Razar (The Mating Games series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

remain calm and trust me to protect you.” Keeping his face neutral, he hoped he looked encouraging.
    “What is after us?” Lista stared at him as if willing him to speak.
    “I don’t know. The steps fall heavy so I know it’s large.”
    “Larger than the cat thing that attacked you when I escaped into the cave?”
    “I believe so.”
    “How did you defeat the cat?”
    “That was a batar, which is one of the most dangerous predators on this planet.” Razar knew his chest puffed up a little but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to impress his mate so she would choose him.
    “You never said what you did. Did you simply outrun it?”
    Unable to help the look of disgust that came over his face when his female suggested he was a coward, he fought to make his expression neutral. “I fought it with a hunting knife. I made several strikes to give him a chance to flee but he chose not to so I finished him.”
    “You? You took on that huge cat with a hunting knife?” Her disbelief was obvious in her expression and her tone.
    “You have much to learn about my people and what we are capable of. You will see what is after us before long because the creature is almost upon us.” Lista looked around nervously. Her eyes, a beautiful emerald color, grew wide as she sought the beast’s presence. “He will make himself known before we clear this cavern.”
    “How do you know so much about tracking and hunting?”
    “Because we have a primitive side not far removed from these beasts in ourselves.” Maybe it wasn’t wise to tell her that, but she might see it soon enough. This way it would be less of a surprise. She stumbled and almost fell but he caught her and the tingles were stronger than before. Razar hoped it was a bond forming and that it would help him convince her to stay at his side. If she had signed up to come here, her life on her old planet must have been lacking somehow. If she gave him a chance he could change all that for her.
    Lista still looked unconvinced. It wouldn’t be long now before she would see what he was made of and that he could defend her against anything, he hoped. The sounds weren’t far behind them now, but he still couldn’t see or scent anything. This was a beast that liked to play with its food but he would teach it a lesson or kill it. Those were the only two options available to him. A flash of purple, close in color to the grass, flashed up high and then was out of sight. This didn’t look like a place that a large animal would live. There weren’t any obvious signs he resided here. Had he found a different way into the caves?
    Razar took a deep breath and caught a faint scent like canine. Having been to Earth and many other planets he found felines and canines were common predators. It had amazed him as he traveled that with all the possibilities in the universe, there were so many similarities from planet to planet. He had spent a year just traveling looking for worlds they could trade with and races with compatible females. That had been his job as the minister of trade.
    Rushing his mate through the cavern, he calculated the odds that they make it to the next one before the beast attacked. The odds were slim to none. A sound reached his ears and he had to smile. It seemed the beast was not familiar with the creeping vine. A shriek sounded next and that told him the vine was unfamiliar with the beasts teeth and claws. It was a day of lessons for all concerned.
    The distraction would allow them to get farther than they would have otherwise. They still wouldn’t make it outside. The creature howled like Razar had heard wolves from Earth do when they sang to the moon. This was different, this beast was pissed and about to attack. To his relief, they slipped into the next cavern as the creature tried to follow and the loud echoes of sound told him the beast was too large to get through. If only that was the end of it, but the creature was pounding the exit trying to force its way