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

Her heart stilled a little and she didn’t know why.

This vehicle was different from the others she was used to seeing.

It looked like a stocky milk carton on wheels—not like the usual carts that drivers traveled these parts in.

As the vehicle came to a stop, she eased forward a little, her eyes widening even as her brows dived toward her nose.

Vehicles didn’t usually stop.

They were too afraid of those sounds she’d heard deeper in the jungle.

For a few seconds, she waited for the vehicle to continue on, but nothing happened.

That made her stiffen.

From the distance, visibility wasn’t at its peak, but she could see enough to tell it was her original captors—either them, or more of their kind. Their green bodies were clearly identifiable in the transparent front windows of the vehicle.

But something wasn’t right.

They weren’t exiting the vehicle, but neither were they moving on.

Regardless that they’d failed at finding her for so long, it still made her anxiety rise whenever they came looking for her.

At first, she’d considered moving farther into the jungle but two things hindered that:

1. Dangerous things lived in the jungle’s depths. She’d take their roars for a warning.

2. She wasn’t an idiot to not realize she’d found the perfect spot to live in.

With Wawa’s help, she’d found shelter, food, and water.

She had a comfortable house, the weather was good, she didn’t go hungry and she had her own private pool.

The logic of survival demanded that she stay put unless she was forced to leave.

So whenever the green orcs came around, it made her anxiety rise. Life in the wild was as perfect as it was going to get. Leaving to venture deeper would most likely cost her the one thing she wasn’t willing to give up: her life.

She didn’t know how she’d been so lucky to survive this long but her luck hadn’t run out and she was thankful for that.

Eyes still on the vehicle far below, Cleo watched for any movement.

For a good few minutes. There was none.

Usually, the green orcs would be out of the vehicle already and would be searching the undergrowth close to the road for any sign of her.

Instead, they were still in the vehicle.

Squinting so she could focus, she was sure they were moving their heads as if arguing about something.

A few more minutes passed before the vehicle opened and a figure stepped out.

It was a different type of alien entirely.

She couldn’t make out the species clearly, but it certainly wasn’t one of the orc idiots.

This alien was tall and…blue.

And yes, it was a he.

It had to be.

Even from the distance, she could tell the alien was male.

A tall, blue alien male.

He was humanoid in the fact he had two arms and two legs, broad shoulders…

Staring so hard, Cleo forgot to blink, and when the alien turned to scan the mountain on which she hid, she flattened herself almost immediately.

He was looking directly at her!

Surely he couldn’t see her.

Cleo froze, not daring to move.

On her shoulder, Wawa stiffened too, almost as if he could feel her anxiety.

That was a coincidence, wasn’t it?

The alien couldn’t see her. Could he?

Her breath was stuck in her throat in the few seconds that the alien looked in her direction.

Shit.

Shit shit shit shit shit.

He was there for her.

She didn’t know how she knew it, but she did.

This man, whoever he was, was there for her.

Anxiety began crawling up her spine and something in the back of her mind was telling her to run straight back to her cave, pack everything she could carry, and retreat deeper into the jungle without a backward glance. It would have to be a toss-up between facing this dude and facing the wild animals that roared in the nighttime.

Staring at the blue alien, the feeling building within her suddenly became overwhelming.

This was more than slight anxiety—his mere presence was creating full-on panic.

The big blue alien turned back to the vehicle and she got the impression he was talking to the green orcs.

That only took a few seconds before he slung a bag over his shoulders, turned from the vehicle, and disappeared into the undergrowth.

Eyes wide, Cleo watched as the vehicle pulled away.

They were leaving him?!

…

FUCK.

…

She couldn’t breathe.

Somewhere deep inside her, there was a feeling of impending doom.

Trust your gut, Cleo. Her father’s voice echoed in her head.

Trust your gut.

Her instincts never failed her before. They wouldn’t fail her now.

This wasn’t like all the other times the orcs had come looking for her.

This time, shit was different.

That big blue alien was trouble. She could feel it.

As she moved away from the lookout spot, hurrying through the bushes, Wawa remained alert on her shoulder and that alone sent a shiver down her spine.

The only other time Wawa had stiffened on her shoulder in such a way was in their first few weeks in the jungle.

If he was alert…if he was worried…it meant she wasn’t overreacting.

He knew that a dangerous enemy was near too.

2

“Reckless fools,” Sohut muttered as he turned and headed into the dense growth of the great Koznia Jungle.

He doubted the Gori who’d dropped him off heard his remark. They were too busy driving away, rushing as far as they could from the trouble they’d gotten themselves into.

Not that what he’d said wasn’t the truth.

The Gori were reckless fools.

Only idiots would have lost an animal the way they had done. To boot, they’d failed to retrieve the creature after so many moons.

His ears pressed flat against the sides of his head, the only indication of his annoyance.

He couldn’t imagine the pure terror the animal must have experienced all alone in an alien world—and in the Koznia Jungle to add.

It must have been incredibly frightened before it died.

Shaking his head, Sohut walked slowly through the undergrowth as he contemplated this.

The Gori thought the creature was still alive.

He highly doubted that. A non-native species being lost in the Koznia Jungle was highly unlikely to survive.

The spined beasts alone would have quickly made the thing their dinner