Mated to the Chaos - Georgette St. Clair Page 0,2
was different.
He could sense it.
He refused to tie himself to that, to the Chaos, again.
“You have no reason to fear me. You just have to remember, Carlo.”
Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. Carlo did a partial shift of his hand, just enough to open the door, and then he slid back into a full wolf before streaking from his room. He needed to run, needed the freedom of the forest. His claws clicked on the floor as he raced down the stairs and slid into the foyer.
“Carlo?” The red starbursts in Eiravel’s black eyes sparked with power as he stood. “What has happened?”
His twin, Cynes, leaned against the wall. The relaxed pose didn’t fool Carlo. He knew the Unseelie’s bow and magically enhanced jewels were within reach, in case he had to attack. They’d been powerful allies of Heath when he’d attacked Silva and the Lombardi Pack without having the truth of their memories, but their bond with Isadora had taken precedence. Their relations with the Unseelie, Renegade wolves, and the wolves of Encantado were still shaky—fighting nearly to the death would do that—but they were trying.
Because of this, Carlo could appreciate Cynes and Eiravel’s need to protect their bonded female and question him. Even if Carlo outranked the males in the wolf hierarchy, he’d never begrudge a man protecting what belonged to them.
Carlo shook his head, knowing the two were certain their charge was safe upstairs. Although the men’s postures didn’t change, the air around them felt calmer and the shine in their eyes dulled a bit, a sign they’d relaxed a fraction.
Eiravel nodded. “Are you okay?”
Damned observant Fae.
Carlo couldn’t forget Eiravel was made for battle, the red magic in his eyes identifying his skill. Not answering the question, Carlo leapt across the room and to the always-open back doors that led to the back of the Moretti estate. He ignored the men calling out behind him and kept running.
She couldn’t reach him out here. Her voice only filtered to him in his room.
He hoped.
“Stubborn male.”
He howled. No, no, no, no, no, no!
The wolf ran harder, his lungs working, ears alert, and a snarl warning anyone to stay away. He yipped at a passing guard, and the man nodded, already knowing the communication they’d set up between wolves and their human forms. The man would know he’d have to adjust duty to protect Arturo.
Not all of them were gifted like Giuliana or Pasquale, who could talk to their wolves like they were people. Other wolves made it work.
“I’ve tried to be nice.”
Just like the Chaos. Carlo’s heart twisted in his chest. He knew she would be like this, but it didn’t stop it from tearing something inside. She’d proven him right.
“You won’t believe until you see. I need you, Carlo. There is danger coming, such horrible danger, and you have to help.”
He kept running, pushing himself until the green foliage of the woods blurred past him. She wouldn’t guilt him. He’d known of the danger coming their way. If nothing else, Heath had warned them. It was how they’d discovered Skuld was in league to hurt everyone they cared about, and she’d been working toward it long before they’d known. Carlo didn’t need some whispering voice from the Chaos to tell him that.
“Come. Here. I’m finished with this game. It’s for your own good, trust me.”
Yeah, it was for his own good. Pfft.
Right, because being ripped from Encantado and tossed into the fucking Chaos Realm was good for anybody.
“Fine. Then I’ll do it your way, mate. You will not deny me.”
Grrrrrrrrrreat.
And not at all in the jolly-tiger-for-that-cereal sort of way.
Chapter Two
“Who the hell is that?”
“If I knew, Dominic, I wouldn’t have called you over here.”
Dominic? Arturo?
“Zahara? Got any clues?”
“Chile, you’re on your own with t’is one, ya hear? I’m not touching tha’ one.”
What the hell could make Zahara afraid?
Dominic growled. “I just want to know if she’s a threat.”
She?
“A threat? Yes. One we can take down? That remains to be seen,” Arturo growled.
“Romano, what’s your ETA on Kalinda?”
What the hell is going on?
“She and Silva will be here in five.”
“Then we will wait, children of this era.”
Her voice snapped Carlo from whatever stasis he’d been trapped in. His eyes snapped open, a growl rumbling from his chest and out his throat as he scanned the room.
His bedroom.
A very destroyed one.
The entire space was trashed, claw marks and ripped-up wood everywhere. In this disaster, Dominic, his blue-green eyes snapping with warning, stood next to Arturo near the door. Carlo’s Alpha’s