Hey, sorry for the late update. School's a pain in the ass, and I've had some issue's regarding my boyfriend. So again, I apologize.

Seventeen –

Chloe's POV

I groaned face-down on the ground. This so wasn't fair! My elbow throbbed; it had hit the ground before the rest of my body did.

"Chloe?"

I pushed myself up from the ground, spitting.

"I think I ate some dirt," I complained.

"Sorry."

"Can you help me up?" I stared at Jasmine. She was already on her feet. She grabbed my arm and hoisted me to my feet.

"Sorry," she repeated.

"It's fine." I looked around. "Where's Alek?"

"Somewhere in that direction," she pointed behind her. "We split up to find you faster."

"We should find him," I said. She pulled out her phone and dialed his number. A confused expression crossed her face.

"He's not answering," she said. "I told him I'd call him if I found you."

"Let's go find him," I said. She nodded, and ran ahead of me. I dialed his number as I ran…no answer. I tried again. Come on, Alek, I thought. Answer your damn phone.

Again no answer, so I tried one more time.

"Damn it," I muttered. I ran faster to keep up with Jasmine. She stopped and I almost ran into her…again.

"Shhh," she hissed.

"Why?"

"Listen."

I extended my hearing range, and that's when I heard it, a fight. I could hear the heavy breathing of both fighters, and their racing heartbeats. One heartbeat I recognized immediately.

"Alek…"

Alek's POV

I rolled to my feet quickly. A hiss escaped my mouth. My side was throbbing, and I did my best to ignore it.

"Well, well."

"I should've known I'd see you again," I snarled. Zane smirked.

"That's no way to speak to your family."

"You are not my family!"

"Blood is blood, brother."

"The hell is it!"

I started to run, but not at him. If he was here, then Chloe had to be nearby. I could hear him following me, and I pushed myself faster, putting distance between both of us.

I tried to outrun him, but I wasn't fast enough. He tackled me from behind, sending me flying face first into the ground. I struggled against him. Finally, I managed to kick him off. He flew backwards and crashed into a tree. He stood up quickly, and threw a knife at me, I threw myself to the left, and the knife went into a tree a few feet behind me.

"Seriously?" I muttered. "He never runs out of weapons."

Obviously, Zane wasn't done yet. He threw me anotherknife. I ducked out of the way, and ran toward him, tackling him around the waist into the same tree he hit before. I punched him repeatedly. He blocked me, and kneed me in the stomach, forcing me to the ground. He laughed.

"Silly, brother," he said scathingly. "When will you ever learn?"

He sent another kick to my stomach. I bit back a groan. I won't give him that satisfaction.

"What's wrong brother? Too stubborn to give into the pain? Let's fix that, shall we?"

He kicked me several times, now.

The pain in my stomach and chest were unbearable, but I kept my mouth clamped shut, refusing to give to release any sound of pain. Zane bent down beside me.

"Hmm," he mused. "You really are a tough nut to crack."

I glared up at him.

"Go to hell," I spat. He chuckled.

"Nah, I like it here too much."

I pushed myself off the ground, ignoring the pain in my body. I got to my knees, only to be kicked again – but in the chest – I flew back a few inches, and my back collided with the hard ground. Fuck. Now, my entire torso hurt. I'm pretty sure he broke a few of my ribs. When Zane kicked my ribs again, I started coughing up blood. I wiped it away quickly.

"ALEK!" I heard Jasmine scream my name somewhere in the distance. No, I tried to say. But I couldn't get a word out; my chest was burning too badly.

"Hm, Jasmine's looking for you," Zane voice sounded pleased. "Maybe I can finish her off, now."

I tried to move. There was no way in hell he was going to lay a finger on Jasmine again.

"But first," he said. "I think it's time we ended this brother."

He held the knife above my face.

"So…would you like to die quickly or painfully?" he asked, twirling the knife for emphasis. I glared at him. He smirked.

"I'll take that as quickly."

He held the knife over my heart, and lifted it in the air. I refused to close my eyes, even though I wanted to. I wasn't going to give in to the fear, no matter how badly I wanted to.

Then a miracle happened.

Before Zane could deliver the blow that would resort to my death, a knife had been thrown, and was lodged in his chest. He gasped, and fell to the side. I tried to sit up. I managed to lift myself onto my elbows but that was it. Chloe walked into my view, and bent down beside me, throwing her arms around my neck.

"Are you okay? How badly did he hurt you?"

"Fine," I chocked out. She pulled back, and turned to Zane. I looked at him, too. He was gasping for air, and he reached up to pull out the blade. Jasmine had walked up to him now. She kicked the blade sharply into his chest.

"Payback's a bitch isn't it?" she hissed. He gasped again. And he drew a few sharp breathes of air, before his chest stopped moving and the light in his eyes died. Chloe turned back to me, and helped me up. When her hand touched my chest, I winced.

"What's wrong?" She asked, panicking."

"Ribs," I managed to get out. Her hand immediately moved. She kept her arm around my waist, and pulled my right arm over her shoulder. I bent my forehead to hers.

"I love you," I whispered. "Thank you for saving me."

"I love you, too," she whispered back. "Thank you for coming to find me."

Jasmine grabbed my other arm and draped it over her shoulders.

"Let's get you home," she muttered. I followed without protesting. Walking hurt, I'll admit that, but I tried my hardest not to complain. When we made it back home, Valentina was the only one waiting for us in the living room.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"We were attacked," Jasmine explained simply and she and Chloe set me on the couch. The pain in my chest was fading slowly. Chloe stayed beside me, I kept my arm around her shoulder, so glad to have her beside me, safe and sound, again. We slowly told Valentina everything. She listened without interrupting until we were finished.

"Which one of you killed Zane?" she asked the girls.

"I threw the knife," Chloe confessed. "But Jasmine pushed the knife into his chest."

Valentina nodded.

"You all did wonderful tonight. Now, get to bed all of you. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow, especially you Chloe."

"Great," my girlfriend muttered. Valentine and Jasmine retreated to their rooms. I pulled Chloe closer to me.

"Don't ever go running after someone without me right beside you," I told her. She smiled.

"No promises," she said teasingly.

"Chloe…"

She grinned at me. "Okay, I promise. I won't go chasing anyone with you."

"Much better. Now, kiss your extremely hot boyfriend, I've missed you."

She laughed.

"You and your ego," she said. But she leaned forward and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my lap.

"Hey guys- ewww! Never mind!" We heard Jasmine say. Chloe pulled away from me, and started laughing. I joined her.

"Sorry!" she shouted, before we heard Jasmine's bedroom door slam shut.

We went to bed after that, once we were settled, I pulled her closer to me; Chloe wrapped her arms around me. I kissed her forehead and fell asleep beside her.

I woke up to someone yelling.

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