Page 109 of Mated By Twilight

“That’s not how this works.” Leah said, the certainty of it a solid core of steel in her chest. “I know what it’s like to have that kind of belief pushed on you. Trust me, Biella. You will never be able to get what you want. Not like this. You need to get help. You need to at least acknowledge that you have a problem.”

“I have no problem! You all are the ones with the problems! You’re the ones who are wrong!”

Biella threw herself across the bed as Leah, once again, took her on a chase.

Only this time, Biella didn’t hit the wall and bounce off, she pushed off it and continued running after her immediately, giving her no time to make more space between them.

The door swooshed open with a chirping alarm. Twin flashes of purple rushed into the room. One slammed into Biella, knocking her off course, making her slam into the far wall. The other one grabbed Leah, wrapping her in their arms, and blocking out her vision.

She didn’t know if it was Tillos or Sollit – whoever grabbed her put their hand on the back of her head and hid her face against their chest before she could see.

“I’ll hold her here. You get out,” Skara was saying.

Leah wasn’t sure who she was talking about until her mate clutched her to his chest and rushed out. In lifting her up a bit,she could see Tillos right behind, coming after them. That must mean that Sollit was holding her.

She should be excited to see them, right? Relieved. Something.

But she just still felt so oddly disconnected. Biella let out a shriek of crazed frustration and anger. It was like Leah was still back in that room with her.

And really, genuinely, she felt pity for her.

Outside of the grimy hotel, they were intercepted by station security. Leah didn't recognize them, but their steel gray and black uniforms certainly looked like something space station security officers would wear.

Someone tried to reach for her, but Tillos rushed ahead, pushing whoever it was back.

“We’re with emergency health!” They snapped.

“Don’t touch our mate!” Tillos snarled.

“Guys, I’m okay,” Leah promised, her voice weak even to her own ears. Where had all that strength and conviction gone?

She must have sounded pretty pathetic, because her reassurance only convinced her mates to set her down onto a floating stretcher in front of a pair wearing red uniforms. She didn't recognize either of their species – one had five eyes and all black skin, while the other was a very tall female with four arms and waist length hair that moved in an eerily smooth way. They looked her over together as her mates stood to either side of her, behind the floating stretcher. There was no EMS vehicle that she could see, but the tall alien female pointed something at her – like a gun with a giant bubble wand like ring at the end of it – and scanned her up and down.

“We should get her to the healing center,” she said, staring at whatever read out the not-bubble wand gun was giving her. “She’s got some significant head and face trauma.”

Oh, right. Leah had her skull bashed into the ground and had been smacked around. There were also various scratches on her thigh. And, as she catalogued her injuries, the deadened pain decided to make itself known again. And there was more than she expected. Aches and pains and bruises all up and down her body, not just at her head.

It wasn’t until she was instructed to lay back and the red-uniformed people began jogging away with her gently strapped onto it that reality finally caught back up to her.

And she burst into tears.

Chapter 50

Sollit

Leah was an excellent patient.

Sollit and Tillos were the terrible visitors. Hovering, cursing, frantically worrying. To the point that the healer in charge ordered them out of the room and, under threat of detainment until he deemed Leah healthy again, they were forced to comply.

No one was really surprised at their acting up. It wasn’t unusual really. But they were treated with the sort of long-suffering annoyance of ones not appreciative of their concern.

But it was impossible to be calm.

Even now, they were both working off their nerves in their own way. Sollit was pacing back and forth in the waiting room while Tillos stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed, fingers tapping impatiently, as they both waited.

Leah would be fine, of course. There hadn’t been so much damage done that it couldn’t be healed by a mediring. Such damage would have to be extensive and immediately or imminently fatal for a mediring to be unable to fix it fast enough. She hadn’t been hurt that bad.

At least, he hoped she hadn’t been hurt that bad.

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