Damaged: A Dystopian Fated Mates Omegaverse Romance (The Uncaged) by Amber Ella Monroe

Author:Amber Ella Monroe [Monroe, Amber Ella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amber Ella Books
Published: 2022-04-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Hailee

I was sad to leave Rafael’s dugout, but we did. I couldn’t pretend any longer that I didn’t have a life before I ran into Rafael. We couldn’t stow away forever—just the two of us, shutting out the whole world around us. It would have been nice, but that wasn’t life. And it wasn’t living.

Huddled against his back, I rode with him on the ATV about an hour before we reached an old military-looking compound. The toppled concrete sign near the entrance read Graystone Naval Base and Commissary. It must’ve been an operating military center before the world caved and changed almost overnight.

This place wasn’t completely off the grid but the casual passerby would’ve missed it, nestled among rundown barracks and surrounded by chain-linked fences and cinder block walls. In the back of the compound, big solar panels were erected and several windmills were built around the perimeter.

“Is this where your people live?” I asked as he got off the ATV.

“No. Far away from it, actually. This is a trading center. Mostly business deals. Not many civilians venture this way,” he said.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, but I don’t really get out much and we stick to smaller villages for a reason,” I replied.

“No one would live out here. But some do. Right here in his compound. It’s a desert area. The terrain is rough. Nothing to hunt. And they probably ran out of MREs years ago.”

Sure enough, when I looked around, all I saw were dry, caked ground and scattered debris being blown in the air with sand.

He took a sip of water from a canteen, handed it to me, and surveyed the area. “I’ll only be gone thirty minutes tops.”

“You mean, I can’t come in,” I protested.

“I would, but the folks here aren’t too friendly about outsiders, women, and children coming inside.”

I swallowed. “Oh.”

“Just stay close to the ATV. When I’m done, I’ll take you to your village. If I’m correct, we’re about thirty minutes away.”

My gaze dropped to the ground. Strongly believing that Rafael would eventually let me go alone back to my village, I had told him a little fib about where the village was actually located.

“Um, Rafael...” I started, meaning to correct my wrong.

“Yeah?”

“I—”

“Hey Raf! Is that you? If you’re coming, come on. The traders are here. Some Alphas from Northgarde. Everyone’s here. They’re about to close the gates,” one guard called out.

Rafael handed me a bag of his belongings. “Remember, stay right here next the bike. This won’t take long. I’ve gotta go.”

I watched his retreating back enter the compound. When I glanced up, I spotted a couple of men standing on top of the building with what looked like rifles and binoculars.

I’d never seen anything like it before. Legance had a similar setup. I shouldn’t have been surprised, really. Most sectors guarded what was within their walls like crazy.

Suddenly, a guy sped across the field on a motorcycle. He was a big guy. Tall, large, and lumbering. He parked the bike next to a tree and ran up to the gates.

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