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

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 werewolf 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 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. Not you, my friend.' He pinched her nose when she frowned. 'Thanks for worrying 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.


Chapter 38: We Discussed It