Sohut's Protection: A Sci-fi Alien Romance (Riv's Sanctuary Book 2)

by A. G. Wilde

  She saw his lips move as he murmured something she couldn’t hear and then he took a step forward.

  Her heart stopped.

  FUCK!

  She moved so fast, she didn’t wait to see if he was in pursuit or not.

  Ducking behind the bushes, she ran.

  Shit.

  Heart in her throat, she backtracked as fast as she could.

  This wasn’t going to plan.

  This wasn’t going to plan at all.

  She couldn’t allow herself to get caught.

  As she ran, it felt as if her world was imploding.

  Suddenly, everything seemed temporary. Too temporary.

  Her life…her existence.

  Problem was, for the first time in a long while, she didn’t know what the fuck she was going to do.

  She was out of plans and now she had to rely entirely on what fate had in store.

  6

  The teru bird had caught him completely off guard.

  He’d smelled the thing, but he hadn’t expected it to go into a rage and attack him.

  They were usually peaceful creatures that kept to the trees and often they went on long migratory flights across the continent.

  He should have known something was wrong with this one when he’d seen the state of the tree it lived in.

  The entire tree had been covered in excrement, as if the bird had been there for a long, long time.

  As soon as he’d ventured close enough, the thing had attacked.

  It had been vicious, enraged, but only because it was in pain.

  He’d realized shortly after wrestling it to the ground that there was a sharp object stuck in one of its wings.

  That’s why it had dwelled so long in one spot. It couldn’t fly away.

  It’d been injured.

  And its attitude was because it was in pain.

  He’d had to wrestle the object out even as the stupid animal clawed at him, almost pulling his face off, and it had been enough to distract him.

  That was, until the alien creature’s scent wafted into his nose.

  The creature he’d been tracking had ventured close.

  Close enough that when he’d turned, he was sure he’d looked straight at the spot in which it hid.

  And something had struck him immobile.

  Something that caused him not to chase after the thing.

  He heard the bushes rustle in the creature’s wake as it ran away. Still, he didn’t move.

  Blinking, he stared at the spot in which he was sure the creature had been. Several unnerving thoughts blossomed in his head.

  The creature had been watching him…scoping him out.

  The only reason for an animal to do something like that was if it didn’t want to make its presence

  known.

  Only something that harbored some intelligence would do such a thing.

  Phek.

  This wasn’t like the usual hunt.

  This animal was different, able to override its base instincts to flee, hide, or attack. It could think…and possibly scheme.

  He’d never hunted a creature that watched him like that before without trying to attack, and for that reason, he was hesitant. His usual hunting instinct was giving way to curiosity.

  It was a timid creature. He could tell.

  Otherwise, it would have attacked him already to stake its claim over its territory.

  An elusive, long-legged, pale, hairy-headed creature with a flat face…

  It would be a pleasure to finally capture it.

  Walking slowly through the undergrowth, Sohut stepped over twisting vines, shrubs, and small fallen trees that blocked his path.

  His movements were automatic.

  He didn’t even see the flora he was traversing over.

  All he could think about was the creature.

  Sniffing the air again, he caught the faint scent of spring water, and an idea immediately formed in his head.

  The best way to capture elusive creatures was not to actively go after them.

  He needed to cut off something the creature couldn’t do without…

  There was water nearby and he’d bet his gonads that that’s where the creature quenched its thirst.

  If it was going to hide from him, he bet he could coax it out of its hiding spot by cutting off the one thing that it definitely needed: life fluid.

  He followed his sniffer, and sure enough, it took him to a spring gushing from the side of the mountain.

  It was set in a small clearing, with thick vines running over hard rock.

  Years and years of the water beating against the rock carved a narrow pool that filtered through the rock and allowed the water to carry on down the mountain.

  Crouching, his fingers brushed over the vines on the floor.

  There was a faint indentation there, like a path of some sort. The more he looked at it, the more he could see there were several of these indentations—almost as if the animal took different paths to access the water.

  Sohut blinked, his brows furrowing.

  He was right about the animal being intelligent.

  It didn’t want to leave visible tracks.

  Sohut’s brows dived deeper as he ran his fingers over one of the slight indentations.

  To the Gori and many other beings, the vines running across the floor would look completely natural—untouched.

  But his eyes were trained to see beyond what appeared to be natural.

  Tracking elusive creatures was his forte and though the ground looked undisturbed, he could see the signs of regular wear.

  The almost imperceptible flattening of the vines in certain parts…

  The sprouts growing only in certain areas…

  As he surveyed the area, he knew he was right about one thing.

  Whatever the creature was, it needed watering regularly and if he stayed by the water hole, the animal was bound to come to him sooner or later.

  Pure thirst would drive it to reveal itself.

  Standing so he could stretch, Sohut turned his eyes upward.

  Visibility was getting low.

