Chapter 88 : A Clash of Claims 2

Karenina

Feeling helpless, she let Xavier gently push her aside so that she was no longer standing between the two men.

"But... Xavier—"

"It's not unusual for men to fight over a woman, Karen. Other men will probably try to challenge my claim on you by proving themselves in a fight to impress the woman, despite the fact that you are my current mate."

She frowned and opened her mouth to tell both of them how stupid their actions had been, especially Kayden when he spoke first and cut her off.

"Enough with the talk, asshole!"

And with that, he lunged at Xavier.

Normally his movements should have been too fast for her to notice, but she could still see his fist clearly as he tried to smash into Xavier's face. Xavier didn't have enough time to flinch, though, because he was faster. He caught Kayden's fist in the palm of his hand before tightening his grip and crushing the bone. She knew he did it because she could hear the painful cracking sound.

Screaming in both pain and surprise, Kayden jumped back and backed away, his hands clenched in a ball near his belly. However, Xavier looked deadly serious and did not give his enemy the chance to retreat. When Xavier attacked, his fist punched Kayden in the face, sending him flying into the meadow, only to collapse on the ground.

"That's all... you've got, you mongrel wolf?" Kayden snorted, slowly getting to his feet.

"Xavier," she called quietly, delaying him from responding to Kayden's ridiculous challenge.

As he paused to listen to her words, his golden eyes flickered towards her and met her gaze.

"Just... don't be too hard on him, okay?" She murmured under her breath, knowing she couldn't stop the men from releasing a little testosterone.

Xavier nodded his head once in response.

"If you're too scared to face me, then I'm going to face you!" Kayden yelled from a distance.

Meanwhile, she could only watch helplessly as the men fought, unable to do anything to prevent a fight she thought was pointless. She didn't blame Xavier for his role in this mess, since it was Kayden who often refused to listen to her and decided to start these fights.

Still, she hated it.

The truth is, she had never been a fan of meaningless violence, but over the years, she had learned that men had a way of growing up with hardship. She couldn't wrap her head around it, she didn't want to understand why they thought that the answers lay in the power of a fist.

As Kayden ran, he leaped into the air and performed a spinning kick. Like his last attack, it didn't land properly as Xavier simply lifted his arm and deflected it with his biceps. Then, with his other hand, he bent his sharp, piercing nails and sliced into Kayden's thigh.

The skin split open, blood gushing from the deep wound, blood flowing profusely, flesh visible through the flowing blood.

The movement was so fast that Kayden was already backing away, limping, yet with Karen's new abilities, she could see everything clearly. She noted with grateful appreciation that Xavier hadn't used his sharp, poisonous nails to do any more damage. He listened to her and didn't try to kill or hurt Kayden.

Once again, he listened to her.

Even though this was not the kind of occasion where she would normally smile, her lips curved slightly upwards. Xavier was trying to do it for her sake because she had asked him to do it.

Even if she didn't want to, even if she just wanted to look away and let the two men beat each other to their heart's content, she couldn't look away. They were doing it for her - in a way. Kayden was fighting to get her, and Xavier was fighting to keep her. It would be an embarrassment to them if she turned away, and she wouldn't do that to either of them, no matter if she thought this was just a pointless fight or not.

Ruthless as ever, Kayden went back to attack, though he was hampered by his injured leg. He tried to kick, punch, and claw at Xavier, striking again and again, but none of his attacks worked.

But Xavier parried each attack with ease, dodging and weaving as if playing a trick on his enemy. He was silently proving to Kayden that no matter what he did, it would not be enough to defeat him. It was a mental tactic, she knew, meant to both discourage and infuriate him at the same time.

She had no idea if it frustrated Kayden to see his attacks fail over and over, but she could see his rage rising, visible in his face and the tension in his body.

"Stop running, you coward! Fight me!" He barked, panting, while Xavier didn't seem to break a sweat.

"As you wish," Xavier muttered without hesitation, not a single hair out of place.

When she noticed that Xavier hadn't even drawn his dagger yet, she doubted that he would.

In a move so fast that even she had trouble keeping track of it, he moved. His fist slammed into Kayden's stomach, knocking him out as a loud, painful scream escaped his lips. Without giving him a chance to recover, Xavier used his other hand and slashed across the back of Kayden's neck.

Then, when Kaden began to fall to the ground from the force of Xavier's strike, Xavier brought his knee to his face.

Kayden's head jerked back, blood gushing from what she guessed was his broken nose, and he fell backward to the ground, unconscious and motionless.

Her eyes widened. She ran to Kayden and knelt down beside him. As she bent over the fallen Kayden, she didn't see the dark-looking scowl that crossed Xavier's face.

Kayden was already out of it.

Shaking her head, she spoke to Xavier over her shoulder.

"I can't just leave him and let someone attack him while he's unconscious, but after he wakes up and says goodbye, can you take me back to my room, Xavier? I think I've had enough fun for today."

" As you wish, Karen." He replied grumpily.