The questions from Gamesby and the others were all correct. I'd surprised myself choosing her. The idea had amused me overnight, but it wasn't until I was standing on the stage that I realized I'd decided on her. It wasn't that the others were marked with beta scents. And it wasn't even that I was lucky to know Adelaide's true character.

I simply…liked the little I knew of Mairwen. I wanted to know more. And the thought of uncovering her softness, of taking her into my nest and pressing that secretive form against mine for the rut…

No, that certainly didn't hurt.

I wrapped my arm around her back and placed my hand on her waist, her shoulder brushing my chest and top of her head just coming to my nose. She was quieter now than yesterday, subdued by shock. I would just have to find a way to coax her character out again.

"The longer we stay, the bolder the questions will get," Mairwen warned, glancing up at me. She had thick eyelashes the same dusty shade of brown as her hair.

"I never stay for long," I said. Although in previous years, I'd left in a quiet temper. I'd thought I was being patient at my first selection ceremony, not choosing from the betas' omega lovers, not picking one of their daughters to favor over the other. I'd only just inherited my father's seat—the alpha's challenge had been an easy feat, but nerve-wracking all the same—and I wasn't overeager to ally myself with any family. But four decades later, I realized I'd given the other dragons a tool to use against me.

And now they'd given me Mairwen.

"How did you manage to avoid Evans?" I asked as we neared the tent flap. I was relieved for her, and curious too. Was she so little favored that Evans didn't even care to mark her?

"I threw up on him," Mairwen murmured.

I'd already started to step through the parted canvas as she answered, and her words struck me hard, a sudden bark of laughter rising up from my chest.

It caught the attention of the other dragons and their wives and daughters, all milling together to the left of the stage on the tidy lawn. Few of them had ever heard me laugh, and they stared now as I fought to bury my grin. I glanced down and found Mairwen's smile was nervous, but it would do. I ducked my head to whisper in her ear, aware of the picture of us, of what gossip it might stir up.

"Then I consider myself very lucky you only fainted," I said, brushing my lips against her ear.

She huffed a laugh, relaxing just a fraction into my side. "You should. I'm still a bit queasy."

Noted, I thought. We reached the others, and I spared myself a petty private moment to find Adelaide. She was at Gamesby's side, standing in profile, eyes as wide as the moment I'd walked away from her, a kind of fixed and fragile haughtiness on her face. Had I toppled the island's princess from her pedestal? So be it.

"Brace yourself," I whispered to Mairwen, leaning down and rubbing my cheek across the top of her head once in a token mark. As an alpha, my scent was stronger, my ruts were what brought on the isle wide mating frenzy—betas experiencing a mere echo of my own urges—and I had the knot to offer an omega her highest satisfaction. Now, all of that was Mairwen's.

Her cheeks flushed and her spine straightened—a warrior walking into battle armed with a tight smile and an ill-fitting dress.

A chorus of greetings awaited us, but they weren't the congratulations I expected.

"Quite a shock indeed!"

"What a surprise!"

"How unexpected, my lord!"

The omegas of dragonkin stared at Mairwen with an open and baffled kind of amusement. They understood her ascent to my side even less than she did. And the betas were somehow worse. They had no faith in my choice, and I wondered if I'd made my position less secure, or had given myself an advantage by allowing them to underestimate me. My choice of Mairwen would only lose its irony if there was an heir worthy of my father's bloodline. My bloodline.

Mairwen's arm tightened around mine, and I followed her gaze to where Lord Posy was embracing his weeping wife. Lady Posy was taller than most of the gathered women, although not as tall as her daughter, and she had a scent like a cloud of powdered sugar. She'd been at my very first selection ceremony—a perfect rosy-pink and blonde omega, like Adelaide—and she'd shaken like a leaf as I passed her on the stage.

"Oh, Mairwen! Oh, my lord!" she cried out, turning to face us. It was difficult to tell if she was overcome with delight or sorrow.

Mairwen's shoulders drooped slightly and she slid free of me, crossing to her mother, who swooned into my omega's arms with great elegance.

"Oh, my darling girl!"

"There now," Mairwen murmured, tidying her mother and handling her to stand on her own again. She reached out, wiping away the tears from her mother's cheeks. "This is nice, isn't it?"

Lady Posy's blue eyes were wide and glossy with tears, but she echoed her daughter's smile and nodded nervously, gaze flicking to me.

"Thank you, my lord," Lady Posy said, dipping into a low curtsy. "What a great honor."

It was the first sensible thing anyone had said. "The honor is mine, Lady Posy," I said, loud enough for the rest of the crowd to hear. Mairwen's expression tightened, but she only kissed her mother's cheek and returned to my side. "As soon as Mairwen and I have settled, we'll send for you to visit."

"Thank you, Lord Cadogan," Lord Posy answered, wrapping his arm around his wife.

The betas were gathering around their chosen omegas, and while I should've stayed, offered everyone an appropriate congratulations, Mairwen was shrinking under the stares and my temper was rising.

"Come, Mairwen. It's time for you to see your new home," I said.

Chuckles rose from the beta dragons, an edge of mockery in the sound that made my claws itch in my fingertips. Mairwen took my arm again, nodding up at me, and I led her toward the edge of the gathered dragonkin.

"Good luck, Mouse."

I started to turn, and it was Mairwen who tugged me forward, her own determination stony. But I glanced back at Adelaide's quiet statement, the beautiful omega's eyes narrowed on the woman at my side. Mairwen's jaw was clenched, her chin high. The words bothered her. Was it the intention behind them, or the use of that nickname?

I stopped us at the corner of the field, in full sight of the humans, celebrating around the tankards of ale and wine, and the mingling dragonkin, who were settling the pairings of omegas to betas.

"Are you too queasy to fly?" I asked Mairwen.

Her eyes widened and her steps paused as she turned to face me. "Oh! Oh, I forgot. No, I think I'll be all right."

I nodded. "Good."

For some reason, that made Mairwen wince. "Lord Cadogan, I will…do my best for you."

"I know. That's why I chose you," I said, frowning. She didn't look reassured. It will be better when we're away from the others, I decided.

Mairwen froze as I lifted a hand to her face, cupping her jaw gently, lifting it up. She was shocked by the touch, perhaps realizing my intention, and a little terrified too. But she stretched closer. I won't have to hunch, I realized with an absent kind of approval. I ducked my head, and cheers went up from the crowd of humans. Mairwen jolted briefly, my mouth hovering over hers, her eyes huge. And then her lids fell shut and she rose up to her toes.

The kiss was shy, barely a press from her, and I found myself fighting a smile. I wrapped my free arm around her waist, tugging her closer, and gently pulled her bottom lip between mine. She released a soft note of confusion but answered the gesture with a natural impulse, molding her lips to mine, arching in my arms. That sunny amber flavor was a whisper on her mouth as I licked at her, teasing her with my tongue.