Chapter 36: To Be Young And In Love

As the Alpha of Ursa Minor reported his pack's achievements for the month, Ran noticed that Caph was distracted. Normally, she wouldn't have cared.
Caph had no interest in anything vaguely political, especially when it had nothing to do with him. Ran knew that the droning-ons of the Alphas was one of those things that he did not bother paying any attention to.
Even at the Septrion County Gathering, he had twiddled his thumbs and counted the number of right-handed werewolves instead.
But back then, Ran argued with herself, he had also continuously whispered the numbers into her ear and kept prodding her to look at something he found interesting.
This time, his blue eyes were dull, skimming over the crowd as if he could not see anyone in front of him.
There was a restless energy about him, as though he wanted to escape.
He's finally come to his senses, a cold voice whispered into her ear. Tonight, he'll humiliate you in front of everybody.
The words trickled down her spine and made the hair on the back of her neck stand.
Celphus was standing on the wooden platform now.
He called her name.
Her heart stopped.
Then he called Caph as well.
Ran exhaled and waited for Caph to take her hand.
He didn't. Walked up to his father without her.
At first she didn't know what to do. Her eyes were glazed, focused only on Caph's lone figure. Someone nudged her from behind. Urged her to walk.
Nusha's high-pitched voice.
She found herself standing next to Caph, her ears ringing.
And then, people were clapping. Some hooted. Others cheered.
A few frowned.
These were the only ones Ran noticed.
Other than Nusha, how many more people did Caph know intimately who could also guess that her relationship with him was fake?
After the First Shifting Ceremony, the crowd dispersed and the divisions between the packs blurred. Werewolves walked from one end of the cave to the other just to greet one another. Someone picked up a violin and played soothing music. Another person sang into a microphone.
Caph had disappeared again.
He said he was going to get food but it had been more than two minutes and he was not back yet.
Ran twisted her fingers anxiously.
Should she go find him?
Or was he waylaid by some female he knew?
Then, she'd just become a bother.
But he kissed her that night in the scrapyard. He said he wanted to hold her. So what did he want with some other female? Also, later on in the truck, he kissed her again and told her she wasn't allowed to stop thinking about him.
He said he was always thinking about her.
Was that a lie?
She peered over the heads of guffawing werewolves for a sign of his red-brown head.
It was hard to see with everyone moving at once.
Someone sat next to her with a sigh.
An older female in a wetsuit.
'Nice to meet you, Ran of Eridanus,' she greeted with a smile.
Ran stared at her for a moment, disoriented.
'I'm Panri from Ursa Minor,' the strangely-attired woman said when she didn't reply.
The tip of her ears burned.
What happened to her?
How could her mind be so full of Caph that she forgot her manners.
'Pleased to meet you too, Panri of Ursa Minor.'
Panri's smile turned smug, 'You really like him, don't you?'
Ran blinked. 'What?'
'He's just gone for a second and you're this anxious.' Panri giggled, then sighed, her eyes twinkling. 'How nice to be young and in love again.'
Just then, two women came over to Panri with sloshing cups of beer. Ruby of Camelopardus and Yula of Drago. They squeezed between Ran and Panri, clucking disapprovingly at the latter.
'Don't hoard the tea all by yourself.'
'So, Ran of Eridanus, which part?'
'Eh?' She had no idea what they wanted from her.
'Which part of Caph do you like?'
Ran blurted out that liking parts of Caph, his character, the way he thought and how he made her feel necessarily translate into love.
The three women lapsed into silence.
They glanced at one another.
Panri smiled dreamily again.
'She likes him. She really likes him.'
Yula leaned closer. 'What's his mind like? I heard you can make out the thoughts of your bonded mate without talking.'
Ran frowned. 'Well I don't—'
'Imagine knowing what Caph is thinking!' Ruby gushed. 'You could change his mind and make him want you instead.'
'He doesn't—'
Yula bounced on the stone seat. 'Come on, Ran!'
'It's really rare for bonded mates to find each other, so you have to tell us what it's like!'
'Is there static when you touch?'
'Do you really feel him before you see him?'
Ran stared at them, the tips of her ears warming up beneath her hair.
She thought about how she ran to the door the morning Caph returned from Cassiopeia. How she felt his despair that morning when he hugged her on the porch and knew he needed a distraction.
How she relented to the kiss he initiated in the scrapyard so quickly. The feverish sensation that lit her up all the way to her core whenever he touched her.
How easily Caph agreed to her proposal of the fake arrangement.
The energy that thrummed between them all the time.
Suddenly, Ran realised she had been avoiding the truth this whole time.
She and Caph were bonded mates.
It was so obvious.