Page 3 of The Monster at the End of This Molt (The Monster at the End of His Pregnancy #4)

Chapter Three

Robin

When I woke the next morning, the cabin was empty. I knew without searching every room. I felt Weld's presence through our bond, and he was outside. Far, far outside. Damnit. If he'd chosen to run again …

No. He faded, as he did when teleporting or bouncing to another plane, and then he was so close, the bond stole my breath with sweet longing.

Quickly, I dressed in the grubbiest clothes I'd brought with me. I considered magicking myself some clothes, but around Weld, I worried my concentration wouldn't hold. I could imagine myself working along with other kobolds and suddenly not wearing pants. My laugh bordered on deranged. It was one of my recurring nightmares, after all.

My very real khaki cargo pants were tight over my compression shorts, which was the main reason I brought them. That dredged up an older nightmare where my pants split up the back when I bent over. Back in the days when I had a tail, that happened a lot. At least I had my shorts now.

I left my pique polo shirt untucked in case of any emergencies. My footwear spell needed an adjustment to turn my sneakers into work boots. Finally, I was ready to leave the cabin to find my fated mate.

The first person I found was the beta from the day before, Tim.

"You stayed with Weld last night," he said. "I see the resemblance now." He pointed at the green scales on my bare arms. "He never mentioned a mate."

There was nothing but open curiosity in Tim's tone, but the thought of Weld leaving home and living out here for twenty-some years, pretending he didn't have a fated mate … that pissed me off.

"Have you eaten breakfast?" Tim asked. "That's probably where Weld is."

I felt his presence in the direction Tim pointed, toward the long building with the omega guest rooms. "Breakfast sounds wonderful."

The big house, as Tim called it, reminded me of small-town community buildings. Just inside the main doors, they had a little chapel for dragon worship, followed by numbered rooms I assumed were for guests. There was one door on the opposite side of the short hall.

"My office," Tim said. "I'm the head of our little community."

"Oh." Betas only led when a community didn't have any female kobolds. "Congratulations?"

He grinned. "Now you know why I can't wait for the big dragon shindig at The Pavilion. I don't know what I'm doing, and I could sure use some guidance."

I laughed. "My sister would guide you into a nuclear wasteland with her experiments. Let's hope you aren't fated to her."

"Sister?" He grabbed my elbow and tugged me down the hallway toward the delicious breakfast smells. "Tell me all about her."

Even without Tim guiding me, I could have found my way to the large dining area and kitchen beyond. My bond with Weld pulled me forward, even when Tim stopped to inspect the menu written in bright neon colors on a black chalkboard.

Weld sat at a small table in the corner of the dining room. The table had only one chair. Thankfully, there were plenty of empty chairs nearby. I answered a few more of Tim's questions while we filled our plates, and then he wished me well, heading for the first long table nearest the kitchen. Several other betas and an alpha and omega pair had saved him a seat at the head of the table. Their voices echoed in the large space, reminding me of home.

I took a deep breath to counter the sting of homesickness. Weld was my home now. If he wanted to stay here, so be it.

When I reached Weld's table, another omega had swiped a chair from a nearby table and sat directly across from him. The wrinkles around the omega's eyes made them look at least ten years older than me, but I'd learned not to judge age based on looks. Weld looked the same age as my siblings and me, even though he was our parents' age.

Not to be outdone, I pulled up my own chair and slid it toward the middle of the two-seater table, facing the wall.

"Good morning!" This time, I stuck out my hand to the other omega in greeting before I sat down. "I'm Robin. He/him pronouns if you please. What's your name?" I hadn't stated my pronouns since my college days back on Earth, but it was always good to let people know what pronouns to use when they wanted to talk about you behind your back, and this omega looked like they would have some choice words.

"Lemon." When they shook my hand, their face squeezed to a point, like they'd bitten into their namesake, rind and all. They didn't smell like a lemon, though. They smelled jealous.

"He was just leaving," Weld said. "Not that I wanted him here in the first place."

"He/him pronouns!" I said as Lemon stood, scraping his chair legs along the tile floor. "Good to know. See you around, Lemon!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Weld's words dissolved into a snarling growl that reminded me more of a grumpy dragonet. He kicked Lemon's chair, and it fell on its back with a bang, making Lemon jump.

"Put that back where it belongs," Weld said.

"Yes, Alpha." Lemon scurried to do as required. I caught another whiff of him. Instead of scared out of his wits, as I would be, he smelled hopeful.

"I think he likes it when you order him around," I whispered.

"The kid's had a rough life."

"Kid?" I laughed. "What does that make me? A hatchling?"

Weld cocked his head to the side as though I'd said water was wet. "Scoot over, will you? You're too close."

I glanced behind me to confirm Lemon had indeed put his chair back at a table and was now skulking toward the doorway. I slid my plate and metal cup to the opposite side and carried my chair to its new position, sitting in the spot Lemon had vacated.

"Better?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Tell me about Lemon."

"What's there to tell? He's an omega without an alpha, and there aren't many single alphas in these parts."

"Are there many single omegas?" My voice squeaked a little on the last word.

