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Pax sighed. “Come on, Zan. You know I won’t hurt her. And you’re right—she needs to be able to protect herself since she’s staying here.”
Viggo’s laugh had my eyes darting to him. “Move out of the way, little brother. I want to see what Kali can do. Pax will take it easy on her…or I can do it.”
Apparently, Zan would rather Pax fight me, because he finally stepped to the side before shooting me a look I couldn’t decipher. His hands were clenched into fists, but he backed away until he was near Viggo.
“Pick it up, Kali.”
Pax nodded toward the discarded stake on the dead grass, and I swallowed thickly as I crept toward it. I had no idea what to expect, even though I wasn’t exactly scared of Pax. He wouldn’t hurt me. He’d had many chances in the past, but he never had. Yet unease still slid through me as he prowled closer. I snatched the stake and straightened back up, my muscles tensing as I tracked his movements.
“So determined,” Pax murmured, his gaze darting between my face and the stake in my hand. “Let me ask you something. If you had a chance to gain your freedom, would you try to kill us?”
My heart pounded against my ribs as we danced around each other. I already knew he was fast from when he chased me in the woods the night I met him. And if he had Zan’s speed, then he was holding back right now. He remained a few feet away, matching my steps to stay in front of me.
“Killing any of you wouldn’t set me free,” I answered in a low voice. “I have nowhere to go.”
Pax cocked his head. “You’d rather stay here? Where Amaros will control the rest of your life?”
“Pax,” Zan warned, his voice laced with danger. “Don’t.”
Rage exploded through me, and my fingers tightened around the stake. But then I realized that this was what Pax wanted. He was trying to get me mad. To make me snap. He watched me cautiously, and I blew out a breath, calming my nerves so I could focus.
“You can fight against the other vampires here,” Pax continued, his eyes locking on mine. “But when it comes to our family? Our father? You don’t stand a chance. He’ll make you bend to his will.”
“No,” I hissed, fury coating my voice. “I won’t bend to him. Or to any of you.”
Pax lunged, and I ducked to the left, swinging the stake and slicing his arm as he reached for me. A thin line of black blood appeared on his arm, but it didn’t seem to faze him as he tried again to snatch my arm. I dropped to my knees, raising the stake and stabbing it into his thigh. He let out a grunt when I ripped it back out, refusing to lose my only weapon. I was fighting on pure instinct and rolled away before he could get a hold on me.
This was different from going against Zan. There was no hesitation. In the back of my mind, I knew I couldn’t kill Pax. But that didn’t mean I was going to let him overpower me without a fight. I was barely back on my feet when he came at me again. This time, I didn’t even have a chance to escape. His fingers wrapped around my throat, and I let out a cry when he yanked me toward him.
His grip was firm, but not painful. I could still suck in breaths as I struggled against him. He grabbed my wrist when I tried stabbing the stake into his side, and I went still, trying to figure out how to get out of his hold with my one free arm. I heard Zan say something but refused to look away from Pax.
“Break my hold,” he ordered quietly. It seemed like he was barely exerting any energy to keep me in place. “If you can’t get out of this, then you don’t stand a chance even against a regular vampire.”
I narrowed my eyes, my glare scathing as he taunted me. Before he could do anything else, I moved my free hand between our bodies and grabbed the stake out of my trapped one. This time I went for the inside of his elbow and stabbed deep into the tissue to force him to release my throat. He let out a pained noise, withdrawing his bloodied arm while still keeping a hold on my wrist.
I swung the weapon toward his neck, and he finally let me go as he stepped out of my reach. My confidence surged for a moment, but then he moved again. He was as fast as Zan, and I didn’t have a chance to do anything as he kicked my legs out from under me. We fell to the ground, his hand staying behind my head to cushion the blow.
He was straddling my chest, and he blocked my next attempt to stab him before his head shot up, his eyes widening. Then he was violently ripped off me so fast that it took me a second to realize what had happened. Zan threw him to the ground feet away before lunging at him again. My breath caught, seeing his eyes wild with pure rage. His movements were just as out of control as his features, and a chill raced through me, seeing just how ruthless he could be.
“Fuck, Zan,” Pax ground out, jumping to his feet right as Zan swung his fist into his jaw. “I barely touched her.”
“She’s mine,” Zan growled, his voice nearly shaking from anger.
Scrambling to my feet, I backed away as Pax tackled Zan to the ground. Their moves were so quick that it was hard to track what was happening. Zan kept the upper hand before Pax flipped him onto his back and threw another hit. My gaze snapped to Viggo as he slowly walked toward his brothers, watching the fight with a frown.
I was rooted to the spot, shock engulfing me that Zan was fighting with his own brother. Did Zan really think that Pax would have hurt me?
“You don’t even trust me with her,” Pax forced out through heavy breaths as he ducked away from Zan’s next attack. “What the fuck does that tell you?”
“What was this? A test?” Zan snarled, that realization only seeming to spur him on more. “Because of your stupid fucking theory?”
Pax landed on the grass when Zan knocked into him. “Stupid? I think this proves me right.”
I bit my tongue, confusion rocking me. What theory? Before I could voice my question, Viggo stepped in the middle of them, shoving Zan away.
“Calm the hell down before someone sees you two fighting,” Viggo snapped, pushing Zan back again. “You’re losing it. You wanted to see if she could fight for herself. That’s what Pax was doing.”
Zan blew out a shaky breath, backing away. “Well, that’s fucking done.”
