Mated to the Chaos - Georgette St. Clair Page 0,17
said that too,” Giuliana gasped out. “And look at where that put us.”
“Quite mated,” Pasquale agreed with a soft smile.
“That was your decision.”
The bastard wolves laughed again.
“Oh yeah, because we had a choice in how much we wanted to fuck the other. Sorry, sis,” Giuliana whispered to Fabiana.
“Gross. That is an image I did not want.”
“Fucking and mating are two very different things,” Carlo argued.
“Oh, is it?”
Stop it.
“What’s in that painting is important.”
“Well, we’ll find another way,” Carlo bellowed.
“Find another way to have sex? Like, a position? ’Cause I can get you the Kama Sutra if you need help with that.” Giuliana laughed.
“I promised your mate I wouldn’t threaten you again, so I’m going to leave.”
“I am intrigued by this. We shall hear more of it.”
“We’re leaving. Keep the picture put away. For now, I’m going to leave it as it was a possibility, but I’m not mating just to gain more power. Period.”
“Even to see my Lotus?”
He swallowed.
Chapter Six
Nanshe couldn’t deny her destined mate was a magnificent specimen, even if he was denying what they could share.
He was a giant among men, measuring a smidge above seven feet. His dark hair was wild around him, as if it could barely contain the energy leaking from his body. His broad shoulders bunched with tension as he stalked through Arturo’s compound. His steps echoed as he moved, and she thought perhaps she should say he stomped.
But even that was glorious.
She’d been in Ashes, the tower belonging to her domain within the In Between, for thousands of years, and had seen more beings than most could ever hope to. And none of them held a candle to the angry male.
Well, she couldn’t call it “anger.” He was terrified, and she understood.
“Carlo,” she began.
“Wait until I get you to your room.”
She snorted. “This isn’t the direction of your lodging.”
“Because that’s not where we’re going,” he growled, tossing a dark glare over his shoulder.
“Then you’re wasting your time. I won’t stay anywhere except with you.”
He stopped and whirled, forcing her to jerk to a halt to keep from running into him. “Not happening. I’ll protect you and that’s all. We can’t do this. You know why.”
“You don’t understand. I have to.”
“Why?”
How could she explain? “Carlo, the past is stronger than most people realize. There is a saying among this era: ‘Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.’”
He sighed, and his gaze turned thoughtful. “What are you telling me, Nanshe?”
A shiver raced over her and her heart stuttered at the sound of her name coming from his lips. He mimicked the way she’d said it to perfection, adding the hint of Sumerian tongue, and it filled her with memories she’d long ago pushed down.
Memories of the taste of salt on the air, golden statues, and when the gods were close enough to touch.
“The past repeats.”
He frowned, and she ached to soothe the furrow of his brow.
She’d known his face for eons. Nanshe had seen it with different eyes, or a slightly different formation of his mouth, but she’d know him anywhere. The largeness of his laugh, the way he was fiercely protective and even more passionately loving.
He’d battled, over and over, against threats no one could fathom, and each time … he’d failed.
The past repeats, and they all had to play their part. But this time, Nanshe wanted things to be different. She needed a chance to change what was supposed to happen and maybe, just once, hold on to the happiness she’d always wanted.
The one always ripped from her.
And like before, Carlo now looked at her with fear, not understanding, not comprehending what they were meant to be.
But she’d changed throughout her existence, being the only carrier of the truth. She shouldered the heavy burden alone, always knowing she’d end up with no one to rely on, unable to save those she’d come to love. This time she may fail too, but Skuld—as she wanted to be called now, embracing her new place in life—had made moves that gave Nanshe hope.
Maybe this time would be different.
“Nanshe?”
She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. “We have to join, Carlo. You will understand, I promise.”
He snorted. “Trust you? Holder of Chaos.”
Ribbons of past overlaid. Different homes, enormous trees hovering on the edge of her vision. A mishmash of timelines all converging as one. To this moment, this statement.
“Trust you? Holder of Chaos.”
“I am more than Chaos.”
“The Chaos will kill me, Norn of the Past.”
“Or it will be your salvation.”
She grunted, pain slamming through