Page 38 of Sohut's Protection

That fact was evident. Still, she struggled.

There was something sharp in her hand too, and he couldn’t wrestle it away from her, so he wrapped both of her hands entirely, rendering her weapon useless.

Even as he held her legs down so he could tie her ankles together, she grunted and resisted.

It took a few minutes but, finally succeeding, he eased up from over the female, taking a deep breath as he did.

Her eyes were not luminescent in the dark but he could feel that she was glaring at him, and she had a right to be upset.

This whole situation just got a lot more complicated than he’d expected.

Crouching, he swooped the female’s body into his arms and threw her over his shoulder with ease.

A series of sharp words left her mouth as she yelped and proceeded to hammer his back with her bound wrists.

This continued for most of the trek back to the water hole, till she hung limp against him. Only her chest moving against his shoulder and back told him she was still alive.

Light from his light-disk greeted him as he neared the water hole.

Stepping into the small clearing, he set the female down into a nest of vines.

Livid pale eyes stared up into his and Sohut froze in shock, his gaze running over the female’s face.

With the light now illuminating her features, he could see her clearly.

The Goris had said the creature had long red fur on its head and down its back.

The female in front of him had no red hair whatsoever; there was a dark, stiff-looking crown on her head instead.

The Goris had also said the creature was pale all over but the female in front of him had a dark coat.

They’d also said it had long spindly legs, translucent eyes, and a flat face.

The female had a delicate nose set in the middle of a face with soft angles.

The more he stared, the more speechless he became.

This was definitely no animal.

And that dark coat…it wasn’t a coat at all.

It was mud.

Realization dawned.

He’d been right about hearing her language before, because he had!

Back at the Sanctuary, before he left, there’d been a female there called Larn. She’d been a refugee of sorts who’d been cast in the care of his brother.

He wasn’t positive, but the female in front of him looked a helluva lot like she was the same species.

The more he stared at her, the more he was convinced.

This female in front of him a dirty—no, a filthy—Larn!

* * *

As he eased up from over the female to stand, Sohut took a step back.

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