Travlr (The Mating Games series Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

increase in speed. At least she stayed in the center between the mountain ranges where travel was easiest. Travlr could shift and catch her in no time but he was reluctant to do so. One reason was he didn’t want to risk her seeing him in his demon form. The form was called daig by his kind but all others who had ever seen it called it demon.
    He’d read about demons and could see the similarity in looks, but his kind were not evil. None of them that were here on the planet ever harmed anyone purposefully. The old emperor might be seen as evil but Travlr thought he had simply lost his mind. He had outlived his ability to think clearly and when he had lost his mate he had gone crazy. Normally a daig was put down when that occurred but the emperor had too much power and he’d protected himself. Why anyone would want to live just to make others miserable, Travlr didn’t know. If he ever got to that point he hoped someone would end his pain.
    At least the emperor was gone now but it was a shame a whole world was gone with him. When his parents had told them stories of their home world, he had always hoped someday to see it. That would never happen now. He pushed all thoughts out of his mind except the thoughts of his mate. She was making good time for a human and he needed to catch her soon. If she got away, he would have to wait a year before he could participate in the hunt again. For the sake of his younger brothers who because of an old family custom couldn’t mate until he did, his own personal sanity because he was tired of being alone, and his right hand had developed entirely too much strength, he needed to catch her soon.
    The scent was suddenly fainter, almost as if she had veered from the chosen path. What a tricky female fate had chosen for him. She had left the main path and he would have to backtrack to find her. Either his mate was sneaky or she had no clue what to do. Either of those things would make this an interesting hunt. As long as it ended in success, he would enjoy the chase. Once he backtracked a short ways, he smelled where she’d started to head to the mountains. Nothing had changed as far as he could tell so he wondered why. He would know once he caught his female.
    It wasn’t far before he hit the mountains and as he closed in the path became rougher. At the mouth of a cave he found a spot where his female had stopped and he could see she’d taken off her shoes and he smelled her blood. Upset that she was injured, he was more determined to catch her quickly so he could care for her. Her dedication to out running him made him wonder why she was so opposed to mating him. Most mates came here for a better life hoping to find a good male that would love them with time and that they could have a family with.
    His brother Razar’s mate had also been an exception to that rule. Maybe the males in his family were just always going to get the wild and capable ones. They would have females that would test their abilities, the females that were smarter, stronger, and the most able. Travlr saw the pool and the water she had dripped when she washed with it. He hoped she knew better than to drink from untested pools. Even bathing with the water could be dangerous. Her trail led him into the cave. It was an interesting path that he would enjoy exploring if he wasn’t on a hunt for his mate. There was light coming from rocks and some from the ceiling. It helped him to find the way his mate had come.
    Travlr wasn’t a tracker or a professional hunter even though his kind had those. He was just better than most and all of his kind was good at tracking. It was the exceptional senses that others were unaware his people had. He could see like an eagle, scent and hear like a bloodhound, his skin was sensitive beyond any creature he knew and his sense of taste was helpful too. Sometimes he could suck air into his mouth and distinguish what was nearby. It was amazing how many traces of nearby objects the air