Chaotic War (9 page)

Gwen grinned. “You, too.”

Markus came over and scooped Gwen up in his arms. “Have a good day.”

Zavier linked his fingers with Elle’s and tugged her out of the study to the stairs. Once they were in his room, he rushed to the windows and closed the heavy drapes, effectively blocking out any sunlight from entering the room when it rose in the next hour. “So you accept me as your mate?”

A shy smile formed on her lips. “I might.”

“Don’t play with me, female.”

She waved her hand and instantly they were both naked. “My mother said I am more powerful than any of her children.”

“Did she?” He stalked closer, his hands itching to touch her. “I don’t want to talk about your mother.”

“I plan to test that power at nightfall.” The green in her eyes flashed brighter as she closed the gap between them. “I’m not running anymore. Not from my powers, and not from you.”

He framed her face with his hands. A desire he’d never felt before bloomed inside of him, fueling the wildfire Elle had started the day she entered the mansion. “Gods, I love you.”

Dipping his head and not giving her a chance to respond, he captured her lips in a knee-buckling kiss. She tasted as sweet as she smelled, like vanilla and spice. When their tongues met, an electric current zinged through him like their powers were meeting for the first time.

He broke the kiss and trailed kisses down her cheek to her throat. Her nails scraped against his scalp as she fisted a handful of hair. A low growl escaped him and he cupped her ass and carried her to the bed.

“You are mine.”

Elle gazed up at him, her lids heavy with desire. “Yes. Always.”

He struck, biting the sweet spot of her throat. She jerked under him but moaned, then wrapped her legs around him. With a quick thrust, he filled her and nearly came at the raw passion and power building between them.

They moved together in a sensual dance, slow at first then faster. Pleasure built with each thrust. As soon as he withdrew his fangs from her throat, she bit his shoulder. Pain turned into pleasure, pushing him over the edge.

Elle’s body shuddered then she screamed her release, her pussy clenching around his cock. He roared as his own orgasm crashed over him.

Pulling out, he rolled to his back, taking Elle with him so her head rested on his chest. She snuggled into him and let out a soft laugh. “I feel you everywhere. On my skin. Inside me.”

“It’s amazing.”

“Yes.” She propped herself on her elbow and stared into his eyes. “I’m falling in love with you.”

He raised a brow. “Falling?”

She laid back down, a wide smile on her sensual mouth. “Okay, maybe I’m already half in love.”

“I’ll take what I can get.” He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. Her teasing turned him on. His dragon approved of her playfulness. They’d wasted too much time avoiding the mating. Not anymore. He’d claimed her and was going to show her how much he loved her every day of their existence.

A moment later, she started to snore lightly. He smiled and combed his fingers through her black hair. “Sleep, my goddess.”

She’d need her rest. Because at sunset, they would pay Garrick a little visit.

Zavier called it the anthill. Not much activity on the outside, but once you kicked it…

He was right. Elle saw why. Her powers that allowed her to see the true nature of others told her there was a swarm of descendants living inside the compound. “This must be the main location. At least one of them. It’s like a community in there.”

Zavier growled beside her. “Gary is an idiot for keeping Rayna here.”

Yeah, Elle thought the same thing. “It’s too easy. Markus, how is it on your end?”

Markus, Ty, and Nik were on the other side of the facility. “I smell a trap.”

Ash chimed in from the other side of Elle. “Yep. Even though Garrick is here, I don’t sense Rayna.”

“Neither do I,” Elle said. “Well, let’s give Gary what he wants.”

Elle focused on the back of the large main building and ignited it with flames. That was the cue to go in. She, Zavier, and Ash materialized to the front door. Elle reached out with her mind, jerked the door from its hinges, and tossed the thing behind them.

Here come the ants.

Ash already had her bow out and pick off Imperials as she stormed through the building. Elle glanced to Zavier. Her mate was holding his own alongside Ty, who’d flashed in a moment ago. She had to tear her gaze from him. It was easy to admire how sexy he looked as he fought.

Focus, Elle
. She took shadow form and moved with inhuman speed to the hallway on her left. Like a ghost, she advanced without notice while searching for the energy the second dagger would hold. Then she felt it. She opened the door to her right and froze. It was the room from her vision. The cage she’d been held in sat directly across from her.

