by Mikayla Lane
Now that they had started forming a fragile bond between them, he was more determined than ever to strengthen it as much as possible in order to help her and their offspring.
“Shhh, it’s alright Dare. Ibix is trying to calm his child so you can hear our child, but the other beast drowns out the both of them. We have no connection to it to communicate with it. It’s best for you to try not to speak to any of the voices besides Thorns until we can figure out a way to isolate the other beast.”
Balduen couldn’t believe that Dare was still keeping her composure. He wasn’t sure how. He was a mess right now and the only thing keeping him sane was Ibix, his connection to Dreadhawk and the fierce need he felt to protect and care for his mate and child.
Dare cringed from the sharp stab of pain that flashed through her at Balduen’s words. It wasn’t her pain though, she knew that now. The strange emotions, the fear, pain, loneliness… all of it belonged to the two beast minds all trying to take over her child. Her son. The one that wasn’t even twenty-four hours old yet.
Placing a protective hand on her stomach, she wished they were out of here. Back with her father, where she would feel safe, and he could help her figure out what to do. Not sitting here trapped in a shower waiting for a different alien to show up and help her child.
“I want out of here. We need to get to my father. We can get hold of your people once we’re safe. Please Balduen. We don’t know what they will do when they find out that I’m pregnant, but not by the Relian’s.” Dare pleaded with him, unconcerned with her pride when she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle this much longer if they were still being held captive. She needed options, to know she had options, and she could have none of that here.
“We’ll leave tonight through the window, after it gets dark. Come, try to eat and we’ll rest together so that you’ll be ready to leave.” Balduen began to draw her out of the room when she stopped him.
“Baldy… it’s not… it’s not that I’m not happy.” Dare looked down, ashamed at her thoughts.
Balduen heard her thoughts relayed through Thorn to Ibix, and he grabbed her into a tight hug. Fear and worry for her were tearing him apart. Their child… their son… he couldn’t even think about the child right now when Dare was so distraught.
“Dare, I know. Stop thinking about it. We don’t have to deal with this right now. We’ll have plenty of time for that when we get to your father, and Dreadhawk arrives.”
“Right now, it’s just you and me. Ok and Ibix and Thorn. So let’s spend the rest of the day trying to help build your bond with Thorn. Maybe we can get your ability back as well.”
Balduen forced himself to smile through the pain he could feel emanating from Dare. From her stomach. His words were heard by his son and his son’s beast, as well as the other beast. The pain of his presumed rejection as well as Dares was crushing in its intensity, and he fought to breathe through it.
When Dare grabbed her stomach and hit the floor, Balduen realized they could not deal with the problem like this. It was too much emotionally, for any of them to take. The pain and fear of the young ones too great of a strain on the fragile bonds that connected them all.
“Ok, ok. Dare, listen to me.” Balduen had to force her to look at him, the emotions crippling her. When she was able to focus on him, he continued.
“Dare, accept them. Accept all of them for now, so that you keep the peace between them all until we can get out of here. Can you do that? Just think of peace right now. Peace between all of us. You don’t have to talk to anyone but Thorn and me, but just accept everything for now.” Balduen stroked her back calmly as he followed his own advice and tried to keep his mind filled with peace and serenity.
Dare calmed as the tumultuous emotions lessened their grip on her, the pain easing enough for her to take deep breaths. The more the voices and emotions calmed the easier she could project more quietness in her mind. Using that quiet, she tried to mentally project herself gently ‘shushing’ the voices.
Rubbing her flat stomach soothingly, she spoke to all of them in her head.
“We all need each other right now if we are going to survive and make it out of here. I need to learn to bond with Thorn now to help make that happen. No more yelling, shouting or fighting each other until we are all safe. How about that guys? Let’s all play nice with the only female since I’m already way outnumbered and overwhelmed.”
Feeling much more confident now that the pain and emotions weren’t overwhelming her and the pain in her head had eased, Dare stood back up and walked back into the bedroom. Balduen wasn’t far behind her.
Turning around to face him, Dare gave Balduen a small smile before sitting down to check out their breakfast.
Baldy watched in surprise as Dare calmly set out their breakfast for each of them. Just the little he had felt coming through his bond with Ibix, Dare and the three young ones had almost crippled him. It had definitely left him unable to think. He couldn’t imagine how much worse it was for her.
“No offense intended Ibix, but if this emotional mess is what happens with these bonds, then I can see why my people decided to sever the connection.” Balduen couldn’t imagine how his people survived as long as they did with this kind of thing handicapping them.
“It’s not usually like this. The female’s beast remains dormant, which means there is not normally a channel for that communication. The only thing the mother usually experiences is the emotions of the child. Happiness or hunger, minor things. Nothing like this.”
“It was the fighting between the two beasts that opened the pathway through the child to her. They barreled through the boy’s fragile defenses that normally would have protected her from the voice of the beast. Once the connection was made, it became stronger the more they used it in their fight for control. Dreadhawk gave her the connection with Thorn in order to help her focus, and so he could help calm his offspring.”
