Viper's Hope (Anguis Defenders Book 1) (8 page)

The male, like everyone else seemed surprised that Viper's subeo turned out to be human. Viper was too, but fate was what it was. She was lovely, so he couldn't complain. Viper turned to Hope.

"Your planet's communication satellites were damaged by the meteors. So we can't easily tap into any of your networks. But if you can narrow down your family's location we might be able to do a mass rescue."

The map of the west coast of her continent was pulled up on the screen.

"How do I manipulate this?" Hope asked.

Boaz swiped his fingers across the smaller screen to move the image left or right. Hope watched. Boaz arose giving her the seat. Hope backed the image out to view the entire continent. She narrowed in on a place somewhere in the middle by a large long river. She got close up on a major city with a massive silver arch.

"It is highly likely this area is still okay since it is in the middle of the continent." Viper reassured her.

One by one Hope pointed out where her loved ones lived and the coordinates were recorded.

"They will be home at night." She said as she pointed out her sister's house. Her sister was mated with young. "This is where I worked. Oh my god there's Tara and John Paul my friends." The people's image were captured.

"Boaz, send a small skid to collect those two since we have their current location." Viper instructed the male, and he got busy. "It shouldn't take long since we have a visual confirmation of your friends." He told Hope, and she looked relieved nodding with a slight smile. It wasn't a big change in her demeanor but it Viper latched onto her lovely expression. "Come now we should talk. Someone will notify us when they are safe." Hope's face turned serious again and Viper wanted to kick himself. He dreaded the discussion he was about to have with Hope, but it couldn't be avoided.

Viper and Hope reached his quarters just as Acris was leaving.

"Prognatus I have left your meals and some additional clothing for your subeo. Is there anything else you wish?"

"No thank you Acris" Viper replied to the female.

Acris bowed and was about to leave.

"Hello my name is Hope" Hope said with an outstretched hand before he had a chance to introduce her.

Acris looked shocked to be directly addressed. It was not Anguis custom for someone of Acris' station to address Hope, given the position she now held. Viper realized he needed to remind his people that human customs were different, so they didn't appear rude.

Viper could see Acris was uncomfortable and unsure what to do with Hope's overly familiar gesture. The female was already on edge assisting Viper in his private quarters. Because Acris was mated to his assistant, he had requested her service. Viper had been too uncomfortable with his new mate to permit any males in his quarters just yet. It had been bad enough escorting Hope around the ship with so many males. The thought of another male's scent in their quarters was just too much, too soon.

Acris stared at Hope's hand, till Hope pulled it back in embarrassment.

"Acris would you mind being my subeo's first assistant. You have been doing the task anyway."

Acris bowed her head now feeling comfortable enough to look directly at Hope.

"It would be my honor Uxorem." Acris replied sounding honored.

Hope bowed back not realizing it wasn't how a person of her station behaved. Viper wanted to grin but repressed it. He recalled Hope doing the same thing a few times to the males in the ship. Viper had a feeling Hope might have a hard time adjusting to her new status. But he liked the fact she didn't fear his people.

Acris left happy but confused.

"Okay, I am lost." Hope said. "Why wouldn't she look at me?"

"Our customs are different than yours. You will find most of my people won't look directly at you out of respect."

"That's different!" She said. "What's this subeo thing you keep calling me, and what is an Uxorem?" Hope stumbled over the word.

Viper inwardly winced. Hope jumped straight to the heart of the matter.

"A subeo is a mate, and the Uxorem is the second highest-ranking female among our people." Hope's mouth sat agape as Viper carefully explained how mating heat overcame him.

Hope

Hope sat down at the table before falling down as Viper explained his family and Anguis culture.

"My sire is Adder Rex and the female who bore me, his subeo, my mother, is Hyla Regina. I am Viper Prognatus, and you will be referred to as Hope Uxorem." Viper continued. "And at some point when my father is well into his years that will change and I will become Viper Rex and you will be Hope Regina." Viper listed off his family's titles, and her's apparently.

"Are you telling me you're some sort of royalty?" Hope exclaimed. "Never mind back up."

Hope almost laughed when Viper actually took a step back.

"Sorry that's a figure of speech, it means slow down." Hope repressed her grin. "We can discuss your family later. You're telling me that because you got all hot and horny for me, it made you loose your mind, and now we're considered married or something."

Viper looked hesitant as he nodded yes.

"I guess that is the best way to describe it. But we don't usually loose our minds, as you put it, unless we scent our life mate and are separated from them. It came as a surprise to me after we met since we are not of the same species, but you are my subeo and I am your virum." Viper stated it as if it was indisputable fact.

Hope stood up. She had to do something with the extra energy and emotions that were brimming to the surface.

