The Beauty of Experience - Chapter 24

Chapter 1: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-40500104
Chapter 2: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-part-41396037
Chapter 3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-3-42973644
Chapter 4: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-4-44239862
Chapter 5: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-5-45229576
Chapter 6: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-6-46264458
Chapter 7: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-7-46932942
Chapter 8: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-8-47435612
Chapter 9: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-9-49298878
Chapter 10: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-10-50276496
Chapter 11: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-11-52122645
Chapter 12 :https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-12-53869442
Chapter 13: https://www.patreon.com/posts/55147565
Chapter 14: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-14-5682409
Chapter 15: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57856681
Chapter 16: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-16-59147519
Chapter 17: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-17-60539856
Chapter 18: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-18-61641210
Chapter 19: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-19-62956617
Chapter 20: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-20-64516844
Chapter 21: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-21-65810299
Chapter 22: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-22-67099384
Chapter 23: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beauty-of-23-68458451



Word count: 9,665

Andy’s innocent question brought the festivities to a stand still. Lillian must have felt the shift in the room, too, because she looked as confused as her granddaughter.

Bile stung the back of Lena’s throat as she tried to think of an explanation, but all that came out of her mouth was the truth.


“Your mother is in Mexico right now–”

“So, business as usual then,” Andy scoffed with the smallest jut of her chin. She hid the sadness in her eyes by bending down to fuss with her backpack and pulling out her phone to check for any texts.

The deflection was transparent to the adults in the room, and Lena stood among them with an uneasy shiver trickling down her spine.

After a few seconds of scrolling, Andy sucked it up with a bitter smile and shrugged like it didn’t matter. “I guess that means more cake for me.”

“And me!” Natty chorused with unfiltered delight. She grabbed two tiny fistfuls of Kara’s shirt like she was trying to lead her over to the tasty dessert and bounced her feet as if to encourage Kara to hurry.

“Why don’t you try giving her a call? Maybe she’ll be free to FaceTime?” Lena prayed that Andrea wasn’t callous enough to ignore their daughters. Though their marriage inevitably became a shambles, Andrea still tried to be there for their children—at least, whenever it suited her schedule.

“Nah, if she wanted to be here, she would be. This obviously isn’t important enough.” Andy’s smile fell flat as she lifted her backpack onto her shoulder like she might just head to her room and unpack.

Kara was swift to intercept her as she caught the distraught scent of Lena’s pheromones. She passed Natty off to Alex and effortlessly snatched the bag out of Andy’s hands with a bright smile. “I’ll put your stuff in your room while you check out the pool house.”

“Why? What did you put in there?” Andy squinted in suspicion as she noticed the grins on everyone’s faces.

Natty giggled like she was in on the surprise and shushed herself by pressing her hand to her mouth and whispering, “Shhh.”

“If we tell you, it kind of takes the fun out of it being a surprise,” Kara reasoned as she gathered the rest of Andy’s bags. She motioned to Alex and Sam with her eyes before hurrying upstairs with all of Andy’s belongings draped over her shoulders.

Alex was quick to pick up on the non-verbal cues. She rested Natty on her hip and threw an arm over Andy’s shoulders so she could gently guide her in the right direction out of the house. “C’mon, kid. I can’t wait to see your face when you find out what’s in there.”

“If it’s a family of racoons, I’m keeping them,” Andy warned as her new aunt led her outside, and Ruby flanked her from behind.


Sam locked eyes with Lena as she walked out last and shut the sliding door firmly behind her.

Lena wasn’t able to breathe until her daughter was out of earshot and then she sagged against the counter with one hand pressed to the cool surface. The tension in her body was a clear giveaway that something was off, and Kara returned just in time to find Lillian preparing for an interrogation.

“Out with it,” Lillian demanded as she crossed her arms and looked at each of them in turn with the kind of authority that still held weight with Lena. “Something is going on and I refuse to be left in the dark about it.”

“Mother, this isn’t the best time.” Lena whispered and sought out Kara’s hand for support. She took solace in the warmth and reassurance of Kara’s firm grip and turned to lean into her mate’s solid frame.

“It never is when it comes to Andrea. What did that vile creature do now?” Lillian pressed with a derisive drawl, as though simply saying Andrea’s name was enough to sour her mood.

The comfort of Kara’s arm on her waist was an indicator for Lena to brace herself. She bit her lip as she heard Kara suck in a breath and readied herself for whatever her alpha chose to share.

“Long story short, Andrea began a relationship with one of my friends so she could gain information about us and the girls. We all found out a week ago, and like the coward she is, Andrea fled instead of dealing with the mess.” Kara’s condensed explanation still included all of the pertinent details, and she managed to keep her tone neutral in spite of anger she must have still felt about the situation.

Lillian blinked a few times in shock. “You’re joking? How on earth did she manage that?”

“Well, it’s a little more complicated than Kara is letting on, because Andrea did this out of spite to get back at her for ever daring to love me.” Lena’s throat quivered and her scent took on a vulnerable note that prompted Kara to release protective pheromones to keep her calm.


“For months, Kara has been working with an investor who wasn’t actually an investor. Andrea set her up for failure, and in the process, started to date Nia–”

“Not that sweet girl that was at Kara’s birthday party?” Lillian’s appalled question came out louder than any of them expected and she took a moment before hissing, “How could she not have known about Andrea?”

Kara took the lead with explaining the debacle and rubbed a palm along Lena’s hip. “For one, we never talk about Andrea by name. Usually we just say Lena’s ex, and since there are no pictures in the house of them together, it’s not like Nia would have known, unless Andrea told her. Nia’s too nice of a person to dig into someone's life or look them up online, though I think going forward, she’ll be less trusting.”

“If Andrea sinks any lower, she might well be crowned the new ruler of hell,” Lillian spat with a disdain that made the veins in her forehead pop to the surface. She looked a livid and ghastly shade of purple, and Lena poured a glass of chardonnay to calm her mother down.

