Dangerous Breeding

Story by solstice_fennat on SoFurry

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Another in the YCH Stories, with more info at http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7470883/

I finished this faster than any other commission I've done, and I'll be offering the YCH stories just as often.


Dangerous Breeding

Story for SilverDragon41 http://www.furaffinity.net/user/silverdragon41

By Solstice

"Seriously? You're putting me with Aegis? Again?" Colette exclaimed, dismayed. Ever since the feral stallion Aegis had been captured and brought to Vanden Farm, they'd paired the straw-coloured mare with him every time his stall and personal paddock needed cleaning. There was something about Colette's presence that calmed Aegis in a way nobody else on the farm had been able to. "Come on, he's been crazy enough as is. Bendis, I can't work around him right now."

The old gray wolf snorted and spat on the ground, then fixed Colette with a dubious look. "And why not, darlin'? Yer good with him, and last time we put one o' th'boys with him, boy near got his noggin kicked in. Ain't been right since. You gimme a good reason why ya can't clean out his shit, and I'll think about it."

Colette grumbled, kicking at the ground with a hoof, and went silent She knew full well that Bendis knew just why, but the old bastard loved embarrassing her. Truth be told, she had no idea why she had stayed at the farm as long as she had. The money was good, but just about every farmhand and member of the Vanden family had kept leering at her every chance they got. Even Bendis' wife had made some very unwanted advances.

A few of them had made some implications that they wished she would rut with one of the farm's studs and see if she could spark life with them. Like a zebra and a horse, bipedal and four-legged horses could breed, though it was much more rare for that to happen, and the offspring were always sterile. Their intelligence though, was highly sought after by the military.

Not once had Colette considered it; the law of the land had that any anthro mare that could successfully breed with a feral became the property of the owner of the stallion. In some ways, it was considered an honour, and brood-peds, as they were (sometimes derisively) called were highly sought after and well cared for. A brood-ped was protected, and anyone who attempted to hurt one would end up jailed, or worse. Still, the loss of freedom, and the loss of_pay_ for that matter, had kept Colette from ever even considering it.

"I'm in heat, Bendis," Colette muttered, "I'm in season, alright, I said it. Find someone else to muck out his stall. Last thing I need is him scenting that and fucking prancing all over the place." She stomped her hoof defiantly and stared right into the wolf's eyes.

The shorter wolf looked up at her with an impassive gaze. With a smile that wasn't in the least friendly, he said curtly, "Y'muck out his stall and feed him, and care fer him, or you, sweetie, are gonna be lookin' fer another job. Do yeh ken? Besides, why don't yeh let him fuck ya? It'll clear out yer heat fer a while, yeah?"

For just one moment, Colette considered walking out and collecting her last pay from Bendis' wife. She stomped her right hoof a few more times and then shook her head, then almost spat, "Fine. Whatever. I'll do my job. And if you think I'm stupid enough to do that_other thing, you're crazy. I know what that would mean." Even if she weren't capable of actually breeding with Aegis, if she let him rut her while she was in season, she'd immediately be considered temporary property of Vanden Farms, until it was certain she'd _not_gotten pregnant. Bendis would_love that. The thought of him leering as she was rutted daily until the end of her season was horrifying. It would, however, mean none of the farmhands could lay a hand on her, not that she'd been incapable of protecting herself.

"Well then, darlin, ya better get on yer way. Daylight's burning." Bendis said, leering, his tongue lolling out and his black-spotted gums showing. Not for the first time, she wondered how the old wolf, with no teeth in his mouth, managed to stay in charge of the farm instead of one of his sons. She supposed there was something to be said for loyalty out here, though if she really wanted to hazard a guess, Bendis was playing his sons and daughters off of each other. Eventually one of them would shine, and Bendis would retire.

Colette sighed as she looked over the field behind Bendis at the old wolf's palatial farmhouse. Eight sons and three daughters, their mates and children, all lived in the house. The few times Colette had been in the house, she'd been struck by just how comfortable everything was there. Bendis definitely made good money off of his farm. All Colette ever got though, was a bunk in the farmhands quarters, where she was the only female.

The walk to Aegis' paddock wasn't a long one, maybe a half a mile from the farmhouse. As soon as she was in earshot, she heard Aegis trumpeting a greeting. The damn stallion seemed to have a preternatural sense for when Colette was near. Sometimes Colette wondered exactly _why_Aegis seemed to be so calm around her. Even another mare that had visited the farm the week before had been sent running by the aggressive stallion.

