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I looked at Nikolai. “And you, Nik…You’re on Aleksandr. Do not let him get a single drop of water into that bucket.”

Determination snapped Nik’s spine straight. “I won’t.”

Aleksandr wasn’t winning this year.

I cracked my neck left and right before jumping up and down on the spot, shaking out my hands. Down the line, the rest of the family did the same, gearing up for the next game to begin. Beside each team was a full tub of water and two empty buckets that we were to use to transfer the water from this tub to the empty one at the other end of the field.

It was a simple game, and yet, it was by far the most brutal because there were no rules. We could do whatever we wanted to stop the other teams from filling their tubs, which meant it was going to be pure and utter chaos…

I couldn’t wait.

Lips pressed against the column of my throat, and I jumped, taken completely by surprise.

“You’re so excited.” Arturo chuckled, eyes alight as he gazed at me. The startling blue-green of his eyes always made my heart race.

“Fuck yeah, I’m excited. This is the game we all hold out for. It’s the first time any of us will be working together for it, but still, it will be pure carnage.”

He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “And my baby loves carnage,” he said adoringly.

My smile was bright and beaming. “Yes. She does.”

He kissed my lips softly, and I melted into him, his touch igniting a fire in my soul.

Mikhail blew his whistle once. “Here we go! Game seven!” he roared.

Applause erupted around us, followed by loud, boisterous cheering.

I pecked Arturo’s lips three times fast before pulling back and turning to face Mikhail standing out in the middle of the field.

“The game is simple. You have five minutes to fill your empty tub. The team with the most water in their tub by the end of the five minutes wins. Full contact has been authorized for this game, so”—a devilish smirk curled on his lips—“have some fucking fun.”

Beside me, Lukyan evilly tapped his fingers together.

My brother was just as, if not, more excited than I was. Just because we were the ones running the water didn’t mean we couldn’t get our hands dirty. Kick and punch a few people along the way.

Mikhail began the countdown. “Three…two…one…Go!”

Several things happened at once. Nikolai spun, pouncing on a surprised Aleksandr and taking him down hard before he even knew what happened. Arturo ran, tackling Father, Lyla doing the same thing to Drea. And Lukyan, Tatiana, and I all scooped up our empty buckets, dunked them in the tubs to fill them, and ran across the field.

“Get the fuck off me!” Aleksandr snarled from behind me, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I ran. The smug bastard had never anticipated we would sacrifice our own players to stop his team from filling their water.

Mwuahaha.

I dumped the water from my bucket into the tub and sprinted back for more.

Aleksandr was locked in a grapple with Nikolai, trying to get away. Same for Drea. Lyla’s long, flexible legs were wrapped around Drea’s body, keeping her pinned in place. Right beside her, Father struggled against Arturo as Autumn returned to the tub of water after just dumping a bucketful into her empty tub at the other end.

I submerged my bucket, filling it with water, and turned, making my way back down the field. Aleksandr reached out and grabbed my foot as I passed him. I tumbled to the ground, cursing harshly.

Fucking fuck fuck.

I kicked out at him, and he was forced to let me go. Snatching up my bucket and scrambling to my feet, I bolted back to my tub to refill it once again. Aleksandr managed to escape Nikolai, delivering a swift kick to his abdomen, before running for his bucket. He passed me along the way and shoved me hard, throwing me to the ground.

Pain rocketed up my spine, surface cuts slicing across my arms, but I ignored it, scuttling back to my feet. Aleksandr’s back was to me as he dunked his bucket into the tub. I ran up behind him and struck him in the back with a flying knee strike. He rammed into his tub, water sloshing over the sides and drenching him. He swiveled quickly with a spinning back fist. I ducked, punched him in the stomach with my left, and smashed my knuckles into his face with my right.

“Move.” Nik’s gruff voice came from behind me, and I vaulted right.

Nik slammed into Aleksandr in a brutal tackle that had them both bounding over the tub and to the ground.