CHAPTER 4 | Tactic

Right now, my father, Beta Jackson, and I are sitting face-to-face in the center of his spacious office. Just the two of us without a single person around.

I sat down freely. Crossing my legs and enjoying the coffee provided by the castle's servants.

"How are you, Son?" asked Beta Jackson.

"Do we need this kind of pleasantry, Beta Jackson?" I replied as I lowered the coffee cup, placed it on the table between us, and looked at him intensely afterwards.

"Just tell me what the point is that you want to see me, Beta," I said then.

Beta Jackson gave me a faintly lopsided smile. No look of offense crossed his face.

Beta Jackson had just been injured after going on a mission last week. Now he was recovering.

"I heard that you just took care of the intruders from the Codrus Pack," he said.

"Yes," I answered shortly, and I nodded. "I took care of them. You don't have to worry about that."

"Yeah, I trust you, Zelos. You're the most powerful and smart in our pack." Chuckling softly again, Beta Jackson reached for his coffee cup. He sipped his coffee for a moment before opening his mouth again. I waited patiently, without taking my eyes off him.

Seeing that, I narrowed my eyes coldly again. "What's with that look, Beta?" I muttered sharply.

"So you saved Cara that night?" A conversation that jumped a long way from Beta Jackson.

I frowned even more. "Alpha Archer commanded me to look after her," I replied.

Beta Jackson nodded slowly. "Then you did protect her that night."

"And you deliberately made her a meal for the reporters!"

He laughed over my guesses and well-placed insinuations. "That's because our princess is not fit to be our next Luna!"

"But she is the rightful heir."

"That's unfortunate."

"And you've already committed an act of insubordination with our Alpha bloodline."

I could clearly guess what happened last night. The night Cara had a wild party with her friends, there were suddenly a lot of reporters outside the club. And it was hard enough for me to hide Cara from the press.

With just one look at the incident, I could guess that it was all the work of Beta Jackson, my own father.

Because my father was one of the top brass in the Sinclaire Pack who was against Cara becoming our next Luna.

"I want you to approach her!"

"!!"

Instantly, my eyes rounded perfectly at that ridiculous request.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" I screeched loudly. I had even started to gnash my teeth now.

"Do you think I'm joking right now, Son?" asked Beta Jackson in a stern tone. The look in his eyes was so sharp, without any tremor. It was as if his request was an absolute command.

This is absolutely crazy and ridiculous! Of course, I chuckled as if I were facing the world's most ridiculous joke.

"Tsk! What a ridiculous joke, Dad! You even recently wanted me to approach Celine Avyanna Sinclaire, the daughter of the former Alpha, because you were in favor of her becoming our next Luna."

"And now you want me to approach Cara?" I added with a rueful chuckle. "Do you think I'm a joke and a puppet to you?" I immediately growled sharply.

Everyone in our pack knew that I still hadn't met my fated mate. I had already reached twenty-eight years of age but still hadn't met my fate. This was quite unfortunate, because if I hadn't found her, then half of my power would be unavailable to me.

Therefore, there are many who want me to mate with Celine and make her my chosen mate.

But now they want me to choose Cara? That girl hasn't even awakened her wolf yet! She's still only seventeen, even though tomorrow is her coming-of-age day.

Goddess, she's too young for me!

"As you know, Alpha Archer called on me yesterday. He discussed the match between you and his daughter, Cara." My father said again. "And I agreed to it."

"!!"

"What the hell? You decided something that important without my permission?!" I growled furiously. In fact, I immediately stood up from my seat. Staring at my father with sharp and gnashing teeth from within.

It was clear that, at this moment, emotions seemed to overflow to the top of my head. This was too harsh!

Beta Jackson chuckled casually. "It's a tactic, Son," he said later.

Then he raised his head again and looked at me coldly. "I know Alpha Archer matched you two up because he wanted to secure his daughter's position. Right now, Cara is truly on the verge of crumbling. Her chances of becoming the next Luna are few and none, but Alpha Archer desperately wants his one-and-only daughter to become the next Luna and lead this Pack."

"Tsk! He's savvy enough to use you as a tool to protect his daughter's position," Beta Jackson said later.

"My son," Beta Jackson called as he stood up from his seat. Then he walked over to me, who was still staring at him intently.

"Alpha Archer needs a powerful mate for his daughter. He will make his daughter's mate the next Alpha and set his daughter up as Luna. And you are the best candidate out of all the males in our pack." By now, Beta Jackson was standing tall and facing me.

He flashed a faint smile. "And with that, you will become Alpha, Son. The name of Cyrus will reign in the North as a powerful leader!" he added as he cupped one of my shoulders.

This was absolutely ridiculous. How could my own father plan such a crazy thing?!

"I'm not interested!" I said that and shook off his hand. "First, Cara is too young for me. Second, what if she meets her own fated mate after she finds her wolf? She has a boyfriend, and he could be her mate, Dad!"

“Hahaha, are you sure that brat is the mate of a great Alpha's daughter, Son? That boy is just a hunter!" Beta Jackson emphasized every word clearly. "Even if that guy is Cara's fated mate, I'm sure Alpha Archer would reject that very fiercely. He would not approve of his daughter having a lower rank mate."

Now I was the one who chuckled softly, as if laughing at the ridiculous explanation. "Alright, but how about Cara? She hates me so much."

"Easy," Beta Jackson said. "You just need to make her fall in love with you, Zelos. Make her unable to escape your arms and melt into you. Cara is just a little girl. It's easy to make her bend the knee to you."

Hearing that, I could only remain silent. Staring blankly and pensively.

With a smile on the corners of my father's raised lips, he patted my shoulder lightly again. "Think about it well. Being her husband will make you the Lord of the North. You will be the strongest and only Alpha."

"And it will be even better if the Moon Goddess blesses you both to become true mates," he added as he walked away, leaving me alone.