Surviving the Apocalypse: Escaping My Obsessive Alpha

The world had already burned to ash. Yet there I was, throwing another tantrum, demanding my hydrokinetic boyfriend drain his combat energy just so I could take a hot shower. That was when the holographic text started scrolling across my vision. Like a live-stream chat glitching right into my brain.

[Are you kidding me? Its the freaking apocalypse, and shes crying about a bath?]

[Sloane is nothing but a pretty face, a total dead weight.]

[He needs a badass female lead on his level, not this walking red flag.]

[Whatever. Once the infected horde hits, her true colors will show. He'll drop her toxic ass.]

[Without his plot armor, she ends up slaughtered by The Overlord anyway.]

I suppressed a shiver. I shoved Corbin hard. "No. I'm done. I don't want to wash up."

Chapter 1

He stumbled back, clearly thrown by my sudden burst of frantic strength. I felt a sudden pang of guilt. Or maybe I was just scared by the mention of The Overlord in the comments.

Corbin frowned, a harsh crease forming between his brows. "Are you sure?"

I nodded frantically, my voice trembling. "It's fine, Corbin. You're the team leader. You need to save your energy for the infected."

He went still for a moment, perhaps because it was the first time he heard me say something so mindful of the big picture. "Okay," he finally murmured.

Even though I refused the shower, he still dampened a towel, cupped my face, and wiped it carefully. He was close. Too close. I could feel the heat radiating from his chest, smelling the rain-soaked ozone of his power mixed with sweat. I stared at his ridiculously gorgeous face, instinctively swallowing hard.

My thirst barely lasted three seconds before the floating text hijacked my vision again.

[Sloane is so toxic and obsessed. She's literally just using him for his face.]

[He's a total tech bro. First time a girl aggressively chases him, of course he falls into her trap.]

[Are we ignoring his powers? Hydrokinesis is wild.]

[Right? The human body is 70% water. If he wanted to, he could pop someone's blood vessels or dehydrate them into a husk.]

[No wonder shes clinging to him like a parasite. He's the ultimate cheat code.]

Speechless. Reading the brutal truth, I snatched at the rag, desperate to do it myself.

But the heavy hand resting on my waist flexed, his fingers digging into my hip bone. Corbin kept his voice soft, but the dark, underlying command left zero room for argument. "We've been on the road all day. Let me clean you up so you can sleep."

I kept my eyes squeezed shut until he finally stepped out into the night to take first watch. Only then did my eyes snap open in the dark.

The glowing words burned into my retinas, refusing to fade. According to that mysterious chat, I was the selfish villainess. Corbin was going to dump me. And The Overlord would butcher me. A violent chill wracked my spine, my teeth chattering in the silent room.

Ancient glaciers had melted. An unknown virus swept the globe. The infected crawled out from the ruins. But the virus also shattered the human genetic threshold. A rare fraction of the population didn't mutate into brain-dead monsters. Instead, their DNA weaponized. They awakened abilities. Corbin was one of the lucky ones.

Ever since he dragged me out of the jaws of the infected, I had latched onto him like a limpet. Maybe it was the crushing anxiety of the apocalypse. Or maybe it was because he was unfairly attractive, completely shattering the clich of the socially awkward STEM nerd.

I fell hard.

I chased him relentlessly for three months until I finally wore his defenses down. Maybe the chase broke something in me, because once we made it official, I became a total nightmare. A certified leech on the team, bossing everyone around. But since Corbin called the shots, the rest of the crew had to bite their tongues and tolerate my garbage.

But now? Now I had the spoilers.

Every toxic, manipulative stunt I pulled was dragging me closer to my karma. Even Corbinwho babied me and catered to my every whimwas destined to drop me for a badass female lead with her own powers.

A sudden sense of fear washed over me. Terrified of rotting in this infected wasteland. Terrified of this mysterious Overlord. But I couldn't even play the victim. At the end of the day, I was just a basic, powerless liability.

The next morning, I didn't wait for Corbin to wake me up. I scrambled out of my sleeping bag and packed my gear in record time. Our survival squad had two other members besides us. Duke, a regular guy with zero powers, just like me. And Flynn, a lone-wolf electrokinetic we picked up on the road.

