each and every time?
So many fucking times in history. In different locations and places. And what the fuck was wrong with Skuld that no matter how many times she lost, she still attacked again? What was going on with these Norns? What type of battle of epic proportions were they truly fighting? Not knowing the answers to any of these questions, but understanding one thing before anything else, Carlo made his decision.
He had to leave Nanshe behind.
Now that he had claimed her and tasted what it was like to be with her, now that he knew the beauty and wonders of her body, there was no way he would risk harming her. The Chaos may have been necessary to win this battle, and he would be sure to be there when the time called, but he would stay as far away from his mate as possible.
She deserved to have a different fate than him. And how horrible was it for them that life had decided a long time ago they would be the beginning and end of the other? It wasn't fair they couldn't enjoy happiness. That they couldn't have a life where they had their love and could survive.
But maybe being given their great powers meant they had to sacrifice something. They wouldn't be able to have happiness the way other people did and only could share moments in time where they were as one.
Carlo could be grateful for this. And he wished for a moment he could take her again. That he could connect with her once more in bed and see the way her body responded. Her pleasure at being taken by him and making her climax over and over and over again.
How he wished this didn't have to be the last time they’d come together. How he wished their pasts and futures were different.
And maybe that's what Nanshe had been trying to do all along, what she hadn't been able to tell him. The rules binding her in pain to not tell him they were meant to fail. But she would try for him anyway. What kind of love had he created in her that even through death, space, and time, she still came for him?
That no matter what happened, she still longed for him?
Carlo was humbled as well as disgusted with himself. He was no good as a wolf when he had broken the one covenant they all held in the sanctity of mates: they were to always remain safe.
But he had not done that. He had failed her.
Not in this life.
No. This time around, he would protect her due to all the things he hadn't done in the past. He would pay attention. He’d accepted being the King of History sooner than he had in those dreams, but he couldn't risk it meant he’d changed.
He couldn't risk her.
No matter how much he wanted to be the man of her dreams and stay at her side, he would make sure she remained safe.
With this new control over his power, he would be aware of threats and return to Encantado when he was needed. And now that he had accepted the Chaos, he could teleport on his own, without the help of Nanshe.
He was her equal in every way, but finding out he was her equal had actually destroyed them.
“I'm so sorry,” he whispered into her ear.
She would not be awake, of course, and wouldn't hear him, but he hoped sometime down the line, she would understand this sacrifice. She knew the path, like he did, and understood they could not tell anyone else. They would never be able to share what they knew.
This time, he was sacrificing for her in the way she had sacrificed for him.
In that moment, Carlo realized how important Nanshe was and how much he regretted every second his fear had denied him a connection with his mate. Every moment he fought against what she’d said had wasted countless hours not being together.
He should have claimed her the moment they were in the Chaos so they could have explored their relationship more. There could have been some foundation, and she could have had at least one more moment than he could give her now.
Or maybe had he given in to his need and loved her as she deserved.
He traced her fingers with his. There would never be another woman in all the timelines of his existence who would matter more than Nanshe. From now on, in any life they shared, he