The S-Gene (Book 1: Amelia) - COMPLETE

Knock. Knock.

Amelia frowned, tearing her eyes away from the oh-so-slow toaster. She shot a glance at the front door as if she could see through it. Nope. Plain old human girl with no superman x-ray vision.

Wait.

Was there a creature that could see through walls? Nope. She would not go down that rabbit hole again. At the moment she didn’t want anything to do with supernatural creatures and their bullshit lies and facade.

Assholes.

That did leave the question who could it be? Amelia snuck a peek at her phone, but she didn’t have any notifications. Wouldn’t Genecorp text her first? She drummed her fingers alongside the smooth, black ceramic counter, popping her lips

repeatedly.

What if it was Caleb?

“I come in peace.”

She bunched her eyebrows, her head shifting to the side. Noah. Fuck. She had been rude to him yesterday, hadn’t she? Fudge. She had been so upset about that fucktwat and his pack breeding plans - she had wanted to be alone.

Then again - she barely knew him. So she had ignored him… when he had tried to find out why she was upset. Alright, alright. It was rude. Plus, he knew she was inside so he might take it personally if she didn’t open the door.

Amelia pursed her bottom lip as she tossed her head back. Alright. She tightened the rope on her purple robe, hiding her black nightgown and disguising the fact that she was bra-less. Her bare feet hit the cold wooden plank of the floor as she headed toward the door.

Her steady hand gripped the metallic door handle and she yanked it open - enough to fit her body, but not enough for him to see the entire house.

Meanwhile, there was Noah, standing as tall as ever, his white t-shirt contrasting with his dark skin, muscles stretching the fabric, threatening the seams. His hands were hidden behind his back while he flashed her a grin with his pearly white teeth.

“Good morning,” he spoke with his smooth velvet voice. “Feeling better?”

She flicked her tongue against her canine. “Look, yesterday…” she puffed the air out of her chest. “It wasn’t a good day for me.”

“I noticed.” He twisted his mouth left, then right. “That’s why I brought ya this.” He revealed his hands, showing her a bottle of champagne in one, and a 1L of orange juice in the other. “If it has juice in it, you can drink it before noon no?”

Her chest caved in as she burst into laughter. Was this guy for real? Her grip on the door loosened as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You brought me alcohol?”

“I brought you spicy juice.”

She twisted her face, barely resisting the urge to laugh again. “Do you always drink at the crack of dawn?” she teased.

“Depends if I had a bad date or not.”

Touché. “That obvious?”

“I’ve had my share of bad dates. I know the look.”

Somehow, that small sentence was enough to make her feel better. She thought maybe it was her; maybe she had too many expectations, maybe she believed that people - things? - could act better than they could.

“You’re not wrong, I could probably use it.” He handed her the two bottles and she took them from him. “Not sure I have it in me to drink a whole bottle though. Any bad dates recently?”

She had been ready to pack her bags and leave it up to chance in the real world. Maybe it was the sane thing to do, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe Noah had more knowledge than her. More experience.

“Eh, we could say it’s for your housewarming.”

“Well come on i-“ The last word died on her lips before she could say it. She was inviting him. It was irrational. He wasn’t a vampire… except she didn’t know anything about him. She was talking to him, deciding to trust him… but as Caleb had so nicely proved to her… everything could be fake.

Noah leaned forward before pointing at the sky. “In case the whole I didn’t burst into flames despite the daylight thing wasn’t enough…” He lifted his legs, putting the tip of his white and black sneaker inside the house. “I also don’t need to be invited in.” He winked at her.

Damn it.

“Sorry… I…”

He waved her off. “I get it.”

“Thanks.” She cleared her throat. “Well, then, wanna come in?”

“Sure.”

She moved out of the way, pressing her back to the door, and he walked in with long strides. She closed the door with a bump of the hip since her hands were otherwise occupied. As she walked behind him, heading to the table, her current state of dress dawned on her.

Yes. Greeting someone in her nightgown - not exactly proper.

Amelia put the bottles on the table and then gestured to the cabinets behind her. “There are glasses in there, I’m gonna go get changed real quick.”

“Alright.”

She dashed past him, hurrying to her bedroom and closing the door behind her. Clothes - clothes… She rushed to a drawer, one that barely contained her clothes and was mostly filled with whatever they thought she might wear.

