Uncaged: A Dystopian Omegaverse Fantasy Romance (The Uncaged 1) Read online

  UNCAGED

  The Uncaged

  Amber Ella Monroe

  Contents

  Newsletter

  Other Paranormal Romance Titles

  Preface

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Next Alpha

  Newsletter

  About the Author

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  Other Paranormal Romance Titles

  CAEDMON WOLVES

  Wolf’s Haven

  Wolf’s Promise

  Wolf’s Touch

  Wolf’s Desire

  Wolf’s Strength

  Wolf’s Honor

  Wolf’s Temptation

  Kingdom (COBRA Coalition)

  DRESDAN COVEN

  Prelude

  Donor

  Requiem

  The Dresdan Coven Trilogy

  NIGHTDWELLERS

  Eternal Vow

  ASPEN VALLEY WOLF PACK

  Shifter Untamed

  Wolf Unbound

  Outlaw Unleashed

  Omega Unmasked

  Rebel Unveiled

  Mountain Wolf

  Rogue Wolf

  Forbidden Wolf

  Bad Wolf

  WOLF MATED

  Breaking the Wolf's Rules

  What the Wolf Wants

  SHIFTERS OF TIMBER ROCK

  Jayce

  Treyton

  Draven

  SHIFTERS OF IRON STORM BAYOU

  Alarik

  Bastian

  Kade

  Mikros

  Demarco

  Cody

  THE UNCAGED

  Uncaged

  Banished

  Book Summary

  Uncaged

  Just the other day, I was bait. Now he says I am his to keep.

  I was betrothed to a man I barely knew to right my mother’s wrongs. That is no longer the case. The terms set forth are all null and void.

  I’ve been kidnapped from my home by savages—beasts in man-form. We call them The Uncaged—a clan of lawless exiles and raiders known for raising hell to get what they want. When they find out what I’m worth, they’ll never let me go.

  The Uncaged are not men. They are Alphas. Created long ago to become super soldiers for the government, they have since turned against humanity. All who know of them stay away. No one crosses this clan. But someone did…

  My Alpha captor is bold, feral, and has no time for games. He will get what he wants, even if he has to fight for it. But he’s already made it clear that he’s not giving me up.

  I made a promise and now I can’t keep it. I don’t want to anymore, knowing that the only way I will know peace is with an Alpha. Human omegas are extremely rare. Once my heat surges, my Alpha won’t be able to control his cravings. Our mate-bond is already forming.

  He says he’ll keep me safe, but there are other Alphas in the village watching… and waiting.

  He won’t give me back and he won’t let me go. There’s only one thing left to do, and the choice may ignite a war.

  The Uncaged Omegaverse takes place on a dystopian Earth and combines paranormal and fantasy elements. Of course, there's a steamy, passionate romance in the mix. The story contains descriptive violence and sex and offensive language. May also include triggers. It also contains a bold, possessive alpha man and a sassy heroine.

  Preface

  "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within." Will Durant

  Prologue

  Discovery brings war.

  War drives sacrifice.

  For every end, there is a beginning.

  For every Alpha, there is an Omega.

  The strong fight.

  For peace. For survival.

  For redemption.

  In blood, there is revival.

  Destiny cannot be planned.

  Destiny is born.

  Chapter One

  Karis

  It had not rained in thirty days.

  Crumpled blades of grass crunched under my soles as I walked across my lawn and onto the main pathway. The atmosphere was dry and dull. Wisps of sand took flight at the slightest shift in the wind. Morning dew had already been wicked out of the air, but the moisture wasn't enough for the plants that drooped to the ground in distress.

  Even as I looked up into the dark, heavy clouds rolling in from the west, I mentally reminded myself that I had two things to look forward to today. Cake to celebrate my birthday. And a rainstorm like no other to wash away old burdens.

  I fought the urge of attempting to revive the wilted flowers. My fingers tingled with the need to do something about the current state of the landscape, but I'd have to hold off at least until tomorrow. I missed seeing rainbows pop up here and there after late afternoon showers, but I anticipated I wouldn't have to wait too much longer. Even the air smelled as though rain was on the way. And I was grateful for it and the inspiration it would bring to revive my creativity.

  Even though I could paint from memory, I preferred the more vibrant colors of thriving vegetation, pulsing with life. Spring was my favorite season, but we still had many more months to go before warmer temperatures arrived. Even now, I was tempted to stop and paint the dreary gray clouds hovering above the sector of Legance. No matter how dismal this past month had been, it was like the calm before the storm.

