Page 103 of Blood Sport

Miles is on the ground in the blink of an eye, and the gun skitters across the ground. My eyes meet Ethan as he kicks the gun further across the parking lot. I lose it in the darkness as he moves to stand beside Jaylen.

“Miles?” Ethan cries, looking at his friend on the ground as he holds his hand over the wound on his head, blood pouring between his fingers. “You’re the hunter?”

“I’m just as shocked as you are,” Jaylen grunts as he rubs the back of his head. “There are wood bullets in that gun. I couldn’t smell it the other night when he had his scent masked.”

“So, that was Miles that tried to take us out at the hospital?”

The topic of the hospital reminds me that I am clueless as to what the fuck they’re talking about. I know they go there to collect blood bags for their stash, but had Miles confronted them while they were there?

“Jaylen, what is going on?” I demand, walking to stand in front of him.

He places his cold hands on my shoulders, his eyes boring into mine. They’re completely red now as I’m sure he’s brimming with anger from almost having a bullet put into the back of his head.

“Evie, I wasn’t kidding when I said to leave. This could get dangerous and I don’t want you to—”

“He’s my brother,” I remind him sharply, staring into the crimson pools. “What are you going to do with him?”

Jaylen sighs and licks his lips. “I don’t know yet.”

I place my hands on his hard chest and lean into him. “Please don’t hurt him. I’m sure he doesn’t—”

“Look out!” Ethan shouts from beside us.

Looking past Jaylen, I see Miles back on his feet and running straight for Jaylen with a large wooden stake in his hand. Where the fuck did he pull that from? His eyes are wild and he’s screaming as he charges forward. But in the blink of an, my view is blocked before I hear a squelch followed by a loud groan.

“Ethan!”

Jaylen catches Ethan’s body as he goes limp, the stake sticking out of his heart. My hands fly to my mouth to catch the cry ready to explode from my chest as I take in the scene. Jaylen lowers Ethan’s body to the ground and pulls the stake from his chest, tossing it to the side carelessly.

“Ethan, can you hear me?” Jaylen’s voice is filled with panic as he searches his friend’s face.

Ethan’s already pale skin is now almost translucent, his breathing ragged and sharp. His eyes meet Jaylen’s as he struggles to catch his breath. Jaylen covers the gaping wound in his chest, but it’s no use. Even I know what a stake to the heart will do to a vampire.

“You’re not dying on me,” Jaylen shouts as blood smears across his jersey and up his arms as he covers the wound.

Ethan smiles sadly and places his hand on Jaylen’s arm. “Tell Jaycee I love her, and I’m sorry.” His skin is beginning to turn gray and the color in his eyes fades rapidly. “Ple-ase.”

I blanch at his words. Jaycee? So, I was right about them dating, which means she is probably waiting for him to meet her for drinks…

A growl snaps my head up from Ethan and Jaylen to see Miles with the bloody stake in his hand, charging forward with it raised above his head. The wild look is back in his eyes and saliva is seeping from the side of his mouth like he’s a wild animal.

I don’t know what comes over me. Maybe it’s adrenaline or fear, but I know I need to do something. Anything. I just watched Ethan take a fucking stake to the heart. I can’t let the same thing happen to the man I—

It’s like I’m moving in slow motion as I leap forward to stand in front of Ethan and Jaylen seconds before Miles brings the wooden stake down. A searing pain shoots throughout my chest and my fingers instantly go numb. A strangled gasp slips past my lips as I stare at my brother, my vision blurring at the edges. I have never felt immense pain like this before. It feels as if a fire is burning inside my veins, but my skin feels cold and tense.

“Evie!” Jaylen’s voice cries from behind me.

All I can do is stare into my brother’s eyes as they soften. He looks from my face to the wooden stake sticking out of my chest before they widen, and he steps away as if he had been electrocuted. Regret crosses his face; his features are no longer wild and hard, but filled with pain and regret.

“Ev,” he whispers, his hands shaking as he holds them up in front of his chest. “I-I didn’t mean to—” He reaches for me, his hands covered in Ethan’s blood dripping from the stake, but the sound of Jaylen’s booming voice makes him think otherwise.

“What the fuck have you done?” Jaylen shouts as his arms go around my waist and I fall limp against his chest. He lowers me to the ground, careful to place my head gently on the cement. Each rustle of my body sends another shot of fire scorching across my body. I groan in pain, biting back the tears. I look to my right straight into Miles’s tear-filled eyes as he stares down at me, shaking his head slowly. Shock and confusion settle over his features.

“Mi-les,” I croak, my voice hoarse and scratchy. My vision begins to blur at the edges like I’m underwater. “Please…”

“I-I’m sorry, Ev” Miles stammers, taking a step back. His hands tremble by his side and for a brief moment, I think he’s going to reach out to me when they lift ever so slightly. His eyes are on the stake sticking out of my chest. Oddly enough, I can no longer feel it. My body is numb to everything besides the multiple emotions passing through my brother’s emerald eyes. “I didn’t—I can’t.” Without warning, he spins on his heels and sprints across the parking lot, disappearing around the corner as he blends in with the fans leaving the stadium, unaware of what is happening down here.

I want to feel disappointed and be pissed that my brother left me to fucking die in a parking lot with a wooden stake in my chest, but I’m unable to focus on anything other than the searing pain bursting across my body or the blood rushing in my ears.

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