Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
ZILARA
Rejected
The word stands out in bold red letters, easily seen by anyone passing by. Honestly, they might as well be stamped on my forehead. The effect would be the same.
A weary sigh flits past my lips as I sit down on the steps of the capitol and look over the packet. I was sure they’d accept me this time. On either side, other Ranchers slide past, not paying me any attention. But then, why would they? It’s not as if I’m anywhere near their league.
I flip through the pages and note their remarks. Same as last time. Nothing has changed. Despite how hard I’ve worked and the progress I think I’ve made, it still amounts to nothing. Rejected.
“Any luck?”
I glance down at my ranch hand, Draagor, and give him a wry smile. He does the best he can, but he’s too busy tending to the few cows we have to actually give me a hand around the ranch. Honestly, I’m not sure why he’s even still here.
Shaking my head, I hoist myself up from the stony step and make my way to the vehicle. “Same as last time.”
The smile he gives me is soft and encouraging, but it doesn’t help the pit in my stomach gnawing away at me. Twelve months. That’s all I have left to turn this ranch around and make a profit. But how can I turn it around when no one will so much as give me a chance?
“You know,” he murmurs, opening the door for me. “You can always stop trying to make it in the agriculture sector and focus mostly on cows. That seems to be the quickest way to make the income you need.”
Now it’s my turn to smile, only I know it doesn’t go up to my eyes. There’s no warmth in the sliding of my lips. Only despair.
“You do realize I’m only paying you and Morthran what I am because that’s the budget my family gave me. I don’t have much left. Especially not for the type of cows the intergalactic council wants milk from. I’m stuck with the dredges.”
Draagor shrugs his shoulders and grins as he rocks back and forth on his heels. “I don’t know about that. Their milk tastes pretty good to me.”
I stifle the urge to roll my eyes at his obvious arousal. Perhaps that’s why I’m not cut out to be a Rancher. Maybe if I wanted to fuck the cows like the males do, then I’d have a different drive. But I don’t. They don’t call to me. The land does.
As I step into the vehicle, a shrill voice captures my attention. Turning, all burgeoning feelings of hope shrivel and die within me.
Plastering on a smile, I incline my head toward my sister. “Amoranthee. I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”
She leans forward, her dark blue eyes glittering with some hidden malice. “Obviously. Did you even shower today? I smell the stench of the ranch on you.”
As always, she does what she can to get under my skin. Honestly, it’s just as difficult to keep her from pricking my emotions as it is to grow a decent crop.
“You smell the ranch because I was actually working today,” I seethe through clenched teeth. “What have you been doing? Besides making others cry.”
She refuses to answer the question as she brushes it off. “I was hoping to sit in on the meeting today, but it seems as if I was too late. Honestly, it should have been going on longer. Why was it so short?”
I glance down at the packet I placed on the seat. Again, those bold red letters stand out, not easy to miss. I know she sees it. I can tell by the gleam in her eyes. She just wants me to say it.
“I’m still working with the coalition to have them sell my goods.”
“One more year, little sister,” she sneers. “Come now. Wouldn’t it just be easier to give up? You’ve been at this for four years now. If it’s not going to work now, what on all of Icora can change within twelve measly months?”
Draagor steps in and inclines his head in deference before sliding me back behind him. “Rancher Zilara is merely finding her footing in this life. In truth, five years is a joke. It’s almost as if your family wished to set her up for failure.”
At the thinly veiled accusation, she narrows her eyes and steps forward, showing no hint of unease around the hulking male.
“Seeing as it’s my father who funds you and that other miscreant to fuck the help and drain the pathetic cows of their milk, I’d be careful what you say.
You may find yourself without a job sooner rather than later. ”
“Be that as it may. As a ranch hand, I will always find work, so your threats will not scare me. If you knew even half of what our job entailed-”
I step forward and cut him off. This is not the time nor place to hold such a conversation. Shaking my head, I urge him toward the vehicle so I can convince my sister to be on her way. His shoulders ripple as he stalks off, irritation rolling off of him in waves.
“I don’t understand why you have to rile them up,” I murmur. “They’re only helping me.”
“That’s precisely the point. When are you going to put away all this foolishness and join us at court?”
“The family gave me five years. Once that time is up, I’ll concede, but not a day sooner.”
“You do realize how bad you’re making us look, right?
The fact that Father indulges you at all.
.. I don’t understand it. You were always coddled.
Even as a baby. Well, mark my words, when this experiment of yours fails, and it will fail, Father already has an Icorian senator lined up and waiting for you to be his wife. ”
For a moment, she stops and looks down at her perfectly manicured hands. “But why do you want to wait when he’s such a prime specimen... It’s beyond me. You can live a life of ease and luxury. You can be a senator’s wife. You’re just doing this because you’re being stubborn.”
“No,” I cry out, tears burning in my eyes. “I’m doing this because I want to actually make a difference. I want more than just lavish parties and days spent in idle nothingness.”
“Five years,” she huffs as she turns around. “That’s what you agreed to. Five years.”
