Mated to the Chaos - Georgette St. Clair Page 0,15
that sort of loyalty from anyone in her life except for Pasquale. Their father, Primo, had made sure of it at every turn. He’d even denied them being able to call each other brother and sister, a secret that ended up with Pasquale hiding his Alpha power and nearly losing his chance at having his mate.
But the Lombardi Pack had welcomed them, over time, until they were a family. Giuliana and Pasquale were the Alpha and Alpha female of the Bianchi Pack under the power of Lombardi, but they all knew they stayed because Pasquale was making his mate happy.
And that he wanted the bond of family here.
They’d never separate from the Lombardi.
“I’m fine … sis.”
At Giuliana’s brilliant smile, Fabiana moved to untangle herself from her brother. “Okay, I’m sorry for being a wuss.”
The smile disappeared. “Hey, don’t do that. This shit is scary, and you had a bastard of a father. No one would just take this with ease, and you have an extra reason. Deal?”
“Okay.”
Pasquale stood from the ground, somehow carrying her in his arms and then setting her to her feet. How he was strong enough to do that without help was amazing. By Giuliana’s heated gaze, she liked the show.
“Now we will look.” He flinched. “Is that Carlo?”
“Well, that’s sort of hot and scary as hell at the same time,” Giuliana mused. “What’s that above his head?”
“Chaos,” Fabiana supplied.
Giuliana gasped. “Did you just … Chaos? Is he going to go crazy again?”
“Again? Oh, no.”
That’s right. Carlo had once lost his mind because of the Chaos Realm and turned into a lumbering berserker when he shifted. Something no one ever talked about and they didn’t know how it even happened. The same source may have brought him back, but everyone knew of the wolf’s aversion to the Chaos Realm.
He even stuck to the Moretti Pack lands to stay away from where the Fae sometimes congregated. They’d all recently learned the Fae had a connection with the Chaos Realm, to the tune of it being the gateway to their Fae lands. They also called it the In Between, which she supposed was actually a good name for it from their perspective because it was their thoroughfare. As for the mages and paranormals, Chaos Realm fit because its power was dangerous and terrifying to them.
“So he’s not crazy? Because I’ve never seen a wolf shift like that except for that movie about one in Paris,” Pasquale added gruffly.
“No, he isn’t going crazy. In fact, he’s more powerful than any wolf in Encantado, from what I felt from him. A … hybrid?”
“Okay.” Pasquale sat back, crossing his arms against his chest. “There is no such thing as a shifter hybrid.”
It was Giuliana’s turn to interrupt. “Have you heard of Isadora? Technically, she’s a tribrid: wolf, Witch Doctor, and mage. Oh, and she shifts just fine.”
“But can she shift like that? We’ve seen her wolf, and it’s just like ours. Yes, she has an ability to shift portions of her body and hold it, but even that isn’t this sort of thing.”
“Pasquale is right, Giuliana.” Fabiana shrugged. “In the vision, I see him completely as both. I just painted it this way to get the imagery. He can walk on two legs and grows even taller than his seven feet, and he’s a terrifying killing machine. Or he can transition to a glittering version of himself, but when he’s trapped.”
“Come again?”
“I don’t know how to explain it, brother. It’s like he can’t move. He’s on a throne, and he’s directing the Chaos itself outward.”
“I guess having to be stuck on a throne without moving is a small price to pay to throw out Chaos,” Giuliana mused.
“It is a double-edged sword.”
“What do you mean, cucciola?”
“It can pull on him just as much as he directs it.”
“You mean it’s a trump card. He’s gotta be careful or he could lose himself.”
“Exactly. The were-form is much more powerful than his standard shifter form, and that one seemed less dangerous to him.”
Pasquale shook his head. “We’re talking about this as if it’s already a thing. Carlo won’t accept anything to do with the Chaos Realm, even enough to deny his mate because of it.”
They had told Fabiana what happened with the Past Norn, as they would soon move her from the house into Dominic’s main home so they could be together. Eiravel, Cynes, and some other wolves would be there on security detail for Isadora, Zoey, and Fabiana.
“You know what my paintings mean, brother.”
“Yes.” Pasquale