Page 88 of His Impossible Elf Mate
Aldrin smiled, suggesting he could hear us discussing his mate.
Ívarr stood and began an outline of the situation as we knew it: The Luna was the same goddess as ours.Shifters had started as elves but when Abrocaelum was formed, The Luna changed their appearance to look human so they could hide while the elves who could not shift left them behind.
We are also far too interbred for comfort. Any subsequent generation of elf would likely be beset with severe genetic disorders. The goddess had done us a favor by preventing any more children being born.
Many of the elves present looked distinctly uncomfortable during this talk. Some looked angry. They were the ones I kept my eyes on.
My friend continued his talk, stating the only way out of the fertility crisis was to breed with other species since this would lead to greater genetic diversity. He argued that one species would dominate over the other, so any children born would be full elf, or full whatever other species.
Mating with other species was something we could do, outside of shifters since they could only have young with other shifters, but had never attempted in living memory. At least the elves in Abrocaelum had not. The elves who had come to settle in the human world would not communicate with us. It was likely they had more genetic diversity and were completely divorced from us at this point. Did they even worship the goddess?
Ívarr also mentioned he believed it would only work with other species if there was at least a partialsoul-bond. His cheeks flushed when he talked about this, something Axel also noticed.
I shared a look with my mate when Jasper interrupted, Dakota at his side looking worried. Axel jolted. Neither of us had seen them arrive.
Jasper took on the tone which said the goddess was speaking through him. The air in the room was heavy with her presence.
“A soul-bond for the witches, the fae, the humans, all the races but the shifters. To have a child with one of my shifters, you will need to recover your animal soul. I will not repeat myself.”
We could all feel her anger. Then the voice switched to my mother.
“You know me as your goddess, yet my name is Luna.”
Mother smiled, though it was not her smile, it belonged to the goddess. It was wide, threatening. She saw those gathered who doubted her.
“I have always been The Luna of which the shifters speak. They have repented their past, shown growth and courage. They are ready to have their alpha females returned to them. This current generation will have no beta infertility except where chosen. They are ready to reclaim their fertile past.”
She then looked at Aldrin. “You are so close to the key, so I give you this boon.” Her smile for him was patient, loving. “Tether them not to one alpha but their Alpha. Let the betas who are destined to be alphastake the bite of the pack. Then they can change their chosen omegas. However, this comes with a price. The alpha will never be able to leave their pack. So let them choose well.”
“Thank you, so much! We appreciate this gift and the work you have done through this pack,” Aldrin spoke with the reverence our goddess deserved.
Her smile was radiant. “Kade set you on this path, he asked for me when it was time to start my plan. He and Blake were destined to bring change.” The goddess looked directly at Axel’s protruding stomach. “The princess is next.”
With that, she left. The air in the room lightened. Jasper shakily took a seat, James rushing to his side as Ívarr took care of our queen.
I only had eyes for my mate. “No pressure, right?” Axel quipped.
Many of the queen’s retinue decided to return to Abrocaelum, too overwhelmed with all the information of the day to possibly consider new revelations.
After refreshments and the arrival of our Alpha Pair, we sat down to truly discuss everything.
Ívarr took my mother through the results of the genetic testing. Proving, though he did not need to, hewas telling the truth. We were all cousins, some closer than others, but there was only a tiny percentage of us who could procreate without issues. Too slim a margin for our goddess. We needed the genetic diversity shifters, and other species offered.
“How do we go about creating a soul-bond?” Mother asked.
“I can only say mine with Axel came accidentally out of a deep love for him.”
“So only romantic love?” Blake asked.
“No,” Jasper said. He was on Dakota’s lap, drinking carefully from a cup. “Platonic love will do. A deep appreciation for a person or family. Meditating on it will help.” He sipped again. “Sorry, I’m getting flashes. It’s love that’s the key but a soul-bond does not have to be romantic.”
Blake looked relieved. “There are plenty of the elves here who have not found their mate yet, and they fit into families.”
“You’re thinking of Cryabell, aren’t you?”
The Alpha smiled at his mate. “I’d love for her to bond with us, or for her bond with the kids to be enough.”
“I should like to have an animal soul,” Mother said, suddenly surprising us all. “I will meditate on my growing love and appreciation for this pack who have saved my kind. On my son-in-law who is giving us an heir we can be proud of. Goddess willing, this should give me feathers. I would like to fly.”
