Chapter 1

Sophie

"Hey there, sweeties, it's me! Sophie! Coming to you with another episode of SophServe. Today, we have a very special episode. Like, I'm talking, super exclusive. But you already saw it on the thumbnail, so I'm not going to tease like you don't know. I would like to welcome everyone to the very first Earthly location of the universe's one, and only, matchmating service – True Match!"

Sophie stepped out of frame, tilting her camera up until it was facing the sign on the square, modern style building before her. True was written in solid, simple white font, while Match was in purple cursive, the ‘M' invoking the shape of a heart without actually being one.

Sophie brought the camera back down, stepping into frame, and gestured to the wide, tinted glass doors with an excited smile. "Let's go inside!"

In her head, Sophie was already laying out her editing plans. Here's where she'd triple speed the footage of her coming into the brightly lit lobby – more comfortable, modern designs all done up in white and silver with just a pop of pale, regal purple. She walked her camera to the front desk where her friend, Jeanie, was already sitting at the computer, waiting and smiling. Right where Sophie had instructed.

"And cut," Sophie beamed, pausing the recording. She smiled at her redheaded friend. "You did great. That's exactly what I wanted. So, right after that, I'm going to put in some B-roll of the lobby, the desk, the welcome sign. Just to set the vibe, you know? And then, after that, it's going to cut to us for our first interview where you get to explain what's up, and then we'll move onto the scanning process. Cool?"

Jeanie nodded. "I'm so nervous."

"What? Why? It's basically just a big ad. Those are, like, your specialty."

"There's a difference between planning an ad campaign and actually doing the advertising. I don't really know how to act."

"That's fine," Sophie shrugged. She held up her camera, which was attached to a stick that she could hold out, giving the production a very casual, handheld vibe. "In fact, it's better. No matter how polished or professional influencers become, we always act like its super casual. It's part of the aesthetic. So, just act natural, be calm, and if you feel awkward, be awkward. Trust me, people love watching that. It's real, and that's what's important. Influencers are supposed to feel like friends, and friends act casual around each other. Don't worry about it."

"Right." Jeanie nodded, getting to her feet. "I'm ready. I think it would be best if we did the interview there, in front of the logo, to make it our backdrop."

"Love that idea. Let me get the tripod set up so I can stand beside you. I'll do all the B-roll before I leave, so we can just get to the good stuff for now."

"Okay." Jeanie came around, straightening her simple, velvet, blue dress. It looked fantastic with her red hair and would really pop on camera.

Sophie nodded in approval as she went to set up the tripod.

At this point in her career, she had a lot of subscribers, but she wouldn't call herself one of the top influencers. In fact, she was pretty mid. She made enough to devote herself completely to the job, but not enough to, say, buy an expensive car on a whim. She was really hoping that this exclusive interview and walk through of True Match was going to change that.

True Match was a matchmaking service, but not in the traditional sense – hence why they called themselves a matchmating service. There were no forms, no swiping, nothing like that. However, using their proprietary methods, True Match promised to deliver you a single, perfect match. Your soulmate. It was the kind of thing people would dream about.

Even though there was a chance your soulmate wasn't even human.

True Match was conceived by an alien. Jeanie was mated to that alien. The business was a way to get humans matched to aliens – if an alien was their soulmate. But matchmating was different to what everyone would expect from a dating service, hence why Sophie had been asked to do a whole episode on her channel about it. She would even be getting scanned herself today – for free.

Sophie wasn't sure how much she believed in this thing. It sounded like woo-woo nonsense, but the pay was good, and Jeanie was an old friend from undergrad. Sophie was willing to do her buddy a favor, and being the only person in the media allowed to get an interior tour like this meant her views were going to skyrocket when this video posted.

She was never going to say a bad thing about nepotism again.

"Alright." Sophie stepped back from the recording camera and moved to Jeanie's side. The two of them took their places right in front of the True Match logo on the wall of the waiting room. "So, remember: be natural. I'm going to ask questions, you answer them. Don't overthink it. If you need to start over, that's fine. Anything weird, don't worry about it, I can fix it in post."

"Got it." Jeanie nodded firmly, twisting her hands nervously behind her back.

Sophie smiled facing the camera. "Alright, here we go. Three, two, one… Hey, sweeties! I'm here today with Jeanie. She's an old friend of mine from school, and she's one of the owners and cofounders of True Match. Hey, Jeanie. Great to see you again. Thanks for inviting me!"

