The Alpha of Bleake Isle

Chapter SixteenMAIRWEN

My shoulders ached, my hands burned, and most of my front lower half was cold and wet from spilled water, but I heaved another bucketful into my arms, stubbornly marching after Niall toward the shrinking blaze. I'd had to borrow his boots—slippers wouldn't do for such an occasion—and they were too big for my feet, sliding and chafing with each step.

Niall waited at the edge of the fire for me to catch up, and together we tossed the water, scorching steam making me wince and brace as the water crashed into the flames. Niall's hand wrapped around my arm, and he pulled me along with him back to the line of men repeating the same work. There were wagons pumping water not far from here, but every bucket counted.

The woods of the Quincy estate had grown dry in the hot summer, and a stray campfire—likely from a poacher—had caught a small area on fire, leaving it to blaze overnight before anyone realized what was happening. We'd managed to stop the fire from reaching the village, but there wouldn't be much left of the estate, although with what I knew from my wanderings, it was mainly made of brambles and weeds and pine trees.

"You're tired," Niall said, pulling me aside.

I huffed and glared at him. "So are you. So is everyone."

Even Ronson's enormous dark dragon had looked weary on the last trip back from the sea, bearing his huge burden of carted water.

Niall nodded his head toward the small cluster of women who watched us work. "Rest a moment with your mother. If you drop into a pile of ash from exhaustion, Ronson will roast me for di

And checking on me sitting in the cluster of other dragonkin women would be easier work for Niall than slowing his steps to match mine as he worked on dousing the fire. I sighed and nodded. "Fine. I'll save you a sandwich."

Niall's lips twitched as we parted ways, and I tilted my chin down to avoid the stares of the humans and beta dragons who were still working around the well. There'd been a fair amount of blustering when I'd arrived on Ronson's back and everyone had realized who I was. And then our alpha had roared and the objections had died down to whispered gossip as I hurried with Niall and set to work.

A whoosh of wings and stirring breeze swayed above me, and I paused to look up, shielding my eyes from the sun to watch Ronson's flight from the sea back to the fire, a great leather hammock gripped in his four massive, taloned feet. It was difficult to tell through the wavering heat of fire, steam, and smoke-sullied air, but I felt sure the alpha was watching me. I lifted a hand in a weak wave, and Ronson dropped two corners of the leather, a heaping flood of sea water crashing down onto the burning field.

He was flying the water to the center of the fire as the rest of us worked our way around the edges. The sun was high, and we'd been at work for hours already, but the first real signs of progress had only just begun. I was sticky and itchy with sweat, covered in soot, and only the refusal to rest had kept me upright with momentum thus far.

I paused, glancing at the huddle of women. I hadn't caught their notice yet. Most people weren't paying attention to me until they remembered I was here at all. It was such an outrageous notion for the alpha's omega to be dressed in men's clothing and helping in a crisis, most people managed to cheerfully forget my presence. Which wasn't so unusual for me, really. And in this moment especially, I didn't mind.

My mother stood with her friends, their heads bowed together, no doubt joined in some conversation that had nothing at all to do with the fire and more to do with what pairings had come of the selection, which omegas were likely to get with child, and who would make it through the births.

Behind me, a shout broke out in the distance, another group of beta men rushing back from a sudden blaze, the fire eating away at new territory, catching and spreading on a line toward town. I bit my lip and glanced at where Niall was steadily plowing on with the others, and then up at the shadow of Ronson as he turned back toward the sea.

Then I turned and ran for the spreading fire. Or hobbled as quickly as I could. Ru

None of the women noticed me passing, and I wasn't sure how likely it was that Niall would check on me right away. I should have been telling him where I was going, but I hated the idea of him tucking me back in with the omega matrons.

Perhaps I am less averse to real adventure than I thought.

I slowed as I neared the other group, my brow furrowing. They weren't moving. They weren't bustling and lining up as we had done, and though there was a well nearby and they all held buckets, they seemed to be…watching the fire. I swallowed and paused, eyeing the small patches of the fire to my left and the figures of the men ahead of me.

The Du

"How long do we keep this up?" Thomas Du

The rut?

