Cravr (The Mating Games Book 8) Read online

  The Mating Games Series

  Book 8

  Cravr

  By Catty Diva

  Cover by Jesh Art

  2016 Copyright by Catty Diva

  Edited by Eagle Editing

  Disclamer:

  Any resemblance to persons living or dead are strictly a coincidence. While some actual places may be named, they are used only in the context of imaginary events. The story is strictly created from the author’s imagination and all of the events are fictitious.

  This is a series and it is recommended that you read all books in order.

  Razar

  Book 1

  Razar needs a mate but on his planet there are nine males to one female. Humans look like they are compatible but if they find out the secrets of his kind they will refuse to send them mates.

  Lista needs money for her mother's operation or she will die. Her sister has volunteered her to be a bride for an alien. If she wins the mating game she will be free to keep the money and return home.

  Can she outwit him or will he claim her heart before it's game over?

  Travlr

  Book 2

  Travlr is ready and he wants nothing more than to catch his mate and make her his. His mate seems to be a cunning capable female but he will claim her, what choice does he have?

  Tammie has nothing left on Earth. She was basically sold to the hunt but what kind of male can she expect to try to claim her? Since she doesn’t know, she will use every trick in the book to elude him.

  His time is running out, but what about hers?

  Glendar

  Book 3

  It's finally Glendar's turn to find his mate and he can't wait. He'll have to hunt her but it's a small thing to do in order to get your fated mate and find happiness, right?

  Bernie has escaped from home so no matter what happens she's better off. But what will happen if her father tries to come for her? Will Glendar stand up for her or will they send her back so her father will keep letting them have more mates from the world he controls?

  Maxar

  Book 4

  Maxar has felt drawn to Ernie since the day he met her but there are rules about the mating games that can’t just be ignored. The plan is in place for his to hunt his mate at the upcoming hunt but he knows no one else can make him happy.

  When trouble comes. Ernie is falsely accused and may be sent away. Is there anything that can save her and allow them to be together? If there is, no one is telling.

  Stevr

  Book 5

  Stevr’s duties involve acquiring mates for his people. Most of these mates come from Earth.

  This trip one of those females will be his own. Stevr has never felt unlucky before but he has never had so many near disasters in such a short time in his entire life. Maybe the biggest problem he has is that the woman who appears to be involved is also his future mate.

  Geena has had to do many things in her life she hasn’t wanted to do. This trip is just one example of many. How can she accomplish her goals on this ship with the handsome captain keeping an eye on her?

  When it all comes to a head will they be together or blown apart?

  Tylar

  Book 6

  He meets his mate but is she forbidden? Everything seems to be stacked against them including the secrets she keeps. Tylar is certain she is his and he can’t let her go.

  Careena has been treated poorly all her life, but Tylar seems to be different. He treats her like a queen but he looks young enough to be her son not mate. Can things really be so different here and will she and her children finally find a place they can call home?

  Can these two unlucky lovers make things work or will they find out even fate is against them?

  Jorgr

  Book 7

  Sent to Earth to find out who was sabotaging their supplies and shipments, Jorgr finds what he has always wanted on this miserable planet. No one is surprised more than him except maybe the object of his interest.

  Hiding secrets, so many secrets, Georgie wishes she could pursue the relationship Jorgr seems to be offering. Unfortunately, Earth’s current situation is terrible and if her secrets get out, her life will not be worth anything.

  Prologue

  One look at the female with the flame colored hair and pale complexion, and he was lost. Cravr was a strong and confident male most of the time, but right now he was hopelessly entangled in strong emotions he didn’t understand. He recognized the feeling from what his mated brothers had explained to him. There would be no way out for him, but he was scheduled for the mating games and she, was not.

  Annie had been impressed with all of Jorgr’s brothers, but none so much as Cravr. Even though he looked a lot like Razar, it was obvious he was younger. There were no worry lines on his face yet. The male was built and she felt weak in the knees when he was around. Since he was participating in the upcoming mating games and she was not, she would just keep her distance, easy, right?

  Cravr

  Chapter 1

  Annie

  This place was amazing. The planet was so different from Earth, some might call it strange, but not Annie. She had an intrepid explorer’s soul that had never been let out before. Her first impulse was to run outside and discover all the new things, but they had been warned of the dangers. Annie had been trapped on Earth, inside her home, on the small acreage that was her family’s farm, most of the time.

  Now that they had escaped their old life, she wanted to embrace the new one. She told Jorgr she wanted a job. Annie had training in business, but he pointed out she would have to start out as an assistant until they evaluated her skills. That sounded reasonable enough, didn’t it? Apparently she should have objected because right now she sat at a desk Jorgr had led her to, waiting for her new boss. How could she have known that would be Cravr? Fate was probably laughing its ass off.