Chapter 2

Duke's eyes widened in disbelief. I was up before dawn, actually helping him inventory our dwindling supplies. I didn't need to read his mind to know what he was thinking.

Ignoring his shock, I just kept handing him MREs and ammo boxes. But my peripheral vision betrayed me, locking onto Corbin a few yards away. He stood over a map with Flynn, plotting our next route. His profile was cold and stern, completely ignoring me.

Right on cue, the floating text glitched across my vision:

[Oh wow, is Sloane entering her independent era?]

[Lmao, she really thinks this is gonna fix her ending? Delusional.]

[In the original timeline, she started acting right around now too. He was already sick of her.]

[Just watch. Once he realizes she backed off, he's going to be so relieved.]

I dropped my gaze. A dull ache bloomed behind my ribs. Would Corbin actually be relieved? I didn't know.

But every time I looked at him, the phantom sensation of teeth tearing into my flesh spiked my adrenaline.

I had to avoid him.

By nightfall, Flynn and Duke were exchanging wary glances. I let out a bitter laugh in my head. Of course they were freaked out. In the past, I would complain about everything on the road. I was a walking, breathing red flag. But today? I kept my mouth shut. I even volunteered to take the wheel.

Corbin shot that down immediately. So I sat quietly in the back, trying to lower my presence.

If I stopped being toxic, maybe he wouldn't hate me. Maybe, when the real danger finally hit, he wouldn't just stand there and watch me get ripped apart.

I took the initiative to help Duke pitch the tents and get the fire going. We moved in a frantic blur. I felt Corbin's heavy stare burning into my spine multiple times. I kept my eyes glued to the dirt.

The second the camp was set, the hairs on my arms stood up.

He was coming over.

I quickly pulled Duke aside, asking humbly, "Hey, can you teach me how to fight? Just basic self-defense?"

Duke was unawakened, just like me. But he used to be an MMA coach back in the old world. He could snap my neck with two fingers.

The reality had clicked into place last night. I couldn't rely on plot armor I didn't have. I needed to survive on my own.

Duke blinked, thoroughly confused. But since I was technically still the leader's girlfriend, he nodded.

Three hours later, my arms were almost completely drained of strength. I locked in another session with Duke for the next day and dragged my boots toward my tent.

Corbin suddenly appeared, blocking my way. His tall figure stood in front of me, and his tone was flat. "Sloane, what is going on with you today?"

I was a terrible liar. I kept my chin tucked, staring hard at his combat boots, my voice breathless and thin. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Corbin let the silence stretch. The air between us thickened, heavy with the scent of rain and ozone. "You haven't said a single word to me all day," he said slowly after a brief pause. "And you didn't"

My teeth dug into my lower lip. I knew exactly how that sentence ended. He meant I hadn't kissed him.

Before that day, no matter how close the infected got, I had always managed to corner him. I'd press him against a rusted out car and steal a kiss when the others weren't looking. He carried the brutal weight of keeping us all alive. I just wanted to be his escape.

But today? A kiss was out of the question.

We barely made eye contact. My mind raced frantically as I stammered, "You you were busy."

Silence slammed down on us.

Corbin was silent for a moment, as if searching for the right words. "Is this because I didn't help you wash up the other day?"

Chapter 3

I looked up and met his expressionless, handsome face. "It's not that. I'm not mad. You just carry so much of the weight already. I don't want to be a burden."

Corbin's brow twitched at the word 'burden'. He let the silence stretch, turning the word over in his head. After a long moment, he raised his hand and gently rubbed my head. "Don't distance yourself from me."

Before the words fully registered, his hand clamped around my wrist. He yanked me straight into his tent.

Oxygen vanished.

Before I could even react, his mouth crashed down on mine in an all-consuming kiss. A sharp sting hit the corner of my mouth as his teeth grazed my bottom lip.

"Stop smiling at Duke," I heard Corbin's slightly hoarse voice say. He dragged his mouth over mine one last timea raw, bruising claimbefore tearing himself away. The tent flap snapped shut, leaving me gasping in the dark as he took the perimeter watch.

