Welcome to the Herd

Author's note: Everyone in my story is 18+. This is my first story, and if you all enjoy it, I will attempt to post weekly with more chapters. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment if you enjoyed it! Thanks!

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Lila was a woman well beyond her prime. She was a woman in her late twenties, who had seen many things in life. She'd loved, lost, and resigned herself to a window's dignity within the village her husband had passed in. Her hands were weathered, wrinkles in her brow deep from laughter of a life once lived, and thighs thick with past meals shared with her beloved. But she'd managed to survive by gathering basic herbs, and passing off her basic healing skills for the occasional exchange of goods.

"Morning, Auntie Lila", a sweet voice chirped. Auntie Lila, how she detested that name. She'd already resigned to her fate, she didn't feel the need be reminded daily of it.

"What do ya want, ya pest?" Crisp blue eyes pierced a mischievous hazel gaze.

"I was wantin' my usual..." A girl, perhaps just turned twenty if not younger smiled coyly. Isabella was the beauty of the town, and often sought the 'sagely wisdom' of her Auntie. However, Lila didn't know how sagely it was to give the girl contraception herbs on the monthly. Isabella paid well, though. She always offered coin which in itself was a rarity for Lila's services.

"Ah, yes, it is about that time, isn't it?" Wiping her hands on her apron, Lila rose. She led the girl to her tiny cottage, humming absently as the girl pritted on about her latest lover. They all were the same. Handsome, smart, caring, and so romantic. If only they stayed for longer than a day, they might have been worth the trouble.

Rummaging through the jars that littered Lila's house, she began to grind certain roots and petals for the brew. Isabella was still prattering, sighing often with a starry eyed stare. Lila paid no heed, smiling and nodding often enough until the medicine was ready. She tied it in a tiny burlap sac, and waited patiently for the tirade to end.

"And that's when I knew-"

"It was true love." Lila finished, a knowing smile on her face. "Remember, medicine first at the same time every day. Wait one week to ensure it has taken effect. But that doesn't mean"

"That it will protect me from the diseases of venereal sorts. I know, Auntie I know." Chocolate brown hair swayed as the youth tucked her hair behind her ear. "Say, Auntie. Don't you ever want to be seen as attractive? Perhaps do something with your hair? Or your... figure? Don't you get lonely with no real attention?"

Perhaps it was the genuine tone, or the way Isabella's eyes pleaded for an answer but she paused if only for a moment. Isabella asked this question from the moment she had wandered into Lila's home. She always asked if she missed carnal pleasures, or even company. Lila typically responded lightly, shying away from the question without offering any hint of an answer. But today the question hit differently. Gripping the wooden table, she inhaled. Tears pricked at her eyes, and her figure sagged. What typically was a strong and assertive woman folded for a moment.

"Isabella, there are many things I miss... I miss my husband. I miss my children. I miss happiness. But that doesn't mean that letting any man take me for the ride of my life will fix my problems. I'm just not- not ready." She began to breathe in short breaths, holding a wall of emotions behind a forced smile. Despite being somewhat airheaded, Isabella realized the gravity of what she had asked.

"I'm sorry Auntie, if I had known... I thought we were having fun I-"

"It's alright, Isabella. We do have fun. I'm not myself today is all." With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the girl before even getting her fees. Isabella, not wasting the chance to run from the awkwardness of the situation, bolted without a second thought.

Lila had called the day to an end after that, and settled in with a cup of tea. Her fireplace was falling apart, but it had the ability to produce a flame warm enough for her kettle and that was enough for her. She'd put the chicken in the coop and blocked the door hanging off its hinges so that there was nothing left in her nightly routine but to fall asleep.

Fall asleep to repeat this miserable cycle... Maybe... I should spice things up.

Lila drew a shaky breath as she set her cup down, relaxing in her chair all the more. She hadn't touched herself in ages, hadn't felt the thrill of an orgasm in far too long. Her hand trailed her thighs, skin feeling as smooth as butter as she circled her undergarments. Dipping her hand past the fabric, she began to slowly search her sex. Before long, she was panting heavily, pinching her clit between her fingers and gasping with pleasure. She was lost in herself, the wetness between her thighs overflowing with desire. Plunging her digits in her warm cavern, she began to buck against her hands. Pressure built in the pit of her stomach as she continued to finger herself, moans ringing out in the small cottage. She was almost to her climax when a loud bang came from outside.

The blonde jumped to her feet, stringing curses as she ran outside. She'd lived at the cottage from some time, and never had issues with trespassers.

"Alright, be gone with you!" Stomping fiercely towards the chicken coop, Lila waved her arms ferociously. "Go on, git! I won't shame your parents if you leave now!" She bellowed, her voice vibrating in her chest. She'd always been cursed with a deep voice. Her husband had called it sultry and commanding, but she'd found it to be off-putting and scary. She was almost grateful for it, as leaves and twigs snapped in a commotion. The woman had seemed to scare off the nare-do-well with ease.

It was brief, but she could make out a shadow of a rider and clearly heard hooves thudding in the dirt. Whoever it was, their escape was already planned out. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to come outside, yelling like a madwoman with no weapon... But before Lila had time to think through her mistake anymore, a man came galloping towards her! A man- with the body of a beast?! Before she could properly size up the vandal, she was lifted and immediately blinded. All she could do was scream, scream until her lungs hurt. Whoever her captor was didn't seem to like that, for whenever she did the arms holding her would jostle her mercilessly.

