[Music: Lash Out By Alice Merton]

"I’m with Sunshine here," I said, for once welcoming Dante’s comments.

"Sunshine?" he asked, confused.

"Oh yes, I was being sarcastic. Your entire mood can bring down a planet."

He took a step forward, but Luca stopped him by bracing his hand against his chest.

I smirked, and he gnashed his teeth. I knew he had a lot to let out, but couldn’t do that because of anger.

"Anyhow... The point is," Elliot continued. "We have to make sure we are all in sync since the competition isn’t just between us anymore."

"I agree..." Luca said, raising his hand even though no one asked for his input. "I think sis needs all the training she can get. She’s gotta represent us." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"This is a fucking bad idea," Dante grumbled.

"Again, what he said," I pointed out. "He’s making more sense than all of you. Shocking!"

"Ana," Elliot handed me the rifle despite my disapproval, and I held it with two hands because of how heavy the damn thing was

"Don’t worry, sis, you’re in good hands."

I beg to differ.

"We’ll ensure your form is good first. How about you give it a try?"

I swear to go if I get my hands on that snake, I will—!

I took a deep breath, not wanting to welcome him into my thoughts.

I have been doing my best for the last few hours to ward him off, and so far I have been doing a great job. I can’t ruin it now.

I raised the rifle, and Dante snorted. Elliot and Luca shot him a look.

"What? Haven’t seen a cat hold a stick before? Because that’s exactly what this looks like. What’s she gonna do, toss it at the targets for pets?"

"You mean like this?" I pointed the rifle at him.

"Whoa! Sis!" Luca pitched.

Dante tilted his head, smirking not a bit unfazed, and I don’t expect him to be. I was hoping I could rile him up a bit.

"Ana," Elliot said behind me. "Let’s all calm down."

I scoffed, redirecting the weapon at the targets.

Elliot cleared his throat. "Pardon me."

I tensed up when he held my arms in place, only briefly.

"That’s about all right. Take the shot."

I did.

"Where did your bullet go?" Dante teased.

"Dante, you’re killing Ana’s confidence," Elliot said to him.

"He’s not," I said, facing my target again.

Elliot helped with my form again, giving me instructions, and I held it in mind as well as determined to wipe that smirk off Dante’s face.

I suddenly preferred that scowl that always his usual mood like the whole world was crashing in on him.

Crack!

Crack!

Crack!

Elliot braced his hand on my back each time because this fucking weapon came with a lot of force, enough to throw me over.

"Not a single target hit..." Dante said, side eyeing me with a smirk.

He was enjoying this far too much for my liking!

"Unlike you, I held Barbie toys when growing up!" I defended. "Cut a girl a slack!"

"She’s right, though..." Luca conceded. "Remember when big brother got you a revolver for our twelve birthday and me a Spartan dagger set?"

"See what I’m saying?" I interjected before blinking when his words sank in. "Wait, what?"

"Which is why this hunt is no place for her," Dante said. "We are gonna be dirt deep if we have her with us. We’ll be a laughingstock."

On second thought, screw this! Screw them!

I took the rifle from Elliot after he was done loading it.

"How about a bet then?" I said fearlessly, fed up with his attitude.

Dante raised an eyebrow, and I got the shivers due to how similar he looked to Zade at that moment.

What happened to erasing him from your thoughts, dammit! This is getting harder because I’m basically surrounded by his lookalikes.

"What bet?" he asked in intrigue.

"Ooo, this is gonna be good," Luca said behind him, resting his chin on his brother’s shoulder.

"If I land a single accurate shot in ten minutes, you’ll do anything I ask... no arguing, no questions."

"Two minutes."

"Five!"

"Fine..." he agreed. "And if you don’t, then you’ll do anything I ask."

Elliot exhaled behind me.

"Deal." I stuck out my palm.

He eyed it, checking if I was actually serious about this. When he saw I wasn’t joking, he shook my hand.

"Luca, set the timer," Dante said, not taking his eyes off me.

"O... kay," Luca fished out his phone from his back pocket.

I turned quickly to Elliot and whispered to him. "Quick! Give me a tip."

"A tip?"

"Yeah... something I can work with."

"In under five minutes? No offense, Ana, but with what I have seen, that shot will be nearly as impossible. You shouldn’t have made that bet with Dante."

"Tip!" I practically growled.

He sighed. "Lean into it."

"How is that supposed to help?"

"You asked for a quick tip."

I rolled my eyes.

"And start!" Luca showed us his phone. "Good luck, sis."

I took deep, nervous breaths as I positioned my rifle, keeping the forms in mind. I must have done it right because Elliot didn’t adjust my stance.

Their intense gaze on me only made me nervous.

Crack!

Crack!

Crack!

Crack!

"Four minutes."

Shit! Shit! Shit!

"Any day now..."

I glared at Dante.

"Don’t look at me, look at your target."

"Three minutes, sis..." Luca reminded me that time was not on my side.

I’m gonna lose this shit, and Dante was gonna get the last laugh. Oh hell no.

I position again, my breath shaky and unsteady.

"Focus."

A shiver coursed through me when I heard Zade’s voice directly to my ear, then from the corner of my eyes, I caught his tattooed, muscular arm in my line of vision, followed by the weight of his body behind me.

"Two minutes," Luca’s voice cut through, but I was heavily focused on Zade behind me.

He was so close I could feel his body heat slipping into mine.

"Relax your shoulders, little kitten. You’re treating this like a battle."

I closed my eyes for a moment, and when I opened them, I took the shot.

"Yes!" I screamed, jumping and then twirling, but I was stumped when I realized Zade wasn’t behind me.

Was that in my head?

"Nice sis!"

I shot my eyes to Luca, who raised his palm, and I forced a smile, giving him a high five.

"That was actually good," Elliot confirmed. "Your form was perfect back there."

"Thank you."

I faced Dante. "You lost."

"As a matter of fact, I did..." he said, glaring. "A deal is a deal. What do you want?"

My lips curled into a devilish smirk.