by Mikayla Lane
Finding the room, she opened the door and stood back while Baldy went inside first and looked around. She smiled to herself as he checked the closet and small room to make sure it was safe. Feeling satisfied he pulled her into the room and gently pushed her back onto the bed.
Dare was so tired she didn’t even fight him as he pulled the folded bed clothes from the bottom of the bed and grabbing the comforter, he pulled it up to cover her before sitting on the side of the bed.
“Are you well?” Balduen asked with concern, gently stroking the back of her hand.
“I’m just really tired right now, Baldy. That’s all. It’s been a pretty exciting day, and I think my body ran out of adrenaline.” She gave a weak smile at her own joke hoping to alleviate his concern.
“Will you be safe here while I brief the High Councilor and the others?” Balduen gently brushed the stray tendrils of hair from her face as he asked, not wanting to leave her. However, he knew he needed to get this over with. There was much for him to answer for, and he preferred to do it without Dare if possible.
“I will be fine, Baldy. Stop worrying and get your debrief over with. I’ll be here when you get back. Can you find your way back?” Dare didn’t want him to go, but knew she was going to fall asleep very soon and would rather he be done and there when she awoke.
“I would find you anywhere. No matter what. You know that don’t you?” Balduen knew that they hadn’t had much time to speak privately, and he had a lot to tell her, although now wasn’t the time he didn’t want to leave her without her knowing how much she meant to him.
“And I would find you. So don’t let them keep you too long, I prefer you with me.” Dare reached out and grabbed his hand, kissing it lightly she gave him a small smile, hoping to convey to him how much he meant to her.
“Rest now. I will return soon.” Balduen reluctantly released her hand, headed to the door and closed it lightly behind him and faced Dread.
Dread nodded toward the end of the hall, and both men walked silently away from Dare’s room before speaking.
“She is well. The young ones exhausted themselves and her; she will be fine once she has a chance to rest and recover her energy.” Dread said nothing more and continued walking with Balduen in silence.
“Why? Why did they kill their own like that and let us go?” Balduen knew the answer, was afraid of the answer, but needed confirmation that he was right.
“You heard it as well as we did, Balduen. They think the child is Relian; they are protecting her in order to protect the child they think she carries. And I believe we all know what they meant when they said they would see us again soon. They will come for the child. They will come for her. Even if they find out she no longer carries their child, if they know of the beast, she still carries, it will give them hope to keep trying. If not with Dare, with another like her.” Dread spoke as honestly as he could to Balduen, knowing he needed answers. He needed to know what he, and Dare were facing.
“That is what I feared as well. I will take her to Valendra if I must, to keep her and the baby safe.” Balduen swore with determination and a little irritation. The few Valendran warriors they had passed in the hallway had given them a much wider berth than normal.
It did bring a grin to his face to note that the hybrid and gifted women and even the children had not treated him and Dread any differently than they had anyone else. Other than an obvious curiosity, they were polite, but very reserved and never went out of their way to initiate conversation.
They stopped in front of the conference room that was currently blocked by several Valendran guards whom Balduen was unfamiliar with and waited for the guard to inform Dare’s father and Ivint; he arrived with Dread.
Balduen spoke to Dread through their bond, not wanting the warriors to hear him.
“How do you do it? How do you pretend not to notice how everyone acts around you? Us… how they’re keeping alert, like they are expecting us to go on a rampage.”
“Reach out with your senses. What do feel? See? Hear?” Dread asked calmly. Balduen could sense his curiosity in what his answer would be.
Focusing on Ibix and their bond, he tapped into his heightened senses. When he felt connected, the first thing he sensed was fear. The three warriors were scared. Of he and Dread. He could smell their fear, hear their increased heart rate, see the slight tremors in their hands as they kept them close to their weapons.
“Damn Dread, they are scared to death of us. How do I fix this?” Balduen asked, a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that his own people feared him so greatly. He didn’t understand it; he was in complete control, and there was nothing to fear.
“You cannot, my friend. And that is the first thing you must learn. It is natural to fear what you don’t understand. It is unnatural not to try to understand that which you fear. You cannot control what they think, you can only show them they are wrong.”
Dread knew Balduen was going to have a hard time trying to convince his people he was not a danger to them. He needed to be prepared for the difficulties to come. Dread would do his best to assure Balduen was well assimilated if possible. If not…, then he was willing to offer he and Dare refuge on Tezaria until their people came to their senses.
“You can go in now.” Balduen almost winced when the two guards swung the double doors open and stepped back before gesturing them inside.
Balduen had no sooner gotten through the door when he was enveloped in a bear hug.
“Damn you got big! You still an ugly jerk though! But, I’m damn glad you’re back.” Balduen blinked back the light misting of tears as Niklosi let go of him, but patted him on the back with a big welcoming grin on his face. Balduen was floored by his friend’s loyalty to him. His actions certainly wouldn’t make him popular among those that were afraid.
“I have missed you greatly man. I am glad you are still here to make me look pretty every time we’re in a room together!” Balduen teased back, blinking his watery eyes, he nodded his head in silent thanks to his friend for his support. Niklosi led him to the table and sat next to him as Dread took the one on his other side.
