AMELIANeville stares at me from across the room with a drink in his hands. He brings the shot glass to his lips as he laughs at the joke Mason passes around to his company of friends. He's standing in the middle of a pack of the people from Ella's neighbourhood, Mason's high school friends, and the people they have come to know as young parents.When I match his gaze, he nods at Mason before walking up to me. There's a slow smile playing on his lips."It's a pleasant party," he offers as an icebreaker. "I didn't think I would enjoy it this much."I return his smile."I'm happy to know you're having a good time." His eyes mirror mine as we share a silent look. "I have to apologise. I shouldn't have brought you here by lying to you."He raises a hand in my face to stop me from the word vomiting."It's completely okay, you know? I'm enjoying my time here tonight." He laughs. "Ella made some interesting points earlier in the driveway, don't you think?"My eyes widen as I slowly lick my l
AMELIA"Thank you for driving me home." I exchange a look with Neville. "It was kind of you to take time to sober up before driving us here.""That long walk was good, wasn't it?" He laughs, checking the time on his phone's screen. "Though I got swayed by the idea of crashing on Ella's and Mason's couch. It was a good decision to drive you home because I didn't drink much. Normally, I can let myself go in social situations, but since you were there, I tried my best to practise self-discipline." He eyes me. "Well, that walk was more for you than for me.""It was good." I massage my fingers against my forehead. "My head is not spinning as badly as it was before.""I'm happy to hear that." He unlocks the car door on his side before glancing at me as I shuffle my legs in my seat. His car sits on the side road in front of my home. Neville gets out of the driver's seat to move towards my side as he helps me through the door. My feet are a bit unsteady from feeling the full effects of the bi
NEVILLEThere's a loud knock on my bedroom door. I twist in bed, wondering who it is now. I fumble and shift under the duvet, bringing it closer to my chest. The repeat knocks on the door return. The person on the other side of the door wouldn't give up.What time is it?Running a hand over my face, I shift against the mattress, thinking if I had locked the front door last night behind me when I came home. Then I sit up against the headboard, adjusting pillows under my lower back, rubbing sleep from under my eyes.A crook wouldn't knock on the bedroom door. And there wasn't anyone inside the house last night when I went to bed. So who could this be?"You can come in." My voice comes out in waves as I shuffle my feet out of the duvet, sliding my body to the edge of the bed. "Who is it?"The person unlocks the front door, and Marge steps into the room."How are you feeling today, Nev?" She speaks with a comforting smile on her face. "I hope my absence didn't cause much disruption to yo
Hello there!I need your help. To reach more readers, I need your support in the form of comments, gems, and coins. If you like the book, tell your fellow readers on the app and on social media, and please leave a comment in the comment section.It really encourages me to update more!Thank you for reading this update while I work on the next chapter of this book.Please check out my other books on the platform in the meantime, which you can access by tapping on the author icon, so you have something to read between the updates of this book.Love,Anjali
AMELIAI feel lost, not knowing what's happening behind the closed doors of Neville's library. He's been in there for a while with a tall man wearing a Hawaiian shirt. The police chief came in plain clothes, which astounded me because I'm not used to seeing them walking around like that in public without uniforms or suits.Well, it's a high-profile murder case, so it makes sense that the police don't want to stand out if someone's keeping a close watch around Neville's property.Maybe I should ask Neville to dig into police-appointed security because who knows what the murderers want?Is Neville the next target?Could this be why the police are here to find that out?As I'm thinking these thoughts sitting on the couch in the living room, my phone buzzes into my pocket. I fish the phone out in my hands to unlock the screen, and the notification centre indicates three received messages.The messages are from Jeremy. He is finally getting back to me with updates.Hey, Amelia.Larry was p
AMELIA "I can't believe we are finally here. Is it a good idea to be parked so close to the meeting spot?" I glance at Neville, observing his line of vision on the road in front of us. We are sitting right outside the building where the postcard sender wants to meet Neville in a few minutes. Never in a million years have I thought I would be someone's stakeout buddy, but here I am in the car, gazing ahead me through the windshield, wondering what I'm doing here. As much as I would like to deny that I'm here for personal reasons, and even though I'm playing the role of a badass and pretending that I don't read about situations like these in books on rainy Sundays like I usually do, I wouldn't have changed a thing. "To be honest, I almost felt like you wouldn't want to have me to be here with you." "Not going to lie, the thought did cross my head. But then I decided to let you tag along, anyway." He gives me an impenetrable look. "You know my offer stands, but here's the kicker. You ha