"Thanks for coming," Jeanie smiled, slightly stiff.

Sophie pressed on, used to interviewing people who weren't as comfortable on camera as her. "So, tell me about True Match."

"Well," Jeanie's eyes flicked to the camera before turning back to Sophie. No doubt, she was more comfortable speaking to her instead of the lens. "True Match is a matching service unlike anything you'll be familiar with. We're not a dating service. We're not a matchmaking service. We're a matchmating service. We promise that, if you match with us, the person you're matched with is guaranteed to be your soulmate."

"Wow. So, like, no awkward first dates. No, ‘let's see where this goes' nonsense. Just straight to happily ever after."

"Exactly. Matchmating isn't about hook-ups, it's not about trying things out. We're here to get you to your mate. No bull. No time wasted."

"That sounds amazing, I can't lie. And this really works?"

"Absolutely. Our proprietary technology and unique program matches you based on you. Not some form you fill out, not a dating profile. What we're scanning is just you. We already have successful businesses across five different planets in the Coalition, including the Coalition homeworld. Our success between matches is at 100%."

"No way," Sophie gasped, like she hadn't already been told this information when Jeanie initially contacted her to do this. "There's no way it's 100%. What's the catch?"

"Well, there is one," Jeanie grimaced. "If your mate hasn't been scanned, we can't match you to them. Both, or all, members of the relationship have to be scanned in order for a match to be made. Which means that, if your mate never scans themselves, you might never find them. But that's all the more reason to convince everyone you know to get scanned. You might not know where your soulmate is hiding, but we do. If we scan you both, we can bring you together."

"You said ‘all' members of a relationship. You mean, this can match more than just a couple?"

"Absolutely! Some relationships are based on three, four, maybe even more people. Our process of matching will give us a hit regardless of your orientation or preference. Straight, gay, monogamous, polygamous, whatever. We're for everyone."

"Including, I hear, aliens." Sophie's brows cocked.

"Our database includes everyone." Jeanie repeated seriously. "Now, I don't want to give anyone a false sense of what we're doing. You can't come here and request an alien mate. That's not how it works. The majority of people who get scanned will match in their own species – human to human. But, yes, there are some who will match with an alien. Either way, regardless of where your match is, on planet or off, True Match also offers travel help to get you to them. We've got contacts with multiple government entities across the universe and on Earth to help get you where you need to go."

"We'll, that's one worry off my mind. Kind of hard to get transportation off Earth." Sophie chuckled, twisting her body so her skirt flared just a bit. Keeping herself moving but being mindful of her fidgeting. Static images were harder for people to focus on, but too much movement was distracting. "So, I'm going to be scanned today, right? Take me through the process. If I was coming in to get scanned as a regular person off the street, what would I need to do?"

"Well, first, you'd make an appointment online. True Match is live now, and by the time this video posts, our scheduling system will be available for you. We're not sure yet how popular this will be, but, at least for now, we can't take walk-ins. If this opening is anything like our others, there will be a line if we don't try to keep order."

"Appointment only, got it."

"Right. You fill out all your information online including name, email, phone number, address. Basically, we need to be able to reach you. If your match waits three years to get scanned, we need to be able to find you in three years, so make sure your contact information is good. Once you have all that filled out and you pick a time, you're done. Just come in on your scheduled day and check in at the front desk. We do require a one-time fee for our services, but it really is one-time. There's no hidden fees or monthly subscriptions, or anything. One payment, one scan, one match. When we're ready, we'll call you back. You get scanned. And then you go home and wait for us to contact you. It's really that easy."

"Nice. Do we need to wear anything special? Is there something we can't wear, like jewelry or something?"

"Nope. Come as you are. Come on your lunch break. The scan is very quick, it's noninvasive, and not radioactive."

"Any side effects?"

"There's some discomfort during the scanning process, but it's over quickly and there's no lingering effects. You'll walk out of here feeling as good as when you came in."

"Great! So, let's get on over to the scanning room and check it out."

"Let's," Jeanie said, gesturing for her to go.

Sophie led the way off camera, turning when Jeanie followed her. "Perfect. You didn't trip even once."

"I think I'm going to puke," she moaned, putting a hand to her belly.

Sophie laughed. "You're doing fine. So, I'm going to take the camera, and I'm going to record walking down there. And then we'll do a second interview in the scan room. And then I'll get scanned."

