Beyond Beta's Rejection

(Harper’s POV)

“What the Hell are you talking about?” I scowled at Nathaniel, and he raised an eyebrow, which I knew was his subtle way of showing disapproval. I rolled my eyes, and he shook his head.

“Balance, my dear,” Nathaniel answered, and I waited for more.

“Okay, you are going to have to give me more than that,” I snapped. I was starting to get a headache again and could feel Colton’s eyes constantly on me, and I was this close to punching the creepy bastard in the face.

“How much did the old man tell you?” Nathaniel asked, and I was confused for a moment as to who he was talking about. Of course, Harry.

“I don’t think he likes being called an old man,” I said, and he scoffed.

“He was an old man when I was young. Even then, I knew he was the one who watched things in the town, and I’ve seen the ink. I know which side he is on.”

I sighed and rubbed my temple, and Nathaniel leaned forward, a look of concern on his face.

“A headache, already?” he asked, and I rolled my eyes at him. Where did he get off pretending to be worried about me?

“The cuff has only just come off. You should have had more time.” I shook my head and immediately regretted it.

“Okay, so why is this suddenly happening now?” I asked, and Nathaniel sat back, still watching me.

“I’m not sure on that,” he said. “It could be the proximity to the seal or the increase in the number of demon b***d around. The angel in you could be trying to come through to fulfill her role. Other than coming back to town, has anything changed?” I thought about what he asked. A fair amount had changed. I had met Elias, my second chance mate, who was also a demon. With Elias’ help, I had healed a lot of traumas. I looked down at the ring that Colton had put on my finger again. I had been scared to try to remove it, worried that the damn thing had cursed me to be broken again. I pulled on it slightly and felt nothing. With a sigh of relief, I slipped the ring off. It was just a ring, nothing more. I put the ring on the table as Colton growled. I glanced at him and rolled my eyes in response. Then I thought of something else that had changed, something big. I glanced at the ring again and then back at Nathaniel. I wasn’t sure that I wanted him to know that piece of information.

“She shifted,” Colton said, and I glared at him. Well f**k, I guess that I wasn’t keeping it quiet. Nathaniel sat up straight and looked between the two of us, his eyes alight with interest.

“Shifted?” he asked. “As in into your wolf?” he looked at me, and I sighed and nodded.

“Well, of course, then that makes sense,” he said, nodding his head, and I could almost see the thoughts whizzing through his head at lightning speed.

“Wanna share with the audience,” I snapped after a couple of minutes of silence from him, and Nathaniel looked at me like he had forgotten I was even there.

“Of course, my apologies,” he said and picked up the cuff. “This is designed to suppress your wolf side,” he said, and I nodded. I knew that already. “You lose access to all the elements that make you a wolf, the speed, the strength, the link to your pack, and of course, the ability to shift.”

“Yeah, I get it. It’s a real drag,” I snapped. “Get to the point.” Nathaniel stopped and glared at me. I held his stare for a bit but could never last too long under that particular look.

“The shifters that are born into the demon bloodline suffer the most,” he said. “For the other supernatural types, they don’t have another form most of the time, sometimes, the fae might have, but the immortals and the magic users, their supernatural side is an essence. But as wolves, we have two distinct personalities in us. Two souls sharing one vessel. Are you with me so far?” He looked at me, and I thought about what he said. It made sense. Maia was her own wolf with her own wants. I nodded, and Nathaniel carried on.

“So when the demon bloodline is introduced, we are then faced with not two, but three separate personalities, three separate entities inside one vessel. This is too much for the vessel, so the burnout rate for a shifter with the demon bloodline is much more accelerated than the others.” He stood up and began pacing the room. Oh good, I knew this was his teaching moves. It looked like we were in class.

“The wolf side, or whatever animal the shifter is, naturally takes a back step to the human side. It is inherently stronger, but our natural form is human, and the wolf respects that. That is why we don’t shift until our teens. The wolf is always there but not dominant, so waits for permission to come forward. This protects the vessel from being overwhelmed by two different souls.

But the demon part, the third part isn’t quite so placated,” he said. “The demon wants to hold the controls. It is the struggle for dominance between the demon and the human soul that causes the stress on the body and mind.” He glanced at Colton briefly. “The human soul is neutral, and the demon, of course, lands on the dark side, so the scales will often slide into the darkness. There is no anchor for the human to stay in the light. This is why the human almost always takes the back step.”