  As I walked down the trail leading away from the road I lived on, I reached the busiest path. All around me people rushed, trying to get from this place to another in record time, beating the downpour.

  Most were walking, pulling wagons, on bikes, or mechanical scooters. Only the elite citizens of Legance owned cars, and even then, the means to keep a vehicle running with limited resources were scarce. As far as I knew, no newer model cars had been manufactured for over forty years. All the factories had been wiped out. There was still talent for mechanics and related trades, but the materials and technology were hard to come by. And without the upkeep of roads and highways like they did decades ago, cars could only get a person so far before they ran into an obstacle.

  So much had happened in forty years, but I only knew half of it...

  I lived in Legance, an upper northwest sector of America. My home was near the city, which was a good thing. Everything I needed—the markets, the lakes and rivers I visited, and Social Circle—were only a short walk away. I was fortunate that I had a home near the center of it all, but then again, I knew women my age that would never move near the city. They preferred the c
ountryside where the way of life was just a little bit harder, but they still enjoyed more privacy. But I wasn't sure that anything that went on in Legance, even out in the countryside—was truly ever private.

  Even in the city, I still found peace and quiet. My work as an oil painter was often done in solitude, sitting somewhere in a park or on the bank of a river snapping photographs with an old camera my father gave me. The thing was old, really old, but it still did what I needed it to do. If things went as planned, I had a contract to develop a painting for some newlyweds. The bride was from the House of Penderton and the daughter of a councilman. They paid me double my usual fees. The contract would probably be the last one I ever obtained in Legance. I was leaving...

  Just like the majority of other unmarried fertile women of childbearing age in Legance, my freedom wasn't entirely ensured. The strict rules and protocols which they held over our heads were for our protection, they said...and for the perseverance of the human race

  The existence of humankind has been jeopardized with violence and other unseen threats for decades. My grandparents and parents experienced the worst of the disasters that crushed civilization while hurling America into chaos, dividing the land into mega colonies with dictatorial societies very different from the United States they grew up in.

  In the present time, the boundaries of the Americas stretched as far as pre-sector Canada to pre-sector Mexico. There were currently nine major sectors, including Legance. Each sector was said to have more uninhabitable spaces than settled ones. Buildings that stood more than ten stories tall were all crumbling and deemed unsafe to be near. Most smaller towns and neighborhoods were now abandoned; their residents had left to seek protection inside the walls of a sector. Most of Legance's citizens lived as close as possible to our city’s center to have easy access to readily available food, energy, and medical resources. Everything else outside of the sectors was considered a dead zone; home to outcasts, savages, and other beings that weren't so human. Not knowing what was out there, outside of Legance, discouraged most of our citizens from straying too far away.

  Yet, I’d leave my home and my sector soon. By choice. I guess...

  Someone bumped into me from behind, jolting me from my lingering thoughts.

  "Earth to Karis." Cai skipped out in front me.

  "Oh hi, Cai." I reached out and we gave each other a hug. "What are you doing here?"

  "Looking for you." She smiled, showing off her dimples. Even without the rays of sunlight washing over Cai's toffee-brown skin, she still had the most flawless complexion I'd ever seen. Her hair was streaked with highlights, enhanced by some dyes she had probably traded an arm and a leg to get her hands on. I wished I was more like her. Carefree. Not afraid.

  Cai Phillipe had been my friend for years now, lending an ear and a shoulder whenever I needed one. It never bothered her that I was related by blood to the governor of Legance, Arthur Wynnell. Many citizens didn't exactly trust the Wynnell family. Most knew I was Arthur's niece and cast judgement before they ever met me. They also knew who my mother was, and to them, that was even worse.

  For the past ten years, Arthur from the House of Wynnell has secured power over Legance. Every year, the Wynnell family made deals and solidified unions that ensured they led for yet another year and then more. My upcoming marriage to the governor of a bordering sector would only increase the Wynnell family's wealth, because in the absence of my mother and father, Arthur became my legal guardian.

  "Why do you look so worried?" Cai asked. "Cheer up."

  "I think I would be cheerful if it didn't look like the sky would drop out on me at any moment."

  "Oh yeah, that too. We're about to receive a storm of monstrous proportions." Cai bit her lip. "Do you think it'll be bad? Solomon says this witch in the countryside said that dams will burst and villages will flood and we'll wish that we'd never prayed for rain."

