Page 71 of Riv's Sanctuary

Something ticked inside of him and a growl rumbled deep in his throat before he could stop himself.

“Don’t touch her.”

It was only when he realized they both snapped their necks to look at him that he caught himself.

His breath stilled within him.

Phek. He’d spoken out loud.

The phek was wrong with him?

Clearing his throat, he softened his tone. “Don’t touch her. And don’t welcome her.” He frowned. “She isn’t staying.”

Sohut’s brows rose. "She’s not? Where's she going? Better yet, start with where she came from."

"Doesn't matter." He didn’t know how he was even managing to speak with a level voice. Right now he felt like raging and taking a quiet walk all at the same time.

His eyes were on the female, watching as she placed the blaster on the sleeping cushion.

He needed to put the weapon out of her reach. She was trigger-happy. "She's leaving today anyway."

"Why?” Sohut leaned against the wall. “And who's going to stay here with the animals?"

That caught Riv’s attention. "You."

"Can't." His brother crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze going distant.

They were just two orbits apart but Riv noted just how much younger Sohut looked. Younger, happier, less stressed.

He had no frown lines etched into his frons, no dark hole of sadness behind his eyes.

It made him relieved the struggle of their past hadn't affected Sohut as it had affected him. He'd worked hard to prevent that.

"I'm just stopping by for my gear," Sohut continued. "Kezna zoo has word of a strange new animal that escaped during shipment. It's in the Koznia Jungle. They’ve been trying to catch it for over an entire orbit. They need someone with experience to retrieve it."

Riv crossed his arms. It was rare for them to get such contracts but whenever they did, it always yielded good credits. He hated people but Sohut thrived on these jobs.

"Do you know what type of animal it is?" Depending on the species, he’d have a good idea of how long it’d take Sohut to capture the animal. Some species were more elusive than others.

"Something from some Class Four planet," Sohut replied.

"No idea of the species?"

"No idea."

Great.

Riv's gaze flicked to the human. She was still standing beside Grot, who was now resting with his eyes closed, but her gaze was on him.

He hadn’t realized she’d been staring and the realization set off a strange feeling crawling over his skin.

She couldn't stay.

He'd have to be the one to take her to the exchange, then.

Groaning within, he looked behind her and out the window.

He always had to mentally prepare before he went to such a crowded place as the exchange.