“Okay, I get that demons are shitty and everything, but you are showing the human side right now, right,?” I asked, and Nathaniel smiled.

“My dear, I wear my human as a mask of convenience, but it is the demon that is running the show in here.” He pointed to his heart. “I made that decision to prevent myself from burning up and from destroying my own vessel. With my wolf and my human in the back, the demon holds dominance, and I am not subjected to the misery and madness that my sister and nephew both deal with because they won’t accept the truth.” I looked at Colton in shock. Was he still fighting?

“Why?” I asked, and he glanced at Nathaniel before looking back at me.

“Love,” he said, and I felt like the breath had been knocked out of me. “The demon isn’t capable of love, and if he reigns dominant, then neither is the human.” He leaned towards the table and picked up the ring and looked at it.

“The truth is I fell in love with you even before you knew we were fated. It was like an anchor for me and meant that I was able to fight for longer. Even my demon is calm when you are around. My soul allows me to feel the joys of life, the love for my mother, and of course for you.” He looked back at me. “I would rather go insane than give that up.” The sincerity in his voice caught me off guard, and I could feel the prickles of tears in the back of my eyes.

“Which you will,” Nathaniel said abruptly, and Colton glared at him. “Unless you complete the bond.” I narrowed my eyes at that part.

“Okay, so what does all that have to do with the bond and saving my life then?” I asked, and Nathaniel smiled.

“Because, my dear,” he said. “Just as with the demon, your own vessel can not contain three separate entities, and your burning up is a clear sign that your angel is fighting to come forward. Too much light is just as destructive as too much dark,” he said. “And I know you very well. You are not about to take a backseat in your own life.”

“Damn straight, I’m not,” I said. “But how does mating with him stop my angel?”

“It doesn’t,” Nathaniel replied. “It placates her, creates a balance in you, an anchor as it were,” and he gestured towards Colton. “When you complete the bond, you carry a piece of each other inside you, connecting you, a little bit of dark in the light and vice versa.”

“So balance?” I asked, and Nathaniel nodded. “So you are saying that as long as I complete the bond with someone with demon b***d, I’m good, right?” Nathaniel nodded again.

“Okay, well, if you just wanna run along and get my mate from your cells, I can jump on that, so to speak.”

I winked at him. Colton growled beside me, and I rolled my eyes.

“No!” he exclaimed. “You’re mine.”

“No, Colton, I’m not,” I shot back. “You rejected me, remember? You treated me like absolute crap and tried to share me with your friends.” I stood up from the sofa and turned and faced him. “You have no right to me at all.” I was pissed off and tired, and I felt like throwing up.

“Harper, sit down now,” Nathaniel said quietly.

“No!” I shouted, “Why should I? You have my friends locked up in the cells and are trying to mate me off to this jerk.” I pointed at Colton, who also stood up and glared at me. “All you have done for the last eight years is manipulate and use me. Why the hell should I do anything you say?” My eyesight was starting to blur, and I could already feel myself beginning to burn up, but I was so angry, and I couldn’t think straight.

“Harper!” I heard Nathaniel and saw him heading towards me, but I backed away from him.

“Harper, please, calm down. All getting angry does is make it worse.” He followed as I rushed to the door. I needed to get out of there.

I had my hand on the handle when I felt an arm wrap around my waist, and I was pulled back into something solid. I tried to struggle, but the arm held me tight, and I felt something in my hand. My legs gave way, and I collapsed, but something held me, so I didn’t hit the floor, and I felt a familiar circular rub on my hand. I looked up to see that I was in Colton’s arms. He had me wrapped tight against him and was rubbing the spot on my hand. He was whispering something against my head and his face set in concern. I then felt something cool on my other wrist and looked up to see Nathaniel clipping the cuff into place.

“No!” I exclaimed, and he looked at me sadly.

“I would rather you be weak than dead, my dear,” he said. “I treated you like a daughter I never had, and if making you uncomfortable saves your life, I will do what it takes. I promised your father that. And contrary to what young Colton here thinks, demons can and do love. You only need to see your caged mate see that.”