A Satyr's Mate Ch. 13

"Then what have we been fighting for this whole time?"

"We've been encouraging our evolution back to human form. Both Mari and Lucius understand this. By mating with humans, their offspring will live slightly longer lives, be able to breed more often, and will have a stronger attachment to their offspring so that they may raise them. At some point, there will be no satyr traits visible."

"What about Aeron and Lena? And Draco and Agda?"

"They could no more resist their mates than I could resist you, my love. They will live full lives and create their own legacy. You mustn't worry about the things you cannot change. We should now turn our attention to Callisto. Her belly grows each day."

I cringed when I realized that in my fit of passion, I'd suggested we leave for Timaeus to help their women birth lambkin when we had Lucius' wife to tend after. It was insensitive of me to even suggest leaving Callisto.

"Oh, Lucius...I didn't mean to suggest we'd leave ... I'm just not dealing very well with this news. I don't see how the two of you can be so, so, scientific about it all. Don't you care about any of this?"

They both attempted to answer, but it was Lucius who spoke the loudest. "Of course we care. But that doesn't change anything. It will happen regardless of our disposition."

I raised my hands in defeat. I could not understand where they were coming from any better than they could understand my viewpoint. I decided that the best thing for me to do was to bring my focus closer to home and on more immediate issues. Callisto and Lucius needed us.

***

Spring broke early in the mountain range. Along with it came a few surprises.

Callisto birthed a satyress that they named Eirene. She reminded us all of Mari with her long straight hair and hazel eyes. Her personality, however, was quite a bit more docile. She was also a lot more petite than most lambkin. Callisto had very little trouble birthing her.

We were ecstatic to be a part of her beginning. We still had Mari's lambkin, Brighid coming around every so often, so once again, our den was full to capacity. Brighid's presence proved particularly helpful to our family.

Exhibiting the strong possessive trait of a satyress, Brighid defended Eirene like a sister when they were in the flock. This was a huge relief to Callisto who didn't feel at all comfortable around the satyresses, especially Shala. While I'd earned a lifetime of not being hassled by Shala, the courtesy was not extended to my next generation. Even though Shala was no longer producing offspring, and had thus lost her standing in the flock, she was still a force to be reckoned with.

In the late spring, though, it was Draco and Agda that brought us the biggest surprise of all. We hadn't seen them in months, due to the heavy snow. When they were finally able to emerge from their den with their newest addition to the family, we were all shocked by his appearance. It was a boy that they had named Plato. He appeared to be fully human. And if that wasn't enough of a surprise, Agda was once again impregnated.

I couldn't understand how two satyrs could produce an offspring that appeared so human until Dolphus explained it to me. It was a numbers game, it seemed, the odds being made higher through inbreeding. Draco and Agda had uncovered the recessive trait of human legs and feet.

"They just sped up the natural progression. I'd actually thought that we might produce a human child. But it seems that I have been a bit too impatient with the natural evolution, myself."

"Are you disappointed that we didn't have a child?"

"Non. It satisfies my dominant nature for our lambkin to look like me."

"Is there a chance that either Mari or Lucius will produce humans?"

"There is a chance, yes. Why do you ask?"

"I think humans have more options available to them. If this is a dying breed, as you say, then soon there will only be a few left. I hope that our offspring are not among those last remaining ones. How sad that would be..."

"But what an honor, yes? I suspect it will be Aeron and Lena's bloodline that holds out to the end. It is the strongest in the flock right now."

"That is their legacy, then?"

Dolphus nodded. "Are you still struggling with this concept of allowing nature to take its course?"

I nodded. "I understand it. It just feels wrong."

"Perhaps you will allow me to demonstrate?"

"Demonstrate?"

Dolphus strode to our storage space and fetched a handful of tethers.

"What are you planning to do with those?"

"Tie you up. Lucius and Callisto will not return for some time. Come. Up on the bed."

"And if I refuse?"

"You will not refuse me this."

I climbed up onto the bed, somewhat unwillingly, as I was not in the right frame of mind for games. "I think you'll come up with just about any excuse to bind my limbs."

"This is true. The thought arouses me. But there is a purpose to this session."

