12. Zan
Chapter 12
Zan
K ali whipped her head to the side to glare at Amaros while her hand tightened around the vampire’s throat. Loathing filled her dark gaze, and a smirk tipped the corner of my lips when I witnessed it. He might not have meant to, but my father just gave her the push she needed to let fury overtake everything.
“I’m stronger than you,” she whispered, looking at Lucio. “You’re nothing .”
The vampire laughed, knocking her hand off him and then gripping her throat. My nostrils flared when she struggled to take a breath as she stared up at him. Viggo shifted next to me, glancing at our father as if waiting for him to stop this. But he wouldn’t. Not until Kali was seconds from death.
“Stop,” Kali screamed hoarsely, grabbing Lucio’s wrist. “Get off me.”
Shock overwhelmed my rage when his hold faltered for a second. Kali’s eyes were still locked on his, and her next words came out crystal clear.
“Get your hand off me,” she snarled, power radiating in her voice.
Lucio’s gaze stayed on hers as he slowly withdrew his arm. My lips parted as I watched in disbelief. Kali was nearly shaking as she pushed Lucio away from her and climbed to her feet. Her shoulder was still bleeding, her black blood soaking her shirt. Confusion filled her eyes when she tore her eyes from him to glance at me.
“Lucio,” Amaros boomed. “Fight her. Now.”
With a scowl, Lucio lunged at Kali, but she was ready. This time when she grabbed him around the throat, she had enough strength to keep him from attacking. She stood tall, tilting her head slightly as she caught his eyes again.
“Stop,” she ordered, her voice a menacing growl. “Do not fight me.”
The energy drained from him, and his shoulders slumped as he stared at her. The silence was deafening in the room as everyone took in what was happening.
Amaros froze, his jaw slack as he watched. “Not possible,” he breathed out, shock covering his features.
“Did she…” Viggo trailed off, sharing our father’s disbelief.
“Entrance him?” I forced out. “I think so.”
“Holy shit,” Viggo mumbled, shaking his head. “This will change things.”
“Lucio,” Amaros called out. “Look at me.”
He received no response as his vampire continued to stare at Kali. I’d seen it so many times in my life that there was no doubt he was under entrancement. She could control vampires . If I wasn’t seeing it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. Shadows couldn’t entrance vampires. At least regular Shadows. Or us. My brothers and I didn’t hold that power. Neither did our father. He could entrance us because we were his sons. But he had no control over his other vampires other than using loyalty and fear. Not like Kali was doing to Lucio.
“Look at me,” Amaros yelled, his control waning. “This is not fucking possible.”
“He can’t,” Kali replied tightly. “He’s busy.”
Her concentration was evident, and I wondered how much energy this was taking. But I mean… fuck . She hadn’t even started drinking blood yet. Entrancement had taken me a month alone to master. She was just touching on her skills. There was no doubt she’d be able to overpower me at some point very soon.
Amaros stalked toward the cage entrance, anger rolling off him in waves. Without thinking about it, I crept forward, relief filling me when my father’s command didn’t stop me. His entrancement forbade me from interfering when she fought Lucio. She wasn’t fighting him anymore.
“I want you to try to kill Amaros Kane.” Kali’s words had me stumbling over my next step. “Don’t stop until he kills you.”
“Enough,” Amaros hissed as he entered the cage. “You think you can go against me?”
“Zan, don’t,” Viggo warned as I ran to get to Kali before my father did. “He won’t kill her.”
I didn’t respond. I knew he wouldn’t kill her. But he would hurt her. And even if I wanted to stop, I couldn’t. She was all I worried about.
Kali released Lucio, and the second he was free, he whirled around and bared his fangs as he leaped at Amaros.
“Fuck,” Pax muttered from somewhere behind me.
“Stand down,” Amaros ordered, his eyes gleaming with malice. “Don’t?—”
His words were cut off when Lucio attempted to rip into his throat, but Amaros grabbed his hair, wrenching his head away. Kali wasn’t moving a muscle, a smug grin on her face as she watched. Amaros let out a roar of anger as he reached forward and plunged his hand into Lucio’s chest. His body went still, and he crumpled to the floor once Amaros ripped his heart out. He held it for a moment, blood dripping from his fingers before he let it fall to the concrete.
