"Omega Cadogan," DeRoche greeted, his voice deep but more musical than I'd expected from such a rough and rugged person. "I will admit that I lacked faith in Cadogan's judgment up until this moment. What a pretty treat she is, my lord."

I wondered if I should've been embarrassed by the sudden bloom of my perfume or the blush on my cheeks, but Ronson only draped a heavy arm over my shoulder and purred, ducking his head in acknowledgement of the compliment to me.

"He's been insufferably pleased with himself ever since the selection ceremony," Niall said to DeRoche, who laughed without any reserve, a boisterous sound that must've carried over waves and through storms.

To me, Ronson had always been like thunder, heavy and quiet, comforting and threatening at the same time. This man was the sea, huge and dangerous and beautiful.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my lord. Ronson speaks with great…animation about you," I said.

And as all three men laughed, I found myself strangely light, my body straightening easily, the flipping in my belly settling beneath the weight of something…unfamiliar to me. I glanced up to find Ronson staring hungrily down at me.

"I'm no lord, my lady. A mister will do. Or you may call me darling, if you'd rather," the alpha teased.

Ronson snapped a glare in his direction. "She certainly may not, you bastard. Get out and leave us to refresh ourselves."

"And here I thought we were gathered together for diplomacy," DeRoche laughed, winking at me and turning on his heel.

"Ronson's rudeness is a compliment, trust me," Niall said to the other alpha. He arched a brow at the pair of us. "Almost everyone else is mingling. Don't get distracted."

Ronson huffed and waved his brother out of the tent, but when he turned to me, there was no disguising the wicked tilt of his smile.

"Distracted, omega? What on earth could he have meant?"

I squeaked but could only laugh as Ronson swung me up into his arms and hurried us toward the richly-dressed bed at the far end of the tent.

After more or less behaving ourselves in the tent—Ronson had tortured me with a thorough massage of my hips and legs that did not end in my release but did leave me much more comfortable to walk around—and after I was freshly dressed with my hair braided and twisted and pinned up, we joined the rest of the company on the lawn.

"You didn't bring your new omega?" Ronson asked the Alpha of Grave Hills.

Torion Feargus suited the name of the region he ruled over, in my opinion, with inky dark curls and smooth bronze skin, his brighter gold scales shimmering over his throat and chest. He scowled as he stared out over the field, eyes narrowing on someone behind me.

"Brigid asked to remain at the castle," he said. He shook himself and then forced a stern smile to his lips. "She finds alphas oppressive to be around."

"Well, if she's been stuck with you, it's no wonder," Seamus said, eyes glinting with mischief.

Damian Worthington, the Alpha of Skybern who had wandered over with his own omega—a beautiful, petite woman named Helena, who I was trying very hard not to resent for her remarkable resemblance to Adelaide—barked out a laugh and elbowed at Torion's shoulder.

Torion's smile was stiff, and there was a flinch in his eyes. I wondered if he thought Seamus was perhaps correct, and I struggled, my eyes bouncing around the small party we stood with, trying to think of the right thing to say.

"Or perhaps she simply has a preference for only one alpha in particular," I said, urging a smile to my own lips as I looked up to Torion on my right.

The somber man glanced at me, and the tension around his eyes eased into warmth. He bowed his head toward me in thanks, and Ronson's arm around my waist squeezed gently.

"It's an adjustment," I murmured to the alpha.

"For us both," Torion answered, his tone equally quiet. Seamus covered our exchange, chastising himself for his rudeness and praising me flirtatiously.

"Enough. She is spoken for," Ronson growled at Seamus, clutching me closer.

"You make it too easy for him to tease you, alpha," I said, settling my hand over Ronson's chest. My alpha thrummed with a purr, gazing down at me, and my cheeks warmed.

"My, my, Ronson. I thought the latest rumors about you were an exaggeration, but it appears to be true."

The ease of our conversation stalled in the wake of Alpha Worthington's declaration. Ronson tensed at my side, wings stretching slightly, and I pressed my hand in place, holding him back.

"Rumors travel through so many lips. Whether or not they bear any resemblance to the truth is often a matter of chance, my lord," I said.

Damian Worthington blinked at me. He bore some resemblance to Ronson, with dark hair and handsome features, but he was a slightly smaller man and seemed to lack my alpha's potent quality. He reminded me of the dragonkin gentleman who'd laughed when Adelaide had teased me and who had ignored me at balls.

"If you've heard that I consider myself very lucky in my choice of omega, then for once the gossip has served true," Ronson purred, his hand stroking down my spine as he dipped his head in Worthington's direction.

"Of course," Worthington said stiffly, forcing a smooth smile onto his lips. "A great compliment to you, Omega Cadogan."

Ronson bristled, and behind me Niall huffed in annoyance, but we were saved from any further polite antagonizing by the blaring declaration of a horn at the center of the field.

"That's our cue," Seamus said with a sigh of relief and a wink in my direction. He bowed. "Ladies, gentlemen, we alphas must take our leave for the flight."

Ronson tugged me backwards and then circled me, curling his wings around us to create a moment of privacy, his head ducking toward my mouth. I lifted my face, smiling slightly, ready for his kiss, but instead he nuzzled his nose to mine and whispered against my lips.

"Be careful. Some of the betas here are only waiting for the right moment to become the next alpha." Ronson sipped and grazed his mouth over mine, our eyes open and catching at one another. "Tell me what you think of them when I get back. I trust your judgment."

Now that I knew my own perfume better, I was more aware of its bloom, filling the little cocoon of wings around me. I laughed as Ronson growled and clutched me in earnest, slanting his mouth over mine for a brief but deep, licking kiss. He pulled away, eyes black and chest heaving. I pushed him back, smiling at his growl.

"They'll fly without you," I said.

"Then we could just go back to the tent and⁠—"

"Seamus!" I called, laughing as a tanned and scarred hand caught Ronson by the back of his collar, tugging him away from me.

"Let the girl have a few hours of peace, you menace," Seamus said, dragging my alpha along.

Ronson shot me a sharp grin, his eyes glinting in warning, and then spun and strode away with Torion and Seamus on either side of him. Niall stepped up to my side, and I avoided his eyes for a moment, too aware of the heat of a blush on my cheeks and chest.

"He's showing off for the others, isn't he?" I murmured. Showing me off. Playing up being smitten. I wanted Niall to break the spell, to crack the bubble of happiness that was growing painfully large in my chest. Better to do it now before I really started to believe it, surely?