Dolphus bound my wrists to the insides of my ankles, forcing my knees to bend.

"Try to free yourself from the tethers."

I yanked on the bindings with all my strength and all it did was create an annoying friction. It didn't so much as afford me an inch of freedom in movement. "Dolphus, I'm not in the mood for this today."

"Tell me what is going through your mind right now."

"I'm not so sure you want to know. I'm thinking that I have more productive things to do than this. I promised Callisto I would make a curtain to afford her some privacy and I have not finished Nuadha's birthday present." I yanked on the restraints again in frustration. "I don't have time for this...this...whatever it is."

Dolphus chuckled at my outburst. "And yet your attempts to free yourself are useless."

"Dolphus, just untie me. Please."

"Non, little one. You must endure this."

"Come on, you know I have things to do."

"Yes, I know. But you must do this now."

I struggled to free myself again, the frustration and anger mounting within me. I was met with a swift swat across my exposed bare bottom. "Ow!" I shot daggers at him with my eyes, opening my mouth to tell him what I thought of his little game, but I stopped when he raised his hand above his head. The blow he could deliver from that stance would cause quite a bruise. I wisely clamped my mouth shut.

"You mustn't pull on your restraints or you will hurt yourself. You must accept that this is where you are and remove all other options from your mind."

"I can't..."

"You can, Ashira. You will stay here until you do."

I heaved a sigh. There was no arguing with a stubborn satyr. Especially a dominant one who had the upper hand. I was stuck there for as long as he decided, and unless I gave into him, I was going to be there for quite a long time. "What are you planning to do with me?"

"That is not your concern."

"What does that mean? It's my body."

"I disagree. It is my body and I will do with it as I please for as long as it pleases me."

I mewled in frustration. Even though I knew I should give in, there was something preventing me from doing so.

"This is not so easy for you when you are not aroused. You cannot see the benefit, therefore, you are not able to surrender your control."

It was absolutely true what he was saying. When he'd restrained me before, I was aroused, so I didn't fight it. I liked his teasing. I knew that it would lead to my eventual release. But he'd not promised anything sexual. I had no idea what was in store for me, so I fought it.

"Do you trust me, Ashira?"

"You know I do."

"Then you must submit to me. You must give up this futile fight for control. You cannot win."

"I can't stop trying."

"Yes, I know. You are a born fighter. You stand your ground bravely. You've proven this many times. You must understand that submitting is not the same as giving up. You have no control now, you are just unwilling to accept that. Perhaps you should begin by changing your perception of your circumstance."

I didn't want to accept that I couldn't change my situation, but I was being herded in that direction with every door that he shut along the way. I couldn't reason with him to release me. I couldn't free myself with force. I was out of options.

I lay there for several, long, silent minutes. The only sound I could hear was my own heartbeat thumping in my chest along with my shallow panting. They were my natural fear responses.

The thing was, I wasn't really in danger. There was nothing to fear about living in the moment. No pain or suffering to escape.

"You have lived so much of your life in chains that you have developed a strong need to control what happens to you."

"But I didn't. I grew up free."

"On the contrary. You were bound by Sibian discrimination."

The loneliness of my childhood came back to me. There was no one to protect me against their hurtful jibes, their exclusion. I had no one but myself until Dolphus brought me to his home. I kept my hatred for them hidden in the same place I kept everything sacred to me, and I protected it all, so that no one could touch those things. My pride. My hatred. My heart.

"I have seen this beautiful creature from the inside. When she is not protecting herself, afraid of being harmed. When she is open and free."

Dolphus reached down to stroke my cheek. I filled my lungs with air and blew it out as I relaxed my muscles.

"That is better. Are you in control, Ashira?"

I swallowed and shook my head. "No."

"To some extent, who controls you right at this moment?"

"You do."

"And who controls me?"

"No one."

"Guess again, little one. Can I force the skies to produce rain? Can I prevent my own death? Or yours, for that matter? Or the death of our firstborn cosset?"

I thought for a moment, and then realized where he was going with his reasoning. "You're not in control, either."

"Non. None of us are."

"But we have choices."

"Yes, we do. We must use those choices on things that matter. We must not try to change the things we cannot control."

