The few nests I'd built had been for myself, in my bedroom. They were small and personal, smaller than the bed I was now gaping at. The alpha's bed had four short, decorative posters, and the beams of the ceiling had a number of hooks, but I had no notion where to start on building a cozy nest for Lord Cadogan and myself in such an enormous space.

"Your things will be brought here by the end of the day or tomorrow," Beatrice said, moving slowly into the room. I noticed, with a little resentment, that she wasn't busy catching her breath. She was used to these endless staircases, and probably the enormous rooms too. "The maids will bring you a selection of linens for the nest, but you'll have to give them instruction on what more you'll need. You won't see Ronson before dinner, not now that Niall has him. Ask the staff to find me if you have any more questions."

She turned in the room, eyeing it critically. I had thousands of questions. Did the alpha sleep here normally? There were a few bits of evidence, like the open wardrobe of clothing and a pair of dusty boots by the door, but the room didn't look very personal. Was there a particular way I was meant to build a nest to share with a dragon in rut? Except I should've known that already.

"The nest will keep you busy," she said, pursing her lips and studying me with a hawkish look.

"Of course, yes," I said, wondering how obvious my complete lack of preparedness was to her keen gaze.

She nodded her head in one firm jerk and then marched toward the door I was blocking. I ducked out of the way before she plowed right through me.

The room felt even larger once I was left alone. With Beatrice's fresh omega scent gone, the deeper woodsy and smoky alpha notes teased at my nose and my tongue. Yes, he slept here. The room was clean and sparse, but it smelled like him. I wet my lips and glanced over my shoulder, making sure I was alone again as I pulled and yanked on my dress and the tight stays beneath it that were now uncomfortably soaked with sweat.

Maids would be arriving with food and materials to build a nest I had no notion of how to construct. I wanted to strip myself free of my confining garments and roll into those clean and crisp looking sheets, see if I could reach the corners of the bed as I stretched—I suspected not. But I didn't want to be caught sweating like a pig and lazing about, not when I was so sure the entire castle—and probably the island—was waiting to see what absurd mistakes I would make.

Still, a bit of fresh air would be nice. It was cooler by the sea. I crossed to the balcony, grunting as I opened the doors made of wrought iron and poured glass. They creaked, and I gasped as a chilly burst of air rushed around me, making the world a little clearer and cooling the sweat under my layers of clothing.

I had never seen the island from such a high vantage point, and it took my breath away. Bleake Isle seemed enormous. It was all I'd ever known of the world, but from here in this high tower, looking down on the grid map of the village in the distance, almost able to make out the distant edge of the island where docks waited, it revealed itself as a small kingdom.

Still too large to be ruled by you, I thought, lips twisting wryly.

But the alpha had chosen me. Perhaps to spite Adelaide and Hugh Gamesby. Perhaps because my inability to keep my mouth shut had made him see me as an ally.

I know I did make the right choice, Mairwen Posy.

I flushed and closed my eyes as the wind rushed over me, sharp with sea air but familiar too, with the woods and the hay from the farms and the meadows of wildflowers.

Lord Ronson Cadogan had chosen me as his omega after half a century of refusing others. He claimed he'd made the right choice, even as every other omega and beta likely thought he'd made a terrible mistake.

I wanted to believe him. Him and not them. But it wouldn't be so simple. I wouldn't blossom into the perfect omega just because he had stopped in front of me and declared me his choice. If I wanted his choice to be right, I had to help prove it so.

The door opened, and a flurry of maids called to me, their arms laden with fabric and pillows and cords and hooks. I smoothed my hands down my wrinkled skirts and straightened my shoulders, turning on my heel and determined to start now.

Build a nest for the alpha, Mairwen. I swallowed hard and fought my blush. For you both.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter SevenRONSON

“Do you think Grave Hills is ready for a new alpha?" Niall asked, one leg crossed over the other as we sat on opposite sides of my desk.

I grunted and shrugged. "You know how these things go. The old guard resists, but there's nothing any of them can do. If Torion can best Lachlan, then he has the strength to rule the betas."

Niall hummed and nodded, but I snorted, wondering if I could read my half-brother's mind.

"And then starts their scheming," I said, thinking of my own less than stable control over the island.

"Torion is even more stubborn than you. Either he'll take an omega straight away, or he'll go twice as long refusing them all," Niall said, crooked smile flashing.

At the mention of omegas, my eyes slid past Niall's shoulder to the doorway, as if Mairwen might have appeared there. She had no reason to come to my office, and Beatrice was unlikely to bring her here. I kept catching the faintest traces of her perfume on my clothes, lingering and clinging after our flight, and it was driving me a little bit mad.

"If Torion does move soon, you'll have an ally against the betas here," Niall noted, catching my attention once more.

"I have an omega now too, which works in my favor," I said. Niall made a soft sound, and my eyes narrowed. "You were the one to point out her superiority. I didn't expect you to have such doubts about Mairwen."

Niall's eyebrows rose. "I considered her interesting. But she's obviously not respected by local dragonkin. You took an omega to prove to the betas that you could, that you'd have an heir. But it seems you took the one they valued least."

"That's their mistake, not mine," I snapped, pushing back from my desk and rising to standing.

Niall stared at me for a moment, blinking, and his lips parted. "Ronson. You like her."

I huffed. "I know that."

"Oh. I didn't."

I scowled at him for a moment, reaching up and scrubbing my hand over the eager bristles of my beard. Should I shave before dinner, or would it be better to let it grow out? I wouldn't shave during the rut, and it might chafe Mairwen's skin to start.

"From what you've told me, you can trust her, which is good. And if you like her, then…then that's good too," Niall said, his lips twitching.

I resisted the urge to snarl, but my face was growing warm. "I'm not— It isn't— She was the best of the lot, and she wasn't marked," I spat out.

Niall wasn't chastened, and I regretted speaking the words, the way they belittled the odd omega whose company I'd been craving all day.

"Fair enough," Niall said too lightly. "It's late. I'm sure Cook's chomping at the bit to serve dinner."

I spun, looking out the windows and sighing. The sun was setting. It was time for dinner. This baffling day was almost over, and I would end it with Mairwen, alone at last. Maybe I could take her flying again.

Or maybe I'll just drag her into the nest and keep her there until I've finally discovered what's under all those boned and bound layers of hers.