Page 2

Chapter 1

Addie

If I was a superhero, my power would be accidentally crushing balls.

How does one accidentally crush balls?

Talent, my friends. Pure, undiluted talent.

“Shit!” I cursed, scrambling towards a kneeling, groaning Asher. His hands were protectively cupping the front of his pants, eyes anguished. “I meant to aim for your head.”

“How the fuck did your fist miss my head and hit my dick?”

Well, when he put it like that...

“I’m sorry, Ashy,” I cajoled, taking a step towards him. His blond hair, now shoulder length, glinted in the waning sunlight and highlighted the fireworks of gold in his eyes.

At my gentle tone, his head snapped up, and his expression softened.

“I’m not mad, sweet girl. I’m just...in pain.” He dramatically rolled onto his back, legs and arms sprawled. I moved to lay beside him and rested my head on his chest. His arm wrapped around me, holding me close.

The house we had found ourselves in was a small, bungalow-style building with decaying hanging plants and bug-riddled shrubs. While it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing, it had two fences blocking it from the outside world. Protecting us from the monsters roaming the streets.

It had been three months since we had left Elena’s house, and six months since the world had ended. Three months, one week, five days.

An eternity.

Three months, one week, and five days since I had last seen three of my men and Tommy.

Calax, with his broad shoulders and cropped black hair. The rough and surly exterior contradicting the gentle giant underneath.

Declan, my childhood best friend and one of the men I loved.

Fallon, the appointed leader of our group.

Tommy, the boy I had deemed as my younger brother. He and Nik held that role in my heart.

Gone. Missing.

Dead.

I didn’t want to start thinking of that, of them, because I knew that if I did, I would start spiraling into a pit of depression, an abyss of despair.

Rolling over, I leveled Asher with my best glare.

“Again.”

“Again?” He rolled onto his elbows, the movement causing his shirt to roll up. I had chosen not to be intimate with any of my loves until we were all reunited, and they respected that decision. However, Asher was making it quite difficult.

His muscles were more defined from our long and extensive workout sessions. With his light blond scruff and golden hair, he was almost too handsome for his own good.

“Sweetheart, we’ve been doing these drills for a few hours now. You’re exhausted.”

Even before he finished speaking, I was already fisting my hands and bouncing on the balls of my feet. Asher watched me warily. Cautiously.

“You can’t keep working yourself this hard,” he continued. “It’s not good for you.”

“What’s not good is being a liability. Being weak.” My stomach twisted at that word. It had been my weakness, my inability to fight, that had caused me to be kidnapped by Liz, Ryder’s ex-girlfriend. It had been my weakness that had caused me to get shot, leaving behind scars that went far beyond the one on my stomach.