Page 48 of The Monster at the End of This Molt

At the time, Robin had assured me the book was still at his parents' house. Now it sat on our shared nonfiction bookshelf. I wanted to read it, but first, I needed to finish reading the letters Robin had gathered over the years.

We sat on our bed with our backs supported by pillows. Robin leaned on my shoulder and laced his fingers through mine. Each time I read a letter, I put it at the back of the pile and took the next from the top. Today's letter was from Olaf, another elder at The Grid. I'd assumed the beta was younger than Pinkie, but he was one of the oldest living kobold/human hybrids, thanks to his dragon bond with Bale.

His letter was about dragon bonds. Robin chuckled each time Olaf swore in the letter, which was a lot.

"I remember the first time Papa read it to me," he said once I slipped it to the back of the pile. "He inserted a lot of 'flipping,' 'forking,' and 'shiz.'"

"The entire time I lived in The Grid, Olaf never mentioned he was Bale's mate."

"Don't take it personally," Robin said. "Dragons are a secretive lot. Chance and Lux still won't say if they've met their mates."

"Still, I should have known. Our stripes make it obvious."

He shrugged. "Not all stripes. Lemon's will never match Ernie's. Besides, you left before Mac started imprinting on Galen."

Robin's tone held no animosity when he said, "you left." He merely stated the facts.

"You forgive me?"

"For leaving?" He rolled his eyes. "How could I not? Look at all the lives you've touched. That wouldn't have happened if you'd stayed here with me."

"I'm sorry you had to wait after your tail fell off."

He lifted his chin from my shoulder and sat up straight, hugging his chest. "I would have waited forever. If these letters taught me anything, it's that fated mates and dragon bonds are real, and they last forever."

He slumped against my shoulder again, hiding his face against my neck. "Did you take comfort elsewhere while you waited for me?" His hot breath puffed against my throat.

"There was no point. They weren't you."

He slipped his arm around me. "I tried to fool around with Sunny when we were teenagers."

Despite my best efforts to stay calm, my spine stiffened. "And?"

"No kobold would touch me." He leaned over, shoving his face in mine. "I've looked like you since I was born."

I tucked the papers back into the folder and dropped it to the floor with a loud pop. Robin squealed as I pulled him into my lap. I cupped his face and kissed him until he opened for me on a moan.

Before we got too carried away, I pulled back, licking my lips. "I've been yours since then, too."

Robin nodded. "I thought so."

I grunted. "You talked to Lemon, didn't you."

"He's a great guy. Doesn't talk much unless prodded, but he's really observant."

I helped him under the covers and kissed him again. "I hope Ernie goes slow and gives him plenty of time and autonomy. His brothers were … unkind."

Robin beamed up at me with a smile that could outshine the moonlight streaming through our window. "You're pretty observant, too."

I appreciated the compliment, but, "Right now, I'd like to observe the inside of my eyelids until I fall asleep."

He snorted at my poor attempt at a joke. "Please don't tell my dad that your young lover kept you awake."

I leaned to kiss the tip of his nose before turning the light off and shoving my pillows where I wanted them so I could lie beside him. "I'll tell him you wore me out in the shower, same as every other day."

We knocked the covers askew with a little impromptu wrestling. I smoothed them out before curling around Robin. All jokes aside, I loved every waking and sleeping moment with him.

ChapterSeventeen

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