Change of Heart Read Online Free PDF

shoulder. Turning, I found myself faced with a pair of enormous sea-foam green eyes; a woman was standing there frozen.
    36
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    "Hi," I said calmly, trying to breathe, running my tongue across my very normal human teeth. I knew my control was amazing, and for once I was glad. It wouldn't be good for me to go back into the crowded dining room looking like the werepanther that I was.
    "Hi," she barely got out, lifting a trembling hand slowly toward me, her fingers sliding over my chest. She was adorable standing there, mouth open, eyes wide.
    It had taken me a moment because I was working on so very little sleep, but the woman was the one I had rescued in Reno two months ago.
    "You saved me," she breathed out.
    "I did." I forced a smile, moving strands of light brown hair out of her eyes so I could see her beautiful face. I was vaguely aware that all movement had stopped around us.
    "Oh," she whimpered, tears spilling out from under her fluttering lids. "I'm Delphine."
    "Andrian told me."
    "What's your name?"
    "Jin," I said back.
    She swallowed hard. "Can I... closer?"
    I smiled and she flung herself at me, wrapping her arms around my waist, her face pressed against my throat. I held her tight, and the immediate deep tremble surprised me.
    "You... you saved me. You were amazing.... I wanted to find you and talk to you and thank you, but they... they wouldn't... and now here you are, and you're even more beautiful than I thought possible."
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    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    "You were the one?" someone asked. "You saved the sister of our semel?"
    Of course I had; that was the only way my luck worked.
    Andrian had told Crane and me those months back that she was the sister of the semel, but hearing the awe now in the voices clustered around me was almost frightening.
    "We must thank your properly," Delphine said, her face still buried in my shoulder. "You must come and meet my brother."
    "There's no need," I assured her, holding her out to arm's length. "It was my place, every male's place, to protect females. Those that attacked you should be punished."
    "It's an old feud." She forced a smile. "One that I'm happy to see has not moved up this mountain. The hunting lands are here, though. You must join us."
    I didn't hunt; it was not something reahs did. "Sure," I smiled back, scowling as the man who had bared his teeth came around to stand beside Delphine. "We'll see."
    "Please, reah," the man said, going down to one knee.
    "You have shown me your bravery by facing me, the sheseru of the tribe of Mafdet, and now I find that it was you who saved our sweet girl from the animals of the tribe of Menhit.
    Please, reah." He held his hand out for me. "Accept my apology and let us take you to meet with our semel Logan Church."
    The longer I stayed with them, the greater the chances of them realizing that I wasn't a mated reah. A reah could only mate with the tribe leader, and if there was no semel that I belonged to, then I could be forcefully taken to any semel to 38
    Change of Heart
    by Mary Calmes
    see, when our eyes met, if we were mates. I hated the idea of a mate, a person you were destined to be with; I preferred free will, so I steered cleared of all tribes and tribe leaders. It was why my greatest wish would never come to pass. A reah could only truly belong to the tribe that their mate led. Since no semel would ever take me, a male mate, I would never have a home anywhere.
    "Please, reah."
    I gave him my hand and heard his exhale as he placed it on his face, holding it there.
    "Your name is Jin?" he asked, looking up into my eyes, leaning into my hand.
    "Yes."
    "Jin what?"
    "Rayne."
    The eyes that had been so combative and angry had become warm, soft and heavy-lidded. He was a sheseru, and because I was a reah, his place was to stand as my champion. Instinctively, he wanted to be my shield, as I was supposed to be the mate of a semel. The longer I was around him, the more protective he would