Chaotic War (3 page)

With a heavy sigh, Elle succumbed to Gwen’s power of persuasion and welcomed sleep.

“In and out. Right,” Zavier muttered as he watched the Imperial Guards pace back and forth, wearing a path in front of the entrance to Garrick’s hideout. There were only two outside, but who knew how many were inside.

The place could be like an anthill. Kick it, and millions of the fuckers come running out.

“In and out. I don’t have time to play today.” Markus let out a growl. His dragon flashed in his eyes. “I’ll distract dumb and dumber while you go in and grab the girl. The moment you have her, teleport back to the house. I’ll be right behind you.”

With a short nod, Zavier dematerialized, flashing to the side of the building. A moment later, Markus, in his large, black dragon form dive-bombed the Imperials. The diversion worked. They chased after Markus, shooting at him as they went. Trusting Markus to not get himself injured—or killed—Zavier slipped into the building.

It was quiet, too quiet.

There was no furniture except for a few metal shelves along the back wall. The concrete floor was clean. It reminded him of an oversized storage unit after being cleaned out. Either Garrick was just moving in, or he was getting ready to haul ass, again.
It could be a temporary hideout
.

Narrowing his gaze, Zavier scanned the open space and listened. The whisper of voices reached his awareness from deeper inside the warehouse. He scented the air and caught Garrick’s scent along with Blair’s.

Pushing forward, Zavier swiftly moved to the only door in the back right corner of the warehouse. It opened to a narrow hallway. The hairs on his neck stood on end and his dragon paced from within. The beast wanted a fight. Yet Zavier knew Markus was right. They needed to make this quick. Then regroup and see where Garrick headed to next.

He concentrated on Blair’s scent and followed it. Dread tightened in his chest as he got closer. Blair wasn’t making any noise, which pushed him to move faster. Fear rushed through him at the thought that she was hurt. Or dead.

Coming to a door where her scent was the strongest, Zavier listened. Nothing. Where the hell was Garrick? The whole situation smelled like a setup.

Footsteps echoed down the hall, and Zavier entered the room, shutting the door behind him. Glancing around the space, he spied Blair curled up in the corner of a barred cell. She was motionless, except for the slight rise and fall of her chest. Relief flooded him. She was alive. Thank the gods.

After rushing to the cell, he crushed the lock with his dragon strength and yanked the door open. “Blair.”

She didn’t answer him or move. The footsteps grew louder. He didn’t have time to explain things to her, even if she could hear him. Rushing forward, he scooped her up in his arms. Just as he straightened, Garrick burst through the door, a gun in his hand. He raised it and fired.

With inhuman speed, Zavier stepped out of range, avoiding a direct hit. As he dematerialized, the bullet tore through his biceps.

Taking form inside the mansion’s foyer, Zavier let out a roar of pain while cursing Garrick. When the fog of searing agony cleared and he looked up, he stared into Thea’s eyes, one of the two nymphs that lived with them. Her long, blonde hair was braided down her back and she carried a few blankets and towels in her arms.

“Ariel! Ash!” She called out, her eyes widening as she stared at him holding Blair to his chest.

Ash teleported beside him. “Damn it. I’ll take her. You need your arm looked at.”

He handed Blair off to his sister-in-law and froze. Elle’s soft groan along with her scent drifted from upstairs. Something was wrong. Without a word, he rushed up the steps, taking two at a time, and went straight to Elle’s room.

He stopped in the doorway and his heart fell to his feet. Elle’s olive-tone skin appeared as white as the sheets she lay on. She was curled in a ball in the middle of the bed, and her breathing came in short gasps. Soft moans escaped her. She had been fine an hour ago.

“What happened?”

Gwen stood and crossed the room. “Nyx came for a visit and unlocked her powers.”

Fuck
. “Surely she knew Elle wasn’t ready. Why on Earth would she do that to her?”

Gwen hugged her swollen belly and glanced back at her sister. Shaking her head, she turned her tear-filled gaze to his. “She said something about Zander being in Hades, and that Elle was the only one who could get the Dagger.”

And in order for Elle to freely cross into Hades, her powers had to be unlocked. “Why is she sick?”

