14 comments/ 17334 views/ 43 favorites A Satyr's Mate Ch. 05-06 By: D_Lynn CHAPTER FIVE My First Time Something had changed between us. It was subtle enough to go unnoticed by others, I thought, but undeniable just the same. I was beginning to feel comfortable around Dolphus in a way I never dreamed possible. His hands were forever roaming freely over my bare flesh. It started with him insisting on bathing me at the hot spring. Then as he helped me along the treacherous trail, I noticed that his palm brushed against my swaying breasts many times. I thought it was by accident until I caught glimpse of the grin tugging at his lips. In his dwelling, he was even more obvious about it. On some level, it felt wrong. No Sibian coupling was like this. And no male satyrs were fondling satyresses two weeks before mating season. But it was hard to pay attention to that reasoning. When Dolphus' palms cupped my breasts, his fingers pinching and squeezing my nipples until they protruded, a stirring would begin inside me that made me forget all reason. All I could think about was how much I wanted more, needed more. Whether he could smell it or sense it on me, he always knew, too, and didn't pass up the opportunity to give me what I wanted. Too many times per day to count, he would take me to that blissful place until I was shuddering in his arms, too weak to move. He appeared to be just as addicted to it as I was, even though he rarely experienced his own release. I asked him about it, of course. I had no secrets and held nothing back from him. He explained that it took a great deal of energy out of him each time he released and he worried about what that meant. He was concerned that when it was time to mate, his seed would not be viable. So little was known about how these things worked. So few satyrs had ever ejaculated outside of breeding season so no one knew the potential consequence of it. I questioned my own wantonness, but Dolphus wouldn't allow me to consider it anything but perfectly normal for a Baltian woman. According to what they knew of the Baltian race, they were very sexual by nature. I knew so little of my background and longed to ask my father questions that would fill in the blank spaces for me. I thought about him a lot, my father. I wondered if he was still living free, having learned his lesson after losing his only daughter to Grachhus, or if he was a slave himself somewhere. Was he in the dark mines? Being chased through the forest and sodomized by ogres when caught? I shuddered at the thought of my beautiful, tall, dark-haired father being thrown to the ground and raped. He hadn't been the best caregiver, but he didn't deserve to be treated like an animal. In many ways, he'd done the best he could, considering he'd had to raise me on his own. "What are you thinking about, little one?" I blinked a couple of times to bring me back to the present. "My father." "Do you miss him?" "I ... Not really. I miss not knowing about my family history. I don't even know very much about how my parents met, or what my mother was like." "Do you remember your mother at all?" I shook my head. "She died giving birth to me." Dolphus' body tensed. He stopped breathing altogether for a couple of seconds. I turned my attention toward him. "What's the matter?" Dolphus shook his head. "I'm sorry for your loss." He'd been aware of her death, just not the circumstance behind it so I was surprised by his sudden concern. "It's okay. I've had my entire life to get over it. I just wish I could talk to her now. I have so many questions." "I must go to Aeron and discuss business." I turned to face Dolphus. He'd not mentioned leaving the den that day and I couldn't help but think that the decision to go was very sudden. Studying his face, I noticed that Dolphus' expression had turned utterly grim. "I've been spending much time away from flock business." "What is there to attend to? What sort of satyr business could there possibly be? It's not like you have stores, or written laws, or elections, or schools, or corrupt men who get rich off of other people's gambling weaknesses. You eat, you mate, you raise offspring. How complicated is that?" "Quiet, Ashira. You are approaching the brink of insult. Clearly I've been spoiling you far too much." I gasped at how much that statement stung. Apparently, I'd only imagined that he was enjoying our time together as much as I had been. For several silent moments, I simply stared at him with mouth agape and eyes wide in shock. A look of regret washed over his face but he made no effort to retract the statement. Instead, he simply left the domicile. "What just happened?" I spoke the words out loud to no one. Loomis was spending the day looking after his chosen partner, Haibu after a nasty misstep. I'd actually thought that Dolphus would take advantage of our being alone. We hadn't yet engaged in copulation, although Dolphus had promised we'd do so before breeding season, just two weeks away, and I was more than ready. Heavy disappointment weighed on my shoulders. I allowed my knees to buckle from the weight of it until I was sitting on the floor. Had I offended him? I replayed my words