When finally Colette came in sight of the paddock and the small building that held Aegis' stall, she saw that he was out and trotting around. Leaning against the fence that surrounded the paddock was one of Bendis' many sons. This one, though, she rather liked; he was the only one who never leered at her. "Hey Mint," she cheerfully called out, waving at him.

The pure-white furred wolf raised a hand in greeting. "Hey Collie. Pater put you here again, huh? He's been randy as all shit. I think he smells the mares across the way. I got some hay bales for you, made sure he's got plenty to eat. You just gotta take it in yeah?"

Colette grumbled a bit, "Great. No chance in hell he won't notice me." Mint's nostrils flared at that declaration and he managed to look just a bit chagrined.

"Sorry pater's an ass," Mint murmured and clapped her on the back. "I'll let you get to it. I actually tried to go in. That guy was on me in a second."

"Yeah, thanks Mint," Colette half spat at the runt. She supposed it really wasn't fair, treating him like that. He was actually nice to her, unlike anyone else at the farm. She resolved that after this season, when there were trains going farther inland to the larger cities, she'd finally take her leave of this place.

Most of the morning went smoothly. Aegis was prancing around his paddock most of the time, and it was only later, when the sun was high overhead, that Colette had a problem. She was actually in the stallion's stall when he trotted up to it. "I'll be out of here in a second, Aegis," She said cheerfully, and reached out to stroke the stallion's flank.

For just a moment, Colette considered the large stallion. His midnight-black pelt and mane were soft, and beneath that skin rippled muscles that were strong enough that Colette was surprised the boy that Aegis had kicked was even alive. It was then that she noticed the speckled black and pink shaft hanging free from his sheath. A couple seconds later, Aegis bit at her shoulder, teeth clamping down for a second. "Hey, what the fuck, Aegis," she yelled, and took a step away. He'd never bitten her before. She wondered if he was tiring of her presence.

Aegis trotted around outside the entrance to the stall, making a quick circle and then returning. Colette furrowed her brow, her eyes focusing on the way that meaty shaft was bobbing up and down. Aegis stopped, his side to her, and looked her way, letting out a hearty whinny.

"I know, I know. You smell them, don't you. Well if you'd just calm down and let them take you over there, you could have a mare to rut, eh?" Colette chided, then picked up a shovel, heaving a horse patty into the wheelbarrow next to the door. The manure would be used on some of the crops.

Colette felt Aegis move up to stand next to her. He'd never taken this much interest in her before. Before she knew it, when she'd bent over to shovel another patty, Aegis had bitten her again, this time on the rump. "MOTHER FUCKER!" Colette yelled, and whirled around to stare at Aegis, "I'm not your... oh... oh my..." Aegis had lifted his head and curled both his lips, nostrils flaring. His shaft was fully extended from its sheath, and hung down.

Finally, it dawned on Colette that Aegis wasn't just nipping at her, he was_courting_ her like she was a mare. He wasn't smelling the other four-legged mares and getting excited about them... Aegis was wanting her. Now it made sense; the first day Aegis showed up, captured by Bendis' two older sons, she'd been on the tail end of her last heat. It had been pure dumb luck she was there at the time, but instantly Aegis had calmed in her presence. Ever since, she'd been the only one that could work with him; he'd just been waiting for her next heat.

"Hey. HEY... I'm not your mare, Aegis." Colette exclaimed. As if he knew what she was saying, Aegis let out an amused whinny and lowered his head to nuzzle at her. All the days of gentle nuzzles, feeding him an apple here, even managing to ride him for a little while. He... considered her his mare, his mated mare.

Aegis trotted into his stall and turned around to face Colette, who stood there dumbfounded. He slapped his shaft against his belly purposefully a few times, then whinnied. "No way, Aegis. You're not getting this mare. Why don't I bring you a real one?"

Inside her head, though, the gears were turning. Wondering how it would feel to have such raw, animalistic virility pounding into her. Two years. Two years it had been since she'd been able to safely sate her heat with another equine. It had been the first and only time she'd ever paid for sex; it had been a brothel on the docks of a port city. The male had been sterilized, but for once she'd had an entire season without the insistent tug of heat. And there was _nothing_like getting filled with the viscous cum of a young stud.

