Page 13 of Mated By Twilight

“Shall I do introductions?” The domini female asked, standing between them as the three just stared at each other. “May I present your mate – the human female Leah Williams from Earth. And Leah, these are your mates – the avanava males Sollit and Tillos Ariell.”

She smiled between them, like she was expecting praise or something. Or maybe she thought they’d rush for each other.

But Leah was still too stunned and confused to move. She could only imagine the gobsmacked look on her face right now, because the excitement bled from their expressions and became concern as they cocked their heads at the same moment.

The perfect synchronicity of the movement seemed so completely inhuman. Which was another stupid thought, because,of course, it was inhuman, they weren’t human. But the sheer perfection of it finally broke through her shock enough to at least kick in her ingrained politeness.

“H-Hello,” she said, kind of bobbing her head, almost bobbing her body, like she was about to curtsy or something. Which was also stupid, but all her intelligence had clearly fled a long time ago. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

“The pleasure is all ours,aevea,” the one with the smile said, his voice grand but soft so it seemed like he was almost whispering to her.

“Er, sorry to ask this if it’s rude, but which one of you is which?” Her eyes darted back and forth between them. If the one on the right smiled less brightly, and the one on the left smiled more, they really would be identical like a mirror.

“I’m Sollit,” the smiley one said.

“I’m Tillos,” the aloof one said.

“Sollit. Tillos,” she greeted, repeating their names mostly for her own benefit. She wanted to remember them and get them right.

Suddenly, she was terrified of mixing them up. They were obviously twins. She wanted to be able to tell them apart.

Wait. Theyweretwins, right? Or was she doing some messed up, prejudicial thing where she was saying that all avanava looked alike?

“Miss Williams?”

Once again, the domini female’s voice made her jump as she cut through her thoughts. The female, who had barely said two words to her since they got in the room, looked much more alert and, suddenly, suspicious of the two males.

“Is there a problem?” She asked, a hard edge to her voice.

Leah realized a bit late why she didn’t seem all that warm or friendly. She wasn’t there just as a guide. She was a bodyguard, meant to protect and help her until the moment she was given to her mates. Though, clearly, she was ready to fight her mates as well, should that become a problem. She was outnumbered, and outclassed by weight and height, but the way she reachedtowards her back made Leah think she had a weapon to help even those odds.

“No, I’m fine,” she hasted to assure her. “I was just, erm, surprised.”

“Surprised?” Sollit asked.

“Why?” Tillos asked. Finishing Sollit’s sentence like it was perfectly natural.

“Sorry,” she stuttered. “It’s my fault. I just… wasn’t expecting… two.”

Chapter 5

Tillos

What stood before them now was probably the most beautiful creature he’d ever had the chance to behold. Sollit was near bursting with excitement. A feeling that was clashing and mixing with Tillos’ awed admiration of this little creature.

He was prepared for a sensual human, but he wasn’t ready for just how darling she actually was. The top of her head barely reached the base of their necks, but what she lacked in height, she more than made up for in curves.

Humans, he knew from their research, had permanent, presenting breasts that were used for feeding their young. Avanava also gave live birth, but their females did not feed their young in such a way, and so didn’t have breasts at all. Tillos and Sollit had never particularly cared about such things before, considering them a pleasant but largely uninteresting curve on those females that did have them. Even now, he wasn’t sure he truly appreciated them the way males of a species that did develop breasts at some point did, but he was very curious to explore those abundant, weighty globes that she couldn’t quite hide in her baggy, white sweater.

Nor could she hide her large rear, which was also rather pleasant. Avanava females did, in fact, possess lovely hips andbutts, but they were more slender, more subtle, in their curves. His human mate certainly outclassed them in that regard. He wished she hadn’t chosen such baggy clothes so that he could appreciate her form properly, but it made her look somehow more lush and huggable.

Her hair, cut to her shoulders, was pale blonde and wavy, with cute little bangs swept apart down the middle, framing her lovely, round face. Bright, stunning blue irises were set in a pair of wide eyes, rimmed with more bright hairs – tiny and delicate though, unlike the long ones on her head. Her mouth was small, but her lips were plump, parted in surprised as she stared at him and his brother with emotions that were… less than welcoming.

She seemed stunned, but not in a good way like Sollit and himself. She looked like someone had just thrown something at the back of her head and she was in that brief moment between being hit and actually feeling the hit.

Then, she said why.

“I just… wasn’t expecting… two…” Her voice trailed off, getting softer with each word. Her shoulders hunching in on themselves as though expecting to be struck for admitting as much.

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