Chasing Dare (3 page)

To his shock, his beast rose within him swiftly denying that they would allow anything to happen to the female.
Mine,
it whispered through his head.
What the hell?
Before he could think about his beast’s reaction, the door to the basement opened, and he turned to face whoever was entering.

Dare was already standing battle ready when the short stocky man entered behind the Relian called Brak, with a much shorter, largely rounded woman following the small man.

Brak walked cockily up to Dare and smirked, “You couldn’t destroy anything if you tried, and you’ve finally been leashed like a bitch should be.”

Dare jumped up faster than Balduen believed was possible and smacked both of her fists against the clear wall between her and Brak causing him to jump back in fear.

Dare laughed heartily at his cowardly reaction, “Just wait Broke, soon you’ll be very broken. Permanently.”

Finding his courage Brak started storming to the door of the cell, and Balduen lunged to put himself between Dare and the door before the booming voice stopped everyone.

“Enough! Brak, get the hell out of here! Now!” The short man’s voice echoed loudly through the cellar, his vocal ability surprising for a man his size.

Brak stared at Dare for a long moment, his eyes promising vengeance for a lot more than just the scar on his face and getting embarrassed here. Balduen could tell right away that whatever history was between Dare and Brak; it was going to end with one of them dead.
Yes, him
, his beast whispered through his mind. Balduen agreed with his beast; that bastard would not touch her if he could stop it.

Balduen relaxed only slightly when Brak finally turned and stormed to the door. However, instead of leaving like he was told he stationed himself in front of it. The short man only shook his head and stood behind the desk, the woman behind him, off to the side.

“Now that I have your attention, we can move on. I’m Dr. Jose Camarasa, and this is my assistant Lucretia Moore.” The man walked bravely up to the wall where Dare was standing, just far enough away so he wouldn’t have to crane his neck to speak to her.

“I understand you are Darennia Demetrios, daughter of an original Valendran and what you call a 'gifted' woman. I saw on Brak’s body camera’s that your gift of telekinesis is quite well-developed and impressive. I would like to learn more about it, but we’ll save that until our primary goal is accomplished.” The man ignored Dare’s snort of disgust and continued.

“I’m aware of the previous methods that they have used to subdue your kind and keep you captive. However, I would like for our relationship to be the exact opposite of those barbaric conditions. I will afford you every courtesy, other than release, for your cooperation in these little experiments that must be conducted.”

“I can assure you they will not be painful, and I will try to ensure you are under as little stress as possible.” The man paused as if waiting for their reaction. It didn’t take long for Dare to give him what he was looking for.

Balduen watched as Dare acted on the very same rage he was feeling from the doctor’s speech. She exploded against the side of the wall; she pounded her fists and kicked out with her feet so violently Balduen was becoming concerned that she would harm herself.

“I will give you one warning. You either release me now or die later!” Dare screamed the threat and meant every word she said. One way or another, even if it meant her own life, she was going to kill this son of a bitch; and the fat bitch smirking at her from the chair behind the desk.

Balduen had to admit; her courage and capacity for violence were damn intimidating and the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. However, it seemed only to irritate the short man.

“I had hoped to be able to reason with you, but planned on this as well. You have been fitted with a drug-delivery device similar to a birth control implant. Until you decide to be cooperative you will be calmed.” The words had no sooner been spoken when Dare felt a rush of something flood her system. Feeling dizzy immediately, she stumbled towards Balduen, who stared at her for a moment before rushing towards her, catching her in his arms as she collapsed.

“What are you doing to her?” Balduen demanded angrily, checking to make sure she was still breathing.

The doctor studied Balduen curiously for a moment before answering.

“She has been rendered unconscious for a moment and has not been harmed. If she does not agree to comply, she will continue to be subdued.”

The doctor watched in silent contemplation while Balduen gently carried Dare’s unconscious form to the bed and laid her down tenderly. He covered her slight body with the blanket before brushing a lock of her silky hair back from her face, then turned to face the man who’d drugged her.

“If you do anything to hurt her, I will tear you apart limb from limb and that will be the nicest thing I do to everyone in this place.” Balduen growled so low that Brak had to strain to hear him, and he started towards the cell before the doctor put up a hand to stop him.

“You’ll be dead before you can even think about it. Then it’s going to be just me and your pretty little friend.” Brak replied with a hateful gleam in his eye.

Balduen lunged at the wall of the cell in the same way that Dare had earlier, with the same result of Brak jumping back in fear before he caught himself.

Turning red with rage Brak headed towards the cell one more time, before the doctor turned to face him.

“Our plans have changed. I will be using him in the experiment as well. If you touch one of them, I will inform Grai T’Alq that you are impeding the progress of my experiments. Is that understood?” For such a small man, Jose could be quite menacing, and Brak nodded his head as he backed away from him.

“You’re working for the Relian leader’s son? What are you planning to do to her? What experiments?” Balduen demanded, fearing more for Dare now that he knew that the leader’s son was in command of this. He attempted to calm his beasts’ fury at the thought of them harming the tough and beautiful warrior female long enough to find out what they were planning. And stop it.

“Technically, I work for Kalai T’Alq. His son was ordered to oversee things here on the planet.” Jose had no qualms about sharing information with the alien; confident that they would never be able to divulge that information to anyone else.

So the Relian leader’s son was here on the planet. Balduen filed that information away for later, wondering briefly if he was at this location.
Wherever here was
, he thought before the doctor continued.

“As for the experiments, they would be completely painless. Don’t misunderstand me; I don’t expect you to be happy about this. In fact, I expect you to be angry, as anyone would be. However, for the sake of your lives, I would like to have your cooperation. I can and will guarantee your safety for many, many years to come if you comply." 

