Page 52 of The Dark Elf's Secret Twins

Iplant a kiss on Lykan’s lips. Through them, I can feel the tension melt away, like a tightened muscle relaxing. We whisper proclamations of love to one another in between kisses before he finally rests his head on my shoulder. I don’t have to ask to know just how difficult this has been for him.

“You’re the bravest man I’ve ever met,” I say quietly, running my hand up and down his back.

“Come on,” he chuckles. “You don’t need to tease me.”

“I mean it. To open up and go into detail about your trauma is no easy feat. It’s very admirable and I’m proud of you for doing so.”

“Well…”

“What is it, Lykan?”

“Never mind, it just sounds silly,” he quips dismissively.

“Tell me, come on,” I say reassuringly. “This is a safe space for anything.”

“None of what I told you changes your feelings for me, does it?” he asks.

“Oh you silly elf,” I chuckle. “It’s easy for someone to be physically attractive but trust me, it takes some real guts for someone to be so vulnerable the way you were. Do you want to know something?”

Lykan peers at me curiously.

“It’s only made me fall in love with you even more,” I tell him.

He smiles and straightens himself up.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. I’ve had to keep my past bottled up inside of me all along.”

“Did you never tell anyone else about this before?” I ask.

“I thought of talking to my family, but I’m not so sure they wish to continue hearing from me.”

“I’m guessing it’s something to do with the miou classification?”

“It’s all so confusing,” he says, twirling my hair between his fingers. “The reason why I said I feel like less of an elf isn’t just because I can’t fight anymore. It’s also because I think my family secretly hates me.”

“Secretly?”

“Yeah… You see, when I was removed from field duty, I kept volleying for an appeal. My family didn’t do much to support my case, instead they just kept reassuring me that everything was okay, that I could find a new life of my own.”

“I don’t mean to sound ignorant,” I reply. “But I don’t understand how that’s a bad thing.”

“My family is a prestigious name in the miou caste. My two younger brothers are currently off bringing honor to my parents. My father retired after an illustrious career. Meanwhile, all I did was go be a security guard. Like I said, they say they support me but I can’t help but feel I’ve let them down.”

Lykan’s words of sorrow break my heart. It hurts to see him in pain like this, to see him beat himself up so much over the past.

“Listen,” I say, resting a hand on his shoulder. “You’re not responsible for what happened on the battlefield that day. There’s no way you could have seen an ambush coming. I’m no warrior but aren’t losses and casualties part of war? I’m sure all of your men understood that.”

Lykan runs a hand over his hair, nodding attentively.

“Perhaps so.”

“And as far as your family goes, that’s just the negative voice in your head telling you all that shit. In an ideal world, I’m sure you would have made a great miou, but you can’t let your head decipher your family’s words as the exact opposite. Doing so only creates an appetite for destruction in your mind.”

Lykan raises his eyebrows in a wave of realization.

“I never thought of it that way before.”

“And look, I know that my advice isn’t going to magically fix all your issues overnight,” I say, grasping his hand. “But I’m here with you every step of the way. I’m never giving up on you, and I’ll take you as you are because I love you Lykan.”

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