"It's hard not to try."

"It is if you go on believing that you know what is best. Do you think this is the best use of your time today?"

I shook my head.

"Mmmm, perhaps you will see things differently by the time I release you. We cannot know what will happen to us next, whether it is good or bad. We are shortsighted, basing our assessment on the information available to us at the moment."

Dolphus lifted his hand and delivered an open palm slap across my hip. I flinched at the immediate sting. "Ow! Dolphus!"

He cocked his brow at me, challenging my insolence. "Are you trying to control my next action? Will I strike you again because of your tone? Will I leave you alone here? What will I do next?"

I shook my head. "I don't know."

"That is right."

He leaned down and swiped his tongue up the entire length of my slit. I was not at all expecting him to do that. It sent shivers over my entire body.

"Ah, I have surprised you. I did something you neither expected, nor manipulated. Yet, I think you enjoyed it. How can that be?"

He leaned partway down, lips parted as if to do it again. I let go a tiny gasp and less than a second later, I felt the sting of his palm against my buttocks again. This time he struck me three times in rapid succession.

"Accept that you have no control over what will happen to you. Free yourself of this burden you carry."

His warm, wet tongue was once again on my slit. This time luxuriating in the act a bit longer, dipping between my plump outer folds to the warm flesh contained within.

My back arched in response. "Oh!"

He reached up to my breasts and pinched both nipples between his fingertips until I was hissing through the pain. "Life is full of both pleasure and pain."

Dolphus slapped the sides of my breasts, and then slipped one finger inside my heated folds as he delivered a harsh smack to my hip. There was so much going on at once, it was difficult to decide whether to focus on the painful slaps or his now wiggling finger inside me. He didn't give me long to decide before changing things up again. He pulled out his finger and then began to press it into my anus.

I tried to squirm away from the intrusion, but could feel his finger inching inside despite my attempts. His free hand closed around my neck to hold me still as his enormous knuckle bore into my unyielding opening. "Accept what is happening and it will be infinitely easier to take."

I shook my head and held my breath. His finger stilled, not advancing, but not retreating either. I finally had to suck air into my burning lungs. When I released the breath I was holding, the discomfort subsided tremendously.

"Do you believe me now?"

I took another breath, exhaling completely to release the tension in my body. His finger slipped all the way inside, but it was far more comfortable than it had been previously.

"I will do as I wish with this body. Some things may cause you discomfort."

He lowered his mouth to my slit and swirled his tongue around my sensitive bundle of nerves. I moaned at the heated rush it created. I'd forgotten all about the intruding digit until I could feel it sliding in and out as he continued to work me with his tongue. It was such a contrast in sensations. One bordered pain, while the other was highly arousing. I fought to manage the competing forms of tension. While his tongue made my insides coil, I had to constantly remind myself to breathe and relax to keep the discomfort manageable.

Dolphus removed his finger entirely to deliver a jarring slap to my buttock, never changing what he was doing with his mouth and tongue. The sting of the slap suffused, tingling as it moved down my leg and up my torso. He delivered a slap to the other side, causing the same reaction, then continued to repeat the action, alternating sides in a random fashion. Each blow created a wake of gooseflesh until I was trembling all over from it, unsure if I wanted him to stop, or I wanted more.

He lifted his mouth from my now swollen and wet folds to drag his claw-like fingernails over the heated flesh where he'd repeatedly slap me. I was about to cry out my protest when the climax overtook me. I screamed in a mixture of bliss and confusion, my muscles contracting repeatedly as wave after wave continued to come. He'd managed to push me over without even touching that area. By causing more pain.

My mind was still reeling from it all when he shoved his cock inside me. He continued to rake his fingernails over my sensitive flesh as he pummeled me. I could hardly catch my breath before I was tumbling right into another climax. And just as I was about to recover from that one, he pinched my buttocks to tip me over again. That time he joined me, growling as he arched his back to drive his cock deep within my channel to unload.

It proved to be quite an intense experience. One that rivaled the best sex we'd had thus far. When I finally began to come down from it, emotions rushed to the surface at once, causing tears to sting my eyes. I didn't try to stop the tears or hide my face from Dolphus, I just let them fall down the sides of my head to the bedding beneath me.

