Flexi Says: In some compounds, the number of electrons surrounding the central atom in a stable molecule is fewer than eight. Beryllium is an alkaline earth metal and so may be expected to form ionic bonds. However, it's very small size and somewhat higher ionization energy compared to other metals actually lead to beryllium forming primarily molecular compounds. Since beryllium only has two valence electrons, it does not typically attain an octet through sharing of electrons.
