Page 12 of Mated By Twilight

There he was.

Leah blinked at the male coming their way. He was focused, walking with a wide, determined gait, long, white hair bouncing in his ponytail. He was moving beside a mirror, so there appeared to be two of them at first sight.

The male she was looking at was just as tall as the other aliens out there that all dwarfed her, though he wasn’t as broad. She wouldn’t quite call his build slender, but it was strong and tight, like a whip. A body made for grace, and it showed in the almost hypnotizing way that he moved.

He was covered in scales – though they were small, their pattern was unmistakable. It was such a bright, lavender purple. Beautiful. And complimented by the long, silvery white hair, like snow sparkling in the sunlight, that trailed down his back. It was wavy and thick, held up by a shining gold bangle, with some shorter bangs to frame his face. Gleaming, teal eyes sparkled in the artificial light as his long legs ate up the distance.

His clothes were just as lovely as himself. The style was androgenous, beautiful, and rather provocative, though she couldn’t say exactly why. Everything important was covered. His long, muscular legs were wrapped in poofy, black pants that tucked into short, black boots. But around his waist were golden rings from which trailed a half skirt, fully open in the front, that shined with a beautiful gold, teal, and purple pattern that almost reminded her of a peacock’s tail. His top was loose, hooking over a golden ring around his neck, leaving his back and sides open, and was just short enough for a strip of his midriff to show. Gold rings were locked around his upper arms, just under his biceps, while more rings decorated his wrists.

And his tail! He had a long, thin tail, whip like and mobile, that moved gently behind him, curving in the air like a snakewith each step he took. The golden bands flashed with each movement. It was absolutely incredible, and absolutely strange.

He looked like an exotic dancer, she realized. He moved like one too. All sensual, graceful, powerful movements, decorated in beautiful teal and gold.

There had to be some kind of mistake. There was no way a guy that attractive was meant to be her mate. She wouldn’t consider herself ugly, but she wasn’t anything special. She was already stunned by the very idea that she had an alien mate, but she fully expected the person meant for her would be someone more… ordinary.

It was as she was staring in wonder at this beautiful man – male – she realized what her guide had said.

Theretheyare.

Theoneswith white hair and lavender scales.

Oh, she realized dumbly.

That wasn’t a mirror.

Those weren’t translation errors.

She was just stupid.

That wasn’t a single male walking beside an abnormally long mirror. That was two males, two identical males, walking towards her in step with each other.

And with that realization she noticed that their hair, their skirts, weren’t moving in exactly the same way. They were also moving in lock step, not mirror step.

Also, the closer they got, the clearer they became, the more she realized that these were definitely two different people. Shedidn’t know why she thought they were the same when it was obvious that they weren’t at all – though she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was about them that was so different, they definitely weren’t the same person.

Even as she watched, one was smiling at her, his grin widening as he approached. The other wasn’t smiling, but he was looking directly at her as though stunned.

Two.

There were two males.

Which one was…

No, she was being stupid again, because nowhere was it written she only had one mate. She had just assumed that there was a translation error, that the two names were like some kind of weird misprint or alien name combination she wasn’t familiar with. Even when everyone had referred to her mates in plural, even when their messages referred to themselves in plural, she was just so accustomed to the idea of one man, one woman, she had simply been unable to accept what had been very clearly written out for her.

And on the heels of that stunned realization came a rush of confusion, apprehension, and anxiety.

She hadtwomates?!

No, because what was she supposed to do withtwomates? She wasn’t even entirely sure she knew what to do with one, and now suddenly two people were walking her way.

She needed a moment. She had to gather her thoughts. She had to-

Too late.

The domini female was unlocking the glass door, letting it slide apart, calling out to the two of them –two!– in welcome.

The one on the right smiled wider, giving her a brief thanks, before focusing past her onto Leah. The one on the left’s expression and focus didn’t change at all. He was fully locked in on her as the two came into the room, the door shutting behind them. The sound proofing was crazy good, and though the concourse was loud with the sounds of the crowd of aliens going about their travels, the moment it shut, they were locked into a silence so choking she could barely breathe.

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