Chasing Dare (5 page)

Balduen couldn’t help it, and he burst out laughing. She was a terrible liar, and the flaming color on her face told him he was right.

“Ugh! Don’t start being an annoying roomie already, or we’re gonna have problem's buddy!” Dare threw the blanket at him playfully and only got slightly irritated that he’d snatched it so quickly out of the air that it surprised her. The guy had some serious moves. Without the drugs, he’d be a lethal ally to have.

“I promise to try not to annoy you too badly.” He replied with a grin. Standing quickly he wrapped the blanket back around her shoulders and gave them a squeeze of affection, before walking around the wall again.

How strange, he thought. There was no natural light coming in through any crevices he could find in the concrete walls outside of their clear cell. Which confirmed to him that they were underground in a basement area like the one he’d found at the cabin that Cari and her uncle Randor had been staying in before she’d been captured.

“We’re in a basement. It’s a room built underneath a family home. Considering the size it’s not a very big place, maybe three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs judging by the size of where we are down here.”

Balduen looked at Dare curiously. That’s the second time that she spoke his thoughts, surely it was just a coincidence. They couldn’t possibly be forming such a close bond that quickly. Could they? It had for Scaden and Cari. Maybe she just thought the same way he did? Ignoring it for now, he nodded his head in silent agreement with her assessment and turned toward a different wall.

“I’m getting pretty damn hungry and thirsty people!” Dare’s yelled outburst startled him into spinning around to look at her.

Shrugging her shoulders at him, Dare just stared at him for a moment.

“What? I am! I have a high metabolism and need to eat regularly, or I get sick.” Dare defended herself with a glare.

After checking to make sure she seemed ok he moved to put himself between her and the door that led to the house, waiting for someone to come down the stairs. If he were honest, he’d admit he was glad she said something since he really needed to use the bathroom and there were no facilities, even crude ones to use in this empty cell.

Dare paced around for a few minutes still wrapped in the blanket. She’d been exaggerating just slightly when she said that she got ill over it. It would be closer to the truth to say she became a terrible bitch, but she didn’t think that would get the doctor’s attention quite as dramatically as his test subject getting sick before he could experiment.

She needed a damn bathroom! Where the hell, did the doctor think they were supposed to go to the bathroom? There was nothing in here but a mattress and blanket!

Focusing on her irritation allowed her to take her mind off of the feelings she was beginning to have for Balduen. Was there something in the drug that was making them bond faster than normal? Was any of this normal? She had no idea, and she didn’t want to ask Balduen. She really didn’t want him or anyone else to know how rapidly she was becoming attached to him.

Hell, she still hadn’t had time to think about who he really was and the ramifications of who he was to her people. Much less consider the fact that this must be some serious cosmic joke to meet a potential mate who came from another freaking planet, just to get kidnapped and imprisoned with him in less than two hours of meeting.
What the hell, were the odds of that
?

And she really didn’t want to think about the possibility that she could be impregnated with a Relian child, while forming a new bond with her mate.
Oh yeah, that would probably be an awesome bonding experience for us
, she thought sarcastically.

The only mated couple she’d ever seen had been her parents, so she had no idea how this was really supposed to work. She knew her father had always been over protective of her mother and his daughters. She learned, as part of her father’s history about the mating bond and how it worked.

Her mother had even explained to her and her sister True, how it had affected her. How she knew that their father, was the one destined for her almost immediately after meeting him.

The only thing that seemed kind of fuzzy to her was the whole beast thing that her father said was mostly dormant inside all Valendran males. She was getting ready to ask Baldy about it when she heard the door to the basement open. Turning towards the door, she stood beside Balduen while they watched the doctor, his assistant, Brak and another Relian they had not seen before come walking into the room.

Chapter Four

“I assume by your outburst that you have thought about my offer and have made your decision.” The doctor stood behind the wall of their cell with his hands behind his back, a slight smirk on his face that Dare wanted to punch, but she held her temper. Barely.

“Yes. Now, can we please have a bathroom?” Baldy asked. Dare almost sighed in relief that he had.

She watched as the doctor’s hand slipped into his left pocket, then immediately began to feel the drug seeping into her cells again.

“Son of a bitch!” Dare uttered, glaring at the doctor with distaste and hatred before the drug relaxed her facial muscles.

“I’m not dumb enough to trust you without the drug. Have no fear that I will go back on my word though. I will not harm you as long as you cooperate. Besides, it’s in everyone’s nature to fight that which they do not want to accept. It will take some time before you adapt.”

Balduen wanted to rage and growl along with his beast, which seemed to be the only part of Balduen not affected by that damn drug. He hated the feeling of not only his strength, but his will, slipping from him, the lack of control of himself. The inability to rip them all apart and take Dare away from this danger and protect her.

Dare stared at the sneering face of the only other female she’d seen so far and knew that she’d get no mercy or reprieve from that woman. If anything, she would be Dare’s biggest tormentor, no matter what the doctor promised.

Dare had dealt with that particular kind of female before. In fact, most women on the planet probably encountered one just like her at some point in their lives. They were the ones who hated other women for every reason you could think of; they were prettier, skinnier, smarter, kinder... they were always cruel and enjoyed the misery and pain of others. More so, when they were the cause of it.

It didn’t matter how much you tried to befriend them; they always stabbed you in the back. It would not surprise Dare, in the least, if the woman had willingly joined the Relian’s.

This was the most dangerous person she’d encountered so far in this hell, and she was going to have to watch herself and Balduen carefully around her.

She watched passively as the doctor turned to Brak, speaking harshly. “You do not touch her. Ever. You will kindly lead the Valendran out first, while Morat leads our impending mother upstairs. Is that understood?”

