17. Chapter 17

Some time in the early morning hours and under the cover of darkness, Kara snuck off to make good on her promise to take pictures of fairies. Lena was barely aware of her absence from the residual exhaustion of being knotted two more times and Kara rubbing her to pure satisfaction. She stayed nestled in bed with the warm reminder of their love gathering at the apex of her thighs, and she let Kara’s confession play in a loop in her mind.

I want to officially adopt the girls.

Of all the things Lena had expected her alpha to say, that hadn’t been it, and yet anything else would have been a terrible let down. She predicted complications on Andrea’s part and said as much when the endorphins of her orgasm wore off enough to think clearly.

Kara wasn’t deterred by that, and Lena understood why it mattered so much to the alpha to legally be considered their guardian.

With their own child on the way, Kara hoped to unite their family so that the girls would know that Kara saw them as hers, just as much as the new addition growing within Lena.

They had swapped hopes and fears about the process, and Kara reassured her that even if the girls didn’t want to be adopted, she wouldn’t love them any less.

Around six o’clock, Kara returned with an abundance of pictures on her phone and a tray of fresh fruit that she brought Lena for breakfast.

Rays of soft golden light were only starting to break through the forest and Lena sat up to bite into a strawberry that Kara held at her lips.

“Are you sure you want to do this today?” Lena questioned. “I won’t be showing for a few months. You have plenty of time if you need it. We could just spend the day with your friends and have fun.”

“I don’t want to wait, and not just because you’re pregnant with my pup, either,” Kara uttered, content to feed Lena fruits from her fingertips as she gathered her thoughts and sat up straighter. “Getting to spend my birthday with the girls was amazing, and the gifts they gave me felt important on an emotional level, you know? I want them to know I feel the same way. Even if they reject the idea, at least they’ll be aware that to me, they will always be my family.”

Emotion brought tears to Lena’s vision, and instead of saying something lovely or expressing how momentous this felt, she reached out and pinched Kara hard on her thigh.

“Ow! Hey, what was that for?” Kara’s indignant frown vanished when Lena made an ungodly noise of happiness that sounded like a sob combined with a hiccup.

“Just checking that this is actually real and not some elaborate fantasy I’ve concocted in my head,” Lena confided through a sad smile, and the tremble of her lip only stopped when Kara exhaled a laugh and then poked her gently on the arm.

“Aren’t you meant to pinch yourself ?” Kara teased and caught Lena by the chin to stare into her eyes like she was double checking that she was okay.

“I’m pregnant, so it seemed better to do it to you.” Lena’s excuse was absurd, but she held her head high and gave an imperious lift of her brow that resulted in Kara leaning forward to pepper her with soft kisses.

“I guess I can let you off, then,” Kara whispered into the crook of her neck. She nuzzled under Lena’s jaw and scraped her teeth over the claim by her freckle, then sucked on the mark with a caress of her tongue.

“Did you say get me off? Because between you and me, I’m ready for round four,” Lena intoned, her sultry rasp almost as sensuous as the way she guided Kara’s hand beneath the sheets to find the warm slippery folds of her pussy. She was practically swollen from the combination of her heat and the mating of last night.

Kara groaned like she had never felt an omega so slick before, and barely pushed two fingers into the silken embrace of Lena’s contracting cunt when the sounds of laughter and chatter alerted them to the people outside. Lena let out the most despairing whine as she tried to grab Kara’s wrist to make her thrust at least once, and gyrated to get her knuckle deep just as someone knocked on the door.

“Don’t answer it. They’ll think we’re asleep,” Lena whimpered, all set to spread herself across the bed to entice Kara’s alpha into staying by her side for at least an hour longer.

Kara rubbed into the delicate crimps of Lena’s upper wall and bit down a little harder on her mark. She moved like she was prepared to join her in bed, only their peace was shattered by Sam yelling out, “Come on lovebirds, we saw Kara in the kitchen, time to get up!”

“Next time skip breakfast and just eat me,” Lena grumbled in frustration, her omega very unhappy by the interruption. She hadn’t brought along any heat inhibitors so that Kara could fully indulge in her current state as part of her birthday gift. Thankfully she packed a scent masker so that nobody would have to suffer the promiscuous stench of how badly she wanted to be fucked.

“I thought I was being sneaky,” Kara insisted, her apologetic scent doing nothing to placate her hormonal and wanton omega. She extracted her fingers carefully, in spite of how Lena clamped her thighs together with a petulant pout, and then Kara mindlessly licked her fingers clean, much to Lena’s mounting sexual frustration.

“You have ten seconds before I come in there and drag you out!” Sam warned, and the laughter that ensued sounded suspiciously like Alex was with her.

“We could just scandalize them by letting them actually find us in bed,” Kara proposed with an innocent lilt as she peeled back the sheet to reveal Lena’s rosy and pebbled nipples. She gazed at them lustfully, her lips parting in longing.

Lena was tempted, and if not for the sheer paranoia that their kids might rush to their cabin afterwards, she might have agreed. “You go stall them at the door while I get dressed, and spray–“

“The whole cabin first with a scent masker? Got it,” Kara cut in with a knowing smirk that was infuriating and adorable. She strode off like an alpha in charge and Lena stared at her pert backside in the faded jeans she loved until she remembered how pressed she was for time.

She scrambled out of bed and into the shower to scrub off the seed that still clung to her pussy, and then soaped up under the spray as fast as humanly possible. By the time Lena sauntered to the door where Kara was still valiantly fending off their friends with an arm outstretched to lean on the doorframe, she was dressed casually in jeans and one of Kara’s t-shirts, still damp from the shower and her raging libido.

“Sam, Alex, what the hell are you doing at my cabin so bright and early?” Lena asked, her smile genuine if not a little tense as she stopped by Kara’s side and slid her hand into her mate’s back pocket. She squeezed Kara’s ass to take the edge off her desires and quirked a brow at Sam’s bright grin.

“Oh, you know, we just wanted to see if we were all having breakfast together.” Sam’s sly smile said she knew damn well that she had interrupted their morning, and Lena narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously relaxed best friend. Alex looked cheerful, and Kara was staring at her sister like she was making the same assumptions as Lena.

“The kids are already up and eating cake, and mom and Lillian are making pancakes. We’re all waiting for you,” Alex supplied with a gloating scent that gave Lena the impression that they had woken the children up in the first place.

