Chaotic War by Lia Davis Page A

between his index finger and thumb, he marched to the thin curtain separating his space from hers. Not that the cotton barrier helped much with privacy. He jerked the drape open and froze.
    Elle stood in the middle of her studio, staring at an unfinished painting. Her long, black hair was twisted in a messy bun on the top of her head, and a few thick strands fell on either side of her face. The green of her irises was slightly darker than their normal pastel shade. Dark circles rimmed her almond-shaped eyes.
    “When was the last time you slept?”
    She glanced at him, but he could tell she wasn’t really focusing on him. Fuck . Her dream-visions must have gotten worse for her to skip sleep. His dragon snarled and urged him to move closer to her.
    It didn’t matter how annoyed he got with her messes, there was no denying what was fated. Danielle Roberts—Elle to her friends—was his. And he was going to claim her one way or another.
    Closing the distance between them, he stroked her face with his empty hand. She released a soft sigh and leaned into him. A single tear rolled down her cheek. “Headache. The visions cause headaches. It’s worse when I sleep.”
    He narrowed his gaze on her. There was something she wasn’t telling him, but he’d let it go. For now. “Does it ease when I touch you?”
    She backed away from him only to stumble over her own feet. He tossed the paintbrush on her already chaotic table, grabbed her hand, and led her to his side of the room. After picking up his tablet, he moved them to the sofa. “Sit.”
    When she did as he said, he sat next to her. She curled up to his side and laid her head on his shoulder. “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome,” he whispered back, but she had already begun to snore lightly.
    Smiling, he clicked on the tablet and searched through phone directories for Rayna Winters, the next female on Garrick’s list.
    Zavier worked his jaw at the thought of his brother and his evil plot to build an army of demi-gods to stand against Zeus and the other Olympians. In recent months, Z, Markus, Drake, Ty, and Seth had discovered that Garrick’s plan wasn’t to start a war, but to take the god king’s throne.
    They couldn’t let him do that. Life on Earth would be forever altered. Humans would become slaves to Garrick’s commands.
    As much as he hoped his brother could be redeemed, that he’d come to his senses and be the loyal, kind soul he once was, Zavier knew better. Garrick had gone to great lengths to prove to everyone that he had indeed lost his humanity. He had to be stopped, and possibly killed. Although Zeus would probably banish Garrick to Tartarus for an eternity of suffering.
    The soft sound of bare feet against the concrete floor of the basement drew his attention to the opened door to his office and Elle’s studio. A small smile tugged at his lips and his heart warmed at the sight of Gwen, Markus’s mate and Elle’s best friend. The physical reaction to her wasn’t sexual. Zavier had no such feeling for anyone except Elle.
    No, Gwen was the granddaughter of Aphrodite, goddess of love and desire. The feeling of peace and love had always settled over him whenever Gwen was around. The emotion had only grown since the female became pregnant.
    She wore a long, pink gown that reminded him of something the goddesses wore in Olympus. He guessed that Aphrodite had given it to her. Her long, blonde hair was braided over one shoulder. But it was the worry in her gaze that made him frown. “Is everything okay?”
    “Yeah. I’m just worried about Elle.” Gwen sighed and rubbed her slightly swollen belly. “Do you know what it would do to her if she took your blood?”
    He stilled, not at all surprised that Gwen would know he and Elle were mates. The goddess of love always knew those things before the couple did; therefore, it wasn’t surprising that her granddaughter would, as well. Besides, Gwen was also a descendant of one of the Fates. It was possible