Fandare (The Complex Book 0) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Epilogue

  Fandare

  The Complex

  M Stratton

  Contents

  Fandare

  Also by M. Stratton

  Procris

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  -

  About the Author

  Untitled

  HOW TO FIND M. STRATTON

  Fandare

  By M. Stratton

  The Complex Book Series.

  A Lone Planet. One Complex.

  Unlimited Chaos.

  http://www.thecomplex.info

  After a brutal war between Humans and Metas, an uneasy truce is declared in the Seldova solar system. At the conclusion of the treaty signing, the Complex is created on the Lone Planet, Lorn. The Complex is a blended community of Humans and Metas, all sent to test the waters of a more peaceful existence between the two races. Living under a domed community can only mean one thing for the Humans and Metas. Chaos.

  Cynthia—Cyn, as most people thought of her—made a habit of using her beauty and charm to get what she wanted. Not quite Human and not quite Meta, she was a cross-breed whose origins were muddy. She was an outcast no one trusted fully.

  Caught by a ruthless clan, she needed to buy her freedom with a priceless, and stolen, artifact from a warring tribe. Failure guaranteed her sale to the highest bidder.

  Fandare spent his long life in laissez-faire pursuit of whatever grabbed his interests. As long as his clan was taken care of, being second in command gave him more freedom than his brother Lucian. Nearing the end of their two years on the Complex, their black market business was bringing in more money than they had hoped for. But even all the money in the galaxy wasn’t enough to interest Fandare. Bored, he started counting down the days until they could go home.

  But things always got interesting when Fandare got bored. And this time, his boredom landed squarely on the elusive Cyn.

  As Cyn's time starts running out to gain her freedom, the last thing she needs is the complication of Fandare.

  There’s no escaping love when magic decides two souls belong to each other.

  Fandare

  Copyright 2017 by M. Stratton

  Cover by ShoutLines Design

  Edited by It’s Your Story Content Editing and

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the author.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Fandare is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Created with Vellum

  Also by M. Stratton

  Other Works by M. Stratton

  Synopsis of the following stories are at the end of this book

  Romantic Thrillers

  The Storm Series

  After the Storm

  Eye of the Storm

  Caught in the Storm

  Born in the Storm (Coming Soon to Kindle World)

  Fade to Black

  Bender

  Revenge

  Nevermore

  Contemporary Romance

  The Star Series

  When Dreams Come True

  Wishing on a Star

  120 days…

  Novellas

  Paranormal and Science Fiction

  Dreaming in Moonlight

  Constant Echo

  Fate of Elements

  Procris

  Fandare

  To Michelle Dare

  Our mutual love of Marvel and

  cornfields is a thing of beauty,

  Just like you.

  Procris

  The first book by M. Stratton in The Complex Series

  and follows Fandare’s brother Lucian and their arrival on

  the planet called Lorn.

  While it is not necessary to read Procris first, it is recommended.

  Procris

  Halley has lived her life in the shadow of her vibrant sister, her only future: taking care of her family. After a brutal attack leaves her sister a shell of the Human she used to be, Halley is told she is going to the Complex so the family can have the money it needs to possibly help her sister.

  Lucian and his brother, Fandare, come to the Complex to make double the money for their clan. As leader, Lucian will do whatever it takes to keep his people safe and give them everything they need. The brothers see an opportunity to make some extra cash, knowing both Meta and Human alike covet items the Complex will not allow.

  When magic decides an outcast Strogi should be forever linked with a Human, they discover they are allowed something neither one thought they'd ever have: love.

  Introduction

  A Brief History of Humans and Metas

  Seldova Solar System

  The Seldova Solar System is made up of one sun and seven plants, but only six are inhabited.

  The Humans inhabit the following planets:

  Planet Wreston, the largest Human planet. The President is Jessica Jones, a female Human.

  Planet Raxu, the second largest Human planet. The President of Nathan Clifton, a male Human.

  Planet Emalo, the smallest Human planet. The President of Susan Jackson, a female Human.

  The Metas inhabit the following planets:

  Planet Pinao, the largest Meta planet. The President is Ol Grazad, a male Giant.

  Planet Famiil, the second largest Meta planet. The President is Wyn Qal, a male Monk.

