Change of Heart

swallow his pride. There was silence as we held our collective breath.
    Part of me hoped that Domin would spit at Logan's feet, tell him to go to hell, and thereby seal his own fate. The tribe would fall on him, and he would be dead in seconds. I wanted him to suffer as Logan had, but at the same time, I could imagine nothing worse than losing his birthright and his tribe.
    He would forever be Logan's servant if he accepted his new role and nothing more.
    Domin nodded after long moments and leaned his cheek against the back of Logan's hand. It was a sign of his complete submission.
    "Take us in, semel. We are one tribe. I will be your emissary, speak on your behalf, and be your loyal maahes."
    There were instant cheers and applause, whistling and yelling as Logan turned his hand over and Domin pressed his cheek into his palm. Both he and his tribe belonged to Logan, 217
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    and he would protect them all. It was done; the feud was finally over in a way no one could ever have expected. In that instant of joy, I rushed up the steps to get away. Even over the cacophony of voices, I heard his. He was roaring my name. I looked back down at the floor of the pit and Logan was looking up at me, clutching his wounded arm. Having shifted only once, he had to have been in excruciating pain, but he only winced when someone touched him, instead gesturing for me to come to him. I looked at him long and hard and then lifted my head to the wind.
    "No! Reah!"
    My head snapped back to the floor of the pit.
    Logan's father held out his arms to me.
    "You are a blessing, reah! Don't leave us!"
    "You saved your mate," a woman called up to me, "but then helped those that tried to kill him. You are a gift, reah!
    Stay!"
    "Jin!" Mikhail cried out. "You are a mated reah! You cannot leave your tribe!"
    "Jin!" Logan's mother had her arms out to me, begging me with her eyes. "Come here, darling. Let me be your mother now."
    My heart hurt.
    "Jin!" Koren yelled up to me. "Stay with us. We need you."
    He was letting everyone know how he felt about me. It was very humbling, the faith and trust.
    "Jin, goddamn it!" Crane roared up at me, trying to make his way through the crowd and then up to me. There were so 218
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    many people, though; he would never make it in time to stop me. "You better not move!"
    "Jin!" Domin's voice broke, and I saw the tears. "Please...
    our tribe... please, my reah."
    I couldn't look at him. He had been so proud, and now he was so shattered. It was hard to see.
    "Jin."
    My head turned, and Delphine was there beside me. I hadn't even seen her.
    "Please don't go, Jin," she said quickly, forcing a smile even as she looked as though she were going to cry. "Logan won't ever be the same if you leave. You might as well have let them kill him if you're just going to run away."
    "He lied to me and made my sacrifice meaningless; he was supposed to let me protect him."
    "Oh, honey, how could he have? He's the semel, after all; he's the leader, and you're his mate. You've been alone, and you've had no one to lean on for so long that you don't remember what it was like to be loved and protected and cherished."
    "No, I—"
    "What he did was stupid, thoughtless, but it was all he could think of. He had one moment to surprise you, and that was all. He was sick afterwards; he was terrified of your reaction, but all he knew was that he had to keep you safe.
    The thought of you in the pit was the worst thing he could ever imagine. Do you understand? The thought of losing you, just you—there was nothing worse than that for him."
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    I turned to look down at him and saw that he was slowly climbing the stairs to reach me. I had no idea what to do, but whatever it was would not be done in front of so many people.
    "No, Jin!" I heard Delphine cry before I was down the other side of the ravine, looking up at people only inches tall from where I was. I took a breath and then turned and ran.
    No one could catch me, and that knowledge soothed me.
    Back at the house, I packed and took Delphine's car. I didn't worry about Crane; he was safe with Logan, and so I pushed him from my mind. My only thought as I ran was of my mate. Nothing made sense. How could he love me and then betray me? How could I have been so ready to trust him and then, in a single moment, have that trust so completely shattered? It was like my family all over again. I needed to think, and