Chasing Dare (13 page)

“Man, I don’t know why the hell, we’re bothering with school! Talk about pointless! Seriously, why are we bothering? It’s not like they’re teaching me anything I don’t know! I could do more to help if I didn’t have to go there!” Traze made the same arguments he’d made a dozen times before and by the look on Grai’s face it still wasn’t going to make a difference. Sighing in frustration, Traze pulled himself out of the chair and headed to the door.

“One of these day's bro, you’re going to have to realize that I grew the hell up!”

Grai barely noted the slamming of the door behind Traze, before he picked up the phone and dialed the number he had memorized.

“Hello?” The soft, sweet voice that answered could turn his heart inside and out.

“It’s me. Are you alright? How is he?” Even though Grai had them watched by human mercenaries, since his own men couldn’t be trusted, he still worried about their safety constantly.

“We’re fine. Stop worrying so much about us, you have enough to worry about. How are Dare and Balduen doing?” He hated the sound of the guilt in her voice.

“She is doing well, as is the Valendran. The doctor said the first attempt will be made in a week. If everything works out, like we hoped, they could both be released in less than six months.” Grai knew that his words would offer her no comfort from her guilt, and he hated that he couldn’t make her feel better, but they had no other choice. There was no other way.

“That’s good news I guess. But, I doubt Dare or Balduen would feel that way. Grai… are you sure we’re doing the right thing?” The catch in her voice told him that she was close to tears, and he balled his hand into a fist. He missed being able to hold and comfort her. They just needed to get through this…

“It’ the only chance we have to save him. He’s deteriorating… his brain can’t take anymore…” Grai paused, unable to continue thinking about the last time he’d seen him. Clearing his head, he strengthened his resolve.

“I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t the right thing, the only thing that can save him. Trust me, please.”

“I know this is just as hard on you as it is for me, no matter how much you try to be strong for our sake. I trust you Grai, just be careful for us.” Grai’s heart swelled at the affection in her voice; it would have to be enough… for now.

“I will. You stay safe, take no more risks.” Grai hung up the phone and rested his head in his hands, the weight of his responsibilities sitting heavily on his soul.

Chapter Nine

They’d been held for almost two weeks now; their days running on a perfectly timed schedule, created by the doctor to foster a sense of stability. For her peace of mind, was the excuse he’d given her, but nothing about this made any sense to Dare.

She’d seen the women and little girls that had been rescued from the Relian’s, and she knew damn well they were never treated like this; with this much care being taken not to harm or scare her. If she hadn’t seen the nasty creatures herself, she’d swear these weren’t Relian’s. Brak being the only exception, but true to his word the doctor kept him away from her.

It was Thursday; the day before the doctor was going to try the first insemination and Dare was nervous as hell. She was on edge, and her mind kept working so fast she was having a hard time trying to concentrate on what Baldy was saying.

“Dare, we can try to leave tonight. Are you listening?” Baldy sighed in frustration… again. She was so distracted it had been almost impossible to talk to her since they woke up.

He couldn’t really blame her though, he and his beast could also feel a change in the air. Something was going on… something different than the other days they had been captive. He had a really bad feeling about today.

“How about you work on your beast today and when I get back this afternoon we can talk about our plan and see if we’re ready?” Dare couldn’t think of anything she wanted more than to get the hell out of there before they could touch her tomorrow. However, she wasn’t sure if Baldy was ready or not.

He’d made a lot of progress with his beast over the past week, but the results weren’t always consistent, and it’d been more of a guessing game as to whether or not either one of them could maintain control. Baldy or his beast.

Dare wasn’t as concerned for herself as she was for Baldy. The doctor had made it clear that they needed her; they didn’t need him. If they were recaptured… she didn’t want to think about what they might do to Baldy. Shaking her head, she put her spork down and threw it and the rest of her breakfast in the trash bag, no longer hungry.

Looking at the TV Dare saw they only had half an hour before the doctor came in and would take her for the day. Maybe she was just having a panic attack, and that was why she seemed more nervous than normal…

Or maybe it was the massive quantities of hormones; they'd been injecting her with that was putting her on the edge. The constant arousal that had begun in the last two days had been making her uncomfortable as hell around Baldy. Maybe that was it? She wondered as she paced the room again. Maybe it was just sexual tension?

Balduen watched her pacing, unable to swallow his breakfast past the lump in his throat. He knew she could feel the expectant energy in the air, even if she didn’t realize what it was.

Balduen also knew that Dare’s worry over his control was the reason she was so hesitant to try an escape. He had to admit that it had been a rocky week for him and his beast and there was a reason for concern.

Hell, even his beast didn’t think they were ready yet either. However, the urgent need to get Dare out of there before they could defile his mate with the essence of another male, was causing him to remain in a slow simmering rage, the closer they got to the day it would occur.

His control was slipping more every day, only now that he’d opened the flood gates of his mind to his beast, half the time he didn’t know who was in control of his body; whether he was being pumped with the drugs or not. Neither did his beast.

They had not been able to forge a bond that would allow them to merge together and work in unison towards the same goal. They’d had a few successes, although those could just as easily be chalked up to the law of averages giving them a win once in a while. Sadly, by the time they usually figured out who could control his body, enough time had elapsed to get them killed if they were attempting an escape.

Balduen stood abruptly, throwing his breakfast trash into the bag more forcefully than necessary in his anger. With Dare pacing from the window to the bathroom, Balduen unconsciously began pacing from the other side of the bed to the closet. Neither of them noticed how they paced in perfect unison.