  Planet Creda, the smallest Meta planet. The President is PFar KLii, a male Slayer.

  The Lone Planet is Lorn, now home to the Complex.

  The Humans

  Humans escaped Earth when a nuclear holocaust wiped the planet of natural resources in 3910. They traveled for forty years until in 3950, when they found the Seldova solar system. They initially only inhabited Wreston, but when the Metas showed up in 4112, they fought for Pinao and Famiil and won. Barely. The war was initially waged out of the Humans’ fear of extinction, but it quickly became a battle for land due to most of the Metas’ longer (some immortal) lifespans. The war l
asted twelve years (until 4124, in Human terms) until an uneasy truce was settled.

  The Metas

  Metas escaped their planet, Vaimm, when natural disasters wrecked their planet in their year 19012. Coming from a destructive planet, and having traveled 300 years to find a habitable solar system, they rejoiced when they found Seldova in 19312 (4112 in the Human year). Until they realized Humans already inhabited it. Weary from so many years of traveling together (Metas don’t play nice together), they fought the Humans for the solar system, fearing their own extinction if they lived together much longer on one massive spaceship.

  Government/Law Enforcement

  A new government made of Humans and Metas was created in 1 AS. It is called Ama Seldova. There is one president on each planet, who all work together to keep the peace between the people. Each president’s term lasts ten years.

  Law Enforcement is called Climintra, nickname: Intra. Law enforcement is run by the Ama Seldova.

  The Complex

  After a brutal war (called Project Extinction or P-Extinction) between Humans and Metas, an uneasy truce is declared in the Seldova solar system. At the conclusion of the treaty signing, the Complex is created on the Lone Planet, Lorn. The Complex is a blended community of Humans and Metas, all sent to test the waters of a more peaceful existence between the two races. Living together under one Main City dome and four climate-specific environmental domes can only mean one thing for the Humans and Metas. Chaos.

  Chapter One

  FANDARE

  March 7, 6 AS

  With a sigh, I floated on my back and laced my fingers together behind my head, gazing at the dome covering the Complex. After the trouble my brother Lucian and his mate had gotten into with a specific Intra officer, our lives had become mundane—every day, exactly the same. It didn’t take long to move our black-market bar from one location to another underground, and so far there were no problems. Everyone here did their best not to get kicked out, and therefore lose the money they’d receive for completing their time, but still they wanted certain items that weren’t permitted by the Intra. It was the best of both worlds: they were making unbelievable amounts of money for our clan, and with my brother’s mate, Halley, we were going to make the Strogi powerful again.

  And I was bored out of my mind.

  It was almost time for me to go to my job, which wasn’t half bad; being surrounded by beautiful women every day wasn’t a hardship. Besides, I had always loved showering them with attention, but lately I had felt there was something lacking in my long life. I’d ponder on it for hours, and couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was I yearned for.

  Casually I rolled over on my stomach and looked at the people bustling along the Complex’s streets below. Life was regulated here and meant to bring out the best of every species, both Human and Meta. And it was utterly dull. Thankfully, if you were so inclined, finding some excitement wasn’t too difficult. The Metas and Humans were coming together to hide their businesses underground from the Intra. At least that aspect of the experiment was working. Just as the powers that be had hoped, we showed them we could work together in a peaceful coexistence, albeit each of us having our own agendas. Skirmishes were few and far between; the Intra, of course, immediately removed the problem. The numbers in the Complex had diminished, but nothing like the gamblers had expected them to.

  My skin rippled along my back and put me on alert. I started scanning the crowd, looking for what, I didn’t know. Something was coming. Then I saw her. Cyn. Her long legs ate up the distance between the Alpine dome and the UniBrew where she worked with Lucian and Halley. Looking closer, I frowned. Her beauty was never in question, but I struggled to figure out what was so different about her. She was always polite and appeared to be outgoing, but was always on the fringe, going from group to group, never getting close to anyone. And it seemed like she spent a considerable amount of energy to steer clear of me.

  Gathering my magic, I tried to reach out to her to again, tried to figure out exactly what she was. I knew she wasn’t fully Human, nor was she Meta. As soon as my magic touched her, she stopped and looked up to find me, her eyes narrowed, before looking away and walking again.