“Oh, we’re not done, there’s more,” Lena muttered and pulled out a stool for Lillian before sharing the worst of it. “Kara asked the girls if they would be okay with her becoming a legal guardian, and of course they said yes. At the time, we thought maybe one of the girls had told Andrea, because she called me, outraged—”

“You know, it’s never too late to put that hit out on her,” Lillian murmured from around the rim of her glass. She was so blasé about it that Kara laughed, and for a few short seconds, the humor lightened their mood.

Kara cleared her throat. “If it makes you feel better, I punched her when we found all this out.”

“It does. Did she bleed?” Lillian asked with too much enthusiasm for a grandmother. She stared at Kara with a newfound respect and reached out to pat her on the arm.

“Mother,” Lena griped like she was scolding one of the kids for glorifying violence and snatched the wine glass out of her hand as punishment.

“Look, at my age, you appreciate dealing with problems head-on,” Lillian sniffed and lifted the bottle of wine to fill another glass for herself. “This is why Kara is my favorite daughter-in-law.”

“We’re not even engaged,” Lena pointed out with a bewildered but soft smile that hinted at how open she was to the prospect of having a ring on her finger to match the claim on her throat.

“Trivialities, I see how you two look at each other.” Lillian waved off Lena’s facts like they were a nuisance to entertain and turned her attention to Kara as if expecting her to pop the question.


Lena carried on to spare her alpha from her mother’s expectations and blushed as she felt Kara surreptitiously squeeze her backside out of sight.

“Anyway — when Andrea’s bullshit finally came out in the open, she told me to file for full custody of the kids and took off.”

“Finally, the happy ending we’ve all been waiting on! I know a wonderful lawyer who can help with the proceedings,” Lillian divulged and lifted her purse to make the phone call on their behalf.

Lena grabbed the clutch without thinking and tossed it down the counter well out of Lillian’s reach. “You know we can’t do that. It would crush the girls, and Kara doesn’t want to replace Andrea in their lives. It’s not fair to them.”

“I can dream, can’t I?” Lillian sighed wistfully, her smile tapering away to a serious and somewhat pained grimace. “The real question is, how do the two of you plan to handle this with Andy?”

“Andrea’s track record of being an absentee parent lends itself to the narrative that she’s busy with work,” Lena answered automatically with a clear-cut excuse that she so often relied on in the past.


The white lie had saved the kids from finding out their other parent had been a serial cheater, though Lena hated to deceive them.

Lillian’s maternal instincts shined through as she stood up to gently take Lena’s face in the palms of her hands. She smiled at Lena with expressive and emotional eyes, and then imparted her own wisdom as kindly as she could. “I know you don’t want to hear it, and I can’t force you to do it, but in my opinion, Andy is at an age where she deserves the truth. Granted, not the entire truth, because it would break her heart to find out that her sire is an unworthy, deplorable bastard, but a watered-down version, so she knows what’s really going on.”


Lena listened to the advice and realized it would be better to treat Andy with the same respect any growing teenager deserved.

“You’re right,” Lena whispered in a moment of clarity. “Keeping her in the dark is only protecting Andrea, and she’s not my priority anymore.”

Faced with her decision and nothing to hold her back, Lena headed to the door and stepped onto the patio. She knew that she would have support for this conversation and glanced to Kara with a small nod. They followed the sound of music out to the pool house, and Lena scrunched her brows at a tune that she recognized from one of Natty’s favorite shows.

Andy clutched a guitar and played straight to her biggest fan. Natty hopped up and down on top of a unicorn pool float and wiggled to the song.

“I had no idea you could play like that.” Lena folded her arms over her chest as she studied her oldest child.

“I learned enough at school and on YouTube.” Andy lowered the guitar back onto its stand and perched on the stool behind her drum set. “I can’t believe you got me all everything I need to start my own band. Now I just need to find some musicians and a vocalist.”

“I bet you’re going to meet tons of people at your new school.” Kara smiled so wide she shut her eyes and picked up a box with a microphone that was neglected in the corner. Her proud pheromones made up for Andrea’s absence, and even Alex’s attentiveness seemed to influence the kids.

Ruby took a turn to sing, and Andy strummed along with her while Natty continued to dance. They would have spent the whole afternoon giving musical performances, but Lillian came out with platters of food, and it was a good excuse for Lena to pull her daughter aside.

“Andy, can we speak to you on the patio for a second?” Lena carried her plate over to the table where Kara was already casually waiting.

Everyone else noticed their cues and remained in the pool house to give them some privacy.

Andy sat down and took a big bite from her sandwich before the unnatural silence pulled her brows together in confusion. “Is something wrong? Did the school deny me admission at the last minute? God, I knew I shouldn't have delayed my transfer by a couple of weeks just for Sophia--"

“No, no, you’re still scheduled to arrive on Monday,” Lena clarified and sensed that her daughter’s mood would plummet for no reason if she didn’t explain faster.

Unable to broach the subject that so direly needed addressing, she floundered and turned to Kara with panic in her eyes.

Kara took the lead without any hesitation and went so far as to place her hand on Andy’s arm as she broke the news to her gently. “We want to discuss something important with you and it’s not going to be easy to hear, but we feel you deserve to know.”

“Great. Can’t wait to find out what it is,” Andy sighed as she slouched in her seat in a rare moment of moodiness. She didn’t often have an attitude, and the topic at hand wouldn’t be easy to navigate when she was already upset about Andrea’s absence.

Lena knew they had to tread carefully or risk making matters worse, and she sucked in a slow breath before admitting quietly, “The thing is, your mom isn’t in Mexico for business.”

Andy’s worry hit them before her mouth even opened and Lena held her hand out to elaborate. “Your abuelo is just fine.”

Whatever relief Andy received from that information was short lived as she shoved her plate aside and demanded, “Then why isn’t she here?”

