Dragon's Hope (Red Planet Dragons of Tajss Book 4) Read online

  Dragon’s Hope

  Red Planet Dragons of Tajss Book 4

  Miranda Martin

  Juno Wells

  Contents

  About this Book

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Preview (Ribbed for Her Pleasure)

  Full Copyright

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  Hi! I'm Miranda Martin, and I wrote the book you are about to read with my friend Juno Wells. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you read the rest of our books!

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  Before the generation ship crashed on this desert alien planet I was a Vagrant. Unplanned and unwanted, struggling to survive.

  Now we're on Tajss and if not for the natives, seven foot tall dragon-men with wings and tails and scales, we'd all be dead.

  My new friends are all finding love and I couldn't be happier for them. I want to fit in, I want to have a place and a purpose, and strangely enough the only one who might understand is one of those scaled dragon-men.

  I wanted comfort and attention but it turns out 'one night stand' doesn't translate into Zmaj. He wants more and won't give up until he claims his treasure. Me.

  Dragon's Hope is a full length scifi novel with a happily ever after ending, plenty of steam, bloody battles and alien-human intrigue. It is standalone and co-written by Miranda Martin and one of the hottest science fiction romance authors out there, Juno Wells.

  DRAGON'S HOPE is BOOK 4 of the RED PLANET DRAGONS OF TAJSS. You do not have to read them all in order to understand the plot, but the story will be much richer if you do!

  Copyright © 2017 Miranda Martin & Juno Wells

  All rights reserved.

  1

  Astarot

  Two blazing suns shine high overhead, their heat warming my scales as I stare out across the striated sands. We hunt for Bivo, the large animal that will feed my treasure's people for days.

  "Dude, I don't know what you're thinking. Everybody knows Tennant was the best doctor," Cecil says.

  The irritating human male's voice breaks my concentration and I let slide back the second protective lids of my eyes and turn.

  "You're insane," Bryce replies, rolling his eyes. "Baker's the best, period."

  "Oh my God!" Cecil's voice rises to a high, scratchy sound that makes my scales itch. "I don't understand the fascination people have with the original series. The acting is flat and the special effects are terrible."

  "How can you not understand that's part of the magic?"

  "Magic? That's what that was? I thought it was a bunch of set guys throwing on old tires and other pieces of junk and calling them monsters!" Cecil says, laughing.

  "Do you two ever shut up?" Lana asks, looking over her shoulder at them.

  She holds the staff I gave her against her shoulder, like I showed her, her eyes flashing brilliantly. My cock stiffens as desire stirs. She's beautiful. My treasure has the lushest of soft curves and dark, beautiful fur on her head. She has yet to realize we are meant to be mates but one day I will claim her.

  The two human males look at each other, smile, then return their gazes to Lana.

  "No," they say in unison, then laugh.

  "I could really learn to hate you," she mutters, turning away.

  Bryce punches Cecil in the arm. Cecil grabs his arm rubbing it, glaring at Bryce.

  "What was that for?" he asks.

  "She was talking to you dumb ass," Bryce says.

  "No way, she totally meant you."

  "I was talking about both of you," Lana tosses over her shoulder without bothering to turn around.

  She and I lead the way further into the vast, red desert. The chatter behind us continues as the two young human males continue their mindless banter.

  "Look at her ass," Cecil says.

  "What I would do to that," Bryce says.

  "Nothing," Cecil laughs. "You couldn't get it up."

  Lana sighs and shakes her head. She glances over and I shrug. I do not like the scent of their desire for her, it takes an effort of will to keep back the bijass, that primal and possessive rage waiting to consume any male Zmaj.

  "Why did we agree to let them come along?" she asks.

  "Gershom insisted," I answer.

  "Can't stand him either," she says.

  I say nothing to that because I can't disagree. I've never known somebody as off putting as Gershom. He's a hateful human, filled with anger and an obvious drive for power. The chatter of the other two grows distant as Lana and I outpace them. I like being out here. I feel at home. I don't have a place in Drakonov, Ladon's city. The other Zmaj have their mates. If we had a proper society still, there would be dozens of other males like me, unmated, and they would be my companions. But there are no others like me. I am alone and I do not belong.

  I spread my wings, shrugging downward for lift so it is easier to get to the top of the dune we are climbing. My tail shifts side to side as I crouch down and close my outer lids so I can see further into the distance. My scales tingle as Lana crouches next to me and my prime penis hardens with her nearness, demanding I claim her as my treasure. Ignoring it, I scan the horizon.

  "What do you see?" she asks.

  "There," I say, pointing.

  "Damn, I can't see it yet," she says, gritting her teeth.

  "Bivo," I say. "Large herd, might be ten to fifteen."

  "One of them could feed us for a few days," she says.

