Boondocks Reading Novels & Stories

Keith had sent me an invite, and I had to see it for myself. My car was stranded at the pack's office, so I had to hail a cab. As I waited, a black sedan screeched to a halt in front of me. Before I knew it, I was yanked inside, a hand clamped over my mouth and nose, and everything went black. When my eyes flicked open again, I was staring at the ruins of an abandoned construction site. Daniel was there, looming over me. The moment I stirred, he grabbed my shoulders and gave me a shake.

Not all have the power, the status, or the bloodline to compete. It’s nothing like Texas. Life there was predictable, brutal in its own way. Primacy Contracts were common. My virginity became a dowry; my body, a transaction. The clan who bought my flesh broke me in the name of duty. They returned me empty. I tried to die. But even that wasn't mine. "You’re going to Chicago. They have an excellent bonding program," my mother said. "That will compensate for the disaster with your primacy contract." So instead of giving me time to heal, my parents insisted I come to this city. One of the safest in the country, they said, with the promise of a new beginning.

“Where are we going?” “I don’t know, okay!” I said louder than I intended and Abigail’s bottom lip quivered like she was going to cry. Nina quickly pulled Abigail into her arms, rubbing her back. “Stop yelling at her Shane!” Nina held both her palms in hers. “Let’s just say we are going on a family adventure.” “Really?” Abigail smiled excitedly. “Yeah,” I added, forcing a smile back. Nina packed up her stuff in less than a minute and just like that, our shack, the place we had called home all our lives, was empty.

Birds had nested in the dashboard. At midday, they stopped to eat. Damon pulled from his pack a battered copy of *Watership Down*, which he’d scavenged from a burned library two towns back. He read aloud as they chewed dried fruit and jerky, his voice soft and oddly reverent. It was the only book they’d kept, after the world ended. As he read, Elena watched Donovan run perimeter checks, ever alert. She wondered if this vigilance would ever break, if he could ever trust in the possibility of a future. Damon caught her glance and folded the book shut, reading her mind as always.

“Looks like it.” They didn’t speculate beyond that. They didn’t need to. She was out there alone. Boone adjusted his stance, studying the ground between them and her. He wasn’t a millionaire. He wasn’t a strategist in boardrooms. He was a bounty hunter. He read land the way other people read spreadsheets. “The lower dip is loose,” Boone said quietly. “If she steps wrong there, she’ll slide.” Adrian followed his gaze. He could see the faint difference in texture now that the sun was rising. A shallow depression filled with loose debris.

When it was time for her to go to bed, she insisted that I be the one to read her a bedtime story, and I was like the damn Grinch with my heart growing three sizes as I read to that little girl and helped Nessa tuck her in. After the rest of the kids get sent upstairs to bed, Nessa’s parents join us in the living room, cuddling together on one of the couches while Nessa and I sit side by side on another. Mr. Diaz sips from a glass of amber-colored liquor, watching us thoughtfully as he strokes his wife’s shoulder with his thumb. “So what are you two going to do about the mate bond?” he asks, swirling the liquor in his glass. “We, uh, haven’t really talked about it,” Nessa mumbles, lacing her

Yash came to take over with a sleepy looking Saam in tow looking uncomfortable in the bits of armor he had. “All quiet?” Yash asked as he stopped beside Dyllen, looking out into the sparse trees surrounding their garrison. The dawn light was just filtering through the trees, piercing the deep shadows cast by the night. “Yeah, only a few bats and a fox, nothing exciting.” “Well, let’s hope we’re as lucky.” Yash clapped Dyllen on the shoulder as the alpha moved past, Kadence trotting tiredly at his heels. He led the beta to the mess hall where Brite was starting up breakfast preparation.

AUTHOR’S POV: Flashback It’s been five years since little Blair made it to the slums, even though she was young she learned survival skills from her father so it was a bit easy for her to survive in the open world. She barely spoke she either nodded or shook her head when asked a question so she was referred to as a dumb child. No one adopted her from the shelter because she behaved strangely but she had children almost her age who treated her nicely, They introduced her to the metal finding work which they did to get their daily meal. She joined them and made good money, but her joy wasn’t for long.