MATING DEVIATION HAS BEEN POSTED ON FYREBIRCH'S ACCOUNT!

(sorry for the shouty caps)

You can find the clickable link on my profile. Here you will find teasers for the first three chapters. If you're already reading MD, you may scroll down and find a nice little teaser for chapter three.

Chapter 1:

"Announcements"

Dear Diary,

My name is Amelia, and today I watched the world end.

Before this, I was nothing but an English professor dating a historian named Theodore Swan. I lived in an apartment in Cambridge, working for one of the most prestigious colleges in the United States. I had no reason to suspect my life would change so drastically although I can't say the same for Theodore.

The night everything changed, Theodore came to my apartment to propose. The word 'yes' had barely left my mouth before six federal agents burst through my door, demanding I come with them.

I was left with no other choice. Theodore and I were outnumbered. He screamed after me as a strange man dragged me from my home, the others cornering him.

I asked the stranger if I was under arrest, but he responded with a simple, "Amelia … I'm sorry for the intrusion, but we have little time for this. Please buckle your harness. Your flight is set to leave in ten minutes and we cannot afford to be late."

I was about to ask him what he meant when I felt a sharp pain at my nape, followed by an acute numbing sensation. My vision blurred, my head lolling to the side as the man pulled a small syringe from my neck. One second I was stricken with fear, the next I was encased in darkness.

I awoke sometime later to an oddly familiar voice. My eyes strained against bright overhead lights, my head spinning as I regained consciousness. I glanced to my left and panicked, discovering I was hooked up to a machine.

"Amelia, I'm Doctor Cullen." My head snapped upward, my eyes met with a dark haired man who I immediately recognized—he was on CNN recently. "I'm sorry; you must feel very confused at the moment. I promise you there is an explanation for all of this."

Doctor Cullen explained to me that I was in a hospital getting my blood and body checked. When I asked him why it mattered, he told me, "Because your mind and blood are pertinent to the continued existence of the human race."

The explanation I was provided was in the form of a short video. In less than twenty-four hours, I was to leave Earth with a selected group of people. We'd travel to a planet that would take well over one hundred and fifty years. I later realized scientists had known for decades that this day would come, and we were never to find out about it until now.

I soon became acutely aware there would be no choice in the matter. In the blink of an eye, I'd become a science experiment. My entire existence up to this point ceased to matter. Life on Earth was coming to an end; everyone I knew and loved would die.

And they did.

I watched as Earth dissimilated in front of my very eyes through the porthole of a spaceship transferring hundreds of passengers to the Tesla Enterprise. Everyone cried as they watched Earth end—with it, all their loved ones. I was sure everyone I knew was gone until the moment I was delivered to a pod for educators such as myself and was met, face-to-face, with Teddy.

Hope slowly began to restore itself.

I threw my arms around him, sobbing uncontrollably. He held me for what felt like hours, also crying silently. I then asked Teddy if he knew what they wanted from us, and he cleared the tears from my cheeks as he replied, "They want us to replenish the human race."

"Isabella."

The journal nearly flies out of my hand as a digitalized voice rings through my ears. I glance up at the blue hologram flashing across the room.

"Y-yes?" I ask, closing the journal and tucking it beneath my arm as JAKE drifts forward. His screen changes to a video of a woman.

"Your mother is standing outside the door, would you like her to enter?"

My eyes widen. "Yes, please, let her in. Thank you, JAKE."

"You are welcome, Isabella." His hologram closes and the white doors to my room slide open. My mother emerges from the hall dressed in her standard crème suit, her hair wrapped in a neat bun at the top of her head.

"Is everything all right?" she asks hesitantly, her eyebrows drawing together. "The New Mating Announcements are about to be made. Why are you not ready yet?"

"Oh," I murmur, glancing down at the journal under my arm. Her eyes are drawn to it as well, her expression confused. "I found this in the ceiling," I inform her, knowing there is no point in lying. "It is a diary Amelia Swan kept, dated all the way back to 2150."

Her eyebrows rise. "Really?" she asks. "What does she say?"

I hesitate. "I have only just begun reading, but from what I can gather she was a very, um…" I pause, searching my brain for the correct term. "Passionate. She was not brought here of her own free will."

"Of course not. Most individuals were handpicked by the commander and forced onto the ship. They would never willingly leave their families behind."

