Change of Heart

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    115
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes

Chapter Seven
    I tried to be scared, I really did, but the room was just trying way too hard to be shocking. It looked like some weird S&M fetish dungeon in a low-budget porno flick. From the walls with the shackles, handcuffs, and chains hanging from them to the bed with the metal headboard and frame covered in red satin, to the variety of leather whips on a stainless steel table, it was just cheesy. Hanging from shackles in the middle of the room, I should have been terrified. Mostly, I was annoyed. However long I had been unconscious was too long because the cuffs had bitten into my wrists by the time I woke up. I was cold, covered in goose bumps because my parka was on the table, and so was my shirt. All I still had on were my jeans and boots. It was cold in the "pleasure den,"
    and I was freezing.
    Turning around, I looked over the entire room, finally seeing the door to the left. Hopefully, it was open. I really didn't want to be stuck there until Christophe decided to grace me with his presence. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and shifted. I changed fast; I was a black panther and then a man again even before I had a chance to get tangled up in my clothes. Had I needed to move or fight, I would have had to strip down to my skin as I had the night I saved Delphine, but since I only needed to get loose and then instantly return to human, I didn't need to be naked.
    Crossing the room to the table, I put on my T-shirt and sweater and grabbed my parka before turning back toward 116
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    the door. It made sense that it was open when I reached it, because what were the chances that I was going to get out of the shackles? No other panther I knew could have done it.
    For most shape shifters, changing from human to panther took long minutes, and if they hunted or fought or ran or did anything more strenuous than just lay around, they first had to eat, second, hydrate, and finally, rest. It sapped energy, and so because they didn't know me, Christophe and those in his inner circle had assumed I was the same. I was not only a reah but also able to shift faster than possibly anyone. The door was open because they had no idea who or what I was.
    I was trying not to be smug as I slipped into the darkened hallway, because I had no idea where I was, or how long it would take to get out, or whom I was going to run into. From the muted dance music, I had a pretty good idea which way was out, but I moved slowly, cautiously, because I needed to be more careful and dial down the cocky.
    Since my cell phone wasn't on me, I couldn't call Crane and let him know that I was alright. That concerned me, because no doubt my best friend was having a seizure worrying about me. I had to get to him so he could see I was all right, and I wanted to get back to Logan.
    Logan
    Just the man's name in my head filled me with excitement.
    "Jin!"
    The yell was loud and filled the long hallway. My absence having been discovered, I broke instantly into a run. Arms pumping, legs flying, I sprinted as fast as I could toward the sound of the pounding music. It's funny, but even when 117
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    people chase you for fun and you know logically nothing bad will happen even if they catch you, even then you run like crazy and try so hard not to get caught. When you're actually running from someone scary, the adrenaline is just wild.
    I saw the door and the men in front of it, heard a sharp bang to my left, and bolted in that direction. The next door had only one man in front of it, and instead of slowing, I sped up. He was bigger than me, but my momentum was building the closer I got, and when I leaped at him, even though he got a hold of me, we both went hurtling through the air together. Slammed to the floor over the man who was lying prone over the broken door, I sprang to my feet, got them under me, and ran down the short hall. Careening around another corner, I found myself running by bathrooms before I was suddenly in a sea of people in the middle of a crowded dance club. The strobe lights, driving, throbbing music, and packed mass of bodies instantly filled me with calm. As I made my way slowly to the front of the club, I saw the men moving through the throng of people to reach me.
    "Jin."
    Turning, I found two of my co-workers, Darcy and Jeannie.
    Both women looked thrilled to see me, their faces and eyes lighting up like Christmas.
    "Dance with