CHAPTEREIGHT_THE MARK
September 18, 2032

 It’s now Saturday. Rachel was getting ready in her room for her date with Nathan. Well, it’s actually a double date with Declan and Ellie. She told her parents that she was just going to hang out with her friends from her cheer squad. 

 As Rachel went downstairs, she walked up to her parents, who were eating dinner. She asked them sweetly, “Mummy, daddy, can I borrow the car? Please?”

 Her parents sighed. Her mom, Marissa, told her, “Fine, but remember your curfew. You have to be back be ten.”

 Rachel groaned, and asked, “Can’t you push it to, like, midnight?”

 “No Rachel.”

 “11:30?”

 “11, and that’s it.”

 Rachel grinned, and hugged Marissa. Then she hugged Tristan, and grabbed the keys. She was soon out of the house. She drove up to Nathan’s house. She grinned when she saw him in his fitted shirt, leather, spiked-shoulder jacket, and fitted jeans.

 Nathan grinned at her back as he got in the car. He asked her, “Ready for our first date?”

 “Of course!”

 At the same time, Ellie walked into Aaron’s room. She flopped onto his bed. He saw her, and asked, “What’s wrong, Elle?”

 Ellie said, “I’m going on a date. With a mutant. A really hot one. And I’m his mate. I feel like I’m dating a werewolf, but he’s a human. A super human.”

 Aaron sighed, and said, “Ellie, they’re not bad people. They’re really cool. Besides, I can see you like him.”

 “No, more like I pity him. See, he needs me, or else he’ll die. His life is in my hands, so it’s now my job to keep him alive. Why couldn’t have been a normal human? Why does he have to be this…thing who looks human?”

 Aaron bit his lip, and said, “I know about the mating thing. Aria told me. I do pity her, too, but I found myself falling for her. She’s a badass, but she’s sweet at the same time.”

 Ellie sighed as she said, “Declan is a nice guy, but I’m not ready for a serious relationship. I don’t want to have the responsibility of keeping him alive. I just want him to be normal where we’re responsible for our own lives.”

 Aaron thought for a moment, and asked, “Do you actually like this dude?”

 She replied, “I do, actually. He’s sweet and sensitive, but his eyes scare me. This whole mating thing scares me. I’m scared of what he might be capable of. So…I’m trying to keep some distance, but not too much.”

 Aaron sat next to her, and told her, “I understand this is scary. Hell, this is scaring me, too. But maybe it’ll be worth it. We won’t have to go dating around a lot. We get be someone for the rest of our lives…okay, I get what you’re saying, but yeah.”

 Ellie sighed. Then she heard the car honk. She reluctantly got up, and told Aaron, “Gotta go date my ‘mate’. I’m serious, this is not human.”

 Aaron said, “Yeah, but he is human. Go have fun.”

 Ellie rolled her eyes, and walked out of the room. She went downstairs, and saw Declan standing at the front door. He grinned at her as he gave her flowers.

 She smiled, “Thanks Declan. They’re very pretty.”

 He asked, “Ready for our date?”

 “Yeah, of course.”

 So the two got into Rachel’s car. Ellie asked, “So where are we going?”

 Rachel replied, “We are going to this really beautiful garden. It opened in 2025, and I fell in love with it during a school trip.”

 “Sounds romantic.”

 Declan smiled as he put his arm her shoulder, and told her, “It is. Trust me, you’ll love it.”

 Then he gave her soft kiss on her head. She smiled back, but couldn’t help but have a bad feeling in her stomach. 

 During the date, the two couples picked up sandwiches from a nearby Panera Bread. They all had a picnic in the Garden Arch, a new garden in the Ealing Borough. They all got to know each other more.

 Afterwards, they all got into Rachel’s car. She asked them, “You know, it’s only 9. My curfew isn’t until 11. What do you lot want to do?”

 Declan replied, “Well, I would like to spend more time with my beautiful Elle.”

 Ellie smiled nervously as she said, “Yeah, we can hang at my house. Pretty sure my parents are another meeting.”

 Nathan said, “Rachel, you could meet my parents. I know they adopted me, but why not?”

 Rachel smiled, and said, “That would be great.”

 So with that, she dropped Declan and Ellie off at her house. Then she drove away. As the two walked in, they saw Aria cuddling into Aaron’s arms. They were asleep in front of the TV screen. 

 Ellie smiled at the sight. Then she walked up to her room, with Declan following her. She saw him, and asked, “You want to see my room, don’t you?”

 Declan shrugged as he smiled, “Why not? I’d like to get to know more about you.”

 “You sure seem to be smiling a lot lately.”

 “I’m just happy to be with you. You’ve been somewhat distance lately. I get this whole mate thing is weird, but it’ll be okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”

 Ellie nodded her as she walked into her room. She yawned, and asked, “Want to join me? Seeing Aria cuddling with Aaron kind of inspired me.”

 Declan grinned as he replied, “I would love to, my love.”

 Ellie smiled. She saw him get on her bed. She cuddled into his arms. She soon started to fall asleep. As she struggled to keep her eyes opened, she felt Declan kissing her neck gently. 

 Then something happened. She felt him biting her neck. Hard! She shot her eyes open. As she was about to scream, her mouth was covered by his mouth. Then she felt him lick her neck, and he pulled his hand away from her mouth.

 Ellie turned to face Declan, and saw him giving a shy smile. She demanded, “What the fuck did you do to me?!”

