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

  As if I wasn't in a bad enough position with the way I stalled the mission, my cock twitched behind my fly. By no means was I the type of Alpha to stick my dick in anything that had tits and walked, but seeing her feminine curves and registering her unique scent made me hard as fuck. I'd suppressed my urges so long that if I wasn't on the mission that I was on now, I'd snatch her from this perfect little world she lived in, only to play with her until her pussy was raw from frequent use.

  I bit my bottom lip and shook my head.

  She was the enemy, not a fucking plaything.

  I reached down, repositioned my cock, and vowed to put this mission before my instincts.

  Suddenly, the woman stopped dancing, taking cover on a back porch. After brushing her hair back from her face with her hands and slipping on some shoes, she picked up a small bottle and inspected it. After opening whatever it was, she brought it up to her nose and then abruptly held it back.

  She seemed more and more interested in whatever was in that bottle, looking at the contents like some strange brew was inside. Moments later, she twisted the cap off again and took a small sip and immediately started coughing.

  "Awful," I heard her mutter, but then she giggled. Surprisingly, she took another gulp which resulted in a sour expression appearing on her face.

  I hadn't realized what it was before, but now I did. The alcohol must've been strong and unbearable. Every time she took a sip, she acted as if she could hardly keep it down. Yet, she persisted. And more than six sips later, I figured she was intentionally getting drunk.

  To the left of me, Xonar shifted from foot to foot impatiently. "What are you waiting for? She's right there. Go and snatch her."

  "Do you really think it will be that easy?" I asked him.

  "Keith and I have cleared the way. All the security guards on duty have been knocked out. Only a couple of them remain at the gates, but we're not going that way, right?"

  "That's right. We never use the front door."

  "Winds are picking up. The weather is in our favor and their tracking dogs will never pick up our scents in this. It's not their dogs I'm worried about. Wait any longer and we'll catch hell trying to avoid the storm getting back home. Let's do it. We don't even have to break into her house. She's outside. She made it easy for us."

  "Almost too easy."

  "You think it's a trap?"

  I shook my head. "No. They don't even know we're here."

  "They'll know soon. They'll know very, very soon," he warned.

  "I've got her. Go tell Ketil and the others we're heading out. Meet in fifteen minutes at Oak Run and then we go from there."

  Xonar nodded and started to turn around.

  "And Xonar?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Stick with the plan. The others should follow it too," I told him.

  He nodded. "I copy that. Heading out now."

  When he was gone, I focused on the woman again. I was shocked that she appeared to have finished the small bottle and had already pulled out a second.

  What the hell?

  What was she trying to do? Get so drunk she’d pass out?

  Lying in a pool of her own vomit was exactly where she was headed with the way she rested her head in her hand while she appeared to be talking to herself, all while getting drenched. She would catch pneumonia if she didn't take cover. And if she didn't stop turning up shot after shot of whatever liquor concoction she had in those bottles, she'd be in a bad position.

  A drunk hostage, I could manage.

  A sick one? Maybe.

  But a dead one? Nada.

  I needed her alert and alive.

  All of a sudden, she looked up as if she'd heard something. She wiped her hair from her face and looked around, peering into the darkness right in the general direction of where I knelt on the ground behind some shrubs.

  Somewhere off in the distance, Xonar sent out an owl's call that only my crew and I would understand. Everyone was accounted for and they all were heading towards the place where we'd meet back up after everything was done.

  The muted look on the woman's face told me she suspected something was off, but probably didn't know what to make of it.

  The rain had slowed just a bit, leaving only the howling winds to act as the only diversion to our plans.

  I had to make my move, and I had to make it now.

  She tipped the second bottle to her lips, and at that point, I was done watching her drink herself unconscious.

  I stood and came out from behind the bushes. The moment I did, she froze and glanced in my direction. Her eyes widened with fear and she dropped the bottle she was holding. It shattered to pieces on the paved walkway. From it, a strong odor emitted. A familiar smell. I suddenly realized why the bottle looked so familiar. She'd been drinking moonshine. Not just any kind of moonshine. One whiff told me where it was made.

  What the heck was this woman doing with moonshine from our village?

  She squinted out into the darkness at me.

  Our gazes locked.

  I placed one finger against my lips and shook my head slowly.

  Despite my warning, it looked like she was going to scream anyway.

  Chapter Four

  Karis

  I thought I was looking at an enormous boulder in the shape of a man that somehow dropped from nowhere out of the sky. I would have heard something like that hit the ground. Or maybe I was drunker than I thought and was only imagining things.

  When the shadowy figure moved towards me, I realized that it was a man; a fully grown man on my property, coming straight at me.

  I parted my lips to scream, but nothing came out. My shriek of terror got stuck in my throat. Even if I had called out, no one would hear me. It had to have been close to midnight. There was no doubt in my mind that my neighbors were in their beds by now. In their beds…while I skipped about in the rain like a crazy woman taking one too many shots of moonshine.

  I should have known this was a bad idea. The way the man hulked towards me while eating up the distance between us, I knew there was no time to run, but I tried to anyway.

