Change of Heart

I could see in the back seat. The girl was nowhere to be seen, and I wondered where she was. I slipped in front of Crane, and when he tried to move, I snapped at him.
    "For crissakes, Jin, I'm the muscle, not you."
    I ignored him as the three men closed in on us.
    "Did you two just save a girl?"
    He couldn't tell if we were panthers or not, which instantly gave me hope. The man was an underling; he had no station.
    He was a khatyu, a fighter, and nothing more.
    "Yes, we did," I told him, offering him my hand palm up in a submissive posture of greeting.
    He nodded, gave me a quick smile, and I saw the wave of relief wash over the group. They all relaxed, and I saw the respect on their faces.
    "She is the sister of our semel and has been taken home to safety," he breathed out, taking my hand with one of his before covering both our hands with his other. "We are in your debt."
    "Then you'll forgive us being here without permission?"
    "Of course," he said, like I was ridiculous for even asking.
    "I told you," Crane muttered under his breath, bumping me with his shoulder.
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    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    "There's nothing to forgive," the man assured me, "and you can use my name, Andrian Basargin, as your shield whenever you're in our territory in the future."
    "Thank you." I smiled wide, meaning it. "I'm Jin Rayne, and this is my friend, Crane Adams."
    "Name your tribe," he ordered gently.
    "Pakhet," I told him.
    "Really?" His eyes lit up. "That's wonderful. I thought maybe you guys were from somewhere else, like visiting from wherever."
    "Nope, we live right here in Reno."
    "So then are you going to the mating feast in three months?"
    "I'm going," Crane assured him, "but Jin's not much for that kinda stuff."
    I had my reasons.
    "I still can't believe it." Andrian smiled wide. "A covenant bond between our two tribes, how amazing is that? I mean, we'll basically be one big tribe."
    The tribe to which Andrian and his friends belonged was Mafdet. The semel of that tribe was Logan Church. In two weeks, he was going to officially take Simone Danvers, the sister of our semel, Christophe Danvers, as his mate. In making her his mate, or yareah, as the "wives" of semels were called, he and Christophe would be making a covenant bond between their two tribes. It was a really big deal; everyone had been invited to the three-day celebration, which included hunting, drinking, and food and was basically just 15
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    one giant party that I was sure people would be talking about for years. I would not be caught dead there.
    "I'm looking forward to checking out the hunting lands on top of your mountain," Crane told Andrian. "Other panthers from your tribe that I've met say it's beautiful."
    "It is." He smiled at Crane. "At the feast, I'll show you."
    "Thanks."
    "You know, uniting two tribes, that's a great thing he's doing." I said sincerely.
    "Yep." He smiled, and I saw how pleased he was. "The man's brilliant, and that was why we were all so worried."
    "Whaddya mean?" Crane asked him.
    "Well, we want Logan to have a son. We wanna know that our semel's bloodline will continue, so we were all waiting around for him to take a mate. But then he didn't, and more and more time's passing and he's like thirty-two already and nothing."
    "Thirty-two is still really young," Crane assured him.
    "Yeah, but c'mon, most of us are mated by twenty."
    Crane shrugged. "True enough."
    "Yeah, so we were all gettin' a little worried, ya know, and then all of a sudden at our last gathering, he announces his mate, and it's Christophe's sister. So not only will we get an heir, but we get a tribal union out of the mating, as well. It's like winning the goddamn lottery."
    My friend chuckled. "You guys wanna grab somethin' to eat with us? That's what we were doin' out here to begin with."
    I could have killed him for suggesting we spend any more time with Andrian and his friends, but he missed the company 16
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    of other panthers, and so his natural inclination had kicked in before his brain. He didn't even notice me glaring at him, as excited as he was. When he suggested a really good late-night burger place he knew, everyone was on board.
    After calling the driver out of the car, there were introductions all around, and we decided to walk the two blocks to the diner. It soon became apparent that the others could not detect my presence at all. The realization that I was safe calmed me, and as usual,