Shaking off the fear of losing Zavier, she moved to the drawer Garrick had pulled the dagger from in the vision. It wasn’t there. Damn. Just then, a dark presence entered the room behind her.

“Looking for this, female?”

She shifted back to solid form and faced Garrick. “You do know that isn’t the Divine Dagger.”

He laughed. “Of course. However, it will still give me the power to kill a god or a dragon or two. Plus, with Rayna as my mate, I have what I need to take Zeus’s throne.”

“You’re insane. The drakon who gave me the
real
dagger has nothing on you in terms of crazy.” Elle caught the flash of anger in Garrick eyes and the tick in his temples.
Checkmate, asshole.

She sensed Zavier a moment before he barreled into Garrick’s back, sending them crashing into the cage. They rolled on the floor, fists flying. Could she zap Garrick with a god bolt without hitting Zavier?

Suddenly, Zavier went flying across the room and hit the wall then slid to the floor.
Come on, Z, get up
. Garrick gripped the dagger and stalked to her mate. Oh no, he didn’t. She charged at the dragon and kicked the dagger from his hand then swept a leg out and knocked his feet out from under him. He grunted as he landed on his back.

She rushed to the dagger, but Garrick beat her to it. A groan sounded to her right. Glancing to Zavier, she blew out a breath of relief to see him straighten. Garrick noticed too, and the vision of Zavier’s death flashed in her mind.

When Garrick faced Zavier, Elle screamed, “No,” then teleported to stand in front of him, the moment Garrick threw the dagger. It hit her in the chest, barely missing her heart. Her powers weakened and a wave of dizziness made her stumble. Zavier’s arms were around her, then he roared painfully, jerked the dagger out of her, and threw it at Garrick.

The
tink
of metal hitting the floor was the last sound she heard before passing out.

***

She wasn’t dead. Zavier could feel her through the mating bond. “Elle. Hang in there.” He rocked her, whispering in her ear. “You are strong. My goddess of night, I love you.”

Footsteps pounded down the hall and stopped at the door. Ash knelt down beside him, but he growled and turned so the other female couldn’t touch Elle.

“Z, we have to get her back to the mansion and call Nyx. The dagger will make her mortal.”

He heard Ash’s words but they didn’t register at first. He pointed at the dagger where he’d thrown it. When someone—he wasn’t sure who—picked it up, Zavier rose to his feet, lifted Elle in his arms, and teleported to the mansion.

Laying Elle on his bed, he smoothed out her hair and pulled the covers over her. A moment later, Gwen rushed in. “What happened?”

He didn’t answer. Tears stung his eyes but he refused to let them fall. If his mate died, nothing or no one was going to stop him from hunting Garrick down and killing him. In fact, he was going to do just that.

Standing, he moved to the door but stopped when Gwen touched his arm. The haze of anger and revenge cleared. He stared into sky-blue eyes filled with tears. “Garrick tried to kill me and she jumped in the way of the dagger.”

He settled on his knees beside the bed and bit into his arm, opening a vein for his mate. Lifting her shirt, he held his arm over the wound and let his blood drop into it. Nothing happened for several moments. Fear gripped his heart like a vise, squeezing. Why wasn’t she healing?

The dagger will make her mortal
. Ash’s words drifted in his mind. No. No!

“Elle!”

He opened his mouth to tear into his wrist again. She needed more of his blood. It had to heal her. Tears dropped from his eyes.

A charge similar to Elle’s energy filled the room, a moment before Nyx materialized on the other side of the bed. Her eyes went black as she stared at her daughter. Dark power swirled around her, growing. “Gwen, I’d leave the room. The dragon can stay. Make sure no one enters.”

Gwen paused but nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Nyx placed a hand on Elle’s forehead and whispered something in ancient Greek. Elle’s skin glowed briefly. The wound knitted itself back together. Nyx conjured a chair and sat in it. “We wait.”

Zavier nodded and crawled under the blanket with Elle to hold her close, breathing in her warm vanilla scent. Mortal or not, he loved her. Garrick was going to pay for this and all of his crimes.

