Their plane from Buttercup International Airport reached New City Terminal just as the sun was setting. 'This is Ursa Minor territory,' Caph whispered to Ran as they emerged from customs and hailed a taxi to his home in The Citadel.Ran's eyes widened. 'They live among humans?'Caph nodded. 'They still keep their wolf form a secret like the rest of us but yeah, they have totally integrated into human society.'It was an impressive feat. More importantly, it was her father's dream.Ran looked around her in awe. Another pack had done it before him!It was possible!Adrenaline rushed through her.She wanted to explore New City, meet Ursa Minor's Alpha—but the taxi had stopped in front of her and Caph was holding the door open.Reluctantly, she retreated into the leather interior. Another time, she told herself.Celphus and Jelsie greeted Ran enthusiastically.She wasn't given a guest room even though there were plenty of those in their old refurbished castle.The Alpha of Cassiopeia surpa

After dinner, Nusha cornered Ran in the bathroom.'I'll get to the point,' she said as she locked the door. The effortless smile she kept up throughout dinner disappeared. She stalked up to Ran.Ran continued washing her hands.'Cancel your betrothal to Caph while I'm asking nicely.'Ran twisted the tap shut and flicked the water from her hands onto Nusha. 'No thanks.'Nusha's yellow eyes narrowed, her ethereal face twisting into a fierce scowl.'You're exactly who he said you'd be.'Ran blinked. 'What?'Nusha crossed her arms. 'You're using Caph, aren't you? For your selfish ambitions. It's gonna ruin Cassiopeia and Caph—dragging him into your family drama like that. Is that what you want?'The fairy-like brunette leered.'To you, it doesn't matter what happens to him. He's just your pawn.''But you're serious about him?' Ran asked.Nusha paused. She rolled her eyes.Glared daggers at Ran.'Of course. We grew up together.'She leaned closer to whisper into Ran's ear.'We've even had s

As the Alpha of Ursa Minor reported his pack's achievements for the month, Ran noticed that Caph was distracted. Normally, she wouldn't have cared.Caph had no interest in the formal aspects of the Gathering. Much less the droning-ons of the Alphas about how strong their packs had become in one month, how many new mouths to feed and what new venture or ambition they were up to next.At her county's Gathering, she had spotted him twiddling his thumbs and ogling at the females in the crowd—which she realised later was actually just him counting the number of right-handed werewolves present.Sure, he was more responsible now that he had playacted as Alpha protege for a while, but his hobbies hadn't changed that much.Back then, he had continuously whispered the numbers into her ear and kept prodding her to look at something he found interesting.This time, Ran noticed his blue eyes were dull, skimming over the crowd as if he did not see anyone in front of him.There was a restless energy

The female who accosted Caph was none other than his childhood friend, Nusha. She was badgering him, asking him if he was sure he wanted to do this—marry the Eridanus heir his father assigned to him in a bid to make him 'responsible'.Caph sifted through the buffet meats, looking for Ran's favourite steak. They cooked cow meat differently here so he tried to find one that smelled most like the one she liked.'I'm your real bonded mate, Caph. Are you sure you want to do this?' Nusha leaned her chin on his shoulder.He shrugged her off and made her hold the plate of steak. 'Ran is my bonded mate, how many times have I told you this?' He pinched her nose when she frowned. 'Don't worry about me. I'm fine.'She continued asking him what changed. Why he was trying to be responsible now. If he really liked Ran.'I do,' he said, filling up his second plate and taking the first from her. 'I like her a lot.'Nusha examined the torment in his eyes.She could only guess what was on his mind. He ke

'Your parents were badly outnumbered when we got there.' Fang's eyes were haunted as he spoke, as if he was transported back in time and was at the scene of the tragedy again. 'The rogue wolves had killed Omi and Pora already. They would have slaughtered Mus right then too, if we hadn't appeared.'He pulled his hands from his plastic coffee cup. He had squeezed it too tight and the coffee and dripped all over his hands. Fang stared at the coffee like it was blood. He laughed bitterly.'The Alpha of Cassiopeia killed him when he tried to protect your father later on. So our arrival changed nothing.''That's not true,' Ran whispered. He looked up, suddenly remembering she was listening. He blinked and then smirked.'It was twelve of them against the five of us. Acamar didn't expect there would be so many attackers after a border patrol, so he only sent the three of us, but later on I realised the entire raid was a ruse. Your father was the real target.''I fought harder than I had ever t