Kara jumped in with a concise summary that avoided the damaging facts that would have changed Andy’s view of her parent. “That’s complicated, and we won’t get into all of the details. What we can say is we weren’t happy with some of her current behavior and she left to take some time to clear her head.”

Lena was impressed by Kara’s tactful way of handling their ongoing feud with Andrea, especially when most step-parents would have been happy to sway the kids. She looked at her mate with newfound admiration for the depths of her integrity and sidled closer to share the warm scent of her love.

“Well, when is she coming back?” Andy asked, glancing between them for answers and narrowing her eyes.

“We don’t know,” Lena admitted, no longer afraid to say the truth with Kara beside her, presenting a united front.

“That’s stupid, she can’t just leave!” Andy spluttered, her stoic facade completely ruined by her outburst. “Spring break is in two weeks, and we always spend that time with her. Sophia is going to have a meltdown if mom cancels. Why is she doing this? Is it because she hates the school I picked?”


Andy’s rapid questions became shriller as she spoke, and it was evident that she was blaming herself for Andrea’s inability to handle any problem in a mature fashion.

Lena stepped in immediately to console her and placed her hands on either side of Andy’s shoulders to look into her daughter’s eyes. “Oh honey, no. It doesn’t have anything to do with you or your sisters.”

It felt ridiculous to say that when Andrea’s withdrawal was affecting the kids. Lena hated her ex all the more for hurting their children, and no matter how her eldest postured and tried to say that Sophia would be upset the most, it was obvious she was just as distraught.

Frustration and confusion brought tears to Andy’s eyes and Lena winced at the ache of seeing her child suffer. She pulled Andy into an embrace that her eldest fought off and choked back her own misery to give her daughter the space she needed to process.

“No this isn’t okay. She can’t just do this to us.” Andy clenched her teeth and balled her fists like she wanted to walk off and batter her new drum set.

Of all the years of Andrea failing her as a parent, this was the first time Lena had seen it truly affect Andy. It almost made her regret her decisions, but she couldn’t coddle any of her kids from the reality of Andrea’s selfishness any longer.

“Listen, if your mom isn’t back by the time we pick up Sophia for spring break, then we’ll all just go to Mexico,” Kara asserted with enough firmness to make it as good as a promise. She held Andy’s stare in negotiation and waited for the fight to drain out of their daughter without trying to quell it herself.

It gave Andy the opportunity to regulate her own emotions, and when she finally composed herself with a few deep breaths, she muttered, “Do you honestly mean it?”

Kara gave a nod and placed her hand onto Andy’s shoulder in reassurance. “I give you my word. I’ll delegate my work to some of my staff and take the week off.”

That seemed to satisfy Andy, though her chin wobbled as she restrained tears, and she crossed her arms to appear tougher. It took her a minute to find her words, and when she did, they were quiet and vulnerable. “What if she doesn’t want to see us?”

“That’s impossible,” Kara blurted with a self-assurance that left no room for the doubt in Andy’s mind. “She loves you.”

Lena was on the verge of ugly sobbing when Lillian ventured out of the pool house with convenient timing. She gave them a look that made it clear she was still as in-tune with her own daughter’s emotions as Lena was with Andy’s distress.

“Andy, be a dear and save me from listening to Sam playing your guitar. She’s attempting to set up some kind of karaoke and I refuse to be subjected to this torture.”

“I’m testing things out!” Sam complained from inside the pool house. “Besides, no one is cooler than your Aunt Sam or has better taste in music. I’m slaughtering it.”

“You mean killing it, and not in a good way,” Andy snorted and then took off across the lawn to save her precious instruments.

Lena wasn’t aware of the way she sniffled until Kara affectionately wrapped her up in her buff arms and used her own shirt to wipe away the moisture that dripped down her cheeks. She inhaled shaky breaths and buried her face into the solid and comforting warmth of her alpha while Kara held her close and pressed kisses to her neck and shoulder.

“You did so good, Lena. You handled it so well, and Andy is going to be just fine,” Kara whispered against her hair and held on tighter.

The soft affirmations eased some of the tension out of Lena’s stiff muscles and she sagged into Kara, trusting implicitly that her alpha would always be there to help her through the worst situations in life. “I hate Andrea for the damage she’s done to the kids. To all of us.”

“I know, but we’re resilient and we’re going to teach our kids the right way to handle this situation.” Kara rubbed soothing semi circles over Lena’s shoulders and kept her close in the protective musk of her alpha.

When they finally pulled apart, Lena was no longer bleary eyed and the front of Kara’s shirt was suspiciously soaked in the shape of her face. Lena brushed it off to help it dry out and pursed her lips together as she eyed Kara. “So, spring break in Mexico, huh?”

All of Kara’s composure vanished and she settled her hands on her hips and leaned forward. “God, I wasn’t even thinking. Andy was so upset, and it just sort of flew out of my mouth. Was it too much? I should have asked–”

“A little vacation might be exactly what we all need,” Lena sighed, catching Kara by the front of her shirt to pull her close for a kiss that was far too chaste for her liking. “You’re pretty quick on your feet, taking charge like that and embracing your role as alpha of the family.”

“I’m getting a lot of good practice.” Kara smiled modestly and stared down at Lena with a warmth that always brought flutters to her belly.

Over the weeks that followed, Kara got the chance to step up more than once as a parent. Lena experienced distractions at work at a time when she would have preferred to be home for her kids. While she juggled board room dramas and the launch of a product line, Kara took on the responsibility of settling their teen daughter into a new routine and handling Natty’s daily needs.

Lena awakened before five o’clock every morning, and for a horrible two week stretch, they scrounged by on kisses and late night sex.

At the home stretch to spring break, Lena became anxious about her ex wife’s continued silence. She reached out several times without hearing back, and even mentioning the kids didn’t goad Andrea into responding.

It infuriated Lena to the point that she booked their family trip to Mexico at her desk in between meetings.

