"They're waiting for you," she muttered, nudging me gently in my stomach.
"They're admiring you," I countered.
She huffed at that and tried to pull away, but I refused to release her, leading us both up the few short stairs.
I raised a hand, waiting for the cheers and the rumbling conversation to die to an expectant silence. "Thank you all for joining us today. I know my…impatience to claim my omega came as a surprise to many of you," I said, taking a special kind of pleasure in rattling the crowd's interest and Brigid's nerves by savoring a long pause to stare down at her until she started to squirm. When she shot a subtle glare up at me through her lashes, I indulged myself with a soft kiss on her forehead, reveled in the way she eased into me, and then turned back to the gathered company.
"I don't mean to be contrary. I have loved and lived in these hills for all of my life. It has long been a wish of mine to stand before you all as your alpha." I smiled through the hurrahs, my body swelling proudly as Brigid's hand rested against my chest. I covered her touch with my own, steadying us both.
"I took my omega in an unconventional manner, it's true. In some ways," I added more softly, so the crowd had to hold their breath to listen, "it felt as though she claimed me first."
Brigid arched a brow at that, eyes just barely narrowing.
I ran a finger down her spine, and the irritation melted into awareness. I wanted her. Ineededto be inside of her. The itchand burn of the rut had never been so demanding. I'd left the bed before dawn this morning, too aware that we might not leave it at all if I let myself wake her in the manner I wished.
"I will be a good alpha to you all," I said, but I held Brigid's gaze. "I have the best of omegas to make sure of it."
Her eyes flinched, her hand tightened at my back, and her lips parted, barely mouthing my name. If I pushed her any more, she might break in front of our audience, and that would certainly not soften her to me. I knew her that well, at least. Brigid was beautifully proud. Her dignity was armor—armor I hoped she might unburden herself of someday. But not here in front of the crowd.
"In honor of her, and because today's proceedings were never going to go traditionally," I said, pausing for the soft huffs and faint laughter, "I propose a curious twist on the event."
The omegas stirred, eyes widening, looking nervous. In the risers, betas grumbled. I turned to them, smiling, barely hiding my disdain. Perhaps not hiding it at all.
"Gentlemen. I am sure many of you are eager to claim a fine woman of your own. No doubt you have your mind set on one. Ihopeyou've done all you could to convince her to feel the same," I said, low, not straining to be heard. I knew they were listening. Then I straightened and called out, "Will any beta who seeks an omega to claim, or desires to take a new companion, please make their way to the stage, so our omegas might admire you better."
"Torion, what—" Brigid breathed, but her voice was stifled under the cries of objection, shock, and a few easy laughs of those who thought I was joking.
"I suggest you be quick. As we are all so aware, there's quite a few more of you than there are eligible women," I called out above the rabbling conversation.
There was a stutter, a few familiar faces looking nervously at one another, and then a strapping, young beta strode down from the middle of the pack, chest puffed and golden wings stretched proudly at his back. He grinned at the crowd of omegas, tipping his head in deference, and made his way calmly up the steps to the stage.
"This is…madness," Brigid whispered, her eyes darting back and forth as more betas hurried to join him, their protests toppling at the prospect of being left out of the proceedings.
"Do you object?" I asked, bending my head to hers, hiding the words in the curls of her hair, my body stiffening and swelling at the brush of those soft strands against my lips.
Brigid's lips were pressed flat, and I wondered if I'd blundered, angering her and the betas at the same time. Her hands covered my arm around her waist, her grip tightening with surprising strength. She twisted only slightly, enough for me to see a kind of wild joy in her eyes, almost entirely hidden by her blank expression.
"I heartily approve," she gasped out, one hand stroking meaningfully over my forearm. "I will demonstrate as much when we are alone."
I wanted to kiss her, and the soft scratch of her nails told me she was thinking the same. But if we did, I wasn't sure we would make it off this stage without thoroughly exposing ourselves, and that was not the show I had planned for the day.
"This must be from you," she murmured, and this time as she pulled away, I let her go, allowing myself the moment to savor the regal glide of her form onto the bench where she could wait for me.
She'd appeared in my house on the day I'd risen as alpha like a boon granted for my success, like some wild, enchanted creature sent by the old dragons. My little witch.My woman.
I turned back to the gathering, not bothering to hide my smug satisfaction from the betas glaring at me from the stage. I looked down to the young women waiting with wide eyes to hear my next instruction, and then over to the women who had been left standing on the risers, staring at the betas who had chosen them a handful of years ago, now taking their chances on a new match. There were some men who'd berated me only days ago, wanting their chance at choosing a new omega, who remained standing next to their own claimed woman, probably wise enough to realize what I had planned. There was a young woman alone now, wiping tears from her eyes at being abandoned. I didn't know her name or who had been her beta, but she lifted her chin with a mulish determination and turned to glare at me.
"Omegas," I purred into the expectant quiet. "Take your pick." I swept my arm toward the crowded huddle of men waiting on the stage and watched their expressions freeze, their eyes go out in many directions to the crowd, their faces flush.
For a moment, all was stillness, omegas gaping at me, the betas on the stage feeling the first flash of panic regarding their fate. I wondered if any regretted their choice to leave their last omega behind.
And then a bright, delighted cry came from the ground, a young woman with long black hair shoving her path clear as she raced for the stage. An equally young man, one I recognized as the youngest son of a prosperous beta, shouted from the back stage and forced his own way toward the stairs. The pair united with a clash of bodies, their arms tangling around one another, mouths meeting in joyous relief. Behind me, Brigid sobbed out a laugh, and I indulged myself with a glance at her, seeing her eyes shining and her mouth covered to hide her happiness for the couple.
The dam was broken, and a clamor of women charged for the stage, shouting at one another, shouting at the men waiting forthem. Some didn't wait, a few betas leaping down to meet their lovers halfway. It was likely for the best. The stage had been designed for a dozen or so young women, not the stampede that was taking place.
A warm hand clutched mine, and I stepped back to join Brigid on the bench, our shoulders resting against each other.
"Look." She nodded toward the tearful woman I'd noticed a moment ago.
