The alpha ceremony took place only one week later. Gregory had thought about waiting until the council had finished its week of emergency meetings to judge the fate of the enemy dragon—but the people of Mountain View couldn’t be argued out of having the ceremony as quickly as possible. And truth be told, Gregory didn’t want to wait either to show off his beautiful mate.

Fortunately, as the victim of the attack he’d been a witness in the case, and so had no part in the judging. Which meant that except for two days he’d begrudgingly spent telling the council all he knew, he’d been free to spend every single second left with his gorgeous mate.

Naomi nudged his side. “There was a suspicious amount of children’s toys and clothes sitting in boxes in the living room today,” she whispered.

Gregory’s lips twitched. “Aunt Jess claims she’s been cleaning the attic and rearranging the storage rooms, to make place while the repairs in the tower are going on.”

“So she claims.” Naomi bit back a little laugh. “But I don’t think I’m wrong if I read a different intention into it...”

“Not wrong at all,” Gregory replied, his grin widening. “Little does she know that we’re already doing quite well on our own without any encouragement.”

Naomi’s hand slid into his. “It can never hurt to try. We don’t want to get it wrong, after all.”

A laugh escaped Gregory, just before the little procession at last began to move.

“If there’s one thing I’m sure of,” he whispered back, taking the opportunity to steal a final, quick kiss, “then it’s that we’re getting the ravishing part very, very right.”

Before Naomi could reply, they’d stepped out from behind the curtain that had kept them hidden from view so far.

In front of them, the town’s children were milling around, scattering colorful petals. It was supposed to be a sort of procession, but the children were too excited to keep in line. The air was filled with laughter and excited cheers. Gregory could smell the scent of flowers and sugar carried by the breeze. It came from the far end of the square, where little stalls had been set up with all sorts of fairground treats for the children.

Naomi’s hand tighten around his. When he turned to look at her, he found her eyes wide, her face flushed with excitement as she tried to take it all in.

“This is incredible,” she breathed.

Then she gasped, her eyes raising towards the sky just as a big whoop erupted from the gathered crowd.

From above, confetti came raining down. Little bits of paper were falling like snow, glistening and glittering in hues of silver, gold, and blue. There were also red balloons soaring into the sky, colorful little dots drifting in the breeze. With a smirk, Gregory nudged the wind just a little to keep them gracefully circling the square.

And above the confetti and the balloons, two eagle shifters were beating their wings, their talons clutching now empty baskets.

Gregory felt his heart fill with warmth as he raised his hand to give them a grateful wave.

This was his home. These were his friends. And now—now, at last, he’d raise his own family, and find the happiness everyone here had been telling him he’d find one day.

“Wait until you see the banquet they’ll have prepared for later,” he said.

Naomi was looking gorgeous. She was wearing a dress of silk and lace—a dress she’d discovered when she’d looked through one of the storage rooms with Gregory’s aunt Jess. It had been the dress Gregory’s grandmother had worn a long time ago to an alpha ceremony that must have looked a lot like this one.

It looked stunning on Naomi. And deep in his heart, Gregory knew that his grandmother would have been proud of the mate he’d found, and honored by the thought that the dress would be used by her grandson’s mate.

The silk clung to Naomi’s generous curves in all the right way. The lace glittered and gleamed with thousands of tiny diamonds that had been sewn to it. The dragon inside him preened to see his mate decorated with the beautiful jewels.

As they slowly circled the square, stopping every few steps to shake hands and accept congratulations, Gregory couldn’t look away from Naomi’s beautiful, animated face. She was laughing as she embraced Ginny, and then quickly intervened before a fight could break out between a pair of children who’d gotten their baskets of petals confused.

Naomi looked as though she’d always belonged here. She was at home here, just as Gregory was—and that was perhaps the most important thing of all.

Their little procession finally finished when they reached a little platform, which had been erected next to the fountain in the middle of the square.

Sheriff Banner was waiting there for them, with Jared, the griffin shifter by his side.