My heart skipped when Amaros set his sights on Kali. She raised her chin, defiance dancing in her eyes. I raced forward, just entering the cage when he raised his arm, backhanding her across the face. The hit had her staggering back, and her hand flew to her face, but her hatred didn’t waver. Even if it hurt, she refused to give him that satisfaction.
“You need a lesson in how to behave,” he gritted out, his eyes wild with rage. “I own you. You obey me.”
“I’ll never obey you,” she sneered. “Kill me. Because what you want—I’ll never fucking give you.”
“You will.” He stalked toward her again. “I’ll make you bow?—”
I halted in front of her right when he raised his arm again, and he froze in his tracks.
“Zan, step aside.” His voice dripped with threat.
“No,” I snapped, my chest heaving. “You’re not going to hurt her.”
“You think you can give me orders?” he exploded. “You forget your place.”
“My place is right here. Between you and her. It always will be.”
The words were out of my mouth before I could think. The truth I’d been hiding was out in the open now. I couldn’t fucking do it anymore. It wasn’t possible to stand aside and watch when his impatience would only put her in more danger.
My brothers were near the cage door, watching with grim expressions, but Amaros claimed my attention when he grabbed my jaw for the second time tonight. Panic carved its way through my chest, and I tried looking away, but it was too late. His eyes bored into mine as he exerted his power over me.
“Have you slept with her?” he asked, doubt filtering in his voice. “That shouldn’t be possible when I forbade it.”
“No,” I answered thickly.
“Tell me what you think about being bonded with her.”
I clenched my hands into fists as my answer spilled out against my will. “I don’t know if I am.”
“Tell me everything you think about being bonded.”
“It doesn’t matter if we are,” I forced out through clenched teeth. “She’s mine .”
“Who are you loyal to?”
“Dad, come on,” Viggo spoke up nervously. “You know we’re all?—”
“Be quiet,” Amaros snapped, not looking away from me. “Who is your loyalty to, Zan?”
I bit my tongue so hard I could taste blood as I refused to answer. His grip on my jaw turned painful, and he came closer until all I could focus on was his eyes. The fight I was clinging to faded.
“Answer me,” he growled.
“Her.” My words came out in a strangled whisper. “Always her.”
With a snarl, he let go only to snatch my arm and throw me into the bars of the cage. Pain spasmed through my body as I fell to the cement. I was on my feet in a second, but he was already in front of me, and I swallowed my grunt when his fist connected with my cheek. He shoved me against the bars, his fingers digging into my shoulders.
“This isn’t how it was supposed to be,” he said, disappointment in his voice. “You’re supposed to stand at my side with your brothers while we take it all.”
“He still can,” Viggo promised. “Kali will listen, and so will Zan.”
“I know she will.” Amaros lowered his head. “But you won’t be a part of it.”
“No—”
My denial was cut off when he entranced me. Anger bled into my veins, but there was no fighting it, no matter how much I tried.
“You will leave the property with Pax,” he said firmly. “And you won’t come back until I say so.”
“What?” Kali shrieked, her voice sounding far away. “No.”
My father ignored her. “You will not interfere when I talk to Kali or when I touch her. You will only stand and watch. She is not yours to protect.”
He stepped back, breaking eye contact. My breathing was ragged as I glared at him. Kali’s eyes were wide, filled with worry until Amaros spun around and faced her. A small flash of fear crossed her face until she masked it.
“And you,” he murmured. “You will not entrance any of my vampires again. Or Warner will die a very slow death.”
“Warner would rather die than witness vampires taking over,” she spat out, her voice trembling. “Just like me.”
His chuckle sent ice down my spine. “Oh, I won’t just stop with him.”
“Zan’s your son, you won’t kill him,” Kali said stiffly.
“All those Shadows you’ve been talking to?” He cocked his head. “If they don’t comply, then they are of no use to me. I will not worry about fighting them along with the humans.” He walked forward, causing Kali to back up until she hit the other side of the cage. “I will kill every last one of them. And you? I won’t kill you. But you’ll be wishing for death.”
