Page 1 of The Monster at the End of This Courtship

Prologue

Tuft

Ihad the worst luck. Five seconds after meeting my alpha, he already hated me.

I couldn't understand it. I wore my favorite neon yellow shirt with my rainbow suspenders and bow tie. I looked as human as I possibly could with pointed ears, lizard eyes, and a somewhat elongated snout. More human than he did, certainly. He was standing naked in the open field.

He'd appeared out of nowhere, and I'd been drawn to his scent. I'd run outside with the other omegas to see the commotion with the dragon. At first, my attention was drawn to them. We'd been warned the dragons were our enemies since our first day on Ignitas. We omegas avoided going outside, if at all possible, but here we were, all staring at the giant dragon in our midst.

The dragon didn't seem concerned with the omegas in the field, though. They flew over the bulk of us and aimed their deadly fire at the summoning circle to the east of our fortress.

Then, there he was, the gorgeous alpha with a shock of yellow hair the color of sunshine and a scent that called to me like no other. He still had a tail, which was strange, but not off-putting in the least.

I had to introduce myself. I wouldn't be me if I didn't. I had yet to meet a kobold who didn't like me at first sight. Even Punky came around after a handshake and some prodding.

"Hi!" He spun so fast, his tail whipped into my shin. I tried to hide my wince behind a smile. "I'm Tuft. I'm your omega!"

The greeting wasn't much different from how my former alpha, Weld, had introduced himself at our first meet and greet. We knew we weren't fated, but we'd hooked up, anyway. Weld had feared he wouldn't get the chance to breed if he kept waiting.

Nonetheless, it hadn't worked out between us. Our eggs hadn't matured. It had seemed like a curse at the time, but now it felt like divine intervention. Finally, my fated alpha stood before me with a stunned expression on his face.

"How did I get here?"

"Funny story." I pointed at the giant dragon still wreaking havoc on the circle. The standing rocks that reminded me of Stonehenge once reached for the sky, but now they lay in ruins and molten rubble. "That dragon just broke the changeling spell, returning all the kobold/human hybrids home to Ignitas." I didn't know that for sure, but it was a pretty good guess based on the number of naked kobolds standing around us in the field. My mate was older than most. Some weren't much older than the three beta babies riding Coz and Grindl's shoulders.

"Igni - where?" My alpha's sharp question drew my attention back to him.

"Here." I offered a grin, careful to keep my sharp teeth well concealed. I didn't want to scare him.

"I need to go home." His breaths were coming short and fast. "I can't be here. This is … what the fuck is wrong with my hands?" He swiped the air with his sharp claws. I jumped back to avoid an accidental stab. At least, I hoped it was accidental.

"This can't be real. I can't be here. I'm …"

"Hyperventilating," Priestess Alma said. She'd sneaked up behind us while I was distracted.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, and calming magic washed over him. I should have thought of that. "Come with me, young alpha. What is your name?"

"Axel." He studied her with far more interest than he'd held for me.

"Well, Axel, come and help me round up the rest of the children. We'll get you settled into one of our alpha cabins and start your education soon."

She frowned at me. "I'll corral everyone into the cathedral. We need to discuss how we'll handle fated mates going forward. Bring Weld with you, please?"

"Yes, Priestess Alma."

She led Axel away. The further they got from me, the clearer my thoughts became. If this was how my brain reacted to meeting my fated mate, I was in a world of trouble.

I wasn't what anyone would call smart. I wasn't used to being snubbed, either. On Earth, I'd been the life of the party. Here on Ignitas, I'd quickly made friends. Besides, I'd seen what happened when my classmate, Punky, met his fated mate. They'd hit it off right away! Why was mine different?

I found Weld in the middle of the field, his gaze still tracking the dragon as they flew toward the mountain peaks with a beta on their back.

"Who was that?" I pointed at the dragon-riding kobold. I had a few beta friends, but I didn't recognize him.

"Mac," Weld said. "We used to go on runs to Earth to pick up changelings together. The dragon chose him." Weld shrugged. "I thought they were going to eat us."

"It's a good thing they didn't, as close as you were."

Weld laughed and slung his arm over my shoulders. "Are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost. Or is it the dragon?"

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