and the voice in which they were spoken. My tone had been a condescending, I had to admit. I didn't mean it. Satyrs were simple, but intelligent. Much smarter than the average Sibian. And Dolphus...Dolphus was the most intelligent of them all. Tears stung the corners of my eyes. Glancing around the empty domicile, I suddenly felt very lonely. I'd said those things to keep him from leaving. I was being selfish. He was right; I was spoiled. I'd come to rely on his presence, his feather kisses along my neck and shoulders, his soft caresses down my sides and along my hips. His constant warmth and affection. If he didn't want me to crave those things, then why did he make them so pleasurable? Why did he find it necessary to push me over the edge so many times a day if he got nothing out of it? My own answers were ones I didn't want to hear. So that I would readily submit to being bred when the time came. To fulfill my purpose and become impregnated with his offspring. It was so easy to forget why I was there in the first place. It wasn't because I'd chosen to be there. I was Dolphus' slave. He'd been very clear about my role and expectations. I spent the remainder of the day pacing the den and the area just outside of it. Thunderstorms were brewing around our mountain range so I dared not stray any farther. When droplets of rain began to fall, I withdrew and climbed into bed, allowing boredom to lull me into a fitful sleep. A loud clap of thunder awoke me. I must not have been asleep for very long because night had not fallen yet, though the sky was very dark. Glancing around the domicile, I realized that Dolphus had not yet returned. My heart ached for him. It was the longest we'd been apart in over 5 days. Rolling onto my stomach, I buried my nose in the downy bedding where he slept. His rich, woodsy scent filled my nostrils and made me long for him even more. How had I become so attached to this mercurial satyr? Before I could think up an answer, my body responded. A dull, aching throb took root deep within my core. Mental images of his fingers parting my heated flesh and exploring me there sent lighting bolds straight to my center. The throbbing increased until it was unbearable. I rolled onto my back and reached down between my thighs. My flesh was swollen and hot and wet. So much so that it was soaking my thighs and trickling onto the bedding. The first touch of my fingertips along my blooming slit made me lift my hips off the bed. It was so naughty, and yet felt so good at the same time. We'd been taught as children in school never to indulge ourselves in this way. It was strictly forbidden and the punishment for disobeying was more severe than for stealing. But Sibiu was so far away. And Dolphus...Oh, dear Osmos... Just the thought of Dolphus sent my hips to rocking wildly against my hand. I kicked the coverlet off me and splayed my thighs so that I could shove two fingers inside. It wasn't enough. With my free hand, I tugged and twisted my nipples like Dolphus so often did. Adding a third finger, I furiously pumped my palm against my now greedy opening. Three fingers still didn't approximate the thickness and length of Dolphus' digits. I needed more ... I needed him ... Inside me. Not just his fingers. I was too lost in frustration to notice Dolphus' arrival. It wasn't until I withdrew my fingers in defeat, having not reached the heights that I sought, that I saw him standing at the foot of the bed. I froze. With the exception of my panting, I remained perfectly still for several long moments. Guilty thoughts littered my feeble mind. To have been caught so fully in the throes of self-indulgence like that was humiliating. I turned my face away from him and began to roll onto my side in shame. "Don't move." My body startled as if his spoken words had slapped me across the face. Tears threatened to fall down my cheeks. I couldn't help myself, I simply couldn't obey him. My mind was screaming for me to hide. Before I could roll the rest of the way onto my side, he was on top of me, blocking me from curling away from him. I gasped in surprise. As he quickly rolled me onto my back, I searched his face for answers. His cheeks were flushed and his jaw tight. It was a face I'd seen many times when he fought to restrain himself. I quickly glanced down between us. His member was fully erect, the bulbous head glistening with wetness. "I should not do this now." A look of alarm must've crossed my face. If he stopped at that point, I felt I might die. "Please, Dolphus..." He growled and bared his teeth at me. I knew there were things we had to discuss. I owed him an apology for speaking out the way I did, forgetting my place, but at the moment, I truly needed him inside me. I would gladly accept any punishment he doled out if he could give me this one thing. "I promise to be good, just please, please ... I need to feel you inside me." A low growl emanated from deep in his chest and for a moment I thought he was going to deny me. Then he pressed my thighs to the bed as he positioned his cock at my entrance. All time stood still. I held my breath as he paused to lock me in his gaze. He was giving me one