Her mother was due to pick Sophia up from boarding school at the end of the week, and as far the girls knew, they would be going to the same resort where Andrea took them year after year. Lena had yet to contradict that or reveal that they would be heading to Mexico to hunt down their selfish sire.

Each night leading up to the end of the week, Sophia texted in their family group chat, and Lena’s anxiety grew like a weed through the concrete of her feelings. It broke through cracks she thought were sealed up long ago, and by Thursday she was petrified that all of her daughters would be scarred by Andrea’s decision to cut off communication.

She sobbed for an hour in Kara’s arms before they both came up with a plan for spring vacation. It included tracking down Andrea’s whereabouts and ensuring that the girls had a good time.

Despite going through every possible hiccup that might occur with Kara, it seemed like trouble loomed ahead of them. Lena jittered with nerves that not even a back rub or orgasm would fix.

On Friday afternoon, Lena cooked and baked for three hours while waiting for everyone to arrive home. Andy came through the door first, dropping her bags near the garage entrance while Natty scurried by and straight into Lena’s arms.

Kara took up the rear, laden down with art projects from Natty’s preschool and a crown for her upcoming fourth birthday, which would fall on a day when she wasn’t at school.

“Mommy!” Natty shouted and wrapped her small legs around Lena’s waist, clingier than usual on a random afternoon. “I missed you! I made you a dog at school!”

Kara presented the purple dog on construction paper and stopped to kiss Lena on the cheek.

“That’s a great dog, Natty. Is that its face?” Andy pointed to a random blob among several others of spherical shape.

“No, that’s the moon,” Natty sharply corrected and jabbed at other circular and free floating circle on the page. “This is his head.”

It happened to be that simple conversation with her loved ones that helped settle Lena’s nerves. She ended up on the couch with her family around her, and for a while, all was right in her world.

Her peace ended after about an hour when the front door opened and shut with a slam. Sophia’s footsteps were loud on the stairs, and she retreated to her room without bothering to talk to anyone.

A moment later, Lillian came through the front door and stepped inside to the living room. “Sophia isn’t in a great mood. She put her headphones on and wouldn’t speak to me for the entire drive.”

Kara proactively stood up before Lena had the chance and ushered her to stay put with Natty. “Why don’t you find a movie we can all watch, and I’ll go check on Sophia?”

The confidence of her alpha stopped Lena from protesting, but her temporary calm was disrupted by the thought of her miserable second child.

She scooted off the couch carefully after Andy selected a movie to stream and made her way upstairs with the terrible dread that Sophia would be acting out because of Andrea’s lack of communication.

What she overheard on her way to Sophia’s room ended up surprising her, and she faltered in the hall to listen.

“It’s not because of Andy. I just don’t want to go back to DC prep. I have to transfer, okay? Like immediately.”

Lena crept closer to peek through the open door and found her daughter pacing her room while Kara observed her anxiety.

“I thought you wanted Ruby to transfer to be with you. Did that change?” Kara asked, her tone neutral so that Sophia wouldn’t feel judged for her spiraling emotions.

“No, but it doesn’t matter, because my life is going to be over,” Sophia insisted with a dramatic spin on her heel.

Lena pinched her brows together and resisted her maternal instinct to intervene. If she intruded now, her daughter might never open up about what had her so upset, and she might blame Kara for trying to get to the root of it.

“Why do you say that?” Kara pried gently, knowing better than to push too hard for answers.

Sophia’s face scrunched up like she was fighting her impulse to scream, and she turned to Kara as she ranted, “Because everything is different now, and I hate it there, and Alison is stupid.”

“Is that your friend?” Kara inquired tactfully and sat down on the bed so that she wasn’t towering over Sophia while she was in a vulnerable state.

The move was effective, and Lena observed the shift in her daughter as she huffed out a suffering sigh.

Sophia pulled at her sleeves until they covered her fingers and avoided Kara’s kind eyes as she hunched forward. “She used to be. Now she’s friends with Taylor.”

Kara didn’t say a whole lot, but it was enough to draw information out of Sophia a little at a time. “Oh, who is that?”

“This dumb omega that can’t do anything for herself,” Sophia scoffed, her lips curling in a disdainful sneer that looked like one Andrea often flashed. “Alison walks her to class, even though she’s been here for years and knows where to go.”

Kara hummed thoughtfully and rested her elbows on her knees as she lowered her voice. “Do you think Alison likes her because she’s an omega?”

Sophia laughed with a telling bitterness. “Well, it’s not because she’s smart. She spelled Amphibian with an F.”

Kara must have been holding in a laugh, based on the sudden rigidity of her shoulders and her slight cough, which masked her amusement. Lena had to bite her own lip to stifle a chuckle and hoped that her concerned scent wouldn’t be detected by either of them.

“Have you told any of your friends that you presented yet?” Kara probed gently.

Sophia huffed at the question, though she answered it instead of avoiding it. “No, because it shouldn’t make a difference.”

“That’s true. It shouldn’t, and it kind of sucks that it does.” Kara sat up straighter to impart good advice. “Maybe you don’t have to tell everyone all at once. You could start with someone you trust the most, like Alison. She told you when she presented as an alpha, right?”

Silence stretched between them until Sophia grimaced and sighed out in annoyance, “I mean, yeah, but what if she doesn’t care that I’m an omega?”

“I think she will,” Kara stated confidently, as if there wasn’t a single doubt in her mind about how Alison would behave. “Though if she doesn’t, at least you’ll know what kind of friend she is. Then you can decide if she’s worth hanging out with in the future.”

Framing it all so that the control would be in Sophia’s hands was probably the wisest way to tackle such a delicate situation. Lena was proud of her mate for being kind and patience with Sophia, and in turn just as proud of Sophia for trusting Kara with that personal problem.

“Your mom baked a bunch of different pies if you want to have a slice,” Kara mentioned with a smile as she stood up and hiked a thumb at the door. “Pretty sure there’s a pint of your favorite non-dairy ice cream tucked away in the freezer.”

