Chasing Dare Read online

  Dare could feel the struggle within Baldy while he tried to gain some form of control of himself. When she felt he’d gathered enough to act somewhat normally since the drug’s effects were now almost gone, she jumped off of his lap and walked to the door-less closet to give them both time to calm down.

  Spotting the cooler the doctor spoke of, situated right inside the closet doorway on the right; she leaned down and opened the lid. Spotting bottles of soda, water and juice, she grabbed two bottles of water.

  Walking back into the bedroom, she noticed Baldy had his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He really did look confused and incredibly adorable. She slid his icy bottle of water beside his leg before moving quickly to the window, unsure if she’d have the will power to stop him again if he touched her.

  Unscrewing the cap on her water bottle, she chugged down half in one gulp hoping to cool some of the heat he’d created in her. Concentrating on the window, she tested the solid bricks and mortar that completely covered what had been the window.

  With the drug almost gone from her system now, she tried to use her ability on a small chunk of mortar, on the window sill.

  She had no idea, how long she had tried before Baldy walked up behind her. Without touching her, he leaned his head down so he could whisper near her ear. “I’m sorry.”

  It sounded hollow even to him. His mind and his upbringing had ingrained in him that it was polite to apologize for allowing his beast to control his actions, no matter how slight. In this case, it would have been a major lapse.

  However, his body and his beast raged at him to take what was his while he could; that she was more than willing. He could still smell her arousal, the need to taste her was almost overwhelming him as he fought again for control.

  He was glad his head was bowed so that the cameras and Dare couldn’t catch the clenching of his teeth as he fought harder than he could ever remember to control the beast beating against his mind for release and control.

  What the fuck, was going on? Something was wrong; he could feel it, couldn’t deny that she’d noticed it much sooner than he had. He was losing control of his beast! By the One! Was it the drug? Was it finding Dare? What the hell, was causing it? What the hell, could undo over a hundred thousand-year evolution and decades of intense training?

  “You’re losing it aren’t you?” Dare whispered quietly, the tension was noticeable in her voice; the smell of her apprehension hit him much harder. The fact that his beast was loose enough to heighten his already attuned senses sent a shiver of fear and awe coursing through him.

  He felt stronger, more aware, his senses sharper and more distinct than ever before. He wasn’t sure if it was more noticeable because the drug had worn off completely now, or because she’d made him conscious of it.

  “I honestly don’t know. I don’t know what is causing the loss of control of my beast.” He growled quietly, clasping his hands behind his back in a relaxed pose while his internal battle raged on.

  Dare looked at him sharply unsure what he meant, but knowing it might not be good. Her father had always glossed over conversations about this beast whom all the men of Valendran were born with.

  It was a symbiotic parasite that gave them added strength and enhanced senses, but beyond that he never really spoke about what it was. Under the current circumstances, it was time she learned what the hell it meant.

  “Explain to me what your beast is and what’s going on? I need to know.” Dare’s attitude and tone of voice expressed very clearly that she wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer.

  Glancing into her stormy grey eyes, Balduen realized that she needed to know what he knew. More so because he had no idea what was going on or what was going to happen. He had no fear for her; his beast would never harm his potential mate in any way. However, his behavior could be just as unpredictable as it was when she was in his lap. With a heavy sigh, he nodded his head and moved to sit on the bed and waited for her to join him.

  Dare stared at him for a moment, not afraid of him, but of her own reaction to him. If he was having a hard time controlling himself, she was damn sure she shouldn’t be adding to that by throwing herself at him again. She moved slowly to the bed and crawled up; sitting far enough away from him that she wouldn’t touch him when they leaned their heads together to talk.

  Chapter Five

  “Long ago, our people were controlled almost completely by the beasts who live in us. We were similar to your cavemen in our evolution, and the beasts were necessary for survival while we tamed our planet, evolved and learned to become more civilized.”

  “The beast controlled all of our instincts, reactions to danger, emotions… it allowed for more basic and immediate reactions for protecting and providing for our families while we learned to forge weapons and fight.”

  “Like any other planet evolving, so did we, and the more we allowed our minds to rule over our instincts, the further we could control the beasts through disuse and training.” Balduen knew he was speaking the most generic of terms, unfortunately it was the same way they were all taught about their beast as children.

  Whether it was because the full truth of the beast was no longer known, or because they feared the truth, no one ever knew. He and Niklosi and a few others had often wondered about it as boys, before they’d reached manhood and received their Ator-Ma.

  Even after manhood, with their control of their beasts firmly in place, they still had no idea what exactly their beast was capable of, if it wasn’t controlled.

  They’d all heard stories about other boys who’d gone insane or who couldn’t control their beasts; how they’d sometimes killed or harmed themselves or others without concern or remorse. All of them so dangerous that they’d taken several others down with them before they could be killed or restrained.

  “You mean like the way the Relian’s act all the time. It makes more sense now that I know they got their beast from your side of the family.” Dare quipped lightly, she hated the sound of uncertainty in his voice as he’d spoken.