"No. No, that's stupid, Collie," the mare muttered. Aegis whinnied and slapped his shaft against his belly again, making wet sounds each time. This time, Colette couldn't help but stare, her mind going through all the possibilities. "what if his seed takes? Bendis would own you. You'd be bred every heat..."

Colette reached up to touch Aegis' cheek and stared into his eyes. "I can't. I can't, Aegis, it's not safe," the mare said softly. She was surprised there was a tinge of regret in her voice. The stallion stomped his feet and he nipped at Colette's arm, curling his lips again. He nudged at her neck, almost begging. "No... I'd get caught."

Aegis, frustrated, began to flex his shaft, repeatedly slapping it against his belly over and over. Colette found herself blushing. Unable to convince 'his' mare to breed, he was resorting to the only thing he could do: masturbation.

Biting her lip, Colette stepped around Aegis and, seeing nobody looking, reached out and took the meaty shaft in her hands. "I can help you with that at least." She began to firmly stroke his length, but a few moments later, he trotted away, seemingly unwilling to let her handle him if she wasn't going to breed with him.

Colette stood transfixed, her hands damp with Aegis musky scent, as the stallion continuously slapped his cock against bare flesh. He danced around a bit as he did, grapefruit-sized orbs bouncing as he did so. Then, with only a warning nicker, that thick crown of his flared and began to jet ropy, viscous streamers of his seed on the floor of the stall.

When the scent hit Colette's nostrils, she let out a moan. She couldn't help but imagine that hot spunk filling her instead of being spilled on the dusty floor. It was then that an idea came to her, one that she knew was a risky one. What if she _could_let Aegis have his mare, and satisfy her heat, and nobody would be the wiser.

"No. That's stupid. Fucking stupid. Moronically stupid." The paddock was far enough from the house that if she slipped out of the farmhands' quarters, stuffed her blankets with pillows, and kept quiet, she could come here after everyone was abed. She had to admit, the sense of danger that the idea presented was just as compelling.

For almost half an hour, Colette stared at the puddle of semen that Aegis had left on the ground. The stallion leaned over and nudged her, then nosed his own spunk, as if to say 'look what I can give you!'. "Gods help me, Aegis... I'll see you tonight..." she whispered.

Colette slipped into Aegis' stall late that night. She'd waited till long after the clock had struck the second hour after midnight, when she could hear the soft snores of the other farmhands. There was no way she was letting herself get caught doing this. The last thing she wanted was to end up Bendis' own brood-ped.

The large black stallion's nostrils flared and he snuffled at her neck. She could feel her cunt clenching at the thought of what she was about to do. The temptations and the day's earlier courtship dances had taken their toll on her psyche, especially when she had seen him slapping that long, speckled shaft against his belly to the point that he flared and shot his viscous semen all over the stall floor. The memory of that scent was driving her wild. Fertile, life giving seed. If she had to pinpoint the moment she'd decided to sate her heat with the stallion, that was it.

"This is fucking crazy, Collie," She murmured, and reached up to stroke Aegis' mane. He seemed to know that courting her wasn't necessary, and to his credit, he was largely quiet. With nothing lighting her way but the moon, Colette stroked her hand down the stallion's flank and stepped beside him. One hand lifted up to grip her breast, pinching the nipple between it. "You get caught, you're fucked. Literally."

Despite all the precautions she'd taken, from leaving all her clothes in her bunk to disguising her bed as if she were still under the covers, she knew that she could be caught. Strange thing was, that danger, the risk she was putting herself in, was almost as enticing as the thought of _finally_sating her heat. She reached under the belly of the stallion and stroked his sheath, unsurprised to see that a good five inches of the thick shaft had already emerged. He'd probably been able to scent her heat long before she'd arrived. When she crouched under him, she fondled the head of his shaft and drew in a deep breath. "Oh god..." she moaned. The virile, musky scent that filled her nostrils made warmth blossom in her loins.

Stepping back, she looked about the stall for a proper place, someplace where she could be comfortable that would give the stallion access to her. With little light to guide her, it was hard to see, but she let out an elated whinny when she saw something. Outside the stall, there was a couple bales of hay that had been left there, presumably for next morning's feeding.

"Okay Aegis," she whispered, stroking the stallion's mane again to calm him. She didn't want him to think she was going to leave. Aegis huffed at her, his ears swiveling. Nostrils flared and he nipped lightly at her shoulder. Lightly for him, at least. It was enough to make Colette yelp, however, though she did her best to stifle it.