The chat window exploded:

[Wait, am I hallucinating, or is he totally pitching a tent?]

[Damn, packing serious heat down there.]

[Don't even dream about it. His first time belongs to the FMC.]

[Ngl, Sloane is insanely gorgeous. Too bad shes just a powerless NPC.]

[Who said shes powerless? She literally has a mutation too!]

My pulse skyrocketed. The throbbing sting on my lip vanished completely.

Wait. What? I had an ability?!

I stared at the empty air, my eyes blown wide, practically begging the glowing text to elaborate.

[Mutations are just physical manifestations of your deepest obsession. Sloane only cares about her looks, so her ability literally just makes her prettier. No one knows. They all think she's a Zero.]

Holy shit. I didn't even need the chat to roast me. I wanted to punch myself in the face. What a completely useless, garbage ability.

Deep into the night, he swapped shifts with Flynn. He slipped into the sleeping bag beside me. I watched the sharp, exhausted lines of his face in the dark. My fingers moved before my brain could stop them, reaching out to trace the bridge of his nose.

Before my skin even made contact, his massive hand locked around my wrist.

Corbin's dark eyes fluttered open. He pulled me flush against his chest, pressing his warm lips against my forehead. "We picked up an SOS signal a hundred miles out last night. The route cuts straight through your old college campus."

My brain stalled, but the chat absolutely lost its mind.

[HOLY SHIT! Hazel is entering the chat!]

[Wait, hes three years older than her, right? Age-gap trope for the win!!]

[Finally! She's a healer. He won't have to tank all the damage anymore.]

[Just wait until her second awakening! First dual-mutation user in the world. Absolute queen behavior!]

[Power couple dynamic incoming! Delicious!!]

I lowered my eyes, hiding the emotions swirling in them.

Corbin caught the dead air. "You used to talk about how much you missed that place. You don't seem thrilled."

I forced my facial muscles into a stiff smile. I braced my hands against his solid chest and shoved backward, peeling myself out of his embrace. "I am. We should pack up."

Behind me, in the blind spot I couldn't see, Corbin's expression stiffened for a moment, and his gaze darkened. But his voice remained perfectly, terrifyingly soft. "Alright."

My old campus, C-State, sat right on the edge of the city limits. The quad, once packed with tailgates and frat rushes, was an apocalyptic wasteland of shattered glass and dried blood. I stared blankly through the grime-streaked window at the ruined science building.

The chat was moving at warp speed:

[Here we go! Countdown to the FMC!]

[Healer class! His literal soulmate!]

[Wait, what was her name in the novel again? Ha Hazel?]

[Yes! Hazel! Junior pre-med, total logic-driven ice queen!]

My knuckles turned white as I crushed the hem of my shirt. A heavy, sour ache flooded my ribcage. It pooled directly beneath my sternum.

I had suffocated my feelings for him. I had locked the obsession away.

So why did reading those glowing letters still make my heart ache so much?

Chapter 4

The heavy steel door swung open, letting in a blast of toxic, frigid wind. Corbin glanced back at me, his large, calloused hand extending out.

Any other day, I would have practically thrown myself into his arms. Instead, I just jumped out of the cab myself, pretending not to see his hand, and jogged over to Duke. "What are we working on today, Duke?"

Corbins arm hung in the dead air for two full seconds before he smoothly dropped it back to his side.

It seemed like he didn't have much of a reaction. I looked away and followed the crew into the ruined science building.

I hadn't expected to see a guy standing next to her, sharing the same sharp, striking features. She introduced him as Archie, her biological brother.

And just like me, an unawakened Zero. Corbin barely registered the kid's existence.

Flynn, on the other hand, practically vibrated out of his boots the second he heard Hazels mutation class. "Holy shit!" Flynns jaw dropped. "A Healer?!"

I stood by the window, looking out at the familiar campus, but my ears were focused on their conversation. A Healer. The ultimate apocalyptic cheat code. No wonder Corbin hijacked our entire route to pull up here.

My gaze snapped toward him on instinct. He was staring at Hazel. Hard. I knew that intense, hyper-focused look. It was the exact same way he looked at me the day he dragged me out of the rubble, my face covered in my own blood like a stray dog.

