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

  "Maybe it's what he does after church," I replied.

  Her cheeks reddened. "That's nobody's business but ours," she said, shyly. "Enough about me. It's your birthday. We need to do something."

  "I want to, but I have this meeting and you know I'm not allowed out after sundown as a condition of my betrothal."

  Cai stuck her tongue. "Party Pooper." She tugged on my sleeve. "Before we go any further, I have something for you to celebrate. Since there's only an hour left until sundown, I wanted to give it to you now." She placed something like glass in my hand.

  Looking down, I realized that it was a bottle of liquor. "Where'd you get this?" I tried shoving it back into her palm, but she wouldn’t let me. "I can't take it."

  "You can. I got it for you. Actually, I got one for me too so we could celebrate your big day together because who knows when Stefan will come for you. Oh, what the hell...take this one too."

  Before I knew it, she had already shoved the second mini bottle of liquor into my front pocket.

  "You know we’re not supposed to have this. It's illegal and it even looks untaxed. Where'd you get this?"

  "Solomon knows a dealer. Don't worry about it. Just enjoy. It's your birthday. Just sip slowly. It's moonshine."

  "Oh God. Then I really can't get caught with this. A moonshine dealer? From where?"

  "Not from Legance. Not from any place you know about either."

  "He better be careful. You better be careful," I warned her.

  "I am," she reassured me. "Anyway, you better get going." She pointed at the Wynnell gates beyond some large overhanging trees. "Come see me tomorrow to tell me how your meeting goes."

  "But if the witch's prophecy is right, we'll all be underwater," I joked.

  She snorted. "I hope you can swim."

  We giggled like two sisters and parted ways. Like always, after chatting with Cai, I felt better. I wasn't nervous or anything. That would probably soon change.

  I had no idea what the meeting would be about or why it was called so suddenly.

  Maybe today was the day. Maybe Stefan Newson had finally come for me.

  To take me back to Anchora. To the birthplace of my mother. Where it all began.

  Chapter Two

  Karis

  I almost painted a portrait of the Wynnell mansion once, but something made me change my mind. I couldn't even remember what it was. It was a long time ago before my mother died.

  The mansion was massive. Armed security patrolled the grounds. There were more guards than I recalled from the last time I was here. At a recent rally, Arthur Wynnell claimed some of his family members were threatened. He told the attendees that until the perpetrators were caught, they'd see lots of men from the protection agency out and about a lot more.

  Only three months ago, Arthur earned enough votes to secure him another year as the governor. The race had been close and Arthur won with just fifty-two percent of the votes. He now had reason to believe that every year more and more people resented having him as their governor. The man probably thought there was some coup being set up to challenge his recent win. Arthur Wynnell wasn't a bad governor, not in his earlier years at least. But the citizens of Legance wanted to see change, and with the Wynnell family in power for so many years, they weren't getting that. And another councilman had surely promised the citizens that they could do better if chosen.

  Other sectors had advanced ahead in both technology and agricultural areas while Legance remained behind the curve. The systems that Arthur Wynnell and the rest of the councilman had implemented would sustain Legance's stagnant population for the interim, but it was only a matter of time before something would need fixing. Just last year, I'd heard that our oil and gas reserves had gone down, and had it not been for help from a neighboring sector, we would've been in deep trouble. Trading had never been Arthur Wynnell's forte, but if he wanted to prevail, he'd need to learn how. But what was that old saying? One can never teach an old dog new tricks.

  As I entered the great hall, the security guards stood armed with at least one to every room. The Wynnells were a huge family, so I imagined every level of the mansion was occupied throughout the day. I wasn't a threat to anyone here, of course, so they allowed me to navigate the mansion by myself where I would meet with my Uncle Arthur in his office.

  As I passed by what I knew to be the dining hall, maids moved about. In the hall, there was a 20-foot tall glass wall. The curtains were pulled back to one side. As I walked by, I thought I saw a flash of lightning somewhere off in the distance.