Looking around the table, Balduen saw Reven grin and nod and was hoping that he was at least one more person he could count on. Ivint was always a mystery, so he wasn’t going to try to interpret his facial expressions. The far end… yeah he was Dare’s father.
Even without the red face from his anger, his scent, slightly similar to Dares told him who the man was. There was also a much younger man whom he knew must be Dare’s brother, the woman from the rescue, Jax. Amun, the doctor on the ship Adaria and three others that he did not recognize.
“Balduen, I will try to get this over with as quickly as we can so you can go back to your mate.” Ivint said, ignoring the snort from Banatar.
Everyone started throwing questions at him at once, until Ivint whistled loudly to get everyone to be quiet.
“I know that we all have questions for him, and not all of them have to do with their capture and escape. We need to leave those questions behind and focus on the safety of those not only in this compound, but those in other locations. To that end, we need to know if we are compromised. So Reven and I will direct the questions for now.” Ivint said to the frustration of those at the table who were more interested in Balduen and Dare’s bonding with their beasts.
“Tell us about how you were taken and how you were kept.” Ivint encouraged Balduen gently.
Balduen tried to ignore the anger pouring off of Dare’s father in waves and concentrated solely on remembering every detail of what happened the moment he saw Dare in downtown Knoxville the day they were drugged and taken.
He explained about the drug and how it had affected both, he and Dare, and when Amun threatened to interrupt, Ivint held his hand up to stop him.
“You can speak to him and Dare privately later. Right now, I think we should respect their privacy and allow them to adjust before asking intimate questions. Balduen would you be willing
to submit to testing so that we can try to determine what this drug is?”
“Yes Sir.” Balduen agreed easily.
“Then please continue.” Ivint nodded at him encouragingly.
Feeling a little more relaxed now that he was adjusting to Banatar’s anger and the acceptance from the others, Balduen started to explain the conditions they were faced with while being held. He was starting to explain how he, and Dare had tried to work together to gain information and ways to escape when Banatar finally erupted.
“So you did nothing! You did nothing to protect her, nothing to get her out of there! All you did was beast-bond, and now you think I’ll hand my daughter over to someone who has betrayed his people and become little more than an animal? Never!” Banatar was so angry he didn’t even notice that he’d flipped his chair over backward when he’d stood so suddenly.
“I can assure you that is not how that happened!” Balduen tried to defend himself, but Dare’s father wouldn’t let him.
“No, like any animal you waited until my baby was vulnerable before you took advantage of her! What you did amounts to little more than rape! I want him brought to justice for ruining my daughter! I want that… thing… taken out of her immediately!” Banatar was now fighting Reven and Ivint to get to Balduen. The entire table had come to their feet when Banatar had and chaos was beginning to take over as the level of fear rose in the room.
“I did not rape her! And you will do nothing to our child!” Balduen was becoming angrier the more Banatar tried to accuse him of harming Dare. He didn’t notice the guards outside the room had come inside and had taken up defensive positions around the room.
Dread, Viper, Niklosi, Amun and Reven noticed though and took up counter positions to protect Balduen if necessary. The situation was quickly becoming out of control, and they would do everything they could to prevent Balduen from being harmed.
“I will do whatever the hell; I need to do to protect MY child! Mine! She doesn’t belong to you! You are not a mate; you're an animal!” Banatar screamed at Balduen as he struggled against Ivint and Reven to get to Balduen.
“She’s not a child! She’s my mate! And you damn sure cannot kill our child! I swear by all I am that I would kill anyone who tries to harm her or our child!” Balduen was tired of the man’s threats. He no longer cared if the man was Dare’s father, he would not allow the man to harm what belonged to him to protect and care for.
“You get the hell out of my way now and let me put him down like the animal he is so my Dare can be safe!” Banatar’s anger had taken over all of his common sense, and he now actively fought Ivint to get to Balduen, sending Risk over there to help their leader.
The situation had gotten way too out of hand and several tried their best to calm things as best as they could, but the situation continued to escalate. So much so that Ivint feared that someone was going to get seriously injured. He was getting ready to end the meeting and take Banatar aside for a talk when the decision was taken out of his hands.
Chapter Eighteen
“What the hell?” Jax and Reven uttered at the same time as the double doors to the room began to bang loudly open and closed, a brisk wind swirling around the room every time the doors banged open.
Within minutes, the doors remained open, the guards running outside the room to check for the cause of the disruption were thrown against the outer doors, unable to move.
The room erupted quickly as weapons were drawn and panic that they were under attack was the first thought of everyone. Everyone but Balduen, Dread and Viper.
Balduen had to stop himself from grinning broadly as Banatar was lifted off of the floor by an unseen force and thrown up against the wall. His body slid all the way up to the ceiling until his head was wedged into the corner where the wall and ceiling met.
Ignoring the shouts and calls for help from the others in the room, Balduen waited a few more moments before turning to the doorway. Standing quickly, he walked calmly to his mate and gently took her hand before leaning down to kiss her cheek. His heart melted at the look of affection that passed between them before Banatar interrupted them.