She pulled open the door to the stall and dragged one bale of hay into the stall, pressing it up against the fence where the railing was. She pulled one of the riding blankets from the far wall and spread it out on the hay bale. Looking back at Aegis, she shivered. She should get out, right now, before she did something stupid. What if she did get filled with a foal? Even if she wasn't caught, she would have a hell of a time explaining it.

For just a moment, Colette hesitated, on the knife-edge of indecision. For his part, the stallion was still quiet and calm, as if he knew that she was already his, and no more courtship would be needed. Soon eighteen inches of speckled equine shaft was hanging from his sheath, the only visible reaction he had shown since she'd set down the blanket. "No, I shouldn't do this..." Colette whispered to herself.

She was about to stop, to dash out the stall door and run away when the stallion flexed his shaft, the head slapping against his belly with a wet sound. The sound and the memory of Aegis' seed all over the floor of his stall flooded Colette's mind. Her hand was on the latch, but it fell to her side, the door to the stall still firmly closed.

"Okay... okay, I'll be your mare..." she breathed to Aegis, and stepped up to him, heart hammering in her chest. She placed her hands on either side of Aegis' head and leaned in to nuzzle at him again. The large stallion simply nipped her in return and danced his hooved feet impatiently. It was like the stallion was telling her to get on with it.

Legs shaking, Colette climbed up on the bale of hay and bent over, draping her arms over the railing and waving her behind at Aegis. She lifted her tail like a proper mare should, and even whinnied a few times. When she looked back at Aegis, Collette saw that she'd gotten his attention. With slow, measured paces, the large stallion trotted over to Colette and snuffled at her rump. "That's right, big boy, you got a mare here. Do your thing."

All of a sudden, Aegis bit Colette's rump, hard, and then snuffled at her side and bit there too. It was all she could do to suppress a squeal of pain that would alert anyone in earshot that there was someone _not_four-legged in the horse paddocks. She waved her rump at Aegis a second time, eager to get this over with, so she could have her heat sated before going for a midnight swim in the pond to wash off.

But all Aegis did was lower his snout to snuffle at her ebon cunt-lips, and just once draw that big tongue across it. "You g-gotta be kidding me," Colette muttered. After all this, all his courting and dancing, and the fact his shaft was obviously ready, he wasn't doing anything. What was she missing? How could she tell him she was ready and willing after all that.

Colette thought to all the different things she'd seen on the farm. What did the mares do when getting ready to breed? "Wait, no..." she breathed, finally figuring it out. "Can't believe I'm gonna fucking do this." She strained and pushed, tail lifted, and soon she was urinating, soaking the blanket and the hay underneath. Every mare she'd seen before had pissed to show the stallion they wanted it, and right now, Colette truly did want it, despite the humiliation of peeing to let Aegis know it.

That moment of submission and acquiescence was all that Aegis needed. With a triumphant whinny he reared up and laid his forelegs on the railing of the stall, his meaty shaft slapping against Colette's rump with a wet sound. "Oh shit..." she breathed, realizing that if she wasn't careful, Aegis would tear into her asshole just as easily as her dripping cunt.

One thrust, two thrusts, each time they got closer to home, one of them connecting with her right cheek with almost bruising force. Once again, Colette had to suppress a squeal of pain, turning it into a whinny she hoped was feral enough. When Aegis got ready for a third thrust, she reached back with one hand while hanging onto the railing with the other. Taking the underside of Aegis' shaft in one hand, she guided it to the lip of her sex. "Right there, c'mon," she muttered, and let go of the railing with her other hand to reach back and spread her netherlips.

Needing no more encouragement, Aegis thrust forward, and this time, the thick tip of his shaft hit the perfect spot. There was a moment of resistance, but then Colette felt the nearly three inch thick head spread her cunt wide and slip in a few inches. "Hooooly fuck," Colette yelled, and quickly let go of her behind to grab the railing for traction. It _hurt_to have something that big push in so roughly, but at the same time there was a deep knot in her belly that was starting to unravel, blossoming into greater arousal.

Sensing that he had found his mare's prize, Aegis hunched a bit more and started to pound forward with his length like his life depended on it. Back, then forth like a jackhammer, each forward thrust taking that meaty length deeper into his mare.

Colette's eyes rolled back in her head and she let out a cry of mingled pleasure and discomfort. Seven inches of the horse's shaft was in her, and it wasn't even past the medial ring. Sure, her body was built to handle it considering the size of other bipedal equines, but the few that she'd been with hadn't been nearly as wide and hadn't been half as rough.

