Page 26 of The Monster at the End of This Courtship

Weld shook his head. "Don't be. I'm glad you came. You're scared, and that's normal." His stare bored into me. "For a human."

I snorted. "We aren't human."

"Exactly. I struggled too long with that truth. We're kobolds. We have to believe in the fates, gods, biology, or whatever brings us together. You and Axel will fit together as well as Punky and Lark."

"You really think so?"

He nodded. "I'm sorry I led you astray when you first arrived."

"It wouldn't have been any easier for me to accept fate. I had such a poor track record with guys." That was why I had fallen for Weld when I first arrived. He was an alpha interested in me for all the wrong reasons, which had been my vice on Earth.

"I can't stay in this village," Weld whispered. "I don't want to cause any trouble between Robin and his parents. I train the alpha children with Lark, but Robin's been sneaking out of his omega classes to spend time with me. Lark will never trust me, not until he's grown."

"Where will you go?" There were other kobold strongholds, but they were all at least a day's ride or flight away. Priestesses occasionally visited us from other places, and several had been invited to move to our fortress, called the needle by visitors and the dragon alike.

"Priestess Alma mentioned a stronghold to the west. She hasn't heard from them for a couple years. Mac asked the dragon about them, and their answers were … disturbing, as dragon answers are."

He sighed, and then he grinned. "You reminded me, I also want to stop by the dragonet stable to ask Mac about the newest hatchlings."

"I'll go with you." It was as good a time as any to see if Mac had an update on the sand pit.

Weld noticed the blanket balled in my lap for the first time, and patted my hands where they gripped the soft fabric. "Let's stop by the cathedral first. I haven't had time since the reemergence."

I nodded. When he tugged the blanket from me, I let it go. I was grateful for his offered hand, lifting me from the chair.

Where before we would have walked hand in hand, or with Weld's arm draped over me, we jostled elbows and brushed shoulders along the narrow tunnels. Once we reached the cathedral, we stopped at the largest shrine to the dragon. I lit a candle and Weld lit another using our magic. Then, we kneeled before the obsidian statue. I didn't whisper this time, too self-conscious with Weld there. We'd lost our eggs, but that was in the past. He needed to see more of Ignitas, and I didn't want my words of mourning to hold him back.

My eyes stung as I imagined Statler and Waldorf's spirits floating beside us. I didn't believe in heaven or hell. The kobolds believed their spirits returned to the creator dragon when they passed on, and to me, it seemed as good a belief as any. I wished our baby kobolds safe travels on their way to the spirit realm.

I didn't miss them the way I missed my parents. I'd had longer to grieve for Mom and Dad, but the sting in my chest was still sharp and immediate when I thought of them, not the dull ache for our eggs.

I loved our little eggs because they were part of us, but it wasn't the same. Without any happy memories of them, I worried I would forget them as soon as Axel and I mated. I wished they'd had a better chance at life.

I wiped my tears on my plaid shirt sleeve as I stood. I waited a few seconds before Weld stood beside me. He wrapped his arms around me, and I squeaked.

"I know we said no more physical affection," he whispered in my ear, "but you looked like you needed a hug."

From the wetness of his sniffles, he needed it as much as I did. There was a finality to the way he patted my shoulder before leading the way outside. The world had shifted while we kneeled before the dragon shrine. The door to our past failed mating had closed, allowing the one between me and Axel to fully open. Now, all I had to do was walk through it.

Chapter 10

Axel

Iknew what it meant to take it slow, really, I did, but it was hard when Tuft's scent filled my entire brain with want. Add to that how much fun we'd had watching movies, talking, and making out long into the night, and I was falling fast.

Tuft walking across the field to the dragonet stables with his ex was a glass of cold water over my head. He wasn't ready to move on yet. He said he wasn't into the guy, but he must have been, to want to spend time with him instead of me.

Jealousy flared in my gut. I had never been the jealous type, though maybe I should have been. Rosanna and James were constantly together. I should have put two and two together before I saw them making out in our bedroom.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda, but Rosanna was firmly in my past. Tuft was my future, and I didn't want to be the guy who pushed him away, even if I was an alpha kobold. I was still part human, and that part of me wanted to remain neutral about Weld. He and Tuft shared a past, but it wasn't a happy one. I owed them some empathy for losing their babies, even if their idea to have them was ill-conceived.

I made my way inside the dragonet stable and found Weld deep in conversation with Mac, while Tuft was bent over thecenter octagon's railing, patting the little orange dragonet's head. At this range, I couldn't keep my distance any more than a moth could avoid a shiny blue bug zapper on a warm Texas night. Like the bug zapper, Tuft wore an electric blue t-shirt beneath an unbuttoned blue and navy checkered flannel. He'd rolled the long sleeves, showing off his gorgeous forearms.

"Axel!" Tuft grinned and hopped off the bars into my arms. "Mac said she's bonding to me. I can see her thoughts in my head. Isn't that great?"

"That's wonderful."

"What are you doing here? Mac said he would tell Merritt once the dragon stopped hemming and hawing about the sand pit."

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