Hazel, on the other hand, looked calm and commanding.

It felt like something was squeezing my chest hard. I dropped my chin, fighting the tremor in my vocal cords.

I walked over to Duke and whispered, "Let's just start hauling the supply crates."

Halfway through moving the heavy MREs, someone blocked my path. Archie. Hazels younger brother.

"You've been staring at the campus non-stop," he noted, a boyish grin on his face. "Did you go here?"

I gave a stiff nod. "Graduated two years ago."

Archie hummed, leaning against a rusted locker. "So what's your name, gorgeous?"

"Sloane."

He repeated it softly, flashing a bright, golden-retriever smile as he complimented it. He effortlessly kept the conversation flowing, hauling the heavy crates alongside me.

The holographic text glitched back into my vision:

[Aww, the golden retriever boy is down bad!]

[Wait, was he in the original novel?]

[Yes! He awakens an Enhanced Strength mutation later! He's always been secretly obsessed with Sloane!]

[Wait, what?! He was in love with her?? How did I miss that?]

[Because Sloane gets slaughtered so early on in the book. He literally never got the chance to confess.]

I was completely speechless. What?

There was a whole plotline I didn't even know about.

Archie was the complete opposite of his icy, unapproachable sister. He was warm. Open.

He finished stacking the crates and dug a high-calorie protein bar out of his pocket, pressing it directly into my palm. "You're way too skinny," he murmured, his eyes full of raw concern. "Eat up."

I stared down at the foil wrapper, completely paralyzed. Then, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. A heavy, suffocating pressure bored into my skull.

My head snapped up.

A few yards away, Corbin stood perfectly still in the shadows, his dark eyes locked onto us. His face was an unreadable mask of cold stone. But the plastic water bottle in his grip was violently caving in. The thick plastic shrieked, twisting and crushing into itself. He was using his hydrokinesis to rip every single drop of moisture straight out of it.

My heart skipped a beat. How long had he been watching?

Seeing me stay silent, Corbin couldn't help but speak up to remind me. With the new additions, one tactical rover wasn't going to cut it. We had to split into two vehicles. Corbin and Flynn took the wheels. "Sloane?" Corbins low, raspy voice sliced through my spiraling thoughts.

I stood frozen on the cracked asphalt, staring blankly at the passenger door he held open for me. My jaw clamped shut.

Chapter 5

Right on cue, the glowing text flooded my vision:

[Oh my god! Hazel is right there. Is the villainess seriously still trying to steal her spot?]

[Shes a literal parasite. Let her keep digging her own grave.]

[Begging Hazel not to ride in his rover! Let the main couple build some chemistry, please!]

My boots stalled on the cracked asphalt. I didn't even glance in Corbin's direction. I pivoted and climbed straight into Flynns tactical vehicle.

Me, Flynn, and Archie squeezed into the cab. The other three took Corbin's rover.

A few miles down the highway, Corbin radioed to pull over. We hit a massive, gutted supercenter to scavenge for supplies.

I walked through the shattered glass doors with Archie trailing right behind me. My lungs instantly seized.

Corbin and Hazel were standing together near the registers, deep in conversation. Hazels expression remained perfectly cool and calculating, but she nodded at whatever he was saying. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder, the raw, undeniable power dynamic between them was suffocating. They looked like a perfect match.

A wave of discomfort washed over me, so I just turned my head away and walked down the nearest aisle.

I was staring blankly at a shelf of dusty soap when a heavy voice vibrated right behind my ear. "Why were you smiling at him?"

I whipped around. "What?"

Corbin towered over me, casting a massive, suffocating shadow. His dark eyes flicked down to my face. He rolled his jaw, the muscle ticking furiously under his skin. "You and Archie seemed to be having a great time together," he rasped.

My mind went blank.

Before I could string a sentence together, the heavy thud of combat boots echoed from the entrance. The rest of the crew was filing inside.

Corbin looked at me deeply. I wanted to leave, but he suddenly grabbed my wrist. His fingers locked around my wrist like a steel vice. "Stay with me."

I swallowed hard and blindly followed his massive frame through the aisles. He stopped so abruptly I slammed face-first into the solid wall of his back.

