Page 158 of Bonding with the Beta

Harley tuts and turns to face the wall. “So, I have to accept that I’ll be alone because of this stupid gene mutation?”

“You’ve probably been waiting for each other for years. But, no, that is not what I’m saying at all, Harley. Kayden, earlier, you mentioned you can hear someone else's thoughts.”

“Yes,” I say immediately and nod.

She offers me a small smile. “Well, someone has got to point you in the right direction.”

“What do you mean?”

“If the Moon Goddess can’t match you up with someone who is suited to you that also doesn’t carry the dominant gene, then she can bless you with other things.”

My head tilts an inch. “Like?”

“Like a human soulmate.”

Every bone in my body tenses, and I’m seconds from going into cardiac arrest. Did she say soulmate?

“I’m confused.” Harley scowls. “Why would she give Kayden a human soulmate?”

“Not just Kayden.” Genevieve smiles. “You, too. All werewolves who don’t carry the dominant gene.”

“You say dominant.” I lean forward. “Do we have the gene at all?”

Genevieve nods once. “Yes, but a weakened version.”

“And that stops us from forming intense matebonds?”

“Yes.”

“But why would the Moon Goddess give us human soulmates?”

“Because she still wants you to be happy.”

Harley chews on the inside of her lip. “Humans, really?”

“Well, she can’t take away from wolves with compatible mates. It’s only guidance—nothing more. She can’t force you to do anything or be with them. But I trust her judgement. She sees all. She knows all. She wouldn’t just pick anyone for you.It’s someone she trusts will make you a better person than you already are.”

I meet Harley’s eye as she finally sits back down again. “So, there is someone out there better suited to me than Kayden?”

“Essentially, yes.”

For the first time, I see Harley’s face drop a little, her demeanour changing along with the weight on her shoulders. “I mean, I didn’t want to admit it at the time, but I didn’t feel the pull towards you immediately,” she murmurs to me. “I felt the matebond, and my wolf was happy, but it wasn’t as revolutionary as people have made out.”

“Agreed.” I nod.

“What about our wolves?” Harley asks. “Won’t they die from heartbreak if we rejected each other?”

Genevieve shakes her head. “No. Your wolves might be attached to the matebond, but they are more than capable of living without a mate.”

“Because we don’t have the dominant gene?”

“Yes.”

Harley rolls her lips together, studying my face. “Do you really love her?”

“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “She is everything to me.”

She swallows and lowers her head. “It hurts,” she admits. “But I have to be honest and say something doesn’t feel right. I tried to push it to the back of my mind, but it’s nagging at me now. A part of me doesn’t want to accept it and reject the bond because I know I’ll have to start this journey all over again, but at the same time, I know it’s not right.”

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