last chance to change my mind. Only I wasn't going to change it. I wanted it more than I wanted anything in the world at that moment. I needed it more than my next breath. He must've been satisfied with my resolve because a moment later, I felt the head of his cock parting my folds. His cock was larger than his fingers. And surprisingly harder, though it had always felt somewhat pliable in my hands. As it forged its way slowly into my opening, I could feel my inner muscles stretching to accommodate. Sweat beaded from every pore in my body. It was just on the brink of being painful but I didn't want him to stop. Regardless of the burning sensation from having my insides stretched beyond capacity, I still needed him inside me. I was aching to be filled. He was progressing agonizingly slow. Impatience won over my better judgment. "More. I need more." Dolphus' lip curled as he lowered his mouth to nip my ear. As he bit down, his pelvis tilted to drive his shaft fully inside me. Stars littered my vision from both the pain of being nipped and speared, and the utter bliss of fulfillment. I realized what I'd been craving the past week. It was this. To be surrounded by him, his weight on top of me as he filled me from the inside. My arms wrapped around his neck, my legs closing around his waist in the most intimate embrace. I whispered in his ear. "Yes, yes. This is what I crave." His lips closed on my neck, his tongue snaking out to taste the sweat that had pooled there. His hips began to rock methodically. I felt every inch of his beautiful length gliding in and out of my yielding orifice. Each stroke less resistant than the previous. Each one less painful, until all I was experiencing was the miracle of it. My insides coiled tighter with each stroke until I was panting and shaking beneath him, riding the edge of that beautiful release I'd grown addicted to getting. He sensed when I'd had enough and quickened his pace, catapulting me over the edge of release. I screamed and clawed at his back even as my hips bucked beneath him. He mercilessly pounded into me for two more strokes before his cock exploded, spewing his hot fluid deep in my channel. I felt each pulsation as it rippled down his shaft, and without warning, the thought of what that meant nudged me right into another climactic wave. He was filling me with his seed. It may not be viable yet, but soon it would be. Dolphus remained on top of me until our breathing returned to normal and his cock softened inside me. I hissed at the sting when his cock slithered from my opening. The discomfort had returned. "You may be sore for a few days, little one." His apologetic tone made my heart melt. "I don't mind." He smiled as he stroked my cheek. "So brave." Pushing himself onto his haunches, he spread my thighs to examine the area. I flushed with embarrassment, but it was far less severe than it would've been just a week earlier. I was growing accustomed to his intimate acts, however primal they felt. He engaged in them for my health and safety. "You will heal in a couple of moons. Next time will not be so bad." "I didn't think this time was bad." "I was surprised by your climax. It prompted my own, despite my attempt to stop it." For some reason, it hurt to think that he didn't want that to happen. "You didn't want to release inside me?" Dolphus tilted his head in curiosity as he studied my wrinkled brow. "You are upset by this?" I was upset. I had no idea why, though. It wasn't as if we were a mated pair, yet. I shrugged my shoulders, unable to answer him. I was suddenly so confused. Dolphus frowned in obvious frustration over my sudden withdrawal from him. "We have things to settle between us." I nodded and sighed. It was time to apologize for my behavior. I searched my memory for the apology I'd rehearsed in my head while he was away. "I should not have left you so abruptly earlier. I was not upset about what you said. Your ignorance about flock business is my fault. I've been keeping you out of it so you will not worry yourself, but it is time that you knew." I was shocked by his confession. I'd been kicking myself for how I acted when that wasn't at all the reason for his departure, apparently. "There is a dangerous force lurking in this area." "Where? Up here in the mountains?" "Non, not exactly. Around Sibiu mostly, but they pose a threat to our kind." "How? What is it?" "It's a band of Sibian males." "Outlaws?" "Yes, but more organized than simply a group of rebels. Their numbers have been growing over the past few years." "What do they want?" Dolphus shook his head. "We don't know. We don't seem to be their primary focus except in these months leading up to harvest. They target our younger members, although they've been known to kill adults when caught by surprise." Dolphus' cold gaze drifted to an empty space on the wall as if he were remembering something particularly painful for a moment. I knew in an instant what it must be. "Your parents were killed while out on a trail. By them?" He nodded and sighed. "Yes. We think they came upon their camp by accident. No one knew of the possible threat back then." "I'm so sorry, Dolphus." Dolphus shook his