Balduen knew by the sadness in Ibix’s voice that he was just as worried as he and Dare were about their child. It was hard for him to wrap his mind around the fact that his beast was a father to his son’s beast. He’d just found and claimed his mate, and here he was a father now as well.
His little family of just he and Dare grew in only hours to include Ibix, Thorn, Ibix’s son and his own son now. The moment the sadness began to hit them all; Balduen immediately stopped his thoughts and concentrated on building a wall around his thoughts and emotions so that they would be harder for the young ones to pick up on.
Balduen and Dare ate in silence, both wrapped up in their own thoughts and grateful for the current silence from all the little ones.
“It’s more intense because of the rapid gestation of the Valendrans isn’t it? The child is growing much faster.” Dare asked curiously; wondering if the child and the beasts inside of her could be detected with the doctor’s equipment in the lab, or if it were still too early.
“I know that the process only took five months for Scaden’s mate Cari, which is a normal gestational period for a Valendran. I do not know if it would be the same for all hybrids, but our medical officer, Amun, assumed that it would be.” Baldy wasn’t sure where her mind was leading her, but would be as honest as he could be with her.
“Do the Relian’s have the ability to check the DNA of the baby when it’s this young?” Dare needed to know how soon they could detect the paternity of the child.
“I do not know what their medical capabilities are. As scavengers, I would assume that they have stolen the technology from another race by now. Did the equipment in the lab you are taken to look out of place for the current technological capabilities for the planet?” Baldy looked at Dare in puzzlement, still unclear as to what direction her mind was heading with these questions.
“It was hard to tell since I’m not really familiar with medical technology. I never had to learn it with our ability to heal quickly and anything more serious was taken care of by Doc Maggie.”
“Are you done?” D
are asked, quickly changing the subject.
At Baldy’s nod, Dare began throwing all their breakfast trash into the bag and placed it by the door.
“Let’s get started. We have a lot to do.” Baldy quirked his brow at Dare’s determined attitude, but followed her to the bed and climbed in next to her, pulling the covers up to their faces.
*****
Brak had made an excuse to venture halfway up to the stairs when breakfast had been brought to the Valendran and the bitch. He had to confirm what he’d suspected earlier.
His senses didn’t lie to him. The bitch was already breeding! Damn! He didn’t expect it to work; and hadn’t really thought they would ever be able to breed with one of those half species mongrels.
Grai would be thrilled to know that it had worked, and his child’s beast was strong. Stronger than any Brak had sensed in a long time. In fact, the last time he had sensed one that strong had been the last time he had been around Grai and his brother Dagog.
Now that there was a child, his plans would have to change dramatically. He would wait until he had proof from the doctor of its existence before implementing his boss’s final orders. But, while he waited for that confirmation, he would ensure that he kept his word regarding the crazy bitch Lucretia.
What better way to cover up what will truly happen here, then to use her as an excuse, he thought with a nasty grin. Yes, this assignment would be fun for him after all, Brak thought as he went to find Lucretia to tell her when he would allow her access to the Valendran.
*****
“All of the dark ones that escaped have been re-captured and contained then?” Grai was becoming angrier by the day with the lapse in security in the shuttle bay of the mother ship.
No matter what protocols he put into place, the escaping Relian hybrids were swarming through them and coming to the planet in alarming numbers. At this rate there would be no way to contain them, and the planet’s population would soon find out very quickly that they were definitely not alone in the universe; and that true evil really did exist. That would not fit in his plans at all, Grai thought.
“Yes, but there were a lot of others that we still have not been able to track. Grai, we’ve got to do something. The dark ones are difficult enough for us to control up here, planet side; they would decimate everything and everyone in their path, which would do us absolutely no good.” Koda said with exasperation as he spoke with his brother on the vid comm.
“I will speak with Dagog… again. But, we both know it will do no good.” Grai dreaded the conversation, more so when he knew it was a waste of his time. His brother was determined not only to follow in their father’s footsteps, but to leave a heavier and more violent mark than they ever had before.
Much like their father, their brother Dagog could not see beyond his own immediate needs. He had no ability to see what the future could bring for their people, and they refused to listen to reason. Only their father could ever keep Dagog under control and right now, even with the best of care, their father’s brain was being destroyed.
“I would try to help you with this Grai, but you know that it is best that I stay away from Dagog. We have enough problems on the ship without adding more tension. Maybe you could get Traze to talk to him?” Koda sounded hopeful when he mentioned their youngest brother. Traze was the only thing the brothers would ever agree on or fight together to protect.
It wasn’t just that he was the typical baby of the family that had endeared him to all of them. It was the fact that each of them had played a major role in keeping him alive and raising him since his birth. Even Dagog wasn’t immune to the boy’s charm.
“No, I will take care of it. I think the less time that he spends with Dagog, the better. I do not want to take the chance that he will use Traze against us, to get what he wants.”
“How do your other projects go brother? Any good news?” Grai asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger trying to help ease the massive headache that he was getting. And it was only six in the morning; he thought with a sigh.