"I don't know. It's only the Posy girl. Cadogan was desperate to grab her, but she can't be much incentive to take to his nest."

I stiffened, my face growing hot. Another day, if I'd heard the beta men speaking of me in such a way—not that they ever thought of me—I would've run from the scene. But this was more than just gossip and insults.

"We still don't know why he did take her," another beta said. "Unless he's mad. If he's not in rut, shouldn't we be trying to get him to change his mind? Dangle Adelaide back under his nose."

"Gamesby has new plans for the chit. He's locked up with her, hoping to sire before Cadogan."

My eyes widened as bile burnt in my throat. I'd never thought much of the betas of the island, but the polite society of garden parties and di

"What good will that do if the alpha gets his own heir on the Mouse?" the other Du

"What do you think we're out here for, idiot?" Thomas hissed, and there was the sound of a thump and a scuffle of bodies.

"Enough," Palmer snapped. "We're delaying the inevitable, it's true. His dragon will demand he have her eventually. But the less opportunity, the more stress and distraction, the harder we make it for him. And she's practically an old maid as it is. He's not likely to get another rut out of her. Not one that bears fruit."

My fingernails dug into the bark of the tree at my back. I needed to get away from here. Get back to Ronson. These men made me want to leave the isle to burn, to take the alpha back to the nest just to prove them wrong. But what if they are right? a wicked voice in my head teased, sounding too close to their own mocking tones.

Did I want them to be wrong? Male dragon births, only achievable after a rut, were exceptionally dangerous, and rarely did both mother and child survive. I'd dreaded the prospect with Gryffyd Evans for a myriad of reasons, mentally dropping a period at the end of the sentence of my life when I'd considered my fate after the selection.

But I'd been chosen by the alpha. And there'd been a bit of dread mingling in with all of the confusion and shock, a sense of responsibility I hadn't prepared for, a massive turn in the path I'd thought I'd been resigned to. Somewhere between drugging kisses and wry, dark smiles, I'd wandered into a silly fantasy where I was favored by the outrageously handsome, breathtaking, and mind-numbing alpha.

Who had picked me.

To bear his heir and continue his line of alphas—a line that had gone unbroken for over a millenium.

The smoke in the air offered an excuse for the sudden blur of tears in my eyes. I wanted to prove to the betas and omegas of the island that I was the right choice. I wanted Ronson's smiles and the weight of his body on top of mine and a thousand of his kisses—preferably in a variety of places. I wanted to be the perfect omega in the perfect nest, and I wanted to bear the heir, the next Alpha of Bleake Isle.

I also wanted to survive.

"Get busy. That halfling is headed our way," Palmer snapped under his breath.

I spun and found Niall storming toward my hiding spot. He would give me away and then the betas would realize what I'd heard. I flapped my hands uselessly for a moment, a breeze carrying smoke through the air and clearing the view of Niall's glare, and then I lifted one finger to my lips, nodding in the direction of the men I hid from.

He continued face unreadable aside from frustration, and then his eyebrows lifted and his steps slowed. He jerked his head, a sort of up and backward motion I didn't understand until the massive shadow of Ronson's dragon sailed overhead and then swooped, curving toward a landing in the field.

"You lot look like you could use extra wings," Niall called, redirecting slightly to pass by me without stopping. "How did this spread?"

His wings were stretched wide, hopefully enough to obstruct the view of me ru

"Ronson!"

The dragon's gaze, hot as coals, snapped to me as I burst from the treeline and onto the field, a few stares turning in my direction but most remaining cautiously on the enormous and temperamental dragon. His talons dug grooves into the grasses and dirt, kicking clumps back as he took two steps toward the skittish crowd, and then the air simmered and stirred and Ronson shrank back to his gentleman's form.

His dragon scales had been dulled by the smoke, but transformation left all that behind, and compared to everyone out in the field, he looked so pristine it made me stumble. My belly swooped at the familiar intent sharpening his expression, my own muscles tightening in anticipation.

"Mairwen," he growled in greeting, and if I hadn't known better—known the way he spoke my name when he was crawling up my body to claim my lips in a kiss—I would've panicked at the thought of displeasing the alpha.

But the alpha was Ronson, and I knew the look on his face as he begged for me to touch him.