Mated to the Chaos - Georgette St. Clair Page 0,38

protect her inner sanctum. It's how I knew she was not actually here and something was wrong,” Nanshe explained.

Her brilliant platinum hair slipped over her shoulder as she smiled hesitantly. “I wish I had realized sooner. If I had, maybe the battle would not have had to be so fierce, or I would have known we were searching in the wrong place. I've never known Skuld to leave her tower and be elsewhere. It makes me worry about what she is planning to do.”

Teague stepped further into the room and moved to sit at Kallan’s side. “He seems more comfortable and no longer in pain, so I'm happy for that.” Teague looked over his shoulder. “Carlo, would you mind telling me more about why you're bothered by the Chaos? I'm not one of the wolves so I'm not privy to your history, but it seems pretty important.”

“I am interested too,” Lennox added. “Kalinda watches out for her wolves’ information, and I understand why she does that, but seeing how you affected the Chaos portal earlier makes me wonder about your connection with the Chaos.”

Carlo sighed. He knew this was coming, eventually. Even the wolves who knew his story and a bit of what happened to him still wondered how he was so greatly affected by the Chaos Realm in the first place. To be honest, Carlo wasn't exactly sure what happened. He’d never tried to explain it before, but he would try now. Maybe having Nanshe with them would help shed some light on it.

“To be honest, I don't understand how I could affect the portal. Back in the 1950s, I was made by Arturo. Most of you know he is my cousin. He is a Born wolf, but he didn't know about many that were like him. And he was also a Mafia man. He had plans to increase his strength by having his own pack, and he wanted those closest to him to be trustworthy. By turning his own men into wolves, he hoped that's what he would achieve. We already know what ended up happening with Primo and his betrayal. I was different though.”

Carlo raked his hands through his hair, the memory making his skin crawl. “I was a fighter even then and was larger than most of the human males around us. Arturo knew I could become a great second-in-command for him, what some packs call a Beta. When I was first bitten, I didn’t worry about if I was going to survive the bite or not. I was cocky, self-assured, and knew my human body was strong enough to at least survive that. We wanted to pay more attention to my first shifting when it came to my first full moon. As the days grew closer, we knew something was wrong.”

Soft fingers trailed over his hand, leading up his wrist and across his forearm until Nanshe tucked her fingers into the crook of his arm. Her presence soothed the fear and anxiety he hadn’t realized was beginning to swell within him. Now that he was paying attention, he could feel the quiver of his heart and the shakiness in each breath he took. Quietly thankful for her support, he continued.

“It was about a week before the moon was scheduled to come. I started feeling different and my dreams were terrifying. I didn't know it then, but I was seeing the Chaos Realm. I would be trapped in this black and gray world, unable to get out with the power swirling around me. It didn't feel good or like I was gaining ground. Instead, it was eating at me, tearing at my insides and soaking up my blood. Each day I grew closer to the moon becoming full was another day I was tortured by this power. It was ravenous for me, coming each night without fail. I started to worry for my eventual survival of the transformation, but no wolf had ever dealt with this problem before, so I had no one to help me. My mind began to fracture and was pulled in different directions.”

Carlo shook his head, even now struggling with how to explain it.

“It was like a weave, different places, different times, all layered on top of each other,” Nanshe offered.

Carlo’s wide eyes met hers. “How did you know?”

“Because that is how my power comes to me.”

Lennox shifted his weight. “What would your power have to do with his, Nanshe?”

Leave it to the mage to ask what was most important. There would