Page 46 of The Monster at the End of This Molt

"I like what you've done with the place," I said to Grindl while Coz passed around the snack foods and dealt cards for poker.

"It was more necessity than anything."

"I'm glad it was necessary." I sounded like a complete fool, but I still felt like an ass for almost costing them their oldest sons.

"We're glad you're home," Coz said. "Now fold, pass, or raise."

"I don't have any money." I hadn't thought to switch out any of my possessions for cash.

"We play for chips!" Punky tossed a snack-sized bag at my head, and the game was on. I ended up eating more dill pickle chips than I played. Robin had cheddar chips in his bag, so we ended up sharing and trying to stuff chips in each other's mouths while the game went on around us.

Axel ended up winning the prize box of healthy snacks for their kids, and then we sat talking until the kids' movie ended.

"That's our signal to leave." Tuft stifled a yawn and helped me to my feet. "We'll see you next week." He said it with a smile, but his tone held an edge of warning.

"Next week. Absolutely."

"Every week until the end of the season. Then, we'll have two weeks off for the dragon reunion before we start up again. Are you interested in starting a team of your own, or do you want to stick with ours?"

"Yours." Robin answered for us, but I heartily agreed.

"All right. It's an eight-week season, and then we'll see where you are."

"Pregnant, I'd guess." Coz winked.

Robin glanced down at the table as his cheeks flushed pink.

"We'll see," I said. It wasn't a promise, or even a hint at one, but Robin met my gaze with a shy smile. Through our bond, I felt his hope.

I didn't want to let him down.

* * *

I appreciated Lark's patience with me, but I didn't deserve it. He was a much better teacher now than he had been that first year. I'd traveled the world and met all sorts of kobolds, but I had no classroom presence and less of Punky's "with-it-ness," the sense some teachers had that told them when someone was about to cause trouble.

I didn't have that at all. In fact, I walked right into open traps my students set for me. "Tell us about the fight in the grotto!" This was from Marco, Coz and Grindl's youngest alpha son.

"Which one?"

"There was more than one?" Marco blinked up at me innocently. I was halfway through the story before I realized I'd monopolized the time Lark had wanted to spend on calculus with my history lesson.

"Why didn't you stop me?" I asked after I'd retrieved our lunches from the cafeteria.

"We're kobolds with magic," he said. "Do you really think they need to know calculus? They could magic up formulas on their phones now."

"You still need to teach them the formulas," I said around a large bite of dressing-covered spinach.

Lark watched me eat the whole bowl of spinach salad in under a minute. He clapped when I put my fork down with a flourish. "You haven't changed at all."

I wanted to argue. I had changed in the ways that mattered. I used my words instead of my claws now. I was kinder to strangers, and I didn't jump to as many conclusions before asking questions.

Instead of arguing, I kept my mouth shut. I sent my dirty dishes back to the cafeteria collection area and waited for him to continue.

Lark finished eating and his dishes vanished, too. Then, he met my gaze. "I know you want to argue with me, but it's true. You had already become the alpha you are today before you met Robin."

I nodded. "Losing our clutch was hard on Tuft and me."

"It was more than that. When Galen claimed I was your better, I thought you were going to challenge me, maybe kill me, but?—"

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