C&C

The Beauty of Experience - Chapter 28

Added 2023-01-15 03:57:51 +0000 UTC

In the hazy wakeful state where sleep still tugged at Lena’s senses, and the world seemed softer for it, Kara was a vision of wonder. Strong, fit, perfectly toned, and most importantly, hers alone.

After a long night of reclaiming Kara in the sensual warmth of her love, the worry of the mystery texts had all but faded from Lena’s mind. Kara had reciprocated with enthusiasm, and there was no doubt in Lena’s heart that their relationship was as solid as the impressive girth that swung between Kara’s legs.

The day was thankfully brand new, and Lena was ready to seize it with both hands. It was just a pity that her supercharged positivity wasn’t enough to save them from frustrations and bitter revelations that were soon to come their way.

Their morning was quiet, in part because Lena followed her mate into the shower
to soap up and rub down with all of the languidness that came from being on vacation. She felt refreshed and youthful in Kara’s presence—playful and lithe, and endlessly beautiful like the sunrise that bathed them along with the hot spray of water.

Of course it helped that Kara responded to her mere proximity with lustful and pleased scents that never failed to convey her appreciation for seeing Lena naked.

“And here I thought you’d had your fill of me last night?” Lena teased with a smile that turned sly the moment Kara directed her hand onto her cock without any bashful hesitance.

“Oh, I’m about to have you again right now, and multiple times after that if we can squeeze in a few minutes here and there to sneak off,” Kara intoned and caught Lena beneath her thighs to hoist her up.

Their mouths came together in a kiss, and Kara licked into the delicate parting of Lena’s lips to taste her. She angled her hips to align her thickened tip with Lena’s opening and pressed Lena’s shoulders into the tiled wall to thrust upward.

Sex always felt better for Lena after a night of rutting because her pussy remained sensitive. She gasped against Kara’s tongue and drew it deeper into her mouth to suck on with a moan. For every thrust of Kara’s hips, Lena returned the favor with a roll of her pelvis. The fluid give and take of their momentum lasted for only a few hot minutes, but that was more than enough to satisfy their need for one another.

They couldn’t risk going beyond that if they were going to make it to breakfast without the kids questioning why they were running late, and it was a special day for Natty.

Kara pulled back once the final pulsations travelled up her length to deposit a torrent of creamy seed inside of Lena, and she in turn tried to valiantly hold it all within her pussy as she dashed into the room to pull on a thong.

It wasn’t the most practical garment to keep Kara’s essence where it belonged, and she self-consciously touched the fabric as it rested over the crest of her cunt. Lena cast a shy glance at her mate as she toweled off in the doorway and blushed from Kara’s growl of approval.

“Gosh, I love it when you choose to flirt with me like this. I’ll be thinking of white lace for the rest of the day.” Kara moved closer to snap at the tiny band that held the thong in place. She tugged to spread her seed on the fabric and groaned as she palmed at Lena’s ass like she might just demand she remove the thong altogether. “Are you going to wear this with the white dress you packed?”

The question was far from innocent, and Lena bit back a laugh while Kara turned to search through the large armoire in their suite. She pushed aside slinky form fitting dresses and low cut skirts with sinful splits along the side. Kara went straight to the light and flowy dress that would be easiest to get under.

“If I’d known you’d taken such an interest in what I wear, I might have delegated my packing to you,” Lena stated with a raised brow and plucked the hanger out of Kara’s hand to swish the dress in front of herself.

Kara gawked at her with disbelief and postured with her fists on her hips. She was naked except for the pretend arrogance she wore like cologne. She swung her weight around with a bit of a huff and stepped into Lena’s personal space before finally letting her smile form.

“Why wasn’t I aware this was an option?” Kara asked with a touch of accusation.

Lena found it adorable and preened by raising her chin to stroke over the marks on her throat. She caressed them with intent and felt her nipples harden at the faint stimulation.

“Do you see the claims on my neck, Kara?” Lena asked with a pout to her lip designed entirely to draw Kara near. “This means you can request a whole number of things from me, and there’s a high chance you’ll get them.”

The cool blue of Kara’s eyes turned murky with desire and she saw fit to test Lena’s declaration. She rummaged through Lena’s drawers for the skimpiest demi-cup bra that would hardly contain her breasts and then dangled it in front of Lena with a smugness that came from getting exactly what she wanted. “Then I request you wear this, too.”

Lena sucked on her teeth as she thought of denying Kara for no real reason other than to mess with her a bit.

“I’m not sure this goes with the dress you picked out. I can hardly squeeze into this now.” Lena’s complaint fell on deaf ears, and she caught the glimmer of hope as it flitted across her alpha’s face.

Kara did the honors of slipping the bra straps up Lena’s arms and gave her the chance to demonstrate her point by encasing her tits in the demi-cup the best she could. Their voluptuous swells were larger from pregnancy, and her nipples were precariously close to pushing out of the cups. Kara saw this as a win, and immediately thumbed at the stiffened buds to make Lena gasp and swoon.

“I think this fits you perfectly. You should definitely keep it on.” Kara laid it on the thick with the amorous scent of her musk. She would never force Lena to act on her whims.

Even without the intoxicating pheromones that wafted around her, Lena would have cooperated because of the way Kara looked at her right then. Like she was worthy of being coveted and worshipped, as well as thoroughly loved.

That line of thinking would have softened the mood if Lena allowed it. Instead she sucked in a slow breath just to step closer to Kara, and tipped her face up to whisper against her mate’s lips, “You’re hoping I spill out of this, aren’t you?”

Kara’s mirth reflected in the glimmer of her eyes, which narrowed keenly. “Am I that obvious?”

“Oh, just a little,” Lena muttered and pressed a single fingertip to the heated mauve tip of Kara’s cock. It bounced a tad in excitement and Lena took no pity on it as she slipped on the delicate spring dress. The cotton rested mid thigh and lifted with her motions just as much as Kara’s cock seemed to move in response to her touch.

“You had better get dressed, darling. We can’t be late to see the mermaids.”

