Sohut's Protection: A Sci-fi Alien Romance (Riv's Sanctuary Book 2), A.G. Wilde [13 ebook reader TXT] 📗

As the hairs at the back of her neck stood on end, Cleo spun around slowly, the piece of metal she still gripped pointing outward.

Her eyes scanned the orange bushes, looking for a spot of green that would tell her the green alien had crept up on her without her hearing.

But there was none.

Nevertheless, the bushes moved a little and it wasn’t because of the wind.

There was something there.

As the bushes rustled some more, Cleo took a step backward, fear crawling up her back.

A bunch of hanging leaves moved and a head popped out.

For a few moments, she just stared at the thing.

It was the Chihuahua-monkey.

The animal stopped moving and blinked at her with its large brown eyes.

It remained unmoving as it looked from the sharp piece of metal to her and back.

They stood like that for a few minutes, each unsure of what the other would do, until she slowly lowered her weapon.

She didn’t realize the animal was tense until its pointed ears flattened and it sat on its haunches, watching her.

How it escaped its cage on the cart, she didn’t know.

But it was obvious it had followed her through the bushes.

“Hey,” she murmured to the animal, and its ears perked again.

Crouching, she stared at it.

“What are you doing here?”

The animal tilted its head at her, but it didn’t make a sound.

Taking a step toward the thing, and against her better judgment, she outstretched her hand toward it, staying just far enough away that she’d be able to pull her hand back if it tried to bite her.

The animal’s nostrils twitched as if it was smelling her, and then it moved cautiously toward her hand and paused.

She was just about to pull her hand back when it bumped the back of its head against her palm, much in the way a cat would.

A smile she didn’t expect spread across her lips as the animal moved closer to rub its head into her palm some more.

That one movement settled the anxiety that had been growing within her.

“You’re just lost too, aren’t you,” she murmured, and when the animal paused rubbing against her to blink its huge brown eyes at her, she smiled again.

It was lost. Just like she was.

“You look so innocent…” She studied the little thing. It was innocent and cute, and that pulled on her heart. “I’m going to take care of you.”

It was a promise.

“I’m going to take care of you and me, little Chihuahua-monkey.”

When the animal simply bumped her palm with its head once more, Cleo smiled again.

Three hours without shelter, Cleo.

Three days without water.

Three weeks without food.

She could do this.

She was Cleo Barlow, Thomas Barlow’s spawn.

She’d been trained to face the odds and survive.

1

Present day

(Over a year later)

Walking through the undergrowth, following a path she’d now memorized, Cleo made her way to her lookout spot high up on the side of the mountain.

From there, she could see the road that cut through the jungle. It was the same bumpy road the orcs had been transporting her on so, so long ago.

Sometimes she saw carts rattling through, and the sight of them always sent her back to that day when she’d escaped.

Taking a deep breath now, she settled in the bushes, her gaze on what she could see of the road.

There were no travelers now—not that she could see—but she still remained hidden.

Such was her routine.

She made it a point to surveil the area at least three times a day without fail.

It was the only way she could keep tabs on her surroundings while remaining relatively safe.

Crouching low, she scanned the area far below.

Many times, she’d seen vehicles passing through, but never had the occupants ever spotted her.

She’d taken precautions for that.

If anyone happened to look in her direction, she was sure they wouldn’t see her.

The mud she’d daubed over her body stuck to her like a second skin.

She blended into her surroundings like a gecko.

Camouflage, bitches.

Eyes narrowing, she kept scanning the area. Parts of the road were obscured by the vegetation, but she could see enough spots to tell what was happening down there from her particular location. And so, she kept an eye out for any movement.

On several occasions, she was sure she saw the green aliens that had been transporting her on that fateful day.

For over a year, they kept returning—she assumed, to search for her. But they never, ever ventured far into the jungle.

They always kept close to the road.

As a matter of fact, of the many carts she spotted taking the jungle road, none of the aliens ever stopped and entered the jungle itself.

She didn’t mind. No intruders meant she was relatively safe, and safety meant she could live free.

And, surprisingly, she had been safe. So far, she’d encountered no dangerous animals lurking in the underbrush.

She sometimes heard them though…far in the distance, though they never ventured close enough for her to meet one.

And she wasn’t curious enough to go looking for one either.

Gazing from the lookout spot, her eyes moved over the yellow-orange plant life.

Spots of purple and pink flowers dotted the yellow-orange, making the scene look like some sort of wonderland.

She was a modern-day Tarzan. She even had her own little pet monkey.

As if he knew she was thinking of him, the little Chihuahua-monkey stood upright on her shoulder and rubbed his head against her neck.

“Hey, Wawa,” she breathed and he bumped his head against her gently.

He was her constant companion, the little soft thing, keeping her company when she’d otherwise have gone mad.

Balancing on his four legs, Wawa stretched his neck as his ears perked.

“What do you see, boy?” Cleo whispered, her gaze moving back to the road.

Wawa seemed focused on something at the bottom of the mountain, and it took her a few moments before she saw movement through the undergrowth too.

A vehicle of some sort was on the road.

Now and then it would go out of view, hidden behind the foliage, and then it would pop back