"In general, betas do not get to inherit things," Amelia explained over dinner.

High Priestess Amelia usually ate with everyone else in the dining halls- there were six of them, and she randomly chose one with a die roll at every mealtime, to ensure that she got around evenly and unpredictably, socializing and fraternizing with an even mix of the clergy. However, for our first month here, she'd be prioritizing eating privately with Rachel and I, so that we always had someone familiar to answer questions for us, without getting overwhelmed.

"Generally, a typical peasant family has about enough farmland to support a household of, at most, eight people," Amelia said. "Two grandparents, two parents, four children. And they are well aware that splitting this farmland so that their children get an equal share will simply starve those children's families. So, the eldest alpha inherits the whole farm, marries some other family's eldest unmarried omega, and starts the cycle of family all over again. And betas, being neither alphas nor inherit nor omegas who marry... simply get to exist on the farm; part of the family, but unable to get married and start their own. And rather a lot of them do not like this."

"Why don't betas get to inherit or marry?" I asked.

"Nobody is completely certain," Amelia said. "I personally believe it is because betas are seen as a middle ground between alphas and omegas- capable of the same things as both, but to lesser extents. That a beta is an inferior alpha or an inferior omega. Indeed, I'm given to understand that, outside of the clergy, betas are seen as sexually undesirable, save for exemplars such as myself, as a halfway house between the plush curves of an omega and the firm strength of an alpha."

"That was a sentiment I'd heard myself, more than a few times," Rachel said.

"I can see that being the case, yeah," I added.

"Of course, inside the clergy, attitudes are different, as we are nearly all betas," Amelia said. "Indeed, the rare alphas and omegas among us are often considered somewhat undesirable, seen as simultaneously extreme and lacking. Exemplars like myself have a somewhat better time of it, but... well, not everyone prefers larger breasts."

"It took me rather a while to come around on them," Rachel said.

"At any rate, I feel that I cannot, in good faith, let this pass without warning," Amelia said. "Sister Kara herself is a fine young alpha who I am proud to have in my temple, but as you already know, she is the bastard of a nun and a noble. If you well and truly wish to avoid anything with political strings attached, it bears noting that, as an alpha with noble blood and a void affinity, she is in a line of succession, and it would not be unthinkable for some crisis to make that relevant, and draw the two of you in, should you make yourselves her friends."

"...Fair enough," I said. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Whose line of succession?" Rachel asked.

"You will have to ask Kara herself; it is not my secret to divulge," Amelia said.

"We'll let it lie," I said, placing a hand on Rachel's shoulder. "We're not close enough to ask after a secret like that."

"How is the stew?"

"It's a bit saltier than I was expecting, but being as it's made with fish from the sea, I'm pretty sure that expectation was unreasonable. But, honestly, it's even better than the last time I had it."

----------------------------------------

"Alright," Kara said, grinning. "I think we've got a workable design, here."

"Hell, I sure hope we do," I said. "I was real stuck on how to make a derailleur like they had on bicycles back home, and I'd managed to forget that it'd stopped being a bicycle; this here sumbitch is a motorcycle, and what it needs is a gearbox."

"Derailleur?" Kara asked.

"Oh, uh, basically, bicycles- pedal-powered two-wheeled vehicles- would typically have two stacks or cassettes of sprockets, one on the pedal-crank and one on the rear wheel," I said. "The derailleurs were used to shift the drive chain from one sprocket to the next up or down in the cassette, with there being an idler sprocket or two in there to take up the slack and maintain proper tension. They were controlled and actuated by a shift cable, which lengthened or shortened by small increments. And as you can guess from the description I just gave, they were fucking complicated."

"Sounds fiddly, but..." Kara trailed off, looking thoughtful. "Hrm. Well, dammit. I'm definitely not getting that idea out of my head without figuring out how it would work. I'd curse your name, but it's just more fodder for my thesis, so my heart's just not in it."

"Truly, Lucy is the cruelest of friends," Rachel said, sprawled on Kara's bed and reading a book while we nerded out about gears. "Making you think about the things you're interested in, the fiend."

"Ain't I a stinker," I added.

It'd been a week since we first sat down to talk with Kara. In that time, we'd done other stuff- Kara had a life outside of us, and was not in her chambers at all times, ready for me to waltz in and hold a brainstorming session bristling with homoerotic charge. So, Rachel got to try her hand at making friends herself, and ended up being quasi-adopted by an elderly swordsage, who considered Rachel's prior training in the Duke's household to be 'barely adequate,' and began to put her through a much more refined training method.

Said training method was arduous enough that Rachel would likely never consider the swordsage a friend, but on the plus side, Rachel wasn't the swordsage's only pupil, and those sympathized quite heavily with their newest classmate, forming the strong bonds of shared misery.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Also, Rachel was regaining her balance; apparently the regular martial training of knighthood was something of an expected routine for her, and getting back to it was comfortable.

"It can wait," Kara said, leaning back in her chair and sighing. "So... may I ask a... rather personal question?"

"You may," Rachel said, marking her place in her book- a copy of a manual that the swordsage had given her- and closing it.

"Are the two of you... together?" Kara asked.

