Chasing Dare (6 page)

She left the bathroom to stand next to Baldy, who despite the drug seemed to vibrate with fury. She glanced up at him curiously and noted a slight tightening in his jaw that she hadn’t noticed before and wondered if the drug might be wearing off of him.

Doing a quick mental check, she didn’t notice any such difference in her own symptoms. She was still fully under the spell of the drug. Were they not keeping him as heavily drugged as her? She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that it took a moment to realize the doctor had been speaking to her.

“I said that I hoped these accommodations are more suitable to you. You will be given two days to acclimate yourself to your new situation before the testing officially begins. Until then, you are going to be started on hormone injections; the first of which I will give you now before I leave. Please place your hands on the bed and bend slightly over the mattress.”

Just the off-handed way in which the doctor said it seemed to infuriate Baldy nearly as much as Dare, the only difference was she moved passively to the bed while her mind railed against her own body not to move.

However, there was no mistaking the flash of fury in Baldy’s eyes before it quickly disappeared.
What the hell? Was he becoming immune to the drug? Had he found a way to fight it? Dare wondered.
 

She was so preoccupied with her thoughts; she really didn’t pay much attention to the doctor yanking up her gown and stabbing her in the right cheek before walking to the door.

“I will see you in the morning.” Was all the doctor said before he quickly shut the door behind him. Dare heard at least three different locks click into place before she spun around sluggishly towards the only window in the room.

“Don’t bother. I’ve already checked. And the doctor has assured me that the window in here, and in the bathroom have been solidly bricked up. The door and its frame were replaced with solid steel. Now come here. Are you ok?”  Baldy didn’t wait for her to do as he asked; he immediately walked over to her and began inspecting her. It wasn’t until he gently grabbed her arm to lead her to the bed that she hissed slightly.

Curious, he lifted her arm up and winced at the purplish and red bruise almost the width of the inside of her arm that was already forming. There was no mistaking the fury flashing in his eyes this time.

“What happened?” His sharp words were growled out slowly, as if it took great effort to say them in an angry tone.

Noting that her own body was still under the effects of the drug, which had only begun fading slightly when the doctor had left and not wanting them to know that the drug was wearing off of Balduen, she launched herself into his arms. She wrapped her legs and arms against him so quickly that he was caught off guard and stumbled over to the bed.

She waited until he was sitting down before burying her face against his neck so the cameras couldn’t see her lips move before speaking.

“Are you fighting the drug? How are you doing it? What are you doing?”

Balduen was startled for a moment by her questions.
What the hell was she talking about?
He wasn’t fighting the drug; he was still affected. Otherwise, he would have killed them all and taken Dare from here by now.  

He tried to concentrate on what she might mean but couldn’t focus with her lush body filling his arms and sitting on his lap. His beast purred with pleasure at the feel of her pressed so intimately against him.

His cock grew uncontrollably the moment he felt the heat of her pressed against his cock with only his gown between them. He couldn’t help but feel her naked cheeks in his hands, her gown having been pushed up to her hips when she’d wrapped her legs around him.

Of their own volition, his hands began gently kneading the firm cheeks, pressing her closer to his body. His beast screamed at him in his mind to take their mate, to make her theirs before the doctor could touch her.

Dare was really glad that the drug was seeping out of her system, because she knew she was going to need her body and wits about her in a few minutes. The change in Baldy was hard to miss, and she was caught between the need to hide his rapid change from the drug and her need to flee the sexually charged situation.

She’d had no idea that jumping into his arms would cause such a reaction from him. The raw sexuality seemed to bleed from him as he gently kneaded her ass, grinding her slowly and carefully against his cock. Her body was on fire, her breath catching in her throat as little shocks radiated from where the heat of his cock teased her clit.

The change in him was so quick that she knew at the sound of his slight pants and the increased urgency of his movements that if she didn’t stop him soon they were going to end up going too far. Fighting the drugs lingering effects and her own raging arousal, she grabbed his hands to stop him.

“If you don’t stop now we will go too far! They can’t know that the drugs aren’t affecting you as well anymore!” She barked quietly at him, her body screaming at her to let him continue.

It took Balduen a moment to realize that she was no longer allowing him to touch her, the beast in him growling to show her that he was the alpha and her, his mate. He fought the urge to coax her compliance to him, his mind trying to comprehend what she’d said while he struggled to control his beast.

What the hell, was wrong with him?
It hadn’t taken this much effort to control his beast since he was a child!

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.