“Fortunately Kara already made us breakfast, so we’ll join you in a little while,” Lena stated with a smug smile, and she was already in the process of trying to shut the door when Kara’s stomach chose that moment to disagree.

The rumble was so loud that Kara tried coughing to disguise it, though she fooled nobody.

Alex grabbed her by the elbow to haul her out of the cabin before either of them could protest and shoved her towards the stairs. “See, you’re starving, let’s go.”

“I don’t know what you’re up to but I’m going to get my revenge,” Lena stubbornly hissed the second Sam linked their arms together to lead her down the wooden steps.

“I’m sorry, but I needed the excuse to get us out of our cabin before we managed to do more than we already did,” Sam confided with a guilty hue to her cheeks. She was still fondly watching Alex as they walked across to the main cabin.

Lena’s eyes widened at that revelation, and she opened her mouth like she was ready to ask for details, only to shut it again with a huff as she eyed Kara and her attractive swagger up ahead. “You’re not off the hook. Why didn’t you just go for it?”

“I didn’t pack any protection, and surprise, neither did she.” Sam looked mortified for elaborating that she likely would have slept with Alex if they had the supplies, and then curiously glanced at Lena, who couldn’t help laughing at her.

“Well don’t look at me. You know I don’t have any.” Lena’s mirth softened her bad mood and she rested a hand on her abdomen as she sassed her friend. “You’ll just have to behave yourself until you return to civilization.”

“But it’s so hard,” Sam whined dramatically and motioned to Alex who was out of earshot, like she blamed her personally for the fact that they were attracted to one another.

Lena rolled her eyes and hip checked her friend to get her full attention. “Plan better next time. We both knew sooner or later you’d want to sleep with her, so why didn’t you think to bring condoms?”

Sam scrunched up her face and avoided Lena’s gaze as she mumbled, “I thought it would be easier to ignore the temptation if we didn’t have access to them.”

“Spoken exactly like someone too horny for their own good.” Lena dialed back her amusement before anyone else heard their conversation and gave Sam a light pat on her arm.

Sam groaned at the accurate description and led Lena into the kitchen where there were more pancakes than guests stacked high on a platter. Kara’s friends were also awake, and already digging into the food when they all walked inside. They were greeted with waves and full mouths, and Lena was shocked to see Lillian ladling batter onto a pan beside Eliza.

“Since when do you cook?” Lena admonished with feigned offense at missing out on this as a child. She observed the way Lillian drew herself up in offense and held back a smirk.

“I’ve learned many things since I became a grandmother, thank you very much,” Lillian insisted with a haughty look at her daughter, only to lower her voice a second later to confess, “Eliza made the batter, but I’ve flipped at least five myself.”

“She’s a natural,” Eliza complimented, and Lena smirked at how her mother preened at the compliment. She left them alone as Natty ran over with her plastic princess plate and offered Lena a bite of her pancakes that were saturated in syrup.

“So, what are we doing today?” Andy asked as she wandered over with a messy plate filled with pancakes, eggs and enough bacon to give Lena indigestion just from looking at it.

“I was kind of hoping we could all go for a hike,” Kara explained around a mouthful of food that she chewed behind her hand out of politeness. She glanced at Lena for approval before adding on to their agenda and stole a slice of bacon from Andy’s plate.

“Why would we do that when we have everything we need here?” Sophia whined at the mere thought of exercise and gave her sister a judgmental glare for the breakfast she was consuming.

“For starters, because it’s a beautiful day and the fresh air will do us all good, plus I’m pretty sure I saw marshmallows and graham crackers in the pantry, so we could make s’mores for an afternoon snack.”

The bribe of sugary goodness seemed to work on Sophia, who suddenly appeared amenable to the notion of exploring the forest. “Only if you promise not to burn them the way mom does, because then they taste gross.”

“Hey! I don’t burn them. I just make sure they’re well toasted.” Lena’s betrayed scent overpowered the delicious aroma in the kitchen, and she jostled Natty as she huffed at the way Sophia snorted.

“They’re basically charcoal when she makes them,” Sophia divulged to Kara and sighed dramatically in complaint.

“I’ll be on s’mores duty,” Kara promised and eyed Lena with an energy that said she couldn’t wait to talk to the girls about her plans for adoption.

Lena gathered up two bags of puffed marshmallows and packed a bag for their outing. Natty remained on her hip and pointed out other treats to tuck into their satchel — cheese crackers, leftover cupcakes and an assortment of candy from the same boutique that supplied Kara’s triple tiered birthday cake.

Laden down with all of the snacks they could ever require, Lena stepped foot back into the kitchen and noticed Sam leaning over Andy to check text messages.

Sam reacted to the frown of concern Lena sent her way and came over to share what she just read. “Andrea wants to know why you aren’t at home today so you can both talk to Andy, like you two discussed over lunch.”

“Shit,” Lena blurted and passed her three-year-old over to Sam before she uttered any other colorful phrases. She pulled her own phone out of her pocket to discover several new texts from Andrea and a voicemail.

Busier weekend than expected? I stopped by and it seems no one is home. When did you want to speak to Andy, on the ride back to school on Monday morning?

Lena decided not to text back and clicked the button to call her ex with complete confidence that she could lie if necessary to avoid fighting. The phone rang twice before going to voicemail. Fortunately, Lena wasn’t as worked up or as tense as usual, and decided to message a simple excuse to her ex:

We went out for breakfast.

It took approximately two seconds for Andrea to respond to that with a photo. Lena expected a GIF, not a picture of Kara’s birthday party — but that was what appeared on her screen. She assumed that Sophia must have sent the photo to Andrea, although Lena had asked her daughters not to mention their weekend plans.

The happiness within Lena threatened to dull when she was confronted with her own lie, and she sucked in a breath of preparation as her phone began to ring.

Everyone around her seemed so unaware of the anger she was about to face, and she made a quick exit outside before finally answering the phone.

Andrea didn’t give her time to so much as exhale down the line before she began to rant. “So, this is the reason you wanted our kids home for the weekend, but you weren’t brave enough to say as much when we had lunch, were you? I thought we were on the same page with this, but I see that Kara is your first priority, and not our daughter.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Lena hissed into her phone, already on edge at the implication that she was a bad mom. “You’re just pissed because I didn’t run my mate’s birthday plans past you.” She slid her hand over her abdomen to soothe the worries Andrea’s barb brought on and paced in front of the cabin to continue their argument. “I can’t believe I have to explain this, but communicating with my daughters doesn’t have to take place in our home.”