head. "It was many moons ago." "Have you spoken with the Sibian council about it?" "Many times. They have been under attack, as well. Worst than we have." "They have? How come I've never heard of it?" I needed only to spot Dolphus' rueful expression to know the answer. It was the same reason I knew nothing about sex, or evolution, or Baltia, or Satyrs. They liked to keep their people ignorant. "What is this band after?" "I suspect that they seek power. We believe they are recruited, sometimes not willingly, into a training program. One of our scouts caught glimpse of exercises that looked eerily similar to our own guard training. They are well funded, clothed, fed, and trained. But we don't know by whom." "Grachhus, I'd imagine." "That is who we suspect, but we have no evidence to support that claim. At your auction, there was a Sibian buyer there who was a stranger to Sibiu." "I saw him." "He bought the largest slave of the lot." "I remember. Slave number two." Dolphus nodded. "But if it were Grachhus behind the band of rebels, why would he bother to auction the slave in the first place? He could easily have just sent the man off to the rebel army." "Unless he's trying to throw off any suspicion." "Yes, it would be clever. Do you think him capable? He appears to be such a dull human." "I agree he appears stupid, but he is crafty. Devious. It would be just his game. Now we must figure out what he is planning to do so we can stop him." "We?" I blinked up at Dolphus in surprise. "What? I'm part of this flock now, aren't I? My life is in just as much danger as yours, right?" Dolphus smiled and nodded. "I suppose so. I just thought..." "What?" "I thought ... I was afraid that you might take their side. Because they're human." "Is that why you didn't tell me until now?" Dolphus shrugged. "Partly. Also so you wouldn't worry unnecessarily." "You're the worrier. And highly confused about how loyalty works for me." "How so?" "I am to be your mate. You are a part of this flock. Therefore, I am a part of this flock. The rest is meaningless." "You will only become my mate when we successfully produce offspring. Many things can happen between now and then." It was the first doubt I'd heard from Dolphus on the subject. I'd always assumed that it was a foregone conclusion. "Things are looking good so far. We've determined that our bodies work together." "Very well, in fact." My insides heated from his declaration. "Non, little one. Not until you've healed." I hated how in tune he was with my body. I couldn't hide even a twinge of arousal from him. "Okay. I'll try to be patient." "I believe I've unleashed a devilish monster. Come, let's eat before I lose my patience and take you again." ******** CHAPTER SIX The Secret He'd opened up a new world for me, unlocked secrets I didn't know existed. I floated about from place to place with visions of our intimate encounters dancing in my thoughts. It was my new favorite obsession, and Dolphus was all too eager to indulge me whenever I chose, which was no less than twice daily. We quickly discovered that he was not only capable of engaging in this Baltian behavior, it became less taxing for him to release. For me, I knew I could never grow tired of it, never have too much. I craved it. I craved Dolphus. Mating season was upon us. I was unclear exactly how it was to commence. Dolphus wasn't specific about it, only that a particular scent filled the air, signaling the start by sending every satyr male into a frenzy. It was a dangerous time to be out and about, and as Dolphus had previously warned, I was to be relegated to the domicile. But another attack on an adolescent satyr forced Dolphus to leave me alone to discuss matters with Aeron. The rebel army had obviously run out of food stores and was now hunting satyrs. They were growing more bold with each attack, coming closer to the flock. It indicated that they were more confident of their ability to take on an adult satyr, or that they were so desperate for food, the risk was worth the payoff. Either way, they were sneaky enough to claim one young satyr, and that was one too many for this dwindling flock. A Satyr's Mate Ch. 05-06 With Dolphus being taken away on business so often, I'd taken up knotting and weaving. It was something I liked to do as a child in Sibiu. I derived particular satisfaction from creating useful objects. From stripped branches, reeds, pine needles, and occasionally the hide of a partially decayed forest creature, I was able to craft coverlets for the openings in the den ceiling so that when it rained, we were not forced to skirt around the waterfalls and pools that the downpour created. My largest project, though, was one that I was beginning to think would take me eons to finish. It was a coverlet for the large opening in the wall to protect us from the wind in the upcoming cooler months. I seriously doubted I'd finish it in time for our firstborn to benefit from the shelter, but I at least hoped to have it completed by our second breeding. I was thankful to have something to do while Dolphus was away because I often felt like I might die from boredom otherwise. While weaving hardly filled the