Page 69 of Riv's Sanctuary

He had no idea what she said but somehow he felt…rebuked?

Riv stiffened, his arms crossing over his chest.

Sohut glanced his way. "What's she saying?"

"No idea. I don't have her language download."

"Call Grot off."

"He isn't listening to me."

A pause.

"Tell the female to call him off."

The female?

Glancing at her, her large innocent brown eyes made him scowl.

"The female has no power over my tevsi," he said, his words slow and low.

"In case you haven't noticed, brother, she does. I'd warned you about tevsis and females. They are protective of females."

Right.

He'd forgotten about that.

It only made him scowl some more.

“I don’t think she could understand me even if I tried.”

Sohut’s lips tightened. “Try. I can’t move and I can’t stand here all day. I’ve got things to do.”

That was true and Grot didn’t seem as if he was going to stop snarling any time soon.

"You," he directed the female. "Drop your weapon...my weapon," he scowled some more, "and relax. Sohut is my brother. He will not harm you."

It took a few blinks of those brown eyes before the weapon sagged in the female’s hands and she said something in her language to the dog.

"Good doggo."

Grot ceased growling and relaxed, sitting on his haunches by the female’s feet.

“See, she understood you.” Sohut let his hands lower slowly, his eyes on the tevsi. “She probably has a translator implant. Did you check?”

Riv frowned, his glare passing from the female to his brother. “Do I look like I want to touch the female?”

Mightn’t look it but yes. Yes, he did.

He wanted to touch her.

Very badly.

But he’d rather lose all eight of his fingers first. If staying away from her was causing him trouble, he couldn’t imagine what his life would be like if he went closer.

Sohut shrugged. “You could have asked her, you know.”

Didn’t occur to him.