"You really have this down to a science, huh?" Jeanie chuckled, looking back at her. "I guess that media communications degree really came in handy."

"Not as handy as yours, clearly," Sophie snickered, picking up her camera and tripod. "You're out there, living the sweet life in space with a sexy alien hottie."

"Hey, you never know, you might get an alien hottie too." Jeanie smiled.

"Okay, you joke, but I would love that. Can you imagine how my channel would take off if I got to do all this in space? I'd be the number one subscribed to influencer on everything." Sophie couldn't help but grin as she led the way down the hall, recording as she went. "And I'd get an alien hottie out of it. Win-win."

"Hey, so, hypothetically, if that happened, would you be willing to do some ad stuff for us? Like, with him? We'd love to have an interspecies match as one of our brand couples, and we don't have one yet. We'd pay you, of course."

"Uh, shut up! Hell yes!" Sophie laughed, turning into the scanning room. "I'd die for that! You so have a deal, Jeanie."

"Well, I mean, he'd have to agree too."

"If he's my soulmate, he'd understand and do it with me. Although, now that I'm thinking about it," she lowered the camera, pausing the recording, "I wonder what my soulmate would be like. I always imagined if I dated someone, he'd end up as my camera man. That's pretty much what happens to every influencer couple. The star and the camera man. It's as classic as beauty and the beast. Or the hero and the princess. Some things just go together."

"You never know," Jeanie shrugged. "I wouldn't have chosen the stuffy scientist as my mate, yet that's who I ended up with."

"True. Well, whatever. It will probably be years until I have to worry about it anyway. Is it okay to set up my camera here?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

Sophie set the tripod on the ground again before joining Jeanie near the silver sarcophagus that took up the majority of the space in the room. Beside the pod, there was a counter along one wall for people to set bags or the like, and a computer built into the other wall that currently only displayed the True Match logo.

The sight of the pod made Sophie hesitate. She wasn't sure how much ‘discomfort' the scanner would cause, but she knew she had to act like it wasn't bad no matter what. People got tattoos all the time, and those were uncomfortable too, but people loved them. She had to think of it that way.

Blowing out a breath, she stood with a smile and went back to Jeanie's side. "Ready?"

Jeanie nodded, smoothing her dress again.

"Okay. Here we go in three, two, one… So, we're here in the scanner room. And this is where the magic happens, right? Tell me what to expect when we're brought back here."

"Well, our technician will be here with you the entire time. They'll direct you on what to do. Our scanners are wiped down after every visitor, so you don't have to worry about cleanliness. You lay down. The scanner closes around you, then you're scanned. Once the scan is complete, the data is automatically uploaded onto our database and is immediately entered into rotation for scanning. If your mate is already in our system, it will take between five minutes to five days to finish matching. But, again, if your mate hasn't been scanned, you have to wait until they do."

"And how long does the scan take?"

"Between one and three minutes. Shouldn't be any longer than that. Honestly, getting you checked in and back here will take longer."

"Great! Shall we do this then? I'm excited. I can't wait to meet my soulmate. I'm hoping he's got a sweet tooth, or this is going to be a very awkward relationship."

Jeanie chuckled. "Okay. I'm going to get the system ready. You can set everything you don't need on the counter."

Sophie walked to her camera that was already on the counter and leaned down over it. She whispered into the microphone like Jeanie couldn't hear-

"I'm kind of nervous, but, like, also excited, but also scared. It's like a 30-30-30 split. Wait, that's only ninety… Ten percent is a craving for something sweet… Hm, yeah. Sweet. I think I'll get cupcakes on the way home. Chocolate. And red velvet. Yeah. Definitely."

"Ready over here, Sophie," Jeanie called out, a grin in her voice.

Sophie winked at her camera before turning back to the pod. She found that, since she turned around, the lid had opened. It split down the middle, the two halves pulling back and down, under the bed, leaving a white, rolling surface for her to lay on, with a simple pillow at the head.

"I just get in?" She asked, hands hovering over the bed.

"That's it," Jeanie smiled, pressing some other buttons on the touchscreen. "The bed is eight and a half feet long and has a maximum weight capacity of a thousand pounds. So, theoretically, any human of any size should be able to fit inside. Eighteen and up only, of course."