void left in his absence, it did make time pass much quicker, so when I heard the rustling at the den entrance, I assumed I'd been sitting there for longer than it felt. Without turning about or removing the array of objects on my lap to get up, I greeted Dolphus. "I barely even missed you as I've been trying to make a dent in this project." "Disrespectful to greet our second in this manner." I spun about on my tailbone to spy Shala sneering down at me. "What are you doing here?" Shala bared her teeth but refrained from the usual hiss she reserved just for me when we encountered each other in public. "Respect, you have not learned." "I didn't invite you here." "It is not your place to invite." "Clearly you can smell with that snout of yours that I belong here, regardless. Our mingled scents should still be quite strong from a few hours ago." Shala smiled contemptuously as she sauntered past me to breathe the fresh air coming through the window. There were no rules to follow regarding flock status inside the private domicile. I didn't have to bow to Shala, or even be polite, as long as we were in Dolphus' den. Theoretically, anyway. Not yet being his mate meant that I was skating on thin ground on this point. I could only hope that she was more afraid of offending Dolphus than she was hellbent on maiming me, because she could easily rip me to shreds with her massive horns. I wasn't afraid of her, though. I was actually genuinely respectful of her status, even though I sometimes felt she didn't deserve the esteem it afforded her. I was also ever mindful of her strength. But neither of those things equated to a genuine fondness. I didn't like her and never would as long as she pursued Dolphus, and that was where we locked horns, proverbially speaking. "Zira has come to season. Within one day, every satyress will follow. Begin, mating season will. Cracking horns from sparring satyrs. Grunting. Pawing. Rutting." Shala took a deep breath before continuing. "This time for satyrs, not humans." Even with her backward sentences, I caught her meaning. Mating was not a special occurrence for my kind as we are capable of producing offspring any time of the year. If that were even remotely possible for satyrs, Dolphus and I would already be parents. "I didn't choose this." "You must stop it." I quickly realized that my argument was shallow, at best. While I didn't originally choose to be Dolphus' mate, I'd come to want it. In fact, I often fantasized about it when Dolphus was inside me. I pretended that we were mating and his seed was viable. It always made my climaxes so much more intense. I decided to just own up to it rather than hiding behind the argument that I was a slave with no choices. "I don't want to stop it." Shala's eyes grew wide for a moment before narrowing again in what appeared to be utter disgust for me. "You know not, or you would not speak this." "What don't I know, Shala? That mating season is raw, brutal even, at times? That I will be bruised and sore by the time it ends? You think Dolphus has told me nothing at all about it?" "Not told you everything. No human to survive birthing satyr." I was about to argue that there were humans who'd survived mating season when I realized what she was saying. No female human had ever survived lambkin birth. "What?" Shala chortled under her breath. "Much blood. Suffering. Waste." It was my worst nightmare. The one I'd had millions of times growing up about my own mother and the suffering I'd caused her at the end. Father had spared me the details, but I'd visualized the pain, the blood, the screaming. The sounds were so vivid in my mind, I imagined that I might've actually been remembering them from the womb. How I'd wished countless times that it'd been me that'd died instead of her. Not just to ease the guilt I felt. That she could've been there for my father in Sibiu, someone who was one of them, someone who could help. Not another Baltian they could ridicule and despise. It made sense why there were so few cross breedings. The only successful one that I was aware of was Dolphus' parents, where his mother was the larger of the mated pair, being a satyress. It would've been no trouble for her to birth a lambkin with more Baltian characteristics, after all, Dolphus' horns were slight, and his snout and head smaller than his flock mates. "You will die." Had it been anyone but Shala informing me of my fate, I might've allowed the truth to break me. But her reasons for telling me were selfish. She wanted Dolphus to take her as his mate. Somehow that was all I could think about in that moment. I didn't want to die, but I didn't want her to have him, either. "But my cosset will live on. You have no concept of the human connection between parent and child, do you? How strong it is. Not only in me, but in Dolphus because he is more than half Baltian. You will never understand." I wasn't sure I understood, or even believed what I was saying. I only knew that I couldn't let her see me break, and that was precisely what I was about to do. "Dolphus will be here any moment. I suggest you leave before he arrives." Shala considered her options and decided that I