Sadness mixed with a hint of fear drifted from Gwen as she quickly glanced at Elle before motioning to the hallway. Once in the hall with the door shut, Gwen said, “It’s like she’s changing somehow.”

Dread gripped his chest. “Changing how?” It came out as a growl. Taking deep breaths, he calmed his dragon.

Gwen didn’t flinch at his moody response, which was a three-sixty from when she’d first arrived at the mansion and learned he and his brothers were dragons. The same type of beast who’d murdered her parents in front of her.

Letting out a shaky sigh, she touched his forearm to get his attention. He’d expected her to use her gift on him, but she didn’t. In fact, her power felt depleted, as if she’d used a lot of it recently. Staring into her blue eyes, he cursed. “Markus is going to be annoyed. What did you do?”

She dropped her shoulders and leaned in slightly. Signs of fatigue showed. Damn it, she was pregnant and under too much stress. Her empathy toward others was her only weakness since she’d learned to control her powers and face her daemons. Feelings of being torn between picking Gwen up and taking her to her room, and going to his mate stirred inside him.
Where the hell is Markus
?

Just then, his brother materialized beside them, a scowl on his face. “Love, what’s wrong?”

Gwen instantly wrapped herself around Markus then told him what had happened with Nyx and Elle. “I had to use persuasion on her to make her sleep.”

Markus worked his jaw and met Zavier’s gaze. “I’m taking her to bed. Why do the gods pick the worst times to screw with people?” He released a sigh. “Considering that Elle is Nyx’s daughter, she could change into a daimon or a full-fledged goddess. Either would put her system into shock. You could try talking with Ash to see what the possibilities are.”

Only half paying attention, Zavier opened the door. Ash would be a good source for information since she’d studied the gods’ history and read the archives while she lived in Olympus with her mother, Artemis, before coming to pass judgment on Ty. “I’ll talk with Ash later. Elle needs…not sure what she needs, but I have to be with her.”

Markus nodded then turned to carry his mate to their bedroom at the end of the hall. As soon as he entered the bedroom again and closed the door behind him, Elle flung her eyes open and pinned him with a hungry stare. A sinking feeling told him that it wasn’t desire for sex that drove her to push herself to sit up. Behind her lips, he could see the hint of fangs.
Fuck
. Was she turning into a kere?

When she started to stand, he rushed forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. A soft moan escaped her and she leaned her body into his. He groaned and closed his eyes briefly, trying to regain some control over his desire to take her.

“I want you to kill me.”

His heart stopped for several long moments. “No.”

“I’m turning into a monster.
She
turned me.” Fear lit up her gaze right before she cried out, wrapped her arms around her belly, and fell to her side.

Smoothing her hair from her face, he whispered, “I will not kill you. We’ll make it through this.”

Somehow. He’d figure it out. First he needed to stop her pain. He didn’t think calling Nyx would help. Elle seemed pretty pissed at her mother at the moment.
Ash
. Could he summon her? He really didn’t want to leave Elle alone. But Ash was a goddess, born of two gods.

Here goes nothing. “Ashlynn, I summon you.”

A few seconds ticked by before the highly annoyed redhead materialized beside him. “Now I know why my mother gets a little pissy when I call her. What’s your problem?”

“She’s turning into a kere.”

Ash drew her brows together and studied Elle for a moment. “Why are you surprised? She is Nyx’s daughter. So are all the keres. However, I don’t think she will turn into one.”

“Are you sure?”

“Not a hundred percent.” Ash moved to the door. When she opened it, she added, “You have to let it run its course. Her powers are dark and strong. I didn’t study Nyx and the other Underworld gods too closely. You can relieve her pain with your blood. It could help speed up the process and make her stronger, as well. One more thing. Don’t ever summon me again. I have a cell phone. Use it, or it won’t be Ty you have to deal with.”

Zavier ignored her threat, even though he knew she meant it. She was as powerful as Artemis, but when she’d mated Ty, her powers amplified, becoming three times what they were.

Elle let out another moan and his heart ached. She might be a little messy at times, but she was smart, caring, and beautiful. She was his.