  I turned around and took off, lunging for the back door.

  I never made it inside. I struggled with the doorknob, twisting it this way and that way, but something seemed jammed.

  Strange. I had not locked it just to come out to sit on the porch, and I didn’t have the keys.

  I turned around. The guy stood only a few inches in front of me.

  “What do you want? Stay away!” I screamed. "I'm tagged. You're not supposed to touch me."

  He held out his palms to the side as if to suggest he didn’t intend to hurt me. I begged to differ.

  “Do not scream again,” he warned. “We do not wish to shed blood tonight.” The deep baritone of his voice rippled through me.

  “We?” I stammered. “I don’t understand.”

  “You will.” He reached for me, but I drew back, pressing my back firmly against the locked door.

  His expression changed. He lowered his hands, but he still kept one palm pressed to the door right next to me, preventing any chance of slipping past him.

  Was this how it started? Was this how they would take me to the man I was supposed to marry?

  “I’m not afraid. I will go willingly,” I said quietly. But my words didn’t sound convincing, not even to myself. I was afraid. Perhaps I’d even changed my mind after thinking it through and drinking myself senseless.

  Oh, shoot. What was I thinking?

  “That’s why you’re here, right? To take me to him. Just do it. I’ll go. It’s time for me to go home.”

  The guy squinted and seemed confused by my submission. He made no immediate moves. He just glared. His nostrils flared outward, and his gaze traveled down the length of my body and then back up again. Tipsy from moonshine and drenched from head to toe, I must have looked a mess.

  “Where did this come from?” he asked. No, not asked. Demanded.

  I couldn’t hide my
surprise when he held up one of the mini bottles of moonshine that I drank.

  “That’s not mine,” I stuttered.

  “Lies.”

  I gasped. Oh, dear God. Was he going to report me for having an illegal substance?

  He was big and muscular. His bronzed skin gleamed under the moonlight. His eyes—they were a cloudy gray, or maybe even a dull gray. He wore a sleeveless gray sweatshirt. Black ink covered his arms. His hair was long, past his shoulders and unruly. Although he could frighten the living daylights out of just about anyone with his overpowering demeanor, I had to admit that he was striking and ruggedly handsome. I’d never seen him before. He couldn’t have been from this sector. He just looked…different.

  I never imagined they would come for me like this. I thought that I’d be granted more time to prepare before someone was sent to snatch me away in the middle of the night. Didn’t Arthur say that Stefan was injured and he wouldn’t come right away? Maybe this guy didn’t get the message.

  “Who are you?” I asked, swallowing down the dry lump in my throat.

  “Demands. Questions. I do not have time for either.”

  Once again, his deep voice mesmerized me.

  “Come,” he commanded, slipping his big hand around my waist. His touch was just as scorching as his heated stare.

  I felt compelled to obey him. Like, what the hell? What was wrong with me? I couldn’t have been all that drunk.

  I ignored the little voice in my head telling me to do whatever he said. I turned and struggled to get the door open again, pushing my shoulders hard against it, trying to shove it open. There was no way in hell I would present myself in this flimsy house dress and slides. “Just let me get my st—”

  “No.”

  He bent down and scooped me up.

  I screamed. “What—? How dare you!”

  “Do yourself a favor and be quiet. You are quite drunk. Keep screaming and your neighbors will know.”

  He was right. I was in a dangerous position.

  “Alright. I won’t scream. Just put me down.”

  Surprisingly, he obliged my request and pointed in the direction he wanted me to walk.

  “Just tell me who you are,” I begged.

  “I’m the man your mother should have warned you about.”

  I was speechless and confused. What if this guy wasn’t from Legance or Anchora?

  Even if I wanted to run now, I’d never make it. The potency of the moonshine had already taken effect. I could barely put one foot in front of the other. My slides sunk into the mud with each step.

  The stranger’s hand was at the small of my back guiding me, yet I was still unsteady.

  Right after a wave of nausea hit me, I felt the guy catch my fall. The way he cradled me against his chest, calmed my frazzled nerves. Besides, his warmth kept me from shivering and he smelled like chestnuts and cinnamon.

  There was no sense in struggling with the inevitable. I closed my eyes, thinking this would all be a part of a dream.

  A dream I wouldn’t forget…

  Chapter Five

  Axil

  As soon as I reached Oak Run, Xonar approached, "What the fuck is wrong with her? Can't she walk?"

  "She passed out," I replied, toting the woman in my arms towards a small group of men. We were composed of trackers: four betas, two Alphas, and me, the Alpha-in-Charge of the mission.

  Xonar looked shocked. "Well, did you have to knock her out?"

  "I didn't. She's drunk."

  "Ha!" Xonar laughed. "You serious? You mean that little weasel is about to marry a drunk?"

  "Maybe she needs to drink just to bear the thought that she has to marry the little weasel," Ketil joked, causing a couple of the guys to laugh out loud.

  "Is everyone here?" I asked.

  I took a quick count. Someone was missing.

  "Where is Titus?" I demanded.

