Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

C rying like a little bitch, I reclaimed the cloth that had come with my cage, shoved my pillow back into the palanquin, and crawled inside. I curled into a ball, hidden under the sheet.

For a universe that had no problem altering my DNA so I would make a good, docile (albeit horny) human cow that wasn't prone to fits of emotion, they surely missed the mark on grief.

Not sure why I was grieving. I should not care what happened to a beetle that wanted to have me for breakfast. It was horribly executed for daring to approach me like that. Yet, seeing it dismembered— torn apart with blood and screams and all— was a horror I never wanted to see again.

I think I wished my captors had let it go. The ladybug was fleeing. It would have flown away and probably never returned. But being ants, they didn't give it that chance.

As an insect lover, I always knew that ants were among the more brutal creatures Earth had to offer. It likely wouldn't be different here, especially in a universe known for its walking, talking bugs. But the sentient aliens really weren't different from those in my universe— at least where the Milky Way was concerned.

Like humans, ants also communicated with each other through sound and touch, worked as a team to solve complex problems, farmed other creatures and cultivated food. And like humans, they enslaved other colonies, murdered for the greater good, and even committed suicide.

Emotionally exhausted, I was almost asleep when I heard my captors return to the barn. Hidden away in my little cage, I hoped the insect farmers would take the hint and leave me alone.

"Little Hucow. Come out from there." I recognized the voice as the one-eyed one. Hovyk. "You must answer for this foolishness."

"I don't want to," I replied.

"You're a naughty girl, Molly Maiden. Do you have a death wish?"

Gyanys' rebuke made my eyes well. "No. I just had to urinate."

"You should never leave the safety of the barn without one of us. There are predators on this planet that will have no problem eating a little hucow like you."

"Had to pee," I mumbled. "Humans don't relieve themselves just anywhere, you know."

"She will need to be punished," Hovyk said.

I rolled my eyes. I didn't even care. It was all so ridiculous.

"She's new here. She didn't know."

I didn't recognize this voice, which sounded slightly younger than Yoane's voice. I figured this must be one of the brothers that were mentioned before. I think their names were Hovo and Yany.

I peeked from under the blanket. Like my three captors, the two wore the overalls, boots, and straw hats of a farmer. Maybe their antennae weren't as thick and long, but their eyes and hair was just as beautiful.

"How do you do that?" the other new arrival asked. "How do you punish a misbehaving hucow?"

"The hucow guide says," Yoane offered while tapping at a handheld tablet, "that you position the hucow over your lap facing down while naked, smack their bare bottom until they cry, then you put your cock up their ass and tell them they are a bad girl."

"What the fuck?" I snatched the blanket off. "Where the hell did you all get that shit? A fucking porn site?"

They didn't seem to understand the reference. Hovyk muttered angrily and grabbed the tablet from Yoane to review for himself.

Gyanys held up his weird-ass hand. "I don't want to hear your complaining, Molly. You could have been killed."

"Or, I could have fought and won." I folded my arms across my leaf-covered chest. "Did you all hear me calling you for help?"

The five ants made a smirky tittering noise that I was beginning to recognize as laughter.

"No," said one of the new keepers. "You were very brave for a hucow. I'm Hovo."

"But foolishly so," came an injection from whom I assumed was Yany. "Your pitchfork would have not slayed the invader."

"You don't know that," I grumbled.

"We do," Hovo smiled—kinda. I think it was a smile. "We are all retired soldier ants."

"Retired soldier ants?" I echoed back.

"Yes! We have served our purpose to the colony," Hovo said.

"But rather than sacrifice ourselves as food, our Queen has dictated that retired soldiers will become farmers that will generate currency that can be used to expand the kingdom," Yany added. "That is why you are here. We bought you to help make money with your milk."

Yany nodded. "The planetary treaty our queen signed with the wasps states we can no longer invade and conquer lands to expand our kingdom. We must use modern techniques to acquire future resources."

"That's enough prattle out of you two," Gyanys reprimanded. "Go milk the aphids and get them out to pasture."

Hovo and Yany were obviously underlings. They gave a curt nod and disappeared immediately.

"Why are you wearing a leaf?" Yoane asked.

I narrowed my gaze. "Why are you wearing overalls?"

"Because we must work. But you do not. There is no reason to cover yourself."

I lifted my brows at his observation but bit my tongue. How did one explain the hangups of nudity on planet Earth without sounding silly? Humans were the only creatures that covered up in the name of modesty.

Gyanys leaned down to open the cage door. "Come out, little hucow."

I shook my head. "No."

He then had to nerve to look over his shoulder and say to Yoane, "She must not be as sentient as you believe. She cannot follow simple orders."

"I can, but I don't want to," I snarked. "Free will."

Suddenly, Hovyk was pushing Gyanys out of the way and pulling me out. He then swung me over his shoulder and began smacking my ass as he marched us out of the barn.

"Ouch! Stop!" I demanded, kicking and pummeling his back with my fists. "Put me down!"

"I can, but I don't want to," he threw back. "Free will."

"Ooooo!" I screamed and resumed struggling.

And Hovyk resumed slapping my rearend.

I was obviously at the disadvantage. My strikes didn't seem to bother the alien at all. Meanwhile, my tender ass cheeks were burning. When I stopped, he stopped.

"Where are you taking me?" I snapped.

"To be punished thoroughly," Hovyk replied. "Only after will you be milked."

My heart thumped as my pussy tingled, my body betraying me yet again with arousal over the dumbest things.

"I don't want to be punished," I whined. "And putting a dick in my ass isn't even a real punishment."

"It's what the guide says," Yoane reiterated. "You can also put your genitalia in her mouth and force it down her throat, denying her air until she is better behaved."

Turning my head to Gyanys and Yoane, who were trailing behind us reviewing their digital pad, I threw out my hands. "Where are you getting this information from? That's not real either!"

"Sounds real enough to me," Gyanys quipped.

Exhaling in frustration, I gave up trying to reason with them. Each punishment they listed only excited my body more, even as my mind balked at the idea. I held onto Hovyk, so I didn't bounce as much. My boobs were already aching. I think I could feel moisture running down the inside of my leaf.

"It must be real," Yoane said quietly to Gyanys. "She's already altering her behavior from the threat alone."

I rolled my eyes. If we were at a BDSM dungeon, it would be real. But we weren't. We were…

…ugh.

We were going into the soil hobbit house.