  The storm was coming.

  I quickened my pace since I knew I was already a few minutes late. When I reached the formal office, the doors were already opened. I heard the voice of two men already. I knew them. One belonged to Arthur and the other to his oldest son, Leon. It seemed they were bickering, or maybe it just sounded that way.

  I stood in the doorway quietly, looking back and forth between the two as they huddled over Arthur's desk looking at some documents. Their backs faced me but there was no mistaking that Leon resembled his father, as if they were twins. Arthur was already graying, but he still stood tall and strong whenever I saw him in the city. Both men had broad shoulders and handsome looks that left many women blushing at the sight of them. Even my boss at the library, Ms. Ella, jokingly referred to Arthur as a silver fox.

  The Wynnells had always used their good looks and perfected art of persuasion to secure deals, but they'd need more than charm and good deeds to keep their position in this lovely governor's mansion in the distant future. Like my mother used to say, a cunning fox led House Wynnell, but the wolves would soon descend. Nothing she said ever made sense until she was gone.

  Leon was a different story. He was just as striking as his father, but he had a mysterious and almost unsettling demeanor about him. He seemed to be a man of few words, but his past actions spoke volumes about him. He was often seen in direct conflict with those who opposed his father's laws. As the lieutenant governor, he had just as much authority as his father. And of course, his father also set him up to be the next governor. All they needed now was to convince the people and council to vote him in when Arthur handed over the reins. Even now, he tried to convince his father of something. They were still leaning over the desk fussing, oblivious to my arrival.

  "That is not the way we're going to handle this," Arthur stated, pounding a fist down on the desk.

  "Your plan will make us look weak. It'll make us look as if we give in too much," Leon grumbled.

  "Who cares if it makes us look weak? I'm not where I am today because I was predictable or cared about how my actions made me look," Arthur countered.

  Before things got too heated between the two, I announced my presence by clearing my throat. "Hi."

  Both of them spun around.

  Uncle Arthur's eyes lit up. "Karis. Come inside."

  I crossed the threshold and nervously wiped my palms on my shirt.

  Leon looked at his father. "I thought you canceled this."

  "Nothing has been canceled. Karis should know," Arthur stated.

  Leon turned his attention back to me, but I couldn't decipher if the look he gave me was one of pity or annoyance. Whenever I came to the mansion in the past, he tended to ignore me. Actually, aside from my uncle, the entire Wynnell family paid me no attention. It didn't matter now. Soon, I would be one less problem they had to worry about.

  "Come closer, Karis," Arthur urged. "And don't go anywhere, Leon. You stay here because we have not finished discussing the upcoming trade deal with Providencia."

  Leon plopped down in one of the seats and watched with his dark glare as I walked further into the room. His objectionable gaze traveled up and down the length of me.

  "You look just like your mother. When she was this age, she looked just like this. You resemble her in every way," Arthur said.

  I didn't know whether to take his statement as a compliment or something else. So many others had told me the same thi
ng before, but instead, they meant for the statement to remind me that my mother was known as a whore to almost everyone in Legance. When she was alive, my father wouldn't stand for the way people humiliated her publicly for leaving one man she had promised to marry to fornicate with another. But now that she was dead and he was long gone, he couldn't stop the whispers anymore. I planned to redeem her, and to redeem myself, by agreeing to marry a leader from another sector to keep the peace. I would do what my mother refused to so very long ago. The deal would be done, and then, they would have nothing to talk about. Nothing, other than the fact that I would be the wife of a governor—even if it was only in name and in purpose.

  "You asked to see me?" I asked.

  "Yes, sit down."

  As soon as I sat down, I suddenly remembered the small bottles of liquor Cai's boyfriend had smuggled into the sector. I pulled down the tail-end of my shirt to cover the bulge.

  "Leon just came back from a trip. The hunting games. We have some news about your betrothed. About Stefan."

  "Is something wrong?" I asked.

  Arthur looked at Leon and then said, "Yes. And no."

