The week after the Full Moon Gathering, all her pack could talk about was Caph. How handsome and courteous he was. How gentlemanly and unlike the rumours they themselves had spread. How taken he was by their unromantic Beta.How he would take good care of her if he become Alpha of Eridanus.Ran had a hard time smiling her way through these conversations.Did any of them know who Caph really was?That question made her realise she had no idea either, and so between her Beta duties, she made it her mission to find out.Most difficult part was to sort through rumour and truth. Werewolves didn't keep written records—they passed down history and facts through word of mouth. But that was the way gossip travelled as well, which was what made it was very hard to tell the difference.There were, of course, stories that were not allowed to be changed by the authority of the Alpha and these were generally how the younger generation learnt werewolf history.As a result, Ran spent her free time wit
Acamar had invited Caph to the Eridanus manor for breakfast today.Ran was to wait on the porch steps to welcome him.She stalked downstairs, tightening her ponytail and positioned herself in front of the darkwood door like a guard, grumbling to herself inside her head.Her uncle was leafing through human newspapers idly even though this engagement was his idea in the first place.He was testing her.She was sure of it.Caph came in a taxi, dressed in a white t-shirt that revealed the silhouette of his torso when he moved. His tousled red-brown hair was messy, like he had just woken up.'Why are you so pissed?' Caph asked as he walked up to her, hands in his jean pockets.Ran smoothed out her expression and smiled at him.He stared at her, blue eyes transfixed. 'Did you wake up on the wrong side of your bed? Had a nightmare or something?'She shook her head.He continued to instigate her with his misty seductive eyes. 'You look very pretty when you smile,' he said.The tips of her ears
Ran led Caph into a study room and shut the door behind him. Books lined the walls and framed the windows. A large black-wood desk stood in the middle of the room.He had never seen a werewolf own that many books. His eyes fixated on some ancient-looking books.'That's my father's collection of werewolf literature,' she said.Caph's eyes widened.Werewolves had no affinity with books. They certainly didn't make a habit of writing them. They were an animalistic species after all.Ran leaned against the edge of the black-wood desk. 'He's not like my uncle.'Caph smiled. 'Your father–'Ran's expression had changed. The warmth in her voice was gone and her black eyes were hostile.'My father isn't a bad Alpha, he just had a different way of leading the pack. He worked the hardest in all of Eridanus. Just because he read books and spent a lot of time staring at maps doesn't make him weak.'As Ran's pretend boyfriend, Caph would have to train under Acamar to become the next Alpha. There was
He was too close.Ran raised her hand to slap Caph.He anticipated this and caught her hand.A mischievous smile took over his face, blue eyes amused.'Just an arrangement,' he pointed out.Heat rose in her cheeks. She scowled.It was already getting difficult to tell the difference between the act and the real thing. He was confusing her by doing things they had not yet discussed.'Why are you so legalistic about romance anyway? I mean, you must have liked someone before, right?'There was a pause. A waiter filled their glasses with ice water.Ran waited for him to go away and tried to think of a way to change the topic.She didn't want to talk romance.But she wasn't interested in getting to know him better either.Caph looked at her expectantly. She sighed.'Romance is a lie,' she said to Caph. 'It's an stupid concept used by society to take advantage of people's weaknesses and undermine true love.''Oh? So what is true love?'Ran narrowed her eyes. She had not expected that questio
Caph crossed his arms across his chest.Ran noticed what he wasn't wearing a shirt for the first time. His lean and muscular torso was bare and tempting.For some reason, she felt her cheeks heat up.Caph grinned even wider. 'Does it bother you? That our arrangement has everyone fooled?'Unconsciously, she took a step back. 'That's not what I–.'He tilted his head. 'Then what's the problem? Do you like me?'The memory of Caph's hand on her face came to her mind. She remembered the electric touch when he gently swept her hair behind her ear and the glowing warmth of his blue eyes on her.The same pair of eyes were fixed on her now, but they were taunting.Ran shoved him away from her and stormed out of this room, yelling, 'No way!'Why had she come to him for help in quelling the rumours? They were proof that everyone believed their arrangement was real.Ran refused to talk to Caph until the next Full Moon Gathering. With all the rumours about them flying around, there was no need to ex
Ran kept her face as impassive as she could but it was difficult to control the blood rushing to her head.Ran glanced at Caph who smiled proudly, his hands in his jean pockets, unperturbed.Did he realise how grave their situation had become?They had to up improve their act and reassure Acamar of her obedience so that he'd calm down and not marry her off raashly!Either way, it was an official engagement now.Their act had to be flawless.The First Shifting Ceremony passed by in a blur. The bonfire was lit and music blasted from large, ancient-looking speakers. Werewolves began to mingle and boisterous conversations echoed through the clearing. People were downing cups of cow's blood so they'd have enough strength to party through the night.Usually, Ran would retreat from the clearing to her secret place to do some stargazing. But because of her uncle's announcement, people kept coming up to her to congratulate them. She noticed Acamar's eyes on her in the distance, dark gaze daring
'I'm not trying. It's just what it looks like when I'm trying to be nice.''That's even worse,' Ran said drily. An unusually serious expression came over him. His eyes glowed blue again for a moment. Static crackled ominously between them.'Have you heard about bonded mates?'.She took another sip to distract herself from the change in atmosphere, but her cup was empty.'It was a thing in the past. Sort of like werewolf soulmates.'Caph nodded. His eyes turned green as he turned to explain, 'Yeah. Our ancestors used to only marry their bonded mates. But we don't do it anymore. Because there's too many werewolves, too many packs now.'Where was he going with this?Was he implying that he was looking for his bonded mate?Was that why he accepted her proposal of a fake arrangement?'Yes,' he answered her thoughts. His green eyes pulling her in like quicksand.He was flirting with her again! There's no way to make him have a serious conversation with her.Ran brought her empty cup to her
Caph was a fast learner.In the day, he followed Acamar to various parts of Punggol and learned about every inch of Eridanus's territory. In the evening, he would hole up with Ran in her father's study for what Cass dubbed 'couple time'.As much as Ran disliked the thought of Cass coming up with more illicit rumours to spread about the both of them, she needed the cover it unwittingly gave her to show Caph what her father had been up to without her uncle getting suspicious.'He was not a brute force kind of person,' she said, unrolling a large ancient-looking map on the darkwood desk. 'He preferred to talk instead of fight, which you know is unusual for a werewolf.'Caph smiled. He peered over her shoulder at the map, his warm breath making her neck tingle.She resisted the urge to elbow him backward.'My father would negotiate with both werewolf and human, instead of burning bridges and declaring war. As a result, Eridanus territory shrank over the years. He gave up disputed land to t