I rubbed my nose, stepping out from behind him to see what he was looking at. My breath completely hitched.

Rows and rows of intact, dust-covered condom boxes.

My face burned.

Corbin didn't even blink. He held my hand with his left hand, his face expressionless as he sifted through the boxes with his right.

Regular. Large. Extra Large His hand paused as if he found what he was looking for, and he tossed an XL box into his pocket.

My face flushed and my heart raced. Even though we were dating, things hadn't moved that fast yet.

Why was he grabbing those now?

The chat aggressively hijacked my vision:

[Wait, what is he doing?!]

[HOLY SHIT! Are they about to smash?!]

[Ngl, the size difference between him and Sloane is kinda hot.]

[Stop shipping the toxic ex! He belongs with the FMC!]

I couldn't even process the holographic chaos before a bright voice echoed from the end of the aisle. "Hey, Sloane, what did you guys find?" Archie asked, jogging toward us.

The air pressure around Corbin instantly plummeted. He let go of my wrist. Before I could even breathe, his heavy arm wrapped around my waist, yanking me flush against his hard side. His grip tightened a little. "Sloane?" Corbin repeated the name in a low, dangerous growl, offended by the casual intimacy rolling off the other guy's tongue.

My scalp tingled for no reason.

Archie froze in his tracks. His golden-retriever smile shattered as his eyes locked onto Corbins possessive grip on my waist. "You two?" Archie choked out.

"She's my girlfriend," Corbin said in a deep voice.

I had my back pressed to his chest, so I couldn't see Corbin's face. But I watched all the color completely drain from Archie's cheeks.

Archie didn't say another word. He turned on his heel and practically bolted to find his sister.

I let out a shaky breath, the tension leaving my shoulders.

"Are you disappointed?" Corbin's voice rasped directly against my ear.

"Huh?"

His rough thumb and forefinger clamped onto my chin, forcing my face up. His dark eyes burned into mine. He raised his hand, his thumb gently rubbing the corner of my mouth. "Sloane," he murmured, his breath ghosting over my lips. "You've been freezing me out."

Guilt instantly flooded my chest. "I no, I haven't. You're just overthinking it."

Chapter 6

Corbin's tone was entirely unreadable. "Is that right."

By nightfall, we hauled ourselves into an abandoned hotel on the outskirts of the city. Duke and Flynn swept the perimeter.

The hairs on my arms prickled. Archie was looking back at me. I didn't dare meet his eyes.

Corbin's heavy hand was locked dead on my waist, his long fingers pressing a slow, deliberate warning into my hip bone. "Get your gear sorted. Flynn and I are splitting the night watch." His voice was flat, betraying absolutely nothing.

Hazel stepped forward, her expression perfectly composed. "I'm awakened too. I can take a shift."

The holographic chat flooded my vision instantly:

[Who else lives for this power couple dynamic?]

[The contrast between the FMC and the villainess is insane. Who actually wants a helpless leech?]

[Did you guys see how his eyes changed when he looked at her?]

[This is exactly where the romantic tension starts in the novel, right?]

[Yes! She wakes up in the middle of the night to help him with the watch. He gets protective, and they end up staying up together.]

[Wait, what about Sloane?]

[Sloane? Shes literally cannon fodder. Just waiting to get dumped.]

[Ugh, kinda feel bad for her, but it is what it is.]

I blinked hard against the sudden burn behind my corneas, immediately pulling away from his embrace. Without a backward glance, I sprinted after Duke to haul the supply crates.

He didn't try to stop me. Exactly as predicted. Instead, he turned to Hazel, their voices dropping into a low, private murmur.

Yet, an invisible weight bore down on my spine. A heavy, blistering stare that made the skin on my back crawl.

Total darkness fell. The crew scattered to claim empty rooms.

I turned down the hallway, only to slam into a solid wall of muscle.

Corbin blocked the entrance to the master suite. "You're taking this one."

Not a suggestion. A direct command.

I froze. "What about you?"

His jaw locked. He stared at me in dead silence for three agonizing seconds before pivoting and shoving open the door to the adjacent room.