"Naturally." Sophie smiled as she turned, sitting down on the bed. It was at just the right height that she could do so without jumping. She waved at her camera before laying back, resting her head on the pillow, her feet bouncing eagerly. "Let's do this!"

"It will only take a couple minutes," Jeanie promised, the lids coming up over her.

"Definitely not claustrophobia friendly," Sophie mumbled as they sealed over her. Twin lines of light, one on each lid, ran down the body of the pod, so she wasn't encased in darkness, but she was definitely encased. Sophie made a mental note to mention to her viewers that if they had a fear of enclosed spaces, they should take something for that before coming.

"You okay in there?" Jeanie's voice echoed through a speaker.

"This bed is way comfier than I expected. I might take a nap," Sophie joked, knowing her camera would be able to hear her in the room.

"I'm glad. Here comes the not so fun part. I have to sterilize the scanning field. Once it's sterile, I can scan you. It's going to feel weird, but it will be over quick. Here we go in three… two… one."

Sophie tensed. She wasn't sure what would happen, but she was ready for anything. From electric shocks to chest pressure to having her breath stolen.

A sudden rush of cold, like she had plunged into icy water, rushed over her. It did steal her breath, and weighed on her chest, and shocked her nerves all at once. She wouldn't call it painful, exactly, but it was terribly uncomfortable and turned into a stinging tingle all over her body.

The lights over her turned from yellow to purple, then the pod hissed as the lids broke apart. Air rushed in that wasn't any colder or warmer than that already inside. Which was weird considering how cold she still felt. Like the air wasn't the thing that was cold, just her own body.

"Er, I give the bed a nine of ten for comfort. I give the scan a two," she announced, doing a full body tense and wiggle to try to banish the lingering feeling.

"That's fair," Jeanie laughed. "But it's over quick, right?"

"Yeah. And it doesn't really hurt. It's just not pleasant."

"Sorry about that. Unavoidable part of the process, I'm afraid."

"Oh, it's no problem. In fact, it's even better! Our motto on this channel is, ‘treat yourself'! And we mean it literally. If something is unpleasant, but we stay strong through it, we treat ourselves to something tasty. I'm thinking ice cream with gummy worms today – definitely need more than a cupcake."

Jeanie snickered. "Really?"

"Hey, don't mock me. I've built a whole brand on sweets." Sophie laughed, unconcerned, as she tossed her hair with a sassy bit of flair. "Trick or Treat is my longest running series, and I get tons of views on each video."

"Oh, I'm not hating. I'm jealous," she laughed, as Sophie stood. "If I could get paid to eat sweets online, I'd be there."

Sophie smiled, knowing that Jeanie didn't mean anything bad by the comment. It was something a lot of people said, and she could understand, from the outside looking in, that it looked that way. But there was a lot of work that went into her videos. Even the ones where, yes, she was ‘just' eating a different dessert on camera.

Having people be so flippant and dismissive about her job stung, even when she knew that they didn't mean it that way. Sophie would never say that filming herself eating tasty things, or doing silly things, or cooking something was as important as, say, a surgeon or a police officer. She knew that, on the list of vital things, her job was far down the list.

But that didn't mean it wasn't work. That didn't mean she didn't put her heart and soul into every video. To have that effort dismissed as her just eating on camera was frustrating. Even more so since she couldn't exactly argue without sounding petty and offended.

"Let me get a shot of the uploading process," she said instead, walking to her camera.

She came back around, behind it this time, focusing on Jeanie as she pressed buttons on the screen built into the wall.

"Alright. Scan is done," she said, back in her camera voice. "Is that my info there?"

"This is your datafile, yes." Jeanie gave the camera a quick smile. "So, after your scan, we package all your data into this file. It includes your personal data and your scan data. This is then uploaded to our database back on Kree, routed through the border ships that protect Earth. Just… like… this."

She hit the last button with a flourish. Sophie got a close up of the spinning heart as it uploaded. The data transfer was fast, only a few seconds, then it flashed the confirmation notification.

"Done!" Jeanie put up her hands as if in demonstration. "Now, if you follow me. I'm logged into the computer in the office. I can show you a look at the scanning process in progress."

"O-o-h, behind the scenes. I love it. Lead the way!" Sophie smiled from behind the camera. She kept it on Jeanie as, this time, Jeanie led the way down the hall.

