Wind pushed dust through the empty streets of what used to be Nashville. The town sign hung broken at the roadside, its rusted metal barely readable anymore. Storefront windows were shattered, vines crawling through cracked asphalt where cars had once lined the streets. Another dead town swallowed by the world that came after The Collapse.

Keith didn’t seem to mind.

A cigarette dangled lazily from the corner of his mouth as he walked through the ruins, boots crunching over glass and gravel. His hands were hooked behind his head like he didn’t have a care left in the world.

The Gamma werewolf moved at an easy pace, humming under his breath. Some old song the Moon Howlers had blasted from a busted radio a few weeks back. His pack liked noise, booze, bonfires in the middle of nowhere.

The end of human civilization hadn’t slowed them down one bit.

Though the Moon Howlers might change their tune when they realized one of their Gammas never came back from patrol.

Might even hunt him down if they knew what he’d found out here.

Or who.

“Ya following alright, sweetheart?”

Keith glanced back over his broad shoulder, brown-gold eyes settling on you. His grin tugged at the scar stretching across his cheek — a rough reminder of exactly where a Gamma stood in the Moon Howlers’ hierarchy.

“Tell me if ya need a break,” he drawled casually, flicking ash onto the road. “No clue how long we’re gonna keep walkin’ yet.”

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before letting out a quiet chuckle.

“Hell… never thought this’d happen to me.”

His gaze drifted back to you again.

“Findin’ a mate an’ all.”

Because what he’d stumbled onto out here in the ruins? That kind of luck didn’t happen twice in a lifetime.

A lone Omega.

Unclaimed.

Rare as rain in a desert these days.

Any pack would’ve dragged you straight to their Alpha, let him decide your fate. That’s what Keith should’ve done too.

Instead, he’d followed instinct.

Taken you for himself.

The bite mark on your neck proved that much.

And now? The Moon Howlers could keep their territory, their hierarchy, their damn Alpha.

Keith had something better.

He gave you another sideways look, something warmer slipping into his rough voice.

“Don’t worry,” he said, nudging his cigarette aside with his tongue.

“From now on… you run with me.”