When the moon fell

Rain hammered against the ruined train cars hard enough to make the metal groan.
Nova Reyes tightened her grip on the rusted crowbar in her hand as she climbed through the narrow opening between two collapsed seats. Water dripped from the ceiling onto the back of her neck.
The flashlight strapped to her wrist flickered.
“Seriously?” she muttered, smacking it against the side of the train.The beam steadied again.
Barely.
The overturned subway car smelled like mildew and old blood. Nature had started reclaiming it years ago. Thick vines curled through shattered windows while moss crawled along the walls like rot spreading through flesh.
Nova moved carefully One wrong step and the entire wreck could collapse deeper into the flooded tunnel below.
But the supply crate was here somewhere. At least that’s what the radio trader claimed before charging her half her ammo for the information.
“Medical crate inside Line Seven wreckage,” he’d said. “Untouched.”
Untouched her ass.
Nothing staye

Kael couldn’t stop staring at her.Even with her thrown over his shoulder threatening to stab half his pack, he couldn’t stop.Rain poured through the broken streets above as the group moved through the underground tunnels toward the surface, but Kael barely noticed any of it. His wolf was pacing violently beneath his skin, restless and agitated in a way he hadn’t felt in years.Mate.Impossible.Completely impossible.Yet her scent wrapped around him with every breath. Wild rain. Smoke. Blood. Something achingly familiar buried beneath years of survival and ruin.His grip tightened slightly against the back of her thighs before he forced himself to loosen it.She was real.After all this time… she was real.And she had looked him straight in the face without recognition.Kael’s jaw clenched.The Lunar Plague had destroyed more than cities when it spread across the world. During the first year of infection, some humans suffered neurological damage before turning. Memory loss. Personal

“Hello?” Nova snapped. “I’m sitting right here. Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on?”Both men looked at her Then the big Alpha sighed heavily and dragged a hand down his face.“It’s not good,” he admitted.Nova gave a dry laugh despite the fear twisting in her stomach. “Yeah, I figured that out from the expressions you two are making. So what is it? Am I going to die?” Her voice tightened. “Or am I going to turn into one of those things?”“No,” the doctor said immediately.Then after a short pause, “And yes.”Nova stared at him.“…What?”The doctor rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “You are not dying.”“But you are infected,” Kael finished grimly.Nova’s pulse pounded loudly in her ears.“No.”Kael held her gaze steadily. “The Hollowfang infection is inside your system.”Nova immediately shoved herself off the bed despite the pain shooting through her leg. “No. No, absolutely not.”“You need to calm down,” the doctor warned carefully.“Calm down?” Nova barked out

Her eyes swept across the room one more time before catching on something near the far corner.A vent.Small enough to miss if someone wasn’t looking carefully.Nova frowned slightly and moved closer.The metal grate sat low along the wall beside a cabinet, one side hanging just slightly loose from the screws holding it in place.Her pulse quickened instantly.No way.She crouched carefully beside it and pressed her fingers against the grate.Very loose.Nova glanced quickly toward the door Slowly, she tugged harder The grate popped free with a faint metallic creak Nova froze instantly.Silence.Dust drifted from the opening as darkness stretched out behind it.The vent shaft looked cramped and narrow, barely large enough for her to fit through.Perfect.Nova shoved the grate quietly aside before lowering herself onto her stomach and squeezing into the vent.Cold metal scraped against her elbows immediately.The space was tight enough to force her to crawl inch by inch through the da