  Balduen was startled when Dare spoke. Had he spoken aloud? How did he keep sharing what he thought were private thoughts with her like that? However, her observation was correct; it did explain why the Relian’s always acted from a baser evolutionary scale.

  “Yes, it does explain it.” He agreed with a small grin.

  “So you really have no idea what you’re capable of if you lose control of your beast? Do you remember anything growing up learning how to control it? Did you crawl around sniffing the neighbor’s butts or something?”

  Dare wasn’t making a joke that time, she really wanted to know if he was going to start crawling on all fours and making ape sounds or something if he didn’t get control. The situation was difficult enough without having to worry about whether or not she could get a sideshow freak out alive and to her father without drawing too much attention.

  “No! It’s not like that. Working on a baser level, the beast reacts to emotions; fear, love, joy, hate… and the deeper versions of those. Where your love for someone could make you fear for them if they were in danger, it would bring out the beast to ensure the protection of that person.”

  “The same would be applicable for providing for your family; the beast would give you the abilities to help you hunt well enough to feed and clothe your family.” He looked up quickly to make sure she knew she wouldn’t have to fear him. Ever. Not even his beast, were it to come forward.

  “Ok… let me see if I got this right. You’re in control until you need your super powers to protect you and yours. What exactly are these super powers and can they get us out of here?” Dare grinned at the relieved expression on his face. Poor baby must have thought she would be afraid of him. Hell, she knew better.

  She grew up with her father and saw the way he protected her mother and his family. If she really was Baldy’s mate, she was the only person here that would ever be safe from him and his beast. Dare wasn’t going to lie to herself
and say that didn’t make her happy either.

  Balduen couldn’t help but smile at the brave and cheeky woman. “Yes, that’s about right. I don’t think you could call it super powers, just an enhancement of abilities we all have.”

  “Strength of course, I can feel it coursing through my veins and bulking my muscles. My smell, sight, touch, hearing and taste are sharper; my reflexes much faster. My fury and rage are heightened, allowing the adrenaline to give all of my senses even more of a boost.” Balduen paused, surprised at how noticeable the changes were becoming in him; the extent of his loss of control.

  “Ok, so far I’m not seeing the down side of this. That’s all stuff we need to try to get the hell out of here.” Dare couldn’t keep the optimism out of her voice.

  “The problem is I haven’t lost enough control for it to matter. I can’t hear their conversations downstairs; I can’t break out the bricks or the door. Right now, it’s useless. And if I lose too much control before we have a plan, or before I know what to expect when I do, I could end up getting us killed or being separated from you. I wouldn’t be any good to either of us then.” He tried to smile, but his greatest fear right now is not there with her; being separated from her in some way.

  “Then we wait. It’s not like we don’t have the time. Do you know if it’s the drugs that are making you lose control? Is it being in here?” Dare almost sighed in her head at, there being something else they were in the dark on and needed more information about before they could act. She wanted out of here. Not more puzzles to figure out. Even so, she really didn’t have the heart to make him feel any worse than he already seemed to be feeling either.

  “Honestly, I’m not sure if it’s the drugs or a combination of the drugs and being captive. I’ve never really spoken much to those who’ve come back from Relian captivity before, so I don’t know if this is normal, or if it’s being caused by the drugs. I don’t even know if this drug has ever been used on one of us."”

  Balduen wasn’t the least bit happy that he had no answers for her, or himself for that matter. However, talking to her about it was making him feel a little less useless, and he hoped that maybe they could figure it out between them.

  “Then that sounds like something we need to try to get out of the doctor. We need to make a mental list of the things we need to get out of him, if we can. We each need to ask separate things, or he’ll realize pretty quickly that we’re pumping him for information. We don’t need him knowing how it’s affecting you until we know whether or not we can use it to get out of here. Agreed?” Dare met his ice blue stare and waited for him to answer.

  “Agreed.” Balduen wasn’t the least bit surprised this time when she said what he had been thinking. It was almost comforting that she had.

  “Cool. I’m going to grab a shower. I feel icky just knowing they took my damn clothes off me. Did they give us clean clothes or are we going to be stuck with these hideous things?” Dare asked as she stood and made a nasty face while she held the material of the gown away from her sides.

  “I believe they said the clothes were in the closet.” Balduen just grinned as he watched her quick and efficient movements.

  Dare headed towards the closet to see what they had to work with. On the top shelf, right as she walked in, were stacks of what appeared to be well used scrubs and T-shirts. Grabbing a couple of stacks, she put them on the bed and began rummaging through the tops and bottoms looking at the sizes. There was a stack of white cotton T-shirts for each of them and a stack of bottoms as well. However, no underwear and no bra. She really wanted her damn bra back!

  Balduen watched her looking through the clothes and knew she wasn’t happy about the missing undergarment that she had used for her breasts. As much as he would love to see her wearing nothing but the white T-shirt, he didn’t want anyone else to see her in nothing but that.