“I’m warning you; this is a mistake!” Brak snarled back at the man in fury.

“You were there when Grai agreed with me! Unless you would like to explain to him why you refuse to listen to my orders you will do what you are told! Now!”

Oh that’s interesting;
Balduen thought. Why the hell, would the Relian leader’s son agree to not harming them? It wasn’t exactly in their nature to be kind; not even to each other. In fact, they were just as known for killing each other as much as everyone else, which most likely helped lead to their near extinction.  

Balduen attempted to brace himself in front of Dare when Brak opened the door, but his body would just not cooperate with his mind. Turning to Dare he offered her a sad smile of apology for his uselessness.

Dare looked at the grief on Baldy’s face and knew it must be killing him that he couldn’t protect her and get them out of here. It would be killing her father, who’d been raised with the same protective instincts as Baldy.

Dare wished she could comfort him somehow and gave him the brightest grin she could muster while under the efforts of the drug. She watched with rage as Brak yanked roughly on Baldy’s arm and began dragging him out of the glass cell, followed by the doctor.

“I’ll go in and get her; you wait here.” Like Baldy, Dare tried to brace herself as Lucretia, the doctor’s assistant awkwardly moved sideways through the door to the cell to fit her bulk through the narrow doorway.

Blushing furiously, in what Dare assumed was embarrassment, the woman stalked towards her with a malicious gleam in her eye. She tried to brace herself mentally, since she couldn’t physically, to be the outlet of the woman’s self-anger.

She wasn’t the least surprised when the woman viciously pinched the inside of her arm when she grabbed her. Dare had to stop the hiss of pain from escaping in reaction.

“I will warn you this one time; when I get out of here, you will live or die based on how you act. You may want to reconsider your attitude bitch.” Dare whispered quietly, fury raging through her head.

The nasty little troll just barked out a sharp laugh before pinching her arm even harder. “You won’t be doing anything bitch. You’re nothing more than a brood mare for the moment. At least until Dr. Camarasa realizes you’re useless.”

“Miss, the doctor said she wasn’t to be harmed!” Morat whispered nervously from the doorway of the cell.

“Shut up you fool or I’ll tell the doctor you tried to rape me! You remember what happened to your poor brother Tomom when that happened, don't you?” Lucretia smiled at the memory of watching Brak, and his men beat Tomom to death. His screams of innocence only excited her more, and she’d immediately gone to his brother Morat’s room for relief. Unlike his brother, he’d learned quickly not to turn down her unwanted advances.

She dragged Dare’s pliant form easily toward the door and pushed her roughly through while she managed to get herself out of the doorway again.

Grabbing her arm again she pushed her to move towards the door to the stairs.

“You go first.” She gestured to Morat to go ahead and waited until he’d started disappearing up the stairs before pushing Dare forward from behind. Dare counted the steps as she went up them, looking around as she did. She emerged into a small single family kitchen, glancing quickly she noted the sliding glass door that led to a deck and surrounding woods.

The kitchen was obviously being used by the occupants, and she was surprised to note that the place looked clean. Well used but clean. She noted a Relian she hadn’t seen before sitting at a small wooden dining room table in front of the sliding glass door.

“Turn right idiot and follow Morat!” At the sharp punch in her right kidney, Dare turned around to glare down at the smirk on Lucretia’s face before following Morat down a short hallway.

They passed a sparsely furnished living room with two more Relian’s that she’d seen behind Baldy in the alley and two closed doors before heading up another set of stairs to a rather large landing before Morat disappeared into the only door.

Dare could hear the mumbled voices before they’d even reached the landing and knew that Baldy and the doctor were already in the room. She was surprised at how happy it made her feel to know Balduen was there, and she hoped they would be able to stay together.  

She was just as surprised at the room. It obviously was built to be a private master bedroom. To the right was an actual bed, although the legs of the metal frame appeared to be bolted to the floor. A pretty floral, mint green comforter and matching solid green sheets adorned the comfortable looking pillows on the bed. To the left of the bed was a nightstand that was more obviously secured to the floor, the same with the large-screen TV on the wall facing the bed.

Balduen stood silently near the bathroom while Dare got her bearings in their new room; his inability to rage at the current situation was making his beast even more vocal and restless. Having Dare with him was certainly helping to tame the wildness, and he ached at his inability to go to her and put his arms around her.

“As you can see, your agreement to comply has already improved your situation. This is your new room. You have a full bathroom and a proper bed. The cooler will be stocked daily with drinks and healthy snacks, and meals will be provided regularly as well.”

The doctor’s attitude made Dare want to snap his damn neck. The bastard had the nerve to act like they should be grateful that he’s treating them a bit better than animals. Instead, she just stared at him blankly for a moment before walking silently past him and Baldy.

She almost stopped in her tracks when she felt the slight brush of Balduen's hand against her arm as she passed, instead she shivered slightly before walking through the doorway… minus an actual door.

Thankfully, the toilet was in the farthest corner of the bathroom, behind the shower stall so at least there was still some privacy even with the bathroom door removed. The room was stripped of all but the basic fixtures.

Even the shampoo, conditioner and body wash was installed in a large dispenser in the shower, on the wall. She assumed it was to minimize things she could possibly use as weapons or projectiles. Which seemed to be pretty pointless if the drug took away her ability to use her gift.

Finishing her business, she noted the big, fluffy towels stacked under the door-less cabinets under the large, two basin sink. The location above the sink was obviously missing the mirror that had been there for a long time, if the outline in the paint on the wall was a clue.

She passed the small shower stall, also minus its glass door, and a larger oval garden tub that would have looked inviting under any other circumstances. The shower with its floor to ceiling tiled walls provided the only other reprieve than the toilet, from the cameras in the bathroom.