Lena backed away so as not to be seen and swallowed down the emotion that lodged in her throat when she heard her mate cheerfully invite Sophia to join them all for the movie.

Within twenty minutes, Lena sat wedged between her two teens while Andy tried to hog the entire lemon meringue pie for herself.

After great debate and negotiation, Andy traded one slice to Sophia for a squirt of whipped cream. Natty was content with the chocolate pie, and managed to get it all over her face, two stuffed animals and Kara’s shirt.

Their night went by without incident, and soon all of the girls headed off to bed. Lillian settled into one of the guest bedrooms, and emotional exhaustion claimed Lena before she could do more than kiss Kara.

The next morning, a private car rolled into their driveway, and Kara loaded their suitcases as Lena revealed their destination to Sophia. She kept it vague and explained only that they would be meeting Andrea in Mexico.

For every time that Kara sweetly took care of their daughters, Lena tallied up the very physical  ways she wanted to show her gratitude. They would be staying in a resort in Monterrey near Bernardo’s home for the duration of the trip, and she hoped to accomplish more than one goal on vacation—not just rattling Andrea out of her self-imposed exile, but enjoying the sights as a family, and connecting with Kara romantically in a new setting.

Lillian had never tagged along on previous trips to Mexico, and it was a source of comfort that she decided to free up her schedule and come along.

The plane ride was better than a lot of past journeys. This year, Sophia didn’t elbow her older sister out of the way to grab the window seat. They co-existed peacefully, and Natty played on her tablet, colored and napped without getting cranky.

Their arrival at the resort was a bit rockier, because of all their luggage and Natty accidentally opening up a bright pink unicorn case full of crayons in the lobby. They rolled everywhere across the lobby, colors in all shades of the rainbow, and the whole family pitched in to help as Natty started to cry.

Sophia located the most, if only to brag that she was better at catching them, though Lena suspected it was due to the quiver of Natty’s lip.

Lena soothed her youngest while Kara dutifully slotted each crayon back in its correct place so that Natty could see they had all been retrieved. That settled her down some, and by the time Lena managed to reach the front desk, Lillian was already accepting the card keys to two rooms.

“Shouldn’t there be three?” Lena asked with a touch of paranoia that something was amiss with her booking.

She peered expectantly at the gentleman behind the desk who glanced toward Lillian before making himself scarce.

“I consolidated them,” Lillian explained with a sly smile and passed one of the keys over to Kara in a manner that made Lena blush. “The girls will be with me in the presidential suite, since this is my first trip to Mexico with them. I trust you two will be fine by yourselves?”

“Yup, definitely!” Kara’s eagerness to accept the new room situation would have been offensive if Lena wasn’t just as excited to get some alone time with her alpha.

They filed into the express elevator with more enthusiasm than the children, and Lena couldn’t quite look her mother in the eye with Kara’s hand secretively grasping her backside. Fortunately, they were pressed up against the cool metal and nobody else was the wiser, but that risky little fondle ignited Lena’s libido.

Natty clung onto her shirt as they stepped onto their floor, and Andy and Sophia rushed ahead to find their room.


Lillian trailed after them for a few paces and then stopped to gather Natty into her arms. “I’ll help the girls unpack. I suggest you two do the same and we’ll see you in about an hour.”

An hour seemed excessive for unpacking, and yet not nearly enough time to do all of the things that Lena desired. She would have to prioritize the best she could, given how limited their privacy would be during the day.

Lena nearly broke the card reader as she forcefully swiped them into their suite. She threw off her shirt as soon they closed the door behind them and shucked down her mate’s pants right near the entry.

Moving onto her knees, she nuzzled into the hard-on concealed in Kara’s blue boxers. She pulled at the waistband and looked down at the neglected mauve tip that beaded with clear drops of need.

Lena flicked her tongue over the firm head and took it straight into her mouth. “I’m going to have to suck your cock many times a day to remain sane while we’re on this mission.”

Her lip gloss brought a nice shine to the wide helmet that pushed into the smooth part of her cheek. She worked it into her throat with a captivated interest in how it stiffened and twitched like in the earlier days of their relationship.

After a deprivation of a few weeks, Lena should have been more prepared for Kara’s quicker climax, but she ended up with seed in her mouth, all over her chin and dripping down her breasts. It filled her with feral urges, and she gulped Kara’s cock right to the knot-base, keeping her lips sealed around it.

Kara’s eyelids drooped from lust as she nestled a hand in Lena’s hair. “Fuck, Lena, you’re far too good at this, and I can’t help but give in—”

Lena inhaled and took another long suck on Kara’s cock with a certain possessive instinct. The little fluctuation in the back of her throat was stroking Kara’s tip pleasurably. She sensed it from Kara’s groans and straining, and then another throb of seed painted Lena’s tongue.

“I know this is a little crass, but I want you to bend me over this hotel bed and fuck me like it’s my job to take your cock.” Lena popped her lips off the tremendously swollen shaft and rubbed at her sensitive nipples as she made more demands. “You’re going to completely fill my pussy with your seed to make up for the fact that we don’t have time for knotting.”

Kara jerked to completion just from hearing what Lena wanted, and they both stroked the mess down her shaft.

Lena slurped around it with the intent to keep Kara absolutely rigid and throbbing for satisfaction.

The slim chance that Kara wouldn’t pop a knot regardless of their time constraints was a fickle detail that Lena was more than ready to deal with later. She puckered over the wide brim of Kara’s erection and pumped her fist along the base to elicit the breathiest of sounds from her mate.

A nice firm grip and a few twists of her palm could unravel Kara at the best of times, and Lena took full advantage by lapping at the sensitive spout of her cock.

Fast little flutters of her tongue tightened Kara’s quads and the hand in Lena’s hair. She opened her mouth with the expectation of receiving another creamy release and moaned in surprise as Kara showed off her strength.

