At the age of thirty-seven, Dorian of House Pavus could now say that the worst day of his life was his wedding day... After a failed blood-magic ritual from his father, Dorian's body is forever changed. However Halward isn't about to let that get in the way as he offers his only son up as a bargaining chip for peace in Seheron. Dorian, son of one of the most powerful Magisters in the Imperium, is now being forced to marry a Qunari. And to add to the man's frustrations, he must be pregnant within a year.

In a world where Omegas far outnumber Alphas, a dowry system is in place. The Omega’s family offers a dowry in order to secure a respectable Alpha match, with the highest dowries netting the “best” Alphas. Aunt May struggles to secure an Alpha for her Omega nephew’s first heat. All her meager savings can afford is a butt-ugly (by his own admission) Alpha without much experience to speak of. Peter would rather go unmated than lose his virginity to a guy that can’t go five seconds without making a Monty Python reference. However, it seems Peter has no choice…

“You must never reject an alpha’s advances, or they will force them. Or direct them elsewhere and sully your name with whores and bastards,” Alicent explains to him, in the days following Aemond’s first heat at the age of 12. Explaining his added duties, his unexpected new place in society. “After enough times an alpha may let you prepare with oil. But at first you must endure the mating bite, and then the pain of every encounter after.” Or: The world teaches Aemond what it means to be an omega. And then, with much time and healing, his new husband helps him unlearn it.