by Mikayla Lane
He still felt nervous though, on the edge, for some reason. Something wasn’t right. He couldn’t put his thoughts on what it was, but he knew it. He could feel it. Turning his thoughts inward he decided to ask Ibix.
“Do you feel that? Do you know what it is, my friend?”
“Yes, I have felt it since this morning. There is something going on, but I have not picked up on anything amiss that would cause an alarm. If I can identify what it is, I will alert you.” Ibix wasn’t sure if it had to do with the conversation he’d heard earlier between Brak and that nasty woman Lucretia, or if there was something else going on. He would keep his senses much more alert for any signs that would help them figure it out.
“Thank you Ibix. I’m not sure what we’re looking for though, so if you hear or feel anything you aren’t sure of, tell me immediately, and I will do the same. Between us, we should be able to determine what it is, and if it represents another danger to our mate or our child.” Baldy smiled as he heard the soft snore escape Dare as he finished talking to Ibix.
Emotionally, he knew she was exhausted and needed the rest, so as carefully as he could he turned her onto the side she liked to sleep on the most and curled up behind her. He waited until he knew she wouldn’t awaken before resting a large hand on her flat stomach where their child lay, and sent a prayer to the All Father.
Chapter Thirteen
Dare had awakened long before Balduen and slipped quietly out of the bed. Padding silently to the bathroom, she quickly did her business and just stood in the dry shower collecting her thoughts and trying to control her fear before Balduen awakened.
They spent the whole weekend working with Thorn, and although she’d been able to be moved by Thorn while under the influence of the drug, her movements were slow and jerky. Nothing like the smooth and controlled ones that Baldy made.
He’d been so sweet about it, trying to make her feel better about being unable to learn as much as she had hoped they would, before today. She couldn’t and wouldn’t put it off any longer. They would leave tonight. She just hoped that the adrenaline and freedom would help make her less clumsy. And less of a liability to Baldy getting away.
She wouldn’t even bother trying to convince him to leave her if she fell behind or was in danger of re-capture. It would do no good. He had a warrior’s honor, like her father. He would die before he would leave her.
Her only hope was that she wouldn’t be the cause of him getting hurt, or worse… killed. Reaching down she felt the small disc embedded deep inside her upper thigh and flinched at how far she would have to dig in order to get it out. There was no other choice, it had to come out.
The only thing she knew was reliable were her abilities when she was in control of herself. Even without her telekinesis, she had been taught to fight by her father, and she could run pretty damn fast.
“No offense Thorn, but it needs to be me in control if we’re going to get out of here. We just didn’t have enough time to bond as much as we needed to.”
“You think you can get that thing out of my leg with one of those scalpels in the lab?”
Although the communication between them had improved greatly, Dare still had a hard time knowing whether or not Thorn was paying attention. Apparently, beasts did not spend all of their time watching the host like a sick stalker like she had originally assumed.
They spent some of their time traveling the Shengari’, interacting with and learning from others of their kind, and since they stayed awake while the host was asleep in order to guard them, they slept during the hosts waking hours as well.
Dare was impressed with that, and kind of pissed off as well. She could think of dozens of times where she would have loved to have been able to catch some sleep if there had been someone watching her back.
It turns out; there was, just not someone who could. This was all so mind boggling and frustrating that she had to stop thinking too deeply into everything right now and concentrate on getting through the day and getting out tonight.
“Yes, I think we can. You must calm before you upset the little ones.” Dare had been so caught up in her own thoughts that Thorn’s voice in her head caused her to jump and shake even harder.
Thorn had seen her nightmare's again last night, and it was the same since Friday, when she had found out about the pregnancy. He understood her fears, but wished there was a way to convince her that the child she carried was her and Balduen’s and not the Relian’s as she feared.
She was terrified that the child she had created with him was the one who died and that the Relian child was taunting her. Pretending to be Balduen’s son, while her son’s beast screamed in denial that his host had died, and he was now lost forever in the alien child’s mind. It had been enough to scare the hell out of him, and he knew that it wasn’t true!
“I know. I’m working on it. Just give me a second before you go rat me out to Ibix.” Dare wasn’t really teasing Thorn that time, she’d been pretty pissed when she found out that he would communicate her mental, emotional and physical state to Ibix at random if he thought she needed Balduen. It felt a little too much like a betrayal to her no matter how much they all tried to convince her it was because she was cared for and cherished.
“I do not rat.” Thorn growled in exasperation.
Dare just chuckled a little before moving back into the bedroom. They would be in with breakfast soon, and she wanted to make sure Baldy was safely in the bathroom when they came in. He’d become much more aggressive since his bonding with Ibix, but Dare knew it had more to do with his need to protect his mate.
His protective instincts went wild when the Relian’s came anywhere near her, and she’d taken to standing in the doorway of the bathroom, where he could see her, when they came in.
Sliding back in the bed she yelped in surprise when he reached out quickly and pulled her to his chest, lining her body up perfectly to his.
Dare looked into his stormy eyes and felt the rumbling growl in his chest before he pulled the covers over their head and gave her a long passionate kiss. She groaned when he pulled away.