Aegis, for his part, was doing his best to see that his new mare was being bred as fast as she could, and he trumpeted triumphantly as his medial ring slipped past the tight lip of Colette's vagina, eliciting a pained squeal from her. Unlike any normal lover she'd had before, this only spurred Aegis on further.

Every thrust was accompanied by wet squelching sounds, each time Aegis pulled back it was a sucking noise. "Oh god... oh my god," she cried out, forgetting briefly that her cries may be enough to alert someone at the distant farmhouse that something was going on.

Eventually, Aegis' huge crown was battering against Colette's innermost passage, and as much as he tried to breach it, he found himself unable to. Fourteen inches of the stallion's cock was in Colette, and every thrust battered her cervix with bruising force. His grapefruit sized balls began to swing forward and slap wetly against the top of her mons, mashing and manipulating the thick button of her clit.

IN that moment, Colette embraced being this feral stallion's mare entirely, and when she felt the rising tide of a powerful climax coming because of those slaps of Aegis' balls, she let out a little whimper. The growing desperation of her cries had become vociferous enough that when she was done, she would have to run. Then, without warning, everything went white and her whole body shuddered. Her cunt began to spasm and clench around Aegis' shaft and she felt the last few droplets of urine dribble out along with a gush of her pleasure juices.

Letting out a triumphant sound, Aegis' crown flared wide, enough that if Colette were coherent enough to look down at her belly she would see a little distention showing. It hurt, to the point that the mare was worried that it would damage her, but then she felt heat in her sex, and a lot more moisture as streamers of the stallion's viscous semen filled her. It seemed like forever that the flared head remained in place, flush up against her cervix, but soon she felt the massive head pulling back.

With her sex still spasming and gripping hard, Colette felt Aegis get stuck for a moment trying to get out of her. There was a pressure like nothing the mare had ever felt, and with a lewd sucking sound, Aegis tugged the still-flared head out, the last few spurts of his seed painting her ass. There was enough volume that a great deal of it oozed out of Colette's abused sex and dribbled onto the blanket, mingling with the urine from before.

As Aegis began to trot around the stall triumphantly, Colette found her eyelids growing heavy. The ordeal, the ecstatic pleasure she'd felt, they were all threatening to draw her into slumber. "No, girl, you gotta run," she said halfheartedly. She could afford a nap, couldn't she? She slumped on the railing and looked out toward the farmhouse. There were no lights on at all, it didn't look like anyone had noticed her.

"No. Run. Can't let them come. Can't let them find you, Colette," She muttered to herself. And then she realized her mistake. She'd been up since before dawn, and had worked the whole day. That, in and of itself, would have her sleeping like a rock. But a breeding? A mating? The afterglow alone would make her even sleepier. With the excitement of finally sating that burning need in her loins passed.

Pushing herself away from the railing, Colette tried to remind herself with warning that if she didn't get out of here, and fast, she'd fall asleep. She just had to get to the pond. Wash herself off of any trace of semen.

Colette made it as far as turning herself around on the blanket before sleep took her.

Colette knew something was wrong the moment she woke. For one, she was on a bed, a comfortable one at that. It certainly wasn't where she'd foolishly fallen asleep. Next, she realized that there was something heavy around her neck. Something very heavy, like... oh no... a collar. Her eyes snapped open, and she found herself laying nude in a room that was_very_ much not the stall she'd collapsed in. Her hands flew up to her neck, where a smooth steel collar had been locked around her neck.

"Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck." She exclaimed, a knot of fear forming in her belly. There was a soreness on her rump as well, and she reached down to feel a patch of gauze covering the otherwise nude pelt. Without even looking under the gauze she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that under that gauze was the mark of Vanden Farms.

"Didn't think you'd do it, girl," came a voice from the other side of the room. It was instantly familiar as the voice of one of Bendis' sons. Colette looked up and tried to sputter a denial, but there was no way she could think of to explain her way out of the situation. "I found you, you know. Kinda stupid to just fall asleep there."

Colette looked at the speaker, who was seated in a comfortable-looking chair on the opposite side of the room. The few moments she had afforded her the chance to inspect the room. It was one of the rooms in Bendis' mansion-like farmhouse. If she had to guess by the opulent décor, it was one of the guest rooms that Bendis kept for rich visitors to the farm. It was certainly nicer than any room she'd stayed in.