They walked further into the building. The office in the back, where the workers would do their paperwork, was comfortable and bright. Three computers on a long bench took up one wall, but there was also a little kitchen nook and comfortable seating for lunch. A little radio in the corner was off but ready for duty. Only one of the computers was on, the logo screen saver twirling in place.

Sophie kept Jeanie in frame as she sat down and moved the mouse, bringing it back to life. She moved the camera in past her as the computer lit up, focusing on that instead.

"This is our tracking board," Jeanie explained, twisting her mouse on the screen. "You see your name here? You're the only appointment today. But this will have everyone's information when we're properly open. At any time, if the worker here has clearance, we can open your file by clicking here, like this, and bring it up. And see this status here? Matching. That means that your scan has been uploaded and is currently running through the list of other scans in our database. When you're matched, it will change to reflect that. So, if you like, at any time, you can call the office to ask about the status of your scan."

"Nice," Sophie beamed, focusing in on the word ‘matching'. "There I am! Hang on, Mr. Right. Your girl is coming for you!"

Laughing, she pulled the camera back.

"How was that?" Jeanie asked, sitting back in the seat.

"You did great. I could barely tell you were nervous at all. So, I'm going to go in the scanner room, do like a little private monologue, you know? Tell everyone how it went. Then, I'll go through to get the B-roll, and then we'll do one more interview back in the front for wrap up and goodbye. That work for you?"

Jeanie nodded. "Perfect."

"Great. I'll start the B-roll in here and…" Sophie's voice trailed off as she looked away from her camera, over it, to the computer screen, frowning.

"What?" Jeanie looked as well.

"Er, is that…"

"Oh, my god," Jeanie breathed, a wide smile stretching across her face.

Right there, plain on screen, in bright purple letters, her status had been changed.

MATCHED.

"No way," Sophie breathed, shocked.

"Sophie!" Jeanie whipped her head around, beaming. "You were matched."

"Oh, my god!" Sophie staggered back, the camera shaking as she forgot about keeping her hands steady. "You are kidding me. Jeanie, no way!"

"It's right there! You were matched!"

"That's… but… You said it was unlikely!"

"It is. But it's right there!" Jeanie beamed, moving to click it. She stopped before she could. "Oh, wait. Sorry. Do you want to know now?"

"I, er…" Sophie hesitated. "It's… I'm the first person scanned on Earth, right? That means… My mate is an alien, isn't he?"

Jeanie dithered for a second. "I mean, there are some humans scanned. The trial scans from us setting up are in there."

"But they're mostly alien, aren't they?"

Jeanie hesitated again before answering cautiously, "Yeah. Are you okay?"

"I'm…"

Sophie paused, no more words forthcoming. She wasn't sure what to say. Up until this moment, the entire scanning process felt more like a hypothetical, fun sort of thing. But that status change promised her something real.

Her soulmate.

"I, er…" She licked her dry lips, swallowing convulsively.

"Sophie?" Jeanie cocked her head. "Do you need a minute?"

Sophie's eyes darted down to her camera. To everything that was going to be beyond it. Her viewers that were going to be with her as she went through this. Their support meant everything to her, and she knew what they would say if she asked for their opinion. They would tell her to go for it. That she couldn't let fear stop her from something this potentially rewarding. In more ways than one.

And just think of the ice cream she'd treat herself to after this.

Taking in a breath, she nodded, turning the camera back around to get a reaction shot. She smiled at the viewers on the other end.

"You heard her, sweeties. You think I'm up for that big of an adventure?"

"Actually…"

Jeanie started, but then hesitated.

"What?"

Jeanie turned, facing her with determination. "Did you mean what you said? About being part of our ad campaign if you mated an alien?"

"Er, I mean…" Sophie dithered. She certainly wasn't against it, but it just seemed so sudden.

"We'll pay you," Jeanie assured her quickly. "We wanted an interspecies pairing, for Earth and in space. Having you, a human, will work for both. I mean, we couldn't advertise a ratchi/domini pairing on Earth – no one would be able to really appreciate it. But with you, they would. And humans are very popular off Earth."

"I mean… you're not wrong…"

"And, since the communication relays are up and running, you would still be able to access the internet from the Coalition subnet. You'd still be able to upload your videos. You could still have access to your money. It will automatically convert to credz off Earth."

"Oh, wow, really?"

"Yeah. That's part of the treaty with Earth. You would even be allowed back, but it would have to be strictly controlled. No one can bring advanced tech onto Earth yet."