Kara’s flirtatious grin twisted into a grimace, and Lena spent the next two minutes watching her pull on clothes.

Lena applied a shade of lipstick she hoped to leave all over Kara by the end of the day, and they stepped into the sweet morning air together to find the breakfast buffet already picked over.

“How long was our shower?” Kara asked in alarm and tried to check her watch without drawing any attention to herself.

The sound of Natty crying greeted them from a nearby lounge and Lena frowned as she glanced around to find the rest of their family.

Lillian and Bernardo were by the pool, animatedly speaking to Andy, who appeared bored and disinterested in the lecture they were giving her. Andrea was holding onto their wailing toddler and singing a placating tune in Spanish.

Lena was inclined to believe they were late as she caught the miserable look on Andrea’s face. She flattened her dress against her thighs so she could march over to her ex. Natty reached for her, and Lena tried to soothe her baby by wiping the wisps of hair out of her face.

“Why is Natty screaming, and where is Sophia?” Lena asked.

“I’d forgotten the chaos that came with family plans,” Andrea griped and handed Natty off to Lena with the clear expectation that she would fix the situation for her. “I guess my nostalgia erased all of the worst parts about it. Natalia refused her breakfast, and I told her she has to eat something or we’re not going anywhere.”

“You thought tough love would help?” Lena hissed through her teeth and propped Natty on her hip to comfort her. She rubbed her palm in semi-circles over the little one’s back while Natty hiccupped between sobs. “Did you even bother to ask her why she doesn’t want to eat?”

“Of course I did,” Andrea informed her snidely, as though she held Lena personally responsible for Natty’s unreasonable behavior. “She thinks we’re going to be late, and she wants to give her pancakes to the mermaids. Sophia tried to share her bowl of fruit and she ended up wearing it when Natty pitched a fit.”

It surprised Lena that Sophia had been the one to persuade Natty to have breakfast, and she smiled in spite of the circumstances. “Where is Sophia now?”

“Probably still showering and cursing Andy while she’s at it,” Andrea sighed heavily and directed her frown at their eldest daughter. “Someone found the whole thing funny, and Sophia decided the best course of action was revenge.”

“Tell me they didn’t,” Lena groaned in distress and pinched the bridge of her nose to fight the oncoming headache. She imagined the food fight before Andrea even mentioned it, and wondered why, out of all their days at the resort, things had to go wrong now.

“You remember the Easter when Sophia was six and Andy laughed because she covered herself in chocolate?” Disgust curled Andrea’s lips and she mindlessly wiped at her business suit to rid herself of the messy memory. “Well, it was worse. Sophia flung the entire platter of fruit at Andy, and all hell broke loose because Andy tossed a bunch of greasy bacon right back at her.”

Lena tracked Andy with her eyes and her stare of disapproval must have seared into the back of her daughter’s skull because Andy hunched over with a moody glance her way. Whatever Bernardo said caused Andy to nod, and then Lillian swooped in to scoop Natty into her arms.

“Lena, and just where were you when we were on the verge of World War 3?” Lillian demanded with an air of authority that shouldn’t have worked on someone Lena’s age.

“Getting ready for the apparently long day ahead of us,” Lena retorted with the perfect poker face. She swept away from Andrea before her ex could make a comment about what they had been doing, and she tried to communicate with Kara through scent alone.

Her mate was fortunately well tuned to her needs, and Lena smiled in gratitude the moment Kara abandoned her plate of food to escort her over to the buffet. The problem was that Lillian and Andrea trailed after her.

Natty thrashed in Lillian’s arms and screeched like a tiny pterodactyl.

“I don’t want to miss the mermaids!” Natty wailed with tears streaming down her cheeks and snot bubbling at her nose.

Andrea stopped mid stride and walked off in appalled silence the moment she saw the state of their youngest child.

Lena knew the neat freak in her ex was close to snapping, and part of her wanted to hand Natty back to Andrea and force her to parent.

Kara didn’t need to be asked and gathered Natty from Lillian as though it was her duty to comfort their kid.

“Aww, hey, it’s okay, the mermaids are still having breakfast, too,” Kara explained and carefully wiped at Natty’s face with the soft cuff of her button down shirt. “I bet they would want you to have a full tummy when you see them so you don’t get tired. Why don’t we make a plate together?”

Lena watched as Natty started to calm down and managed to breathe easily for all of two seconds until her mother interrupted her peace.

“Speaking of tummies, I’ve noticed Kara has been looking at yours with a great deal of interest,” Lillian murmured with a critical squint at Lena’s dress. She puckered her lips like she wanted to resist saying something and triggered all of Lena’s fears in one fell swoop.

Every muscle in Lena’s body tensed at the thought of her mother figuring out she was pregnant. She wasn’t prepared for the conversation – or the possible calamity of a surprise baby shower that would, inevitably, be sprung onto her at the least convenient time.

She stood taller with the ridiculous idea of denying it all and forced out a laugh. “It’s not like you to beat around the bush. What are you trying to say?”

Even though Lena braced herself for the worst possible reaction, she still balked at the confident way her mother asserted, “You should skip the pastries this morning and have salad instead. Kara’s claim is on your throat, but there isn’t a ring on your finger yet. I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t encourage you to keep your figure.”

In all of her years that she had been married to Andrea, Lena had never felt quite so blindsided by her mother as she did then.

The scoff came out of her with enough force to draw Kara’s attention, and Lena hurried to confront her mother without comprehending the gift they had been given. “Are you seriously telling me to watch my weight while we’re on vacation?”

“All I’m saying is that the dress you’re wearing looks a little snug around your middle,” Lillian huffed with the good grace to look embarrassed. She peered at the fabric that did indeed show off the slight roundness to Lena’s stomach and pursed her lips as if truly concerned that Kara might be swayed by an extra pound or two.

Lena couldn’t exactly blame her mother, given Andrea’s tendencies to wander during their relationship, but it still stung to hear Lillian say such a thing.

“Uh—Lena—what did I miss?” Kara asked from the sidelines where she hovered with a plate of food. Natty chewed glumly on a banana, oblivious to the tension between the adults.

