Sohut's Protection: A Sci-fi Alien Romance (Riv's Sanctuary Book 2) A.G. Wilde (best way to read an ebook TXT) 📖

She shouldn’t run back toward danger.

The fuck was wrong with her?

Her lungs were about to give out, but the closer she got, the more she could hear.

It was a deep growling sound that made the air vibrate.

The creature sounded powerful, lethal, unyielding…

As she reached the spot, her gaze followed the trampled leaves and bushes that led farther into the undergrowth.

That’s where the growling was coming from and her heart beat so hard, it almost broke through her ribs.

She couldn’t hear Sohut, only the beast.

Shit. Shit shit shit.

He couldn’t be dead.

Oh God, please don’t make it so he’s dead.

Then she heard it, another snarl, one that obviously came from the throat of a man, a huge dangerous man, but a man nonetheless.

The relief she felt was almost staggering, but she had no time to decipher it as she rushed closer.

For a second, she saw blue and then black.

They were wrestling and she didn’t know who was winning.

Sharp black teeth glinted in the light as they were aimed at Sohut’s throat, but he managed to hold them off, grabbing both jaws of the beast with his two hands.

The beast reared, flicking its tail in a semicircle that connected with Sohut’s legs, bringing both of them down into the bushes.

It had its two front paws on Sohut now, pressing him into the ground below as its tail lashed behind it.

Dislodging her piece of shrapnel from the edge of her dress, Cleo gripped it in her hand.

She knew she had to do something.

There was a tree just behind them. If she could get there…

Her feet were moving before she could finish the thought.

Moving as fast as she could, she gripped the trunk of the tree, finding a low-hanging branch that would give her some leverage. Finding a foothold, up she went, slowly at first then her muscles remembered what they needed to do.

It was just like the time her father had left her alone in the wild, when she’d had to climb a tree at night after she’d been too afraid to sleep alone on the ground.

She could do this.

Soon, she was high enough above them to see.

There was a branch that jutted out, close to where they were and she headed for that one, hugging the branch with her legs as she moved slowly forward.

The branch was rough, and her thighs were going to hate her for this later.

But she didn’t care.

The only thing in her mind was that Sohut was in danger.

He needed her help.

Sohut was on the ground, his teeth grit, his face twisted into a ferocious snarl as he wrestled to get the animal off him.

His sole focus was the beast and it seemed neither he nor the beast realized she was there for when Sohut’s gaze caught movement above them and his eyes settled on her, the look in his eyes moved swiftly from ferocity to horror.

That one second of hesitation and the beast pressed into him harder, its sharp teeth moving even closer to Sohut’s neck.

Cleo breathed hard.

She didn’t have a plan.

She didn’t have a frickin’ plan!

Just then, the beast did something she didn’t expect.

Its dark spines flattened against its back as its tail lashed menacingly, and she knew then exactly what she was going to do.

Gripping the piece of metal, she didn’t think twice.

She let go of the branch.

It was like slow motion when she fell.

Her eyes were locked on Sohut’s, on his brilliant greens as his gaze widened even more.

Gravity being her ally, Cleo aimed and when she landed, she slammed her hand as hard as she could into the beast.

The sharp pain that she felt immediately almost made her cry out.

The metal sunk deep into the creature’s back, slicing her hand open in the process.

It reared back. One moment she was on its leathery back, the next she was landing in the bushes.

She barely had time to see Sohut rise with a growl she didn’t know a man could produce, his blade slicing through the creature’s midsection.

The sick squelch of guts spilling reached her ear.

The beasts’ huge body went limp and only then did she breathe.

Her hand hurt.

Turning her palm to her face, Cleo winced.

It looked bad. Her blood was so red against the yellow-orange bushes around her that she didn’t know if she should be awed or horrified that she was bleeding so much.

She was looking at her hand when a shadow fell over her.

“YOU.” Sohut was glaring at her and when she looked up, she didn’t know what to say.

His face was a mixture of horror, dismay, disbelief, anger, and…yearning.

Before she could protest, she was in his arms.

He pulled her from the bushes, pulling her against him as he buried his head against her neck.

“Why did you come back?”

Cleo swallowed hard.

Because I couldn’t leave you to die?

“You could have found a way back to the camp. The Torians would have protected you. You could’ve left me…”

“No.” Was that her voice? That shaky thing? “I couldn’t leave you.”

He nuzzled her neck for a few seconds and Cleo allowed herself to relax against him.

“You could have died.” His words were just a whisper.

“You too,” she whispered back.

Sohut inhaled deeply and eased off her to study her face.

His eyes filled with rage by the second.

“Metal…I smell metal,” he uttered, before snatching her hand.

His eyes didn’t calm down when he saw the state of her palm and for the first time in her life, she wished she didn’t bleed.

He bared his teeth, his fangs protruding in a snarl so ferocious she almost pulled her hand away.

As a matter of fact, she did try to pull her hand away, but he held her fast.

“You hurt yourself.” It was as if he was choking on the words. They came out of his mouth as if his throat was suddenly not working as it used to.

His gaze met hers.

“You hurt yourself because of me.”

The look in his eyes was so tortured, she opened her mouth to tell him that she was all right and