Amelia quickly gave up, grabbing a simple blue t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts. She smoothened her ponytail and tugged on her shirt before walking out of her bedroom. On the other side, she found Noah sitting down with two full glasses in front of him.

“Sorry about that,” she said as she sat down.

“I’m the one who came uninvited,” he said as he wrapped his fingers around his glass. “Look - I know it’s not my place.” He shrugged. “Feels like you’re having a hard time.”

Amelia pinched her lips together, drawing a thin line with them. Her gaze lowered to the glass and she grabbed it, slushing some of the liquid down the back of her throat. Sugary with a kick of bubbles.

“Overheard the guy talking on the phone. He wanted a little breeder for him and his pack.” That sounded more fucked up out loud. Jesus fucking Christ. Was this her life now?

Another sip.

“I get it. This isn’t a dating show. This isn’t… I’m not gonna walk out of here with a ring on my finger.”

“You could.”

She chuckled. “I don’t want to. But - the way he talked about me… it’s like I was cattle… I didn’t…”

“Fuck him.” He took a gulp of his drink, slowly putting the glass back down. “Don’t give him what he wants…”

“And what, move on to the next person? Because they’re gonna be so different?”

“They might be.” He ran his fingers through his ebony locks, before leaning back into his chair. “I know it’s not easy. I know I’m not in your shoes. But it’s not all black and white. You don’t wanna do this. Most of them - they don’t wanna do this either. They’d rather be out there like anybody else and be able to have the life they want. Instead, they gotta rely on Genecorp.”

True. She could go out there and have a family with whoever she wanted. She didn’t need help, she didn’t need to wait for a specific person she might have no interest in. But - none of this was her fault. She didn’t decide this, and she didn’t decide to be a carrier.

“I’ve been here a long time. It wasn’t always like this - vampires they used to bite people to turn them. Wolves too… they could reproduce.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “What happened?”

“Not sure. Maybe it was evolution, maybe it was humans getting involved… but one day, they couldn’t.”

“That sucks. But it doesn’t make it my fault. He didn’t have to be such an ass.”

“Agreed.”

“You can’t tell me you get it, and say they’re all nice. I mean - you’re still here right?”

She watched his face drop as he squirmed in his seat. “I’m sure they gave you the speech when you arrived. Some carriers are only compatible with certain… species. Not everyone matches with everyone - at least not with a good enough percentage.”

Amelia held her breath for a second. “Are- are there a lot… of them?”

“By the thousand.”

“Carriers?”

“A handful compared to them.”

Oh. Oh. She didn’t think - she didn’t know… there were so few of them.

“Some carriers want the big money, some people will only fork up that amount of a good percentage - or a universal carrier.”

Like her. Except she didn’t know if she was ready to share that information. Was it a secret? Was it important? She had no idea…

“And you? What do you want?”

“I wanna live a good life. A quiet life.”

Couldn’t he have a good quiet life if he took a deal? Then again, maybe no one had offered him one. Maybe he only had terrible matches? Was it her place to ask such a question?

“What does that mean?”

He traced circles on the bottom of the glass, his eyes fixated on the orange liquid that filled it. “My life before here - it wasn’t a good one. I didn’t have any freedom, I couldn’t do anything. I had nothing.”

Noah’s shoulders slumped downwards, the corner of his lip twitching. “It might be a prison to you, but to me - I finally get to have a life.”

Amelia didn’t have much in the real world; she was scraping by. Every day was a struggle, every day demanded more out of her than she had to offer. She had to push through, fight, to try to get what was the bare minimum for others.

She could understand the feeling of desperation - maybe not enough though. He appeared to be grateful that he was here and she wasn’t. Was she too close-minded? Was she not looking at the big picture?

Maybe she was letting her fear dictate for her. Caleb was an asshole. Maybe they weren’t all like that. Maybe some of them would be more upfront with her.

“I’m sorry.”

He lifted his head, his eyes meeting hers. “Not your fault I was dealt a shitty hand.”

“Cheers to crappy lives,” she said, half-amused, as she lifted her glass. He tapped his glass against hers and they took a sip.

She did have more matches…

“You know what a Selkie is?”

“It’s hm — erm. It’s a type of shifter. They - hm, they’re seals. They can shed their form to become human… then they’ve got this fur-thing they carry around and whoever has it…” He waved a hand in front of her face. “Ya alright?”