“Just that my mother is convinced you think I’m fat.” Lena knew it was the hormones that made her say it and the sudden paranoia which accompanied them didn’t make her feel any better.

All of her self-confidence teetered on Kara’s reaction and she stared at her mate like their future depended on what she said.

“I didn’t say that–” Lillian sputtered, mortified by Lena’s blunt way of addressing their private conversation.

“You implied it. Heavily,” Lena stressed with a level of hurt so vast it defied logic. It stemmed from a deeper place of self criticism and relationship trauma, and she was powerless against it.

“I think your daughter is more beautiful now than the day I first saw her,” Kara finally replied after her initial shock wore off. She set her breakfast aside to lace her fingers through Lena’s and stared down at her with enough adoration to make Lillian blush. “Everyone’s body changes with time. It doesn’t mean I’ll love Lena’s any less, and I sure hope she feels the same way about me.”

“Of course I do,” Lena uttered, too distracted to pick up on how Lillian’s attention transferred onto someone standing behind them. “Our relationship is based on more than just our physical attraction to one another.”

“Is there some kind problem between you and Kara?” Sophia asked with a unique and adept talent for clocking true tensions in people.

Lena’s sensitivity was evident on her face, and she worried that Sophia would over analyze the conversation she heard if she didn’t explain. At the same time, Lena couldn’t mention that she was pregnant or bring up the texts that she had seen on Kara’s phone that instilled some anxiety in her.

“It’s nothing,” Lena insisted and locked eyes with their middle child. “Your grandmother was just concerned that I was over indulging and that Kara would take issue with that. Kara loves me no matter what I look like. Maybe I have put on a little weight since we’ve been here. So what? The food is just that good.”

“It’s not that good,” Sophia sniffed and ran a thick toothed comb through her wet hair. She applied some gel to achieve a slicked-back look more common among alphas. “The vegetarian options could be better, but Grandma shouldn’t body-shame you.”

“I wasn’t body-shaming her,” Lillian replied with wide eyes that narrowed as she realized she would have to defend her point diplomatically in front of Sophia. “I admit that I might have overstepped with my remark, but I assure you all, I was coming from a place of love and I truly meant no harm. I’m sorry, Lena. I see how happy you are, and I don’t want anything to change that.”

Lillian’s contrite apology came off as sincere, though Lena still bristled as her mother took her hand. It was instinct to pull away and seek comfort in the safe haven of Kara’s pheromones, and Lillian fortunately didn’t push it as she extracted herself from the situation with a pained glance towards Kara.

“We have to go now,” Natty insisted with an elongated whine. It bordered on a fresh sob, and she jerked her little legs like she wanted to run off.

“On that note,” Lena muttered with a frown and beckoned Sophia closer while Kara tried to placate Natty. “Can you please inform your abuelo and your mom we need to leave now, or the only waterworks we’ll see today will be Natty’s.”

“This day hasn’t even started and I’m already over it,” Sophia grumbled with a huff and walked off to get away from the impending shrieks of her little sister.

Lena experienced the smallest twinge of guilt for sharing that sentiment. She drew strength from Kara and the hopeful smile on her mate’s lips and realized she could be kissing them soon if they shared a car without the kids.

“You’re coming with me,” Lena murmured flirtatiously and linked her arm through Kara’s with the aspiration of stealing her away for some stress relief across the leather seats.

Lena knew it was a pipe dream the minute Sophia’s voice carried over the wails of Natty, “No way! There’s three cars and I’m not sharing one with her.”

“Good,” Andy grunted with a dismissive glare at her sister. “Then I don’t have to see your stupid face for a while.”

“Girls, that’s enough,” Andrea hissed and surprised everyone by showing the initiative to create some distance between them instead of leaving it up to Lena. “Andy will ride with me.”

Sophia appeared offended by Andrea’s choice, and Andy snorted at the blatant attempt to trap her in a car for forced bonding. “Hard pass, I’ll go with mom.”

“Lillian and I will take Natalia, so she arrives there first,” Bernardo suavely stated and held out his arms for Natty, who excitedly leapt at her grandfather.

Andrea still looked pissed off, but she reined in her anger and motioned for Sophia to get in the car while Andy slid herself into the backseat of the last vehicle.

Kara followed suit, and Lena accompanied her with the tight-lipped resignation that she would have to behave herself for the next twenty minutes. The ride was quiet for the most part with Andy glued to her cell phone the whole way to their destination.

La Canción de Las Sirenas took place near the aquarium, and a lot of families were already waiting in line to meet the mermaids. Andrea paid for a special VIP pass and Natty brought along a bunch of drawings to give to her new sea-friends, Dorita, Esperanza and Gisela.

It looked like peace had been restored in the family, since Sophia was talking to Natty and hyping her up for the experience. One of the mermaid’s helpers walked down the line and handed out beaded necklaces and hats. Lena put on her necklace and caught Kara’s drifting down to her cleavage and the pressed together swells of her tits that peeked out of her too-small demi cups.

Being around all of the water inspired sudden ideas of fooling around in a resort pool late at night when no one else was around. Lena plotted it out until they came to the head of the line.

“Natty, you’re next,” Sophia cheerfully announced and fixed the tiny buckle on Natty’s shoe that had come loose from swinging her little feet against Andrea.

Lena tried not to take too much enjoyment out of the number of times Natty accidentally kicked her sire. She did take count: five so far, and Andrea groaned once, but Natty wouldn’t have been able to see all of the attractions without someone hoisting her up.

“Mama, can we meet the mermaid with the pink and purple hair?” Natty asked and wrapped her little hand around the collar on Andrea’s blouse.

“Si, we’re going to meet all of them,” Andrea promised with more excitement than expected of her.

Lena breathed in her ex’s pheromones and realized Andrea was interested in the mermaids not as mystical under the sea best pals, but because they were all a bunch of scantily clad voluptuous women.

Kara also noticed and smiled in amusement over Andrea’s absurd posturing. “Now remember, Natty, we can only call mermaids on conch shells. So we can’t ask for any of their numbers.”

