Page 14 of The Monster at the End of This Courtship

Axel nodded. "Did you play Dungeons and Dragons?"

"No, but I have a friend who loves all things gaming."

"A friend on Ignitas?"

"Yes."

He laughed, and my chest felt light. He wasn't laughing at me, and it gave me hope. "See?" he said. "You have more friendsthan you know. I can't resist the shine, and I'm as straight as they come."

His hands felt clammy on my hips, though, and his scent changed to something close to arousal. Maybe he wasn't as straight as he seemed.

"Our lives aren't all about mating," I said, hoping to ease his fears. "After we have our first clutch, you can go back to whatever work you enjoy, and I'll take care of the babies."

"Oh?"

"There are other means to satisfy your needs, if you'd prefer a female kobold from the brothel, or a beta. We only need to mate to further the species. After that, you can do what you want."

He took a step back and stared down at me. "My grandma taught me something else," he said. "When Martins mate, we mate for life."

"Martens, like weasels?"

"That was my adoptive parents' last name. Martin."

I chuckled at my silly question, and he laughed with me.

Okay, then. Now that I understood what he meant, I wasn't about to argue, especially since I didn't know if I would ever see him again after he went off to Earth with Lark tomorrow. I didn't know if he would choose to mate me, but I hoped. Oh, how I hoped.

The dance ended, and the other three omegas left without mates. One of the other four alphas offered to buy a round of drinks at the tavern next to the brothel in the grotto, and the others agreed to meet him there.

Priestess Alma approached us with a pensive grin. "How are you two faring? Getting to know each other?"

"Yes," Axel said, but he still looked conflicted.

"What did you think of our recreation league idea?" I asked instead of answering her question.

"It will help with alpha aggression," she said. "It's a wonderful idea, and I would like to see you work together to make it happen."

"If I'm staying," Axel said.

There was the crux of the matter. Our courtship could finally begin now that Axel had lost his tail. Instead, I might have lost him to some Earth woman before I'd even met him. It was only fair, I supposed. I'd had a clutch of eggs with Weld, knowing he wasn't my fated mate. It hadn't worked out, but what if it had? Instead of courting Axel, I would have been taking care of my newborn babies instead.

I'd spent most of my years on Earth living a charmed life. As a kobold, I hadn't expected the karma bus to hit me quite so hard, or so soon after my indiscretion.

Once I was back in my room, I dropped onto my bed, fighting back tears. I really had expected things to be different here.

I'd been so hopeful when Priestess Alma had explained fated mates to our omega class. My hopes had been dashed when none of the alphas at my first meetup were my alpha, but then Weld had approached me at my second meetup and said it didn't matter. We could further our race by having a clutch of eggs together.

Weld said he'd picked me because I was strong, but I knew better. I was a people-pleaser on Earth. I didn't flinch away from the bigger, stronger guys, even when I knew I didn't have the physique to stand up to them. With Weld, I'd done what I always did. I'd gone with the flow. Thanks to Weld, I had experienced the wonders of slick, when before my partners had never seemed to use enough. I had also experienced spurting eggs out my cock. That first time had been terrifying. Now, I wondered what it would be like with my fated mate. Would it be passionate, like when Coz and Grindl had let us watch?

Weld and I had fun in the bedroom but delivering our eggs had been another matter entirely. It had hurt, and Weld couldn't give me a mating bite to help me through it. Then, our two little eggs starved to death because my body stopped making slick for them. It was like my body knew Weld wasn't meant for me.

Axel was my mate. My body knew it, producing more slick each day since we first met on Reemergence Day. That's what Priestess Alma was calling the day the dragon had destroyed the magic circle and brought all kobold changelings back to Ignitas at once. My alpha had reemerged from Earth. Now, I hoped Lark could convince him there was nothing left for him there.

Chapter 6

Axel

I'd only seen the alpha with the purple hair from afar on Reemergence Day. Up close, he seemed even more formidable. He'd stood up to a dragon, and I was awestruck by him and his mate, Punky.

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