Ran shook her head. 'You act really well,' she grumbled brusquely. 'Too well.' 'You too,' he said and smiled indulgently for good measure. 'If you keep making such advances, I'll be seduced for real.' The Beta of Eridanus leaned away from him and frowned. 'Just reminding you that I will consider every interaction between us a part of our arrangement. Don't get involved with me. I don't like men like you.' Caph examined the serious expression on her face and fell into the endless depths of her dark gaze. He reached out one hand to tuck a strand of black hair behind her ear. Where his fingers touched her skin, it burned. She leaned as far back as she could. 'Aren't you the one who's getting confused?'
.
After losing both her parents in an attack by rogue wolves, Ran's uncle, Acamar, took over the pack as Regent Alpha until she is of age to succeed her parents. Since the attack, Ran became reserved and ambitious, rising up to the rank of Beta on her own, fiercely protective of her father's legacy. Acamar gives her an ultimatum as Regent: marry a capable man and hand over the position of Alpha to him or give him the right to be Alpha before her 21st birthday. Ran had already decided to be Alpha of Eridanus by herself, but forced to submit under her uncle's authority for now, she chooses to have an arranged marriage with the son of an Alpha. Her uncle selects the fourth son of the Alpha of the once-great, now-collapsing Cassiopeia pack, Caph, whose father wants him to 'settle down' and 'take responsibility' for ruining what's left of his pack's reputation with his casanova lifestyle. Privately, she proposes to Caph that they fake the courtship in order to placate the elders and stall for time while pursuing their personal goals. He agrees to it, thinking it would give him an extra year of freedom to search for his elusive bonded mate and a life of carefree happiness. But things get complicated and plans are ruined when they realise they are bonded to each other as mates...

Her Unwelcome Mate

Ran folded her arms across her chest. She examined Caph's appearance properly for the first time since her outburst.


He was drenched from shifting and still panting hard, as though he had run across the continent at record speed. (She really guessed it randomly.)


There was a frantic light in his eyes, a wild fear, insecurity and uncertainty.


What happened this past week? Had she really been so preoccupied analysing Dingo's intentions that she missed some incident happening in her own pack?


'Did something happen? Where did you go?'


Caph took another step forward, lowering his head to rest it on her shoulder.


He was really going to hug her. He wasn't joking.


His sticky arms encircled her and she was enveloped in an uncomfortable heat.


She let him because of what she saw in his eyes.


The playful blue light she was used to had darkened, deepened into an abyss as if he was in despair. Ran could also feel the frustration and anguish radiating from him.


Chapter 22: Extra Work