Andy snorted at the instructions that were directed at her sire. “But maybe you can get a picture with them, since you won’t stop staring. That way we can all remember the moment forever.”

“This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when it came to making family memories,” Bernardo complained in a low voice that he meant for Lillian to hear.

“Their make-up is flawless,” Sophia observed and searched her small purse for some gum and a mirror. “I want to learn how to do winged eyeliner like that. I also love their bathing suits. I wonder where I could buy one.”

Andrea ignored all of the comments that applied to her, but she whipped around at Sophia’s innocent remarks. “You aren’t ever going to wear a bikini like that, and you’re naturally beautiful. There’s no need for so much make-up.”

“I saw some bikinis like that in a nearby store,” Andy butted in and glanced to Natty, whose eyes narrowed at the suggestion that a mermaid’s clothes could be bought. “Some of the local shop owners must have found the mermaid scales on one of the beaches here.”

Lena liked that Andy and Sophia were temporarily getting along — at least enough to talk civilly with each other — but she could tell that Andrea would combust if Sophia went against her wishes and dressed like any of the omega mermaids.

“If Sophia can be a mermaid, I want to be a mermaid, too,” Natty whined and clutched tighter onto Andrea’s collared blouse to negotiate with a chokehold.

Out of all of the children, Lena sensed that her youngest was the most stubborn and persistent. They could have been in a lot of trouble had the line not moved and brought them to the throne of the mermaids.

That was when the pink-haired Gisela popped up from behind her tank and gave them a unique greeting.

“Andrea! Cabrón. You told me you didn’t want any kids. I should have known you were a liar. Como todo alfas.”

“Gisela, qué tal? You still look stunning when wet,” Andrea praised without a lick of shame. She dared to step closer with Natty on her hip and blatantly checked the mermaid out with all the arrogance of an alpha who thought she still had a chance of wooing an omega.

“Mom knows we can hear her, right?” Andy asked in a scandalized tone and swung her head to make eye contact with all of the adults to ensure she wasn’t alone in her horror.

“I wish I couldn’t,” Lillian dryly remarked and absently touched her ear as if hoping to suddenly go deaf.

“Al diablo con tus halagos! Perdí ocho meses de mi vida contigo y todo el tiempo que tuviste una familia?” Gisela raged without considering the impact of her words or the controversy she would cause by making a scene.

Natty gasped and turned her big trusting eyes to Andrea with all the innocent excitement only a child could possess. “Mama, you love mermaids, too?”

“Love is a very strong word, Natalia. I enjoyed Gisela’s company very much,” Andrea corrected, though not nearly as hushed as she had hoped. Far too late, she figured out how that would come across and held her hand up to placate Gisela with an apology.

“Idiota!” Gisela snapped in offense and slapped her hand against the water to splash Andrea.

Some of the spray hit Natty in the face, and it was in that moment she realized the mermaid wasn’t happy to see her the way she had been with the other kids.

Too young to comprehend that her sire was the reason, Natty’s lip trembled in distress before a warble erupted from her that was loud enough to draw the eyes of the crowd.

“She huh-hates me!” Natty sobbed between harsh breaths that shook her shoulders.

“No, honey, that’s not true, she’s just having a bad day,” Lena declared and gathered Natty into her arms while she sent scathing glare Andrea’s way that promised misery if she didn’t fix the situation fast. “Let’s go say hello to the other mermaids.”

Esperanza welcomed them by waving a shiny mermaid wand, which ironically leaked ocean-polluting glitter everywhere. “Hola princesa. Como se llama?”

“Me llamo Natalia,” Natty sniffed and reached out for Kara with soft hiccups.

Lena was getting to a point where she couldn’t hold Natty for too long, and she breathed out a soft exhalation of relief that Kara could handle the outburst.

Kara lifted the heavy soon-to-be-four-year-old and came up with stories to placate Natty. “There a lot of different kinds of mermaids that live all over the world, and some of them fall in love with humans. Remember Ariel? Gisela must have liked your Mom a whole lot. She’s just sad that it didn’t work out between them.”

Out of side of her eye, Lena saw that Gisela was smacking Andrea with a fake frond of seaweed. She blocked that out from Natty’s line of sight and pulled her two older children over so they wouldn’t have to witness it.

Esperanza pointed them into the event space to find their seats, and Natty stopped crying as Dorita pretended to swim over to offer her a strawberry-scented mermaid sticker.

“See? Dorita wants to be your friend,” Lena emphasized and smiled at the kindly green-haired mermaid.

That seemed to console Natty, and for over an hour, Lena was blissfully unaware of the tantrum yet to be unleashed by her youngest.

The show brought smiles to everyone’s faces, and Lena should have predicted the trouble to come as her little one began to get agitated, and the mermaids began finishing their routine.

A loud cheer went up from the crowd, and while people got to their feet, Natty latched onto the back of a chair with a white knuckled grip of fury.

“Darling, the show is over,” Lena intoned with a gentleness that came from parenting three pups. “We have to go so other children can meet the mermaids.”

“Noooo!” Natty screamed at a pitch so high several onlookers cringed. “I want to stay with them. They’re my friends!”

“We can visit them again next time,” Kara reasoned and hoped that would be enough to loosen Natty’s hold without physically trying to pry her fingers off the chair. “We’re going to do activities back at the resort. Don’t you want to learn how to use a bow and arrow like Robin Hood?”

The shriek she received in response prompted Bernardo and Lillian to intervene.

“Why don’t we stay here with Natalia and catch the next show?” Bernardo suggested and smiled down at his granddaughter as Natty blinked her tears away.

“Are you sure?” Lena uttered after some thought. She moved aside so that Natty could lunge at her grandfather with open arms.

Kara took a step back as she processed the sting of being unable to comfort the tumultuous emotions of the little one, and Lena reached for her hand with the intimate knowledge of how powerless she must have felt.