  I nod. Food is our number one problem. Too many of the survivors of the human ship that crashed here are incapable. They can't hunt. They couldn't survive without the handful of us that make everything go right. The supplies they brought with them are dwindling, but Lana is different. Since we first organized these hunting parties she's thrown herself into them with enthusiasm. My treasure is eager to learn and I admire her, doing my best to aid her efforts.

  "Yeah," I agree.

  "Shit," she says, looking over her shoulder. "What are those two idiots getting into now?"

  I follow her gaze and see that the two of them are approaching a small cluster of plants. "They should stay away from that."

  Lana rises to her feet. "Hey!" she yells. "You two, Beavis and Butthead, get away from that."

  I follow along behind her, ready to help, but more interested in letting them learn a lesson the hard way. Cecil looks over his shoulder and grins, waving her off.

  "It's all good," he says, motioning with the knife in his hand.

  It's a selagi they're approaching. Like most life on Tajss it's dangerous, but less than many other thing
s. It will not kill the humans but maybe it'll wake them up. Bryce crouches down, reaching out for one of the dried, brown leaves. The selagi appears to looks desiccated but that's part of its disguise. As soon as Bryce touches it, he cries out in pain and surprise. He tries to jump back but the selagi stalk wraps around his arm, holding him in place. The brown, desiccated looking leaves take on a reddish tint as the plant releases its poison onto the skin.

  "Holy shit! Help!" Bryce cries.

  "Shit man," Cecil says, rushing forward.

  Lana looks at me and I shrug. She shakes her head, then sighs. "Damn it."

  Holding her staff at the ready she rushes forward and stops just outside the range of the selagi. She swings her bow staff around and slams it down in the middle of the plant. It retreats, pulling down into the loose sand and letting Bryce go. Bryce stumbles backwards and falls onto his ass. Cecil grabs him under his arms and pulls him further away.

  Lana stalks towards them, still holding her staff at the ready. I hope she's about to crack one of them over the head with it. I doubt it will make any difference with them but it would make me feel better.

  "What were you two idiots thinking?"

  "It looked like we could smoke it," Cecil says.

  "Are you kidding me?" Lana asks in utter disbelief.

  "Sure?" Bryce says, shrugging.

  "Everything out here is trying to kill you and all you two want is to get high," Lana says.

  "What does 'get high' mean?" I ask.

  "It means these two morons want to get into an herbal induced euphoria," Lana responds.

  "Ah, they would need koren root for that."

  Both human males stare at me with open mouths. "Where do we get that?" Cecil asks.

  Lana throws up her hands, "Why on earth do you even want it!"

  "You have a little smoke, everybody relaxes, and then things are just easier," Bryce shrugs.

  "Yeah, hell, she might even put out if she had a little smoke," Cecil says.

  "There's not enough smoke in the world for me to put out for you two," Lana retorts. "We're out here to do a job, do you remember that? You know, feed the survivors. The ones who are counting on us back in the city?"

  "Yeah, sure," Bryce says.

  "Damn, what a party pooper," Cecil says.

  "I swear, if you to do that again I'll crack you over the head myself," Lana says.

  "Okay, we get it," Bryce says as Lana walks away.

  "No wonder she was a Vagrant," Cecil says under his breath.

  Lana stops, straightening, and her grip on the staff tightens. I can see the tension in her shoulders. She turns and looks at the two humans sitting on the sand.

  "What did you say?" she asks, emphasizing each word.

  "What?" Cecil asks. "It's not like everyone doesn't know."

  Emotions race across her face and moisture forms at the corners of her eyes. She grits her teeth, shakes her head, then turns her back on them. A tightness grips my chest, making it hard to get a deep breath. I know not what they speak of but I would hurt them for wounding my treasure.

  "We're supposed to be hunting," she says, walking away.

  I move closer. My stomach churns with a conflict of emotions. The human males look up at me, their eyes widening in fear.

  "Hey, hey," Cecil says, holding his hands up and making a pushing motion towards me.

  "We don't mean anything," Bryce says.

  I shake my head and turn away. They are not worth it. Breaking into a jog I catch up with Lana. "Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine," she says, shrugging her shoulders.

  I nod, understanding that she may not be fine but she doesn't want to talk about it right now. Sometimes all you can do is be there for someone. I find it nice to have someone to be there for. I've spent so much time alone in the desert. I love the way her hair bounces off her shoulders as she walks. Her mind is as sharp as her beauty. We've been hunting together for a month now and she's learning fast. I'm impressed. There is a determination and strength to her I don't see in the other humans.

  After a short silence, she mutters, "I'm amazed those two are still alive."

  "How much longer do we have to be out here?" Bryce asks, trailing along behind us.

  "Until we get food," Lana says.

  At least these two aren't part of Gershom's faction. I haven't lived with the humans for long but that one I can't stand. He's dangerous. If Bryce and Cecil were part of his group, they wouldn't be speaking Zmaj. His 'human first' mentality would prevent it.

  The suns overhead beat down, casting an angry red glow across the sand. Lana stops and opens her water bottle, taking a long drink then she pours some of the water over her head. "Damn, it's hot."