  Above, the sky was slowly turning to a deep purple and he could see the outline of Hudo III’s double moons as the planet entered the dark cycle.

  The good thing about Hudo III was that the nights weren’t too cold. He could sleep outside without shelter. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable, but it would do.

  Getting his light-disk from his satchel, Sohut engaged the device and set it in the center of the little clearing.

  A dull orange glow lit up the area.

  It was enough light for him to see but not too much to disturb the critters in the bushes around him.

  With another sniff of the air, he settled in.

  The creature’s scent was mostly faded.

  Wherever it had gone, it hadn’t run towards the water.

  Still, he was betting that it would turn up.

  Something told him he was pretty right about that.

  7

  For the entire night, Cleo sat with the spikes she’d sharpened, waiting by the mouth of her cave…waiting for the alien to appear.

  As morning rose, she still gripped them tight.

  She had enough spikes to kill the whole coven in Twilight, and even as the sun rose, she gripped the two she was holding.

  Unmoving, she remained vigilant behind the curtain of leaves at the entrance of the cave.

  Logically, he shouldn’t be able to reach her cave, but still…

  He’d come too close to seeing her.

  If he found her cave, she would do him worse than bitch-bird did.

  A breath shuddered through her as the sun rose farther into the sky, lightening the dark purple to a soft pink hue.

  Her eyes were tired but she didn’t dare close them.

  The moment she closed them, she’d be ambushed. She was sure.

  Glancing behind her, she spotted the tuft of grass that was Wawa’s bedding.

  He had
n’t returned yet and she was beginning to fear for his life.

  It wasn’t the first time he’d left for a few days, but she couldn’t help feeling that the blue alien had something to do with her pet’s disappearance.

  What if more blue aliens were roaming the jungle, looking for her? She shuddered at the thought.

  There was a possibility this was true. She hadn’t had the chance to do her daily perimeter check.

  It was a possibility she didn’t want to face.

  Swallowing hard, Cleo glanced at the makeshift bowl in which she kept her drinking water.

  She needed to refill it.

  She’d do it now because it seemed she’d have to spend a few days hiding so she didn’t get caught.

  She only had one dried morsel left too, so she’d have to ration.

  Good grief…

  But she could do this.

  Exhausted, she stood on shaky legs before casting a glance back at Wawa’s bed.

  She wished he was with her.

  Not having him around now made her realize just how accustomed to each other and codependent they’d become.

  Where she helped him by removing burs and insects from his coat, he traveled on her shoulder and alerted her whenever danger was close.

  Where she made sure he had enough water in his bowl and a warm place to sleep, he would be the one to help scare the little jungle penguins from their hiding places when it was time to hunt for food.

  She missed Wawa.

  With a huge sigh, she gripped her water bowl, grabbed a few spikes she’d sharpened, and took a step forward.

  God help her, she’d go alone and hope she was smart enough to not get caught.

  Close by, the sound of the running spring cascading over the rocky mountainside filled the air. Hidden, Cleo paused in the bushes.

  And it was a good thing she’d paused.

  The entire trek to the water, she’d crept through the undergrowth as if she was scared of her own shadow.

  She didn’t want to miss anything or end up walking right into the hunter.

  Luckily, she’d made it without any incidents but now she was faced with another dilemma because, not far from the water, there he frickin’ was.

  Of all the places, she hadn’t expected him to dwell at the water hole.

  How he’d found it, she had no idea, and the fact that he’d found it so easily only caused her anxiety to rise.

  But it made sense.

  He must drink water like every other thing that was alive.

  Bright sunlight hit blue alien skin as the tall alien inclined his head a little.

  He paused, and she saw his nostrils move.

  He was sniffing.

  Motherfucker.

  As he glanced around, she could feel the hairs at the back of her neck rise, their pitchforks raised.

  She didn’t know how to describe it, but it felt as if he knew she was there.

  She was crouching low, so low she was flat on her stomach, her chin pressed into the ground below.

  Alarm bells began ringing as the alien turned his nose to the air, this time inhaling deeply.

  A chill traveled down her spine like a train on a track even as the golf ball bobbed up to her throat once more.

  She hadn’t considered it before now. But…what if he could smell her?

  He looked so…human-like, she hadn’t even thought about it before now.

  Fuckity fuck fuck.

  As the alien exhaled slowly, a rumble echoed through the air, loud enough to catch her ear.

  … and it’d come from him.

  She didn’t know what that sound meant, but she’d been wrong about forgetting he wasn’t human.

  That sound was anything but human.

  Suddenly she felt like making a run for it.

  Forget the water. She’d die of thirst.

  The alien inhaled and groaned again, but this time, it sounded like a groan of annoyance and frustration.

  Fuck.

  Had he scented her?

  Despite the cover of leaves she was hiding under, she’d daubed a fresh layer of mud over every inch of her skin. It was in her hair, caking it so much it felt like she was carrying a heavy hat on her head, and on every visible inch of her body.

