Viper's Hope (Anguis Defenders Book 1)

by Stephanie West

  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."

  Hope couldn't believe how cool the Anguis technology was or how similar and yet foreign his planet was.

  Viper watched with amusement as she wandered through the waist high flora soaking it all in. He wore a grin on his face that Hope hadn't seen on his often serious visage. It made him look downright handsome. She couldn't help but smile back. It touched her that he thought to bring her here and share this.

  Viper

  Hope bent to smell the flowers and Viper laughed. As real as the sight and feel seemed, there was no smell to the flowers here.

  "I forgot this wasn't real." Hope said in wonder as she twirled among the blossoms.

  She looked radiant and carefree. Viper recalled what Hope said about the tiny birds from her planet. He walked over and tapped on the control panel.

  A horde of darting twittering Toile, similar to her humming bird flooded the room. Their iridescent bodies flitted about as they swarmed around Hope. She looked positively gleeful as they landed on various parts of her, then took flight again.

  Viper stood back taking in the sight, certain that he never seen anything more lovely.

  "Would you like to see the ice canyon?"

  "Yes." Hope said excitedly.

  The scene shifted as they flew over the landscape to the Sorel Mountain range then plunged into the valley on the other side. The artificial environment cooled as they descended the sheer face of the rock. Finally they reached the bottom of the vast crevasse. The clear glassy smooth walls undulated to the east and west as far as the eye could see.

  Viper hit a few buttons on the control pad and the sun struck the ice just right, radiating a kaleidoscope of colors through the tall transparent walls.

  "This is amazing. Is all this made of ice?" Hope said in wonder as she stared at the massive formation.

  "Yes amazingly it is." Viper smiled so wide at Hope it nearly hurt.

  She climbed up on one of the giant formations and perched on it to look around the room like she was surveying her crystal kingdom. Hope then slid back down its slick incline with a bubbly laugh.

  "Thank you for showing me this." Hope beamed.

  Seeing how happy Hope was, Viper was so glad her brought her here. She had been so sad as she stared through the dome at her planet. He'd been at a loss as to what he could do.

  Life would go on, and Hope would be a vital part of it. But that was hard to express without sounding like he was belittling her people's loss, something he would never do. Such a loss affected the entire universe.

  Viper's greatest desire was that after seeing this, Hope might look forward to her new life on Anguis, a life that hopefully included him.

  "I didn't want you to worry or be nervous about your new home. I can't replace your planet, but I'd be honored to give you mine."

  8 Hide and Seek

  Hope

  "Their technology is amazing. I could do so much with just a fraction of what the Anguis possess here." Tara beamed as she looked around the medical bay.

  Hope grinned at her giddy friend. Tara had spent much of her time here soaking it all in. Hope joined her today while Viper worked to keep from being bored, alone in Viper's quarters.

  After her friends arrived on the ship, she assumed she'd spend most of her time with them, but Viper seemed to have other ideas, not that she minded much. Viper kept her entertained with tours of the ship, stories or videos of his home. He'd even taught her a game with colorful disks that reminded her of poker, called Bollo. She'd gotten pretty good at it. The time they spent together was never dull.

  When Viper did tend to his duties Hope sought out Tara or JP. Though Tara was so enthralled with Anguis technology Hope spent most of her time watching her friend poke around one machine or another as an Anguis doctor rambled about things Hope only barely understood from working at the free clinic. Hope didn't mind being bored to tears, it was fun enough watching her friend's enthusiasm.

  "Where's JP today?" Hope asked.

  "Assisting with vitals checks in the hibernation dorms." Tara replied as she approached Hope hold something.

  "You're not seriously going to give me a check up are you." Hope's brow rose.

  "Viper was very insistent, and he is a prince so that makes him the boss. You wouldn't want me to go against his commands now would you?" Tara winked at her.

  Viper was the boss and everyone on the ship strictly followed his commands. But Hope wasn't in need of a check-up just because of her damn period. Of course Tara looked over the moon at having a guinea pig to test this alien technology on. And since other Anguis were present Hope didn't dare to appear as if they were contradicting Viper. She didn't want to undermine his authority in front of his people.

  Hope shook her head.

  Tara held up a wand.

  "What the hell is that?" Hope demanded.

  "It's an injector. Don't be a wuss, it's just an iron supplement."

  "Fine." Hope held out her arm.

  Tara pressed the injector to her arm and gave her the supplement. It was surprisingly painless.

  "I've been thinking about formally requesting to help with our fellow humans when it's time to awaken them."

  "That's a good idea." Hope smiled.

  "Okay now let me scan you and we'll can say you've got a clean bill of health."

  "Don't irradiate me or something Tara."

  Tara scoffed at Hope as she grabbed another piece of equipment from a side table. She glanced over at Ophidian standing silently by the door as she retrieved the scanner and returned to Hope.

  "He follows me constantly." Tara whispered suspiciously. She was still adjusting to the Anguis people though she'd taken to the technology like a fish to water.

  "That's because he's assigned to protect us." Hope whispered back.

  "Against what?"

  "I don't know. The men seem overly protective of females." Hope shrugged.

  The medical bay door slid open and in walked Viper. He smiled at Hope as he stalked into the room. His green eyes captured hers and she couldn't look away nor help the smile that instantly spread across her face. He was quickl
y growing on her.

  "Hello. How was work?"

  "Everything is running smoothly. I have received reports that things are going as well as can be expected on Earth." Viper turned to Tara. "How is she?" He asked looking concerned as he also glanced at the Anguis doctor present.

  "Looks good. The iron supplement will help, but Hope is healthy." Tara replied.

  The Anguis doctor looked at the scanner and nodded in agreement. Hope wanted to roll her eyes but resisted. The Anguis were still learning human physiology and were just playing it safe.

  "Good. Hope I have plans for us and some things to tell you if you wouldn't mind joining me." He always asked politely.

  "Okay." Hope hopped up excited at the prospect of another adventure.

  "Wait a minute." Viper said as she started to head towards the door.

  Viper bent down and scooped her up.

  "Seriously. Tara tell Viper I'm fine to walk."

  "I'm staying out of it. Have fun." Tara grinned.

  Hope grunted, but she wasn't too put-out, as she wrapped her arms around Viper's neck and looked up at him. It was nice being held by him, she'd gotten rather used to it. She took a deep breath enjoying his comforting fresh scent that reminded her of the woods. Viper's chest was pressed against her side radiating a cozy warmth. He was seriously ripped. It caused little butterflies to flutter in her stomach anytime she thought of him crushed against her.

  Hope shook off her spiraling train of thoughts that would only lead to the gutter.

  "So are we going to see the animals?"

  "Did you like seeing them yesterday? We can do that again if you'd really like." He grinned down at her. She didn't wince anymore when she saw his fangs.

  "I did, but I'm sure whatever you have planned will be just as fun."

  Hope couldn't imagine Viper facing off against the giant bear he pointed out sleeping in the ship's hold. Then again as big as he was maybe she could. Hope realized she was running her fingers over the slightly textured skin of Viper's neck and stopped.

  Viper didn't act like he noticed as he walked into the arboretum. Then again would it be so bad if she encouraged him to make a move?