was right. Dolphus wasn't going to be happy to hear what Shala had told me. Without a word or a backward glance, she strode across the room and out the narrow opening of the den. Just in time for the tears to begin to tumble down my cheeks. It was the worst brand of deception. Dolphus should've warned me of the risks. Especially when he knew that the same fate had befallen my own mother. He had to know I would find out sooner or later. If it wouldn't have been Shala, then it would've surely slipped from one of the other satyresses after I was impregnated. After. My stomach threatened to toss its contents when I realized the real truth of why he hadn't told me. He wanted to ensure I wouldn't run before he impregnated me with his offspring. He was more interested in his little experiment than my life. That was the ugly truth that hurt the most. He'd deceived me by hiding the truth. He'd prepared me for mating even when he knew what it meant. He'd made me care for him when he felt nothing in return for me. It was all a lie. What was even more humiliating was how foolish I'd been to even think that he felt something for me. All his attention, his kisses, his affectionate caresses were all deceptions. They were so that I would bear his offspring. Slowly the hurt began to boil inside me until I thought it might erupt in an explosion the likes of which the earth had not witnessed before. I was filled with rage over what he'd done to me. I was prepared to rip him to pieces over it, not caring whether or not I died in the process. That fate was sealed when he bought me at auction. I decided that I would rather have gone to the ogre. At least there would be no illusions. The ogre wouldn't be trying to charm me into submitting, he'd just take by force. I could at least admire that level of retched behavior for being straightforward. I paced around the den for a few moments before deciding what to do. I needed to leave before Dolphus returned. It was the only course that made any sense. Without thinking another minute about it, or stopping to devise a plan, I dashed out the front entryway and down the path toward Sibiu. As tough as my feet had become, I was still not as sure-footed as a satyr. Tripping over loose rock in an effort to put as much distance between me and Dolphus, I nearly fell face-first down a steep embankment. I'd been clumsily making my way down for a solid twenty minutes but I could still see the entrance to the domicile from where I teetered. I'd hardly made any progress. It would take Dolphus less than a minute to reach me. A clanking noise caught my attention and I whirled in place toward the sound. Just ahead on the path were two satyrs sparring. It wasn't serious, and I couldn't ascertain how old the satyrs were. I'd only met about half the males. Bachelors were known to linger on this trail, we'd encountered them many times on our way to the lookout where Dolphus would watch for me before I became his slave. I'd foolishly thought his reason for doing that was because he was attracted to me. Now I knew the truth. He was only interested in my Baltian attributes, my stature, so that he might successfully breed with me. "What are you doing out here?" It was Dolphus. He'd followed my scent and snuck up on me while I was distracted by the sparring males. "Those bucks are sparring for mating rights. The winner would gladly mount you should he notice your presence. You are lucky the wind is blowing upward today." His smug tone made me want to hurl a boulder at him. I turned to face him so that he could see the fire in my eyes. His expression and stance immediately changed to a more defensive posture. When I took a step toward him, he instinctively backed away, his eyes locked on me in an intense glare. "Why was Shala in our domicile?" He'd gone there first, of course, not noticing or expecting me to be on the ledge below. He'd undoubtedly picked up her scent. I shrugged my shoulders as I continued to approach him. I wanted to put some distance between us and the sparring males. I might get lucky and throw Dolphus off the ledge, but I wasn't likely to get lucky three times. Dolphus backed up until we were both standing on even ground. It was the plateau on which we'd bid goodbye to Niro and Sensai the day of my arrival. "When were you planning to tell me? Or were you just going to let me suffer and die giving birth to your spawn?" Dolphus winced at the insult and I felt a tiny bit victorious for it. I'd meant it to hurt. And there was plenty more where that came from. "You lied to me." "I didn't lie to you, Ashira." "You kept the truth from me. That's the same as lying and you know it." "What did Shala tell you?" "Judging from your expression, Shala told me the truth. That no woman has ever birthed a satyr." "Not in this flock, no." "So, it's been done successfully in other flocks but not this one?" Dolphus' jaw tightened. "Not that we are aware. But to be truthful, there have only been a couple who've tried." "Oh, that's reassuring." I rolled my eyes and planted my hands on my hips in the most contemptuous manner possible. "Your tone is most annoying." "I bet it is." I closed the distance