I stared at his closed door, an indescribable feeling settling in my heart. But the glowing spoilers bled back into my memory, washing the pain away with a numb, icy clarity. Whatever. Corbin was never mine to keep anyway. Why drag it out? After tonight, he and Hazel would finally start falling for each other.

The suite was suspiciously spotless. Not a single trace of dust or rot. Had Corbin cleared it out for me beforehand?

Feeling exhausted, I walked over to the bed and lay down.

Barely five minutes passed.

A heavy knock rattled the doorframe. Assuming Duke or Flynn needed something, I dragged myself up and twisted the knob.

My breath instantly caught in my throat.

Corbin towered in the doorframe. He had stripped out of his tactical gear. Dark, damp strands of hair stuck to his foreheadhe had clearly used his hydrokinesis to wash the grime off. The crisp, electric scent of rain and clean skin slammed into my senses.

My mind went blank for a few seconds.

He didn't utter a single syllable. He just stared. His eyes were deep, carrying an emotion I couldn't quite decipher. I stumbled a step backward on pure instinct. He stepped over the threshold, closing the gap instantly.

Click. He deadbolted the door behind him.

My pulse violently skipped a beat. "Corbinwhat are"

Before I could finish, he suddenly reached out and pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly. He buried his face deep into the crook of my neck, inhaling sharply. "Sloane," he gritted out, the raw vibration of his voice sinking directly into my collarbone.

I stood paralyzed.

Minutes dragged. Finally, his grip loosened. He pulled back just enough to cage me with his dark gaze. I violently jerked my head away, unable to withstand the blistering heat radiating from his eyes.

He raised his hand, his thumb gently rubbing the corner of my mouth. "You smile at Duke. You smile at Archie. You even smile at Flynn."

His jaw ticked. He paused, his tone inexplicably deepening a bit. "But you won't even look at me."

Chapter 7

My throat locked. "I just I've been too suffocating," I stammered, backing away. "I want to be more independent."

"Independent?" Corbin repeated, tasting the word on his tongue.

A low, hollow laugh vibrated in his chest.

My chest tightened.

"Independent enough that you don't need me anymore? Independent enough to let other men take care of you?" Corbin just stared at me. The silence made my heart clench.

Corbin's voice dropped into a terrifyingly calm register. "Three to six months. The honeymoon phase ends. The thrill fades. So tell me, Sloane. Are you bored of me? Or do I just mean nothing to you now?"

I kept my chin tucked, completely mute. The cruel amusement vanished entirely from his face.

His rough grip forced my chin up, his words slicing through the air. "You play with me until I'm just used goods, and now you want to throw me away?"

Before my lungs could expand, he crashed down on me. It wasn't a gentle kiss. It was fierce, driven by a dark, possessive need to claim.

I tasted blood. Mine or his, I couldn't tell.

The chat aggressively hijacked my vision:

[Holy shit! Where did the gentle tech bro go?!]

[This is giving unhinged, dark romance energy.]

[Stop disrespecting Corbin. His mutation is water.]

[Exactly. Water has two sides. This is literally foreshadowing his true nature. He's always been like this.]

[Wait, I just realized something. Whenever she threw her toxic tantrums before, he never lost his patience. He always gave in.]

[Terrifying realization: It wasnt because he was a nice guy. It was because he physically refused to let her out of his sight.]

Corbin suddenly picked me up and carried me into the bathroom. He unleashed his power, shifting the air pressure in the room. Thick, suffocating steam materialized out of thin air, instantly fogging the mirrors. "You skipped your shower last time," he rasped against my throat, the gravelly vibration sinking directly into my skin. "I'm making up for it."

His free hand dug into his tactical pants. The harsh crinkle of cardboard pierced the humid silence. The box. The XL box. "Bored of me?" The dark rumble tore through his chest. "Let's fix that."

My mind fractured with terrifying clarity.

This couldn't happen.

Corbin was literally fated to fall for Hazel. I was nothing but a temporary distraction. A roadblock. If I didn't sever this tie right now, I was going to be slaughtered.

His heavy weight pinned me down, his ragged breath ghosting over my damp collarbone. "What are you thinking about?" he panted.

My brain completely short-circuited. "I want to break up," I choked out.

The entire room went dead silent