Chapter 1: It's Not Manly

Ran had gone a distance from the clearing to escape the crowd of the Full Moon Gathering and look at the stars. She tilted her pale face to the moon, coal black eyes reflecting the galaxy visible tonight. How peaceful. She pursed her lips.

Lately, the monthly werewolf gatherings held to report pack activity had gotten stressful.

She braced herself for more unwanted attention and returned to the bonfire at the centre of the clearing. There it was! She felt a large hand reach out to touch her from behind. Instinctively, she lifted her leg and swung it at her attacker. The offending party dodged her lethal kick with inhuman ease.

'Woah!' he exclaimed. 'Easy, girl. It's a party. Chillax a little.'

The culprit lifted his arms in mock surrender, a wide smile on his face. She frowned.

'A drink for you?' he asked. Her fingers twitched.

'No, thank you.' She continued walking.

He followed her. 'Don't like beer? What would you like? I'll get it for you.'

She glanced sideways at him. Like most werewolves in their human form, he was tall and muscular but average-looking. He kept pace with her easily. A normal human would have been out of breath.

'Don't,' Ran said.

'Don't?' he repeated. He tilted his head to the side. 'As in, you don't like beer? Or you don't like drinks in general?'

Ran stopped walking abruptly even though she had almost reached the bonfire. Here, howls of laughter and loud conversation surrounded her on all sides.

She looked the male werewolf in the eye, her coal black eyes burning. 'Don't hit on me.'

His jaw dropped at her lack of tact but he covered it up quickly by drinking from his bottle of beer. Ran walked away, her eyes scanning the boisterous crowd for members of her pack. She liked knowing where her people were, even though they were in no danger here at this Full Moon Gathering.

'I'm not hitting on you,' he said, trailing after her as she picked her way through the crowd. 'I'm just being polite, you know. It's manly to ask a female if she wants a drink.'

Ran stopped walking again, her long black ponytail whipping around as she turned and glared at him. 'That's not manly. It's flirting. You need to be more than polite to be an Alpha.'

The male werewolf flinched. 'Alright. Chillax, Beta of Eridanus. Just being nice.'

Before she could respond, he disappeared into the crowd.

Ran reached the buffet spread piled high on rows of sagging wooden tables. Obviously, feeding hundreds of hungry werewolves meant there would be a lot of food. There was more meat and cheese on these tables than there would be at a commercial poultry farm. Jars of cow's blood sat at one end of a particularly rickety table, weighing down one end of the wooden surface so it almost toppled over.

Ran pursed her lips and picked up a packet of marshmallows.

A gruff voice called her from behind.

She spun around instinctively.

Anyone from the Eridanus pack would have, because Acamar was the Regent Alpha—the current leader of the pack because Ran was not of age yet to take over the role of Alpha. Her parents, the Alpha and his Luna were killed ten years ago. Acamar, her father's older brother, was her guardian and would remain the pack's leader until she turned 21.

Acamar was big and burly with an ugly scar on his left temple left behind by a silver bullet from the Human-Werewolf War. He had sharp black eyes, just like her father, only his were hardened from surviving many brutal battles. Ran bowed her head briefly, a show of respect for her leader, but met his gaze right after as an equal (after all, the position of Alpha rightly belonged to her).

'What is it?' she asked.

Everything seemed to be going well at this Full Moon Gathering. There was peace among the Septrion County packs and no major problems had to be dealt with urgently. All the packs had given their reports and the First Shifting Ceremony had been held for the new werewolves. The 'gathering' part of the Gathering had just begun.

'Is something wrong?'

Her uncle shook his head. He gestured at werewolf behind him. A young man with tousled red-brown hair and alert blue eyes. She had never seen him at any of their Gatherings. 'He's from the Cassiopeia pack,' Acamar said, reading her eyes.

'The Alpha's fourth son, Caph.'

Caph was tall and muscular too, but in a lithe and lean way. He stood out from all the werewolves at the Gathering somehow. The people around them could not help but stare at him.

Ran also could not tear her gaze away.

His name was familiar even though he wasn't.

After a moment, she realised why. Her pack's latest obsession had been the rumours of a college student named Caph who was caught making out in a lecture theatre while another class was in session.

She did not expect 'Caph' to be a werewolf.

Werewolves rarely involved themselves with humans because it increased the likelihood of being discovered.

The rumours had described Caph as very attractive and seeing him for herself, Ran could understand why. There was something about him—the bold red tint in his brown hair, the misty seductive gaze that made you forget what you were doing?—probably the way he held himself with lazy confidence, that drew people to him.

Ran's was sure he was the kind of werewolf who always got what he wanted.

Most likely through seduction.

Ran despised this type of male the most.

'Happy 20th birthday, Beta of Eridanus,' Caph said with an charming smile, holding out his hand to shake hers.

She refused to take his hand.

Immediately the conversations of the werewolves around her began to include Caph's name. And hers.

Ran's eyes flicked over to her uncle and narrowed. Had he told the Cassiopeia werewolf about her birthday? Why?

Acamar's eyes gleamed when he noticed the question in her eyes.

'Ran. This is an order,' he commanded.

Immediately, Ran straightened her back, her senses heightened. An Alpha's order was the sacred word of his pack. Even she could not resist it—yet. Not until she turned 21.

'You will marry Caph.'

'What?!'

Her uncle's eyes hardened and he asserted his authority with a growl. Ran lowered her head reluctantly.

'You must marry before you turn 21,' Acamar declared, 'otherwise you will hand over the right to be Alpha to me.'