1. Tuft

Another day, another rejection from my fated mate. This time, we crossed paths outside the alpha classroom while I walked to the cafeteria for breakfast. He sniffed the air, turned, took one look at me, and then hastened away.

Once again, I looked damn good in a black dress shirt with my rainbow suspenders. This time, I matched my sunflower yellow pocket square with my full-length tie with a Windsor knot. I wore my best pair of black pants over my magical compression shorts. My body"s slick production had gone into overdrive since I"d first met Axel. I"d never felt so gross in my life, but at least I knew I wasn"t completely defective.

"Hi, Axel!" I called as he reached his classroom door.

He rushed inside and slammed it shut, as though I would chase him. I knew better than to enter a room full of alphas without cause.

Priestess Alma met me in my room before lunch to confirm her suspicions. Yes, I"d scented Axel was my fated mate. Yes, I understood he was still too young. Yes, I would give him space until he came of age.

"He"s twenty-four," she said. "You"ll have less than a year to wait. There are younger alphas without their tails. His could fall off at any time, and then you"ll be ready to mate."

"It"s not always about mating," I said. "Right?"

She frowned at me. "I thought you would be on board with it, since you"ve already attempted to mate with Weld."

"He said baby kobolds were the most important gift we could give as productive members of our society, but now … that"s changed?" She had nodded fervently to everything I"d said up to that point, so I tried to soften my words with a question. "Now that the dragons aren"t threatening to turn our entire village to glass?"

She scowled. "Children are always precious, Tuft. Why would that be any different? We have an uneasy truce with the dragon, but we"re still on the verge of dying out."

She wouldn"t understand. She was unable to bear children, thanks to our kobold and human genes. Only omegas like me could lay eggs. It had been strange to come to terms with my new kobold anatomy, from my pointed ears to my egg-laying cock. It would have been better if I"d waited to experience it with my fated mate, but Weld had been so certain waiting wasn"t an option. Part of me was glad our eggs hadn"t matured, and I didn"t know if I wanted to go through the mating process again so soon.

"I want to know more about him," I said. "Before all the talk of mating. Can I meet with him before his tail falls off?"

She nodded. "I don"t see why not, but only if he agrees."

I snorted. "He ran from me this morning."

"I"ll talk with him after class today." She nodded. "I"ll ask him to give you the chance to get to know him."

"Thank you."

"I"d also like you and Weld to meet with Coz and Grindl."

I hadn"t known I needed to meet with them until she suggested it. "Absolutely!"

The priestess looked at me like I"d grown another head.

"We know we screwed up," I said. "I"ve wanted to apologize, and I know Weld would like the chance to make it right, too. We only did what we thought was best for the future of our kind."

Priestess Alma shook her head. "It doesn"t matter how long alphas and omegas spent on Earth. Some of you never grow up."

We arranged a meeting with Coz and Grindl in their cabin the next afternoon. When it was time, Weld met me outside the fortress door by the cafeteria, and we walked the short distance to their cabin under the bright sun.

I"d grabbed some leftover dessert breads and muffins for them from the cafeteria. When they answered Weld"s knock on the door, I thrust the bag into Coz"s arms and hugged Grindl to disarm them. Weld tended to set them on edge with his alpha personality.

"It"s so great to see you!" I hugged Coz next. "You look fabulous. What have you done with your hair? Is it redder?"

"It"s the magic," Coz said. He nodded in greeting. "Weld."

"Good to see you, Coz. I"m glad the magic was kinder to you than it was to me." Weld bowed his head. It was a welcome change to see him being submissive after the aggression he"d used to kick them out of their cave.

"What brings you by?" Grindl waved us inside and shut the door.

"We wanted to see your children!" I kneeled by the nearest brown lizard on the kitchen floor. He was already the length of a large dog. Seeing the baby betas hurt worse than I thought it would. I hid my twinge of regret with a smile. "Who is this?"

"Briar," Coz said. "He"s the biggest."

"That"s Rory." Grindl pointed across the room at the lizard sniffing along the seams of the kitchen cupboards. They all had child safety locks on the handles.

"Sunny"s around here somewhere," Coz said. "He"s probably lying in the sun."

"A child after my own heart." I beamed my best smile at them and gave the new parents another round of hugs. "I"m so happy for you, truly."

"Yeah," Weld grumbled. "And I"m sorry I put their lives in danger. I thought I was doing the right thing."

"Well." Grindl looked taken aback by the apology, but he also seemed wary. "I"m sorry your eggs didn"t mature. I doubt ours would have survived in the grotto, but up here, they"re thriving. Your next clutch will have better odds."

"They will." Weld wiped at his face with the backs of his hands. "Thank you for introducing us to your boys."

Grindl smiled. "They"re looking for teachers for the school. Betas will teach our boys, of course, but the alpha and omega rooms for older children will need help."

"I"ve never been great with children," I said, but it sounded like an excuse, even to me. It wasn"t like I was doing so well with my mate, either. Maybe teaching the children would take my mind off Axel until he was ready for me.

Then I remembered, I had no patience for children. No teaching for me.

Weld, however, seemed intrigued. He agreed to meet with Priestess Alma at the cathedral the next morning.

Rory found the bag of goodies on the table, and all hell broke loose when the three boys started fighting over a blueberry muffin.

"Sorry for the chaos!" I shouted over the din.

Grindl shoved us both out the door with a grin and a wave while Coz pulled their boys apart by the scruffs of their necks.

"That went well," Weld said as we returned to the fortress.

"I can"t seem to do anything right nowadays." I heaved a frustrated sigh. "Do you want to come back to my room?"

"I"d better not." Weld smiled at me to take the sting from his words. He wasn"t supposed to be in the omega wing unless he was with his fated mate. We"d gotten away with playing the part, but now that my fated had arrived, we couldn"t pretend anymore.

"I"m sorry," Weld said. "It"s better this way. You don"t want your alpha to scent me on you, and my omega might be here somewhere, too."

"There"s nothing to be sorry about," I reassured him. "I wanted to talk about displays of affection, but it sounds like we"re on the same page."

Weld nodded. "I"m sorry it didn"t work out between us. I know you"ll make your alpha very happy, Tuft. If things were different …"

"I wouldn"t have done it any differently." My chest ached, but I smiled through the pain. "I"m glad we tried. If our babies had survived, I would love them to pieces."

"So would I." He pulled me into a hug, and both of us sniffled a little when we parted ways at the entrance to the grotto.

I walked to my room in the omega wing alone. I didn"t like being alone, but I had no choice. The sooner I convinced Axel he was my fated mate, the better.