When Ran returned to Caph's room, he had fallen asleep on top of the blanket. She sat next to him and watched him breathe. His red-brown hair was still damp and messy around his face, his lips slightly parted.Ran leaned close to him, parting her own lips.He opened his eyes.'You'll fall sick if you sleep with wet hair,' she whispered.The blue in his eyes were like swirling galaxies, swallowing her whole.He reached out his hand and played with a strand of her hair.'What did my father say?'She shook her head. 'Nothing good.'Caph continued to examine her veiled expression. She met his gaze without flinching.Finally, he sat up and wrapped his arms around her waist.'I know about what my father did to your parents.' He looked away. 'I followed you to New City and overheard your conversation with the ex-Eridanus werewolf.'Ran carefully tilted his head back so the blue galaxies enveloped her again. 'And Nusha followed you?'He looked away again.She cupped his face and forced him to
Ran burst into the Eridanus manor just as her family was eating dinner.Nugo almost choked on his mouthful of grilled sausage when she threw the dining room door open and let it crash into the wall. Acamar frowned disapprovingly at her.'You're three days too early,' Cass remarked, pulling out a chair for her.Ran refused to sit down.She turned to the Regent and declared, 'Gather the pack. If you won't do it, I will.'He stared at her, cheese sauce dripping onto the table.He put down his fork and grunted.He didn't ask any questions.He didn't demand to know why she came back earlier than expected, why she returned without Caph.He strode to the porch of the manor and let out an ear-splitting, commanding howl that reverberated for miles.He returned to the dining table and dunked his sausage into more cheese sauce.Ran was surprised.Cass just grinned stupidly at her.A shiver trickled down her spine.As Cursa began clearing the table, werewolves began to arrive. Nugo positioned hims
Cass knocked on the door of Ran's bedroom even though the door was not closed.'What is it?' Ran asked tiredly without turning around.Since dawn, she had been forced to wash her face three times, sit in a bathtub full of milk and have her leg hair ripped off her skin because apparently all brides do that.She managed to avoid everyone for the past three days and locked herself up in her room, refusing to eat or get some sun. Cursa tried suggesting she should do her Beta rounds one last time, accept everyone's congratulations, and smooth things over with the pack after that disastrous and confusing gathering.Ran had told her to piss off quite unpolitely.She heard Acamar march up to her room once, ready to barge in and order her out but he had been accosted by Cass who said that her hunger strike had a plus side—that usually brides went on a diet before their wedding but Ran's had been announced too late for her to do that.Her uncle grumbled about her not needing a diet anyway but so
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 wer
'When were you going to tell me about this?' Caph asked Acamar casually. He sounded amused.Ran had multiple problems with this.Firstly, she had no intention of handing over her right to be Alpha to her uncle, the Regent. As the late Alpha's only daughter, she was the rightful leader of Eridanus and she intended to lead the pack herself. That was the reason she trained so hard to become a Beta even though she was already her father's heir. Secondly, even if she decided to marry—which would never happen—she would choose a partner on her own. Acamar had no business ordering her to marry anybody, much less an entitled domineering playboy from a purebred pack.Sure, it was a good political move to form an alliance with a revered ancient pack, especially if the other party was the Alpha's fourth son. An unranked purebred werewolf was considered more elite than a regular pack Alpha.But Caph's suspension from a human college for his scandalous act said a lot about his character!Finally, C
Caph's quick agreement to Ran's proposed arrangement stunned her. She had expected some resistance or some sort of negotiation.But all he did was smile an infuriatingly casual smile and ask, 'How in love do we need to be?' His blue eyes had turned green in the yellow tint of the bonfire, his chiselled jaw sharper in the shadows of the night. She could smell his wolfy scent this close up.Her uncle should have at least chosen a less irritating werewolf!Ran pushed him away with her hands on his chest, saying, 'Not so much. Just enough to convince my uncle.'She felt his heartbeat quicken through her fingers, his body warmer than she expected. His loose white t-shirt was draped over him in a way that revealed the lean muscles along his arms and chest, barely separating them from each other. An electric shock jolted through her palms until she was heating up with heat that did not come from the bonfire.It was a bizarre sensation she had never felt before with anyone—not once during her
Ran decided to spend the rest of the Full Moon Gathering up a tree. After all, she had slapped Caph in front of all the werewolves at the Gathering. Sure, they were pretending not to be interested but nobody was fooled.Especially not Acamar.He saw her mess up—there was no doubt about it.He had been too far away to hear the offensive things the arrogant Alpha of Cassiopeia's fourth son said to her but close enough to make out the slap.She didn't need a human's EQ to understand what it looked like.Ever since her parents' death, Ran had dreamt of one day avenging them as Alpha of Eridanus. She had worked very hard towards her goal and thought of doing nothing else since.Her life was dedicated to becoming the best fighter in the pack, the swiftest and most powerful, so that no one would mess with her people again.Ran picked absently at the branch she was sitting on, frustrated that even after all her efforts, all people saw when they looked at her was a jaded female heir who needed
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