“A seal?”

To be honest, she hadn’t heard anything after he said seal. Seals. Seals that turned into humans. Oh god. Her choices were down to a freaking sea animal and… a blood-sucking vampire. She let her body lean forward until her head banged the table. Maybe she should request new matches.

“Should I dump the juice and give you the alcohol straight up?”

“You might have to,” she mumbled against the table.

“Can I - suggest something?”

“Sure.”

“I think you’ve seen the worst part of this place.”

“No shit.”

He chortled. “How about we change that? Let me take you out tonight.”

She whipped back up, her back straight. “Take me out?”

“Yeah, there is more to this place than your little dollhouse,” he teased. “Let me show you that you can make the most of it. Maybe you’ll see they are not all so bad.”

She already had her date go as horribly wrong as it could. Was there a way things could be worse? Did she have anything to lose? Noah didn’t appear to be as miserable as she was. Even if he had been here a while.

Was there something she was missing? Something she wasn’t seeing?

“Fine.”

“Good,” he said, smacking his hand down on the table. “I’ll leave you to your mimosas. I’ll pick you up at 8. Dress nice.”

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise’” he replied with a wink.

He finished his glass in one go and put it back down on the table. “I’ll see you later Amelia.”

“Ames.”

“Sorry?”

“You can call me Ames.”

“Ames it is. I’ll see you at 8, Ames.”

He smiled at her one last time before getting up from the table and walking out of her house, closing the front door without a sound. She blinked, staring at the spot where he was sitting mere moments ago.

Was she insane for doing this?

Probably.

At least she would be doing something.

***

Loud music? Check.

Alcohol pouring from everywhere? Check.

Sweaty bodies piling up on top of each other? Triple check.

Amelia pushed past the sea of dripping, sticking, moist bodies, trying to keep up with Noah as he dragged them through the crowd. A club. His idea of taking her out was to bring her to a club.

At least she had worn a dress. Though it was nothing to write home about, the small red dress helped her blend in. Since it hadn’t been a date, she hadn’t bothered with the rest. Her make-up was basic, a little bit of nude eyeshadow and some mascara, and her hair was wrapped up in a high ponytail.

She was plain.

Noah on the other hand - she could not understand how he hadn’t found anyone yet. He left her stunned with his black jeans and peach colored-shirt that contrasted well with his skin tone. The first two buttons were popped open, enough for her to catch a glimpse of strong pecs.

Supernatural beings had to have different tastes than humans. She’d gamble on a lower percentile for someone who looked like that. No, you twat, you wouldn’t.You don’t even wanna give your matches the time of day.

Well, in this case, the supernatural creatures appeared to be willing for anything or anyone. Maybe Noah had lied, maybe he had higher standards and wanted a big payday. It wasn’t any of her business. It was his life.

“So,” she screamed as she pushed past elbows and rears. “This is your idea of fun?”

“Almost,” he said as he turned his head around and reached for her hand. He intertwined the fingers and dragged her closer as he kept pushing along.

His hand was warm as he held her tight, pulling her where he wanted to go. It took a few beats, but he came to a stop. He nodded his head in direction of a few stools and she understood. Amelia sat next to him, relieved that she didn’t have to rub against people anymore.

“What’s so special about this place?” she asked, leaning into him.

“Do you know what’s great about drunk people?”

“They’re stupid?”

He laughed. “That - and they’re honest. No one is playing a game here. Everyone is trashed.”

She glanced around at the room, quickly seeing that he was right. Though in such a big crowd, it was a struggle to detect who was human and who wasn’t. “Can vampires even get drunk?”

“Of course, they can,” he said, putting his hand on the small of her back. “Especially when they drink from drunk people.” He forced her to turn her body, tilting her to the left.

She saw it then. A man with long blond hair, teeth sunk into a woman’s neck, blood spilling from his mouth. He was doing that in the open?

“But- why- why isn’t anyone stopping him?”

“Because she’s willing.”

“How could she be?”

“Some people want the full experience. He’s not gonna drain her. It’s not allowed. He’ll have a snack.”

“But what can she possibly get from this?”

“Maybe she enjoys the life being sucked from her, maybe she likes the buzz that follows. I’ve never done it, but some people become hooked on it.”