“We’re hardly going to join in on your archery lessons, and there’s plenty of ice cream here to keep us nice and cool while we bake in this sunshine.” Lillian slyly glanced towards Andrea, who looked like she, too, wanted to linger behind to watch the mermaids. “I’m sure Sophia and Andy will appreciate this time with the three of you.”

Lena assumed their afternoon would be more peaceful because her mother and Bernardo took responsibility for Natty – but she didn’t know what kind of family disturbance was waiting for her.

Andrea called for a car to take them back to the resort, and the smallest vehicle rolled up after thirty-minutes. They all had to share the cramped space for the duration of the ride, and that was just the start to the turmoil.

The field for archery was out by the tennis courts. The walk tested the integrity of Lena’s dress and its ability to keep her breasts where they belonged. Lena wouldn’t have cared, but a few alphas stopped their games and blatantly ogled her in front of Sophia.

“Mom, all of those people are looking at you,” Sophia complained and shot them reproachful glares.

Kara solved the problem by walking around her and posturing. Andrea attempted to follow suit and nearly strutted into a fence.

Andy went on ahead and selected her bow first from among the different options. “Hey, I wonder if I could take out someone’s eye from all the way over here.”

“Probably, but you’re not that good of a shot,” Sophia smugly insisted and lifted a target bow too heavy for her grip. The weight of it dropped her arm, but her sheer stubborn ability to forge ahead meant she hoisted it up with grunt and marched off to a spot near Andrea.

The targets varied across the lawn, with some as close as 50 feet for beginners and others at 150 for those more experienced. The furthest sat at the 350 mark, and it was evident from the way Sophia flung her shoulders back that she imagined she would reach that one with ease.

Lena kept an eye on her while Andrea hovered behind Sophia, and belatedly noticed Kara with a bow clutched to her side. Her mate took up the middle position between the girls, and for a prolonged second, Lena admired the cut of her mate’s strong arms and how effortlessly she raised the bow to test the sight.

“When you said you signed us up for archery, I thought you meant the kids. I had no idea you knew how to use one of those.” Lena motioned to the bow with a look that traveled rather salaciously down Kara to rest on the hidden bulge below her belt.

“Oh, trust me, I know how to shoot my shot,” Kara bragged with a grin, and all the self-confidence of an alpha who had staked her claim.

The innuendo flew over Sophia’s head and smacked Andrea right in the face. She turned to glare at Kara, who paid her no mind and ushered Lena in front of her for an impromptu lesson.

“Alex used to take me hunting in Midvale. We went camping every summer until she was deployed.”

Lena could practically feel Andrea’s irritation and she ignored her ex in favor of letting Kara teach her how to handle something so big. She wouldn’t utter such filthy things in front of the kids, but her claim pheromones carried a private and flirtatious scent for Kara to let her know where her mind wandered.

“Get a good hold of it, Lena,” Kara encouraged, sultry and soft and quiet enough to be intimate. She took full advantage of the closeness to press her crotch into Lena’s backside under the pretense of helping her and rocked forward subtly to grind into the swell of Lena’s ass.

Lena’s cunt reacted to a phantom sensation of being filled and she leaned heavily into Kara’s chest with a breathy sigh.

Her internal clench wasn’t detectable to anyone else, but her amorous scent would be. She tried to keep it in check while Kara guided her through drawing back an arrow.

It landed on the bottom rung of the closest target, yet from the pride that emanated from Kara, everyone on the tennis court would have thought Lena hit the bullseye.

“Look at that, you’re a natural,” Kara boasted.

“Only with your assistance,” Lena argued. “I doubt I would get far without your hands on me.”

The light flirtation implied far more than either of them let on, and Lena was certain Andrea understood the implications given the hateful side-eye she was giving Kara.

“On the contrary, I think you’re more than capable of sinking the tip right where it should go,” Kara whispered against her ear and tightened a hand on Lena’s hip as she took aim. The slight jut of her cock made the hushed statement feel naughty, and Lena released the arrow with a gasp.

It was closer to the middle this time, and Lena boldly took up another arrow with growing confidence.

Andy launched one first at the nearest target and sank it straight into the painted red circle with a victorious grin that Sophia didn’t share.

While Andy turned her focus onto the targets 150 feet away, her sister still struggled to hit the one nearest to them.

Lena was about to fire off another when Sophia snarled under her breath and impaled the grass with her third arrow in a row. She was nowhere near the target, and to add insult to injury, Andy peered down at her with a smirk and hit her target without much effort.

“I guess I’m not a bad shot after all,” Andy taunted and grinned wider at Sophia’s murderous glare.

“No, you’re just a stupid show off!” Sophia gritted out and stomped in anger at the delighted way Andy picked up another arrow to practice her skills.

“You have to channel the frustration, Sophia,” Andrea coached and lulled Lena into the false belief that she could handle the situation. “Harness it like the weapon in your hand and imagine the face of your enemy right on the bullseye.”

“Taylor,” Sophia seethed from between clenched teeth with a exaggerated amount of hatred.

“Take her down,” Andrea commanded, like she thought it was appropriate to have Sophia pretend to hunt her rival if it meant getting results.

Lena was so startled by the aggression that she misfired and sent an arrow soaring onto the tennis court. Someone screamed in fright and a few others yelled in their direction.

“Or you could find a way to let go of the frustration and clear your mind,” Kara offered as an alternative so that Sophia had another adult's opinion on how to manage her emotions and stay true to her goals. “Focus entirely on your breathing. Staying calm can really benefit your aim.”

“So can spite,” Andrea reinforced, and doled out affection by holding onto Sophia’s shoulders to hiss in her ear, “Do you know how I handle my business and stay so successful, Sophia? By being ruthless. If you want something in life, you need to be ready to do whatever it takes to get it.”

“Are you sure that’s the best advice you can give her?” Kara asked in disbelief and tried to reason with Andrea as if she had a functioning conscience. “There’s nicer ways to get ahead in life. You don’t have to pit her against someone else to help her succeed.”

Andrea’s lip curled in disgust and she bared her teeth arrogantly. “I tell you what, I’ll raise my pups how I see fit and you raise yours however the hell you want.”

