Viper's Hope (Anguis Defenders Book 1)(82)

"Yes the stubborn man is lucky he has two hearts." Tara replied "He just needs a lot of bed rest to heal."

"Has my friend awoken yet?" Viper asked.

"Briefly and he tried to get out of bed. I had to threaten him with bodily harm." Tara told Viper with a look of consternation on her face. It sounded about right. Ophidian was stubborn in every way imaginable.

"Let's go see him." Hope said.

"Good cause I bet he's awake and bullying the staff again." Tara huffed.

Hope looked at Viper and they shared a knowing glance. Their friends liked each other.

"That will be good. I can give him a hard time for doing a poor job as a shield." Viper shook his head.

Tara gave him a wry smile. It was good, the female was too serious. It took a lot to kill the Anguis. Ophidian was past the worst part, he would be fine, thank Kadru. But Tara, similar to Hope, would make good on her threat and make sure his friend healed completely. Poor Ophidian, he had no clue the human doctor would keep him in line in, whether he liked it or not.

"We can all eat, and I can get a security update too."

"Do you think there are some other kids we can play with in that room that has all the balls?" Justice asked referring to the rec room.

"We'll see." Faith replied as she sidled up to Viper. Hope scooped up Charity as they headed out the door. "I assume you are on top of this?" Faith asked seriously. She was clearly upset her sister had been taken. She wasn't the only one..

"Your ingenious sister got free before whoever has infiltrated our camp could be caught. But I promise you this, she will no longer leave my side!"

"Good." Faith replied. "I can't believe I'm saying this but that makes me feel better. Now to the next topic. I'm a school teacher, and I imagine there are others here. Is there a way we can set-up a school for the children?"

Viper liked that this female was no nonsense like Hope. She was a survivor. All the human females in his new family were. Viper felt intense pride as he looked at them.

"We attempt to get the children and adults acclimated to this world, basic things like what's edible, what animals to avoid. Would you mind assisting the Anguis with these things as well as any other lessons you deem fit?"

"No I welcome it, actually. What are your goals regarding integrating our children with yours?" Faith inquired.

"That is my wish, though it may take some time." Viper smiled at Faith then looked at Hope.

"Children are a good place to start. If Anguis children from willing parents can be brought here to play and learn, it will have a beneficial long term affect."

Faith was right. Children could be rotten, but they could also be very accepting. If they learned to be together when they were young it would only make the Anguis and human combined future better.

"Excellent idea."

"Are you two planning world domination?" Hope nudged Viper.

"You know your sister, always the teacher." Cody replied as they entered the communal building.

"Well that's probably good. I myself have a lot I could learn. All this is still so new." Hope stated. "I wouldn't mind learning to read Anguis."

"I for one would like to get a peak inside some of this gear you've got." Cody said.

"Nerd" Faith shoved her hip into Cody.

"Name calling! Now you're in trouble." Cody lunged for Faith, who squealed and danced away from the male's grasp.

Viper enjoyed how playful the human male was with his mate. It was the same way Hope treated Viper, not formal or shy as so many Anguis matings started out.

"I'm sure that can be arranged." Viper replied to his new brother as everyone filed into the communal banquet hall.

It was nice to have another brother.

Hope greeted several humans and Anguis as they made their way down the food line. Viper marveled at how she seemed to take everything in stride. Hope may not realize it but she was a natural fit for the social obligations expected of an Uxorem.





16 I Will Fear No Evil: For Thou Art with Me



Hope

Viper kept Hope close in the days that followed her abduction. He railed about how the Purist leader Wyvern had gone deeper into hiding. With Ophidian on bed rest Canebrake had taken over the mercenaries and Boaz was in charge of monitoring the security room. Viper had taken her brother-in-law, Cody up on his offer to help with anything tech related so Cody was eagerly assisting Boaz.

"Cody is pretty good at picking apart the coded security feed. He learns fast. But they're still not any closer to finding the traitor." Viper griped.

Cody was a genius really when it came to technology. It didn't surprise Hope he was soaking all this up like a sponge.