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We have to find water today or tomorrow—there is no other choice. The small city we hid in during the haboob ended up being a ghost town, likely abandoned even before the fall of society. Anything that had been visible before the storm ended up buried under the dirt. Even the Biters were nowhere to be seen, maybe even sucked up by the winds.

The altitude is increasing and we are down to only one reserve jar of water. The problem is, we’re basically in a fucking desert. There is literally nothing as far as the eye can see in any direction, and everything, including the road, is covered in dirt. We’re just walking through an empty wasteland. It’s so foreign to what I’ve always known that it doesn’t even feel like we’re on the same planet. Dair says the only reason his envoy didn’t have this issue on the way to Grand Prairie is that Koda’s backpack had been entirely devoted to water storage.

We should have planned better.

To make our situation worse, the energy between the three of us is shifting. I know that Dair said Raine’s scent is changing because she accepted my bond, but ever since I woke up to her practically eating my dick, her scent has become sweeter by the day. Dair’s scent is also growing more robust, and the spice that I now know belongs to his wolf has gotten stronger and more dominant. My own instincts are on edge, preparing for something that I don’t yet understand.

The only good thing about this mess is that we haven’t run into any other people, and the chances seem very unlikely that we will. I don’t even think Biters would end up out here.

When midday comes without any sign of civilization, we stop to eat, even going so far as to pitch our tent so that we can escape the sun for just a while. The haboob brought slightly colder temperatures, but there hasn’t been a cloud in the sky since.

As she eats, Raine asks the question on all our minds. “What are we going to do if we run out of water?”

“It’s not going to come to that,” Dair says. “If things become desperate, I’ll shift and let my wolf track down a water source.”

Raine asks, face pinched with a mixture of confusion and worry, “Why haven’t we seen any people? Tore spoke of the Wastes like we’d be fighting off loners and feral groups, but we’ve seen absolutely no one.”

“I’m not certain,” Dair concedes. “When we came through the first time, we did run into a few groups that we had to fight or bargain with. But the one thing we have going for us is the sheer magnitude of the Wastes. Statistically, it’s probably pretty unlikely to meet another group every time you cross. Also, it’s possible that the haboob grounded everyone in their communities.”

“How much longer are we going to search before we resort to ‘Plan Wolf?’” I ask.

“We’ve probably got another six hours before sunset. If we haven’t found a water source by then, I’ll leave you two to set up camp and I’ll go scouting.”

Again with the plans to split up. My wolf hates breaking apart the pack, but what else could we possibly do? “Fine,” I grumble.

I sink my hands into the dirt under me, tilting my head back to look at the cloudless, blue sky. Come on, I beg whoever will listen, we just need some water.

Six Years Ago, Southern Lake Michigan

Isprint, slipping and sliding around the twisting corners I cut in order to try and get the Biters off my trail, but they are relentless. The server cords blur in my periphery, looking like curling tentacles reaching to grab me. My heart pounds in fear, and despite trying to control my scent, I know it trails behind me like a beacon calling the Biters this way.

Ahead, I see a small sign that says “EXIT” hanging from the ceiling and take a chance that it will lead me out of this cursed building. I ram my body into the door and get dumped back into the harsh rain of the outside world. I don’t think; I just let instinct take over as I run faster than I ever have in my life.

The door slams open behind me, but I don’t look back; I just keep going until it feels like my legs have detached from my body. Still, I know they’re behind me; I can feel their stares and smell their rotting flesh.

I trip, a small mistake, and crash onto the wet pavement, skidding several feet as the cement bites into my clothes. “Fuck!” I scream, feeling angry and scared, and so betrayed. I did this to myself, I snarl in my head. I am the reason I’m going to turn into a brainless monster.

The Biter’s feet slap against the wet pavement as they close in on me, sprawled on the ground with no will to get up. I force myself to keep my eyes open, to look around at my surroundings and take it in. I fucking hate that my last human memory will be of a parasitic data center, so I focus on the feel of the rain on my skin instead.

Drip, drip, drip.

Ispring up from sleep, my gun already in my hand, safety off. Eyes wide and heart pounding, I look around the tent, taking everything in from Raine’s peaceful body to the empty spot where Dair is supposed to be. The tent flap is still closed, and Raine is silent as she sleeps, so what woke me up?

Drip, drip, drip.

My face rises to the tent roof, and I cry out, full of emotion, as I see raindrops, backlit from the nearly full moon, rolling down the slick material. I scramble off the blankets and rip open Dair’s backpack to grab out his spare tarp, then practically throw myself out of the tent into the pouring rain.

It takes me some time, and I have to sacrifice the T-shirt I’m wearing, but I manage to tie the tarp to the poles holding up the tent walls to create a large funnel for the rain. When I poke my head back into the tent, Raine is waking up, and when she realizes what’s going on, she scrambles to help me haul all of our empty bottles and jars so that we can fill them with the rain pouring down the tarp.

We’ll have to filter it all through some fabric and then boil it, but we have water.

I look over at Raine, soaked to the bone, and start to laugh, really laugh for the first time in too long. Her face splits into a massive smile and then she’s laughing too. We’re nearly delirious with relief and the disbelief that we got so lucky.

Raine stands and tilts her face toward the waxing moon. Her wet skin is luminous in the moonlight, making her look like she’s made of starlight instead of flesh and blood. She closes her eyes and simply lets herself feel the moment. I allow myself to commit this to memory—my mate, wet and wild and full of happiness.

In the distance, a wolf howls, long and melodious, and I watch as gooseflesh pebbles across Raine’s chest, hardening her nipples. I nearly moan when I realize that his howl has the same effect on me. And then he’s there, prowling through the rain like a mythical creature, his fur darker now that it’s wet. His eyes are as wide and beautiful as the moon when he zeroes in on us.

I blink and the wolf stands before us. In another blink, Dair takes the place of his wolf. He towers over us, every inch of his massive body dripping with raindrops that sparkle with moonlight. I’ve known since I met him that Dair was beautiful, but it’s only sinking in right now that what I feel for him is nothing like the brotherhood I felt with River.