NEVILLE"What's going on, Arnold?" I run my hands through my hair. "What's all this talk about my genes and my dad leading a pack?" My eyes land on his eyes, and I see a golden speck in his eyeball that sends a shudder down my spine. "What are you? And what am I?"Peter stands next to me after he brings forth an old armchair from the corner of the room and gestures with his eyes for me to take it. Quietly, not breaking my gaze on Arnold's eyes, I take the seat. A twinge of fear exposes itself within my skin. But it's a different kind of fear than I have seen before. I'm worried about all the lies that will shake the foundation of my trust in the people I have known since I was a kid."Do you have any answers for me, Arnold?" He shuffles on his feet as he repositions his weight with his back against the wall. "Why aren't you saying anything? What's going on?" My patience runs thin, and I find myself lashing out against everyone. I turn my head towards Peter. "What is all this talk abou
NEVILLE"What is that?" I point at the shifting colours as I gesture to my eyes. "Can you see that?"Arnold doesn't blink while Peter runs a hand over his face and stares at me for another long moment before he decides to speak."Yeah, I can see it, Neville." He clears his throat. "We can all see it. This ability means that you have the genes, and perhaps you are a part of us."Arnold shakes his head."This small thing means nothing. It doesn't clearly mean he carries the shifter's genes because we haven't seen him turn yet. Unless he does that, I don't think I can put the annoying suspicion I have about his capabilities to rest." Arnold exhales a breath. "You, me or Rick, none of us can be so sure of the extent of his capabilities just because his eyes have the same eye colour manipulation powers that we have. We use opti-chromakinesis to see our kind out in the wild.""What are you even talking about?" As I say the phrase, a shrill noise buzzes in my head. Sweat beads line my forehe
NEVILLE"What is that?" I point at the shifting colours as I gesture to my eyes. "Can you see that?"Arnold doesn't blink while Peter runs a hand over his face and stares at me for another long moment before he decides to speak."Yeah, I can see it, Neville." He clears his throat. "We can all see it. This ability means that you have the genes, and perhaps you are a part of us."Arnold shakes his head."This small thing means nothing. It doesn't clearly mean he carries the shifter's genes because we haven't seen him turn yet. Unless he does that, I don't think I can put the annoying suspicion I have about his capabilities to rest." Arnold exhales a breath. "You, me or Rick, none of us can be so sure of the extent of his capabilities just because his eyes have the same eye colour manipulation powers that we have. We use opti-chromakinesis to see our kind out in the wild.""What are you even talking about?" As I say the phrase, a shrill noise buzzes in my head. Sweat beads line my forehe
NEVILLE"What's going on, Arnold?" I run my hands through my hair. "What's all this talk about my genes and my dad leading a pack?" My eyes land on his eyes, and I see a golden speck in his eyeball that sends a shudder down my spine. "What are you? And what am I?"Peter stands next to me after he brings forth an old armchair from the corner of the room and gestures with his eyes for me to take it. Quietly, not breaking my gaze on Arnold's eyes, I take the seat. A twinge of fear exposes itself within my skin. But it's a different kind of fear than I have seen before. I'm worried about all the lies that will shake the foundation of my trust in the people I have known since I was a kid."Do you have any answers for me, Arnold?" He shuffles on his feet as he repositions his weight with his back against the wall. "Why aren't you saying anything? What's going on?" My patience runs thin, and I find myself lashing out against everyone. I turn my head towards Peter. "What is all this talk abou
AMELIA "I can't believe we are finally here. Is it a good idea to be parked so close to the meeting spot?" I glance at Neville, observing his line of vision on the road in front of us. We are sitting right outside the building where the postcard sender wants to meet Neville in a few minutes. Never in a million years have I thought I would be someone's stakeout buddy, but here I am in the car, gazing ahead me through the windshield, wondering what I'm doing here. As much as I would like to deny that I'm here for personal reasons, and even though I'm playing the role of a badass and pretending that I don't read about situations like these in books on rainy Sundays like I usually do, I wouldn't have changed a thing. "To be honest, I almost felt like you wouldn't want to have me to be here with you." "Not going to lie, the thought did cross my head. But then I decided to let you tag along, anyway." He gives me an impenetrable look. "You know my offer stands, but here's the kicker. You ha