In the last twenty-four hours Hope's reality had been twisted by a series of crazy surreal events. One minute she feels like some abducted sex slave needing to escape, and the next she finds out she's been rescued from some planet wide plague and is desperate for her friends to join her.

In the midst of all this Hope discovers that her freaky benevolent captor treated her differently because she triggered some mating instinct that apparently only happens with 'that someone special'.

On top of that Viper's apparently the second highest ranking man, making her the second highest ranking woman in their society because he now thinks she's like his wife or something.

"Holy Fuck! I want off this roller coaster." Hope silently reeled.

As much as she appreciated being rescued, Hope refused to have the free will to decide her own fate stripped away. She didn't care how attractive Viper was.

"Well among my kind a woman isn't tied down and forced to have sex." Hope informed Viper angrily. "And if she is the man goes to jail. We get to choose who we marry or mate!" Hope yelled at him ignoring her food. She really didn't have an appetite at the moment anyway.

Hope started pacing the room clenching her fists.

She'd worked with rape victims at the clinic before. The way she'd been treated verged on that. It didn't matter that Viper rocked her world it was the way it all went down that was inexcusable.

"My captains worried I'd accidentally kill you in my state of distress." Viper said looking ashamed and disgusted. "I can never apologize enough. Our females understand and experience a similar reaction so they don't fight their mates. I..." Viper stopped seeing that his excuses were frustrating at best. The muscles in his jaw flexed as he gritted his teeth.

Hope was attempting to be understanding, really she was, but it was hard considering what had transpired. Viper was trying so hard to explain and Hope could see he didn't like exactly how things happened either. His coloring shifted rapidly, which Hope was learning, indicated his unsettled emotions. Viper seemed angry though not at her and truly remorseful, which mollified her to some extent.

"I guess I can understand some of his people's reasoning." Hope silently conceded.

She'd been there. Viper had been crazed. If she hadn't been chained, she would've run from that monster cock and probably enraged him further. As the situation was he had bit her neck rather viciously.

Regardless this was still absurd!

Hope ran a hand through her hair tugging at the light tresses in frustration.

Viper stepped towards her moving in that compelling, hypnotic, lithe way that reminded her of a predator. His green eyes trained on her. Hope hated how she instantly responded to his nearness, it frustrated her even further. He reached out his hand to touch her arm and Hope put her hands up.

"Don't!" Hope was pissed and conflicted. She didn't want to be cajoled or soothed.

Viper dropped his hand and backed up, some of the brightness in his eyes going dim.

"The women of my people have fought long and hard to have a choice and to feel safe from men and their hormones." Hope railed at him.

Just the way Viper described how their woman just accepted this mating thing, rankled. Hope was not the kind of girl who silently took whatever a man dished out. She positively refused to just bend over and take it, literally!

"I will not touch you again." Viper stated as he stared at his hands in distaste.

Hope grunted in agreement as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's right you won't, not unless I say so. I don't care if you are one dark sexy alien." Hope thought to herself as she nodded.

She needed to cool down and get a handle on this situation. Things were turning out to be very different than she'd first assumed.

6 Reunion

Viper

"It was just as I feared Hope rejects our mating."

The devastation of it crushed Viper's hearts. He was beyond disgusted with himself and the way he treated her, but there was nothing he could do to turn back time.

Viper watched Hope sashay into the bath and groaned. How was he going to keep his hands to himself? Just being near Hope set him on fire.

"I have to fix this."

Hopefully if they found her family that would help. Viper didn't quite know what else to do, to woo his subeo.

"What do human females like? Dammit, I'm screwed."

Viper roamed the room wondering what could be done. He tapped onto the comm-unit.

"Basilisk, I need your mate Acris to acquire all the things a female requires for our quarters." Viper requested.

"Yes Prognatus, but I do not know what is available on the ship." The male stated.

Viper groaned. The ship had been outfitted for males and rescue, not courting females, and certainly not human females.

"Do whatever you can." He entreated.

At that moment another signal beeped on the comm.

"Yes."

"The Uxorem's male and female friends have been acquired, and will arrive within the hour." Ophidian reported.

"Keep them sedated till Hope can be there to revive them." Viper instructed his friend.

"As you wish. How is your female?"

"I don't want to discuss it."

"She is not Anguis, give it time Viper."

"Well what you all did hasn't helped!" Viper growled at Ophidian.

Viper heard Hope open the door and immediately calmed. She got uncomfortable when he was angry. He tapped the comm off, then turned to her. She was dressed in a blue short skirt and top. It looked good with her eyes and pale hair.

"Your two friends will be here soon."

"Oh thank god!" Hope clapped her hands together looking relieved.