Lena’s vision spun as Kara enthusiastically lifted her off her knees and playfully threw her onto the bed.

Kara’s growl promised they wouldn’t be unpacking until tonight, and Lena was caught off guard as Kara shoved her skirt up to pull her panties down her thighs.

The shimmer of her arousal covered the fabric and her pussy lips, which Kara parted with the plump glans of her cock.

“Normally I’d never skip the foreplay, but you’re so wet already.” Kara gripped at Lena’s backside with both hands as she knelt behind her and pushed into the rippled heat of her cunt.

The initial thrust was slow and controlled, and Lena appreciated the internal stretch as she dropped her shoulders to the bed with a moan. This was the best position for deeper penetration, and she groaned as Kara gave it to her faster than usual.

Their love for each other was going to culminate in a frenzied rutting, and Lena was so ready for it.

Kara didn’t hold back in the slightest. The power of her hips drilled straight to Lena’s cervix, and she leaned forward to suck and bite at Lena’s neck.


They had only been in the room for five minutes, and it already smelled of sex and desperation. Kara reached between Lena’s thighs to caress into the slippery partition of her pussy. She found Lena’s clit without fumbling and massaged into it as she whispered, “I know there’s so much you want to do on this vacation — but your pussy is the only sight I was hoping to see.”

Lena groaned as Kara slammed into her from behind and her nipples rubbed against the bedsheets. Her body moved in sway with Kara’s and her cunt contracted in a pleasure so effortless that it dizzied her. She already experienced the pull of an orgasm at her center, the riveting sensation of possibility.

“Make me come, Kara, I’m close already.” Lena whined as her mate’s thrusts became perfectly timed with the spasm inside of her pussy.

The hot glide of Kara’s shaft cleaved through Lena’s tightening walls and Kara expressed her pleasure by latching onto her neck. The sting of her teeth would leave a bruise behind, but the bite wasn’t enough to stifle the pleasured moans of her mate.

Lena’s eyes drifted shut in a bliss she couldn’t control, and her lithe frame tensed all over as Kara asserted herself with a growl that commanded her to submit. She gasped for breath, her cheek pressed roughly into the sheets as Kara palmed at her cunt like it was hers to hold. Lena bore down on it, grinding her clit into Kara’s strong hand as warmth flooded her body and loosened her muscles.

“That’s it, baby, beg for my seed with your tight pussy, let me feel how much you want it.” Kara rasped against her skin as she strained forward to pin Lena to the bed.

The velocity of Kara’s thighs striking her ass shook Lena’s backside, but it was the selfishness of Kara’s hands grabbing her tits that pushed Lena into orgasm.

Lena keened as her inner silk contracted with a sudden orgasm and she pushed back with a hedonistic drive to continue.

“Faster Kara. Fuck me like you paid for it,” Lena slurred against her forearm, dazed and breathless and nowhere near ready to stop. “This might be the only time we get to ourselves on this trip, so you had better make it count.”


The rougher handling wasn’t only about her pleasure, and it aroused Lena that Kara was feeding into her desires to fulfill them both sexually. With what little privacy they would have during vacation, it made the most sense to try and cram as many orgasms as they could into one short hour. Especially since they had been sustaining themselves for half the month on a bare minimum of intimacy.

The alpha in Kara responded by smacking her backside, and the sudden sting coupled with the grip on Lena’s ass cheek pulled a startled cry out of Lena. She raised herself higher up on her knees so that Kara had access to every inch of her and whined as her mate threaded her fingers through her hair to clasp at the roots.

Dominance poured out of Kara in the form of pheromones and her energetic performance rocked Lena across the bed. She knew exactly what Lena could take and pushed her straight to her limits by allowing a partial knot to form.

The giant protrusion forced Lena’s tender pussy lips apart, and the extra girth rubbed into the pliant little tunnel that clamped desperately around it.

“Oh yeah, squeeze my knot, I know you can take it deeper.” Kara tugged at Lena’s hair so that she could see the pleasure on her face. She slid her other palm up Lena’s bowed spine and clasped at her shoulder to pull her back.

The volume of seed inside her canal was palpable during her warm contractions—but Kara surprised her by grabbing her phone and recording a clip.


With her labia parted, her pussy held an open and spherical shape, and inside was all of Kara’s seed pooling around her walls.

“Good girl, keep your ass up so I can see how much seed you’ve taken,” Kara praised as she rubbed some of the excess cream into Lena’s pussy.

Lena moaned from glimpsing the footage, and the soft noise had barely fallen from her lips when Kara pushed back inside of her.


She more acutely felt the thickening of Kara’s shaft, but she was curious how much it would bulk, and if she would be able to take it.

“Do you like recording naughty videos of us, Kara? Because I find it very sexy seeing your seed in my cunt.” Lena started to consider investing in better camera equipment to record private movies.

“God, you know how hot you are when you’re covered in me.” If Kara’s groan wasn’t enough to prove that, the way her cock jerked in the confines of Lena’s cunt certainly said as much. She smoothed her hands down Lena’s sides and switched up their position by taking Lena’s hands and crossing them behind her back.

Kara held onto her wrists with a grip Lena couldn’t easily break and massaged at her ass between vigorous thrusts. “Now you’ve got me wanting to record every time I come inside you on this vacation.”

The idea was more compelling while they were away, and Lena’s cunt fluttered in excitement. She braced herself for Kara’s quicker thrusts and moaned wantonly in gratitude for Kara’s stamina.

“We could watch it together once we’re home and you can fill me up all over again.”

“Would you like that, baby? To see yourself dripping as I rut you from behind?” They were both into it, and Kara slid Lena’s phone in front of her to play a clip as she plunged into her slick opening. “Watch your pretty cunt stretch as you take this knot.”

“Yes. Fuck.” Lena groaned at the erotic sight of her pussy spread to the girth of the knot.

