Page 52 of Riv's Sanctuary

Was this some kind of pre-meal ritual?

A sound of annoyance came from somewhere in front of her and the animal was promptly hauled off.

It took a few moments for her to swallow some air, enough so that she could raise herself on her elbows.

Still stunned, her gaze landed on the large animal.

Now that it wasn't snarling and baring its teeth at her, it didn't look as terrifying—that wasn't to say it didn't still make her want to run.

Her gaze moved to the alien standing beside the animal.

Riv was holding death-dog by the scruff of its neck because—and, in her retreating shock, it took her a few moments to realize this—the animal was still straining to get to her.

Behind it, a shaggy tail wagged and after a moment, its tongue hung from its mouth as it panted.

My God...it was a dog. An alien dog. A very large alien dog. But probably the closest thing she'd find to a dog nonetheless.

Finally finding the energy to stand, Lauren stared at the thing.

It was straining to come toward her so much that it actually pulled its master a little. It moved till it was close enough to brush its head against her skin as it wagged its tail.

It liked her.

Tentatively, she outstretched her hand to touch its cool nose and its tail wagged even faster.

A little laugh left her lips along with the relief that flooded through her.

"You weren't trying to kill me, were you?" she asked, as the animal brushed its nose against her hand. "You were just protecting your master."

Her eyes rose to the animal's master then and she almost shriveled in her clothes.

Even in his shades, even with the cloth covering his nose and mouth, she could sense that he was snarling at her.

What was his problem?

As he released the animal and it moved to rub itself against her, she heard the alien growl before stalking away.

Confused, she watched him leave.

What had she done?

13

“Grot,” Riv called his tevsi as he stormed off, only to glance behind him to see that Grot was still rubbing himself against the female.

Another annoyed growl left his chest as he stalked from the umu building.

What had gotten into the tevsi?

Grot rarely took to strangers.

As a matter of fact, it had been the exact reason why he’d rescued the animal as a pup all those years ago.

Grot hated people as much as he did. That’s why they got along so well.

He could still remember that day he visited the exchange on his usual trip to check if any mistreated animals were up for sale there. He usually made the trip whenever he visited the port city.

It was a ritual.