"There weren't until his tail fell off a few months ago." Weld rolled his big green eyes, and I could understand why my parents wanted to throttle him sometimes.

"He's younger than me?"

"Yes."

"Is he the reason you didn't want me to stay here last night?" I didn't like the picture my brain was painting of Weld and Lemon together, but I had to know.

"I didn't want you to stay here when I have a perfectly good couch."

I snorted. "You also have a perfectly good bed."

He closed his eyes and inhaled for what seemed like forever before releasing his breath in that same controlled manner. Then, he opened his eyes.

"Did you just count to ten?" He reminded me of my dad, which was weird.

He shrugged. "I was a schoolteacher, remember?"

That explained it. He'd taught the teenage alpha class with my dad. "But not here?"

"Not for a long time." He leaned over his cup, swirling the straw like a stir-stick and making it hum. "Not since The Fortress, or Pavilion, or whatever you're calling it these days."

"Galen renamed us The Pavilion. They said to tell you hello."

The corners of his mouth turned up. "That doesn't sound like them."

"They also said you'd better attend this year's dragon reunion, or else."

"That's more like it." Weld's chuckle made my chest feel light, and it made everything below my belt ache. "The festival is all anyone here can talk about. I was supposed to stay and hold down the fort."

"Not everyone here is single." From my spot facing the room, I counted four alpha and omega pairs with the same color markings nearby, and a handful of children.

"No, but several pairs are elderly. They need someone to cook for them."

I pointed at my plate, wondering how early he'd left this morning to make all this. "Did you?—"

"Goddess, no. I can't feed this many people at once. I'd burn the place down."

I laughed. "Now you sound like Clementine."

He asked after my siblings, and I rambled for a good half-hour. I tried to remember to eat my food when Weld interjected with a comment or asked me another question, but he was an alpha of few words. My toast was cold and soggy by the time I finally used it to scoop the remaining fruity oatmeal into my mouth.

"What are we doing today?" I asked as Weld stacked my empty plate on top of his.

"I'm working on that tractor wheel until hell freezes over or I build a damn forge. You're welcome to do whatever you want. I have some old video games and?—"

"I can help with the wheel." It was nothing a little magic couldn't fix.

He shook his head. "I can do it myself. If I can't … my only good quality is my strength. If I can't fix a tractor wheel, I don't deserve you as my fated mate.

It was my turn to take a breath and count to ten. He was my fated mate, end of story. I'd found him worthy when I was a hatchling, and nothing would change that.

"You don't need to prove anything to me," I said.

"I can't leave until I fix that wheel," he insisted. "They need an automated harvester. Tim can keep it running with his magic, but that wheel needs to turn, and right now, I can't even set a bead on the tire."

"I give you one week," I said.

He blinked. "I don't take demands from you, omega."

"It's not a demand but an extension of grace. I'm giving you a week to fix it yourself. If it's not fixed by then, I'll show you why fate brought us together in the first place."

That was the question I'd asked my parents, and even my dragon friend, the most. Why had fate mated me to a much older kobold? Why me, and not someone his age?

Galen had given me the best answer. "Sometimes, we need more time to discover who we are on our own before we can provide for our mates," they'd said.

Weld had been here for over two decades, working on machinery, vaccinating bovinji, and avoiding his friends and family back at The Pavilion. He'd been hiding, not growing.

"Fate brought us together to punish me," he said. "If you take this victory from me?—"

"You will fix it," I reassured him. "All I'm going to do is show you a better way."

"One week, and then you'll show me your way." He nodded. "In the meantime, you'll leave me alone to work, and you'll go wherever Tim needs you."

"I can help Tim, sure." The beta was friendly, and if the morning meal was any indication, the villagers lived in harmony. They gathered at the big tables, all laughing and joking when they weren't stuffing their faces with delicious food.

I didn't like Weld's warning tone, though. "Will I still see you in the evenings?"

"I'm not kicking you off my couch, if that's what you mean." His glare softened, and he reached across the table to take my hand. "I'm not the most romantic alpha, I know, but I will make you dinner each night, and we can go exploring this Saturday."

"I'd love that." I didn't know what exploring would entail, but it would beat any courtship gesture from my past, mostly because I'd turned down all romantic advances back on Earth.

If folks were down to fuck and let me top, I was there. If they wanted to get too close or started to catch feelings, I ghosted them without a second thought. I refused to lead anyone on. Weld was always at the back of my mind and pulsing through our dragon bond. No one else could ever compare, no matter how charming.

"What if it's not fixed in a week?" I asked.

"If not, I'll come to you for help."

Weld hated asking anyone for anything, so I counted that as a win. "And if I show you a better way to fix it … what happens then?"

"We'll see."

I'd hoped for more, but it was far too soon for a declaration of love or an offer to mark me. Last night, he'd been talking about waiting two years. One week was far more reasonable.

I had no doubt I could fix his wheel. If there was anything I'd learned from my family and mated friends, it was that mated kobolds' magic grew exponentially. All Weld needed to do was let me in. That alone would give him the power to fix his broken machinery, along with my overtaxed heart.