  "No need to worry about me." Titus unfolded from behind a tree, but he wasn't alone. With him, he brought an unknown human female. She looked confused and frightened.

  "What the fuck?" I said in a strained voice. "Did you take her from Legance?"

  "What does it matter? She's going with me." Titus was adamant about taking the female with him. I could tell. It was his prerogative if he wanted to take a female from this sector. He was an Alpha. He could do whatever he pleased, but this was my mission.

  "I said stick to the plan. We were here for one woman. This one," I said adamantly. "Nothing else. No one else."

  "They were using her like a slave. I can't leave her behind," he said.

  Xonar circled the Titus and the female. "Do you know something we don't, Titus?"

  Titus growled and placed his body in front of the female. Xonar straightened his back and narrowed his gaze suspiciously at both of them.

  We didn't have time for this. Two Alphas fighting over the same woman…it happened every damn day in our neck of the woods, but we didn't have time for that shit now.

  "Alright, you two. Enough," I warned.

  "Everything besides the package should be fair game," Xonar continued. "That female you have..." Xonar pointed at Titus's female. "Her scent is loud and clear now. She's extremely fertile. She's ovulating. That's what you've been hiding. That's why you didn't bring her near us before."

  "Please, I didn't know. Don't kill me," the female stammered.

  "No one will kill you. No one will touch you except for me," Titus declared. "Back off, Xonar. I won't say it again."

  "Xonar...?" I warned.

  Finally, Xonar walked away, chuckling to himself.

  I shook my head. "Did anyone see you take her, Titus?"

  Titus paused just a beat too long, so I concluded that he had not taken this girl in secret.

  I growled. "Never mind. You knew what the risk was when you took her, and you did it anyway."

  "Our mission is done. You've got the package, but this one comes with me." Titus wasn't going to budge on the girl. I didn't blame him.

  Off in the distance, I spotted some lights flashing near the back gates of the sector.

  "Our mission isn't done. We must get back to Mistacre before the guards catch up with us," I said.

  "If they catch up to us, we'll just hang them up like bait for the real monsters out here in these woods," Xonar stated, picking up a bundle of heavy chains from the ground and hoisted them across his shoulders.

  Chains that once bound us were now used to trap and imprison our enemies. In extreme cases, they were even used to kill. This was our way. Wherever we went, wherever we did not belong, they call us the uncaged.

  I had hoped to avoid conflict, at least for now. I had hoped we would escape the woods and cross back over into our territory within two days. We would, if everyone stuck to the plan.

  I gestured for the men to pick up their things. "We have to head out. We must hunker down in a shelter until the next sunset. I'll see everyone at checkpoint C in about thirty minutes. You have your routes, so split up and let's go. If you're compromised, execute Plan B. Has everyone got that?"

  When everyone nodded in the affirmative, we split up as instructed.

  When the guards found out we had been in their sector or took something from it, they'd be on our tails with their guns and rifles. I wanted us to be gone from the area before that happened. And before they found those unconscious guards we left behind.

  I had a small hunch about the woman in my arms. I would bet everything I owned that she was worth way more than I first realized. But months ago when I overheard Stefan Newson bragging about his upcoming marriage to the woman, I knew taking her as a hostage would be the only way he'd cave and live up to his end of a bargain he swore to keep. And if she were that important to him, he would.

  Stefan made a grave mistake when he reneged and then threatened to harm my people. But now, I had something he wanted, someone he'd been waiting for for a very long time.

  That little weasel could've had any chick in his sector, but he chos
e this one. And just by looking at her, I already knew one reason. She was exceptionally beautiful. But looks could deceive any old fool.

  There was something odd about the woman, I felt it in my gut.

  My instincts had never been wrong.

  None of that mattered though.

  I had something my enemy needed. In exchange for her release, he would fulfill the agreement he made with us.

  No one took from us.

  No one.

  Chapter Six

  Axil

  I stood by the bedside, looking down at the woman I’d stolen. She had stirred a few times during our journey and after I placed her on the bed, but she had not woken up yet.

  That was a good thing, probably. Back at her house, it looked like she would put up a fight if she had just an ounce more of energy left in her.

  However, soon she would wake up…

  The light from the lamp was dull, flickering every few seconds.

  Even with damp clothes, I could still make out her womanly physique easily. Slender legs. Rounded hips. Perky breasts. Her skin was flawless. I’d seen plenty of human women up close and personal, but something about this one was truly different.

  Noises wafted through the open door from the level above me. My kind got loud and rambunctious, especially after a good meal and a few drinks. Like myself, most of them hadn’t slept in almost a day.

  The smell of grilled goose and rabbit stew wafted through the door, but none of that fueled my hunger.

  All around me, I heard rumblings of critters moving and shifting through the earth. The walls of the underground bunker were heavily fortified, and the structure could withstand almost anything, so I wasn’t concerned. Its indestructible build was why it was still in livable conditions to this day. Within its walls were possessions that were decades old. It was difficult to think that the bunker was probably used as a fallout shelter when Earth went to shit.