“It’ll be okay, love,” Mae tried to reassure me, but I heard the tremble in her voice. “Ezra will know what to do.”

I watched helplessly through the glass doors. With one quick move of his arm, Ezra pushed everything off the island in the kitchen, and Jack laid Milo on the counter. Jack stood off to the side as Ezra inspected my brother.

I couldn’t hear them, but neither of them looked good. Finally, Ezra pursed his lips and shook his head.

“No!” I cried, and Mae let me go.

I flew into the house. I reached out for Milo, and Jack grappled me in his arms. Lake water and Milo’s blood covered his bare skin, and it felt slimy rubbing against me. I hit him hard in the chest and tried to escape his grip.

“Let me go!” I shouted. “He’s my brother! And you killed him!”

“He’s not dead,” Ezra said, and it startled me enough where I stopped squirming away from Jack.

“Then what’s wrong?” I stopped fighting, so Jack loosened his grip on me but didn’t let me go. “Can’t you fix him? Shouldn’t we call 911?”

“I don’t think they can do anything for him,” Ezra said.

“But you don’t know!” I stared down at Milo. Other than the blood, he just looked like he was sleeping. “We just have to call! Where’s my cell phone?”

“Alice,” Ezra said, and I moved to search for my cell, but Jack wouldn’t let me go. “Alice.”

“Why aren’t you doing anything?” I yelled at him. “We have to do something!”

“We are trying to,” Ezra insisted. “Milo broke his neck and cracked his skull. Even if he lives, he’ll most likely be brain damaged and paralyzed.”

“So you’re just going to let him die?” I asked incredulously.

“I don’t think that’s what anyone’s saying,” Mae said. I turned to her, trying to understand the conflicted expression on her face.

“We can try the hospitals,” Ezra said, watching the slow rise and fall of Milo’s chest. “Or… we can turn him.”

“Into a vampire?” I swallowed hard.

Jack finally released me and took a step away. When I managed to pull my gaze from Milo, I saw Jack’s eyes filled with tears.

“I am so sorry, Alice,” Jack apologized, his voice thick with despair.

“His heart is slowing.” Ezra looked at me evenly. “You’re going to have to make a choice, Alice. Quickly.”

“If he turns, he’ll live, right?” I asked, surprised I could talk. I found it hard to even breathe.

“If we catch it in time,” Ezra said hesitantly. “But it’s not a sure thing. If he’s already too weakened, the turn might push him over the edge.”

“You mean instead of saving him, it might kill him?” The room started spinning, and Jack reached out to steady me, tentatively putting his arm around me.

“I’m sorry,” Ezra said simply.

“I can do it,” Jack offered, knowing it would make me more comfortable with the decision. He moved closer to Milo. “If this is what you want, I’ll do it.”

“Do it,” I whispered hoarsely.

“Are you sure?” Ezra eyed me seriously.

Ezra wanted to gauge my certainty, but that was impossible to measure. I felt somewhere between total shock and blacked out hysteria. Tears streamed down my cheeks, mixing in with the blood I had rubbed off Jack’s chest when he held me to him.

Milo laid on the island, barely breathing and his heart slowing every second. If this was going to happen, it had to happen now, and as far as I could tell, it would be his best chance for survival.

“Everything will be okay, love.” Mae was at my side and wrapped an arm around me. I wanted to push her off, but I didn’t have the strength.

“We’ll see,” I said. Jack rummaged through a drawer, wasting precious time we didn’t have. “What are you doing?”

“I need a knife.” He looked back at Mae for help.

“There’s one in the kitchen sink,” Mae nodded to it.

Jack sifted through the sink and grabbed the knife Mae used to cut fruit. He walked over to Milo, holding the knife, and his breathing got more ragged. He was afraid of what he was about to do, and that didn’t make me feel any better.

“Do you want to see this?” Ezra asked me, sending a new shiver down my spine.

“Yes, of course.” I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else when this happened, no matter how disturbing it might be. If this was where Milo died or turned, I had to be here, with him.

Jack glanced over at me, his eyes burning with apology. He looked down at Milo and took a deep breath. With one deft move, he sliced open his wrist and blood trickled out. Pressing his wound up against Milo’s mouth, he didn’t even notice the pain.

“Ezra,” Jack shook his head, his voice trembling. “He’s not responding.”

“Give it time,” Ezra said.

“What if he doesn’t wake up?” Jack started to panic. His cut already began to close, and he used his other hand to pry it open, allowing his blood to flow into Milo’s mouth.

“Give it time,” Ezra repeated.

My heart raced wildly, and I knew that wouldn’t really help the situation. Whatever was supposed to happen wasn’t happening. Jack was terrified, and Mae tightened her grip around me.

Jack gasped sharply. Milo woke up enough to sink his teeth into his arm, but little else seemed to be happening with him. Jack groaned, and I tried to understand what he was feeling, but it was too many things all at once.