“I signed off on the girls coming home to discuss Andy’s future—not so they could goof off and eat cake all weekend,” Andrea spat vehemently, the sound of her breath as harsh as her tone.

They would get nowhere fast if Lena instigated a fight instead of trying to resolve it and she took a mental step back to calm herself down. “We’re going to accomplish what we discussed. Andy is smart enough to know what she wants, and we’ll have a school picked out for her by the end of the day. I’ll text you later with the details and hopefully by then you’ll have cooled down.”

Hanging up on her ex with a clear mind was cathartic, and no matter what vitriol Andrea spewed, Lena recognized it was all baseless and designed to shake her up. She wasn’t a terrible mother, even if she and Sophia weren’t apparently as solid as she thought.

Lena was still mulling that over when Kara poked her head out of the cabin to check on her, and she smiled as her mate jogged down the steps to reach her.

“Hey, are you feeling okay?” Kara asked in sweet concern and Lena didn’t mind the way the alpha fussed over her by placing her palm across her forehead. “If your heat is making you sick, we can just stay here this morning and I’ll talk to the girls later.”

Lena took advantage of the comforting scents that wafted in her direction and steppedstraight into Kara’s arms. She did feel a little more sensitive than usual, but it was anyone’s guess whether it was from pregnancy or heat hormones, or just the tension with her ex-wife.

“I actually just got off the phone,” Lena succinctly clarified and blinked up at Kara’s face as she reluctantly admitted to telling lies. “I brought Andy home this weekend under the pretense of discussing a change of schools, but I also wanted her to attend your birthday party, and I didn’t run that by Andrea first.”

Kara put an end to her brief agonizing with quiet laughter and logic. “I don’t imagine Andrea runs all of her plans by you, either. If she’s making a big deal out of this, I can only assume it’s because of me.”

Lena didn’t know how to dispute that when Kara couldn’t be more accurate. She gripped onto her mate’s shirt and glanced around to ensure no one was looking before she pulled Kara towards a place in the trees where no one would see them kissing or feeling each other up.

“You put up with an awful lot as my mate, and all I can do is show you how much I appreciate it,” Lena intoned and slipped her top up and bra down to entice Kara to touch her breasts. Her nipples hardened in the cool lake air and responded to the heat of Kara’s palms cupping around them.

“I think I have it pretty easy, actually.” Kara stated, with a pleased and firm grip on Lena’s breasts. She handled them carefully like she understood how tender they must have been and rolled Lena’s nipples between her thumb and forefinger just to hear her airy whimper.

“That’s not the word I’d use, but go on,” Lena murmured, acutely aware of how Kara was carefully backing her into a tree to pin her out of sight. They were getting into a remarkably bad habit of sneaking off with one another, and yet Lena couldn’t help but feel a flicker of pride that they were so enamored with one another that they couldn’t help themselves. Their stealthy dalliances certainly kept things feeling new and exciting between them and she fluttered her lashes when she inhaled the possessive musk of Kara’s alpha.

“Well, my mate is probably the most caring and considerate omega I’ve ever met, and I’ve got three awesome step-kids and a new pup on the way. A little crazy ex-wife seems like a fair trade for all of that.” Kara’s confident grin verged on smug as she settled her hand on Lena’s abdomen, and her eyes softened as she glanced at the place where Lena would soon swell with the life they had created.

“Every family has some kind of drama, Lena. I’m just relieved that ours lives in a gated community half an hour away.” Kara’s teasing remark relieved some of Lena’s tension, though the alpha seemed intent to relieve her in other ways as she slid her hand lower.

Lena watched Kara’s fingers push beneath the waistband of her jeans and bit at her lip to suppress a whine of gratitude when those skilled fingers nestled between the slick seam of her pussy lips to locate her clit. She had never been happier to feel the scratch of bark against her spine and arched into the support of the tree to part her thighs for Kara’s hand.

The alpha understood her silent request and claimed Lena’s lips with a soft moan seconds before pushing two fingers into her cunt.

“I think it’s time I made up for us being so rudely interrupted this morning,” Kara rumbled, trailing her lips over Lena’s clavicle to trace one of her marks with the tip of her tongue.

“Only your knot will make up for that,” Lena dared to admit as Kara pumped her fingers deeper and bent them to caress into her heat-sensitive cunt.

She knew that Sam would keep everyone inside due to expectations of drama with Andrea, and Lena fully meant to exploit that — if not for the purposes of taking Kara’s knot, then at the very least to get off. Her slick was all over Kara’s hand, and her pussy produced more arousal to meet her sexual needs. From the mere feel of it, Kara would know that her body was ready for rutting, and Lena glanced down between them at the slow spread of her cunt.

Intuitive as ever, Kara picked her up and brought her into the first vacant little cabin near the main house. Without wasting a breath on discussing it, Kara dropped her pants and positioned the hefty head of her erection right below Lena’s open little cunt. Lena rubbed at her sore nipples and moaned when Kara forced the full length of the shaft deep inside of her.

They were seated on the bed, Lena straddling her mate’s cock, and Kara’s knot already forming to the satisfaction of them both. On the harder upward thrusts, they both grunted at the pleasure of it thumping roughly into Lena’s cunt.

The ease with which Kara spread her open was a testament to the severity of her heat and Lena clung onto her alpha’s shoulders to brace for the quickened bucks. She looped her arms around Kara’s neck and restlessly scraped her nails over her alpha’s scalp.

“I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but you’ll need me to take care of your cunt again pretty soon, won’t you?” Kara’s question hardly required an answer when the wet smack of her thighs plunged her fully formed knot into Lena at a pace that would have been brutal out of heat.

They both seemed stunned at the discovery, and Kara groaned when the rapid friction of Lena bouncing on her lap resulted in spontaneous spasms throughout her tightening inner velvet. The orgasm shook Lena all the way to her toes and yet she refused to sit still through it. She rode Kara through her bliss, determined to take as much of a pounding as they could manage before their friends considered them suspiciously missing.

“Pretend we’re lost and mount me in the bushes if you have to, just promise me you’ll keep me filled,” Lena begged, her pouty lip too much of a temptation for Kara.

The alpha sucked on it as her hands settled firmly on Lena’s hips, and she pulled her into every upward thrust to better rut her cunt open. The raunchiest noises of their mating were only drowned out by their moans, and Kara growled for Lena to lift her top up.