Time seemed to stretch on like that. Lila had realized that some sort of sack had been forced over her head, and she knew she was being carried on horseback. If it weren't for the two arms holding her as if life depended on it, she was sure she'd be thrown off and trampled. Her captor was silent, no matter how she pleaded or what she promised. She wasn't even sure if he could hear her. It was hard to hear herself with the thunderclap of hooves racing to wherever their destination was. Perhaps it was the lack of oxygen and over all darkness or the pure exhaustion of trying to plead for release but eventually the woman succumbed to sleep.

Lila woke slowly, a smile plastered on her face. In her state of deep sleep, she wasn't quite aware of her surroundings. She heard children squealing with laughter, felt the warmth of her blankets and for a moment thought she was home. That her husband had let her sleep in yet again, and the kids were playing as not to wake her. She stretched, a soft yawn dampening her smile. Sunlight filtered her gaze as she woke, realizing she was not at her home. In fact, she didn't know where she was. Her smile instantly vanished, and a panic gripped her. She was in some sort of tent, surrounded by girls almost a decade years her junior.

"What- where?! HELP! HEELLPP!" Frantically, she began wandering around the tent looking for anything as a weapon. She found a pitcher, and wooden slabs of food on some sort of oddly shaped table but nothing more. Lila ran over to the girls, scanning their faces to see if the worst had happened to them. As she watched each one, ensuring their chest rose she realized these girls were familiar. They came from her village! "Isabella!" Terror flooded Lila. She felt like someone had poured cold water straight down their back. All these girls had come from the village, all five girls she had seen in the marketplace before.

"Be at ease."

Lila whirled around, to see an older woman with graying hair. She had on a hunter green dress and simple leather vest.

"Who are you?! Where am I? Don't try anything or I'll die fighting. I've been around, I know when someone's up to know good." Lila straightened her shoulders, rising to a surprising 5'8, quite the height for anyone woman in her village. She narrowed her icy glare, lips thin and purse. The woman chuckled at the comment, eyeing Lila with an amused look.

"Oh no, wouldn't try to pull the wool over your eyes. We gals have to tend to each other in the herd, that's for sure. You're in a Centaurian camp on the way to the homeland. You, and your friends have been chosen for the pairing." The woman sat at table, pouring a wooden goblet of water.

The table was quite tall, and while one side had no chairs the other had a lifted bench that was covered in a woven mat. The woman patted the empty spot next to her. "You must be parched, your voice is hoarse. Come. Have a drink, and some fruits. We'll speak of what is to come." Lila felt as if her throat had been torn out by wild wolves, and she wasn't in the shape to run past any guards so she sat. The two talked for what seemed like ages. Talked of years past, memories almost faded and life as it were. Lila felt as if she had known this woman for her entire life, and this was nothing more than talk over tea.

Illena had lost her husband to a war, and was once a widow herself. When she was 20 she was sold to Raktosh slavers and was purchased by Tunair, her now mate. She talked of the centaur and how frightened she initially was. How she'd never been treated so well by man or beast alike. Lila had only heard rumors of the Centaurian people, and thus wasn't too sure of Illena's account matched with the vicious picture that had been painted. Illena explained that Centaurs had a one in fifty chance of producing a female, and thus needed to replenish the population by 'ascertain' women in villages nearby. At least that was true on both ends. Centaurs were said to prey on young girls that strayed from the villages a little too far, whisking them to a life of depravity and servitude. Oh, the poor lambs that slept so peacefully on the floor.

"I don't see what that has to do with me." Lila pondered aloud. "I don't see how a woman entering her later years is to be apart any of-" She gestured around the ornate tent. "This."

Illena shook her head softly, that bemused smile not leaving her weathered face. "You don't know what later years are, my dear. You may be a bit older than these chicks but centaurs prize women for more than just age. You've still got quite a bit of time to produce handsome foals." The woman eyed as if she were a prize pig to be stuck.

"I've... I cannot. I cannot again." Lila closed her eyes, a sense of dread filling her. "I cannot risk watching my children be but-" Her voice broke and she hung her head. "I cannot watch my children go in the ground before me again. I cannot bear to see their little faces so cold. I can't, I-" Her body shook as she began to cry softly. She hadn't talked of her past to someone in so long. She hadn't visited the grizzly memories of her shaking her children and begging them to wake since that moment had happened.

"I won't. I won't do it. Do what you must to me, but I would sooner die than watch that once more. I can't bear it." Lila's once warm and full face had aged to a haggard and broken woman. "Give me the chance to die with some dignity. Let me die with no one witnessing my cowardliness. Please." Her haunted gaze traced Illena's face for any sign of pity. But the old woman only sighed, grasping Lila's shoulder.

"I will not. We have no herbalist, and your talents are a gift to the herd. But I will offer advice. The past can often be like... a bad spirit. It will haunt us until we exercise it from our souls. You must lay your past to rest. Who you were then" Illena reached for Lila's chin, turning her face to meet her eyes. "Are not who you are now. The herd accepts you, values you. Your life here will not be who you were before. I was once Nami, a name I have not said in far too long. Nami passed when my mate put her to rest. Her past, her torture is no longer my burden. I live happily as Illena, and every day thank the Gods that Tunair was gifted to me. I will pray that the same happens to you, Lila." With that, she rose from her seat. Straightening her dress, and clearing her throat, she offered a half smile.

"Everything takes time. It will take time to come to your new surroundings. Time to adjust to the herd. The basic necessities are in this tent. I am sending over a friend to measure you for a new dress. Until you are paired with your mate, you are the entire herd's responsibility. Soon," Illena's head jerked to the still sleeping girls. "The others will wake. You are free to wander as you please within the camp. At midday, tomorrow, you and the others will be set in the camp center for courting. We will talk more tonight, but I have much to attend to."