Viper's Hope (Anguis Defenders Book 1) (12 page)

"This is beautiful." Tara exclaimed as she gestured about the room filled with plants from Anguis. The large clear dome also permitted an awesome view of space.

"Look at all the stars whipping by. Oh god Tara I'm going to be sick!" JP said with a hand against his forehead.

"Don't be dramatic. Oooh, that is mesmerizing. Don't look at it." Tara rambled

"Can you believe all of this! I'm still waiting to wake up." JP was almost shrill.

Hope had been through twice as much yet she coped better than this male. The more Viper was around the male, the more he found JP a bit strange. Of course he'd not been around a lot of human males. Perhaps the females were more dominant among their species. That would certainly explain things.

"It is a shock. I am truly sorry for how things transpired." Viper apologized for the dozenth time. "We will do our best to make sure your new colony is a good one." He attempted to reassure Hope's friends.

"I believe that you will." Tara said with a smile.

"We were lucky to have intervention." JP added. "I can't even imagine what might have happened if you hadn't arrived."

Viper decided not to tell them that they'd likely have perished in the mass chaos that would ensue on their planet, if the Morbo didn't kill them first.

Just then one of Viper's men walked up.

"Congratulations Prognatus Viper, may your bond be blessed."

"Thank you."

Tara smiled kindly at the mercenary then turned to Viper after he walked away.

"Hope has told us about this mating thing and I'm glad you didn't accidentally kill her." Tara said quietly. "But if you hurt her again, I'll circumcise you in your sleep. No means No, remember that!" Tara looked at him with daggers in her eyes before turning back to the buffet table.

Viper understood she was pissed at how her friend was treated and even agreed. He just didn't know what she warned him she'd do about it. Viper turned to JP who groaned in discomfort.

"What was that she threatened?"

"She's going to cut off your manhood!" JP said as he gestured to his waist.

"Surely not!" If Viper hadn't been holding two plates, he would've cupped his crotch.

"Don't worry she wouldn't do that, she'd just kill you." JP reassured him.

"I don't plan on hurting Hope, but I'd much prefer the killing. Thank you!"

"You and I agree on that one." JP grimaced then looked serious. "I agree with Tara, don't hurt Hope. But she doesn't seem traumatized by whatever happened, so as long as she's okay, I'm okay. I say live and let live. I'm a bit more understanding than Tara. I imagine we're going to have a few cultural mishaps before this is all over." The male said with a sympathetic smile.

"True." Viper agreed, but there are mishaps and then there are disasters. He'd sadly crossed that line.

Hope

The large arboretum, filled with lush greenery and sporting an exceptional view of space, was a great place for such a gathering. Hope wondered why they didn't take all their meals here, it was lovely.

Besides Acris this was her first chance to sit and really study the Anguis and how they interacted. Many of the males greeted Viper as they had when they walked the hall but now they took more time to converse. There were at least a handful of women, all with men. Hope noted Acris was at the buffet with who she assumed was Basilisk from the way Acris cast goo-goo eyes at him and smiled. Hope smiled at the couple.

Her eyes drifted back to Viper as he helped Tara and JP. Their conversation the night before had been relaxed. Not once had he made a move for her, even refusing to share the bed. Hope appreciated that. It gave her time to sort out her thoughts. Hope kept circling around to the same thing. She didn't want Viper to be stricken limp if she rejected him and she was attracted to him, but for forever? He had aggressive tendencies. How deep did that run? Hope had a so many questions. They didn't know each other, and that was something that took time. Was that so much to ask for? To want more than just a physical relationship, to want love. She shouldn't be forced to settle.

Hope sat next to Ophidian as Viper and her friends got food. It was a good opportunity to get to know another Anguis and maybe learn a little about what the future had in store for her.

Ophidian was every bit the soldier, sitting up straight, ready for action. Now that she'd seen him a few different times Hope could tell him apart from the others. His dreadlocks were shorter than Viper's and he was a bit tanner. Ophidian's eyes were a pale blue compared to Viper's green. He wasn't nearly as tall or wide as Viper though he still out stripped every human man she'd ever come into contact with.

"I am sorry you are injured." Ophidian said politely.

"I'm not really injured. I'm fine."

"But I can smell that you are bleeding!"

"Ugh, not you too!" Hope decided to change the subject to something far more interesting. "So how did you meet Viper?"

"My sire was Adder Rex's Imperator, I think your people would call him a General." Ophidian explained. "When my sire was lost in the battle against the Morbo, Adder Rex raised me as his own."

"I'm sorry you lost your father." Hope frowned.

A week ago she would've never thought she'd ever meet an alien let alone have such a tragedy in common with them.

"He was a good male." Ophidian said proudly.

"I lost my parents to a car crash several years ago. It's not easy no matter how old you are." Hope sympathized.

"I am sorry for your loss Uxorem."

"So you and Viper are like brothers. Got any juicy stories?"

"We were young together so I have many stories, but none of them have anything to do with juice."

Hope groaned. The language implant translated a lot, but was absolute shit when it came to figures of speech or slang.

"I meant if you had any embarrassing tales you could share."

"Prognatus Viper isn't that pleased with me at the moment, so I better not."

Ophidian was no fun. Hope noticed him studying the room and followed his gaze. He seemed intrigued by Tara.

"This is nice." She waved to the banquet.

"It is not everyday the Prognatus is mated."

"Oh crap! So this is like a freaking wedding reception. Just great!" Hope mused to herself.

"Yes, congratulations Uxorem." Another man said as he approached. He was dressed similar to Ophidian. "It must be an unexpected delight to find yourself so well mated."

