Page 7 of The Monster at the End of This Molt (The Monster at the End of His Pregnancy #4)

Chapter Seven

Robin

While I waited for Weld to break for lunch, I searched for Tim. I found him in the dragonet stable. He led a pretty pink dragonet around the ring with his head held high.

"This is Trickster," he introduced.

I bent to grab a handful of jerky treats from the bucket by the door and marched over to greet him. "Hi, Trickster."

"Uh—"

The dragonet delicately nibbled the end of the piece before snatching it from my fingers.

"Wow. Do you always walk up and feed strange dragonets? You could have lost a hand."

"Sorry. It's habit. My friend Mac is our dragonet trainer back home. I've been feeding them since my third molt." I walked over to Kermit's pen and reached between the wooden slats. "Hi Kermie! How are you? Do you want a treat?"

He head-butted my left hand and licked the two treats off my right palm.

"Well, now I think you're a dragonet whisperer," Tim joked. "That's it. You and Weld must stay here forever so you can help me out."

I laughed. "We will visit often, I'm sure. Weld loves it here."

Tim shook his head. "I wouldn't say that."

"Oh?" I kept my voice light and curious, even though I had insider information. With my connection to Weld, I was pretty fucking sure he loved this place and regretted leaving it.

"He's never really been a part of our village," Tim said. "It didn't make sense to me when he pushed us all away. You've answered several questions we had about him around here."

I grinned. "Glad I could help." I remembered the skulking omega who had turned and run after trying to take what was mine. I wondered if Tim could answer some of my questions, as well. "What can you tell me about Lemon?"

"Not much. Quiet kid. Keeps to himself. Just came of age." Like me, he would have grown up on Ignitas, while the older clutches had spent some, if not all, of their youth on Earth as changelings.

"How big was his clutch?"

Tim shook his head. "We were still hiding from the dragons. His egg was the only one to survive. Then we got all our hatchlings back at once." He grinned. "When the folks from The … Pavilion, you call it?"

I nodded.

"When they said we no longer had to fear the dragons, we celebrated for weeks. You can imagine what happened." He winked. "We had three clutches of four eggs each around the same time. The teachers were overwhelmed after so many small classes."

I'd gotten a double master's in early childhood development and child psychology back on Earth. Intuiting my experience with family dynamics and kobold pack mentality, that would have left Lemon an odd child out at school. I could only imagine how awful that must have felt.

"What about his parents?"

"They celebrated." Tim chuckled. "Had a second clutch right away."

"He was bullied by his own siblings?"

"They molted faster. Before we knew it, they'd outgrown him."

The only reason our little family of four hadn't been the bane of our school's existence was because both our dads taught at the school. Each of us caused our share of problems, but Clementine was the biggest bully I knew. She was always right, too, which made it even worse. Being right didn't mean she had to be an asshole about it.

I couldn't imagine having four Clems picking on me at once, and younger siblings at that. No wonder Lemon scurried around like he was afraid of his own shadow.

"Do you need me for anything today?" I asked Tim.

"It's Sunday," he said. "The only kobold around here who thinks he needs to work is your mate."

I sighed. "I figured. Where can I find Lemon?"

Tim squinted at me. "Why all the questions about him, anyway?"

"We haven't been properly introduced, and I want to clear the air. I think he's got a crush on Weld."

Tim snorted. "That's putting it lightly." He pointed to the big house. "He's in the first omega room. His parents moved him up there when he was fifteen."

"Thanks." I said goodbye to Kermit and Trickster with more treats and strolled up to the largest building in the village. It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining and puffy clouds floating by on their way east. Part of me wanted to strip down and sun myself on the large rocks along the walkway. Several villagers had done just that, lying on their fronts and letting the sun soak into their striped backs.

Instead, I continued to the big house. The door was propped open to let in the warm breeze. I knocked on door number one. I heard rustling inside, and then the door opened only wide enough for his snout. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Weld, my fated mate."

"Mate?" He sighed. "Fine, I'll leave him alone." The door snapped shut.

"Wait. I'd love to chat, if you don't mind."

"I do mind," he huffed. "I don't need another omega telling me to get my hands off his stuff."

"Why haven't you moved?" I asked. I'd planned on leading up to my big question with some psychobabble feel-good bullshit, but Lemon left me no options when he slammed the door in my face.

"Moved?"

"Yes, or visited other villages?"

I waited. And waited. Finally, when I was certain he had walked away without me knowing or had fallen asleep on his side of the door, it creaked open.