With her bra still pushed down, Lena’s breasts were free for Kara to admire, and she whimpered at the moist warmth of the alpha’s lips puckering around an aching nipple. She worked harder to grind her clit into Kara’s pelvis, and the sensual roll of her hips plunged her mate in deeper.

“God, I hope you’re like this for the duration of your pregnancy,” Kara confessed, evidently unable to filter herself in the middle of such passionate sex.

"I will be."

Lena rewarded her by tugging aside Kara’s shirt collar to suck on the mark she had left on the alpha’s shoulder and pleaded with flirtatious little whines for Kara to seed her cunt. She tongued at the sensitive grooves her teeth had left behind and groaned at the sudden rougher slam of Kara’s hips that culminated in a series of powerful throbs that traveled up the length of her cock.

Lena whimpered as the last surge emptied against her cervix, satisfying her omega for the time being. She stayed seated on Kara’s lap until her pleasurable contractions began to taper off and whined when the alpha raised her up by the backside to slowly dislodge her knot before it could take hold.

“I need you, Kara—"

“I know, baby, but you can have this later when we get back,” Kara soothed, cupping Lena’s cunt to give it a light petting that lulled her omega into a more peaceful state.

They were dressed before they even realized the cabin that they thought was vacant actually had Sam’s suitcases in it. Lena was two seconds away from being mortified when Kara quipped, “I bet they won’t try to ruin our morning plans for a while.”

“You’re not even sorry, are you?” Lena teased, not exactly sorry herself for getting exactly what she had wanted in the first place.

“For finishing what I started with the mother of my pups? Heck no,” Kara laughed, shaking her head as she grabbed Lena’s hand and led her out of the cabin with the proud scent of an alpha in love.

Lena was too smitten to care if this made things awkward between Kara and Alex, though judging by the swagger in Kara’s step she assumed it wouldn’t be a problem. She followed her mate back into the main cabin with flushed cheeks and a happy glow and avoided Sam’s curious eyes by grabbing up the satchel she packed. “Is everyone ready for the hike?”

“About that, Sophia asked Ruby to come, so Alex and I decided we’re going to tag along,” Sam announced in a tone that said this was yet another ploy so she wouldn’t be left alone with Alex.

Being around the kids meant everyone had to behave themselves, though Lena was already formulating a plan as to how she could use this to her advantage to get Kara alone at some point if they didn’t return to the cabins at a reasonable hour.

“The more the merrier,” Lena lilted, her eyes flicking to Kara and how she slung a backpack over her shoulder with one hand and lifted Natty to rest on her hip with the other.

“Let’s go exploring!” Kara yelled to rally all of the kids, who were lazing on the couch after a large breakfast. Their groans of discontent coincided with Kara’s laughter, and she waited for everyone to trudge out the door before taking up the lead.

Their scenic hike took them down a trail that was thick with pines and walnut trees, and Natty stopped to pick up sappy cones and rocks that she gave out to everyone.

“Do you think we’ll see any bears?” Natty asked her older sisters and fell into stride between them to hold their hands.

“If we do, at least one of us is getting mauled,” Sophia sassed and pushed her chin out in Lena’s general direction until Natty halted and dug her small heels into the trail. “On second thought, Kara will protect us.”

Andy distracted her youngest sister from her temporary terror by swinging her over a puddle and pointing out a bird in the branches.

“Have you learned nothing from the incident with the snakes?” Andy hissed at Sophia once their younger sibling ran out of earshot.

“Maybe don’t bring that up now,” Lena warned with a pinch of her eyebrows and motion of her hand that hurried the girls along. “There are more important subjects I need to discuss with you.”

Sam appeared to be preoccupied with Alex, and Kara was entertaining Natty and Ruby by explaining the difference between poisonous mushrooms. Lena had Andy’s full attention, and because of that, Sophia was also wandering along in step with them.

“I know you’ve both been unhappy at school this year, and after all of the recent trouble with Principal Kane, it might just be time for a change.” Lena made use of a neutral, soft tone that was her standard for conflict resolution, even though she expected her daughters to be delighted with her idea.

“No way,” Sophia argued at the precise moment Andy sighed, “Finally.” The two of them turned sharply toward one another and the entire forest seemed to fall silent as if all the birds and creatures sensed the emotional tornado brewing between them.

“What do you mean finally? We can’t transfer. This is just because you find hard work boring!” Sophia spat, her anger an obvious front for the panic she must have been feeling. The stench of her vulnerability billowed out to filter through the tall grass and trees, though even the fresh scent of pine couldn’t mask it.

“Why should I be forced to take classes that aren’t even remotely progressive? Do you even realize that half of the omegas that attend our school move on when they reach my age because the curriculum is so biased?” Andy snapped in frustration and flung her hand out to wave at the world in general. “What they’re teaching us might look good on paper, but trust me it’s destroying our minds, and I’m sick of being so far away from home.”

“Mom will never allow this,” Sophia hissed with the kind of indignation that had proven right in the past. She turned her gaze on Lena with an almost frantic need to reassure herself that her other parent would step in and block Lena’s decision.

“Who do you think has been helping me look at other schools?” Andy retorted, shattering Sophia’s idea that Andrea would swoop in and overthrow the whole notion of changing schools.

“Why would you do this?” Sophia shouted, her real question easy to decipher in the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. Why would you leave me?

“I’m not abandoning you,” Andy uttered quietly, her attempt to soothe her sister failing as Sophia’s breaths shortened with rising panic. “I just can’t be there anymore. It’s not good for me. You could come with me. You wouldn’t have to hide who you are–”

“I don’t want to leave! I’ll never get to see my friend if I go.” Sophia’s lip quivered and Lena fought the urge to pull her daughter into a hug as she snapped her mouth closed and refused to mutter what they all assumed was the name of the young alpha she must have bonded with in recent months.

Kara had taken it upon herself to entertain Natty so that their little one wasn’t upset by the bickering, and Alex joined them while Sam sidled closer with Ruby.

“I don’t really have any friends from school, so maybe I could go to yours,” Ruby offered with a hopeful smile.

Sophia moved so fast that Ruby let out a quiet oof at the impact of her hug and sniffled into her friend’s shoulder to hide the fact that she was, in fact, crying.

“Honey, are you sure you want to do that? It’s not like a sleepover,” Sam warned with the same kind of warble to her voice that was a sign of distress. “You’d be staying at school full time except for the holidays.”

“I know that, mom. It’ll be like practice for when I go to college,” Ruby reasoned, completely unaware that Sam was struggling to face the realization that her only pup was growing up.