"I want you to be there when they are awakened." Viper said.

She looked so happy that he couldn't help but be happy as well. This was good.

Viper stood back as the human male and female were laid on the bed in quarters nearby his. The dark-skinned male didn't smell like the other sleeping female. They obviously weren't mated. The medic administered the antidote to the tranquilizer then backed up. Hope sat by her friends. It wasn't long before their eyes fluttered open.

"Girl how'd you get here?" The dark-skinned male said groggily as he focused on Hope.

The dark haired female just blinked in shock.

Hope wrapped her arms around the dark human male and Viper almost came unglued. Hope refused his touch, her virum, but she embraced this other male. The growl in his chest rumbled threatening to break past his lips.

The dark haired female's eyes flew to Viper, and she started screaming hysterically.

"Stop stop! It's okay Tara." Hope quickly grabbed her female friend and tugged her face so she only looked at her.

"Hope?" The hysterical woman sobbed. "What is that?"

"WHAT IS THAT! I am not a that! This is why we put them in hibernation." Viper groused to himself.

"He's the man who saved us." Hope said and Viper was instantly placated.

She could've said a lot more uncomplimentary things.

"What the hell is going on Hope?" The dark-skinned male said with more than a bit of concern in his voice.

"Did you see or hear about the meteors?" Hope asked and the female, Tara, nodded.

"Well they brought some nasty killer virus to earth. So now a bunch of different aliens are going around trying to rescue as many people as possible."

The comm beeped and Viper walked over to it despite of the two sets of suspicious eyes on his back.

"Report." Viper demanded.

"Viper we have another incoming asteroid that is dividing. We have to leave orbit since we're at capacity. We can't risk an impact."

"See that another ship rescue's the rest of my subeo's family, is that understood?"

"Yes Prognatus."

"What's happening?" Hope asked.

"We need to leave your system, we are at risk from another incoming meteor." Viper stated. Hope just nodded quietly.

"Hope on my honor we will try to rescue your family." Viper replied, hoping to assuage his subeo's fear for her loved ones.

The look on the other human's faces said they understood him. Viper had requested they instantly receive the translator since he knew they'd not go to the hibernation dorm. It appeared they'd assimilated it well. Although the fear and confusion in their eyes meant they understood too well what was happening. It was a shock.

"Am I hearing this right, we are leaving the solar system!" The dark male, John Paul said as he tugged on Hopes hand.

"Take your hands off of my subeo." Viper growled at the male, a breath away from his face in less than a heart beat. He could not believe the male dared to touch Hope let alone grab at her.

Tara shrieked in fright.

The male's dark face turned a shade whiter, and he instantly dropped Hope's hand.

"Viper enough! Why don't you go do something, your job or whatever!" Hope demanded.

"I'm not leaving you here!" Viper rumbled in protest.

He refused to leave Hope alone with this un-mated male. The humans trembled in fear of Viper but not his subeo. Viper was glad she didn't fear him, but not glad at the same time. Hope meant to send him away!

"I'm sure I'll be fine unless more of your people plan on coming to chain me up again!" Hope yelled at Viper.

If someone had punched him, he couldn't have been more stunned. Not only did she reject him, but she dismissed him so openly.

"As you wish." Viper stood up and stormed off though everything in him screamed that he should go back in there and throw Hope over his shoulder then lock the two of them in his room. But his subeo didn't want him touching her.

Hope

Hope watched Viper leave the room angrily. She'd meant to thank him for finding her friends, then he got all snarly. She didn't know what he thought was going to happen but clearly he didn't like John Paul being near her, which was crazy. Her friends were far less of a threat than he was. That man clearly was jealous of other men.

"Girl do you think it's wise to piss of that giant man creature? I almost peed myself!" JP said still clearly shaken.

"Well he's being a brute!" Hope replied.

She then realized it probably wasn't wise to piss Viper off since she'd seen first hand exactly how vicious and violent he could be. But for some reason Hope no longer felt threatened by him. Unless she thought of him coming at her in bed, then her pussy ached, her tummy got all fluttery and her cheeks heated. That image made her nervous as hell.

"He nearly took off JP's head!" Tara cried as she trembled, bringing Hope back to her friends. This was new to them and they were terrified.

"No he didn't, Viper just doesn't like other men touching me." Hope didn't state that she'd truly witnessed him almost take someone's head off.

"What is going on here, and here?" JP gestured flamboyantly around the ship and then at Hope.

"It a long crazy story." She replied with an exasperated sigh.

"Before you start I really need to go to the bathroom. Please tell me they have one." Tara implored.

Hope showed them the facility and how to work it. No sooner had she pointed out the alien toilet then Tara lurched over and vomited. She wiped her mouth.

