The Beta's Forbidden Mate

Chapter Nine

The whole next day, I went around with a fog of misery hanging over my head.

Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was the hurt look on his face when I'd told him to go. The mating bond was a constant distraction—tearing at me until I thought I would go crazy with the intensity of it.

It was like I could feel him with me every second, even some unknowable instinct told me he was far away.

Kelly was certain that Asher had hurt me somehow, and that was why I was acting so weird. She kept asking if I was okay, and offering to talk if I needed her, but there was no way I could confide in my friend about what was going on. She would never believe me.

I still barely believed me.

But no matter how much I tried to tell myself that it had all been a lie, or some kind elaborate ruse, it was no use. As much as I hated to admit it, I had solid, firsthand evidence of the existence of werewolves.

And one of them was my soulmate.

Every time this thought bubbled into my head, I felt myself losing my grip on reality. I wanted to giggle, to curl up and laugh and laugh until someone took me away to a nice padded cell until I admitted that it had all been a delusion.

But Asher's leather jacket, which I spread out on my bed, was glaring evidence to the contrary.

On Saturday afternoon, I was supposed to have lunch with my father, but I texted him and told him I wasn't feeling well. Then I slumped back down at the kitchen table, feeling terrible for lying.

Across the table, Kelly glared at me. "Okay, enough is enough. Either you tell me why the hell you're acting like someone kicked your puppy, or I'm going to have to drag it out of you."

"It's nothing, I just—" I tried to brush her off, but she crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest.

"I've known you for five years, and I have never seen you like this over a guy. What the fuck did he do to you, Olivia?"

"Nothing!" I cried. I tried to think of the right words to explain to my friend what was happening without her thinking I was having a mental breakdown.

"Do you believe in soulmates?" I finally asked her, staring down at my hands.

"No, it's all a bunch of phony Disney princess crap," Kelly replied curtly.

"But what...what if it isn't?" I asked, wincing at my own words.

She quirked a skeptical brow. "You're saying that you think that guy—that shady guy from the bar—is your soulmate?"

The way she said it made it sound utterly ridiculous, and my cheeks went pink.

"I'm not saying that," I said, even though that's exactly what I was saying. "I just—"

I sighed. "I think I'm really falling for this guy, and I think I'm way over my head."

That much, at least, was one-hundred percent true.

Kelly paused thoughtfully, chewing over her words. "I definitely think that things might be moving too fast if you think he's your soulmate after meeting him twice."

She took a deep breath. "I also think that you don't have a lot of experience with guys like that."

"I have experience with men," I responded gruffly.

"Yeah, but you date bankers. And law students. And I'm not saying that there aren't psychos in any bunch, but—"

"Asher isn't a psycho!" I said, my voice growing hot.