Dolphus silently watched me cry. He didn't wipe my tears or console me in any way. He merely accepted that it was what I needed to do and allowed it to happen.

I can't describe why that comforted me, but it did. Maybe it was because he didn't try to stop it from happening. While it wasn't pretty to watch, I'm sure, it was what was needed. I finally started to get what he was trying to teach me.

Long after I'd finished crying, when my eyelids fought to stay open, he released me from my bindings.

***

I ran my fingers over the butterfly net I'd crafted for Nuadha's birthday present before shoving it into the knapsack along with some treats I'd prepared. Glancing over my shoulder, I made note of Lucius and Callisto's absence.

"Did Lucius mention if they were coming with us?"

Dolphus shook his head. "Non. We should not wait for them."

I nodded in agreement. It was Father and Valame's first party since their wedding. I didn't want to be late. Standing up, I smoothed my hands down the garment I was wearing. "How does it look?"

"I'm trying not to notice how it hugs your luscious curves or we may not make it there ourselves."

I giggled as I recalled what happened the last time I'd worn a dress to their home. "You mustn't think such naughty things. Your loin cloth will protrude."

"Don't remind me. Let's go."

I traversed the trail to the Baltian village with ease. I'd come to know every rock and bush along the way. I wasn't near as swift as a satyr at negotiating the terrain, but I no longer felt like I slowed Dolphus down to the point of frustration.

"Do you remember when you required my help to get down this path, little one?"

"I was just thinking about that. It's been many years. It was about this time of year when you bought me, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was."

I paused on the landing area near our grotto. Near where Draco and Agda resided.

"Do you wish to visit the gravesite?"

I shook my head. "No. It's time to put that behind me for good. I appreciate you creating that grave. I know you did it for me because you knew I'd want to look back from time to time. That doesn't do any good, though. He's gone and life goes on."

"I'm proud of you, Shi."

I shrugged. "I still wish for things. I wish we'd had more cosset."

"Nonsense. We've not the space now."

He was right about that. I once thought our den was massive, now it felt cramped. Who knew what the next breeding season would bring.

We stepped down the last steep embankment and then I bolted ahead at a run with Dolphus chasing me. It was a game we liked to play before reaching the village. Just before the path opened up to the field at the edge of the settlement, Dolphus scooped me into his arms and captured me in a deep kiss. When he released me, we were standing in the middle of a large circle of individuals.

I glanced around at the faces, curious as to why they were staring at us. There was so many of them, too. Father, Valame, Nuadha, Finn, Mari, Agda, Draco, Brighid, Plato, Lucius, Callisto, Eirene, Aeron, Lena, Faustus, Ennus, all our extended Baltian family, plus a few other satyrs, Loomis and Haibu among them.

"This is your family, Shi."

"I thought...this is supposed to be a birthday party."

"It is a birthday celebration. Yours. We are celebrating the beginning of your life in Saia Heights. Each of us here has been touched by you in some way. Some of us more profoundly than others, although we don't always show it."

Dolphus swung me around so I could witness Faustus bowing in respect. Beside him stood a young buck with the telltale reddish fur of his bloodline. I realized that it must be his firstborn lambkin and a tear stung the corner of my eye. I blinked it away as I glanced toward Lena and Aeron.

"In a few short seasons, you have managed to amass quite a large family. You mustn't ever worry about being alone. If one of us leaves, another will take his place at your side so you are always surrounded by family. This I promise you."

I blinked and tears skated down my cheeks. "How did you know...?" I'd never shared with Dolphus my deepest fears about growing old and being alone. He'd just figured it out on his own.

"You are my mate. Do you think you can keep a secret from me?"

A round of knowing snickers erupted from the crowd.

Valame spoke up. "Come, everyone. Let's eat before the little ones grow restless."

The circle seemed to collapse on all sides as the focus was no longer on me and Dolphus.

"How long have you been keeping this secret from me?"

"Two agonizing months. Since Callisto weaned Eirene. I could see it was time for a reminder of how much you are needed. Look around you, Shi. There will always be someone who needs you."