Chapter 24: With Great Power...

Caph was stunned.
How did she reach that conclusion?
'I'm not pandering,' Caph began. 'You said Acamar asked me—'
Ran let out a burst of mocking laughter.
'Ah, so you came because I said Acamar asked. If I had asked—'
Caph interrupted. 'I would have come as well.'
She glared at him, coal eyes hard. 'Even though you didn't sleep the night before? Even though you've never done menial tasks like this ever in your life? Yeah, right. Our arrangement was to go against Acamar, not to accept every request he gives you with your tail between your legs.'
Ran strode up to the house and rang the doorbell. He had no choice but to follow with the corresponding box from the truck.
'The arrangement was to fake our engagement,' Caph pointed out.
The door opened and he had to stop talking. A pleasant expression had replaced the fury on her face.
Ran greeted the pack member at the door, 'Good afternoon, Winnie. How are you?'
Caph realised he was dealing with a fearsome person.
When they returned to the truck, he picked up the conversation where it stopped. 'The arrangement we had was to fake our engagement. That means I have to pretend to agree with everything Acamar says and do whatever he asks me to so he doesn't catch a whiff of your rebellion!'
Ran glared at him. 'I didn't tell you to agree with everything Acamar says or do whatever he asks. That's what you decided on your own, because somewhere along the way, you decided you want be Alpha of Eridanus after all.
'No, I don't!'
Ran slammed the door and retrieved carried the box all by herself. She ignored Caph who was trialing after her, saying, 'How many times have I told you I'm not interested in being Alpha? Not of your pack, not of any pack! I hate politics.'
'You're a liar,' Ran spat.
The door opened and a wide-eyed werewolf stared at both of them.
They replaced the anger on their faces with smiles.
'If you hated politics, you wouldn't agree to a fake arrangement with me,' Ran snapped when they were back in the truck. 'Because this arrangement is nothing but politics.'
Caph hesitated for a moment. 'You're right. The fake arrangement you proposed is politics, something I would have avoided if I could. But I couldn't, could I, Ran?'
Ran rang the doorbell of the next house on the street instead of answering.
Because of what happened in college, he could not negotiate his way out of a betrothal to Ran—even as the Alpha's son. His father had ordered him as leader of the pack.
Cassiopeia's reputation was at stake and he was the one responsible for fixing it.
Back in the truck, Ran was calmer. She started the engine. 'You're still too enthusiastic for someone just playing a role.' She glanced at him. 'You're too good at it. You're a natural leader.'
In a lower voice that was almost a whisper, she said, 'In fact, you might do a better job than me.'
Another house. Another box unloaded.
Caph turned to her in the truck, his blue eyes searching. 'Is that what you're worried about? That you're not good enough to be Alpha?'
Ran stubbornly shook her head, lifting her chin. 'No. I'm just pointing out your secret ambition to be Alpha of Eridanus.' When he began to protest, she cut him off, saying, 'I'm not blaming you. Every male wants to be Alpha one day.'
Her eyes were expressionless. Dead.
'You are no different from the rest of them.'
She killed the engine and reached out to open the driver's door.
Caph grabbed her arm.
'Ran. You will be a legendary Alpha. So don't worry about being ursurped by anyone. Even me.'
She made the mistake of looking into his swirling blue eyes.
For a moment, she was lost. Disoriented.
Forgot how to breathe.
'None of us are a match for you.' His voice was husky, deep. Alluring.
Ran snatched her hand away and lifted another box.
Caph took it from her.
'Lead the way, Beta,' he said. His blue eyes glowed.
She avoided looking directly into them this time.
The truck was filled with silence.
Ran didn't know what to say.
Caph had hit the nail on the head. It was as if he could read her mind. She lost her will to fight with him.
'When I was young,' he said at last, 'I hated that I was the Alpha's son. I wasn't like my brothers. I had no ambitions. I wanted to have a normal, peaceful life.'
His blue eyes bore holes into the side of her head. 'I wanted to find my bonded mate and marry her. Politics, being Alpha, wielding power over others...I didn't want to have anything to do with it.'
The truck rumbled once and stilled.
'Didn't,' she emphasised.
Another house.
Another box exchanged hands.
Ran conversed with her pack members for a while.
Then, they returned to the truck.
'Yeah,' he said ruefully. 'Didn't. Just like you can't do anything about being female, I can't do anything about being my father's son.' He shrugged. 'I was threatened. Like you.'
'Maybe you've changed your mind,' Ran said softly, 'after seeing the kind of power Acamar has. What he does with it.'
Caph sniggered, giving her a half-smirk. 'Acamar's power? If you mean his ability to order people around, then yes, I guess I've seen it.'
The truck pulled into another front yard.
Caph put his hand over hers as she tried to open the driver's door. 'But you know I don't need to be Alpha to get what I want.'
Goosebumps broke out on her skin.
She pushed him away, the tips of her ears turning pink. 'There's more to being Alpha than getting your way!'
He let himself be pushed away. 'You're right,' he said. 'The reason your uncle's words hold sway is because he has to make difficult decisions and be responsible for the lives of his entire pack. Power isn't something you receive without doing anything. You have to sacrifice your entire life to obtain authority like that.'
Ran stared at him, speechless.
She forgot to open the door of the truck.
'Power comes with a great burden. Responsibilities, decisions to be made. You have to give up what you want for the common good.'
His eyes were laughing.
Laughing at her. 'And frankly, I have no interest in the common good. So, power is too much trouble. Getting my way is good enough.'
Rage made her cheeks blush. She fumbled with the handle of the truck door and snarled at it when it refused to budge. When Ran finally flung the door open and hopped out of the truck, she spun around and snapped at Caph, 'You'll make a bad Alpha anyway. I'm not handing Eridanus over to you!