  She’d put extra under her arms as well.

  The only place there was no mud was over her naked private parts because, well, her alien captors hadn’t got the memo that bulk panties were cheap—so she had none.

  Surely, he couldn’t sniff her when she was covered from head to toe with that metallic dirt caked to her skin.

  …Unless he was smelling the one place there was no mud.

  The gold ball that formed in her throat forced its way down.

  He couldn’t be.

  Sheesh. She didn’t have soap to wash with, but she kept down there relatively clean.

  If he could smell her most private of spaces…

  She could feel her cheeks grow warm at the thought even as she bit hard into her lip.

  As her insides cracked into several pieces by the weight of this new anxiety, the blue male stood and moved to the water.

  She watched him move closer and it took everything within her not to retreat. If she moved now, he’d definitely hear her in her haste.

  The alien moved close enough to where she was for her to see his face and Cleo had to blink several times, her mouth falling open as she stared at him.

  He was even more good-looking than she’d realized.

  He was definitely not a hunter. Which hunter looked like that?

  It would also explain why he hadn’t chased after her after she’d bolted.

  She’d run so fast, she hadn’t even stopped when her lungs had threatened to collapse.

  But she hadn’t been chased.

  The alien hadn’t come after her.

  Still studying him, she noted the dissimilarities she could see.

  Down his septum ran a series of raised bumps, the same of which ran from his bottom lip down his chin like a midline down his face.

  His hands flexed absently at his side and she counted not five but four fingers on each hand. Behind him, his tail swished in the air slowly.

  Frowning in his direction, she watched him look around the clearing, his gaze scanning everything.

  Maybe the orc aliens had thought sending a model to get into her panties was the best way to recapture her?

  Well, the joke was on them.

  She wasn’t wearing any panties.

  As the alien dipped his face into the rock pool before lifting his head again, Cleo lay mesmerized by the rivulets of water sliding down his skin.

  The alien turned his head slightly in her direction and sniffed again.

  That movement sent a barrage of thoughts and feelings through her that tugged in two separate directions.

  Yea…about what she’d said earlier…she was going to die of thirst.

  Creeping as silently as she could away from the water hole, Cleo backtracked to her cave.

  8

  Three more days passed.

  The alien was still by the water hole.

  She was out of water and food now, plus Wawa was still missing.

  To add, for the past two nights, she’d heard more distant roars echoing through the jungle and she could only hope it didn’t mean the animals making the terrible sounds weren’t migrating to the mountain.

  If that was the case, this was surely like the apocalypse.

  She didn’t know what to do.

  She couldn’t even focus. Her mind was constantly on the intruder who seemed to be making a home in the most inconvenient of places: right by her water source!

  He was like a lion walking into meerkat territory only to take a nap. And who was she but not the confused meerkat poking her head up from her hidey-hole wondering just what the fuck is wrong with this lion?

  The last time she ventured to spy on him, he’d been resting in a spot where the sun hit the bushes, his eyes closed as if he
was sunning himself.

  As she’d come close, she’d heard him sniff, and that one reaction had her retreating.

  Withdrawing to her cave for the third night in a row, Cleo paced the floor of her cave in the darkness.

  She was tired, hungry, thirsty…she was slowly dying.

  Fuck.

  And what’s worse, she felt alone.

  For the entire time she’d been a fugitive, she hadn’t felt more on her own.

  With a sigh, she stared up into the darkness above her. Somewhere out there, she hoped Wawa was okay.

  She didn’t imagine it would be this way when she finally went.

  There was an enemy on her doorstep, she was slowly starving, and dangerous animals were roaming the woods.

  Even as she thought about it, she was sure she heard a roar in the distance.

  Pausing, Cleo stared out through the cave entrance at the night sky.

  It was coming to an end, wasn’t it?

  A deep feeling of sadness overcame her.

  She didn’t want to leave the cave.

  This was home.

  Before she could talk herself out of it, she exited the cave and slid down the vine hanging over the edge of the cliff. Swinging onto the landing on the side of the mountain below the cave, she stopped to take a breath.

  With light footsteps, she padded through the undergrowth in the direction of the water hole.

  She knew where to go, even in the darkness, having walked the way many, many times before.

  As she approached, the dim glow of light caught her eyes and made her spine stiffen.

  He was still there.

  Creeping closer, Cleo peeked through the bushes, careful to be silent.

  That light source that lit up the small clearing seemed to be coming from a gadget set in the center of the clearing on the ground.

  It almost felt strange looking at artificial light again. The glow reminded her of the fluorescent bulbs that used to hang in her apartment back in California.

  Back then, life had been simpler in her regular bartender job.

  Those days, living hand-to-mouth hadn’t quite taken the same meaning as it did now in this new life.

  With the light source illuminating the area, it wasn’t hard to spot the blue intruder and her eyes fell on his broad back.