Page 35 of Roping Her Alien Ranchers

And then I'd have nothing. Not even the slim chance of somehow turning things around.

Half-remembered scenes from movies blasted through my mind once more.

These creatures, though disgusting—even as I thought that, the word ‘enticing’ interjected, seeking to overwrite the first adjective—did not deserve to have their bodies sliced and diced in the name of science.

"You need to hide," I said, my voice steadier than I expected. "Follow me."

I turned toward the stable, not quite crazy enough yet to take them into my home. I didn’t hear them following, so I glanced back to see if they understood. All three were moving in my direction, their bodies flowing over the ground in that unnervingly fluid way that made my stomach clench. Shivers ran the length of my spine, but at least they were following.

At least they were following me.

I wanted them to follow me?

Yep, I was certifiably insane.

I hopped over the fence, looking back once more to make sure they didn’t have an issue crossing the barrier. My eyes widened as I watched them collapse to the ground, boneless bodies contorting, to slip beneath the lowest rail.

That sight, thankfully, doused the Omega need sparking inside me. Being attracted to one of them would be like wanting to bone an octopus at the aquarium. Freaking psychotic.

Taking a deep breath, I locked eyes on the stable and kept a determined, but not panicked, pace. I was afraid if I ran, it would incite some sort of predatory response from the aliens. That was a thing, right? Prey got nervous, they tried to race away, and all the sudden the predator shifts into hunter mode.

I heard them drawing nearer, but I didn’t let myself turn around to look at them again. As they drew even closer though, fresh waves of their scent washed over me—stronger now, more complex. Beneath the briny, oceanic notes was something else entirely. Something that made my pulse quicken for reasons that had nothing to do with fear. Heat bloomed low in my belly, spreading outward in tendrils of unexpected warmth. My skin prickled with sudden sensitivity, each hair standing on end as if electrically charged.

"What the hell?" I whispered, pressing a hand to my flushed cheek as my stomach clenched.

My Omega biology really was responding to them as if they were human Alphas—impossibly powerful, overwhelmingly dominant, toss me onto a mattress and have me ten ways ‘til Sunday, Alphas. My rational mind recoiled at the thought, but my body had already decided. My scent shifted, sweetening further with heady notes of arousal that made me want to crawl out of my skin with embarrassment. Could they sense my desire? God, I hoped not.

"The stable is right there," I said nervously, pointing to the weathered wooden structure ahead. "Just... follow me inside and stay quiet. I need to think."

The aliens made more of those unsettling gurgling sounds behind me, their tentacles making soft slapping noises against the dirt as they followed. I tried desperately to ignore the way their scents wrapped around me, the way my body continued to respond, the way my mind kept supplying unwanted images of those tentacles touching me again. Jesus, they were squid… octopi… monstrosities! I should be thinking about dicing them up for a nice plate of calamari, not debating jumping into bed with their boneless bodies!

What the hell was happening to me? And more importantly, what was I going to do with three aliens who smelled like the most potent Alphas I'd ever encountered?

I quickened my pace, desperate to put distance between us, but one of the creatures—the lavender-turquoise one—surged forward with unexpected speed. A tentacle brushed against my bare arm, leaving a trail of cool moisture on my skin.

Electricity jolted through me at the contact—not pain, but something far more alarming. Pleasure shot up my arm and spread throughout my body, pooling between my thighs with an intensity that made me gasp. I jumped backward, every nerve firing at once.

"Don't touch me!" I yelped, the words emerging higher and tighter than I'd intended, as I spun around to confront whichever of them had touched me.

“It was an accident.” The creature's skin flashed with lemon yellow, its tentacle withdrawing immediately. The other two had stopped moving as well, their strange eyes fixed on me with what seemed like concern. “I couldn’t help myself.”

“Couldn’t fucking help yourself? Sounds like every pervert’s excuse ever.” My voice was no better than a snarl at this point, but revulsion still didn’t win out over arousal.

“Pervert…” Lemon monster mused. “Perversion.” His coloring shifted more orange, hotter. Had I offended him? Shit, what would happen if I offended three terrifying extraterrestrials?

“If you say it was an accident, I’ll believe you.” I took a deep breath. "Just give me space, okay?" I ordered, shocked when my voice came out steady despite the chaos inside me.

To my amazement, they complied, creating more distance between us as they continued to follow. I resumed walking, hyperaware of their presence at my back, of their scents filtering through the air, of the way my body continued to respond to them. With every step, I could feel slick heat building between my legs, my body preparing itself for something my mind refused to even contemplate. The faster I got these assholes whatever help they needed to leave, the better.

The tightness in my chest eased when I finally reached the building.

The stable door protested with a long, drawn-out whine as I opened it, the sound slicing through the tense silence that had fallen between me and my unlikely followers. I bit my lower lip as I pushed into the cool shadows of the building. A wave of familiar scents greeted me—hay and horse and leather, the comforting smells of my daily life. But as the aliens flowed in behind me, those familiar odors were quickly overwhelmed by their alien musk, intensified tenfold in the enclosed space. I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry as desert sand.

My boots scuffed against the hay-strewn concrete floor as I moved deeper into the stables, the familiar sound somehow grounding me despite the surrealness of the moment. The expansive structure had never felt small before—it housed six stalls, a tack room, and a feed storage area with plenty of space to move around. But as the three massive aliens slithered in behind me, the building seemed to shrink around us, the ceiling suddenly too low, the walls pressing in from all sides.

My chest constricted again with brutal force. My lungs had a hard time expanding so I could breathe. I hit the space between my breasts with one closed fist, trying to knock my body back into normal rhythm.

In a bid to feel safer, I moved to the back of the building, turning to press my body against the wall. From this vantage, I could see everything. None of them would be out of eyesight. They moved slowly, in a synchronized line, coming to stop in the middle of the building. The were still maintaining a respectful distance. Their skin continued to ripple with a myriad of hues, the colors shifting across their surfaces like living tattoos. Sometimes, small sections along the surface of their bodies flashed brighter than the rest.