Lena initiated a group hug, beckoning Sam in first before throwing her arm around both of her daughters and Ruby. It reminded her of the years after her separation from Andrea when it was just the five of them leaning on each other. All too soon, the girls extracted themselves from the embrace and Sophia was the first to head off under the trees.

“I’m going to cheer her up,” Ruby announced and skidded off down the rocky side of the path to catch up with Sophia.

Sam had a bereft expression on her face, and it took Andy bumping her elbow to bring an end to her open-mouthed staring.

“What am I going to with myself if Ruby decides to attend that boarding school?” Sam lamented to the treetops and slouched into Lena’s side. “I thought I’d have at minimum five more years before I needed to worry about getting my own life.”

Natty came running back with new stones for Lena, and before she could scramble off again, Sam snatched her up and kissed her cheeks to make her laugh.

“I’m going to have to steal Natty or I’ll be lonely all of the time,” Sam teased and put the little one back down to follow her up the trail towards Alex.

“You could adopt a pet,” Andy proposed, like that would be her preferred way of handling similar situations.

“Or you could always have another pup and add to your family,” Alex suggested neutrally, not once pausing as she handed Natty another unique stone and searched for others.

Sam almost tripped over her own feet at the idea, but in spite of her sudden high-pitched laughter, there was an unmistakable soft and alluring scent of flirtation that even Kara seemed to pick up on.

Kara turned to Lena with a gobsmacked expression and mouthed the words, oh my god when Sam didn’t protest the suggestion. As if understanding what was transpiring, Andy slowed her steps so that Sam could catch up with Alex, and Kara fell in line beside Lena to eavesdrop.

“I mean I could, but the thought of doing all that alone again is no bueno,” Sam confided, either breathless from the topic or the faster way she tried to walk up the trail to get some privacy.

“Who said you would be doing it alone?” Alex asked, her nonchalant tone wavering as she glanced at Sam with hopeful eyes. They were both blushing, a little awkward but eager in their attraction, and Lena clung onto Kara’s arm when Sam shrugged and bit her lip.

“Do you think they’ll actually do it?” Andy asked under her breath, her curiosity without judgment as she came into stride with Kara.

“I think so, eventually. Neither of them would rush into having a kid. They’re smarter than that.” Kara kept her voice low so they wouldn’t be overheard and peered at Lena as if she could tell she was suddenly holding her breath.

If Andy had anything negative to say about the prospect of Sam having a pup, it would ruin some of their own happiness.

“Their flirting is weird. Like just date already. Everyone already thinks you’re together.” Andy’s running commentary brought a smile to Lena’s face, and though she would have normally joined in on poking fun at her friend, she could sense Kara was trying to bond with their eldest before broaching the subject of adoption.

“They’ll work it out and then we’ll all suffer because of their PDA,” Kara teased, like she wasn’t an active culprit already doing the same with Lena. She slowed her steps down to let Sophia and Ruby catch up and silently communicated to Lena that now was the right time to talk to the kids.

Lena kept one eye on Sam and Natty and wrapped an arm loosely around Ruby’s shoulders to lead her further up the hill so that Kara could chat with Sophia and Andy. Kara ushered the girls along under the pretense of finding smooth stones to add to Natty’s collection.

For a few seconds, Kara nervously crossed and uncrossed her arms before shrugging out her tension. “Hey, so I have something pretty important I need to talk to you two about—”

“Is it bad?” Sophia asked immediately, still sensitive from the earlier discussion of Andy changing schools.

Kara released a heavy breath and shook her head. “I hope not—”

“Then why do you sound so tense?” Sophia cut in, picking up on every flicker of discomfort Kara showed.

“Maybe because you’re grilling her before she can finish her sentence?” Andy muttered dryly and flung a few misshapen stones aside.

“So, you know how I claimed your mom?” Kara began, her whole speech no doubt thrown off due to Sophia’s inability to remain silent.

“You think it was a mistake,” Sophia blurted, the hurt in her voice unmistakable as she turned sharply to Kara and stumbled over a branch in the path.

Kara caught her by the back of the shirt without missing a beat and grinned at her disgruntled huffing. “No, that was the best decision of my life.”

Andy elbowed her sister when it seemed like she might interrupt Kara again and warned her with a glare to shut up.

“What I’m trying to say is that I really love being part of this family, and I would really like to make it official by adopting you guys, so I could legally be your step-parent and not just—you know— your mom’s mate.” Kara stressed the last part, keeping her eyes on the path ahead to try and appear composed.

“Are you freaking serious?” Andy blurted, her surprise stopping her in her tracks.

“Is that even possible?” Sophia muttered, not as forcefully as if she opposed the idea outright.

“Yeah,” Kara laughed, coming to a halt so she could explain her reasoning to their faces. “I know this is a big decision, and I’d never go ahead with it without your approval, okay? I’m not trying to replace your other mom. She’s always going to be your sire and involved in your lives, but I want to be involved, too, if you would let me. It means I can pick you up from school or take you to the doctors and I—”

“Yes,” Andy stated, even as she still seemed to be processing her own enthusiasm.

“Really?” Kara gaped, her pride puffing her up even as she tried to dial it back by hunching over to meet Sophia’s eyes. “Sophia, what do you think?”

“I mean, I guess that would be okay,” Sophia sniffed, avoiding Kara by toeing the gravel by her feet.

“You sure?” Kara whispered and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to try and coax her into looking up.

“Yeah,” Sophia mumbled.

“Then why are you crying?” Andy pressed and shoved her sister to snap her out of it.

“You’re crying, shut up!” Sophia yelled back, her red rimmed eyes glistening with tears that for once had nothing to do with feeling sad.

“I think we all are,” Kara laughed, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand before Alex and Sam thought something was wrong.

Lena wasn’t exactly faring any better, and it took all her willpower not to make a huge fuss over how wonderful her children were and how thrilled she was that they were so accepting of Kara. She hung back until Kara blindly flung her hand out to pull her closer and then she melted into her alpha’s side.

Sam circled back to check on them while Alex placed Natty on her shoulders and hesitated to follow until Kara waved them over.

“Kara is going to adopt the girls,” Lena breathed with the beginnings of a lump in her throat.

In all the years of loneliness, Lena had never been inclined to date because of how other alphas reacted to her children. Once during her first separation from Andrea, Lena went out with an alpha with two kids of her own and it soured her against the concept of mixing families. That alpha had no interest in getting to know Lena’s daughters and showed clear favoritism that made Lena choose long term celibacy.

