Page 111 of Mated By Twilight

Tillos nodded once. “We just wanted to protect you. But maybe if you knew, you wouldn’t have let yourself stray so far from our side.”

“I don’t want to be scared either,” she sighed. “But I can handle it. I’m not yet at the point your mom is, where I’m content to let you two handle everything. I might never be. Don’t keep things from me, okay? Even if it’s bad. I want to deal with everythingwithyou two. That’s my right. As your mate.”

Sollit’s pride expanded in his chest, competing with Tillos’ for space. Their mate was so small and shy, it was easy to forget all the things she’d already survived. The pain she’d livedthrough. And sure, it might have damaged her in some ways, but she’d still proved herself equal to it. Stronger, because she was reclaiming everything her past had taken.

“We won’t keep anymore secrets from you,” Sollit promised.

She smiled at them. “Who knows. Maybe we could have done something for Biella if we had figured out she was the one who sent the box.”

“You couldn’t have done anything for Biella, Leah,” Tillos said softly, taking her by the chin and gently turning her face up to look at them. “Even if we had figured out how mad she had become, I don’t think anything would have helped her. Whether her choices were made consciously or because of a mental disorder, the fact is that she made those choices. Even if you can empathize with her, it doesn’t excuse the harm she caused.”

“I know.” She smiled sadly. “I think I’m just coming to that same conclusion about my family as well. They made their choices. Nothing… Nothing they did to me was my fault. The only way I could have made them happy would have been to give up something precious to myself. I wasn’t enough for them, and the only way I could be was to make myself miserable. I think… deep down, that’s something I’ve always known. It’s why I ran that day. Because even if I didn't realize it, I knew that the only way to satisfy them was to give up everything that makes me a person. And I couldn’t do that.”

“Leah?” Sollit stroked her cheek, brushing away the tear falling slowly down.

“My family is sick,” she said softly, sadly. “But they can’t accept help to make them better. I can’t change them anymore than they could change me. And that’s not my fault.”

“Of course, not.” Tillos put his arms around her. “I’ve not met your family, and I don’t think I ever actually want to.”

She burst out laughing. “No way. My family is very anti-alien. They’d lose their minds if they ever found out I was mated to one alien, much less two. They couldn’t accept me singing on stage; they certainly couldn’t accept you.”

“We don’t need them to.” Sollit took her hand and kissed her palm. “You are the only one who needs to accept us.”

“And I do.” She beamed. “I love you two. So much! And I’m not ashamed of that. I’m not sorry about it. And if my familywerehere, if you did somehow meet them, I’d tell them straight to their faces that I love who I love, I love what I love, and their obsession is not my commandment.

“If there is some kind of divine being on Earth, or in the universe itself,” she took their hands, lacing her fingers with theirs. “Then that being decided that our souls match each other. Our bond is proof enough to me that what we have is good and natural and right. I love you, Sollit. I love you, Tillos. And nothing could ever make me give that up. I’ll always fight for my place beside you.”

“Silly,” Sollit embraced her at the same time as Tillos. They kissed her temples. “You don’t need to fight for that.”

“Or ever again,” Tillos promised. “Your place beside us is certain and unshakable. And if anyone has something to say about it, even if they are your family,we’lldeal with it.”

“You just relax and be soft and pampered.” Sollit smiled, stroking the back of her head. Assuring himself that the lump there was gone.

She shook her head, smiling. And some of that light was back. “No. I want to fight for it. I don’t want to just accept what’shappening to me. I don’t want to run. If there’s a fight for our future, I want to fight it with you.”

Sollit smiled, somehow as proud of her right now as he had been when he saw her singing her final song during the play. “Then, I would say we’ve nothing to fear,aevea.”

Chapter 51

Tillos

They tried to give Leah the next night off. Her understudy could perform her part well enough, so there was no reason for her to put on a show. Her body had been completely healed, but that didn't lessen the trauma of what happened to her.

But she insisted. She wanted to sing and nothing would stop her from doing it. Not when she’d just found her voice again.

She was possessive over her role, and they loved it. She was comfortable enough in the spotlight to claim it for herself. And like their future, she was determined to fight to keep her place on stage. She rushed into their performance without a hint of fear.

It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

In the days after the incident with Biella, something changed within her. He didn't know if it was the successful performance or confronting her past and coming to terms with it, but their mate was a bright and vibrant female unlike ever before.

She’d fully transitioned into her avanava style wardrobe. The flowing dresses made of very light and delicate fabric would usually stay in place by friction. They’d catch on the small scales that, while not rough, were just sharp enough to catch the airymaterial and keep it in place. Leah’s smooth skin meant the dresses kept nearly falling off her.

Until she went to Shorvi and asked him for pins to keep them up on her shoulder, and belts to keep them on her waist. She had her own ideas for what she wanted to wear. Shorvi didn't like them – because Shorvi didn't like anything. They argued about it until they met somewhere in the middle and she was comfortable in her new style.

She’d wear her dresses with her jeweled or metal or flowered pins and sing as she went through the halls. Not really belting it out like she did on stage, but just singing gently and happily. She hummed to herself while relaxing in their room. She sang in the shower. She danced and swayed in place while changing or doing things with her hands.

And she asked for things.

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