"What's all this then?" Sophie deliberately looked at the door, indicating to the scanner down the hall – something that she was absolutely certain wasn't low tech.

"An exception. We had to implement a lot of protective measures to get that on Earth. And it's the only one. For now! If this place is successful, we hope to open more locations, of course, but having you as a spokesperson, that would do wonders for us here. And yes, I am blatantly trying to piggyback off of the fact that you already have a lot of viewers. You're a known entity, people will look at you on ads and know you're not just being paid to be there. That it's a real match!"

Sophie bit her lip. "And my mate?"

"He'd have to agree too." Jeanie looked at the screen. Behind a single click held all the information True Match had about her mate. "I really hope he's at least partially human looking. Just so he looks better on screen. I don't personally care. I love the aliens, but for optics, a more human-ish type is best. But if he isn't, I mean, we can work with it. Frame it so that only part of him is showing, kind of going for a mysterious theme, you know?"

"Hey, that's my mate you're bashing," Sophie said jokingly, only partially offended. "I'm sure he's perfectly handsome… No matter what he looks like."

Jeanie sent her a smile. "Yeah, I bet he is. So, will you do it?"

Sophie considered the choice carefully this time. Not just flippantly agreeing like she had not even a full hour ago.

It wasn't that she was against being a spokesperson for someone. She and Jeanie had been friends in undergrad and, though they had drifted apart after their careers took them in two different directions, she still liked her. She believed in her enough that she was willing to promote her company without actually knowing how well it might be performing.

But to give up her home, to leave Earth completely…

"You know," she gave Jeanie a grin, "usually, when a franchise gets to the point that they add ‘-in Space' to their title, it means they're going downhill."

Jeanie smirked back, a wide, toothy grin. "You'll be the very first influencer in space. The other humans that mated off Earth don't post vlogs and videos of their life. You could be doing the most mundane thing, but it will suddenly be incredible because you're off Earth. Your subscriber count would skyrocket. No one would ever be able to equal your content. And whenever you do a trend, you get to do it a hundred times better just by virtue of being in space."

"And I'll be able to keep doing it? Uploading, I mean."

"Sure. Earth is connected to a communication array that transfers everything between the two different softwares – so to speak. It takes a bit longer to do it, but it's certainly possible. Just think: the latest dance, the latest challenge, the latest anything, will be that much more exciting coming from you."

Sophie laughed. "And I get my soulmate too."

"Of course! Even better! Trust me, it sounds like new age, hippie dippie, nonsense, but this mating thing is real. My mate and I are… I've never been so happy, Sophie! And this could be you, too. Plus a few million more subscribers. Plus a lot more money."

"The only downside is leaving Earth."

"That's why True Match has a six-month, money back, return to Earth guarantee. If by the end of six months, you're unhappy, you can return to Earth, get all fees repaid, and you don't have to worry about a thing." Jeanie nudged her with an elbow. "It's something we offer on all worlds and no one has ever taken us up on the offer."

Sophie laughed, giving in. The out kind of made it less intimidating – which, she was sure, was the entire point. "Okay. As long as he's cool with it. And as long as I get freedom to speak honestly. Good or bad, no matter what, I want to be able to tell people the truth."

"Done!" Jeanie beamed.

"That confident, are you?"

"Trust me," Jeanie grinned. "You're going to love him. If you say yes, we'll take care of everything. All you have to do is get ready to leave Earth. We'll coordinate the first meeting, pay for everything, just take pictures of yourself and do normal influencer promotions. Here, let me show you what he looks like-"

"No!" Sophie stopped her before she could open the file. "Wait. Save it."

"Save it?"

"Yeah. Get our first meeting on camera. A first look reaction. People love that kind of thing."

"It doesn't really represent what we do, though. The contact information of your mate is given to you after you're matched. We don't do a blind meeting."

"No, but that doesn't matter. The moment is what matters, and getting people to be a part of it makes them even more excited."

Jeanie laughed, leaning away from the computer. "You're a genius, Sophie."

Sophie grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She did some reaction content – not often, as she preferred to do her own thing – but people really loved seeing her react to things. Getting her first reaction to her mate in real time would no doubt get her tons of views.

"I really hope he understands my work," she said.

"Your soulmate will complete you. Promise. Do we have a deal?"

Jeanie held out her hand. Sophie's heart fluttered with excitement as she smacked their palms together in a firm handshake.

"Deal!"