His to care for and claim.

He kicked off his boots, not caring that they fell into an unorganized pile, then stripped off his bloodied shirt and eased into bed. Elle snuggled into him, her too-warm body seeming to wrap around him like they were made to fit together, easing the residual pain from his healing bullet wound.

Ash had said to give Elle his blood to help her. However, doing so would also bind them together whether they ever mated or not. A blood bond was stronger than any other kind. Elle would be mad once the pain haze settled. He didn’t care. It hurt him to see her like this. Every muscle in his body tensed with each groan.

He kissed her temple. “Elle, I want you to bite me, take what you need from me.”

She lifted her head and stared at him, her green eyes darker than usual. Her lips dipped into a frown before she backed away, shaking her head. “I can’t…won’t.”

With the speed he’d had his whole existence, he reached out and grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back to his front. “I will give you what you need. You will not be a monster.”

She struggled against him, but he held onto her. The tighter he gripped without hurting her, the angrier she got. Low growls turned into snarls. Her nails turned into claws, then she dug them into his skin.

Hissing out a curse, he growled in her ear. “I’m not letting you go until you bite me.” The coppery scent of his blood from where she’d scored him with her nails lingered in the air. “Smell my blood? I know you can. Feel it pumping through my body, calling to you.”

Gods, she was going to hate him in the morning.

The taunting worked, though. A moment later, she struck, sinking her fangs into his arm. The sting of pain quickly turned to pleasure as she settled against him and took what she needed. Releasing a sigh, he ran his fingers through her hair and watched how the light of the full moon, shining in the window, reflected off the black strands.

His heart warmed. No matter how much he fought it, there was no denying the fact that she was his mate and he was falling—hard and fast—for her.

Convincing her to accept the mating was going to be a difficult feat. But one he was willing to take on.

***

Garrick roared. The sound echoed through the open warehouse and rattled the windows. Damn his brothers. He didn’t know how they’d found him so fast. No doubt they had the gods helping them.

Gathering his rage from deep within his soul, he forced it into a ball of fiery power then thrust it at the metal shelves along the back wall. The shelves exploded into thousands of pieces, metal tinging off the concrete floor and block walls. Fire crawled up the walls and spread out to the sides, the ceiling, and the floor. Markus would not get away with this.

“Feel better?”

Garrick clenched his jaw at the sound of Eros’s voice behind him. Whirling around, he glared at the god of love and desire. His blond hair was a little unruly, contrasting with the god’s usual well-kept appearance. He also seemed…tired or stressed. Garrick studied him for several moments, debating whether or not to bust Eros’s balls over his home life.
Not my business
. “I’ll feel better when my brothers are dealt with for good.”

“The feeling is mutual. However, I didn’t come to talk about the Sons of War. I have the location of the female.” Eros glided around the warehouse as he spoke.

Garrick tracked him with his eyes and snarled. “I don’t have leverage over her. My brothers stole her sister a moment ago.”

“Then use something else. Like the humans she cares for. Did you not research the female, her passions, desires?” Eros let out a bitter laugh. “Of course, not. You are War’s son. Desires are
my
specialty.”

Garrick stepped toward the god, his hands fisted. He had researched the female. The only thing he found she desired was the wellbeing of her sister. That was why Garrick had taken the girl in the first place. There was no other family the two of them had outside of Olympus. Neither of them knew they were descendants of Themis, goddess of divine law.

With a growl, Eros glared at Garrick over his shoulder. His upper lip curled. “Don’t test me, dragon.” He faced Garrick and held up one hand. A moment later, a piece of paper materialized. “That is all you need to know to get Rayna on your side. You must get to her before her fated mate does.”

Then the god vanished, the paper falling to the floor.

Garrick growled and picked up the note and crumpled it in his hand. Eros wanted something. Gods didn’t aid anyone without a price. However, Garrick would bide his time and take the bait, for now. He needed Rayna by his side for his plan to work.

After opening the ball of paper, he grinned. Inside were personal details about Rayna’s life, such as her address and the location of her family vacation home, her favorite color, flower, and a mention of her love for kids.

At the end of the note was a message from Eros to him.