  "What is it then?"

  "Leon...?"

  "He's injured. During the games, he...." Leon cleared his throat. "He stepped into the path of someone's arrow. The blade went straight through his shoulder."

  "Oh no...that's too bad," I exclaimed.

  "Don't worry," Arthur chimed in. "The wedding is still on. Luckily, the arrow didn't hit anything major. He will recover, it seems. Leon promised him that he'd bring you the news. There may be a delay of about a month or two while he recovers, but he will come for you. I have no doubt about that."

  I nodded.

  "I just wanted to make sure that you haven't gotten impatient and that you understand the...conditions of this arrangement. Even if it takes more than a month or two, you must still remain chaste and intact. Is that clear?"

  "I have and I will." Heat crept up my spine in embarrassment. Talking about my virginity in front of two grown men was never easy. Before, when my mom was alive and my father was still here, all of the arrangements were handled for me. But I was young then and I didn't know anything. Even now, I still had a lot to learn. My desire to learn more was partly what drove me to accept my upcoming nuptials, because I knew this change would open up a whole new world of opportunities, either directly or indirectly.

  "Good. Very good. Not many women have your self control and there is a reason why you must remain untouched. We, myself included, must know that any child born from this union is legitimate."

  "I know," I said quietly.

  "Your other part of the family. The Chaplin family. They were once a House in the sector of Anchora."

  "Yes. My mother told me. Her father was a councilman for many years. The Chaplin family was one of the founding houses of Anchora."

  "So, back to Anchora you will go. But not to reclaim your family's former status, but to elevate it. You see, if Stefan remains the governor of Anchora and you become his wife, is that not a greater honor than what was obtained before?"

  "It is," I said.

  "And one day, this very union could mean something greater for all of us. For Legance. And for Anchora. You are also a Wynnell by blood. Never forget that, Karis."

  "I won't."

  Leon shifted in his chair. "Forgive me for saying this, but I don't see how Karis's marriage to Stefan will benefit us or Legance. This betrothal was only set up because her mother reneged on her own promise to marry Stefan's father so long ago, was it not?"

  Arthur nodded. "Why yes—"

  "Then how does it benefit us, father?" Leon asked. "It only pays for her mother's betrayal."

  "Her mother, Joella is dead. My brother is banished. That leaves Karis as an orphan. An orphan under my care, no less. Stefan still desires to marry her and he too has paid most dearly for the privilege of keeping his claim intact. We have also traded with him a great deal on these same grounds. Or else, there would be no agreement like this. Let us not forget what he has provided to our sector in our times of need and distress."

  Leon frowned, shaking his head. "Forgive me, but why has he chosen to take her hand in marriage over, let's say, any other royal bachelorette from another house. Is there something he's trying to do here? Something he wants. Something that might have flown over your head, Father?"

  Leon challenged his father openly. I could only imagine what the council meetings looked like.

  Arthur chuckled. "Nothing has flown over my head, son. Everything has gone as planned."

  "Really?" Leon folded his arm over his chest. "Then answer me? Why her over a royal?"

  "Take one look at her, Leon. Do not pretend you don't know what it is," Arthur demanded.

  I looked down at my lap.

  "Of course I do. I hear the other guys talk of her beauty and her body. They are afraid to talk to her because they know they will be arrested for doing so. And for fucking her? Father, I'm sure you'd have them torn apart. She is kin to me, so of course, I do not have the same thoughts. But, can the men in Anchora not find their own women? How many of our fertile women must you send them? What do they do with their own women? We have a total of twelve young women betrothed to bachelors in various other sectors as we speak. That's twelve women that could be reproducing for Legance instead of our neighbors."

  "And as you already know, we have six women being brought within our borders this winter as a result of our agreements with other sectors. With the ongoing shortage of women of breeding age, this is the way things are done now, son. We can't keep breeding from within. And you, boy, best go out and find a woman of your own or I will be picking your betrothed next."