He tried to concentrate on communicating with his beast, but he knew he’d never be able to with Dare still in the room. Even now her scent was driving him crazy, keeping him from thinking clearly. All he could think of lately, was making her his before they could touch her again.

“Ours.”
Balduen heard his beast whisper in his mind.

“Yes, she’s ours. We need to get her the hell out of here!” Balduen told his beast, his frustration getting the better of him.

“Yes.”

Again, there was silence in his mind, and he knew the communication was gone. These flashes of merging with his beast were happening more often now that he and his beast were working hard to establish a bond, but not nearly enough to give him confidence in their plans to escape anytime soon.

There were too many factors to consider, the biggest being the drugs and the number of Relian’s, they were up against. The odds were not in their favor, unless he could rely on the abilities of his beast to help them. They needed the unnatural speed, strength and raw power of the beast to have any chance at success.

The feeling of the drug washing through his veins took him by surprise. He and Dare both glanced sharply at the clock they kept on in the right-hand corner of the TV, neither realizing that the half hour had gone by so quickly. Dare nodded at him.

While he still could, Balduen walked quickly into the bathroom and sat down on the toilet, his fists clenched tightly on his knees in fury.

He hated this, hated that he had to stay hidden while they took Dare away so no one would see that his beast was nearly out of control. It happened every time someone came near her and even his beast couldn’t seem to fight the overwhelming need to keep them from touching her.

The beast had told him yesterday that she was in heat, and the thought terrified him for many reasons. The scariest being, that she would get pregnant before they could escape. It took every bit of strength; he had to keep his hands off of Dare the last few days. His mind and body had been overwhelmed with the urge to ensure that he mate with her before seed of those animals could defile her.

Even though in his mind, he knew those thoughts were wrong, his instincts were demanding that he claim his mate. His head jerked up as he heard the door close behind them, the locks clicking into place loudly to his heightened hearing.  

He was thankful that the cameras couldn’t see him; his knuckles popped violently as his fists tightened in fury. He stayed where he was, waiting for the shaking of his body to stop before going back out where the cameras could see him.

Balduen’s determination returned with a vengeance the more he calmed himself. He began his meditation ritual as he strode into the other room and began to pace. Today he would seal this bond with his beast.

*****

Dare knew that if it wasn’t for the drugs, she would have fought or fled the moment the doctor told her that he had decided to begin the insemination today. No matter how much she told Baldy that she didn’t think they would succeed in accomplishing it, something inside of her screamed in fear that it would work this time.  

She had been thinking about Balduen’s idea of trying to leave tonight as they were walking to the barn, just moments ago. Now she was being strapped to the exam table and her ankles and feet to the stirrups.

“For your own protection.” The doctor had said, before covering her bare lower half with a sheet. Dare knew that was a lie, that he was more worried about something else. Dare tried to focus on that, working her mind around why he would feel the need to strap her down so thoroughly if the drugs were working.

Hell! Were they still working? She had made no effort to try her ability for days now, thinking it was useless. Maybe her body could become immune to the drug with continued use? Turning her head to face the counter, Dare concentrated on the glass jar of cotton balls.

Focusing her mind as sharply as she could, Dare stared at the jar until she could have sworn she saw the jar start to shake. Then the doctor came back into the room, and her mind could no longer concentrate on anything… except the screaming in her mind.

*****

Lucretia silently fumed as she paced her small office. It had been over a week, and she still hadn’t been able to get to the gorgeous alien. He was left alone upstairs by himself all day, and she could think of better ways that he could spend his day. Like worshiping a real woman, and she was just the woman for the job!  

That bastard Brak was the problem! His sat in that damn kitchen all day watching the cameras around the property. The few moments he was away from them, was not enough time for her to do what she wanted.

She needed a way to convince him to let her spend time with the alien. Lucretia huffed out a breath of frustration and gritted her teeth, remembering how he’d rejected her the last time she tried to seduce him. It had been humiliating, the way he had laughed at her. She hated that bastard! He didn’t deserve her anyway; she thought angrily.

However, she needed his help to get upstairs. Every time she had tried to get to the only staircase that led up there, one of the men had stopped her. The last time he’d been standing casually against the wall on the first step. She wanted to slap the knowing smirk off of his face when he’d said, “Looking for something?”

Lucretia needed something on him; something to barter with that would guarantee his cooperation. What did she know about him that she could use against him? She knew he made periodic phone calls to someone during the day regarding the doctor’s progress. Which she had figured was Grai T’Alq ensuring the doctor was telling him the truth.

Other than that, he never spoke to anyone outside of the house or left the property. She wasn’t sure if the alien even slept. It didn’t matter when she woke up in the middle of the night and went to the kitchen, he was there, watching the cameras.

Nothing. There was nothing she could use to convince him to let her up to those stairs. Except… he wanted Dare. He wanted her dead. How could she use that to get what she wanted?

Lucretia smiled her first true smile in days. This, she was a master at. If anyone could find a way to manipulate people, it was her. She had been doing it to outsmart everyone around her for years!

Unfortunately, Lucretia wasn’t aware that one of the things that Brak was watching so closely, was her.

*****

Dare was numb by the time the doctor had led her back up the stairs to the room. Emotionally tortured and on edge, Dare never lifted her eyes off the ground. Not even after they had locked the door behind her, and the drugs receded from her system.

The first thing that Balduen noticed when she was coming up the stairs, was her smell. It was different. Badly different. He could feel the rage boiling in his beast, and he shook violently to fight the urge to run out and grab Dare from them, so he could check her.