  The male in question walked in moments later and Jorgr intercepted him. Cravr looked as horrified as she felt, but that hurt her feelings terribly. It wasn’t like he would be left alone seeing her with a new mate in just two weeks’ time. Of course she realized he probably felt nothing for her at all. It was her stupid crush so why did he look so upset? That’s when it occurred to her that her feelings might be obvious and he didn’t return them.

  If that arrogant man, oh, male not man, thought she would chase him, he had another thing coming. “Jorgr has informed me that Razar sent you here to be my assistant. I am not sure what an assistant does. What do you need?”

  She looked up surprised that Cravr who had been across the room a second ago was now right next to her talking. Maybe he was angry, because he didn’t know what she was here for or, because he’d been given no choice. She decided right then and there to be irreplaceable to this guy so when the time came that she left, he would be lost without her. The thought made her feel better.

  “Why don’t you just let me watch you as you go through your duties and when something comes up that I can help you with I will?” She smiled warmly at him. Take that!

  “Alright, Annie, follow me.”

  Annie had to admit she had expected Cravr to work out in the field more. All morning they waded through paperwork and she felt like she’d been a big help.

  “I think I like having a helper, Annie. Paperwork is so dull usually.” She blushed, the male had quite the effect on her. “Since it’s lunchtime, why don’t you let me take you to lunch? We’ll be out of the office this afternoon, anyway.”

  “Alright, that sounds reasonable.” Annie was a little excited about getting escorted around the town. Cravr led her to a hover car in the parking lot helping her get in. The second their hands touched, electricity shot through her. She
pulled back her hand quickly looking at him to see if he’d noticed. It was a little disappointing when he seemed not to. Maybe it was just static electricity.

  Cravr stepped back and closed her door hurrying around to get in the driver’s seat. Annie looked away, as the vehicle lifted a few feet off the ground, before zooming away. Normally, this would have been a journey of discovery, exciting beyond belief, but with her crush being one sided, it placed a pall over everything.

  By nature Annie did not let things get her down, as she was normally a happy person. By the time they arrived at the general store that also had eating facilities, she had resolved to keep a cheerful disposition. Right now, she had a new world to explore, her family seemed healthy and happy, and she was getting the means to support herself and them. The future was looking brighter, but she shouldn’t expect to get everything. Romance just left her behind and that was no different here.

  “We’re here.”

  Annie shook herself out of her inner musing.

  It looked like the building was made of the local stone. There were a hand full of buildings around it that made up the town. All of them looked like businesses, she saw no houses in the area. Cravr came around, like a gentleman, to help her out of the car, and again the electricity popped between them, but this time she saw his eyes widen just a bit. Why would he try to hide the chemistry that obviously flowed between them?

  Annie had learned men or males, regardless of what they wished to be called were hard to understand. Once her feet were on the ground, he retreated like he’d been shocked? She muffled a giggle and followed him into the building that smelled like good food. Cravr pulled out a chair for her seeing her seated, before he seated himself. A young man came up and dropped off menus giving Annie a curious look.

  “They have Earth dishes on the front page and Oison favorites on the back.” Cravr explained making her realize she was looking at the back page. That was why nothing looked familiar.

  “Thank you.” She said as she flipped the page over. “Are the hamburgers any good?” Her voice showed her excitement.

  “Everything here is topnotch.” He assured her.

  “A hamburger it is then, add a side of onion rings, a chocolate milkshake, and a glass of water.”

  “I’ll take the same but double it.” Cravr added.

  Annie looked at him in awe. Yes, he was big, but that still seemed like a lot. They talked small talk between times of uncomfortable silence. Finally, the food came and her mouth watered. She was a foodie, big time and she rarely was able to indulge. Taking a big bite, she chewed and moaned with delight. Next, she crammed a whole onion ring in her mouth. It was delicious too, so she tasted her milkshake. She had hit the trifecta. Three items, all of them incredible and at a place she’d never eaten before. That was almost unbelievable.

  “I may never cook again.” She admitted.

  “They aren’t open for supper, only lunch and breakfast. They also shut down two days a week and holidays.”

  “What two days are they closed?”

  “Whenever they decide two. The days are randomly selected as far as I can tell.”

  “How did you know they’d be open?”

  “I called ahead.”

  That surprised her because while they were doing paperwork, he’d not shown that kind of preparedness. She’d assumed he was a take it as it comes kind of guy. Annie continued to inhale her food not even leaving crumbs. It was amazing that she’d finished the whole meal so quickly. Cravr looked impressed to, when he’d taken a second away from his feast to notice how she was doing with hers. An approving nod, and he’d turned back to his plate. In mere moments, he was practically vacuuming the crumbs from his plate.

  “Are you ready?” Cravr asked giving her a direct look.

  “Don’t you have to pay?”

  “Already taken care of, we have embedded chips.”

  “You really are progressive here. Earth tried that, but they had a serious rebellion. People thought it would be used to track and spy on them. There it probably would have been.”