  "It's not that bad," I reply.

  "Of course it's not for you," she says. "Big, sexy, and covered in those beautiful scales. Your body is made for this. Mine is doing its best just to live."

  Her body draws my attention in. What I wouldn't give to explore those luscious curves. Her anatomy is fascinating. So different from what I remember of Zmaj females.

  "You think so?" I ask. She called me sexy. I know this human term for desirable.

  "Think what?" Lana asks.

  "Nothing," I say, feeling embarrassed.

  She flashes a smile that makes me want her even more. I'm about to say something when the low cooing of the bivo sounds ahead. Lana and I exchange a quick glance.

  "I'm so ready for this," she says, her enthusiasm shining.

  "Remember, be careful," I reply.

  "Why did we stop?" Cecil asks, coming up from behind.

  Lana puts a finger on her full, sensuous lips, then walks the short distance to the top of the dune. At the base below is a herd of twelve bivo. The Alpha stands apart, watching his herd. The wind blows against us, keeping them from picking up our scent.

  "Oh, shit," Bryce says, joining us at the ridge.

  I take my lochaber off my back. Lana moves her staff to the ready.

  "So, uh, how are we doing this?" Cecil asks.

  Lana glances in my direction and I see the uncertainty in her eyes. She's been learning fast but practice with a weapon is a far cry from using it.

  "You too," I say, pointing at Bryce and Cecil. "I want you both to go down the dune on that side. Do not approach the bivo. Just make sure they see you."

  "And what happens then?" Bryce asks.

  "You'll have the Alpha's attention," I grin.

  "Um, isn't that going to be… bad?" Cecil asks.

  "Depends," I say, shrugging. "How fast can you run?"

  Lana snorts as the two boys' faces turn pale.

  "Yeah we're not doing that," Bryce says.

  "Don't you to get it?" Lana asks. "He's messing with you."

  I smile, glad she picked up on it even if they didn't.

  "I totally knew," Cecil says.

  "You're a liar," Bryce replies.

  "Enough," I say before they can degenerate into further arguing. "Bivo scare easy. We should be able to take down two or three of them before the herd runs."

  "Yeah but how do we take them out?" Cecil asks.

  "In all seriousness," I say, "I want the two of you to distract the Alpha."

  "How do we do that?" Bryce asks.

  "Pretty much what I said. The key is to not be threatening."

  "Okay," Cecil says. "Don't be threatening, right, got it."

  I detail out what I want them to do until I'm sure they've got it. Now it's just a matter of executing my plan. Lana kneels beside me while we wait for the boys to get into position.

  I like having her here with me. She's comfortable in my space, like she belongs.

  When I first arrived at Drakonov, I fought with Shidan over Amara. He and Amara are together now and that's good. I'm happy for them, I don't see it as a loss. I was in the grip of bijass then, that primal instinct which dwells within every Zmaj male. Amara was never the right one for me. I only fought for her so the other male couldn't have her. Later, when I first
saw Lana, I knew. She's the one. Now I have to wait for her to figure it out.

  Cecil and Bryce walked out into the view of the bivo Alpha. While his herd continues routing in the red sand for roots and food, the Alpha turns his attention. Lana's breathing speeds up. She tightens her grip on her staff, preparing.

  The two boys push and shove each other then stumble out into the open. Cecil curses Bryce and the Alpha reacts to the commotion. Lana and I watch, waiting for the right moment. Cecil and Bryce look at each other, say something I can't hear, then shrug. They're staring at the bivo herd as they move sideways further out into the open.

  Rising, I move forward with my lochaber at the ready. Lana moves alongside me. We creep forward, keeping an eye on the Alpha. The danger with bivo is twofold. A stampede is the first concern. Even the smallest bivo here is two to three times my weight, a herd of them running full speed would trample the four of us.

  The main concern, however, is the Alpha. Bivo are herd animals, not smart or aware of their surroundings. They survive by breeding fast and often, birthing more than the predators that feed on them can eat. Only the Alpha of a herd is a fighter.

  He stands out with his long, curled horns which end in sharp points that protrude from either side of his head. The horns are deadly and the animal will be skilled in their use. My intention is to get close enough to the herd to kill two, maybe three, before the Alpha is aware, then cause a stampede.

  Once the herd is running he'll go along with them, leaving us with our prize of meat. I've done this hundreds of times before but always for a single bivo. Attempting more will be a challenge. We have to kill them fast before they raise an alarm.

  Hot breath of a beast blasts across me as we get close enough to do our job. It looks at us with large, empty black eyes before putting its head back down to root in the sand.

  "Awww," Lana says.

  I move beside it, place the blade of my lochaber along its throat, then pull across in a single motion. Hot blood sprays across my hands, spilling onto the sand.

  "Ugh!" Lana cries out and all the bivo stop, raising their large heads to look.