  Since I’d never had problems charming women before, she was an enigma that I wanted to understand. Why was she immune to me? Why would she always go the other direction whenever I came across her in the underground? It would appear she was spending an awful amount of energy to maintain the distance between us.

  When she was directly under me, she paused and looked up, slowly raising one eyebrow before giving a small shake of her head and then continuing to walk to the UniBrew. I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face. A challenge. Something to pass the last few months of this experiment. A little excitement and a beautiful woman never hurt anyone. Besides, I wondered exactly why she didn’t fall for my many charms as others did.

  Gracefully, I floated to the ground and straightened my shoulders. My sweetest Cyn wasn’t going to know what hit her.

  Chapter Two

  CYN

  March 7, 6 AS

  I purposely kept my back stiff as I continued to walk to the UniBrew, knowing with every fiber of my being that Fandare continued to watch me. Storing my belongings in my locker in the back, I took a deep breath and went out to the front to start my shift.

  Thankfully, as usual, the place was busy. If you studied Human history, you knew they had a long love affair with coffee. The Complex decided having a Strogi Meta run the place where Humans gathered and interacted would be a good way to get us to intermingle. They did that with all the businesses—having Humans and Meta work together. It seemed to be working too. But for how long? While the majority of both sides wanted peace, there were still a few who craved the anarchy and only wanted to cause pain.

  “Good morning, Halley. You’re looking happy this morning,” I said.

  “Thank you.” Her face turned red and her eyes flicked quickly to where Lucian stood. “We, umm, we’re running a little behind today.”

  I waved my hand at them and refrained from giving her a hard time. It was pretty obvious the two of them were head over heels in love. Good for them; it was nice to see some happiness once in a while. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s get caught up.”

  Quickly we went to work, and I was able to keep Fandare in the corners of my mind—but every time the door opened I expected him to saunter up to the counter, casually leaning against it as he talked with Halley or Lucian. I tried to stay as far away from him as possible, but every day it was getting harder and harder to keep control and not give in to his charms. And being charming was what Fandare knew best. He loved life and he loved women, and he made sure everyone knew it every chance he got.

  Like I needed to be reminded. When I first felt the burning sensation on my back, I didn’t know what it meant. I was even more confused when I went back to my quarters and discovered a huge tree covering my back. My skin had changed colors to form the tree, and it was slightly raised. But then Halley and Lucian got close, and became bonded. Once she showed me her mark, I knew exactly what the symbol on my back was, and since there was only one other Strogi in the Complex, I knew magic had chosen me to be bonded to Fandare.

  I did some research: when a Strogi became bonded to their mate, it was actually the woman who had the mark appear on her first—usually within the first few times they came in contact with each other. The mark was always specific to the male Strogi. The male would feel a strong pull to the female. The power was in her hands. She could choose to let him know or not. The closer they became, a faint twin mark would appear on his skin. Every Strogi had certain magics that would be stronger in them than others, and they would begin to share their magics. The ritual of formally becoming bonded was as simple as the woman deciding she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Until they were fully bonded, she could choose to walk away and there was nothing he could do about it. He’d be lost without her and she would feel nothi
ng for him.

  Once it was clear what was going on, I decided to set aside any thought of a future with Fandare and focus on my mission at hand. I had two years to find the treasure. All they’d told me was a Meta had brought a relic that had originated on Earth into the Complex, and I had to find it to gain my freedom—or be sold to the highest bidder. My free time was spent doing research on which artifacts had survived Earth and then comparing those to the list of Metas here and searching their quarters.

  Absently, I wiped the sweat from my brow with my sleeve and rolled my shoulders. Working hard was nothing to me—it was all I knew. I was able to use my beauty and skills to aid me in surviving, but as my latest example showed, sometimes my luck didn’t hold out and I got captured by the Mishonnock Tribe. Wrong place at the wrong time. The Mishonnocks were known throughout the system for being ruthless in taking whatever they wanted and charging triple to sell the items back to whomever they stole them from to begin with. I wanted my freedom, so I was going to do whatever I needed to do in order to gain it. If that meant delaying letting Fandare know we were bonded, then so be it. Once I was free, I could find him.