Mated to the Chaos (Portal City Protectors Book 5)

by Georgette St. Clair

  “Fight with me, mate. I am okay.”

  She didn't hear Carlo answer, but she felt it.

  The four of them—Torin, Carlo, Nanshe, and the wolf—attacked the dragon at once. The wolf raked at the sensitive lining connecting the dragon's jaw and reaching under the hinge to gouge at the neck as Nanshe sent power from her fingers to blind the dragon. The dragon’s pained scream filled the air, and the fire suddenly cut off, blood dripping around them.

  Nanshe spared a glance to where Torin and Carlo were digging at the underbelly of the dragon. It fell, slamming to the ground with a thud and pinning Hollows beneath it, smashing them into nothingness.

  The four of them redoubled their efforts, attacking and pushing as hard as they could. The other mages shook out of their stupor, tossing magic at the dragon. Gold, red, white, blue, and purple, all the colors of the rainbow, surrounded the dragon and held it to the ground.

  “We cannot defeat it, but we can harm it enough that it will run away to protect itself. Don't stop!” Nanshe shouted.

  They kept pushing and pushing until the dragon whipped out its wings, now tattered with the force of magic that had ripped through the tendons, and launched itself into the air.

  “It's fleeing. Keep sending your magic.”

  The mages did as Nanshe ordered, all of them doing whatever they could until the dragon spun high in the air and disappeared. Hollows turned into wisps, fading as the portals closed with a thunderous crack.

  Encantado had faced a battle and survived.

  As Nanshe looked around, she knew they had made it, but not unscathed. Broken bodies, charred forms, and bleeding soldiers littered the ground. How many had they lost? How many of Carlo’s pack were gone? How many of Torin’s Guardians would not live to see another day? How many had Skuld destroyed in the name of power?

  Nanshe fell to her knees, tears pouring from her eyes. When would it be enough? Why had it had to come to this? There was no reason it should have.

  “Oh, Skuld. In the end, sister, you will fail.”

  “No, I won't. And I see you now, sister. Now I know you're with them. Do you truly want to battle against me? Do you think he will love you? He has never loved you in all the timelines that you have known him. He has always walked away. He has always run. And this time will be no different. Trust me. I've seen the future.”

  Nanshe tried not to think about Skuld’s words. She had enough to worry about when it came to Carlo potentially repeating past mistakes. But for now, it was time for them to take care of their wounded.

  Nanshe cut off the connection with her sister and looked to the wolf. “Leave now and go hide. I promise, your time will come soon.”

  The wolf streaked away, disappearing in the disarray. Carlo and Torin looked at the wolf and back at Nanshe. She simply shook her head.

  Some questions could not be answered until the right time.

  Chapter Sixteen

  At least a hundred mages were lost because of the dragon. The bastard had been on the battlefield for less than fifteen minutes and most of their casualties were from him. The Hollows had taken out maybe ten to fifteen mages and wolves but that was it, despite fighting for hours while Carlo, Lennox, Kallan, Teague, and Nanshe were gone. It surprised him to see time in Encantado had moved far faster than it did in the In Between. What was only hours for them ran a couple of days in Encantado itself.

  Now Carlo understood what Heath had meant when he thought he’d been gone for such a short time yet Isadora had grown so much. None of this made sense. Carlo was pretty tired of time and how it affected all of them.

  They needed to regroup. Luckily, the dragon hadn't created another area of Scorched Earth, but they could still see its effects. So many had been burned and some businesses would not be reopening anytime soon due to time needed to rebuild.

  Carlo was sickened by what Skuld was willing to do in order to get her way. Now that the battle was over, he had obtained an earpiece so he could connect with the others. Nanshe was given one as well.

  “We lost five wolves here,” Arturo groused over the comm.

  “We lost seven.”

  Carlo could understand Dominic’s rage. The younger Alpha cared deeply for his pack, which was smaller than others.

  “The Moonstone lost two,” Adonis added.

  “The mages seem to have had the highest number of losses because they were covering the area of Scorched Earth where the dragon came in. A fucking dragon. Whoever would have thought we’d see one again?” Dominic seethed.

  “Well,” Carlo began, “it’s better than what happened in Boulder, Colorado. That entire city had to be rebuilt after the dragon nearly wiped it off the face of the earth. I guess we can be thankful for that. Kalinda, how are you handling the mage losses?”

  Romano’s voice came across the comm instead. “She's handling it as well as any of us, I suppose. Since she gained the highest number of losses, the mages are changing their way of attacking. They were effective against the dragon with the help of Nanshe and you guys, but they're going to be more prepared for future battles. We need them protected better if we don’t want some sort of revolt.”

  Carlo nodded, even knowing the men couldn't see him.

  “Then we will,” Arturo said stoically. “We will have to get wolves from every pack on patrol with the mages. They can face the Hollow threat first, allowing the mages to properly arm themselves.”

  “Kalinda has already said she will make sure all mages have blades. Some are not natural fighters,” Romano explained. “She would like for them to be trained by Silva in smaller groups in order to have more basic self-defense, but the wolves will have to make sure they're covered.”

  “Then, if I may, without stepping on any toes,” Adonis said, “I can attach more men than any of the other packs. Let my men be the numbers you need.”

  “I appreciate that, Adonis. Thank you,” Arturo added.

  “Well, the Renegades have been on overall patrol around the outside areas.” Alexi finally chimed into the conversation. “But we are spread thin. If it is possible, we can concentrate the Renegades on the areas where the mage districts are and then we can spare the extra men for each individual pack to better contain their areas. That way we're not all on outside patrol.”

