, starting toward me, his black dress shoes crunching in the snow as he walked down the sidewalk. His heavy wool trench coat flapped around his legs in the wind.
    He was shorter than Yuri, but still taller than me, with brown-black hair and dark cobalt blue eyes. He was a handsome man, and his smile was warm.
    I took a step back, but he lifted a gloved hand for me to wait. "My name is Mikhail Gorgerin; I just need a moment of your time," he said, coming to a stop in front of me, the laugh lines in the corner of his eyes crinkling. He looked at me and then studied Crane before offering him his hand. "I'm Logan Church's sylvan, and you are?"
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    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    "Crane Adams," he smiled quickly, "pleasure to meet you."
    "And you, Mr. Adams," he said before he turned back to me, slowly extending his hand. "Jin."
    I took his hand, and he instantly tightened his grip so I couldn't pull away.
    "I have never seen or even met a reah," he said slowly, the awe there in his voice. "I don't know anyone who has."
    I nodded.
    "And Yuri says you have a mate."
    I looked at him, and his eyes didn't leave mine. It was one thing to lie to the sheseru, the muscle, the flail, the enforcer of the tribe, and completely another to lie to the sylvan, the crook, the shepherd, the teacher of the tribe. Everyone lied to the disciplinarian to get out of something. No one lied to the man who spoke on your behalf in tribal matters.
    "I had no idea that reahs could be male." His eyes narrowed.
    "Yeah, well." I forced a smile, shoving Crane forward so we could walk away. "Would you excuse us?"
    "Wait."
    "Give our best to your semel."
    "Please, wait."
    Ignoring the "please" was dangerous, so we stopped.
    Mikhail Gorgerin, sylvan of the tribe of Mafdet, did not even look at Crane. Instead, he stepped in front of