Change of Heart

me. "He had no idea when he took me that you had already marked me. He would have never done such a thing had he known."
    "That's crap, and we both know it. He wants my reah, and he can't have you. You're mine."
    I lifted my hands to his face. "Yes."
    He took a shuddering breath. "Why did you leave the room last night?"
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    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    I cleared my throat, taking a step back, away from him. "I woke up just in time to hear your Dad. He seemed pretty upset."
    "I see." He squinted at me, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "And so even after you let me mark you, your plan was to run from me."
    "Did you hear your father? That was just the beginning.
    Your tribe's gonna react the exact same way when they find out I'm a man."
    "And I care, why?"
    I shook my head. "A semel's first duty is to his tribe."
    "Is it?"
    "You know, you can do the cool guy thing and answer me with questions all day, but it won't change anything. You can't have a male mate."
    The way he took a deep breath, I thought for a second that he had resigned himself to my words, but when he grabbed hold of my arm, dragging me after him across the porch, I understood that we were far from being done.
    "Logan!"
    He stopped fast and yanked me forward so I could see his face. "You either walk upstairs with me now or get carried up over my shoulder—which do you prefer?"
    His voice was icy.
    "I can walk," I assured him.
    "Then do it."
    I brushed by him, and even though I heard people call my name, even Crane, I didn't stop. I walked through the living room to the stairs that led to the second floor. I heard Logan 133
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    right behind me and hurried. Walking down the long hallway to the end, I saw the double doors that led to his bedroom. I jogged toward them and opened one, slipping inside without closing it, crossing to the glass doors that opened out to the balcony instead. I turned to face him and found him locking the door after him.
    "You want to talk—talk."
    He took a settling breath. "You're driving me nuts."
    It was not what I was expecting. "I am?"
    "Yeah," he grunted. "You're my reah, not my yareah, not some mate I decided on. You were born to be mine, and instead of resigning yourself to that fact, you're fighting with me. What the hell? Where do you get off fighting with me?"
    He was really irritated, and I found that completely endearing.
    "And if you want to leave so bad, then go already," Logan said, drawing my attention back to him. "But don't go under any false pretenses. If you go, it's because you don't want to be here, not because I can't handle the fallout from my decision to love my mate."
    Love his mate? His plan was to love me? "How can you talk about love when I've known you for less than a day? You can't possibly—"
    "Because you love your mate, you idiot," he thundered at me, his voice filling the room. "That's what you do!"
    I just stood there, staring at him. "Why didn't you tell me you're not gay?"
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    "I don't understand what that has to do with anything.
    You're a man, and you're my mate; therefore, from now on, I'm gay. Why are we even discussing this?" he asked irritably.
    "You don't just become gay."
    "Who says?"
    "You just don't."
    "Oh, 'you just don't'. Well, that's very logical."
    "Logan—"
    "Listen, I'm the same man I was yesterday morning when I woke up. The only thing that's changed from then to now is that now I have a mate."
    "But you—"
    "I never had a male lover before, that's true, but I've never had a mate before either. All I can tell you is that when I look at you, my heart stops."
    I refused to let his words take root in my heart. It was much too dangerous. "You were going to take Simone as your yareah."
    "Which obviously means something to you," he said, the muscles in his jaw clenching.
    "Yeah. It means that you're straight, and your plan was to take a female mate."
    "You would have preferred that I was bisexual, because that would have been better for you. It would make sense that I could want you."
    I nodded.
    "Because as it is now, you don't get how I can really want you for my mate. Maybe I want to sleep with you to experiment, but there's no way I'll want to keep you."
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    It was like he was reading my mind.
    "And if you let me have you, then you might lose your heart in the process."
    I stood there and didn't break down, even though he had just gutted my soul.
    "I assure you