AMELIAI feel lost, not knowing what's happening behind the closed doors of Neville's library. He's been in there for a while with a tall man wearing a Hawaiian shirt. The police chief came in plain clothes, which astounded me because I'm not used to seeing them walking around like that in public without uniforms or suits.Well, it's a high-profile murder case, so it makes sense that the police don't want to stand out if someone's keeping a close watch around Neville's property.Maybe I should ask Neville to dig into police-appointed security because who knows what the murderers want?Is Neville the next target?Could this be why the police are here to find that out?As I'm thinking these thoughts sitting on the couch in the living room, my phone buzzes into my pocket. I fish the phone out in my hands to unlock the screen, and the notification centre indicates three received messages.The messages are from Jeremy. He is finally getting back to me with updates.Hey, Amelia.Larry was p
Hello there!I need your help. To reach more readers, I need your support in the form of comments, gems, and coins. If you like the book, tell your fellow readers on the app and on social media, and please leave a comment in the comment section.It really encourages me to update more!Thank you for reading this update while I work on the next chapter of this book.Please check out my other books on the platform in the meantime, which you can access by tapping on the author icon, so you have something to read between the updates of this book.Love,Anjali
NEVILLEThere's a loud knock on my bedroom door. I twist in bed, wondering who it is now. I fumble and shift under the duvet, bringing it closer to my chest. The repeat knocks on the door return. The person on the other side of the door wouldn't give up.What time is it?Running a hand over my face, I shift against the mattress, thinking if I had locked the front door last night behind me when I came home. Then I sit up against the headboard, adjusting pillows under my lower back, rubbing sleep from under my eyes.A crook wouldn't knock on the bedroom door. And there wasn't anyone inside the house last night when I went to bed. So who could this be?"You can come in." My voice comes out in waves as I shuffle my feet out of the duvet, sliding my body to the edge of the bed. "Who is it?"The person unlocks the front door, and Marge steps into the room."How are you feeling today, Nev?" She speaks with a comforting smile on her face. "I hope my absence didn't cause much disruption to yo
AMELIA"Thank you for driving me home." I exchange a look with Neville. "It was kind of you to take time to sober up before driving us here.""That long walk was good, wasn't it?" He laughs, checking the time on his phone's screen. "Though I got swayed by the idea of crashing on Ella's and Mason's couch. It was a good decision to drive you home because I didn't drink much. Normally, I can let myself go in social situations, but since you were there, I tried my best to practise self-discipline." He eyes me. "Well, that walk was more for you than for me.""It was good." I massage my fingers against my forehead. "My head is not spinning as badly as it was before.""I'm happy to hear that." He unlocks the car door on his side before glancing at me as I shuffle my legs in my seat. His car sits on the side road in front of my home. Neville gets out of the driver's seat to move towards my side as he helps me through the door. My feet are a bit unsteady from feeling the full effects of the bi
AMELIANeville stares at me from across the room with a drink in his hands. He brings the shot glass to his lips as he laughs at the joke Mason passes around to his company of friends. He's standing in the middle of a pack of the people from Ella's neighbourhood, Mason's high school friends, and the people they have come to know as young parents.When I match his gaze, he nods at Mason before walking up to me. There's a slow smile playing on his lips."It's a pleasant party," he offers as an icebreaker. "I didn't think I would enjoy it this much."I return his smile."I'm happy to know you're having a good time." His eyes mirror mine as we share a silent look. "I have to apologise. I shouldn't have brought you here by lying to you."He raises a hand in my face to stop me from the word vomiting."It's completely okay, you know? I'm enjoying my time here tonight." He laughs. "Ella made some interesting points earlier in the driveway, don't you think?"My eyes widen as I slowly lick my l
NEVILLE"We should first finish our food." Her lips curve into a fantastic smile. "Then we can go somewhere."I nod my head."We can go wherever you want to go." "And you won't ask me another question about where we are going?" Her eyes hold me with a steady gaze, weighing her words before she opens her mouth. "Do you trust me that much?""Yeah." I bring the spoon with the soup next to my lips. "I said I trusted you, so that's what it means when I say 'we can go wherever you want to go.'"She chows down her noodles quickly over the next several minutes. Her eyes challenge me to finish mine as soon as I can too. So, I follow suit to her fancy, completing my food not long after she does. Then she wipes her fingers against her jeans, offering me her hand."This is your last chance. You can back out if you want to." Her eyes glimmer under the light from the chandeliers in the kitchen. "Let me make this extremely clear. Here, I offer you this brilliant opportunity to cop out so that I don