Outside of Andrea, Lena had very little reason to believe that any alpha would ever love her children enough to take parental responsibility. It gave Lena peace of mind that her daughters would be able to depend on Kara and that they would have official documents that solidified them as family.

“Oh, we need to celebrate this in a big way,” Sam declared and came over to dole out hugs of congratulations.

To the delight of everyone involved, Alex and Kara strung up a rope swing from one of the sturdiest trees. Sophia pretended to be too cool to use it, but she volunteered to “test it out” for Natty, and it was so popular that Alex insisted upon making another.

Lena took it upon herself to set up the campfire with Sam. They both proved to be fire hazards as they double tasked and watched Kara and Alex work.

“I’ll be shocked if Alex doesn’t put a pup in you by next Christmas,” Lena whispered and shoved marshmallows down over a steel roasting stick. She bit into one without bothering to cook it and created an abomination by adding it to graham crackers and leftover cake.

“I wouldn’t get that far ahead of yourself, but it is crazy when you realize that this time last year, we were both alpha-hating and single.” Sam poked marshmallows onto her own stick and flambéed them over the fire. She waved hers around like a sparkler and gestured at Alex’s backside. “Honestly, I’m weak for that. It doesn’t help that both Danvers sisters are great with kids, either. Screw them both for being so perfect.”

“Right, screw them,” Lena spat, like she didn’t mean it in a very particular and sexual sense. “If I’m being honest, that thought has been on my mind all day. Wait, did you just imply that you’re dating Alex?”

Sam shushed her with the threat of a blackened marshmallow that she wielded like a sword. She jabbed the air near Lena’s side and looked ready to fling herself into the fire to avoid further embarrassment.

“There’s only so many times someone can give you an orgasm before you realize they’re more than just a friend,” Sam admitted, her voice barely audible above the crackle of wood that she sat hunched behind.

“One time should be enough of a hint, but now that you mention it, how many are we talking?” Lena questioned out of curiosity and raised an eyebrow while she waited on Sam to confide in her like usual.

“That’s deeply personal information that I’m obviously never going to share with you,” Sam uttered like she was scandalized, then held up six fingers in case their alphas were listening in on the conversation.

“Today?” Lena spat in envy, her omega ready to make her grievance known with a frustrated, pining scent.

It was terrible timing, because Kara caught a whiff of it and whipped around to gawk at Lena just as Alex launched Natty on the rope swing. The three-year-old’s little booted feet kicked into the front of Kara’s pants and Alex burst into laughter as her sister slumped forward onto her knees with a groan.

“No, my pussy would fall off with that kind of attention. Six since she’s gotten back,” Sam clarified, oblivious to the fact that Lena had inadvertently just injured her alpha by distracting her with her claimed pheromones.

Lena sent Kara a look that conveyed she would rub it better the moment they were alone and resisted the urge to lead her into the forest to do it now.

“What are you two whispering about?” Alex asked while Kara squinted at Lena a safe distance away from the swing.

“Omega stuff,” Sam lied and offered up a marshmallow that looked half toasted and burnt on one side.

Alex didn’t seem to mind and bit into it with a happy grin as she flaunted her snack in Kara’s face.

“I have one for you here,” Lena called out to Kara, and squished the marshmallow that had caught fire between two crackers with a chunk of chocolate that oozed down her fingers when she squeezed it all together.

Sophia beat Kara to the treat and grabbed it out of Lena’s hand as she ran past cackling while Natty chased her in excitement demanding she share it.

Kara didn’t even look mad as she observed the kids all having fun, and Lena found another way to give her a treat by catching Kara’s eye and licking at her fingers.

Even through the scent of smoke and pine, Lena caught the spice of lust, and she hoped to stoke it as well as she had the fire that they all eventually sat around.

By the time the flames died down and Kara and Alex put out the embers with dirt, the sun was starting to lower in the sky.

The walk back to the cabins was faster going downhill, in part because the kids were convinced they had been starved. Kara sided with them, like she hadn’t demolished five s’mores and a chunk of cake the size of her fist. Lena placated her with the promise of something special when they returned. They were both aware it wasn’t food she was talking about, and Kara picked up the pace by cradling Natty who had fallen asleep by the campfire instead of taking her usual afternoon nap.

Hours later, after a pizza and ice cream buffet that pleased everyone, Lena returned to the cabin to prep Kara’s private feast.

Kara planned to share the news about the adoption with her friends and that gave Lena a head start. She opened her suitcase and skimmed her fingers through her collection of lingerie—nude thongs, black bodices, red panties and bras. Her bathing suits remained tucked away in their own zippered compartment and Lena closed the case without selecting any to wear.

She let her sexual impulses rule her and took a discreet box out to the hot tub. In spite of the seclusion and privacy, Lena glanced around self-consciously as she removed her jeans, shirt and bra. Her panties came off last with a gentle pluck to separate the arousal-doused fabric from her cunt.

Out in the open, Lena unboxed the replica of Kara’s cock and recorded herself on her phone as she pushed into her feverishly hot pussy. The vantage point of the camera was capturing her passionate silk and the scarlet inner clench. Her heat arousal dripped all down the length of Kara’s shaft before Lena buried it deeper inside.

She texted a short clip of that footage to Kara and waited on a reaction, not the least bit surprised that her phone began ringing. Her pleasure took a dip when she saw it was Andrea instead of her mate, but she felt arrogant and too turned on to stop.

“Andrea, I’m not in the mood to fight with you again today, so this had better be important,” Lena huffed as she answered the call and continued to thrust with Kara’s shaft.

“Have you finally lost your mind along with your sense of shame?” Andrea raged, and for a horrified moment Lena wondered if she had sent the clip to the wrong alpha.

She stuttered over her words, unable to string them together convincingly as she uttered, “I have no idea what you’re talking about—”

“You’re really going to lie to me twice in one day? So much for being the better parent,” Andrea scoffed, no doubt forgetting how frequently she had lied throughout their marriage. “What kind of mother are you becoming, Lena? Scheming behind my back so some pelgatos can take my kids from me?”

Lena’s cunt clamped uncomfortably around the toy and she whined not in submission but in distress that Andrea had found out about Kara’s plans so soon. She reeled from the implications that one of her children had immediately told their other mother.