Balduen’s mind was racing with fear, fury and the worst of all… helplessness to protect the female. Staring at the small monster in front of him casually he growled as his beast roared with rage in his head. “What experiments?” He asked through gritted teeth.

“I’m sure you are aware that the Relian’s have been interbred so prolifically with other species in an attempt to breed their unique gifts and abilities into their own race, that they have almost completely destroyed their original race. They, like your people are looking for the survival of their race.”

“Women like Dare, are unique, as you know. I believe that there is a way to breed the two and will attempt to do so with Dare.” The doctor paused, fully expecting Balduen to interrupt. He didn’t have to wait long; although even he was startled by the man’s rage as he literally shook the cell walls.

Using the remote in his pocket, he pressed a button and watched as Balduen immediately began to calm down. He only wanted the man calm, not passed out and let go of the button. Somehow he felt that this man would not only be what made the experiment succeed, but he felt he was much more level-headed than the female.

He was betting that the tender and careful way he tended to and tried to protect the female, would lead him to realize cooperation was his best chance at keeping her physically unharmed and alive.

Balduen could feel the drug seep into his veins and tried to fight it, but was overcome with a sense of calmness and lethargy. He knew he’d been drugged like Dare had been and moved to sit on the floor with his butt on the corner of the mattress facing the door and waited to pass out like Dare had.

He stared at the small monster who was now bravely standing right up against the clear wall. The monster who wanted to try to force Dare to carry the baby of the animals that hunted and tortured her kind. He couldn’t imagine how she was going to react when she found out.
By the One, what the hell was he going to do?

“I know that this is not something either of you want; however, I think when your alternative is torture and death you would want to ensure she lives.” The monster casually said as if speaking of the weather. Balduen was surprised at how easily this human was willing to do unspeakable things to a helpless female. The callousness sickened him.

“Go to hell! I will never willingly assist you in raping her!” The fact that he seemed to grit that out calmly made his beast rage inside. He wanted to rip the wall down with his bare hands and begin tearing the man limb from limb as he’d promised earlier, but was unable to raise a fist.

“No, no you misunderstand me! I have no intention of letting any of them touch her. We have the ability to do it artificially. In fact, I believe it would be better if she had no contact with any of them throughout the process.” The doctor felt sure that the stress and fear were what helped prevent the unusual pairings to have ever produced up to this point; that and the brutality generally displayed by the Relian’s. He knew that a truly natural conception could never occur between the two species.

“What the hell do you expect from me?” Balduen growled; the tone of his growls the only way to express his fury with the drug coursing through him. Although, his beast was having no problem raging in his head. He couldn’t remember ever hearing his beast so clearly and so often as he had since he woke up. 

“I have studied your people and your history for years in an attempt to figure out the problem that they are having reproducing. Since the records go back so far, I was able to determine that at one point in your history, one of your people actually mated with a Relian lord of lesser stature.”

“It was this bloodline that had gone on to produce the warrior’s that they eventually became. Their clan had grown and defeated all the higher clans until they began to rule the planet. It was when they began tainting their original DNA with multiple species that they began having problems.”

“It is your common ancestry and your ability to produce with these females, that will help me discover a way to make it work. I also would like to study your species as a matter of science and curiosity. Including the mating, which I believe you may be capable of with our Dare here.”

“I’m very thorough in my research, and I was lucky enough to review the surviving records the Relian’s had on their observations of your people and the gifted and hybrid women. What little there was remaining; your people here have been very dedicated to making sure no records exist of them.”

The doctor said the last with a smirk of respect. He considered himself a man of science, an intelligent man; and he could appreciate the intelligence of this man and his people. Which was something that was seriously lacking in the Relian’s like Brak that he’d been forced to deal with. He much preferred the company of the leader’s son, Grai. Then again, Grai was an original Relian of the warrior class, having been bred by the leader onto a captive Valendran woman who’d been kidnapped, long before they had been infected by the alien virus.

It was Grai’s DNA and sperm that he was going to use to try to impregnate Dare. Grai’s was the closest thing to their original form, or at least the variation that Kalai wanted bred back into his people. Unfortunately, Kalai’s own samples could not be used. There was an unknown virus ravaging his cells, rendering them unusable. Grai was the next-best thing as the Second In Command of the Relian Empire, followed by his three younger brothers who had all been sired from the same Valendran woman.

Balduen just stared at the man in silence, familiar with the legends and stories regarding the Relian’s history. Although he couldn’t say for sure if they were true or not, and it didn’t matter at this point.

“I suggest you both give this some thought. I’ll be back later to discuss your decision.” The doctor nodded then walked to the door; his assistant turned red as her large hip caught on the desk as she stood up before hurrying after the doctor. Brak flipped his middle finger before slamming the door shut behind him leaving the room in silence.

Balduen rubbed at his head as he felt the chemical slowly releasing its hold on his body and mind.

Chapter Three

“Was the history lesson true?” Balduen started at the sound of Dare’s voice behind him. Turning he saw that she was still laying on the mattress, but wide awake and staring at him.

“How long have you been awake? How do you feel?” He asked carefully as he moved over to her side, wanting to make sure she was unharmed by the drug.

“I was starting to come out of it when you got hit with it. Although I stayed furious in my head, my body and speech just wouldn’t cooperate. I hate that shit. We need to figure out where they put the implants.” Dare said bowing her head towards his chest to whisper, unaware that her nearness was wreaking havoc on Balduen’s nerves.