“Good morning. Next time you feel like that I want you to come to me. Talk to me. Let me help you. No more excuses or next time I’ll punish you. It is my duty to care for you. And yours to let me.” Baldy growled low in his throat, gently slapped her bottom and went into the bathroom.
“Oh, that is so not the end of that buddy!” Dare ground out through her clenched teeth in anger.
How dare he! She’d been taking pretty damn good care of herself until he arrived, she could continue to do so without his advice! She’d been ready to tell him what she thought of him when Thorn, interrupted her thoughts abruptly.
“They come, get in the doorway!”
Dare didn’t stop to verify it and went to stand in the bathroom doorway, Baldy was already tensed and bracing himself in the toilet area. She felt the drug begin to course through her body and counted the seconds until they came in the door, wondering why they were early this morning.
Even without looking at the clock on the TV, she knew it was too early. Glancing nervously at Baldy, she saw that he must have figured it out as well. His body was shaking furiously as he fought to keep from rushing the Relian’s.
“The doc is giving you fifteen minutes to eat and get ready to go to the lab.” Dare just stared mutely at the Relian, who had nervously placed the food on the bed as he spoke before almost running back out of the door. Dare glanced anxiously at Balduen.
“He probably just wants to get an early start. Maybe we’ll get done early today…” Dare hoped that she was right.
“Dare, I don’t like this. Something is wrong. There’s an air of expectancy… tension. Like everything is just waiting for the spark to launch it. Can you feel it?” Baldy grabbed her from the doorway and pulled her into the shower, so they could talk.
“Of course I can. But, a lot of that is just us and our feelings about… later. The rest I don’t know about. All we can
do, is be more cautious. I promise I will be careful. You need to make sure you do the same for me. Ok?” Dare held Baldy’s hands in her own and leaned her head on his chest. She sighed as his arms slipped around her and held her tightly, his concern evident in the way his hands clutched almost desperately at her.
“I will be fine. Just… be watchful. If you feel in any danger, do what you have to do until I can get there.” Baldy ran his hands down her back, fighting to control the urge to break through the window and run with her.
He was getting ready to do just that when Dare pulled away and moved back toward the door. He saw the look of regret on her face and realized she must have known he was going to take the decision out of her hands.
“We can’t right now. I have to know and I have to get that disc out, or I’ll be useless to us. It’ll be ok. Just another day in paradise.” Dare said the last mockingly with a grand sweep of her hands around the bathroom and a half smile. Her eyes pleaded with him to understand why she needed to do this before going back into the bedroom.
Balduen clenched his fists and barely kept himself from punching a hole in the shower wall in anger. Something terrible was going to happen today. He couldn’t explain how he knew…, but he did. Even Ibix was practically pacing in his mind with worry, trying to figure out what was going on.
Ibix had already alerted Thorn to be hyper vigilant today, although the warning had been unnecessary. Thorn was also on edge, having felt the disturbance in the energy as well. Too inexperienced to truly understand what it meant, he had been carefully watching and listening to everything in order to try to figure out why he was feeling so anxious.
“You tell Thorn that he is to tell you everything. No exceptions.” Balduen growled to Ibix, his fear for Dare almost overwhelming his thoughts as he considered possible things that could occur and ways to get Dare to safety if they did happen.
Following Dare into the bedroom, Baldy stared at the bricked-in window while Dare took a quick shower. In his mind, he could see exactly how it looked outside. The overgrown path directly below the window that led to the building where Dare would be taken, the layout of the lab she would be in. Thorn had easily relayed the images to Ibix, who could project it in Balduen’s mind through their connection.
Balduen ran through scenarios in his mind of how to get out of the window and into the lab as fast as possible and in what direction they would run when he got to Dare. He wanted to make damn sure that if anything went wrong, Ibix and Thorn would know exactly what he wanted them to do.
Dare had to push him forcefully into the bathroom before they came back to get her this time, Ibix’s instincts and his own screaming at him to take her and run.
“I thought we could get an early start on those tests this morning. I assumed you would be as anxious as I, regarding the results." Balduen heard the doctor tell Dare as he came into the room to get her. He was almost to the bathroom door before he realized what the doctor had said.
Maybe that was it. Maybe it was just the anticipation of the test results that had the place on edge, he thought as the outer door closed.
However, he knew better. His senses were far too sharp to be wrong. Balduen marked the time on the TV before facing the window. And waited.
*****
“We should have these results in a few seconds now! I know you’re probably not as excited about this as I am, but I can assure you; you may just make a lot of people very happy!” The doctor’s enthusiasm was enough to make Dare feel sick to her stomach, and she had to stop Thorn from trying to strangle him. At least for now, she thought to herself as he walked out of the exam room.
Dare waited until she knew he was working in the lab area before telling Thorn that she was ready for him to get the scalpel. She felt a brief sense of oddness as her body began to move seemingly of its own accord, off the table. No matter how many times they had done it over the weekend, it still shook her a little when Thorn controlled her movements.