Grai listened with only half an ear as he pulled out his laptop and started it up before getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom.
Paying enough attention to his brother to insert the appropriate comments when needed, he went about getting ready for his day. He was already running late this morning due to last night taking much longer than he had anticipated, and he was anxious to get things accomplished today.
Besides, he needed the distraction. It was Saturday, and come Monday; he would know if the tests on Dare had been a success or not. Even knowing that the chances were incredibly small that it would happen the first time, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of… expectancy and happiness. And great sadness as well.
Pushing the disturbing feelings aside, Grai loaded his weapons and began sliding them into the various pockets and zippers on his clothes and boots before heading out of the door to take care of yet one more unexpected problem before starting his day.
*****
Balduen and Dare spent the rest of the day trying to help her and Thorn bond more deeply. Although, they had made good progress, they had not made nearly enough for Dare to feel comfortable about their ability to escape that night.
She still couldn’t use her powers, even with Thorn, and her emotions at times would literally hold her powerless in their grip whenever she wasn’t concentrating on blocking them. Her frustration and anger were only making things more difficult.
Thorn was just as frustrated as Dare. It had taken all of his energy to make her move her legs when they brought dinner. Unlike Baldy and Ibix, she and Thorn hadn’t had enough time to help him overcome the drug the way that Balduen could. All of this led Dare to believe that they shouldn’t try to escape tonight.
“Are you serious?” Baldy asked with more than a little surprise, when she mentioned it after dinner.
“I don’t think I’m ready yet. The only thing that would happen is that you’d be stuck trying to get both of us out of here, and we’d get caught again or killed. I’m not sure I want to take a chance like that right now.” Dare unconsciously rubbed her stomach as she spoke.
“Besides, they won’t be coming for me until Monday. Even then, there won’t be any more attempts to do anything, just more tests and a confirmation of pregnancy. But, it gives Thorn and I more time to get better at this, so we can overcome the drug enough to run. Even if we can’t use our abilities, I need to at least be able to run on my own.”
“If we can move under the influence of the drug, I may be able to grab something from the lab that can help me get the disc out of my leg and remove the drug altogether.” Dare knew it sounded like she was making excuses, and she didn’t really care. She didn’t have anything to prove to anyone; all she cared about was making sure they did not get caught again when they left. And right now, she was a major liability to them getting away.
“If you would rather wait, then we will wait. We can leave Monday night.” Balduen was more than a little surprised that Dare wanted to wait considering earlier she was desperate to leave. And he wasn’t happy with waiting either. Every minute, they stayed was another chance that something could go wrong, and she or their child could get harmed.
He knew she was afraid, not for herself, but for their unborn child. Even he was frightened that something would go wrong when they escaped, and Dare would get hurt. However, there was an urgency to leave that he couldn’t explain to her, because he couldn’t explain it to himself. He would give her until Monday before he took the decision out of her hands.
“Thank you, Baldy. I know you probably want to get out of here. I don’t blame you. I would understand if you want to leave without me. You could get your people and maybe mine to come get me later.” Dare had to stop herself from choking on the suggestion. Everything in her screamed at the thought of losing him, but she knew she was the only thing keeping him from freedom and couldn’t live with herself if she forced him to stay bec
ause of her.
“Don’t even think that! I will go nowhere without you. Tomorrow we will work with Thorn again and see how much more of your mobility; he can control while you’re influenced by the drug. Monday night, we will leave.” Balduen drew her into his arms and held her tightly, not willing to let her go.
“I’m afraid Baldy.” Dare whispered quietly against his neck, her soft breath tickling his senses.
“I know. You have a reason to be. We’re in a dangerous situation that we should not take lightly. But, we also can’t wait too much longer. I will protect you and our child with my life, Dare. Do not doubt that.” Balduen wished he could ease her fear, settle her worries, but he couldn’t. He knew the risks they would be taking, but he also knew they were in much more danger if they stayed.
Once the doctor found out that the only surviving child is his, he doubted that they would be allowed to remain together any longer and feared they would be separated. He would most likely be killed, which would leave Dare and his child defenseless against their enemy. He would not allow that to happen. Even if he had to carry her out of here.
“I know you would, Baldy. I just don’t want it to come to that. I can’t stand the thought of you being hurt or killed because of me. How long do you think it will take Dreadhawk to get here?” Dare asked, hoping that there was a way that Baldy could know when the alien was close.
“I do not know. I don’t even know where he was when he received the message. I know that Ibix could not contact him directly, so I am assuming that he was not close. It could take weeks or months for him to get here. We can’t wait for him Dare.” Baldy cautioned her.
They did not have the option of waiting however long it might take Dreadhawk to get to them and find them; and he would not allow Dare to think waiting was an option. He would give her only until Monday night before he took his mate from this place.
“I was just curious if he would be here soon after we get out. I have no intention of staying here any longer than we have to, honey trust me.” Baldy felt a little better when he felt Dare smile against his neck as she burrowed closer to him.