  “On Valendra, our women are pretty inventive with cloth. In fact, my mother and my sister used to wear a dress that appeared to be nothing more than strips of fabric. Let me show you.” Dare watched in fascination as Baldy took one of his white T-shirts and ripped it, peeling it like an apple, it until it was a long strip of cloth.

  He discarded the sleeves and then held it behind his back and brought the ends up over his chest, crisscrossing it, before tying it behind his neck.

  “You’re a genius Baldy! Thank you!” Dare gave him a wide smile as he removed the torn shirt and handed it to her. It was as perfect as she could get without an actual bra, and she was thrilled.

  “You are welcome. While you shower, I’ll see what kind of entertainment they will allow us on the video device.” Balduen wanted to assure her that he had no intention of violating her privacy.

  He was also familiar with the local TV stations around the cabin where they had found Cari and was hoping he could find a channel he had seen before. They could use all the help they could get figuring out where they were, and the distraction would help him stop thinking about what Dare was going to look like naked under the shower.

  Dare’s mind raced with questions as she grabbed a towel and headed towards the shower stall. Hanging her towel, shirt, pants and make-shift bra on the hook right outside the shower, she glared at the camera above the sink before she stepped in.

  She removed the gown and threw it onto the floor and braced herself for the blast of cold water before the temperature settled on the hot that she preferred. As the water loosened some of her tension, and her mind began to stop racing, the enormity of the situation finally hit her.

  Dare almost choked on a sob as she slowly slid along the wall of the shower until she was sitting on the floor. Wrapping her arms around her knees she curled into herself as tightly as she could and allowed the tears to mix with the water streaming down her face.

  *****

  Balduen had to fight the urge to run into the bathroom when he heard Dare’s single, uttered cry. He knew without a doubt she was in there sobbing, even though there was no sound other than the splashing of the water.

  Go to her! He wasn’t sure which he had to fight the hardest to stay on the bed, his beast, his body or his mind. However, he knew, somehow, that going to her right now would hurt her more. She was strong. Stronger than any of the Valendran females he’d ever met. She was proud and trained like a warrior; he would respect her as one and allow her this time of privacy.

  In this place, where they’d been stripped of their dignity and even the control of their body through the drugs, he would not allow anything else under his control to hurt her. Even though it was killing him not to hold her and try to comfort her.

  Thankfully, the drug was almost completely out of his system now, and it was much easier to control his beast. He’d never experienced the out of control emotions he’d been having since they started giving him that drug. Searching his mind, he tried to recall anything he’d ever heard of other Valendran males who’d been held captive, and he couldn’t come up with any mention of a drug that did this to their bodies.

  Surely, if one of the males had been exposed to something that did this to them, they would have told the High Council. They would have warned the others. So this has to be something new; something that they are trying out on him, and they don’t know the results of either. It has to be the reason why they are keeping him alive; he thought as he blindly pressed buttons on the remote control that was bolted into a sleeve that was bolted into the nightstand.

  Looking around the room he began noticing how everything was bolted down. The TV to the wall, the remote to the metal nightstand, the nightstand to the floor… he couldn’t help but chuckle at the precautions they were taking because of Dare’s gift. If what he’d seen in the alley was any indication of her power, they had a right to be a little paranoid. She hadn’t even broken a sweat and damn near killed every one of them without raising her arm.

  It was some pretty bad luck they had that the drug was affecting her abilities. They must have planned on that though. That must be what the
drug was made to do. Completely subdue and remove the threat of the gift. Maybe the fact that it worked on him was a side effect they hadn’t counted on. Which would mean that releasing his beast was an unintended consequence as well; one that they could use if he could control it well enough that they wouldn’t know it had happened, until it was too late.

  “You’re thinking awful hard there Baldy.”

  The caress of her whisper next to his ear startled Balduen badly enough to jump a foot away from her. He’d never admit it to anyone, but she scared the hell out of him. He never heard her coming up behind him. He was so deep in thought that he hadn’t heard a sound. Her laughter was doing nothing to soothe his pride about being caught unaware either.

  He frowned at Dare as she climbed onto the bed and assumed their private position. Sighing to himself, he scooted closer to her on the bed and bowed his head near hers.

  “I think they developed the drug, specifically to capture and contain one of you; to neutralize your gifts so that they can keep you helpless. I think the fact that it works on me was something that they may not have counted on, and they are keeping me alive in order to study the effects.”

  Dare’s breath caught in her throat when she realized what he meant. He’d be dead right now if the drug hadn’t worked on him. If they knew that it was affecting his beast, they would kill him for sure because of the threat he could pose to them.

  “You can’t let them know how it’s affecting your beast.” Dare hated the note of fear in her voice, but she couldn’t stop it. She was strong, yet she wasn’t sure she could do this without him. She ignored the stabbing pain in her heart at the thought of losing him.

  “I know. We’ll figure this out and get the hell out of here. Right now let’s see if there are any local channels we can get on the TV. It’d be good to know where we are.” Balduen needed to take her mind off of why he was still alive and re-focus her on getting out of this place. Although his heart soared at her concern, he couldn’t stand the smell of her fear.