  Leon huffed. "I have plenty of women. Just none I want to make my wife."

  "That decision will be your downfall," he replied. "And we don't want that, now, do we?"

  The statement struck a cord and Leon's face twisted with malice, but before Leon could utter another word, Arthur got up, dismissing the subject, and stood in front of the bay windows, glancing outside at the storm brewing. "Happy birthday," he said.

  I was so shocked he remembered, I gasped. "Thank you," I mumbled.

  "Have you heard anything from Andy?" he asked.

  Him asking about my father, his own brother, also surprised me. He was the one who banished him for a handful of crimes, including treason and fraud. It was so sad. In their youth, the twins, Andy and Arthur, had been inseparable. They did everything together. But now, they seemed like enemies.

  My father, I'd heard, had been seen wandering just outside the borders, tagging along on hunting expeditions and trading missions. As far as I knew, he had not violated the rules governing his banishment. But I knew he was close by. I hadn't seen him since he was thrown out, but I wanted to. I needed to know he was okay.

  "No. I haven't heard a thing from my father," I said, looking at a piece of lint on the floor.

  "So...he hasn't come back here to find you or speak with you or anything?" Arthur inquired, walking over to his personal bar and pouring scotch into a glass over some ice.

  "No. He is banished. Why would he come here and risk being executed?" It was hard thinking of my father being executed, but this was his reality. He would never be allowed to return to Legance. Not in peace, anyway.

  Arthur looked up. "For you, I suppose. He never agreed with this betrothal."

  "He never agreed with me about anything, but that's what fathers do, right?" I shrugged.

  Arthur narrowed his gaze and studied me while sipping his scotch.

  I swallowed and then said, "Don't worry, Uncle. I want to go back to Anchora. I know it is my destiny to be there. It may not be to bring honor back to my family's name, but it's something. I can feel it. There's something I must do."

  "Yes..." Arthur agreed, looking off into the distance. "You must."

  I left the Wynnell mansion that evening with renewed purpose. On the way home, the sky opened up and the rain came do
wn. In the privacy of my backyard and while soaking wet, I danced under the moon and stars while no one was watching. But as the minutes passed by, I began to have second thoughts. It wasn't the first time that I had my doubts about going through with this, but I thought I had gotten over my fears.

  Why were my doubts creeping up now?

  Chapter Three

  Axil

  She danced like no one was watching.

  But I saw her. And for a moment, I forgot why I came. Yet, she was exactly the reason I was here.

  While everyone else in this area remained inside, she danced outside in the rain. She was drenched, but she didn't seem to care. She was oblivious to my arrival.

  Her hair was long, about mid-back length and matted to her face and her body. The color was dark, maybe black or brown. I couldn't see her eyes that well, but they were a lighter color, brown or hazel. She looked like a perfect doll with her face turned up to the sky, bathing in one of nature's gifts to man. Her feet were bare, and her ankles were slightly visible. She wore something that looked like a long thin dress. The fabric clung to her curves like a second skin, making her silhouette clearly defined to me. She was a woman, no doubt. A woman that had my feet rooted to the ground, unable to separate fantasy from reality. But it was real. She was there. Alone. And utterly free for the taking.

  A light breeze filtered through the rain showers, and a whiff of her scent beckoned to me. It was faint but strong, reminding me of honeysuckle that grew wild and free near the mountainside. On impulse, I licked my lips, yearning for a taste of something like that now.

  It was not the time to think about eating or satisfying my cravings. I shook my head, ridding my mind of all lustful thoughts.

  The young woman lived by herself. I knew that much. Her house was small and it couldn't have been more than two bedrooms. There was only a single light on in the home, and it came from the small window right above a kitchen. I had glanced inside earlier in the day when she wasn't there. As I thought back on it now, her scent was so strong, it had even lingered on her porch earlier in the day. Of course, I'd thought nothing of it then, but the lack of honeysuckle vines anywhere in this sector told me that it was the woman who I scented.