I nod, already aware of our history. One of the first things we learn on Tesla is why our ancestors were transferred here. I know that the captain at the time chose a very specific group of individuals from all around the world, each of whom were assigned to one of the five pods; Education, Engineering, Farming, Healing, and last but least likely, Commanding. The Commanding Pod is the smallest, yet most powerful sector of the ship.

"This was different," I mumble. She glances at me with a questioning look. "Amelia Swan was mated with someone she claimed she loved."

Her eyebrows lift in surprise. "Hm," she hums. "What are the odds? One in a thousand, I suppose."

I nod in agreement. I have heard that term rarely during my lifetime. Most people on Tesla are foreign to the concept altogether. Working in the library, I am often exposed to words others do not understand. Words that stood out on places like Earth, but do not apply here. I have wondered if it were possible for individuals who were mated to experience love. I have never heard of any such case.

"Well," my mother sighs out. "You should be going soon. The announcements will begin and you cannot miss them. Remember, Isabella, this is your duty."

I narrow my eyes in her direction but do not argue. "Yes, ma'am."

She nods and retreats from the room. I huff out an agitated sigh and sink down on the bed, tucking the journal beneath the mattress to ensure its safekeeping. I pull my hair into a bun similar to my mother's, attempting to avoid the trepidation I feel toward this day.

I was born not a native of Earth, but rather one of the Andromeda Galaxy, as were my compeers and those before us. For the last one hundred and fifty years, our existence has continued to thrive on a system that consists of two missions: service and reproduction. As I am seventeen years old, I have already mastered my profession as a librarian in the Education Pod. Meaning, I have only one duty left to fulfill.

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Chapter 2:

"Bloodlines"

"Think, Bella, think," I urge myself. If Amelia and Teddy had love then why can we not be allowed the same opportunity? Was that emotion flawed? Surely not, or they would not have permitted them to be together. They would have left one of them to perish, yet they do not afford us that choice. Looking around, I slowly rise from my seat and make my way to the very last row of stored records.

"You have to start somewhere, why not the beginning?" I muse as I draw the first TwiDisc from the shelf. Centering it on the table, the information appears before me.

After what seems like hours, I run across the first Mating Ceremony pairings. Not realizing how important this discovery is, I address JAKE, "Could you transfer this file to my TwiPad, please?"

"Isabella," JAKE says as his hologram flickers to life in the form of an androgynous shape. "You are aware that you do not have permission to be in this sector?"

My jaw gapes at being chastised by my TwiCharacter. "I am aware, but this is important." I cross my arms over my chest in an attempt to show my unwillingness to back down on this matter. "I am waiting."

"Very well," JAKE replies and the images form a stream that flows directly into my device. When the upload is complete, he asks, "Will that be all, Isabella?"

"Actually," I hedge. "Could you transfer all Mating Ceremony files?"

Without reply, the information streams through the air, although JAKE still appears reluctant about my request. "It is done," he states without inflection.

"Thank you, JAKE. That is all for now," I dismiss him and return to my probing.

Following the same procedure, I scan through each TwiDisc, moving forward in time, specifically focusing on the matches for each ceremony.. By the time I have made it to the present, my eyes are burning, so I replace all of the TwiDiscs and pick up my TwiPad to leave the room.

Back in my personal quarters, I am reinvigorated from the walk and decide to look more closely at the files I gathered. I am not sure what I expect to find, but am hoping that something will jump out at me.

Opening the file on my TwiPad, I run my fingers over the screen and move the images into the air to spread before me. Each file is lined beside the other as I sit on my bed. Carefully, I arrange them in order from oldest to most current.

Taking my time, I study each set of pairs, from the original ceremony all the way up to the final file I retained. It is not until I get to seventy years that something peaks my attention. It actually makes my eyes widen and a small gasp escape.

"No," I mutter to myself. I shake my head and blink my eyes. I scan the information with my eyes several times before slouching. "This is not possible. Is it?" I muse.

I jump from my bed and begin pacing.

"There is no way this is happening and someone is not aware," I say to know one. I stop pacing and take a deep breath. I reopen my eyes slowly and call out, "JAKE."

His form appears. "Yes, Isabella."

"Are you positive the records you transferred are not corrupted?" I ask hesitantly.

I think I can almost hear him huff before he answers. "Isabella, are you questioning my accuracy?"

I shake my head, knowing well that he did not make an error. "No, JAKE. I am … I am sorry. You may go."

"Very well." His form begins to disappear, light fading into the background as a new thought occurs to me.

"JAKE, wait!" I exclaim. He reappears immediately.