Getting bit by a vampire was like a drug? What the hell was that? She would not be a fan of someone sucking her blood. She wasn’t here to be someone’s meal and she wasn’t interested in whatever weird fetish came with it.

“Well, she needs help.”

“It’s liberating. To drop all rules, all morales. No one judges anyone here. Look over there,” he continued, removing his hand from her body so that he could point into the distance.

…was that guy’s eyes red? “What the hell is he?”

“A demon.”

“And what’s he doing?”

“A deal.”

“What?”

“Someone is offering a piece of their soul for a deal with the devil.”

Amelia pinched the bridge of her nose. “He’s what now? Why would he do that? Don’t we need our souls… wait a minute, so we do have souls?” Oh god, this was like an overload of information and her brain was nowhere near ready for it.

Her chest was strained with each breath she took and it was like she couldn’t get enough air. Was this a panic attack? Anxiety? Maybe this was payback for faking she had anxiety. No, being stuck in this hellhole was the payback.

“You look like you could use a drink,” he said with a laugh as he gestured to a waitress. He lifted two fingers and she nodded back at him.

She hurried to their seat, putting two long-stemmed drinks in front of them. They were clear in color, but Amelia could tell it was a mixed drink.

“What is it?”

“Does it matter?”

Probably not.

She lifted it from the table, and all thoughts of pacing herself went out the window. In one long gulp, she finished the whole thing. She slammed the glass back down on the table, clearing her throat as the liquid burnt on its way down her throat.

“To answer your question, yes, we have a soul. You can survive with missing pieces. You won’t live as long but - you’ll live.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I’ve taken advantage of my time here.” He took another sip of his drink. “You should do the same. Isn’t there anything you’ve ever wanted to do? Fetishes? Classes? Skills? School? A job? Do you wanna learn ancient witchcraft? Questions about the past? Gather knowledge? Make contacts for the real world? You could move up the ladder fast if you build the right connections.”

Obviously, he wasn’t referring to the humans that were here. So that meant all of these supernatural creatures… existed in her world. Every day, she lived amongst them but she never even knew it.

Would she constantly look for them now that she knew?

“I know you hate it here, but - shouldn’t you make the most of it? Shouldn’t you try to change your life for the better? Go to the best restaurant. Make a fool out of yourself. Try a different type of life. See what you might like to learn. For once in your life, everything is given to you. That won’t happen again. Live the life you want.”

She never had opportunities. She never had a chance to be a kid, to let loose. Amelia had spent her entire life waiting for the other shoe to drop. She had to be ready, prepared, and on her guard.

Did she know how to let go?

“You’re a universal carrier, you can have most of them wrapped around your little finger. You can ask for anything.”

Wait.

“How do you know?”

He paused, his glass barely touching his lips. “What do you mean?”

“How do you know that I’m a universal carrier?”

“I - kinda guessed. Your date was a werewolf. You asked me about Selkies… Someone can be compatible with more than one species without being a universal carrier but… I also saw that vampire hanging around at night.”

“Ezekiel has been stalking me?”

“Is that his name? Then yeah, big time. He never comes too close, but he’s always lurking around.”

“Motherfucker.” She hadn’t picked him. She was put off by him. How could he not get the hint?

“Don’t worry, he should be pretty harmless.”

“Sure…” Somehow, she didn’t buy it. He had not left her alone since she arrived. He was about to do it now…

“So now, how about you let go, you get stupidly drunk, you figure out that they aren’t so different from you, and - you make the most out of this? Find your deepest, darkest desires out of life.”

“You want me to get insanely drunk somewhere where I don’t know anyone?”

“I’ll get you home in one piece.”

“And I’m supposed to trust you?”

“You gotta trust someone.”

He wasn’t wrong. Plus, Noah did appear to be trustworthy. Her instincts hadn’t been too off lately. She had known from the beginning that something wasn’t right with the trial. If only she had listened to herself.

There was something in his eyes as he stared at her that - that made her trust him. She wanted to tell him about everything. Her wants, her desires, her fears. What she wanted out of life. Maybe because he was easygoing, maybe because he was so forthcoming - something she hadn’t experienced here.

Maybe it was the good looks.

Maybe it was a little bit of everything.

“Fine. Let’s do this.”

A/N: Happy Monday!

Hope you liked it. As always, I appreciate any reads, comments and or review if you have time! See you next week :)