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if every semel had
    access to them. Maybe Logan‘s khatyu had them as well. Maybe Yuri had
    rifles loaded in an armory somewhere that I was not aware of. The thought
    was sobering.
    I realized that I had no idea what went on in my own tribe as far as
    defense. What Logan did or did not do to protect his tribe, as far as
    weapons beyond tooth and claw, I was clueless about. I hoped I was
    uninformed because there was nothing I had not been told.
    ―Reah, come down!‖
    I ignored the order even though the sheseru who yelled it out should
    have been my savior. Roshan Tabir could rot for all I cared, and his
    damned semel with him. If they wanted to fight, I could and would.
    I wanted my mate.
    Coming to terms with my decision, sitting on the cool patio, feeling
    the breeze, I calmed. Whatever it took to find my mate, to get to my mate,
    was what I would do.
    ―Reah!‖ The semel-aten roared instead of his sheseru. ―Come now!‖
    I was not stupid enough to look over the side, not after the barrage of
    darts, and not after his men, those who reported to Roshan, had tried to net
    me like a dog. I would not go to Ammon El Masry or his sheseru. I hoped
    he screamed himself hoarse.
    ―Jin Rayne!‖
    Different voice, one I had never heard before.
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    Mary Calmes

    ―Please.‖
    I was a sucker for ―please.‖
    Rising, I walked forward and peered over the railing.
    Jamal was there on the ground, and with him were Ammon El Masry
    and Roshan Tabir and another man I didn‘t know.
    ―Reah,‖ the stranger called up to me. ―Come to me.‖
    He was the owner of the voice, the deep, resonant baritone that
    soothed me.
    ―Come, reah,‖ Roshan seconded. He and the other men were
    separated from the rest of the crowd, but altogether there were at least two
    hundred people there cluttering the street. Where had they all come from?
    My eyes took in everything, and I had the urge to leap down to the
    stranger, but I didn‘t want to be captured.
    ―Reah.‖ The man beside Roshan spoke low, but it still carried. The
    timbre of his voice was powerful, deep, and flooded me with calm. ―I am
    Hamid Shamon, priest of Chae Rophon, master of Satis. Come to me.
    None shall harm you, none shall have you—I know not why you were
    kept from your mate,‖ he said, and there was an edge as he turned to the
    semel-aten, who did not give him a drop of his attention, instead gazing up
    at me. ―But,‖ he said, lifting his eyes back to me, ―I will return you to him,
    as that is where you belong, at the side of your semel, Logan Church. He
    is semel-re, and you are his reah. Hear my words and judge by them.‖
    He knew the magic word. Logan.
    I leaped over the railing and fell down two stories to the cobblestone
    street below me. I landed like a spring and was on my feet looking at them
    seconds later. It should have taken effort. The fact that it didn‘t was
    wrong. That I was eye-to-eye with them was also very wrong. My size
    was dangerous for reasons I was unsure of.
    Hamid Shamon took a step forward, no one else moving. I took one
    back.
    ―No,‖ he commanded, reaching out a hand to me. ―Reah, come to
    me. I swear on all that I am that no one shall touch you again without your
    permission.‖
    The urge to run was choking me.
    ―Please, reah.‖ His voice was deep and rich and rolled right through
    me, calming me and my flight reflex. The intense warmth of the light
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    brown eyes, the laugh lines in the corners of them, the way he was
    purposely trying to seem non-threatening… I appreciated it all. ―Come
    closer, come to me.‖
    I shivered hard and stepped forward.
    As his hands sank into my fur, he leaned into my side before burying
    his face in my neck. The relief that flooded me made me gasp. I had
    thought the semel-aten was all-powerful, but the energy that was rolling
    off the priest made me sway for a second on my feet. His strength reached
    out and wrapped around me, and I pressed my jaws together tight so I
    wouldn‘t cry out, howl like a banshee. Others were not so fortunate,
    crumpling to their knees with desperate, breathless howls. I had forgotten
    who the true master of Sobek truly was. There was no one werepanther as
    strong, as feared and forceful as the priest of Chae Rophon.
    My teeth would have chattered if I hadn‘t held my jaw shut tight. He
    was flooding us all with his power, showing me, showing everyone, and it
    was hard to withstand.
    ―Reah,‖ Ammon said from the ground, the