Chapter 35: Behind A Waterfall

Polemon County's Full Moon Gatherings took place in misty forest cave behind a waterfall. Just as Caph had been surprised by the large number of her pack members going to the Gathering, Ran reacted the same way when they met up with his brothers and the other Cassiopeia wolves.
His pack was startlingly small.
It was worse than she thought.
What Nusha said to her in the bathroom of the ancient castle echoed in her mind. If she returned Caph to Cassiopeia after she finished using him to fool her uncle, his pack was really going to collapse.
Cold sweat, instead of heat, drenched her as she morphed into her black wolf and raced alongside his pack. She kept pace with Caph's beautiful red-brown wolf form, watching his lithe muscles flex and stretch as they streaked along the forest pass.
He knew, it occurred to her suddenly. She had proposed their fake arrangement to him point-blank from the very beginning.
He knew she was using him.
Despite that, he had agreed. Why?
Ran remembered his intense blue gaze, his anxious kiss in the truck.
Because he was sure they were bonded mates.
Nusha called her manipulative and pretentious without knowing the full extent of her plot.
What did Caph, who knew, think of her?
She wanted to hide. To stay as a wolf and run far, far away from Caph.

But it was too late. They had burst through the waterfall into the large cavernous space behind.
Fluorescent tubes lined the walls of the passageways, casting a bright medical glow over the tables laden with food. There was no need for background music. The waterfall hummed behind them.
No need for a bonfire either.
The cave opened up to the sky on the inside, revealing the large white moon peering down at them.
The Cassiopeia pack members began shifting back to human form and disappeared into the rowdy crowd of werewolves.
The Polemon County Gathering had begun.
As the Alphas greeted one another, Caph engaged his pack elder, Zarth, in a conversation on the sidelines of the crowd. Zarth was one of the few older pack members who obstinately refused to retire because he wanted to set an example for the disgraceful generations of weaklings that have taken over the majority of Cassiopeia.
'How did Alpha Rexus defeat an entire battalion during the Human-Werewolf War?' Caph asked hesitantly.
The grey-haired elder glared at Caph with sharp blue eyes. 'You're the Alpha's son and you don't know that?'
Caph smiled sheepishly. 'I'm just the fourth son. Pack politics are no use to me.'
Zarth snorted. 'A good chess player uses all his pieces to win the game. There is no such thing as useless knowledge.'
He eyed the foxy-looking youngster. 'You attend college. You should know that better than me. Or are you still busy chasing girls over there?'
Caph grinned. 'Well, I have found my bonded mate, so there's no need to look around anymore.'
'Bonded mates, huh,' the elder mused.
'Yes,' Caph continued, 'Ran of Eridanus. Do you know her parents?'
Zarth harrumphed. 'Of course I do. Kytus was too clever for his own good. An Alpha with too much brain is no use to the pack. He'd rile up his pack with his great ideas and kept trying to change the system. It was a good thing we stopped him, otherwise you wouldn't be here.' He gestured at Ran who was searching the crowd for Caph. 'She's nothing like her father though, is she?'
'Well...' Caph began.
Without waiting for an answer, the pack elder continued, 'She's got a steady head on her shoulders since she's brought up by her uncle. Acamar led Eridanus back on track and now Kytus's daughter will hand the pack over to Cassiopeia. It's only a matter of time before we'll get back what's rightfully ours.'
Caph's head was spinning.
He could not process all the information Zarth had just given him.
He had deliberately struck up a conversation with this old werewolf to gather more information on Cassiopeia's connection to the rogue attack that killed Ran's parents but he had not expected all the details to be handed to him so easily.
It was too much.
'There you are! Caph, your father wants us to go over to where the other Alphas...'
Suddenly, Ran was in front of him, her coal black eyes overwhelmed by all the activity around her.
Caph could see that she was anxious, on edge, tired.
It had been a long day for her.
She did not sleep on the plane like he did.
There were shadows under her eyes now that were not there during the day.
What should he say to her?
'My father might have killed yours but I still love you so please accept me anyway?'
'Caph?' Ran waved a hand in front of his face.
She was frowning.
Now her eyes were worried.
He quickly banished his thoughts so she wouldn't see what he was thinking about.
'Go,' Zarth urged, patting him on his shoulder. 'Alpha Celphus is announcing the alliance with Eridanus today, isn't he?'
Caph took Ran's hand and wove through the crowd.
She kept trying to look into his eyes.
And he kept avoiding her gaze.