“Don’t call her that,” Lena grunted in Kara’s defense, her teeth snapping shut as she tried to compose herself before she said something that unhinged her ex further. “Kara has proven herself as a wonderful co-parent to our kids, and they deserve the chance to have her as a legal guardian, especially now that I’m–”

The word pregnant lodged in Lena’s throat and for once she was grateful that Andrea interrupted her without seeming to notice how she had paused first.

“I can’t believe you want this to happen. Regardless of our marital issues, we have always stood by our girls together. Now you want to replace me in their lives, too, and with her?” Andrea seethed, the bitterness of her tone warbling as she breathed heavier down the line.

Lena wasn’t sure if it was genuine emotion or barely contained anger that she heard in Andrea’s voice, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to obsess over it given how quick her ex was to lash out. “Kara isn’t taking them away from you! She’s just offering them extra stability.”

“How can anyone under thirty offer teenagers stability? She may look mature where you want it to count, but she doesn’t have the life experience we do, the kind our daughters rely on,” Andrea argued, her frantic words screeching down the line so loudly that Lena held the phone from her ear.

“Maybe if you spoke to them about anything other than their grades, you would discover that they like having Kara in their life. Just because you don’t doesn’t change the fact that they have a relationship with her.”

Lena wasn’t sure if Andrea hung up abruptly or smashed her phone, but she counted it as a win that for once she didn’t have to end the call first. It was a twisted way to look at it, given the obvious resentment Andrea harbored towards Kara. All of the little barbs certainly provoked Lena’s omega, just not in the way Andrea probably anticipated.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins from the fight and her heat. Instead of taking a minute to calm down and cool off before Kara walked in, Lena positioned herself so she was straddling the edge of the hot tub and fucked herself on the replica of Kara’s cock so that the alluring perfume of her cunt filled the air. She felt sexually aggressive and determined to live her life to the fullest just to spite Andrea.

Lena derived a perverse joy from thinking about the stamina Kara possessed that Andrea could never match, even when she had been the same age.

Kara’s pheromones greeted her before the alpha found her outside, and Lena raised herself up just for the pleasure of sinking onto the knot in front of Kara’s slack jawed face.

It wasn’t enough to spread her cunt with the wide bulk. She needed to fit all of it inside, and she moaned as she pushed the girthiest part out of sight. Her inner lips stretched to the brink of discomfort, and she bounced harder with no plans of going easy on herself.

“Earlier you promised me your knot, so I figured I should get ready for it,” Lena rasped and twisted her sore nipples with her thumb and forefinger. She pinched with rough pressure and rocked on the wide knot to the satisfaction of her omega.

“Lena—oh, wow—I don’t think your heat has ever been this intense,” Kara exhaled, so mesmerized that she forgot to inhale and sucked in a harder breath. “You just couldn’t wait, huh? Your pussy needs to be stretched.”

Lena nodded with a pathetic pout to her bottom lip and then glanced down at the visible throb in her clit that worsened from her sexual play. She forced her cunt over the knot again and slid up Kara’s shaft to repeat the process. Her personal juices coated the length, sticking to her labia and fingers as she caressed herself.

“You left me here all alone,” Lena whispered, sultrier and more strategic than accusing. “So I’ve decided I’m going to have cock inside of me all week long, one way or another.”

“I think you need the real thing,” Kara insisted, so aroused by Lena’s display that her eagerness to get naked resulted in a series of mishaps that at any other time would have made Lena laugh.

Kara stumbled over her boots after she kicked them off and half blinded herself in her haste to strip out of her shirt by forgetting to unbutton the collar as she tried to pull it off.

Instead of helping the poor alpha out of her tangled mess, Lena chose to use it to her advantage. She slipped the toy out of her cunt with a whimper that spoke of her need and prowled closer to give Kara a shove that sent her back into their room and bouncing ass first onto the bed. “Maybe I’ll let you give it to me, but only after you take a good long look at the state you put me in.”

The seduction of her pheromones was nothing to the visual she was about to give Kara, and the alpha groaned when Lena tore open her shirt buttons so she could watch as she straddled her chest. She could have stayed right there, with her fingers stroking the glistening pinks of her slit, but she had better plans to put in action and turned to present herself on top of her alpha.

Kara’s breathy growl tickled Lena’s inner thighs and she slapped Kara’s hand away when her mate tried to rub into her clit.

“Not yet, your job is to hold this steady,” Lena instructed, bold in her demands as she handed off the toy with an authoritative arch of her brow. The weighty silicone rested on Kara’s chest and they both moaned at the sensual glide of Lena’s pussy as she slotted the tip against her quivering entrance.

“Do you want me to take it all, Kara?” Lena whispered, leaning over her mate’s thighs to peel open her jeans.

Kara’s cock was valiantly trying to burst through her boxers, and Lena took pity on it by shucking them down to exhale over the plum colored glans. Kara was painfully erect, and Lena smirked at the way her cock throbbed to try and reach her lips.

“Yes, every inch, please Lena, think of me rutting inside you,” Kara coaxed, not at all ashamed of how she begged to get what she wanted. She restlessly raised her hips up in excitement as Lena slid down the exquisite shaft and groaned when Lena began to bounce.

It did wonderful things for Lena’s ego to see the desire leaking from Kara’s tip, and she loved the subtle way her alpha fucked nothing but air as her mind tried to convince her she was buried in Lena’s cunt. She rode the phallus harder and engulfed the head of Kara’s cock with the warm silk of her mouth to fill their senses with one another.

“Oh yeah, deeper,” Kara rambled, unable to control the way her hips pumped upward or how her hands settled on Lena’s hips to bring her harder onto the cock.

The filthy sound of their combined moans tapered off to harsh grunts and just as Lena neared release, Kara shocked her by pulling out the toy to replace it with her tongue.

The languid heat of Kara’s mouth and the litany of muffled moans was exactly the kind of loving Lena had no idea she had been needing. She whined at the change of pace, at the soft fluttering of Kara’s tongue caressing the throb of her clit before delving into the sensitive ripple of her cunt to taste her bliss as it began to build.

Lena’s spine curved in pleasure while Kara encouraged her to ride her face, and she wrapped her hand around Kara’s shaft to stroke her in tandem.

“This pussy is mine,” Kara muttered against her clit, flicking her tongue over the sensitive swell and forming her lips around it in a kiss that Lena could feel all through her legs.

She kneeled on the mattress with Kara’s hands on her hips to pull her back into the warmth of her tongue. Kara licked between her pussy lips with insatiable groans and alpha greed. Lena moved her pelvis and moaned from the intimacy of Kara’s tongue sliding inside of her. She struggled to maintain coordination with Kara’s hard cock in her hand, and before she relented to pleasure, she switched positions to mount it.