When finally she looked at the speaker, she let out a sigh of relief. It was Mint, the youngest of Bendis' sons, an albino and runt, and also the only one who had ever been truly nice to her and treated her like just another farmhand rather than an attractive equine woman. "I'm not leaving, am I?"

"No," Mint said, licking his chops. "no, you're not. Moment I saw you I told pater. He made me uh... use some _soma_bulbs." The wolf shrugged a little, "Kept ya asleep while pater went and registered you. And branded you. Good thing too. Ya kinda woulda screamed."

"I didn't want this, Mint..." Colette said. The wolf shrugged and then grinned. "Pater's gonna breed you to Aegis every day for a week, you know. He's got the right to do it. Listen. I wanted to be... I wanted to be here. To tell you."

"Tell me what," Colette spat, then stomped her foot. "That I'm probably gonna end up some kind of brood-ped whore. That my life's over?"

Mint sighed a bit and stood up. He strode over to a chest of drawers that had an aluminum pitcher and two tin cups on it. He poured himself a glass of water, then filled the other cup and carried it over to Colette. "Your old life? At least for a few months, yeah. And if you took his seed, forever."

"Kinda knew that, Mint. The only reason I'm not trying to beat the shit out of you and run like hell," Colette growled, and stood at her full height, dwarfing the wolf runt by a good foot and a half. "Is because you've been nice to me."

"Come off it, Colette. Where will you go? That collar's a dead giveaway. You see a mare wearing that, people are going to know. Then they'll catch you and treat you like cattle, and return you here. And if that happens... I lose the right to care for you. Pater takes over, and he won't be nice." Mint was matter-of-fact in his tone.

Colette blinked, staring at Mint in disbelief, "You... he put you in charge. Of my care."

Mint nodded and looked up at Colette with an even gaze, his yellow eyes staring into her chocolate-brown ones. It was then that the mare saw the compassion in his eyes. He cared about her, and he wasn't happy to have her like this. "Pater's right pissed at me, Collie. I manipulated him. I tricked him into publicly declaring me your caretaker. Which means I choose how you're treated."

Pointing at the door, Mint said, "You are to be fed at our dinner table. You are to be afforded every_courtesy. Whatever you want, you ask me and I get it. Your comfort is my priority. You can go anywhere on the farm, and even into town. I will take you there when you want. I've made it very clear that, with pater's authority, you're hands-off for _everyone."

Colette licked her lips; that sort of treatment was meant for honored guests. She tugged at the collar around her neck. "I don't want to be a slave, Mint."

The runt sighed a bit, "You are, though. I want you to make sure you don't feel like one. You run, though, and pater will take charge himself. And he'll let any guy under your tail, and keep you in a stall like cattle. I'm giving you a chance, Collie. To live comfortably, treated like a queen. All you have to do is lift your tail for Aegis for the rest of the week. And if his seed sparked, bear his young. Just do that willingly, and you get treated like a queen. So. If I leave this room right now, leave it unlocked. Are you gonna run? Or, after dinner, are you going to go to Aegis' paddock and do what you did last night?"

Colette whinnied nervously, then slumped back onto her bed. Live like a queen, protected from all the leering males. Bendis wouldn't let _any_of them near her; not now, not when there was a chance he had his own brood-ped on his hands. She could have anything she wanted and Mint would get it. Just... not her freedom.

It was an agonizing decision, but the fear of what Bendis would do to her without Mint's help had her saying only two words. Two words that sealed her fate. "I'll stay."

Colette fanned herself with the book she was reading as she lay on a chair on the front porch of Vanden Farms' homestead. Beside her there was a large pitcher of lemonade and a half-empty glass of the same. She looked out over the rolling hills and sighed a little. Setting the book down, she laid her hands on her belly. She could feel it moving, the life that Aegis had sparked inside her. It had been four months since the incident with the stallion, and in another four she would give birth to the hybrid that would be worth two dozen stallions like Aegis.

Mint had kept to his word. She'd been treated with utmost courtesy and deference, and all she'd had to do was mate with Aegis every day for a week until they were certain she'd passed her heat. In fact, she'd never felt safer and happier. All the comforts she wanted, and she had a stallion for a mate that would protect (and had) her from harm.

Life as a brood mare was good, Colette mused. No... life as a brood_queen._ Colette grinned.