All through the speeches that followed, Gregory couldn’t keep from sneaking glances at Naomi.

She was glowing, there was no other word for it. Her eyes were alight with excitement and happiness. Even without Gregory’s doing, the wind kept playfully tugging at her hair, strands of the silky, black tresses brushing Gregory’s cheek.

Naomi smelled like flowers and sunlight, and beneath that sweet scent, there was something even more powerful that clung to her skin: Gregory’s own scent, just as his own skin now smelled of her touch.

It made the dragon inside him stretch his wings with a pleased, possessive rumble, even though there was now a hint of impatience in it.

Wait, Gregory told it quietly. The speeches are almost over.

The ceremony was elaborate—but not because that was how dragons liked it.

Dragons were at heart very simple in their desires. The ceremony was mostly for the town, and that was how Gregory liked it. He was a part of the town, and the town was a part of him. Especially on this day of days, when he was full of overflowing happiness, it was a happiness that should be shared with all of Mountain View.

When, the dragon hissed impatiently.

Even Naomi began to shift restlessly next to him—but then, at last, sheriff Banner finished and took a step back.

Through the following applause, Jared stepped forward. The griffin shifter wore an elegant, black suit, the cut simple, but fitting him perfectly.

With amusement, Gregory noted all the admiring eyes that followed him. Although Jared had never seemed all that eager to go and search for his own mate, Gregory’s newly mated dragon now seemed to delight in finding matches for their best friend right here in their hometown.

Let him find his own mate, Gregory gently told his dragon. Remember how it happened for us. He’ll know. One day he’ll see her, and he’ll know. We can’t speed it up for him.

“Brother,” Jared said quietly, reaching out to touch Gregory’s shoulder. “I’m so very pleased for you.”

There were no speeches to this part. This part, at last, was the true ceremony—the only important part, as far as his dragon was concerned.

It needed no words. It was ancient, powerful, filled with that same primitive, all-encompassing magic that had drawn dragons towards their mates for as long as they existed.

From his pocket, Jared drew a chain of silver. A diamond glistened on it—a rare diamond that was not a translucent white, but instead had veins of pale blue and green spreading through it. It was impossible to get a good view of them—they shifted inside the diamond, just as the breeze carrying petals and bits of glitter shifted all around them.

It was the most precious jewel of Gregory’s hoard. The diamond encased a tiny part of him, a spark of his dragon’s essence—the very element that had been his companion since the moment he’d been born.

Now, Gregory took hold of it and raised it. The crowd fell silent as it sparkled in the sunlight, the wind picking up so that petals danced all around them.

Then Gregory reverently fastened the chain around Naomi’s neck. The diamond came to rest against her skin, and a sigh went through the crowd just as Naomi’s eyes widened.

Through the bond, he could feel her surprise. The wind abruptly ceased to blow.

Before she could speak, he leaned forward and kissed her. In front of them, the crowd cheered, but all he had eyes for when he drew back was Naomi.

“It’s a part of me,” he said earnestly. “A part of my dragon. It’s the most precious thing I own. It’s yours, just as much as I am yours. I’m bound to you, just as my power is bound to you. Forever.”

“Forever,” Naomi echoed softly, her voice filled with awe.

Gently, her fingers traced the diamond—and then her eyes widened again with surprise when the breeze picked up, petals circling around them, going faster and faster.

“Did I...” she asked, her voice shaking.

Before Gregory could answer, she touched the diamond again and looked up at the storm of petals all around them.

A moment later, the wind shifted. A colorful rain of petals came down over the crowd, which now erupted in whoops once more, children running back and forth with shrieks of delight as they tried to catch the petals.

“It’s a part of me,” Gregory said. “And I’m a part of you.”

“Forever,” Naomi said in wonder—and then, all ceremony forgotten, she wrapped her arms around him.

As he lifted her to twirl her around, she laughed and laughed, the mate bond filled with nothing but overflowing love and joy.