"Yes, Isabella?"

"I …" I hesitate to answer and then sigh. "I need your help."

.

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Chapter 3:

"Trust"

Treason.

My intellect automatically pulls the definition from its depths: the crime of betraying one's country, especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government.

Did I do that?

No, I decide, I did not. I was only trying to prevent them from tainting our bloodlines, not for my sake, but for everyone who exists on Tesla.

Before I can make my escape from the Commanding Pod, my eyes land on a stunning pair. They are seated on a couch near a porthole, admiring the view of the stars. My feet automatically turn in their direction, apparently unable to stop themselves.

As I approach, my eyes study them. Their posture is stiff―forced―as if they are attempting to appear to have a good time, but really are not. Their smiles are fake and their body language is tense.

Slowing my gait, I focus specifically on Edward Cullen. He is a truly stunning specimen who stands above six feet and has wild, coppery-colored hair with a set of enrapturing green eyes to match those of his father. His attitude is superior, though, as if we are all beneath him, and I suppose we are.

Tanya, although beautiful in her own right, still does not measure up to the perfection that is the Cullens. I look harder, hoping to see some trace of the same genes running through them, but am able to find none. Her flowing blonde hair and bright blue eyes are in direct contrast with the Cullen features.

Suddenly, I am standing before them, and in my typical fashion, wearing a blank expression. I waste no time immediately getting to the point. "Excuse me, Edward, Tanya," I say, gaining their attention.

Edward's eyes widen at my sudden appearance. He stands swiftly, his shoulders rigid. "Isabella, what are you doing here?"

Shocked that he even remembers my name, I stutter, "I ... uh … "

He quickly grabs my arm and begins leading me from the room. Tanya follows closely behind. When we reach a more private spot, he stops and turns to me. "I take it you have not yet spoken with my father?"

Feeling defensive, I cross my arms over my chest. "I have."

His brows arch high upon his forehead. "Oh, I see." He places his hands on his hips, taking on an authoritative air. "Then what could you possibly mean to say to Tanya and me?"

My hackles rise at his stiff tone and demeanor, so I square my shoulders. "Tanya is unimportant in what I have to say as it was you, our future Captain, with whom I wished to speak. But since she is here and it does concern her, I will converse with you both."

Tanya steps closer at the mention of her name. "Well, go on then, Isabella, is it?" Her brow lifts and her hand secures itself on Edward's elbow.

If I was not paying attention, I would not have noticed the slight tensing of his muscles at her touch, but I was, so I did. Storing that piece of information to ponder later, I make my plea.

I explain everything to them as they stand, listening with rapt attention. Not once does either interrupt my diatribe or pretend as if anything I am saying is ridiculous. When I am done, neither seem to be able to form a reply.

Finally, it is Tanya who comes out of her stupor. "I do not know you, Isabella, but I do know my father. He would never allow this union if there were any chance of tainting our bloodline. So this must be some mistake, if not an attempt to disparage the Denali name." She flings her hair behind her back and starts to turn away. "If you continue spreading these lies, you will be punished." Pulling on Edward's arms, she mutters, "Come along, Edward."

Edward stands stiff, his eyes boring into mine. I am not sure what he hopes to see, but if it is a lie, he will not find it here. "Edward," Tanya calls from a few feet away. "We must go."

He peers over his shoulder and with a tight jaw says, "One second, Tanya."

His eyes make their way back to me, but this time, they start from my feet and peruse their way up my body. My skin seems to heat under his traveling gaze. The feeling is foreign to me, mysterious, but not unwelcome.

When he meets my eyes again, his own scorch, liquid green fire leaps in their depths. He leans close enough for me to feel his breath washing over my cheeks. "I suggest you drop this, Isabella." My name rolls from his tongue, shivers race up my spine. He leans closer still, his lips almost to my ear. "We would not want you to be the first passenger aboard Tesla to need punishment would we?"

He steps back and joins Tanya, who has been patiently waiting for him a few yards away. They casually, but stiffly―if that is even possible—move down the hall and away from where I am standing. Long after they have gone, I watch the entryway where they disappeared, wondering what in the Tesla just happened.

Later that night as I lie on my bed, I allow my mind to replay that conversation. Specifically, the heat that burned through me under Edward's green gaze.

What was that?

THIS IS A COLLAB WITH FYREBIRCH. New chapters will not be posted on my account, you will have to go to her profile to find our collab. 'Like' Fyregirl Fics on Facebook for more teasers and updates from us!