Three Fated Hearts by LNC
Chapter 63

~Tia~

It's cold. I feel the bed on my left and right, but the bed is empty. I guess that's where the cold isfrom. I don't think I can ever get used to being in a bed alone again. The body heat that I get fromthe twins is beyond comforting.

I stretch and hop in the shower to get ready for the day. I'm actually going to go dress shoppingtoday. Mom is at the clinic this morning. She said she would take an early shift so she could havethe afternoon available for me. Lynn is going to go shopping with us. I'm beyond excited to spendthis time with the girls and have this experience with my mom.

I throw some exercise clothes on so I can hop into a training session this morning. I really haveenjoyed training with others again. Surprisingly enough, I haven't lost much skill over the years. Iguess the bit of solo training I've been doing has kept me going.

When I reach the training area, I start to stretch, waiting for training to start. I made sure to go tothe second training. My mates don't run the training. I really don't want to have to deal with that.There is no way I could train properly with my mates watching over me. The minute anyone was totouch me, they would end up having to run from my mates. It just isn't worth the headache.Training starts with a 10-mile run. I stay ahead of the group, able to complete the run in amazingtime. Once everyone gets back from the run, we are paired off for sparing. “Hey there. Nice to seeyou.” Damn, Neal is my sparring partner. I guess the only thing to do is take it in stride.

“Hey, Neal. How are you?” Neal smirks at me.

“All accessories and your shoes need to be silver. That would be perfect.”

“Let's get her some choices while she changes.” Mom and Lynn head to replace my accessories while Igo back to the dressing room. I unzip the dress and let it drop. I step out of it and place it back onthe hanger. I hear the handle of the dressing room door and figure it's my mom. The door opens,and I turn to see Neal slipping into the room.

"What the fu-" Neal places his hand over my mouth.

“Shhhh. I just wanted to talk to you.” He slowly removes his hand from my mouth. I quickly grab myshirt and throw it over me while turning my body around. I fumble with the buttons, trying to covermy body.

"You wanted to talk to me?! So your solution is to come into the dressing room? What are youthinking?” I turn, having buttoned my shirt.

“I was thinking that this ceremony is a mistake and we both know it.” The ceremony is a mistake?What am I missing?

"What the hell are you talking about?”

“Look....your...your sister told me everything and I feel the same.”

"What?" Neal steps toward me and reaches for me. I quickly step back, but the dressing room isn'tbig. I really had nowhere to go to escape Neal. I back into the wall, and Neal traps me there. Hereaches out and runs his hand down my face. I flinch at his touch, and he genuinely looks surprised.“I know you have feelings for me. You don't have to settle. You don't have to go through with theceremony. I think we have something here.” Where did this come from? How could a fewconversations be seen as an active interest?

“I don't know what you were told, but I'm not interested in you like that. I only want my mates, thetwins.” Neal's hand stills, and he looks me in the eye. We stare at each other for a while, and I waitfor him to step away and out of the room. I was waiting for nothing because that wasn't what wouldhappen. Neal leans down, and his face gets closer to mine. I have nowhere to move to and no realway to avoid what seems to be about to happen. I prepare myself to knee him in the groin so I canescape. I will only get one try, so I have to make it count.

Neal gets so close that I can feel his breath on my face. I close my eyes and snap my knee back andforward. I hear a thump, hear a groan, and hear a thud. I open an eye to see Neal on the ground,holding his groin, face scrunched up in pain. I push him aside, and he falls on his back. I grab mypants and run out of the dressing room, right into a wall that wasn't there before. I fall on my a*sand look up into the angry eyes of my mates.