  “Not here, you can terminate your chip at any time and have it removed by any healer or doctor.”

  “I like that you can, I’m still not sure I’ll want a chip. Why didn’t they ask me to take one?”

  “You are an unmated female.”

  “Yes, so what?”

  “If you chose to participate in the mating games in the future, it could give someone an unfair advantage.”

  “I thought your people didn’t lie, cheat, or steal?” Cravr laughed, which pissed her off. “What the hell is so funny?”

  “Baby, everyone lies, cheats, or steals under the right circumstances. A mate would do all three if their mate or offspring was in danger. Unmated males live with the fear of never finding their mate or losing them in the games. Why put their morals to a test like that? It is setting them up to fail.”

  “I understand.” Annie said, because she had lived alone most of her life. Alone, as in no mate or man to love and care for her. No grown up to lean on or rely on when things were tough. She also realized he’d called her baby.

  Looking deep into her eyes, she thought he might see into her soul. “I believe you do.” He replied. “Let’s get out of here now.” Cravr motioned for her to walk in front of him to the car. Helping her in, he shut the door then walked around to get in himself.

  He started pointing out what the various buildings were and she hadn’t even noticed when they pulled away from where they were parked, she was so caught up in his explanation of the origins of those on Oison. They had driven nearly an hour and were no longer in the community they lived in. It was her understanding that Cravr was over the law enforcement of the entire planet. He helped her out and they walked into a small building.

  “This is the local police station for this community.” Cravr explained.

  They walked up to a desk where a male sat. When he looked up. A smile came over his face. “You’ve mated?” He looked at Annie who turned a bright shade of red. She could feel the heat as it made her eyes water.

  “No, she is my assistant.”

  “I was not aware we could get female assistants.”

  “It is a test to see how things work. Jorgr has mated and his mate has two sisters, this one is Annie.”

  “May I have the other one to assist me?”

  “No, Korvix, this is simply for work.”

  Korvix sighed heavily. “You get all the luck, Cravr. I would enjoy my work more if I had such a lovely assistant.”

  “Tell me about the problems you are having?” Cravr changed the subject and Annie was glad. It was uncomfortable for her.

  “We are having equipment destroyed and crops damaged. Someone even set a fire to a field but it was caught quickly and put out before we lost much. They are not even hiding the fact that they are purposely doing this.” Korvix complained.

  “Maybe it’s kids playing around.” Annie questioned.

  “Our children are not destructive, as many human children can be.” Korvix answered.

  “It doesn’t matter. Have you set up the guards as I requested?” Cravr asked.

  “Of course. What will we do now?” Korvix wondered.

  “I have some surveillance devices in the car. You said they tend to hit the same fields and shops?” Cravr asked.

  “Yes, I will go with you to show you the damage.” Korvix offered.

  “Okay. Grab what you need and we’ll wait for you in the car.” Cravr directed.

  Annie expected to have to sit in the back, but Cravr took her to the same seat, helping her in. Once he got in, she had questions. “Why does his name not end in an r?”

  “Not all Mazlan names end in r. Families have certain names that are used in them to honor those that have gone before.”

  “Ancestors?”

  He nodded. “The r endings are popular in names in the royal families for sons. Both my parents have royal blood. Had they had more sons, they would have gone to
names ending in m. Korvix’s family has a proud history in law enforcement. Too proud some would say because his father found wrong doing and would not close his eyes. That’s why he was sent here with his pregnant mate.”

  “This was a place to dump political dissidents.” Cravr nodded. The conversation was over when Korvix jumped in the back.

  “I’m ready, Cravr. Head straight for about a mile.” Korvix continued to direct them through several turns until finally they came to a stop.

  “Here we are.” Korvix said.

  She waited until Cravr helped her out and they walked over to where Korvix waited. A piece of machinery stood with the top portion melted. “That took an incredible amount of heat to melt that.” Annie said.

  “Someone poured rocket fuel on it and set it aflame.” Cravr observed.

  “How do you know?” She wondered.

  “Can’t you smell it?” Korvix asked. She shook her head. “Is her nose broken?”

  “No, humans can’t scent as well as we do.” Cravr explained. Annie filed away the information to examine later.

  There was a shed nearby and they walked to it. Cravr reached up smacking the wall as high as he could. Annie and her sisters had played a game like that when they were kids seeing who could hit the highest. He wasn’t playing a game. His hand left behind a small hard to see object. Everywhere they went he distributed the objects with small unthreatening moves that from a distance appeared like he was playing around. Had he been human, he might have been, but this alien was all business. Annie was learning a lot about him.

  He seemed very comfortable with the high tech devices he was distributing even though she knew the situation here had been very primitive until recently. Cravr must be intelligent and adapt easily. Good skills for someone in law enforcement to have. Annie watched him as he investigated the ruined equipment and walked out to the field to look at the scorched area at the edge of the field.