She watched as her hand held the side of the bed, her movements becoming steadier before she moved slowly towards the cabinet with the sink.
Listening intently she could hear the doctor still shuffling around in the other room, and she watched in fascination as her hand reached out and silently opened the drawer.
“Oh my God! Oh my God what have you done?!” Dare grabbed one of the scalpels, shut the drawer and ran back to the exam table as the doctor screamed in fury.
*****
Lucretia crept as silently as she could up to the stairs, not because she was worried about being caught, she had fixed that with Brak. She wanted to surprise the beautiful alien. She knew he had to be dying to see her after being locked up in that room with only that bitch to keep him company for so long.
Standing outside the door now, she smoothed her oily hair back and tried unsuccessfully to pull her top down over her hips. Pressing the button on the remote control Brak had given her, she administered the drug to the alien.
She quickly unlocked the door, and turned to give the Relian behind her a smirk then swept in the door the way she had practiced for hours last night.
Lucretia’s smile faltered when she took in the sight of the huge alien angrily growling at her from the doorway of the bathroom. Suddenly feeling nervous about this decision, she kept the door to the bedroom cracked a little instead of shutting it and stepped further into the room.
When the alien didn’t make any movement, she shook off her unease and tried her best sexy walk over to him. Her small heels clicking noisily on the floor, caused a look of irritation to cross his face.
“What do you want female?” The hard edge to his voice had Lucretia stopping mid-step. Shaking off her annoyance that he didn’t seem as grateful as he should be that she was even here with him, she stood a few feet from him and casually ran her eyes up and down his body. There was no mistaking her intent now.
Balduen visibly cringed in horror at the woman’s blatant sexual invitation; while Ibix screamed in rage in his head. What the hell, is wrong with this woman? She knew he was mated; she'd been the one trying to stop it.
“I am mated, as you know. Please leave.” Balduen couldn’t hide the insulted tone in his voice. What the woman suggested was not an option once a male was mated.
Lucretia was momentarily overcome with fury that the alien had not jumped at the chance to take her and had instead turned her down. She laughed shakily to herself as she remembered that the drug didn’t really allow the man to show the gratitude that he had to be feeling.
Pasting what she thought was a beautiful smile on her face, she took another step towards him as she ran her finger down the front of her chest, dragging her top down enough to expose what little cleavage her bra could muster.
Balduen struggled not to recoil in disgust at the woman’s foolish actions. At one time, he might have felt sympathy for the female, but after spending a couple of weeks listening to her hateful ranting’s downstairs he had no patience for the woman.
“I do not want anything to do with you female. I would like you to leave. Immediately.” Balduen was pretty impressed with how well he had kept the disgust from his voice. Until he saw the woman jerk as if he slapped her.
Lucretia seethed with fury. Surely, the man was not discarding her gracious offer! He should be begging to touch her! Allowing her anger to overcome her caution, she stormed over to him.
“I will try to overlook your ignorance of the gift I am offering you, since you don’t know enough about our world to understand how truly exceptional I am. However, by the time I am done with you, you will be on your knees showing me the proper reverence.” Lucretia’s anger dissipated the closer she got to the large, beautiful man. He was so heavily muscled, so big that she almost drooled at the thought of him worshiping her as he should.
“The only thing exceptional about you is the depth of your hate and anger. You will never have me, and I would never revere one such as you. You disgust me! Now leave!” Balduen clenched his fists
at his sides to keep from removing the woman from the room. Luckily, his distaste at the thought of touching her kept him from it.
Lucretia shook with fury at the alien’s rejection, the disgust in his eyes as he looked at her was too much for her pride to take.
“You think because you have that bitch that you’re too good for me! Trust me, you’ll come crawling to me. They all do. It just takes a little incentive for you to realize what you’re missing. And where you belong. Hopefully, you will learn quicker than the rest did.”
Lucretia spat the words at him, already planning how she would teach this idiot the proper way to respect someone of her quality. Ignoring his warning growls she quickly ran her fingers down his arm before storming to the door. Slamming it shut behind her, she tried to ignore the smirk on the face of the Relian still in the hallway.
Instead, knowing there was not enough room in the stairway for the both of them, she barreled down towards him, forcing him to trip backwards down the stairs to avoid her.
Burning with humiliation and rage, she stormed past Brak and another Relian that been watching the upstairs cameras on the laptop in the kitchen, and slammed out of the door.
Brak continued to chuckle as the stupid woman stomped down the porch stairs. That had been well worth seeing, he thought as he turned the laptop off.
“I’m going to check the border. Keep an eye on her, she’s too crazy and too pissed to be left unattended for long.” Brak told his men with a smirk before going out the same door Lucretia had stormed out of moments earlier.
Balduen and Ibix smiled as well. Walking to the door of the room, he listened intently to any sounds in the hallway. Hearing none, he silently turned the handle of the door.
As disgusted as he’d been with Lucretia’s appearance in the room, he had to thank the woman for creating such a commotion as she went down the stairs that no one had noticed she had forgotten to lock the door.