Unable to keep the frustration at bay, I slide into my seat and slam the door to the vehicle with a loud bang. Next to me, Draagor fires it up and drives it out of the city. Thankfully, he doesn’t say anything, but I watch him glance over at me every so often.
“You might as well say what’s on your mind,” I grumble. “It’s better than just staring and hoping words will fall from my lips.”
“If I had known your father was funding this, I wouldn’t have accepted the money. Neither would have Morthran. That money should go to helping you improve things.”
Another heavy sigh slips through my lips as I allow myself to hunch over and feel the impotency slithering through my veins. “I can’t have you working for free. That wouldn’t be right.”
“It wouldn’t be for free,” he grins. “We have cows to drink from and pleasure. That is reward enough.”
“Right. And that’s what all the other Ranchers pay their ranch hands with. Milk. I didn’t think you were this delusional. But then, you’ve stuck it out with me for four years, so I’m not sure I can fully speak to your sanity.”
“I’m not insane,” he teases. “The Medical Ranchers had me checked. Seriously though, it’s not as if you’re doing me any favors.
I fully plan on using this as experience if or when I decide to look for another ranch.
You’re not the only beginner here. It’s not as if Morthran and I came to you as mighty experienced ranch hands. We’ve all had to learn together.”
I mull over his words a moment as we pass the growing fields of Ovibrosia. It’s always so peaceful out here, so calm. The air is cleaner, and there’s not as much noise or rushing around as there is in the capitol. Peace. It’s literally the only word I can think of.
Something in me belongs here. I can feel it. I’m never happier than when I’m fingers deep in the dirt coaxing something to grow. I just wish it actually worked.
“Did you really mean that?” I finally whisper.
“Mean what?”
“About you and Morthran not taking money to actually help make this ranch work?”
“I mean, I can’t fully speak for him, but I know I’d give up that money in a heartbeat if it meant making this farm successful.”
“Take me to the auction then. Perhaps between the both of us, we can grow our herd. It seems the only way to get ahead. I foolishly thought I’d be able to actually grow things and flourish here, but I guess it’s just a passing fancy.
Time is short. Too short. I suppose I need to grow up and do what’s needed instead of what’s wanted. ”
Glancing over, I take in Draagor’s large grin. “Fine by me. More milk, more tits, and more pussy to break in.”
Of course, that’s what he’d think about. If only there were some sort of direct benefit for me like there is for them. Unfortunately, I’m just not wired to want women. If I did, this would all be so much easier.
Excitement and a fractious buzz of anticipation sizzle throughout the large, darkened room.
As much as the dread of spending more money sits like lead in my gut, being here sweeps me up until I have just a small, frisson of enthusiasm.
The low murmured tones slide over my body like a hum of electricity until all I can think about is the cows I’m about to see.
I’ve only been to two auctions before now. It’s how I have my current stock. However, it never ceases to amaze me just how exhilarating it is. Someday, I’ll be in the same position as the other Master Ranchers, with several cows to their herds.
As much as I want to make this ranch work based on the produce I can make, it seems as if milk might be the way to go. If anything, these heifers might make me enough to look profitable. All I need is a foothold. That’s it. If milk is what will get me there, then that’s what I have to do.
Unfortunately, as each cow is brought up on stage for bidding, the numbers instantly go far out of my range.
It’s not surprising, though. This round, they’ve managed to procure some of the finest cows Earth has to offer.
One by one they come up to the stage and flash their milk-ladened tits and gleamingly aroused pussies.
Perfect for Ranchers.
Perfect for ranches.
Perfect for my ranch hands… not for me.
Next to me, Draagor rubs his erection through his suit as he leans over the button. He knows our budget. He also knows we passed it two bids ago. I just don’t have the capital like the other ranches. And it’s not like I can go beg Daddy for money.
He’ll refuse and try to force me to come home.
No.
I have to do this as much on my own as possible.
However, with each cow that leaves the stage, my heart sinks. Maybe I’m not cut out for this at all. For a moment, I’m lost in my own little world, but soon snap out of it as a low roar fills my ears.
Glancing at the stage, I see what all the commotion is about. Instead of a human woman bent over to show just how fuckable she is, it’s a man. His arms are bound, denoting that he’s a problem. A large, broad problem with rippling muscles and flashing green eyes.
His blond hair is mussed and tousled, looking as if he’s just woken up from a hard fuck as opposed to being transformed into the prime specimen I see before me. There’s something about him, a hardened edge that has nothing to do with the enormous cock jutting from his hips.
Arousal gathers at my pussy, sending a quiver of shock through my system. I’m not like the Icorians of court. I don’t get wet for a male. Not that I’ve gotten wet for a female either. I just have not been interested. Until now, I thought maybe I just wasn’t someone with baser needs.
As I look at the man on the stage, I wonder if I’ve been wrong this whole time.
Maybe it’s not males in general who don’t do it for me.
Maybe it’s the Icorian males who hold no sway.
All I know is, I want this human. I want him far more than I’ve wanted anything in my life. Even more than the Ranch.