between us in a few long strides. "Gee, sorry to annoy you. I guess I'm not the submissive little mate you were hoping for after all. Best find yourself another human to experiment on." "Is that what you think this is to me? An experiment?" "Well, since it's only been tried a couple of times, I'd say that makes this pretty experimental." A low, menacing growl emanated from Dolphus' chest. I was getting to him. "How were you planning to prepare me for delivery? Or was my death just part of the plan all along? I bet you have a site picked out and everything, being the planner that you are. Probably somewhere not too close to the flock so all that blood won't attract predators. Does that sound about right?" "Stop, Ashira." "No. I'm not going to stop, Dolphus. Too bad if this line of questioning is uncomfortable for you." I jabbed him in the shoulder on that last word, causing him to take a step backward. He tilted his horns toward me in warning. "Oh, yeah. Go ahead. Hit me with your horns. I have nothing to lose." Dolphus growled and I prepared myself to duck out of the way of his charge. I had no other defense. Instead of charging, though, Dolphus lunged and grabbed my arm. I screeched as I tried to free myself. "Let me go, you beast." For several minutes we wrestled until Dolphus had me fully pinned to the ground beneath him. I spat and fought until my skin bled from the rocky ground cutting into it. He wasn't going to let me go. "Enough!" I stilled my body. It wasn't that I was obeying him. There was nowhere for me to go. All I could do was lay there panting, waiting for a more opportune time to wiggle from his grasp. "You must listen to me now." "Why? What is there to say? You knew the risks when you bought me and didn't say anything. Even after you learned about my mother, you said nothing. Nothing." I screamed out the last word in frustration, amidst a flood of tears. I was tired of being lied to. My entire life was nothing more than a lie, I was beginning to learn. Dolphus lightened his grip without letting me go. "I was going to free you that day. I left to think it over. When I returned ... Seeing you in our bed like that ... I couldn't do it." I remembered that he'd caught me playing with myself. It was the first time he penetrated me. Tears flooded my vision. "It was selfish of me, I know. My desire for you is maddening. You are not an experiment. I want you to survive. I want to produce many offspring with you, yes, but as a mated pair. Have I not made this clear to you?" "What makes you think I'll make it past the first birth?" "You are strong, Ashira. In both body and spirit. You will not allow your body to give out. And I have a plan." I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Of course you do. You have a plan for everything." "Are you mocking me?" I shook my head. "We will induce labor early, before the fetus is fully grown." "You can do that?" "There is a root, we've discovered, that causes premature labor in pregnant satyresses." "What if it doesn't work on humans?" "This root has been used for similar purposes in Sibiu. Unwanted pregnancies, while not common, do occur even in the wealthiest of Sibiu households." I thought back to the story of Romala. While still in school, she was rumored to have gotten pregnant by one of the schoolmasters. She left school suddenly, only to return a week later in good health, decidedly not pregnant. Her family was one of the most affluent in Sibiu. "It is quite effective, and appears to be harmless in every other way. You will recognize the flavor from your school meals. I believe it has become a regular spice." I gasped at the horror of it. We'd been fed a root so that all pregnancies were automatically aborted. I shuddered at the reasoning behind that. Why they found it necessary to engage in this regular practice. Was sex with underage Sibian girls that prevalent? "It is not bad tasting." "Doesn't that whole Sibian practice bother you?" "It does, yes. I'm sorry to appear to be so indifferent. I've had a lot of time to adjust to the shock of such practices in Sibiu." "How long have they been doing it?" "Many years." "I feel like I've been living a lie my whole life. So many secrets." "I'm sorry that you discovered this one from Shala. It was not my intent to harm you with it." I sighed. "I understand that now. I don't like that you kept it from me. I thought we were being open with each other." "We are. I have no more secrets. I promise." "I guess we're going to have to make up before mating season begins, then." "It has begun, little one." "It has? But I thought...You told me that you wouldn't be able to restrain yourself..." I glanced down between his thighs. His cock was enormous, larger than I'd seen it before. And so engorged that it was purple. "Oh, my..." "It has been difficult. Especially holding you down like this." "How have you managed?" Dolphus shrugged as he shook his head. "My mate is not producing the right scent." I felt the heating of my core before the reasoning side of my brain could stop it. I was still hurt over what had happened, but my body had made the decision. And Dolphus picked up the scent right away. ********