Chapter 6: Negotiating A Mutually-Beneficial Arrangement

'Did you have a nightmare last night?' Caph asked.

She must have. Either that or this girl was not the Beta of Eridanus he met at the Full Moon Gathering.

Ran blinked and tilted her head slightly, exposing her pale neck. 'No. I slept well. Thanks for asking.'

Acamar introduced his son, Nugo, who held the door open for them and led the way to the dining room.

'Breakfast is ready,' Acamar's Luna, Cursa, greeted them by a wooden table laden with food. 'You must be hungry.'

Celphus grunted his agreement. 'Running across the continent doesn't get easier with age.'

Acamar introduced his daughter, Cass, as she walked into the room with a plate of bacon.

Caph instinctively sat next to his father and expected Ran to do the same, to stay as far away from him as possible.

Instead, she pulled out the chair next to him and sat down in one fluid movement.

She smiled at him. 'What would you like to eat first?'

He examined her soft black eyes, her warm expression.

What changed her mind?

Should he play along?

He leaned one elbow on the edge of the table and turned his body to face her.

'You look better when you're not scowling,' he said.

Ran scowled. 'I don't scowl.'

'Ha!' he pointed out.

Her scowl deepened for a moment but her voice remained tender. 'So, what do you want to eat?'

'Guess,' Caph said, a grin on his face. Ran's eyelashes quivered.

Then, a mischievious smile bloomed on her face. 'Uh...'

She piled his plate high with bacon and grilled drumsticks.

The two Alphas updated each other on the going-ons of their respective counties while Caph engaged Ran's cousins and aunt in small talk. Nugo and Cass were older than Ran but neither of them held ranks within Eridanus. Nugo was a professional athlete, a runner, while Cass was still in college, training to be a surgeon.

'Your family is talented,' Caph told Cursa.

The Luna of the Eridanus pack dipped her head politely and waved his compliment away.

'You're attending college in our county too,' Ran reminded him.

'What are you studying?' Cursa asked.

'Uh...'

Caph stuffed two slices of bacon into his mouth at once. He had never been ashamed of his college major. It was difficult for werewolves to study subjects that required a lot of critical thinking.

But surrounded by this very talented and ambitious family, he couldn't help but feel kind of small.

'Sociology.'

There was an awkward pause.

Then, Ran asked the question the rest were too embarrassed to ask, 'What's that?'

After the meal, Ran offered to give Caph a tour of the manor while the two Alphas negotiated a mutually-beneficial arrangement.

He agreed and followed her up a grand flight of wooden stairs in the great hall.

Ran began to tell him all about Punggol's signature mangrove trees and how her father built the manor with these unconventional dark wood plants.

Her voice, when not filled with rage, was slightly raspy and lilting. Caph liked the sound of it.

He had been so surprised by the change in her demeanour before that he hadn't noticed, but now that she walked ahead of him along the upstairs corridor, occasionally turning to look at him as she spoke, he began to take note of what she was wearing—a cropped graphic tee and high-waisted jeans that gave him peeks of her pale skin.

Ran's long black hair was pulled out of the way in a messy ponytail and it flickered in front of him every time she turned to introduce another similar-looking room along the corridor.

She led him into a study room. Books lined the walls and framed the windows. A large black-wood desk stood in the middle of the room.

He tried to appear mesmerised by some ancient-looking books as she turned to close the door, shutting them inside.

'That's my father's collection of werewolf literature,' she said.

Caph was surprised.

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.

'Let me make something clear,' Ran said suddenly. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. 'Whatever your father and my uncle are discussing downstairs isn't going to be a mutually-beneficial arrangement.'

The warm hostess she had been a minute ago was gone. The Beta of Eridanus he met at the Full Moon Gathering was back.

'I don't want to marry. Not you, not anyone. And I know you don't like me either.'

Caph opened his mouth to point out that he might if he knew who the real her was, but she kept going.

'My uncle wants to use you to strip me of my right to be Alpha and lead the pack with you as figurehead. And I know your father wants you to restore Cassiopeia's prestige with Eridanus's power and wealth. If we sabotage their arrangement this time, they will simply try again. With different werewolves from different packs.'

Ran paused.

Caph had underestimated her. 'I'm listening,' he prompted.

'I propose we make an arrangement of our own. Help me by pretending to go along with this courtship in front of our families. You won't have to spend time with me in private, you can do whatever you want. All I ask for is your help in dragging this out until I'm 21 so that I can become Alpha. In return, I will improve your reputation and get your father off your back. Do we have a deal?'