"I didn't know I could." He stepped into the hallway with me and shut the door behind him. "No one ever leaves here. My siblings found their fated mates here. My parents, too." He led me to the communal dining room. I was surprised when he chose the table Weld and I had shared on our first morning together.

"This is his table." He sighed. "Might as well carve his name in the wood. Every morning, he sits here. At least, he used to. Now, he's taking food for two to go."

Lemon ran his thumb over the tabletop. He was small, even for an omega. His hair was black like most unmated omegas, but I noticed something unusual around his neck and wrists.

I grabbed his wrist and pushed his shirt sleeve up. Instead of the brownish-green stripes all omegas were born with, his were a sickly washed-out yellow. Eventually, he would meet his mate and his stripes would change color to match, but for now, he looked too pale.

I released his hand, and he tucked them both into his lap.

"My parents said I was their miracle." He shook his head. "They should have let me die. It would have been easier for everyone."

"There's someone out there for you. I'm sure of it."

"How can you be so sure?" He sank down further in his seat. "What if I'm destined to be alone?"

"You'll never know until you try." Weld was the only kobold I knew who had tried to defy fate and mate on his own. Everyone else at The Pavilion and beyond believed in fated mates, and most had found their mates once they were free to travel the continent. "The next dragon reunion is in seven weeks. You should come to The Pavilion with us."

He squinted at me. "Why would a kobold omega go to a dragon reunion?"

"It started off with betas, but more unmated alphas and omegas join us each year. We've had more success getting everyone in one place than we used to with the dances."

He blinked. "Dances?"

"Omegas used to travel from village to village when we were still worried about the dragons. They would meet up with the village priestesses and dance with the eligible alphas to see if any were their fated mates."

"We don't have a priestess, or any female." He sighed. "No one ever comes here. Except Weld, and then he never left." He darted his gaze to mine before looking away again. "That will change soon. You're taking him away."

"He's my mate." I gestured to my arms before pinching the streak of green hair that stuck out over my left eye. "I've had these markings since I was a baby."

He met my gaze with vehemence. I scooted my chair back from the table.

"So have I," he said. "That doesn't make me someone's mate."

"I'm sorry. That was the wrong comparison, you're right." I sighed. "Maybe your mate is this color." Tuft and Axel had golden scales darker than Lemon's pale yellow. Lemon reminded me of an albino boa constrictor, though his eyes were the omega shade of gold.

"Maybe this is what unmateable omegas look like." He dropped his head to his hands. "I've heard it all before. My brothers are assholes."

"I don't believe that." My brothers called me a hopeless romantic, but I believed all kobolds had fated mates. It was the reason I'd only slept with humans. "You can't believe that until you meet some eligible alphas, and unless we start rotating where we hold the dragon reunions, you won't meet them here."

Once the words were out of my mouth, I wondered why we didn't change the location of the reunions every year. Galen and the other dragons loved their pavilion, it was true, but we kobolds could organize annual meetups of our own.

That was a problem for another day. For now, I'd made a bad situation worse. "I'm sorry your family sucks. If you come to The Pavilion, I'll introduce you to my alpha brothers and sister. The three of them know everyone in the village. They'll show you around and introduce you to more alphas than you've ever seen in your life."

He frowned at me. "You'll be too busy with Weld?"

My face heated from the implication Weld and I would be doing anything beyond antagonizing each other. "I'm not as familiar with all the new people. I spent six years on Earth. I was working on my doctorate thesis when my tail fell off …" My face heated as I remembered all the nights I’d spent patiently waiting. "Then I came home and waited for Weld for over two years. I should have spent more time with the kobolds my own age."

"I lost my tail two months ago, and I just got the courage to talk to him this week." He grinned, and for the first time, he met my gaze without flinching. "A rumor that some young omega was staying with him might have ignited my confidence."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be." He shook his head. "I appreciate you talking to me. When I saw you by the barn earlier, I half expected you to pounce on me and beat me up or call me names as I ran away." He grinned. "This was nice."

My heart broke for the existence he must have led for the last twenty-five or so years. "Even if you don't come to The Pavilion, you should go somewhere, anywhere. A little travel will do wonders for your confidence."

"Why do you care?" he asked.

I held my tongue and counted to ten before I disparaged his family and the entire village. "Everyone deserves a chance to shine," I said, picking my words carefully. "You've been surviving here, and I'm glad you did, but now it's time for you to find your place in the world and thrive."

"When you talk, it's like I can see a different future," he said. "One where my life can be bigger than four walls while I wait for my prince to come."

"I know how that feels." I rolled my eyes at my na?ve past self, who’d thought Weld would come for me. "I couldn't wait anymore. I had to find him, instead. Now, it's your turn."