Page 12 of The Monster at the End of This Courtship

I didn't care. Stroking it felt amazing, so I kept doing it, edging myself until there was no way I could hold back the tide any longer. I came with a grunt and more cum than I'd ever released, all over my chest, my abdomen, and my hand.

Then, something even weirder happened. My cock thickened even more, like I had put a plastic ring toy around it. I thought I knew what my knot was, but this was more. I kept rubbing my fingers over the bulge, teasing it to see where it felt best. I wrapped my fist above it and kept stroking with the other, imagining I was inside my omega, feeling his body wrap around mine.

My second orgasm hit without warning. I squinted my eyes shut and saw white flashes against my eyelids. How I had any cum left in me after the first time, I didn't know, but I understood how alphas could fertilize many eggs in a short time.

I now knew two things. One, I needed another shower. Two, I wasn't as straight as I'd thought I was back on Earth.

Chapter 5

Tuft

Axel was avoiding me. He'd missed lunch for two days straight, and then he skipped out after class instead of staying with me to discuss forming the recreation league with his alpha teacher, Merritt, and Priestess Alma. I was surprised to receive a notification mid-meeting while I sat before them. When I checked my phone after the five-minute spiel I'd memorized, I saw Alma had sent me an invite to the omega meetup later that afternoon.

"Axel had to hurry home to get ready," she explained.

"Wait … he's going?"

"He had his final molt. He didn't tell you?"

"I haven't seen him," I admitted. "Is he okay?"

"He's taking it all in stride," the priestess said, "but he's still convinced he has a fiancée at home and a baby on the way. We're having Lark take him to Earth tomorrow afternoon. I'm sorry I scheduled the meetup on such short notice. I wanted him to know what he was leaving behind."

I almost choked on a swallow. It was now or never. "He could choose to stay on Earth?"

"He doesn't know how to control his magic yet," Merritt said. "We'd need him to return. Once he can prove he's no danger tohimself or others, he could petition to leave Ignitas. He would also need to prove he's strong enough to hold a human glamor indefinitely. We have a deal with the humans. No human-sized lizards roaming around in plain sight, or we have to cut all ties with the Earth plane."

I had never wanted to return to Earth, so that was fine with me, but I was grateful for the amenities our alpha and beta travelers brought back with them.

"Tuft." The way Priestess Alma spoke my name, this wasn't the first time she'd tried to get my attention.

"Yes?"

"I've never seen an alpha kobold reject his mate after a meetup. One dance, and he'll forget all about that human woman."

Gods, I hoped she was right.

The next time I saw Axel was on the dance floor, standing before the table where we'd eaten lunch only a few days prior. He had taken a shower and styled his hair, so it curled around his pointed ears. I was already so far gone for him. His golden eyes and bright hair usually made him look like a lemon push-pop, but today he looked like he hadn't slept in a week.

I'd gone all out with my light gray suit with lavender sparkles and a strip of lavender silk arranged into a Balthus knot at my neck. I'd used a glamor spell to hide my talons inside my black combat boots. The lavender accentuated the yellow scales at my neck and wrists, the areas that drew Axel's attention the most.

Priestess Alma played a track I recognized from when Weld and I had danced. She beckoned the shy first-time omegas to the floor and invited the alphas to dance with them to get to know each other better.

I made my way to Axel immediately.

Someone shoved me to the side before I could reach him. I glanced up to see my former classmate, Dirk.

"Fresh meat," Dirk said as he eyed Axel. "You don't look like an alpha, either. You look like someone who could treat a guy right. Wanna dance?"

Axel frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't dance." He met my gaze over the other omega's shoulder. He looked even more unhappy to see me.

"Axel is my alpha." I hip-checked Dirk out of my way. "He belongs with me."

"You had your chance." Dirk glared at me. "Where is Weld? Still licking his wounds in the grotto after you lost your clutch?"

"We lost our clutch, but it wasn't anything either of us did. The grotto is too cold now."

Dirk rolled his eyes. "You could try again aboveground, then."

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