It enhanced her pleasure as she watched the thickest part of Kara’s cock sliding in and out. Seed gathered around the knot-end, and her inner clench revealed the whitish emulsion of Kara’s climax.

Lena tightened on purpose just to observe Kara’s seed moving with the slow
pulsations inside her. The fluid shifted and flooded down deeper into her pussy. The knot could have blocked it all from escaping, but some of it was glistening right below her entrance and some ended up on the blankets.

“Feels so good to be this full.” Lena gasped as the knot achieved a wider circumference, and she focused on the single goal of letting her mate thrust all of it into her.

“Stay right there, Lena,” Kara directed, her heavy breaths taking on the rasp of a growl as she snatched up the phone to record another video. “I want to capture this moment.”

This time Kara recorded herself pulling out, and the warm drizzle of seed that immediately followed.

Lena whimpered at the empty sensation and loss of warmth, and then flaunted her cunt without thinking of how it would look on video. Her whimpering was all for Kara, and she stretched out with her hips raised up to entice her mate to continue.

The potency of Kara’s alpha would have acted like an aphrodisiac if Lena wasn’t already begging. She inhaled the richer musk and clenched intentionally, sending rivulets of creamy slick down her thighs while Kara moaned.

“You’re being so good for me, presenting your cunt for the camera. Do you like showing me how much you can fit inside?” It was lascivious for Kara to ask, but she was still hard as steel and already slotting herself back inside Lena’s ravaged opening.

The camera was still rolling, and so was Lena’s hips as she backed into her mate to take the knot that was still expanding to its full enormity.


Lena groaned as the solid lower part of Kara’s shaft pushed inside of her and rubbed her most intimate places. She lowered her head against the mattress and luxuriated in the heat of Kara’s swollen cock submerging all the way into her pussy.

“I love showing you,” Lena admitted in a honeyed whisper and tested fate by tightening around Kara’s enormous erection.

They continued to stay in that position for as long as time allowed.


Kara kissed her shoulders in praise and the knot took hold for a little while until they both needed to rock to slide it back out.

With just ten minutes to spare, they raced into the shower and soaped each other up. Lena pulled on panties and a pair of jeans before her skin dried and then retouched her make-up. Kara hopped up and down to drag her trousers up and slipped on a casual shirt with a T-rex on it that Natty picked out one afternoon when they went shopping.


Lena grabbed her phone to text her mother and breathed in relief as she saw a message already waiting for her:


Meet you in the lobby in five.

Since no one else was aboard their elevator, Kara kissed her on the ride down and all of their intimacy put Lena in a much better headspace for dealing with Andrea.

Each of the girls had changed outfits, and by coincidence, Natty was wearing a t-shirt with a princess riding on a dinosaur. She spotted Kara first and ran up to her at a surprising speed.

“You have an adorable family,” commented an older omega, who must have assumed that Kara was the sire of all three pups. She smiled as Kara scooped Natty up and swung her high in her arms.

Kara’s jovial smile brightened as she situated Natty on her shoulders and held onto her ankles to keep her steady. The little one was better at holding on now, and only partially blinded Kara with her hands from the excitement of being up so high.

“They’re the best thing in my life,” Kara confided to the woman, then sauntered over to be with the girls while Lillian waited for Lena by the door of the hotel.

The hot summer air carried the scent of food and Lena knew their first stop would involve picking up a snack.

While Sophia dragged Kara towards a vendor selling elotes, Lena made the mistake of clicking on Andrea’s Instagram to make sure she was still in León.

Even with the proof in hand, Lena’s stomach still churned at the thought of finding her later at Bernardo’s place.

She had reached a decision with Kara to speak to Bernardo first about their relationship. Kara was on board with that, and not due to any selfish desire to cause friction. All that mattered in the alpha’s eyes was that Bernardo’s relationship with his granddaughters didn’t suffer because of Andrea’s behavior.

“Oh my god,” Kara groaned and snapped Lena out of her haze long enough for a blush to form on her face.

For a mortifying second the tone of her mate’s voice did inexplicable things to Lena and her cunt spasmed. It took her a moment to realize what was going on, and that Kara was biting into a giant grilled corn cob like she hadn’t eaten in days.

“You’re right, this is better than a corndog.” Kara seemed surprised by that, and Andy hurried over to pass one to Lena.

“Told you,” Sophia bragged with the biggest grin Lena had seen on her daughter’s face in a long time.

“After this, we should shop for gifts,” Lillian proposed as she took a modest nibble of the corn to prevent the toppings from getting all over her face. “We can’t show up to Bernardo’s without getting him a little something.”

A little something turned out to be a gilded cigar box with the finest hand rolled cigars stashed inside of it. Lena did a double take and elbowed Kara when her mother strolled out of a store with it an hour later.

“Since when do you smoke?” Lena asked and motioned to the polished wood that Lillian tucked into a bag out of sight.

“You know fine well this isn’t for me,” Lillian huffed and drew her daughter a look that softened as she caught sight of the mischievous dimples on Lena’s cheeks. “Your father would have enjoyed this, and I’m sure Bernardo will, too.”

Lena squinted in suspicion over her mother’s behavior and ushered the girls along to purchase other gifts for their grandfather. Andy chose a box of expensive chocolates, Sophia picked out a tie in Bernardo’s style, and Natty selected a giant stuffed walrus.

“He has a big moustache like abuelo!” Natty touched the bushy whiskers and hugged him to her chest.

With all of their purchases, Lena herded her family into a private car and their driver took them through the city to Bernardo’s ultra-modern “palacio” – his second home in Mexico, and the one he spent the most living in throughout the year.

Lillian spent the whole time in the car fluffing her hair and fixing her make-up, and Natty sang off-key to her walrus about his moustache.

It relieved some of Lena’s worry, and Kara’s hand on her knee took care of the rest. The driver paused at the gate outside Bernardo’s home and Lena entered a security key for access.

