Stallion Mage: A Horse Shifter Mpreg Romance (COMPLETE)

A Tribe's Decision (2/2)

At first light, which was cloud-covered, wet, and gray, the entire tribe gathered for a meeting. On four-legs, they all stood in a half-circle, awaiting their mare-leader. Most were silent, but some spoke in quiet, urgent tones with many glances at the sky.

The stallion mage was glad he stood at the back so he could not hear what they were saying. Perhaps it was his imagination, but the mood of the tribe seemed troubled, and he couldn't help but feel that it had something to do with him.

He had been different all his life, a fact that had been demonstrated by others in many ways. And now that Alvarr had healed enough to walk among them, he had time to wonder. Would they fully accept him, a stallion? And what about Laren?

His mate emerged from their tent and shifted. He touched noses with Alvarr and waited beside him. "There are so many people," Laren said softly.

"I was thinking the same," the mage replied. When Alvarr had first learned of the rift, he had imagined bringing the mares and children to live with the stallions.

That would never have worked. They would overrun the territory. Even if they built dwellings for everyone, there would be no room to put them. Nor would the stallions ever accept them. Alvarr couldn't imagine that the new people would be welcomed with grace.

Stallions won't change.

But was that true? Never never did Alvarr dream he would be living among the mares again with a family of his own. And Laren, away from the tribe, is not at all the same. The former stallion leader seemed carefree, and eager to care for Fara.

"The children are so quiet," Laren said.

"You're right." The tribe's young stood quietly in the rain, close to their mothers. Alvarr wondered if it was out of obedience to the mare leader, or because they, too, could sense the tense mood of the adults in the tribe.

Some of them glanced at the stallion mage and his mate. "I hope..." Alvarr said.

"What?" Laren shifted a bit closer.

The mage sighed. "Nothing." During the last few days, everyone had seemed excited for the birth of a new foal out of season, but now, a future of constant rain plagued them. Endless cold and wet was enough to make anyone tense, and the entire tribe knew that it was Fara's doing. "I just... we are responsible for this," Alvarr said, stamping a hoof in the wet ground. "We showed up with a foal who makes it rain, and thrust ourselves on their lives, upsetting them greatly."

Laren inclined his gray head. "Let us hear what your mother has to say," he said. "She is leader. It is her will that guides the tribe, and I trust in her wisdom. After all," the gray equine said, touching noses with his mate, "she saved you and our foal, so I'm inclined to trust her."

Mare-Mother Quirina cantered toward them, her head held high. She was a large mare, though size was no measure of leadership. Still, she drew everyone's eye with her muscular body and serious posture.

"Do you know what this meeting is about?" Laren asked, his voice hushed.

"I thought it was to tell us that we have to move again, because we do," Alvarr replied, looking at the wet earth under his hooves. Their gathering would churn it all to mud.

But as the mare leader approached the center of the crowd, Alvarr sensed a restless energy in her. It unsettled him. "But now, I don't know." If only I knew her better.

Mare-Mother Quirina stamped a hoof to begin. "My people," the mare leader called, shaking her reddish-brown mane. "No one can argue that great change has come upon us in such a short time." She swished her tail. "First, a long, cold winter... and with it, the news that far fewer foals will be born in the summer."