Riv's Sanctuary: A Sci-fi Alien Romance, A.G. Wilde [phonics reading books TXT] 📗

human by his side and it caused Riv to frown a little behind his eye-shades. It was a focused gaze.

The Merkannian was watching her.

As they continued walking, every time he glanced behind them the Merkannian was there, his gaze always on the female, never distracted, completely focused.

Riv bristled.

He didn’t know why that bothered him.

He was at the exchange for her to find a new home, wasn’t he?

If the Merkannian was interested, that was a good thing.

Merkannians were some of the wealthiest on Hudo III. He wouldn’t be surprised if the male had a good home for the human to go to.

For, despite that he didn’t want her at the Sanctuary, and although he knew all females were poison, he wasn’t cruel.

He wanted whoever took her out of his hands to at least care for her.

Every being deserved that.

Pulling the human a little closer, they continued on.

As they arrived at the central trading station, where aliens congregated looking for odd jobs, long-term employment, and the like, he surveyed the buyers there.

Several of those seeking jobs were trying their best to catch potential employers’ attention. Some were lifting weights and displaying their muscles, possibly trying to land jobs as security detail. Some were giving out samples of baked food, possibly trying to land employment as cooks. Some were even interacting with families traveling with young, possibly trying to land jobs taking care of chids.

But through all this, it wasn’t lost on him that when they arrived, they’d gotten the immediate attention of several males in the vicinity.

Every bone in his spine stiffened.

He was used to being stared at when he wore his face covering and eye-shades.

But these looks were directed at the female by his side and he didn’t need a degree in male cocks to know exactly what they were thinking. What surprised him more was his own response.

His nostrils flared and a rumble began in his throat.

It wasn’t until the human jerked an elbow in his side that he realized he was squeezing her arm too hard.

“What sort of being is this?” One of the males approached. A Zedrurian. His mandibles moved with interest as he eyed the human.

Riv’s eyes narrowed behind his eye-shades.

He hated Zedrurians. They were always trouble.

“Why do you want to know? What employment do you have?”

The Zedrurian’s eyes flicked to Riv’s only momentarily. “What can she do?”

The Zedrurian’s tone was suggestive and Riv felt the need to grab him by the throat and stuff the words he’d uttered right back down whence they came.

Two more Zedrurian males approached, one adjusting his cock in his trousers without care to be subtle.

Sex workers weren’t outlawed but…he didn’t like the idea of the female becoming one.

He’d been forced into that life.

He knew what it entailed.

He knew how it could harm a person.

The human didn’t like the idea, either, for she took a step backward, her soft features scrunching up as she looked at the males.

“Very soft,” one of the other males murmured as his gaze traveled over the human. “I can give you good credits for a being like this.”

The cock-jerker was the most forward of the two. His arm shot out and he grasped the human, who reacted immediately, jerking her arm as if trying to dislodge it so she could attack the male suddenly holding on to her.

But Riv reacted before she could do so, his hand closing over the male’s arm as he took a step forward.

“Don’t touch what doesn’t belong to you.”

The male paused and looked down at Riv’s hand gripping his arm.

The air suddenly changed and Riv’s ears pricked from the sides of his head.

Through the corner of his eye, he could see the other two males place their hands over their hip blasters.

Grot’s low boom behind him told him the tevsi also felt the change in the air.

Riv sighed, his shoulders lifting and falling dramatically.

He was getting too old for this.

“I’ll say it again and only once,” he said, not bothering to hide the threatening tone that had come into his voice. “Let. The female. Go.”

The first Zedrurian, who he supposed was the leader of the trio, stepped forward slightly.

“Or what?” said the leader. “Far as I see it, it’s one of you and three of us.”

Riv brought his free hand up and used a finger to massage the center of his brow where the line of raised frilli that ran up his nose dissected.

This is why he hated most beings.

They were always so phekking selfish.

So self-centered.

So phekking entitled.

“Fine,” Riv breathed, his eyes still on the male holding on to La-rehn and he felt her stiffen beside him even more.

He let go of the male’s arm and the male glanced at his companions, a smug look on his face.

Fool.

That’s why he didn’t see it coming.

As Riv’s palm loosened from around the male’s arm, without warning he reached out and clasped the male by the throat.

His other hand had already retrieved his small blade from his pocket while the males had been too busy not paying attention.

The male choked, his mandibles swaying as he released the female and grabbed on to Riv’s hand, which was slowly restricting his airway.

His companions drew their weapons and when Riv heard the boom behind him, he almost smiled.

Grot was a blur as he launched into the air, landing on the male to his far right.

The male went down easily under the weight of the tevsi, his weapon flying across the space and out of reach as he shouted in surprise.

The leader raised his blaster to Riv’s head.

“You must be really stupid to think you could take all us three because you have a phekking tevsi,” the leader said. “Looks like you’re outnumbered, fool.”

Riv fought the urge to glare at the Zedrurian.

“You pull that trigger and your friend here can say goodbye to his gonads.” His reply was calm. “My tevsi happens to like small game.”

That made the male he was choking widen his eyes as he struggled and the leader’s gaze moved to fix on his companion’s crotch.

Riv