Page 5 of The Monster at the End of This Molt

I shook my head. I knew the truth. "Your parents would never have forgiven me."

"My parents want us to move back to The Pavilion when you're ready."

I'd heard Galen had renamed our home, but, "Both of them?" I asked. "And did you ask Tuft?"

"Don't you bring Tuft into this. He missed you when you left, and you know it."

I hadn't expected his vehement defense of my ex-partner. "I had to leave. I couldn't be around you."

"I know." His voice was soft, and the tears in his eyes finally spilled over, trailing over skin and scales before dripping from his jaw.

"I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know that, too."

I couldn't stand watching him cry. Opening my arms, I drew him in. He dropped his head to my bare shoulder. I should have put my shirt on first, but it couldn't be helped. This was yet another temptation I could ignore, for my sanity's sake.

"It's getting dark." Stating the obvious had always been my biggest flaw. I wasn't fast, like Coz. I didn't have magic like Lark. I was just smart enough to get myself in trouble, like when I'd noticed most of the grotto was unfit for kobold eggs. I'd been the only one foolish enough to go against the priestesses and say it out loud.

At least Punky had done something about it. If he hadn't, Robin wouldn't be here with me today. As annoyed as I was that my mate was ruining my plan, the one I’d never explained to him, I was also overjoyed.

"Come to my cabin with me. I have a pull-out. You don't need to stay in the omega rooms."

He wormed closer to me, dropping his hands to the backs of my thighs. I felt his lips moving along my neck, tasting, teasing.

"Robin."

"Mmm?"

"We're not mating tonight." If I had it my way, we'd wait the full two years. "You can sleep on my couch."

"Mm-hmm."

"But you have to stop kissing my neck, so you can pick up your things while I put my shirt back on and gather my tools."

He whined a negative response, but he did what I asked. As soon as his skin broke contact with mine, I wanted him back. It took every ounce of my willpower to ball my hands into fists so I wouldn't pull him to me.

Thinking I was in danger, my kobold instincts kicked in. My sharp claws sliced my palms, and pain radiated up my arms, causing the spikes at my elbows to jut out in defense. Maybe it was a good thing I wasn't wearing my shirt, after all.

Once I convinced my body I was not under attack, I eased my shirt back on and finished my water. I picked up my maul and the wedge I'd been using to hammer the tractor's wheel rim back into shape. With a wave of the maul, I motioned for Robin to follow me.

Instead, he stepped up beside me and latched his arm around mine. With a tug, he pulled my water bottle from my hand and dropped his other hand in its place. He grinned up at me in triumph, and I found myself grinning back, despite my reservations.

If given an inch, Robin would take the whole damn continent. I'd always known this about him. I couldn't resist him when sweets were all he wanted. How was I supposed to stop him when his mating desires came naturally for kobold/human hybrids?

From our first classes on Ignitas, we learned how vulnerable our population was to extinction. Dragons, the curse on our females, and even the cooling grotto all conspired against us.

The mating drive had been so fierce for me, I'd wanted to bypass the hassle of finding my fated mate. I thought I knew better than some mystical bond. As the strongest kobold alpha, I wanted to mate with the strongest omega to create hardier breeding stock for the next generation.

Instead, fate had laughed at us. Our eggs hadn't matured after hatching, while Punky and Lark hatched four healthy children in an alpha cabin above ground. That Robin was one of those children: pure irony.

Once inside my cabin, I showed Robin to the bathroom to freshen up. I still couldn't magic up a meal from the big house, but I could cook a mean dish of refried beans and rice.

After a few minutes, I heard the shower running. I had just enough time to heat everything up and set a spell to keep it warm, make the couch bed, and light a few candles in the living room before Robin emerged, looking fresh and relaxed. He was also very, very naked, choosing to forego even a towel.

I'd forgotten how much I appreciated the adult omega form. While not as bulky as me, his muscle definition begged me to trace my fingers along the planes and ridges. We didn't have belly buttons, but a trail of hair led from his waist to a triangle around his erect cock. The scales over his testicles were fully green, like mine.

I swallowed hard as I continued to look past his cock to the floorboards between us. "Help yourself to food. I'll be … I'm … um …" I glanced at his face, hoping he could understand my garbled speech.

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