The male seemed to be implying something not so nice, like she was some sort of usurping gold digger. It was odd since this whole mating was supposed to be a pheromone thing. Hope ignored her chagrin and just smile pleasantly. Maybe he wasn't intentionally being a dick. The Anguis were so different, she had to learn to forgive certain things till she understood them better.

"My people generally mate a bit differently, so yes this is a surprise." Hope informed the newcomer.

"Uxorem Hope this is Second Imperator Canebrake." Ophidian introduced the man giving him a stern look.

So maybe it wasn't just her, perhaps Canebrake had spoken out of turn.

"Nice to meet you." Hope said slightly begrudgingly, remembering to not extend her hand since the Anguis freaked out when she tried to shake hands.

"It is good that you survived the mating. We weren't sure since your species is so frail." The way Canebrake said 'frail' made it sound like an insult. He couldn't have been more insulting if he'd spat on her.

"Really." Hope stated with an arch of her brow. The man really rubbed her the wrong way. Even his smug expression was grating.

"Our women are slight, but you are positively delicate. No doubt our people will overlook the fact that you are foreign because you are so small and cute." Canebrake added condescendingly.

"Nice now he made me sound like a treasured pet."

Hope wasn't that short and her hips certainly weren't small. She'd accept that she could be categorized as cute but she wasn't some purse puppy. Hope wondered if 'misogynist' translated into Anguis.

Hope could ignore Canebrake's backhanded compliment. What concerned her more was what he said about the Anguis not accepting her because she was a different species.

Hope glanced back to where Viper was wondering if he viewed her in a similar light. He was being kind, but how much of that was just because he was a decent man, a leader of his people? It didn't necessarily mean he was pleased about mating her or wanted more.

"What do I care, I didn't even ask to be mated to Viper in the first place." Hope grumbled silently.

But a part of her did care, admit it or not.

It also sucked when someone discriminated against you because of your race.

"Hell, I have a lot more distasteful qualities, for example I can be a real bitch and I cuss like a sailor." Hope snarked under her breath.

They finished eating and everyone went about their way after congratulating Viper and Hope. Hope smiled kindly not wanting to be rude. Now she understood why many of the Anguis looked at her so strange. They were shocked their future leader had mated a weird Earth girl. "Join the club!"

"How do you feel Hope?" Viper asked as they got ready to leave the arboretum.

"Fine. I promise I'm okay."

"I would like to show you something if you don't mind." Viper asked.

Hope looked to Tara and JP, making sure they were okay.

"I'd like to check on our people." Tara said and JP agreed.

Hope knew her friends were curious about the Anguis' medical technology. She could see them chomping at the bit. Tara was nearly beside herself with excitement. Hope was glad her friend was no longer freaking out.

"I would be happy to escort you." Ophidian replied.

He seemed like a descent guy, so Hope didn't worry.

"It would be good, since you are familiar with your people's biology and vitals." Viper nodded.

"Okay have fun Tara, JP. I'll see you guys later." Hope squeaked as Viper picked her up again. "Viper!"

Tara snickered and Hope gave her the evil eye.

"Later princess." JP grinned as they followed Ophidian out.

"My friends are such dicks." She murmured. "Viper I can walk." Hope groused as she wrapped an arm around his broad shoulders.

"Humor me." Viper insisted as he walked out of the domed garden.

They moved through the massive ship, up several levels then down a few long corridors. The spaceship was huge, crazy huge. Finally they stopped at a door and it slid open to reveal an empty gray room about twenty foot square.

"This is a training room, but it can be programmed to do more than train the mercenaries." Viper tapped on a computer screen on the wall then stepped back. "I wanted to show you your new home."

The room instantly changed from empty bare walls to a 3D scene of outer space. Hope gasped in amazement as she saw the view of Earth the size of a giant beach ball. She walked up and touched it. The water of the oceans felt wet, the land masses solid, and it wobbled in mid air as Hope poked at it. There was a warmth at her back and Hope turned to see the sun, huge and glowing yellow. A solar flare shot out like a fiery wave and Hope stumbled back in shock. It was so freaking real.

"Amazing." She smiled at Viper and he grinned back.

The scene started to shift like they were flying through the solar system. They passed Saturn with all its rings and Jupiter, the giant. The lifelike image moved through space and Hope saw her universe as it must look from a vast distance with its swirling splendor.

The room was so awesome, it reminded her of a holo-deck on Star Trek.

The image started folding in on itself as they were sucked through what looked like a black hole or worm hole. When the image of the other side spread out before her it looked similar to Earth's galaxy.

"This is my galaxy and over here is Anguis Prime. And here is Anguis Minor." Viper pointed out. He zoomed in on Anguis Prime. "We will go to Anguis Minor, but I wanted to show you my home."

Anguis Prime loomed larger and larger. It was tan and green with patches of blue. Its ocean's weren't as vast as Earth's but they were numerous.

"This is the Campir plain." Viper pointed out the vast area of green, and she recalled the picture in their bedroom.

They got closer to the planet, shooting through the cloud filled atmosphere until Hope could see the flowering tundra, just as Viper had described it. The sense of flying nearly made her dizzy, but it was exhilarating. A herd of massive shaggy beasts that looked like woolly mammoths but with horns instead of tusks roamed and grazed on the grassland as they hovered hundreds of feet in the air.

They descended lower still, till finally Hope and Viper stood among the field of flowers extending as far as the eye could see. The graceful large blooms were all the colors of the rainbow and looked a lot like poppies. Hope ran her hand over several as they swayed in the imaginary breeze though it didn't feel imaginary.

"This is beautiful, just like the picture in our room."