 With that, Declan looked away. He bit his lip, and muttered, “I marked you.”

 “You what?!”

 She jumped out of her bed, and walked up to a mirror. She looked at what looked like a tattoo. It had a seal of the Genetic Birth and Adoption Agency, and his name, Declan A. Emerson, underneath it. 

 She turned to face him, and asked, “I’ve heard of the Genetic Birth and Adoption Agency. What is that place, exactly?”

 He explained, “That’s a science lab that created babies. The parents who can’t reproduce go there, ask what appearance they want in their child, and the scientists, known as Specialists, create the baby for six months. They basically create the poor man’s version of designer babies. The Agency is all over the world, which is probably why you’ve heard of it before. It’s in New York.”

 “There’s three of them in Manhattan. Anyway, why and how did you mark me? Are you sure you’re not a werewolf?”

 Declan said, “Look, I’m not a werewolf. I am very much a human.”

 “Well, what you did was not human!” she exclaimed.

 “I told you that I have hints of dog and cat DNA. So some parts of my behavior is animalistic. Marking my mate is animalist thing, so it’s natural for me to do this. It feels natural. As for why, you know why. You’re my mate.”

 Ellie shook her head, and said, “Well, we human humans don’t ‘mark’ our partners unless it’s a wedding band. As for the mating thing, this whole thing scares me. Am I going to experience any changes from this mark? How am I going to explain to my family this thing?”

 Declan looked down, as he was hurt by what she said. He told her, “I’m sorry, Eliza. You’re not going to experience any changes. It’s just there. As for the whole world, you can hide it with makeup. I’m sorry.”

 Ellie noticed he looked very sad. She sighed. She sat next to him, and said, “Declan, I’m trying here. I’m just getting to know you, and already I know a lot more than I probably should. Look, you really are a nice guy, and I do like you…”

 He whispered, “You’re breaking up with me, aren’t you?”

 She shook her head, and held his hands, “No, I’m not. It’s just…we Normals don’t typically fall in love that quickly. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t. But I am trying, okay? I’m not going to let you go. I’m going to keep you.”

 Then she took a deep breath, and said stuttered, “I…I…love…you.”

 With that, he looked up at her. She saw tears in his eyes, so she wiped them. He gave a small smile. He said to her, “I love you, too.”

 “Would it make you feel better if I cuddle you?”

 Declan nodded his head. They laid down on her bed. She held him, stroked his hair, and kisses his head. Soon they both fell asleep.

 At the same time, Rachel and Nathan arrived at his house. His mom saw Rachel, so she gave him a hug. Rachel greeted, “Hi, Mrs. Williams.”

 “Oh, call me Ashley. This hubby here is Ryan. That girl over there is our oldest daughter, Bethany. She’s playing with our youngest child, Harry,” Ashley explained.

 Ryan said to Rachel, “So, how’s our son so far?”

 Rachel smiled, “He’s great, Ryan. He’s so sweet, and nice, and yeah.”

 Nathan asked, “Can I show her my room?”

 Ashley told him, “You can, but don’t close the door all the way. And use protection.”

 “Of course.”

 So Nathan walked her to his room, which looked like any other teenage guy’s room. She told him, “Your room looks normal.”

 He said, “Well, I grew up thinking I was normal. I even dated other girls, but for some reason, I felt nothing for them. I even thought that I might be gay. But then I met you, and for once, I actually felt something. I guess I’m far from normal.”

 Rachel sighed as she held his hands, “Well, to me, you are normal.”

 With that, she began to make out with him. He was reluctant at first, but he allowed himself to kiss her back. He soon felt his instincts taking over as he carried her to his bed. He got deeper into the make-out session. 

 Then he started kissing her neck roughly. He heard her moan in pleasure. He smirked against her neck. He then sank his teeth into her neck! Hard! He tore into her skin, and then he licked the bite. 

 He soon pulled away, and saw what he did. At first, he felt satisfied, but soon the realization hit him in his head like a brick. He began panicking. 

 She looked up at him in shock. She asked him, “Nathan, what did you to my neck?!”

 Nathan stammered, “I…I don’t know! I don’t know what I just did! Are you hurting? Oh god, I’m so sorry! I honestly don’t know what I was thinking!”

 Rachel placed her hand on her neck. She felt the tattoo-like mark on her neck. She got up, and walked up to a mirror. She saw the mark. She turned to face him. 

 She asked, “You…you did this?”

 Nathan said hastily, “Rachel, I’ll figure something out. Uh, maybe go to some tattoo parlor to remove it? I don’t know!”

 Rachel held her hands up, and said, “Nathan, I’ll cover it with makeup, okay? No problem.”

 She opened her clutch bag, and took out her powdered foundation. She covered the mark successfully. She then saw Nathan sitting on his bed, watching with confusion on his face.

 He asked her, “You’re not freaking out about this? I mean, I marked you! I didn’t even know I can do that, and I did!”

 She told him calmly, “Nathan…it’s okay. I mean, I’m your mate, yeah? I’m guessing this was a natural thing for you. Look, I should get home. I’ll try to remember covering up this mark.”

 She then kisses his lips lightly, and left his room. As soon as she got into her car. She felt like crying, but held back her tears. She didn’t want her parents questioning her. The whole mating thing still scared the shit out of her, but she did her best to remain calm. Then she drove away.