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

squeezed her shoulder again before he let her go.

“Be right back,” he murmured. “He won’t hurt you.”

The fact he had to reassure her of that made her gaze grow wary.

But Ka’Cit only smiled at her.

As Riv walked off, she turned her full attention to his friend.

Ka’Cit was watching her intently now and she wondered what he was thinking.

“I am happy Riv has found you.”

It wasn’t the words she’d expected coming from him. He didn’t look happy at all.

There was a smile on his face, but there was a lingering sadness underneath…

It was want.

There was want there. Not directed at her, but at something else entirely.

“Why do you say that?”

Right. He couldn’t understand her.

He didn’t have English uploaded.

He looked at her as if trying to understand what she just said.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said. “I’m afraid I can’t understand you. Though I do assume you can understand me for you can understand Riv.”

She smiled at him, nodding as she did.

Ka’Cit seemed to hesitate for a few moments. “It isn’t easy for males like us to find a gnora.”

That word again. She had to find out what it meant.

“Gnora?” she repeated.

“Life mate. Riv believes you are his life mate. He believes his soul and yours were destined.”

The sadness tinged at the end of his words was evident now and Ka’Cit smiled at her slightly before averting his gaze.

She wished she could say something to him to cheer him up but the sound of Riv approaching caught her ear.

“Here.” Riv handed him a small, cylindrical device. “And just so you know, when I asked you to distract them, I meant that you should literally distract them till I got La-rehn safely away.”

Ka’Cit blinked, then smiled. “I know.” He shrugged. “I got bored.”

With a flip of his fingers, he set his mask back in place, turned, and headed back to his hovercar.

“It was nice meeting you, La-rehn,” Ka’Cit said over his shoulder.

Lauren nodded and smiled.

“What do you think of him?” Riv leaned in, rubbing his nose on her cheek.

It seemed that now they’d passed the barrier holding them apart, he couldn’t stop touching her, and she loved it.

Especially after a year of not having the joy of physical touch, it was exactly what she needed.

“Before or after he took off his serial killer mask?” she asked.

Riv chuckled. “Both?”

“I don’t know. He’s…different.”

“He is. He is my closest friend.”

“I can see why.” She laughed.

Riv turned her to face him. He looked tired but there was a relaxed look on his face.

“Let’s go inside.” He was looking at her with such reverence, she couldn’t believe they’d actually shared so much together.

Looking at him now, she could see her future in his eyes.

She couldn’t be more ready.

She was about to tell him just what she was thinking when there was a crackle in the air.

Grot’s boom of a bark rumbled through the space immediately, as he began to snarl.

Riv stiffened, his eyes darting around them.

“Phek,” she heard Ka’Cit mutter.

“What is it?” she asked.

It felt like static was suddenly crackling in the air and as Grot continued to bark, the tension in the air became very real on a literal level.

Riv gripped her and pushed her behind him as something crackled and materialized in the air in front of them.

It was like a glowing orb of light and electricity and as she watched, her eyes wide, there were shapes materializing in front of them.

Four alligator-guards appeared out of thin air.

Time stood still.

“What the actual phek?” Riv muttered.

Okay, so it wasn’t just her imagination, then. They’d literally appeared out of thin air.

She’d had no idea teleportation was possible until that very moment.

The guards took a second to take in the surroundings, their gaze locking on her, then moving to Riv.

Riv pushed her farther behind him as Grot came by his side, both blocking her from the sudden danger in their midst.

Everyone was frozen and staring at the huge beasts. The guards’ blasters were pointed and ready and as they looked toward the hovercar, she stiffened along with Riv.

They were going to see Ka’Cit and the bodies of their comrades.

SHIT.

She could tell when they saw their fellow guards because their blasters suddenly charged all at once.

Ka’Cit raised his hands. “Funny story…” he began.

There was a roar before one guard lunged his way.

Riv spun, his arms around her as he lifted her, and threw her over the fence unto a fat cow-hippo.

“Duck!” he managed to say before something slammed into his back.

One of the guards jammed his blaster against Riv’s shoulders and their eyes locked.

Fury.

Cold, cold fury.

Riv roared, fangs flashing.

A blur of black cut through the air as Grot jumped, his teeth sinking into the guard’s arm.

Shit shit shit.

Today was not the day she thought she’d have to fight monster gators but she guessed she didn’t have a choice.

Gripping the cow-hippo, which she was surprised hadn’t thrown her to the ground, Lauren slipped off its back, her head flashing from left to right as she tried to find a weapon of some kind.

There was only a rake and hay.

A rake and hay.

Shit.

Behind her, she heard a hard thud and turned in horror, hoping she didn’t see blue on the ground but Riv was still upright. The gator guard was immobilized and Riv held his blaster.

In front of him, Grot had another guard’s blaster-holding arm in his mouth and the guard was hammering his fist into the dog with all his might, his blaster rendered useless. But Grot did not let go. Despite the beating, he held fast.

On the ground lay another guard, motionless. She had no idea how he’d been taken down.

To the left, Ka’Cit laughed and she looked at him in horror. He had two guards cornering him and he didn’t seem to care.

As Riv lunged toward the alien beating on Grot, movement in her peripheral vision caught her eye.

The guard who had attacked Riv first was rousing, his eyes on Riv’s back.

She knew what she had to do.

Grabbing the rake, she launched herself over the gate in a move she