Page 39 of Sohut's Protection

There was that sharp pain in his arm again and it took a few moments before his gaze moved to the area.

Deep in his flesh was a gash and Sohut blinked as he watched his blood spill and run down his arm.

He didn’t remember getting injured by anything sharp as he ran.

When he glanced back at the female, she was staring at his arm too and memory of the weapon she was clutching in her hand came back to him.

She’d…she’d wounded him.

“You stabbed me.” Even to himself, his voice sounded disbelieving.

There was a pause and he was surprised when she answered.

“Phuk wit mee anhd ai-will doo iht ah-gen.” Her voice was strong, not betraying the fear in her eyes.

It sounded like she’d understood what he’d said.

Larn back at the Sanctuary had been able to understand him too, though he hadn’t been able to understand her.

Whoever had taken Larn from her home planet had also installed a language chip in her brain. That’s why, before coming on this mission, he’d gone to the exchange to get the language files for Larn’s planet—just in case Riv didn’t get rid of her before he returned.

Always interested in new worlds, he’d wanted to learn more about where she came from and the best bet had been to ask her the questions directly.

Staring at the female in front of him, he was nonplussed.

How did she survive out here all alone?

The female bared her teeth again, snarling at him, and he didn’t spot any fangs.

Maybe she was feral.

That partly explained why she’d managed to survive so long on her own.

It also explained why she looked like she hadn’t taken a bath the entire time she’d been in the jungle.

“Leht. Mee. Goh.” She was speaking through her flat, clenched teeth and it definitely sounded like the same language as Larn’s. The more he heard it, the surer he became. “Waht arr yoo go-win too doo too mee?”

Her gaze flicked from him to the jungle as if she was considering wriggling away in her restrained state.

“Don’t bother. Even if you did get away, you’d still need me to remove those restraints,” he noted.

Cold, gray eyes met his and the look she gave him could kill a family of mogs with one glance.

She hated him.

Even restrained, she was defiant.

He knew it wasn’t the smoothest of introductions.

It probably looked like he was capturing her to keep her prisoner but he’d had no choice but to tie her arms and legs as he led her to a safer location.

They’d been in the open and, granted that he hadn’t met any spined creatures since passing that invisible scent barrier, he still needed to focus on his surroundings without worrying about her trying to escape.

There was also still the scent of slizz. It was even mixed into her scent, and that was confusing.

Larn hadn’t smelled like slizz at all, so he was sure it wasn’t a similar scent gland her species used.

Unless the female before him was a variation of the same species.

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