The huge head penetrated through her warm resistance, stretching her twice as much as the replica. Her heat must have been responsible for the excessive swelling and stiffness of Kara’s shaft, because the tip felt like a knot pushing deeper than ever. She scraped her teeth over her bottom lip, nibbling to suppress her cry as Kara pounded her cunt by bucking up from the mattress.

Her pussy would be all red from the impact and she was grateful for Kara’s hands on her hips, holding her for the kind of sex she craved. The mattress creaked beneath them from Kara’s efforts and Lena whimpered at the internal friction that stimulated her to the brink of orgasm. She resisted it for no other reason than to feel the power of Kara’s quads and shook from her mate’s determination to get her off.

Kara’s fingers found her swollen clit and the slippery caress caused a chain reaction of bliss that Lena couldn’t fight. Her head fell back, and she dug her nails into Kara’s knees in desperation to find leverage. The pressure of her walls contracting stilled Kara’s thrusts and the startled guttural sound of her enjoyment was all the warning Lena got before warm seed erupted against her cervix.

“Harder, Kara” Lena whimpered through grated teeth to the loud clap of Kara thrusting. “Make me feel like your bred omega.”

Lena barely remembered her own name let alone how to breathe as Kara rolled them over to properly mount her from behind. There were no thoughts in her head beyond the necessity to present herself for a rougher mating and her pheromones ensured Kara acted accordingly.

“Oh, you’ll feel like it when you start to show with my pup,” Kara promised, raspy and breathless as she handled Lena’s cunt like it was something to be prized. The slick grind of her palm encouraged Lena’s undulations and she trapped her clit between two fingers to massage the tender pearl.

Lena whimpered wantonly and pressed her cheek to her forearm, knowing the darker shade of her spread vulva would be a beacon to Kara’s alpha. She pleaded with every spasm of her entrance and Kara was quick to plunge her length through the delicate striations that must have felt wonderful wrapped around her cock.

Kara took charge of their pace, slowing it down with shallow movements that kept the tip of her erection nestled in the deepest part of Lena’s cunt. Every rock of her pelvis evoked whispery moans from their lips, and Kara silenced her own by sucking on Lena’s claim.

“All day I’ve wanted to tell everyone how proud I am that you’re carrying my pup. That this is going to be the first of many,” Kara intoned, her hands sliding possessively over Lena’s hips and up to her abdomen that would swell in a few months. She nosed into the soft dark wisps of hair that curled with sweat behind Lena’s ear and pushed into her with the kind of alpha confidence that kept Lena’s omega amenable and submissive.

“Do you even understand the power you’ll have over me?” Kara asked rhetorically, the perpetual motion of her hips fusing them together without the need for her knot. “I’m going to be so weak for you, Lena. All you’ll have to do is show off your baby bump and I’ll be on my knees to worship you the way you’ve always deserved.”

Having a willing and fit alpha at her beck and call could hardly be considered a fantasy for Lena anymore given that Kara had strived to make it a constant reality. Yet the notion of walking into a room and commanding all of Kara's attention simply by pressing a hand to her stomach brought a stream of new and tantalizing ideas to her mind. Warm slick clung to Lena’s cunt like nectar, and she smeared her fingers through it just to offer them to Kara.

The eroticism of having her fingers lazily sucked while her mate made love to her was the kind of sensory overload that turned them both on. She could feel the throb of Kara’s cock every time her tongue looped over her fingertips and moaned as her clit throbbed in envy.

“You ought to be careful, Kara,” Lena warned salaciously, and used the sporadic contractions of her slick muscles to pull Kara deeper. “Telling me all of this will go straight to my head, and I might start using it to my advantage sooner than later.”

“I see no downside to that,” Kara groaned, lacing her fingers through Lena’s to keep the intimacy between them even as she began to piston her hips harder.

The slight increase in speed stole the breath from Lena’s lungs and she buried her face into the sheets to muffle her cries as Kara’s knot began to expand. She had almost forgotten it had yet to form given the girth of Kara’s shaft, and she whimpered at her sensational fullness.

Once the knot finished its expansion inside of her, Lena knew without so much as glancing over her shoulder that Kara picked up on her vulnerability. She rested her head on a pillow and waited for Kara to lie down beside her.

“Andrea somehow knows that you want to adopt the girls,” Lena whispered, the warm puffs of breath tickling against her arm. “She called me right before you walked in here tonight. Sophia must have texted her.”

After so many positive bonding moments between Kara and the kids, this was a major setback, and Lena worried that she wouldn’t be able to trust Sophia in the future. Sophia’s recent actions didn’t make sense, but then again, perhaps Lena was the one at fault for expecting her children to keep secrets from their other parent.

“I knew something was off, even though you distracted me by being totally hot,” Kara sighed and rubbed a hand down Lena’s back in sympathy and affection.

“Andrea is furious, and of course I’m worried about what she might do, but in the meantime, I’m more worried about Sophia,” Lena confided, propping herself up on one arm to peer over at her mate. “She’s been supportive, so I don’t understand why she would tell Andrea about all of this, unless she has some mixed feelings that she hasn’t expressed. Either that, or Andrea is deliberately probing for information and Sophia is giving her every detail because she wants to be important in Andrea’s eyes.”

The likelihood of the second option was high, given Sophia’s need to please and recent concerns about presenting as omega.

“Whatever it is, I’m going to talk to her about it first thing tomorrow and we’ll work through it,” Kara promised and cracked a small but cheerful smile that always put Lena at ease, no matter the problems she faced with their kids or her ex. “She’s had a lot to process over the past few months, but Sophia is a good kid. I don’t think she meant to cause any friction between us and Andrea.”

Kara’s unwavering defense of Sophia was the most parental thing Lena had witnessed, and her love for the alpha overwhelmed her to the embarrassing point of tears. She sniffled into Kara’s arm and pressed wet kisses to her tanned bicep, unable to articulate how much it meant to her that even in the worst moments, Kara’s greatest strength was her compassion.

“Oh no, hey, it’s okay. It’s all going to be fine,” Kara insisted, using her claim pheromones to lull Lena into a calmer state before she could explain that she wasn’t distressed in the slightest.

“I know it is, because you’re with me,” Lena mumbled and tipped her head to the side so that Kara could nuzzle the slope of her neck.

“Always,” Kara asserted and pressed a kiss to Lena’s claim.