A brutal mission. A dangerous prisoner. A bond forged in fire. Enemies by duty. Lovers by defiance.

In the ashes of a broken war, Lieutenant Tom Sayer is assigned a final task: escort a volatile prisoner across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Mace—codenamed "Monkey"—is a government-forged weapon of war. Controlled by voice, caged by chains, haunted by what he’s done.

Tom wears the cloth of faith. Mace wears the scars of command. But when survival becomes shared, lines begin to blur.

What begins as obedience becomes obsession.

What begins as penance becomes rebellion.

And love—raw, impossible, and undeserved—demands a terrible choice.

🔥 Westbound is a dark M/M military romance featuring:

• Morally grey soldier x weapon dynamic

• Enemies to lovers slow burn

• Gritty post-apocalyptic survival

• Hurt/comfort with psychological depth

• Trauma bonding, emotional rawness, restraint/power dynamics

• LGBTQ+ themes and a redemptive arc

For readers of Captive Prince, The Last of Us, This Is How You Lose the Time War, and Gideon the Ninth.

Book 1 of The Null Protocol.

“You say the words—I fall. You stay silent—and I burn.”

Content Warning:
This novel contains mature and potentially distressing themes including trauma, captivity, power imbalance, violence, and a near-violation scene that is dub-con. This story is intended for readers 18+.