Alistair opened the door and blinked as he came face-to-face with his mother. "Mum, can't it wait? You can see me after the ceremony."
"Nonsense." She gently pushed him back into the room. "I have a wee gift for you."
Doing his best not to grimace, Alistair shut the door and asked, "What is it?"
His mother retrieved something from her bag, wrapped in a white material. "It's something from your father. He left wee presents for each of his sons, ones he wanted me to give you on your mating day. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I'd ever have the chance to give it to you."
He kept his voice light and free from irritation. "Aye, well, I'm being mated shortly, so you can give it to me now."
"I'll ignore your tone for the moment, and put it down to your eagerness to see your female again."
His mother had insisted they spend the night apart, as was tradition for many dragon-shifter families. "Aye, I am, so let's not keep Kiyana waiting."
His mum unwrapped the material to reveal a silver brooch, the type his clan pinned to the strap thrown over the shoulder for their traditional dress outfits.
The woven circle had a dragon wing intersecting the middle.
A memory from his childhood danced at the edge of his memory, but he couldn't quite place it.
His dragon spoke up. Dad wore it for our first flight performance.
The first time a young dragon-shifter showed off their new flying skills was celebrated on Lochguard. And while not everyone dressed to the nines for the event, his parents had done so.
Even if it had embarrassed ten-year-old Alistair at the time, he remembered it fondly now.
His mother pinned it on the material over his pectoral. "You always eyed it as a lad, and your dad remembered." She gently patted the brooch. "And it suits you, Alistair. Make sure to wear it to your own child's first flight performance, to carry on the tradition."
While he dismissed many of his mother's requests, this one he agreed with. "Aye, of course. Thank you, Mum."
He hugged his mother, and she replied, "I was worried about you for so many years, Alistair. But now you have a fine lass, and I know you'll be happy." She pulled back. "Just try to give me a granddaughter, aye?"
The corner of his mouth ticked up. "I'm not sure I can guarantee that."
"Then keep trying until you do."
All of Alistair's tests pointed to him not being completely infertile, but merely having a low sperm count. It was possible—although extremely difficult—for him to have more children.
Not that it mattered. He and Kiyana would always love the child currently growing inside his mate's womb. If that was their only bairn, he would still be grateful. "We'll see, Mum. Now, unless you want to keep Kiyana waiting, I need to go."
She patted his cheek one last time before stepping back. "Aye, go and claim your mate, Alistair. She's not one you want to let slip away."
"No, never."
As he exited the room, his dragon chimed in again. Walk faster. We're late.
I'm doing the best I can, dragon.
He'd decided to go sans cane for at least the initial ceremony.
However, he did his best to reach the door leading to the dais of the great hall in record time.
He was lucky to have found a female like Kiyana—especially given how he'd thought he'd never find another female to love a few short years ago—and he wanted the world to know she was his mate.
~~~
Kiyana stood next to Finn, who was waiting for Alistair to arrive before he went on stage to introduce them.
It was strange for Lochguard's leader to be so quiet, and yet she understood the reason why behind it. Finn had some sort of announcement to make after their mating ceremony, one that Arabella had hinted about being huge but one she had refused to share.