Elle felt like death warmed over, times infinity.

And she was warm, too warm. She blinked several times before the haze of sleep cleared. The woodsy scent of her mate filled her senses. “Morning.”

Zavier hovered over her instantly and peppered her face with kisses. “How are you feeling?”

“Good.” Searching within, she started to panic as the events from the compound came back to her. Garrick. The dagger. Oh gods. “What happened?”

That was when she noticed they weren’t alone. She glanced to Nyx sitting in a chair beside the bed. “Mom.” Elle’s bottom lip trembled. “My powers are gone.”

“The dagger made you mortal. I restored your immortality. I thought you might want the choice whether you want your powers back.”

She had her out, to be immortal but somewhat normal. No magic to deal with. And she could walk in the sun without bursting into flames. The best thing, she had a choice regarding her fate.

However, she did lose her wings, which meant no midnight flights with Zavier.

Glancing around the room, she briefly met the stares of Gwen, Markus, and her mother. The fight wasn’t over. Garrick still had Rayna, and apparently, had plans to mate with her. Not on Elle’s watch.

She’d vowed to help bring Garrick down, and that was what she was going to do.

“I will need my powers and goddess status if I’m going to help take down Gary.”

Nyx smiled then leaned in to place a kiss on Elle’s forehead. “As you wish, my beautiful daughter. Oh, and I will take away the annoying sun irritation.”

Elle’s heart bloomed. Giddiness filled her. “I can walk in the sun without tons of clothes and my big, floppy hats?”

Laughs filled the room, and Nyx nodded. “Yes. Although I do recommend sunscreen.”

A moment later, power slammed into her, stealing her breath for a second. Sitting up with a gasp, Elle welcomed the dark power, allowing it to touch each part of her. She felt great, energized.

Nyx straightened and addressed Markus. “I’ll deal with Eros. His wife owes me a favor. You focus on Garrick and his Imperials.” Then she left, dematerializing.

Markus cleared his throat and took Gwen by the hand. “We will leave you two alone.”

After the door clicked closed, Zavier kissed Elle. Raw passion flared between them and she moaned. Breaking the kiss, she cupped his cheeks. “I love you. Always.”

“Ditto. Just don’t try to save my life ever again.”

She smirked. “Only if no one tries to kill you.”

A huge smile formed, reaching his eyes. “Fair enough.”

She kissed him quick and then asked, “Where is the second dagger?”

“Markus has it.”

“Good. I think it should go the Zeus with the real one.”

Zavier kissed her throat, then her collarbone. “I agree. We can do that later, though. First, I want to make love to you until neither of us can walk.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. “My mate, my heart.”

“My love, my soul. I will love you for eternity”

“As will I.” Elle flipped him over, surprised at the sudden burst of power. Or maybe the dragon had let her take control. It didn’t matter. She was a goddess of night and mated to a dragon. Life was amazing.

The End

Coming next in the Sons of War series

Bound by War

Paranormals

Ashwood Falls Series

Winter Eve

A Tiger’s Claim

A Mating Dance

Surrendering to the Alpha

A Rebel’s Heart

Divided Loyalties

Touch of Desire

A Leopard’s Path

Jaguar’s Judgment

Birchwood Pack (Ashwood World)

An Alpha’s Fate

Bears of Blackrock

Bear Essentials

Bear Magick

A Beary Sweet Holiday

Sons of War Series

War’s Passion

Ashes of War

Artemis’s Hunt

Chaotic War

Blood and Stone (formally The Vampire Lords)

It’s A Vampire Christmas

Shifting Magick Trilogy

Moon Curse

Moon Kissed

Moon Mated

Contemporaries

Pleasures of the Heart Series

Business Pleasures

Single Titles

His Guarded Heart

In 2008, Lia Davis ventured into the world of writing and publishing and never looked back. She has published more than twenty books, including the bestselling A Tiger’s Claim, book one in her fan favorite Ashwood Falls series. Her novels feature compassionate yet strong alpha heroes who know how to please their women and her leading ladies are each strong in their own way. No matter what obstacle she throws at them, they come out better in the end.