Mated to the Chaos - Georgette St. Clair Page 0,51

to Nanshe for answers.

“You simply have to stop blocking it after you've been doing it for so long. I will help you; rely on me.”

Carlo clenched his fists, trying to hide the tremors in his limbs. This could irrevocably change him if he didn't do it right. And he didn't want to go crazy again.

Never again.

“Okay, I'm ready.”

Nanshe stepped into Carlo's hold, hugging his waist and resting her head against his heart. He curled his arms around her, pulling in her heat and anchoring himself against her solid frame.

“Now, just follow me, mate.”

He took a deep breath and exhaled. The moment he did, Chaos floated in. He could smell it on her skin, taste it on his tongue. As it whipped through the air, it pulled on him, calling him home, ravenous for him as it was the first time. He clenched his fingers, digging his nails into Nanshe's back, but she didn't protest.

“I am here. You are not alone.”

Her power, golden and glittering with the dust of the past, wrapped around them.

“Let it enter.”

Carlo dropped all his shields, allowing the Chaos to pour into him. It blasted his belly, making him grunt, and if she had not been holding him, he'd have fallen to his knees. It swelled, burning its way through his cells and spreading like a cancer through his body, eating away at what he was. His wolf howled, terrified and ready to battle.

“No, my friend. It is okay. Stay there.”

The Chaos continued pooling into his fingertips and up his arm, over his shoulders, up his neck and into his head. Carlo screamed, but the sound only reverberated inside his skull.

“Stay with me, mate. Do not fight it.”

But how could he not? He was fracturing, splintering, becoming just pieces of who he once was. He felt the madness coming again. He was going to lose everything. He was going to die. Carlo tried to hold on, but the fear swelled bitter and acrid on his tongue.

I'm going to go crazy.

“No, you won't. Stay with me. Dammit, Carlo. Hold on.”

Oh Goddess, he couldn't do it. Help me, please.

He swayed, and Nanshe took him to the floor.

“Focus only on me. Only on me.”

I'm losing myself. Have Arturo kill me, please. I'm sorry I couldn't be the mate you needed. I'm sorry I couldn’t connect us, but I can't.

Nanshe shook her head, her sharp teeth piercing the flesh of his chest. The pain was a counterbalance, and he sucked in a clearing breath.

“Focus only on me, I said, you stubborn male. You can do this. It is yours to control. You must understand, it is because you have denied it for so long that it is attempting to take over with force. Command it, King of History, and understand your title.”

Please, kill me.

“I will not let you go. Claim me.”

What?

“Trust me. Your wolf needs to focus on something else. It is not the human in you that is afraid. But the wolf, the wolf doesn't want to be lost. The wolf doesn't want to be taken over. You must show it there is no way you could lose it. No way you could be without it. Claim me and give it a reason to fight and stay here.”

No. Carlo pushed Nanshe away, but she gripped him harder, not letting him go.

One of her hands came to the back of his head, pulling his mouth closer to the curve of her neck where it met her shoulder.

“Claim me. I would not lie to you in this moment. Give your wolf something to hold on to, a tether.”

With a pained whimper, not knowing what else to do, Carlo did as his mate commanded.

I claim you as mine. Goddess help us if it kills you too. You will always belong to me—your blood, your body, your soul. I am now linked with you to keep you in protection, always.”

Carlo bit into Nanshe’s neck, piercing her skin with his sharp canines and trying to ease the pain as much as possible. If they had done this in a mating ritual, he would have been deep inside of her, the pleasure making the pain so much better. But for now, he could only give her this.

I am sorry, mate.

“Never apologize for anything that must be done. We have been as one over eons, and it won't change now. Trust me.”

It seemed he would have no choice.

Carlo had finally claimed his mate, for better or for worse.

Chapter Seventeen

“What is wrong with him?”

Carlo couldn’t answer Arturo, though