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“Deimos has a house in the city, but he rarely uses it nowadays,” Bysil explained. “He holes himself up at his ranch, worried about his cows. The dragon clutch isn’t happy about that.”
“Why not?” Hope asked.
“They like having their leader close by. It makes everyone feel safer and more packed together as a unit, but Deimos has become obsessed with his cattle. He’s made it a big priority.” Bysil glanced at Hope using the rearview mirror. “That’s why I’m glad to see that you decided to come to Nova Aurora. Gerri told us to expect your imminent arrival.”
“Did she?” Hope glanced at the woman, who carried a self-satisfied smirk on her face as she gazed out the window. “Well, I’m happy to be here too. This is an interesting place.”
“If you help his cows and nurse them back to health, he’ll return to the city again. That’ll make us all very happy.”
“Don’t worry, Bysil,” Gerri said, leaning forward to pat him on the shoulder. “Hope is an incredible veterinarian back on Earth. She’s one of the best around.”
Pressing her lips into a thin line, Hope did her best to hide the wince on her face.Best around?First of all, she was only a veterinaryassistant. And second of all, she wasn’t even the best in the clinic. Laurie Smith could run laps around her. Why didn’t Gerri pluckherout instead? She had a better shot at saving these cows than she did.
Even still, Hope couldn’t say no to an animal in need. That wasn’t her nature. She planned on doing everything she could to help these cows, but the pressure was on. By the sound of it, the dragon clutch needed their leader back.
She wasn’t going to admit it out loud, but she found it somewhat endearing that this Deimos guy cared so much about his livestock. There was a lot at stake here, and Hopereallydidn’t want to be the reason why multiple cows died.
An excited noise from Gerri alerted her that they had arrived at the ranch. Hope noticed an imposing figure near the fence that enclosed a vast space for grazing, one who didn’t turn toward them despite their arrival.
Beyond him, she spotted the cows. There were quite a few of them. Butterflies flurried within her stomach, already sensing the significance of the mysterious man who watched the cows from a distance.
“Let’s go,” Gerri whispered, nudging Hope’s arm. “Bysil will take care of your bags. I need to introduce you to Deimos.”
There was her anticipated confirmation. This was Deimos, the Alpha leader of a dragon clutch on a planet that she was completely foreign to. The one that Gerri desperately wanted her to meet, so much so that they traveled across the universe for this moment.
A shaky breath fell from Hope’s lips as she made her way out of the vehicle. Bysil sent her a small smile and a nod once she exited. Wiping her clammy hands on her pants, Hope’s heart thundered as Gerri beckoned her toward the man.
“Deimos!” Gerri exclaimed, with a joyous jump to her steps. “I have someone special who I’d like you to meet.”
“What?”
Deimos turned. Immediately, his eyes landed on Hope. Her world stopped, as well as her breathing. His red eyes were passionate, flashing with an emotion she wasn’t able to decipher. She felt as if they pierced her very being.
His brown skin contrasted nicely with his blond hair. While she took in his features, she soon realized that he wasn’t looking at her with the same wonder. Instead, there was a slight frown on his face. Was he feeling disgust? Irritation? She didn’t know, but it intimidated her all the same.
“Gerri,” he mumbled, soon turning away. “What is this?”
“The answer to all your problems,” Gerri replied, reaching for his hand and giving it a quick squeeze. “This is Hope Oliver. She’s a world-class veterinarian back on Earth, and she’s here to help your cows.”
“What? No, I …” Hope stammered, which caught Deimos’s attention. Her cheeks burned. “What I meant to say was … I … I’m not a world-class veterinarian. Not in the slightest. I’m a veterinary assistant.”
Gerri scoffed, waving a hand. “What does that matter? You’re here to save the cows.”
“Well, yes, but there’s no need to lie about my credentials,” Hope replied, fiddling with the calluses on her knuckles. The scars from Buttercup’s recent assault were healing nicely. “I’ll do my best to help.” She met Deimos’s stare but didn’t have the courage to hold it for long.
Deimos turned away with a huff and stared at his cows again. His hands gripped the fence tightly.
“No veterinarian has been able to determine what’s going on with them,” he said. “Not one. They’ve told me that this is a futile effort. That I’m wasting my time with this. But I …”
“Have you considered the possibility that cows shouldn’t be raised on an alien planet?” Hope proposed.
Deimos gazed at her, resting his tongue on one of his sharper teeth. Not an amused look.
“Why don’t you raise animals that will provide your planet with native Nova Auroran meat?” Hope continued, followed by a shrug. “That’ll make your life a whole lot easier.”
“It’s for the humans,” he replied. “And for my dragons. They’ve taken a liking to cow meat. I’d be foolish to give up on this when it was going well for so long.”
Suppressing a sigh, Hope stared at the cows that grazed in the distance. She was ready to call this a failure to thrive and shut the page on this endeavor, but something stopped her.