"In the sense that we acknowledge each other as lovers, and kiss, and share a bed?" I asked. "Yes, we are."

"Ah," Kara said, a touch crestfallen.

"However," Rachel said, swooping in for the save like the goddamn MVP she was. "We also have an understanding that, both of us being... how did you put it, Lucy?"

"Gay weirdos who engage in non-traditional relationships," I said.

"Both of us being gay weirdos with a non-traditional relationship," Rachel continued, "we have discussed the possibility of including others in our relationship. And I must confess, while I was somewhat expecting Lucy to use this understanding to build herself a harem of omegas and beta exemplars... I find myself rather excited about the prospect of a third alpha in our bed."

"Ah," Kara said, a touch hopeful.

"See, I figured that, if I did wanna build a polycule- as in, a big tangled ball of polyamorous relationships, not a harem- then I should start with someone you'd wanna kiss, too," I said.

"Ah," Kara said, blushing.

"Which is entirely reasonable, although I don't recall you telling me that," Rachel said. "But, no matter. Kara, I presume you were interested in kissing one or both of us?"

"Ah," Kara all but squeaked.

"Use your words, kitten," I said, provoking a more inarticulate squeak from her.

"Um. I was interested in... a little more than just a kiss," Kara admitted. "Mostly from Lucy, but... well. You're hot too, Rachel."

"Lucy is my alpha," Rachel said with a shrug. "She has right of first refusal in our relationship."

"And Rachel, my brave little knight, prefers to take things slow," I said. "Kisses and cuddles are the farthest the two of us have gotten, and if we all share a bed, which would be ideal, then... well. It'd be rather awkward to do anything more than that with Rachel being right there."

"Fair enough," Kara said, nodding, still blushing. "I, um... Well... I mean, you two have been a lot of fun to spend time with, and... well. I wanted to thank you for that, and... maybe ask for a little more."

"Well, if it's kisses, cuddles, and a warm bed you're looking for, it seems we can oblige you," I said.

"We may wish to speak to the high priestess about sleeping arrangements before we invite someone to our bed," Rachel said. "As it stands, Kara's own bed would be... well, tucked against the wall as it is, only one of us would be at risk of falling off the side in our sleep."

"Fair, fair," I said, nodding. "Still, it's enough room to kiss Kara until her heart explodes, right?"

"There's only one way to find out," Rachel said solemnly, pulling herself up into a sitting position.

"Oooooh, void," Kara whispered as I leaned in.

"You're so studious, aren't you?" I remarked, gently brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear and cupping her cheek. "It eats up so much time... and an alpha like you might not have had terribly good luck with the other nuns in the first place, I imagine. You must be so lonely, your body yearning for the touch of another... Well, the rain has come, kitten. Your drought is over."

"That line would work better on anyone but an alpha," Rachel noted.

"Hush, you," I said, before I leaned in further. "So, Kara... if you want a kiss? You'll have to take it." No sooner did I stop talking than the curvy alpha had thrown her arms around my shoulders and kissed me hungrily.

I think she might be a touch excited.

I kissed her back, wrapping my own arms around her, and squeezing the two of us together. Her body was very nearly my ideal partner, being just as tall as me with all our bits lining up, with ample squish and padding for luxurious cuddles. She was everything I was missing with Rachel, and I was absolutely giddy about the prospect of getting to cuddle with this gay bitch at night.

Of course, this didn't mean I'd be replacing Rachel by any means. Rachel had her own charms, and was also, body aside, simply... My Girlfriend. I'm not going to break up with her because her body isn't perfectly catered to my own preferences. That'd be shitty, and also stupid, because I happened to enjoy talking to her and having her perspective on things, and I'm not cutting myself off from that just because c-cups seem small to me.

I stood up, pulling Kara up with me- relishing in the delightfully soft sensation of our tits squished so firmly between us- and carefully guided her over to the bed, where Rachel awaited. Some more careful maneuvering, and at last, we were seated on the bed, with Rachel behind Kara, waiting patiently.

I broke the kiss, both of us breathing hard.

"It's Rachel's turn, now," I said.

Kara nodded wordlessly and turned around to face Rachel.

"Kiss me," Rachel said, "like an alpha kisses her lover."

Kara nodded, taking a moment's pause to adjust her mindset from the kiss we'd just shared to a somewhat more dominant mindset to match Rachel's tastes. Once the moment was over, Kara all but pounced, seizing Rachel in a fierce, possessive kiss, and tackling the subby knight, pinning her face-up to the bed as the two kissed.

I grinned a little. While dutiful, subby Rachel might be fine with being left out... well, I was more than willing to insert myself into the mix, flopping on top of the pile and snaking my arms between the two, wrapping my arms around Kara's waist at the same time I kissed her neck.

Kara gasped, shuddered, and moaned, breaking her kiss with Rachel to do so.

"More," Rachel pleaded quietly.

"Well," I said, pulling away from Kara's neck. "It seems Rachel likes you, and I certainly like you too. What about you, Kara? Are you interested in joining our relationship?"

"I would do anything for more of this," Kara said, breathing heavily, sandwiched between two alphas.

"We can talk details tonight, then," I said. "For now... Well. Rachel would also like more of this, it would seem. So. Let's keep going, shall we?"