“A bull?” the other asks, completely ignoring my sputtering. “We’ve never had one on Icora before.”
“We’ve also never had a male on our ship before, but we adapt and improvise. Once I give him the serum, he’ll be hooved, tailed, and gagged, just like any other heifer we procure.”
What. The. Actual. Fuck? Delusion or not, I need to figure out a way out of this nightmare.
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-”
