(Chapter 2 continued)

"Members of our beloved Society, the Elders and I have work very hard to assure that every Soul Mate Ceremony is a successful one." Portia smiled, taking a moment to turn in a circle as if to address everyone in the Auditorium individually. "And as we reach the conclusion of this one, I have a very special announcement to make." She paused, turning in my direction, and I could have sworn that her gaze lingered on mine for a little longer than normal.

What the fuck was going on?

"Eighteen years ago, our Scientific Unit reached a critical breakthrough in genetic biology. On this particular annual Soul Mate Ceremony, the trial of this technology will commence, as it was planned." 

Curious whispers filled the room, as Society members pondered just what genetic breakthrough Portia could be talking about. 

Hell, I was even confused.

She couldn't be talking about me, right? I mean, I am superhumanly handsome, but I don't think that would be considered a genetic breakthrough.

"One, special member of our society was chosen to spearhead the experimental stage of this research from the moment of their birth. In times of crisis, it is important to have the means to reproduce. However, if all of one sex are eradicated, it would be virtually impossible for that population to continue on. In order to address this problem, our lead scientists developed a genetic mutation which allows males to carry and give birth to a child, a trait which can be passed down hereditarily." Portia remained professional as the entire Auditorium exploded into confused mutters, easily silencing them with a harsh clear of her throat. 

"Eighteen years ago, this genetic mutation was introduced into a member of our beloved Society at birth. This member is Aria Toulsend." 

The screens once again flickered to life, and my brows furrowed at the sight of...

The invisible, know-it-all girly-boy from Instructional?! 

The moving picture that adorned the screen shocked me to my very core, but the brown, silky curtain of hair which fell to his shoulders was unmistakably that of the little cookie-baking son of a bitch.

I felt as if I'd been struck with a spear right through the chest, glued to my chair. That explained why he was so fucking feminine, and was an exception to the close-cropped hair rule for all males in the Society. He was obviously caught up with the fact that he was practically a girl, with the way he could have kids like one. 

But... Ew.

That meant that someone had to have sex with this little abomination. 

A male someone. 

That is how reproduction works, right? 

Fuck, I shouldn't have skipped so much of Instructional. 

But a guy and a guy together; that shit was beyond nasty. I know they used to do it back in the day, but after the war it was virtually never hear of again. Reproduction was the main priority, and anyone who was caught with another person of the same sex was punished severely. 

Everyone seemed to catch onto that bit all at once, and the entire room once again erupted into chatter. It died down however, when the kid himself ascended the stage, his cheeks flushed a bright red as he tried to hide behind that ever-present curtain of hair and played with his thin fingers timidly. 

Portia smiled brightly at the boy, beckoning him closer with her hand. He slowly joined her, lifting his head to flash a small smile to the crowd before looking back down to his shoes and trying to disappear behind the woman. It was obvious that he was either extremely uncomfortable, nervous, or a combination of the two. 

Not that I cared.

"This boy right here is the key to the ultimate breakthrough of the North American Society. This could change the course of history, my fellow members!" Portia exclaimed, before looking down at her tablet and tapping it a few times. 

"And of course, he has also been assigned both a Soul Mate and Occupational Training. Because of his nurturing and inherently caring spirit, Aria will be put into the Early Childhood Instructional Training Unit. I find he will be a true asset to maintaining the happiness and intelligence of our very young Society members. And finally, his mate." 

Portia smiled, her eyes once again meeting mine, and I tilted my head in confusion. 

I know I'm hot, but why does this old broad keep staring at me like I'm some sort of exotic exhibition in a zoo? Doesn't she know those don't even exist anymore?

"Aria, under careful consideration with all of the Elders who govern our Society, will be mated to-"

I missed the rest. 

All that I could hear was the blood rushing through my ears, blocking out any sensory input other than my vision - all of which was fixated incredulously at my face, under which read "Construction Training", displayed directly next to the girly-boy's on every single screen in the goddamn place. 

Oh, fuck no.

They had me one-thousand percent fucked up.

There was no fucking way in hell I'd... 

I like women, for fucks sake! Ones with big boobs, thick asses, and no brains to argue with me!

Like lightening, I jumped out of my seat - making a beeline for The Quad which was surely deserted. All heads followed me as I stormed out, but I couldn't care less. I needed to be as far away from that freak of nature as I could be. 

There was no way I would Soul-Bond to that... thing.

Even if I had to give the Elders hell. 

❦

Everyone'd long gone back to their Housing Pods from the ceremony by the time I finished taking my anger out on everything in my line of sight in the deepest parts of The Quad Park. Now, I stared up at the artificial night sky with my back rested against one of the many equally artificial trees, ripping apart innocent pieces of grass as I awaited my fate.

No matter how much I may have wanted to stay here all night, I would inevitably be forced to trek out in pursuit of my new Housing Pod - shared with the one person that had effectively ruined my life. Curfew was quickly approaching, and I was beginning to feel fatigued from the intensity of what I'd endured earlier in the day.