Lena’s heart sank faster than the bow she dropped, and she caught a whiff of confusion from both of her girls as they stopped aiming to glance in her direction.

“Kara doesn’t have any kids,” Sophia scoffed, as if it were absurd to even consider it.

“Yet,” Andrea sniffed, knowing it was only a matter of time before Lena truly started showing.

Lena’s stomach churned in panic, and Kara’s hands curled into fists that shook by her sides. Of all the twisted and unforgivable things Andrea had ever done, this had the potential to be the worst.

“No,” Sophia exhaled harshly and stared at Andrea like she thought she was lying. “No, Kara would never replace us. Besides mom is—she’s too old to have more pups. Right? You said so yourself after Natty was born. This is our family. We don’t need anyone else in it.”

“I don’t know. I think Natty would like a sibling closer in age.” Andy glanced between Kara and Lena like she was trying to figure out if they were already expecting.

The atmospheric shift between Andrea and Kara caused goosebumps to form across Lena’s pale arms. Their mutual disdain was showing itself, and Kara squared her broad shoulders to shield Lena from the territorial standoff between them. They couldn’t physically fight in front of the children, and whatever they said would have to be careful or things would escalate beyond repair. It became a battle of pheromones to assert dominance, and Kara’s were more potent by far.

“Why don’t you ask Natty that when she returns from the show?” Andrea suggested through a thin smile and kept her eyes locked with Kara’s defiantly.

Lena had been so convinced that the girls would accept her pregnancy whenever they announced it. She hadn’t considered what might happen if one or all of them rejected their new sibling. Devastation weighed her down and she tried to condense the worry and genuine fear into the pit of her stomach so she could breathe.

“Why?” Andy retorted and unequivocally picked a side as she came to stand by Lena to frown at her sire. “It’s not like you asked if we wanted another sister when you knocked mom up with Natty.”

Andy’s brutal take on the matter stunned Andrea, and she floundered for a fraction of a second before snarling, “That was different, we were–”

“Already divorced?” Andy interjected and folded her arms to make a statement. The stern expression she wore said she wouldn’t be fooled or swayed by anything Andrea said now that she was old enough to understand her sire’s behavior over the course of years.

Sophia wasn’t quite there yet, and she flung her hands up in exasperation and groaned dramatically, “God, why are you like this?”

“Me?” Andy huffed like she couldn’t get past Sophia’s audacity. “You might want to ask yourself why you’re judging mom for her relationship with Kara. I don’t remember you throwing any shade when our sire dated every single omega in the county. Why is this different? Is it because you wanted to be just like her right up until you realized you’re not an alpha?”

Lena stood in appalled silence as their oldest child demolished their middle child with words. It wasn’t like Andy to behave that way and drop all of her diplomatic airs. Andy’s defensive attitude formed a giant crater in their day. It forced Lena into being the kind of parent she never wanted to be.

“Andy, stop,” Lena shrilly voiced and positioned herself between her quarrelling daughters. “It isn’t like you to tear anyone down, and I don’t need you to defend me.”

She didn’t need anyone to provoke her volatile thirteen year old while Sophia was holding a weapon. Sophia stood motionless and shifted the bow off her shoulder. Lena feared what would happen next, and it disturbed her the most that Sophia broke down in tears and bolted off before anyone could call her back. Normally Sophia would never give in with any argument, and Andy recognized her mistake from her sister’s sniffling retreat.

“This family vacation isn’t working,” Andrea ranted and threw her arrows on the ground to point a finger at Kara. “Probably because she isn’t family. How are we supposed to parent our kids as a threesome, Lena?”

“By listening to each other and being a team instead of encouraging in-fighting.” Lena didn’t have the time to go into more detail than that. She raised a dismissive hand at her ex and stalked off to find Sophia.

Her gut instinct was that Kara would handle Andy, and she glanced back to confirm that. From across the tennis courts, it looked like both Kara and Andrea were having a conversation with Andy, whose face seemed red from too much sun and regret.

Lena trailed after Sophia to a shaded place with benches and a lot of greenery. Plants spilled out of their pots, and Lena fixed her dress out of a concern for other things that might not stay contained. She perched on the side of Sophia’s bench without speaking and waited.

If she spoke too soon, Sophia would just run off again, and Lena didn’t have the stamina to give chase. She opted for patience, and for once it paid off. Sophia came to her, and rather than talk it out, she latched onto Lena’s middle and cried. Her surly teen daughter was nowhere to be found, and instead it felt like holding a five-year-old again who fell off her bike and injured both knees.

“I hate alphas. They’re all so mean.” Sophia rubbed her eyes and tucked herself tightly into Lena’s side.

“What your sister said to you was mean, and I’m certain it’s going to weigh on her conscience for a long time to come.” Lena stroked the hair away from Sophia’s face and moved a hand onto her back to ease the stress away. “She knows how much you look up to your mother.”

“I don’t know why I do,” Sophia sniffed and wiped her nose on the top of her tee. “She doesn’t care about any of us. Maybe I thought I could make her care.”

Lena had gone through that same stage of emotions when she believed she could keep Andrea’s attention if she just changed herself. She hated to discover that she passed it on to Sophia, and that her daughter must also feel rejected.

“Sometimes I think your mother wasn’t able to mature emotionally,” Lena whispered and peered through the foliage towards a snack shop where Kara lined up with both Andy and Andrea. “She needs to work on that. It’s not within our power to change it.”

“Kara isn’t like her,” Sophia muttered and dried her eyes long enough to join Lena in observing the rest of their family.

If Lena felt vindictive, she could have agreed with Sophia and driven a wedge between her daughter and sire. She wasn’t proud of the temptation she experienced, or the impulse to paint Kara as the better alpha all round, but that wasn’t fair to anyone, not even her mate.

Sophia’s genuine attempt to open up deserved the same rawness in return.

Lena considered her next words very carefully and the potential lasting impact they would carry. “Everyone is different, Sophia, and nobody is perfect. We all have our own flaws to deal with, and part of that is acknowledging they exist. What sets your mother and Kara apart is how they choose to conduct themselves, and how they treat others around them, even when upset. But it’s very easy to overlook certain things in the people we care about, especially when they matter the most to us.”