Up the beautifully laid stone driveway was a fountain, and behind it was an architectural marvel of glass and stone. Kara stepped out of the vehicle first and assisted Lillian in getting out. The girls went next, and Lena continued to sit in the same spot as she realized how much she dreaded the chance of encountering Andrea before she was ready.

She still hadn’t told Sophia about what happened or why Andrea was in Mexico during spring break. The plan was to have a conversation with Andrea first, and it wouldn’t include their daughters.

Her stomach churned as Kara gave her a hand and she exited the car. She approached the front steps and midway caught a whiff of strange new omega pheromones.

Kara caught her eye and the private smile she shared coincided with the way her eyes moved towards Sophia.


The talk Kara had with their middle child must have inspired her to ditch the fancy scent blocker she had been using rather religiously since presenting.

Lena’s brows came together in awe and Kara leaned closer to confide in a whisper, “I think telling her friend Alison gave her a new perspective on things.”

“Is it wrong that every time you do something wonderfully parental it gets me hot?” Lena murmured under her breath.

Their flirtatious pheromones were light enough to fade with the breeze, but the heat between them simmered on as Kara took the lead to walk Lena up the path. They reached the door first, and Kara rang the bell and then stepped back respectfully so that Lena was positioned in front to greet Bernardo.

He must have seen them on the camera, because the door swung open not two seconds later and the surprise on his face looked more delighted than shocked.

“Abuelo, mire, he’s just like you!” Natty blurted out before the adults could greet one another. She rushed out of Lillian’s grasp and straight to her grandfather with the walrus that was almost as big as her.

Natty giggled when he scooped her up to pinch her cheeks.

“How have you grown already? You’re going to be as tall as Sophia before I know it.” Bernardo laughed and set Natty down so that she could run into his extravagant home.

“I would have called before dropping by, but it would have made for a poor surprise.” Lena muttered, her smile short lived but genuine. She took a shaky breath as Bernardo regarded her curiously and then sighed when he stepped back to welcome them all inside.

“Phone calls are for strangers. You’re my family. You can drop by any time. You know that.” Bernado’s lips twitched subtly when he noticed Kara, and he drew himself to his full height as if perplexed to see her standing in his home. “I must be out of touch with the younger generation. I never would have thought to bring a nanny on vacation.”

Sophia snorted like she thought her grandfather was joking, and Andy halted midstride to glance at Kara and work out the situation. She was quick to put two and two together, and her eyes widened before falling into a squint. “Uh, Kara’s not our nanny. She’s family.”

The subtle fierceness of that statement took them all by surprise, but none more than Kara, who looked at Andy with emotion in her eyes.

The pride that came from Kara wasn’t as strong as the outpouring of love and she stood taller and held out her hand to formally introduce herself. “Mr. Rojas, it’s so nice to meet you again. I’m Kara, Lena’s mate.”

Lena sucked in a deep breath as she noted Bernardo’s shock. “We have a lot to discuss.”

“We’ll be in the game room if anyone needs us,” Andy announced, catching wind of the tension she created. She hoisted Natty onto her hip and guided Sophia down the hall with a firm hand on her back.

Sophia attempted to shrug her older sister off, but Andy glared at her in warning.

Lillian stepped closer to pass off the gilded box of cigars to Bernardo. She made brief but flirtatious eye contact. “It’s been a long time, and I look forward to getting re-acquainted later. For now, I’ll join my granddaughters.”

Left alone to handle the situation she traveled to Mexico to resolve, Lena clutched Kara’s hand and followed Bernardo into another room.

“I divorced Andrea years ago,” Lena prefaced and shied away from any possible judgment she might have seen on Bernardo’s face. “I got pregnant with Natty after our marriage was long over. I know how that sounds, and I also know I shouldn’t have lied to you about Kara. Andrea asked us both to keep our relationship a secret. All of this time, I just assumed that Andrea would confide in you. I’m so sorry—”

Bernardo settled down on his sofa and gestured to them both to sit. “Siéntense, por favor. You are not to blame for any of this, cariño. Okay, you should have been honest, but Andrea was the one who deliberately deceived me. Even now, she weaves tales and tells me that you will have more children together.”

Kara winced at the revelation and stiffened in her seat. The pungent reek of her anger filled the room like smoke, and she didn’t censor herself as she gritted out, “The only children Lena will be having in the future are mine. Your daughter lost that right when she decided her ego was more important than her marriage.”

Bernardo peered over at Kara with a glimmer of respect in his eyes. “And how did her ego get the best of her?”

Lena folded her hands in her lap and stared down at them as she cut in to answer that question. “Andrea was unfaithful to me. Not just in the later years of our marriage, but from the very beginning.”

That news must have rocked the entire foundation of what Bernardo believed about his daughter. He hunched forward, placing his hands at the back of his neck. “Andrea must explain this behavior to me. She must account for it, because this is not the Rojas way. I raised her to be loyal to family, and what familial bond is more important than the relationship between an alpha and omega?”

“None,” Kara enunciated sharply, jutting her chin and proving her own values by tightening her grip on Lena’s hand. “Except for the bond we have with our children. That’s why we’re in Mexico.”

“Andrea hasn’t been responding to any of my calls or texts, and the girls are expecting to spend their spring break with her, because it’s tradition.” Lena expected Bernardo to judge her for moving on with her life, but still pressed on to explain what she wanted. “I can tolerate her cold shoulder, but I won’t allow her to subject our daughters to that. She told us she was going to Mexico to visit her mother’s grave, and I haven’t heard from her since.”

Bernardo rubbed at his moustache in thought and took out his phone. He stood up without mentioning what he was doing and wandered around as he waited for Andrea to pick up his call.

“Papi, cómo estás?” Andrea spoke loudly enough to be heard despite the fact that Bernardo was standing several steps away.

“Muy mal, mija.” Bernardo responded in a voice that was deep, rumbling, and troubled. “I suggest you finish your business and return here. We need to talk.”