I couldn't believe that they expected me to suddenly be some kind of homosexual freak. Mit saw that shit too, and I'd spent the longest time trying to fathom what he would think of me now that I was expected to be Soul-Bonded with another guy. 

Sighing, I leaned my head back against the trunk of the tree, one leg propped up enough to drape my arm across it. 

"Attention, Society members: Free Period will be terminated in T-minus five minutes. Please return to your Housing Pods at this time. Those found out after curfew will be punished as Society laws regulate. Goodnight, and remember, long live The Society of the People." 

The automatic, nightly message blared through the loudspeaker, followed by the inevitable drone of the Society Anthem. 

I glanced down at my tablet, tapping a few time to pull up my basic information. Along with my Society-mandated headshot and basic physical description, was my new Housing Pod assignment. I groaned, taking another minute to myself before pushing against the tree to stand up. 

A few stragglers laughed together as they headed back to their Pods, but I ignored them as I headed for the AirLift. I quickly boarded the empty vessel and pressed the button for the negative sixth floor, where the Housing Pods were for Soul-Bonded couples without children.

The doors eventually opened into the quiet floor, although I could've sworn that a few moans from various Pod doors escaped through the thick metal and assaulted my ears. I shook it off though, proceeding down the white hall until I reached a door marked negative six-hundred and thirty-four. 

I hesitated.

That... thing could be waiting just inside the door.

Fuck, of course he was. I bet he was in there at least thirty minutes before curfew. That one seemed like a firm stickler for the rules. 

I debated with myself for a long moment, before sighing aloud and steeling myself. 

Thaddeus Axton isn't a fucking pussy. I would walk my ass in there and tell that little abomination that there was no way this pairing was correct, that there had to be some sort or error. 

With my mind made up, I reached out and placed my thumb onto the fingerprint scanner, stepping inside of the Pod once the door opened. I blinked once, surprised to find the small, one-bedroom pod pristinely clean and... dark. None of my delivered boxes were in sight either, which was really damn weird. The Moving Transport Service couldn't have mixed up the delivery, could they?

I groaned, the door closing behind me as I walked into the dark living room, and upon finding no one there, I headed for the bedroom. 

The door was closed, but I didn't hesitate to tap the control panel, making it slide open quickly. And boy, was I in for a surprise.

The Aria kid lay on his side, fast asleep on a small portion of the bed, as if he intentionally left room for someone else to join him. His incredibly small body was clad in a simple, but extremely feminine nightgown which bunched up modestly around his shins. His hair was splayed out on the pillow around his face, which seemed almost... Angelic in the dim light that was casted from the bedside light that was left on. In his limp hand was what seemed to be a... Recipe book?

This little asshole was so fucking girly that he fell asleep reading a cook book?  This was so unreal.

I scoffed, moving over to the bed and hastily gathering the free pillow and blanket in my arms before walking right the fuck back out and closing the door behind me. 

Looks like it was the couch for me tonight. No way I would bring myself so low as to lay in the same bed as that thing. I'd figure out the mystery of my missing boxes tomorrow. 

After setting down the bedding, I stripped to my boxers quickly, carelessly tossing my clothes aside onto the floor of the living room. Just before settling in however, I headed to the kitchen for a glass of water.

I stretched my arms above my head, flexing my strong abdominal muscles while I went to rummage through the cupboards in hopes that the last inhabitant of this Pod left behind at least one cup I could use. To my surprise however, I pulled open the cabinets to find that they were already full and impeccably organized with different foodstuffs and dishes, as if someone had spent hours setting it all up. 

My brows furrowed, but I simply shrugged and grabbed one of the glasses before heading to the chiller and tapping the panel on top to dispense cold water. I waited patiently for my glass to fill, glancing around the kitchen in the meantime. 

However, once again my brow furrowed at the sight of a square plate of food which sat on the counter covered in plastic wrap, a light blue piece of paper laying on top of it. After my cup filled, I held it in one hand as I walked over to the plate and glanced down at the note, which was written in surprisingly elegant printing.

Dear Thaddeus,

I know you might be having a hard time trying to process this, but I promise I'm going to try and be the best mate that I can for you! I thought you might be tired and hungry when you came home, so I made you dinner. I really, really hope you like it, it took a long time, I even tried out a new recipe! I also thought I'd help by unpacking all of your boxes for you and sorting everything in our room. 

Hopefully I will see you in the morning! :)

Love,

Aria ♡

Resisting the urge to gag, I immediately ripped up the note, placing it on top of the ceramic plate and opening the garbage chute that led to the incinerator before chucking everything down it - plate and all. 

No way I was going to eat that shit. I'd rather starve. 

I stormed back into the living room with a huge gulp of water before setting it down on the coffee table and sliding under the covers on the couch - closing my eyes to pray to whatever Gods people used to believe in that I would wake up to all of this being a bad dream.

Yeah, that'd be nice.

__

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Love you all!

xoxo,

Alex