The sage advice was partially self-directed, and Lena fell silent while Sophia mulled over the information.

“Is that why you stayed with mom for so long, even though you were sad?” Sophia finally asked, and for once acknowledged she was aware of how unhappy Lena truly was in spite of her best efforts to hide it.

“To an extent,” Lena confided and expressed her reasons the best she could without dragging Andrea through the mud or involving Sophia in the gritty details of their failed relationship. “My main concern was how the separation might affect you and Andy, and if what I was doing was going to be better for all of us, or just myself. I worried I was being selfish, but the truth is, sometimes in life you really have to put your best interests first. I wasn’t happy with how I was being treated and I didn’t want our behavior to influence any future relationships you and Andy might have.”

Sophia peered up at Lena with watery eyes that shimmered with newfound understanding and bit at her lip to stop it from trembling. “I thought if I was just like her, she would love me.”

Sophia’s confession was one Lena long suspected, but it still broke her heart to hear it. She hugged her daughter fiercely and pressed her cheek to the top of Sophia’s head, and let her heave out cathartic sobs against her shoulder.

“Oh honey, your mother does love you, she’s just awful at expressing it. You don’t have to be anyone but yourself, and it’s okay if you haven’t figured out who that is yet. All that matters is that you will, and we’ll all still love you when you do.”

Sophia’s tears dried after one loud and final sniffle, and she slipped away from Lena with a nod of agreement.

Andy headed their way with an ice cream cone in each hand and apologetically held one out to her sister. “I’m sorry for what I said. I just worried you were idolizing our mom for the wrong reasons.”

Sophia shrugged and took the strawberry ice cream. “You were a total jerk, but you were also kind of right.”

Lena let her eyes wander past her daughters to where Kara hovered in wait for her. She didn’t want to draw any attention to herself in case it hindered either Andy or Sophia from opening up, and she exhaled the breath she was holding when Andy asked, “Do you want to go for a walk and maybe check out some other activities with me?”

“How about mini golf? I always beat you at mini golf.” Sophia slid off the bench and walked in tandem with her older sister after giving Lena a small smile.

“Check in with us around five,” Lena shouted to their retreating backs and hurried over to Kara to huff in her scent.

It went without saying that their morning had been terribly difficult all round, and Andrea’s interference made it worse. The only bright side was the heart to heart she shared with Sophia, and how actively Kara took to her role as a new parental figure.

“How did it go with Sophia?” Kara asked with genuine concern, and instinctively pulled Lena into her arms before she could check in with her, too.

“Better than I could have hoped. She opened up to me, Kara, without any attitude or posturing. She’s finally seeing Andrea without the rose-colored glasses, and it’s painful for her.” Lena held onto Kara’s waist and searched her mate’s eyes like a stargazer trying to find all the secrets of the universe. “What happened after I left you with Andrea and Andy? I saw the two of you talking.”

The light in Kara’s eyes never dimmed, even though a crinkle formed between her brows. The tension that ran through Kara stiffened her back, and Lena braced herself for the worst.

“We both made it clear to Andy that what she said wasn’t okay, no matter how good her intentions might have been.” Kara peered out towards the sand and sparkling water all around them. “That’s not what tough love is, and it’s not her place to dish it out to her sister in the middle of a heated conversation. She took it well—not that I’m surprised, because she’s a really great kid.”

“As for Andrea,” Kara sucked on her teeth as a ripple of anger worked across her face. She tipped her head back to give herself a second to form the words on her tongue. “I told her point blank that the kids will always have another alpha in their lives to guide them, and if she has a problem with that, then she needs to step up her game and prove to the kids she’s worth going to for advice.”

“I can imagine how well that went down.” Lena tried to release all the negativity in her body with one breath. It comforted her to know that Kara would always prioritize their kids.

“Better than when I threatened to remove her teeth the next time she tries to ruin our good news,” Kara stated with an edge of aggression Lena rarely witnessed. “That was strike two, Lena. Strike three is going to leave her with more than just a bruised ego.”

It might have been wrong to shiver with arousal right then, but Lena was only human, and the fierceness in Kara turned her on. She was weak for her protective alpha, and ready to claim Kara all over again because of it.

Lena trailed her fingers over the solid muscle of Kara’s forearm and entwined their fingers with a coquettish glance through her lashes. She caught her mate staring at the heavy swell of her breasts and grinned in flirtation. “Are you hungry, darling?”

“Oh, sure, I could eat,” Kara murmured in confusion and raised her brows innocently. “What were you thinking, room service?”

She blinked up at Kara besottedly and turned on her heel to drag her mate back towards the hotel with one thing on her mind.

“The only thing that’s going to pass my lips for the next few hours is you, Kara, and I do mean both sets of them,” Lena intoned as soon as she closed the door to their room.

She gave Kara no time to appreciate the implication and tugged her jeans down. Lena shoved her backwards towards the bed and smirked as Kara stumbled in surprise.

By the time Kara’s ass hit the mattress, Lena was already on her knees. She tore at Kara’s boxers to find her semi-erect and pulled the full length of Kara’s shaft into her mouth to work her to full stiffness with her lips and tongue. It happened damn near instantaneously, and Lena refused to go easy as she took Kara straight to the back of her throat to swallow around her girth.

“Jesus, Lena, you’re–” Kara had no hope of finishing that sentence with the intense suction of Lena’s mouth on her cock. She moaned loudly, and Lena massaged at her thighs as they strained from pleasure.

“Very skilled at sucking your cock?” Lena inquired with a salacious and wet slurp that pulled her cheeks in and caused Kara’s eyes to glaze over.

She freed Kara’s cock with smack of her lips and stood up so abruptly she went a little dizzy. Kara was so breathless she didn’t seem to notice, and Lena used it to her advantage to straddle her mate’s lap.

