The Genesis Project Read Online Free PDF Page B

to your presence.”
    â€œAah, but my version is so much better than your highly doubtful,” he turned in Gen’s direction and asked her directly. “Don’t you agree love?”
    There was laughter throughout the assembly room, but the orator ignored it and continued speaking. Genesis inhaled deeply as the man next to her seemed fully engrossed in the lecture. Gen felt like there were hundreds of eyes on her, which there were. Every time she looked up there was someone staring at her, including Adam and his friends. Everyone that is, except for Bianca Treegold’s brother. Genesis had only seen vid feeds of Xander and it had been a few rotations back. He had been much younger then. Now he looked darker, hard-edged. Something he’d seen or witnessed out in the field perhaps changed his point of view. Gen let the thought drift away and quickly focused on the orator.
    â€œRight now, you’re the new shiny credit.”
    Genesis turned harsh eyes on Xander and glared.
    â€œWould you kindly not speak to me? I’m trying to listen to the speech.”
    Xander held both hands up in a supplicating gesture and shrugged.
    â€œApologies.”
    Genesis remained painfully aware of Xander the remainder of the presentation. When the assembly room was dismissed she quietly waited for everyone to leave. She didn’t like crowds. Quickly she stood and sought out Douglas. When her eyes finally landed on him, he was talking to Adam who looked very unhappy. Gen could hear the discussion and his anger over the news that his room would be directly across from hers. Sometimes she hated her enhanced hearing.
    â€œI see you’ve managed to upset the Chancellor’s son.” Xander said over her shoulder. Where the hell did he come from and why wouldn’t he leave her alone? Genesis looked back over shoulder and tried not to be annoyed. It was not her fault that Adam was asked to escort her. Nor, was it her fault they had the same personal assistant.
    â€œI don’t know what you mean,” Genesis replied. She may not know how to act in most social situations, but she definitely knew how to evade questions.
    â€œYou’re a terrible liar.” Xander replied showing a perfect row of white teeth and even sharper fangs. “I’ve never seen a Southerner up close. Did you know that Southerners are known for their strong sexual appetites? That us Strigoi Thracian’s are timid in bed compared to a Vyrkolakas? If memory serves correctly their sexual practices are loosely based on the Illyrian ritualistic beliefs.”
    Xander’s voice dropped to barely a whisper as his cheek rubbed against the side of her face. Gen drew in a shaky breath and tried to relax. He was just trying to get a rise out of her. Skin on skin contact for her was strongly felt by even the smallest of her nerve endings. Vaggo had seen to her sensitivity. At times she was too hyper-aware, like now with Xander so close to her. Her reaction to him was stronger than Adam’s had been. His touch sizzled her blood, which caused for a powerful hot-cold rush to her nerve endings. An uncontrolled shudder raced down her spine. With her previous promise she’d made to herself firm in her head, she took a step back. Touching others was definitely out of the question.
    # # #
    â€œI wouldn’t know anything about that,” Gen said slowly. “My father is a Northerner and is a descendent of Strigoi Thracian’s as well. Just like everyone else here, myself included. My mother was a southerner, but she died during my birth.” Lies came second nature to her. It was true her cell donor had been born with a Southerner’s lineage, but Vaggo wasn’t her birth father.
    There was a huge difference between the Strigoi and Vyrkolakas. Vyrkolakas, practiced the Illyrian beliefs, in that they could seek out multiple partners and believed they could
not
co-exist with humans. Their thirst was a huge part