  I rolled my eyes. "There are no witches. My mother used to talk about them when I was little, but it's only a fairytale she told me."

  "That's what you think, Karis. You should believe more. Not just in your faith, but in other things too. There are things out there that we'll never see in our lifetime, but every tale has some truth," Cai exclaimed.

  "I believe in what I see and what I know," I said.

  "Whatever," she replied, thickly. "I'm glad I came this way. I thought you'd be at the college in the library giving art lessons, but someone said you were off today, so I started walking towards your house," she said. "Are you playing hooky?"

  "It's my birthday. Of course I called out."

  She nudged me playfully. "Well, look at you. Are you getting rebellious?"

  "Never."

  "Well, are you okay? How could you get sick on your birthday?" Cai frowned. "Wait! Have you seen a nurse lately? They say there's a sickness going around west of the countryside. A lot of people had to take some kind of antibody."

  "I'm fine, Cai. I'm not sick."

  I continued walking and she walked alongside me.

  "Then what is it?" she asked.

  "I had a meeting scheduled this morning with Governor Wynnell, but then it was canceled, and now it's back on again. I'm supposed to be there in fifteen minutes."

  Cai rolled her eyes. "You're doing them a big ass favor already. Can't you at least have your birthday to yourself?"

  "I know. I know," I breathed. "I wonder if he even remembers."

  "Of course he does. You have to be of age to marry. He knows exactly how old you are. They've been waiting for this day since the day you were born, right?"

  "Technically, yes."

  "Your marriage to Governor Stefan will strengthen the alliance between Legance and Anchora. You are a Wynnell. By blood. It doesn't matter that your own father was banished from here. You're still considered royalty in my eyes."

  "It doesn't matter to them because I am the only one living who can deliver on a promise that was made before I even took my first breath. And the Wynnells still owe Stefan's family a debt. I'm the payment."

  She leaned in as we turned the corner, exiting the market. "You can run, you know? Right now. You could escape. If you run fast enough, they might never find you."

  "I don't want to run. If my life were in danger, I might, but it's not."

  "You might be right. They say that Stefan isn't as bad as his father was. And his father sounded like he was pure evil, even to his own people. No wonder your mother ran from him and from Anchora to marry your father."

  I sighed. "And look where it got her."

  "It'll be alright. Just go with your gut. You won't end up like your mother, I promise. You're nothing like her," Cai replied.

  "I hope not. I've prayed for guidance. Even with these urges."

  A corner of Cai's lips twisted upward. "What urges?"

  I shook my head. "Never mind."

  Cai shrugged. "Well, okay. I'll walk you up to the gates and then I have to go. You know the Wynnell family won't tolerate seeing the likes of my kind around their pearly white gates."

  "Don't say that."

  She shrugged. "It's true. By the way, you should be calling him Uncle not Governor Wynnell. After all, that's what he is to you."

  "He's never been an uncle to me. He's the governor and I abide by the rules just like everyone else," I said.

  "But you are not like everyone else, and you know it. I even wonder why you don't live in the House of Wynnell. You're entitled just like his brat children. They're all adults but they act like kids. And Leon is such an asshole." She rolled her eyes. "I don't know what some of these thirsty chicks around here see in him. He just fucks whoever he pleases and gets away with it."

  "Cai..." I giggled.

  "What? He does."

  I sighed. "Either way, I'm just an orphan. Governor Wynnell thinks of me as the kid his brother left behind. Besides, why would I leave my home? The moment I leave it, I give up all rights to someone else. I grew up there. It's all I have left right now."

&nbsp
; Cai frowned. "And you're leaving anyway. I get it."

  "I want something of my own before I go. I don't know what's in store for me..." I swallowed, trying to rid the lump of nervousness growing in my throat.

  "I'm going to miss you so much. But you have to be the luckiest woman in Legance right now. You'll be the wife of a governor. Many of us will never get that chance. I just hope you don't forget about me."

  I hooked my arm around her and pulled her to my side. "Of course, I won't forget you. I wanted you to come with me."

  "You know I can't. My mother would kill me. She needs me here to help with the dress shop."

  "But is that really all...? Is that really the reason you want to stay here?" I teased.

  "You mean Solomon, don't you? Mother thinks he's no good for me," she said.

  "He's the pastor's nephew, isn't he? Why doesn't she like him?" I asked.

  "She says he's dangerous and that he'll lead me astray." And then with a giggle, she said, "He's in church every Sunday. What more could a mother ask for for her daughter?"