Page 35 of Sohut's Protection

Cleo bit her bottom lip, her gaze shifting back to the alien. He hadn’t moved.

Looking right at his back, it took her a few moments to realize that something was off.

He…he wasn’t moving.

He was frozen in a sort of non-movement you’d see an animal do when it was hyperaware.

Every nerve ending in her body sent an alarm straight to her brain.

Shit.

Like before, she had the feeling he knew she was there.

Swallowing hard, she watched as the alien’s back moved as he inhaled deeply, his shoulders rising and falling before he went completely rigid.

The air suddenly felt chilly as she froze in the cover of the bushes, not daring to even breathe.

Ever so slightly, she watched as the alien turned his head, right in her direction.

Fight or flight.

It was a command in her brain, as if her body could tell just what was about to happen next.

The alien was going to pounce.

Immediately, adrenaline pounded in her veins, making her heart press against her chest in thunderous beats she was sure the alien could hear because it was deafening in her ears.

Without waiting another second, she clambered through the bushes, wincing inwardly as a twig snapped underneath her feet.

Run, Cleo.

Fucking run!

Instead of heading towards her den, she went in the opposite direction.

Curse the darkness, for it was not her ally.

She stubbed her toe and almost fell over the many obstacles on the ground but she kept running, not daring to even pause for a second.

Her breath came hot and hard through her nose, making the sensitive skin inside her nostrils burn but she didn’t dare to even stop.

And then she heard it.

The unmistakable sound of bushes rustling behind her.

He was coming for her…

…and she had a sinking feeling she was going to get caught.

* * *

The animal turned and darted away, rushing through the undergrowth and something clicked inside Sohut immediately, fueling his Merssi instinct of old.

Hunt.

It was instinctive from the days his ancestors used to hunt to survive.

Forgetting his initial plan, Sohut raced forward, cutting through the undergrowth with ease.

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