“Dare, you put me down this instant! I am your father and will not tolerate this kind of disrespect! Put me down NOW!” Banatar was livid and a little frightened, although he would never admit that to anyone.
“I would father, but I’m not the one doing it. See, I haven’t been able to use my abilities since they pumped me full of drugs for a few weeks.” Dare said nonchalantly as she looked up at her father in sadness.
“Then who the hell is doing this? This isn’t funny, put me the hell down now!” Banatar screamed at the room in general.
“Father, that won’t happen. At least not until you change your attitude.” Dare said walking over to her brother Risk and giving him a quick hug. She’d missed him and her sister True very much while she’d been gone.
“Stop talking in riddles and get me down!” Banatar demanded, his face turning various shades of red in his anger.
“How’s this for blunt father? Balduen is my mate. See we even have the Ator-Ma.” Dare lifted the sleeve of her shirt to show him and the rest of the room the definitive proof of their mating. Ignoring the gasps of those around them, she walked calmly to her father who still hung suspended from the ceiling by invisible hands.
“And I am pregnant. With Balduen’s child. Although this child will be a little different than what we may have expected it to be, it is still our child, and we love him already. The problem you’re having father, is the fact that our child doesn’t like you threatening his father. Or threatening his mommy’s happiness by trying to take his father away from his mommy.”
“And frankly, I don’t like it either. You dare call Baldy an animal yet you’re the one who has been hateful and angry since we arrived. He stands there calmly while you rant and rave like a nutcase.”
“Look at yourselves! Really look at yourselves.” Dare told the room waving her arms at them to encompass them all.
“Do you even recognize your fear? You’re terrified, acting out of fear. All of you. Jax? Risk? Why would you fear me? You’ve known me forever. And the rest of you? What is your excuse with Balduen?” She paused as most of them looked away from her gaze, and she could feel their shame.
“We’re the same people we always were. We would never hurt you before, and we damn sure wouldn’t now. I know that this is all a little hard to accept.” Dare laughed bitterly when she said that.
“It’s a little hard for Baldy and me as well since we were just thrown into this situation together. But, the one thing we know is that we love our son and each other, and if you cannot accept all of us, then we will leave.” Dare looked up at her father’s angry face and feared that is exactly what they would have to do.
“How can you love that…” Banatar started before Dare cut him off.
“Don’t you dare to say it father! I mean it! I will not allow my child to be held responsible for what he does if you do! I’m tempted to kick you myself!” Dare didn’t bother to hide her anger and her pain at her father’s words.
She looked up in surprise when Balduen held her hand gently in his and nodded his head to her as he whispered in her mind through their private bond, “Calmly, my love.”
She smiled brightly at him and gave him a quick hug before turning back to her father, who was still suspended from the ceiling.
“Whether any of you want to admit it or not, both of the babies I carried were a part of me. No matter, the father, they were both mine as well. Which makes our other beast, part of me as well and all I have left of that child… my child.”
“You can call it whatever you want; I call it family. Just as our son is family and so is his beast. Our child’s other beast is nothing more than a newly born, terrified child itself. Who tragically lost his host… MY child. He’s not scary any more than we are, how can you not see that? How can you not accept a part of me and say you love me?” Dare’s eyes misted with tears,
and she lowered her head in shame that she hadn’t truly looked at it that way either… until now.
Balduen put his arm around Dare’s shoulders and held her tightly in support. He knew what she was thinking, and he was just as upset with himself that he hadn’t tried to look at this more calmly.
“How can you defend it when you say it has me suspended from the damn ceiling?” Banatar screamed, although with a lot less venom and anger than before.
“Because I can feel his fear, his pain and loss. I can feel how your rejection hurts. And it hurts me that you are causing it. Not only, to your daughter, but to your grandchild.” Dare couldn’t hold back the flood of tears this time and followed as Balduen led her to a chair and sat her down in it, holding her as she cried.
“Dare… Dare, please don’t cry. You know I love you. Please…” Banatar said, emotion cracking his voice.
Moments later Dare was wrapped in her father’s bear like arms, and she was sobbing like a child all over again. The only reason she knew that the room had emptied was because Balduen had whispered in her mind that he would be right outside the door if she needed him.
She could sense everyone just waiting on the other side of the door, giving her and her father a private moment together. And she was grateful to them for it.
“Daddy, I love him. If you gave Baldy a chance, you would see what a good man he is. How much he cares for me. And our baby… my baby. Daddy… please…” Dare broke down, unwilling to beg him any further to accept them. She was a mate and a mother now, and she would do whatever it took to protect her family, even if it meant leaving her father and siblings.
“Dare… child… it’s going to take some time. I need a little time to adjust to… everything. But, I love you more than anything, you know that. And I will try very hard to accept this and to encourage everyone else to be more accepting as well. I cannot lose you again daughter. Please stay…” Banatar was openly crying with Dare now, his pride and anger gone at the thought of losing her again.