Lena hiked up her spring dress to flaunt the slick state of her thong and rubbed her cunt over Kara’s throbbing shaft with breathy whimpers. “Do you want to rut my pussy open, Kara? Are you thinking of how deep you want to push your seed as you fuck me?”

Her little undulations spread her arousal all over Kara’s wide tip. The solid girth stretched her pussy lips with the motion of her hips, and she slipped down the straps on her dress to massage her nipples. The door to the balcony in their bedroom was ajar, and the lightest sea breeze fluttered her skirt.

Kara supported her with both hands on her lower back and groaned from the smooth sensations that came from grinding into each other. “Yes, fuck, please let me inside you. Your teasing is driving me crazy.”

Lena slid back and forth with a haughtiness that came from her game of gratification and denial. She ran her fingers through the warm silk between her inner lips and stroked it over Kara’s cock. The circumference more than filled her hand, and she positioned her legs on either side of Kara’s thighs.

“Have I told you that nothing compares to your cock?” Lena slipped her thumb over the glaze that trickled down the cleft of Kara’s helmet. “Look at it, Kara. No one else can measure up. Andrea never made me come the way you do.”

Talking about her ex could have backfired if the comparison didn’t act as an obvious aphrodisiac on Kara. Her entire shaft seemed to pulsate and jerk upwards with a mind of its own and Lena rubbed into the little spout where Kara’s seed would soon gather.

“You take pride in that, don’t you, darling? You like being the biggest I’ve ever had, and the only one I’ll ever want.”

“Yeah, I really do,” Kara practically bragged and admired the sight of herself so swollen and large and perfectly encased between Lena’s glistening labia. She appeared riveted by the sway of Lena’s pelvis and how the pink of her clitoris darkened with every caress across the ridged veins of her cock.

There was a fine line between teasing Kara and torturing herself. Lena reached it faster than she imagined and held herself poised above the ruby glans which tried to breach her entrance. She dipped low once or twice, pushing the thickened brim into the quiver of her cunt without the intention of letting Kara buck.

“How does it feel knowing nobody else has experienced how tight I really am, or how wet I can actually get?”

Lena wasn’t sure what she expected to hear, but the sudden charge of Kara’s hips eclipsed it. She keened at the rough spread of her intimate walls and sank heavily onto Kara’s cock.

“Like it doesn’t matter who had you first, you were always meant to be mine,” Kara gutturally stated and took advantage of Lena’s momentary surprise to bounce her with indulgent, full strokes.

Thrusting upward with both hands anchored to Lena’s hips, Kara groaned and made the most of the position. She reached up to grab a handful of Lena’s breasts in a fixation of sensualism.

“You’re not just an alpha, Kara—you’re the alpha.” Lena tightened the press of Kara’s fingers on her tits and whined from the thrusts that doubled her arousal.

Kara relaxed the consistent clench of her pussy with the deeper push of her cock. At the same time, Lena’s inner thighs braced harder in preparation and her center of gravity brought her low to rock over Kara’s knot base. She expected to stay on top, but Kara moved her down on her knees and gathered back her hair.

“You make me believe it when you give your pussy to me on all fours,” Kara rumbled and guided the blunt tip of her cock into the heated partition of Lena’s entrance once she offered herself up with a low mating bend.

Kara took Lena with the kind of confidence that said she knew her limits, and coiled Lena’s dark tresses around her fist to slam home harder.

Lena keened into the sheets—soft and strangled noises of pleasure that she couldn’t control by biting her lips. She could usually slide back against Kara, but this pace didn’t allow for that. Submitting to the fluctuation of her body, Lena reached climax faster. The veins in her neck came to the surface, and her face burned with a fire of sex and sin.

“I want to wear you all night long. I want your seed on me—in my cunt and on my lips.”

Kara clutched at her hips to hold her still and erupted in the warm and fluttering heat inside of Lena’s pussy. She slid out and her seed followed in a thick rivulet that dripped from Lena’s inner lips. They stretched out beside one another, and Kara pushed back into Lena’s contracting and full entrance with a commitment to making her orgasm again. Lena entangled herself into her mate with one leg up and the other bent. She didn’t notice the door to the adjoining suite opening.

“Sophia gave me the room key. She thinks she left her favorite necklace in here.” Andrea blurted out her justification for barging in without glancing around– but when she realized how Kara was positioned behind Lena, she turned and went slack jawed.

Lena was no longer capable of rationality and lifted her leg higher. She wanted to be in a position that would allow Kara’s cock to satisfy the places inside of her that were primed for another release.

Andrea’s presence kick started something within Kara’s alpha to outperform her, even though there was no contest. She snarled at the sight of Andrea and dominated Lena not just with a series of punishing lunges, but with claim pheromones to get her off quicker. The thrusts soaked the sheets beneath them and deepened the scarlet flush of Lena’s cheeks as she raced towards ecstasy.

“You like that, Lena? You need it deeper, don’t you?” Kara grunted between exerting herself. The wet smack of her thighs drowned out the thud of Lena’s racing heartbeat, and she exhaled a breathless yes without thinking.

Kara had the audacity to hold Lena’s leg even higher so the messy spread of her cunt was in full view. Lena could only imagine how lewd she looked taking such a thick cock, especially since Kara’s knot had popped the moment they were interrupted.

It could have been the pure shock on her ex-wife’s face, or the fact that Andrea couldn’t tear her eyes off them that kept Lena compliant and ravenous for Kara’s touch. She wanted Andrea to see how good she had it now, and it was liberating to be caught while working off the tension of the morning.

All it took was the briefest flick of Kara’s fingers over her clit for bliss to render her senseless. She convulsed on the bed, and her ragged cries would no doubt stick with Andrea for years to come.

If Andrea had a shred of decency she would have left, but the depravity in her kept her rooted to the spot far longer than Lena expected.

Lena pushed herself down on Kara’s knot base with a soft whining plea for her seed. She moaned as Kara pulled out to blast thick ropes across her cunt. The territorial act called to the submissive in Lena, and she slid back onto her knees to lick at Kara’s cock.

That seemed to jar Andrea out of her trance, and she slammed the door behind her as she left.