Her eyes darkened with rage, and she went deathly still when he wrapped his hand around her neck. I took one step before my body refused to cooperate. I sucked in deep breaths through clenched teeth, my heart pounding out of control. When he slammed her into the bars, I choked out a growl, forcing myself to take another step.
“Your power might be even greater than your mother’s,” he informed her. “You and your twin will use that power to help me get what I want. I’ve been patient during your transition. That ends now. You’ll do things my way.”
“No, I won’t,” she managed to spit out as he squeezed her throat tighter.
“You will.”
She opened her mouth, attempting to fill her lungs, panic crossing her face as she struggled against him. My nails dug into my palms, and when he let go of her just to slap her again, I snapped.
The bands of entrancement vanished as I darted forward, slamming into him. He let out a noise of surprise before spinning around and getting a hold of my hair.
“Your infatuation with her is getting tiresome, son,” he gritted out, forcing my head up. “Look at me.” His eyes locked on mine, his power halting my fight. “You will obey me.”
“No,” I roared, shoving him away.
I wasn’t sure who was more shocked. We stared at each other for a moment before he rushed me, pinning me against the bars. This time, when he caught my gaze, that was all I saw. His green eyes were a mirror of my own, and they grew darker as he pulled me back under entrancement.
“You. Will. Obey.” Each word was a nail in my coffin. His strength overshadowed mine, and my resistance made no difference. “You will leave this property and stay away until I say otherwise.”
I fell to my knees, my energy spent. I blinked, trying to focus as Amaros backed away. Kali was watching me, the sadness in her eyes nearly breaking me all over again. I wasn’t fucking strong enough, even for her.
“You three will leave. I want her twin out of Project Hope.” He glanced at Pax. “Do not disappoint me this time.”
“I’ll stay,” Viggo piped up, looking torn. “To help with Kali. You can’t leave her alone with any of your vampires. Not when she can entrance them.”
Amaros scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I’m not sure I can trust any of you right now. You three have always stuck together.”
Viggo was trying to help, but I wasn’t sure our father would agree to it. He was right. My brothers have always had my back.
“Ask me,” Viggo said, raising his arms. “See if I’m trustworthy.”
The tension grew as silence filled the room. Kali shifted on her feet, and it took everything to stay where I was. My father was thinking about it, and I didn’t want to mess it up. There was no doubt that I would be leaving the property, but I wouldn’t go completely crazy if I knew one of my brothers was here with her.
Viggo sauntered forward, stopping in front of Amaros. “Go ahead. Ask me.”
He met Viggo’s eyes, and my pulse strummed uneasily as my brother fell under entrancement. Pax wasn’t hiding his nerves as he paced around the cage as our father spoke.
“Who is your loyalty to?”
“Our family,” Viggo responded in a low voice.
“Not good enough. Is your loyalty to me?”
There was no hesitation. “Yes.”
“You’ll do what I ask?”
“Yes.”
Amaros looked away, and Viggo rubbed a hand down his face. I stared at him, wondering how the hell he answered like that. He was planning to help me get Kali out of here. Which went entirely against our father.
“You’ll stay, Viggo. Pax and Zan leave for Project Hope tonight?—”
“We need Warner,” Pax cut in. “There’s no way we’re going to get in without help.”
“Not happening,” Amaros snapped.
“They need him, Dad,” Viggo urged. “He knows how to get in, and…he’ll help. If it keeps Kali safe, then he’ll do it. She’s family to him.”
“More threats,” Kali muttered bitterly.
Amaros looked at her before letting out a sigh. “Fine. But if he tries anything, then you bring him back. I don’t need to worry about anything with you, do I, Zan?”
“No,” I bit out, swallowing my retort. He knew I would do what he wanted with Kali here on the property with him.
“Good. Get ready to leave.” He exited the cage. “She stays down here from now on. I think she’s gotten too comfortable. That needs to change.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Viggo grabbed my shoulder in a silent warning, shaking his head when I glanced at him. Defeat clung to me as Kali slumped against the bars, glaring at Amaros’s back.
The last thing I wanted was her here without me. But at least Viggo would be here. And the second I got Kali’s twin out, I’d come back for Kali.