"Okay, I'm much better now."

"That a girl." Hope said encouragingly as she got them both some water. Hope completely understood.

The three friends sat back down and Hope started her long tale. She described the terrible meteor crash and tsunami. The sight of San Francisco being leveled still shook her to the core. Hope related how Viper found her at the campsite, then trying to escape the spaceship when she thought she'd been abducted. JP and Tara looked shocked as Hope described all the other crazy aliens who were scrambling to rescue them even now.

Hope decided it was best to leave out her encounter with Viper in the cell, she didn't want them to fear him or taint their opinion of the Anguis since they all had to get along.

JP and Tara sat in stunned silence as they took it all in.

"I'm glad we were saved." Tara said quietly.

Hope worried how Tara was coping since she wasn't usually a quiet person. She usually thought through problems out loud.

"We will be fine Tara." Hope squeezed her in a bear hug.

"I think you are leaving out something about that big man." JP said. "Why aren't we all sleeping with the others, why the special privileges?"

Ugh, it was just like JP. He would needle her till he had every detail to his satisfaction.

"Because I fucked him." Hope said bluntly.

Tara gasped.

"You did what?!" JP demanded. "You got some alien strange?"

"Holy shit Hope!" Tara snorted.

Hope was happy she'd been able to shock Tara out of her funky mood.

"Apparently I triggered some crazy alien mating heat in Viper and now we're alien married!" Hope shook her head still in shock herself. It felt good to get it off her chest.

"We let you go on vacation and not just the clinic, but the whole damn world falls apart. You get freaky with some giant alien knight in shining armor and then marry him. You are grounded Hope!" JP ranted.

"I didn't marry him, apparently it just is because his hormones say I'm the one!" Hope told them throwing up her hands in exasperation at the whole affair.

"So did you know what you were doing?" Tara asked.

"No, Viper sort of went all wild and came at me." She admitted.

"I want all the dirty details, and I mean all of them!" JP demanded and Hope groaned.

"Well remember I said I tried to escape." They nodded. "It apparently threw his hunting and mating instinct into overdrive."

"Don't tell me that's what you meant about the cuffs!" Tara screeched.

"I should've known Tara would catch that." Hope muttered to herself. She hadn't planned on admitting that part.

"Yes." Hope replied hesitantly.

"Oh girl that's kinky."

"No its rape JP!" Tara said angrily. "Is that why you have that nasty bite on your neck?!"

Of course the doctor noticed that. Tara was pissed. Hope liked how she was mad on her behalf, but for some reason she didn't want them to think Viper was a monster. He'd rescued them and despite the wild interlude he'd been a gentleman.

"Look I know it sounds really awful but, Viper really wasn't himself and his crew was worried Viper would fatally injure me, since he wouldn't realize I was more delicate than their women if I tried to fight him off."

"Of course you'd fight!" Tara huffed.

"Yes but apparently when their men go into heat, their women do too, so they don't fight the men." Hope tried to explain. "You should have seen Viper. He was like an angry beast when he heard me cry. He almost broke down one of those metal doors."

Hope recalled how Viper was more enraged by her cries and only calmed when she did. It was sort of sweet that he fought to reach her, in an Animal Planet sort of way.

"One of those thick ass doors?" JP pointed and Hope nodded. "Shit he was pissed!"

"Yeah. Anyway I was super freaked out, but then well, it was mind blowing, although I'm completely ruined for other men now." Hope's cheeks heated as she admitted she'd enjoyed part of what had happened.

Just thinking about Viper curled over her back, caging her, his mouth latched onto her as he rutted, had Hope's blood boiling. His bite hurt but the chemical lust had added to her physical arousal creating a perfect storm.

"Did you not hear the part about ALL THE DETAILS!" JP demanded.

"I don't like that you were tied down." Tara ignored JP's dirty inquiry as she examined Hope's bite, probing it gently.

Hope agreed part of it had been terrifying, but she didn't want her friend to fly off the handle at Viper.

"I'm fine. Besides the bite he was rather gentle." Hope fibbed attempting to comfort her friend.

"DETAILS WOMAN!" JP demanded again.

"I am not describing his cock for you." Hope told the man.

"Look if I'm not getting any you can at least throw me a bone and tell me about it!" JP insisted.

"Fine its ribbed for her pleasure, and I came three times so hard my voice broke and I almost passed out. When he came he swelled up so big we were stuck together for hours."

"Shut up, you are fucking with me!" JP pushed Hope's good shoulder.

Thankfully the door chimed saving her from further embarrassment.

"Enter." Hope said.

Acris entered balancing several trays. Hope hopped up to help her.