  “I can run with that,” Arturo replied. “You proved yourself in this battle. Because of that, I believe we can use you in this way.”

  “Then I will have my men receive their new orders,” Alexi agreed. “Who was the wolf that helped with the dragon?”

  “We cannot speak of her. She came to my aide. In essence, she is my familiar,” Nanshe responded over the comm.

  Carlo looked to Nanshe, tasting the lie in her words but figuring she’d said it that way for a reason.

  “Your familiar. Hmm.” The tone of Alexi's voice said that he didn't believe it either, but he allowed it. “We saw her before in Scorched Earth when we had to help Silva and Kalinda. It seems you have been helping us for some time.”

  “Yes, I have,” she added, leaving it at that.

  “Fine. Gather up the dead and triage the wounded. Get everything as cleared up as possible. We need men working rebuilding what has been lost, but our primary concern is going protection,” Dominic said, adding his orders to the list of things to be done.

  “We have to make sure we don't have a mass exodus from our borders because of what has happened,” Romano added with a sigh. “I'll pass on to Kalinda that you will be making sure her people are protected.”

  “For now,” Nanshe started, clearing her throat, “there is something else we need to speak about.”

  “What is it?” Arturo questioned.

  Carlo sighed deeply when Nanshe looked at him with a pointed stare, urging him to spill the beans. “It has to do with me. The Chaos seems to react to me, or at least it did in the Chaos Realm.”

  Romano cleared his throat. “Yes, Lennox explained that to Kalinda when he came back. It seems it was spot on with your emotions.�
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  “Yeah, we don't exactly understand why. Nanshe believes if I have protection and people around me I trust, I may be able to accept some Chaos and find out what the connection is. Having the Council nearby would be helpful too.”

  “No,” Arturo growled. “The last time you touched it in such a way, we saw what happened. I will not lose my cousin again to the Chaos.”

  “It seems like we may have no choice, Alpha. When I was in the Chaos Realm, I was told the Chaos was important for the battle. We know this from Nanshe and Verdandi.”

  “Who's fucking Verdandi?” Romano interrupted. “Why the hell do we keep getting these new characters at this point? I'm getting kind of tired of the ‘Price Is Right, Come on Down’. They need to just stay in their own damn lanes.”

  “Unfortunately, this is war and we don't have a choice. Verdandi is Norn of the Present. She was the one who actually saved and protected Asherah. Don't even ask me how because you couldn't get a straight answer out of that woman if you tried. Just trust me on this. But she did explain in moments of lucidity that my acceptance of the Chaos would be paramount to us winning this war.”

  “How safe will it be for Carlo, Nanshe? I'm not losing one of my wolves to the Chaos.”

  “Arturo, I'm not exactly sure how to answer that question, but I will say he is my mate and I know the Chaos is important. I cannot explain his connection to the Chaos, but I agree with the Norn of the Present. It is important, and he must. This is the reason I came. Once he has linked with it, the fight will turn in our favor.”

  Arturo sighed on the line. “If it's necessary, I will allow it, but we will do it within the Moretti Pack lands. Romano, have Kalinda bring whatever mages she can. And if any of you other Alphas can spare your power, I need you there. I want him protected at all costs. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes,” the other wolves answered in unison. Although Arturo wasn't the lead Alpha out of all of them, it seemed the group had come to a silent consensus to allow him to run point for now.

  Although the Moonstone Pack mainly kept to themselves, they were definitely the dominant pack out of all the families. They were quiet most of the time, but Adonis and his pack always knew what was going on in Encantado and within each family. They always had, the crafty bastards.

  Carlo wasn't sure how long Adonis would allow Arturo to hold this current position, but right now, they were in agreement.

  “Fine. Nanshe, you can portal me directly to the pack lands? We’ll wait there until everyone arrives.”

  “Oh? Now you're fine with going into the Chaos?”

  Carlo rolled his eyes. His sassy mate was going to be the death of him, even before Skuld got her hands on him. “It seems I'm going to have to. Just make it quick as possible. Once there, we'll see what we have to do about allowing the Chaos inside me.”

  “I win.”

  Win what? I said portal me, not that I enjoyed it. Do it, woman.

  “Stubborn male.”

  They’d chosen the arena as the location where Carlo would accept the Chaos. The mages under Kalinda’s control had created a protective field around the space so nothing could spill out.

  Carlo and Nanshe stood in the center of the dirt circle, surrounded by Arturo, Dominic, Romano, Silva, Lennox, Zahara, Asherah, Heath, Eiravel, Cynes, Kallan, and Teague. Isadora and Zoey had been left behind, with Giuliana standing guard over them and the home. Pasquale entered last, racing from the elevator.

  “I've got all the protective details sorted. Zoey and Isadora are within range of the arena but outside of the protective force. That way they aren't affected by anything that may come in, but they're close enough we can get to them.”

  Dominic nodded. “Thank you. Where's Adonis?”

  Pasquale finally slowed his breathing. “Adonis has decided to stay outside. His men are also protecting our women. He is close enough to the barrier and connected by earpiece to add his Alpha call, but he assumed you may want him on detail with Giuliana to make sure no one can attack your mate.”

  “I'll have to thank him later. I appreciate his assistance, and I'm sure Eiravel and Cynes do as well.”

  The two Fae males nodded, and Eiravel took one step forward. “We would not have left Isadora otherwise, Alpha.”

  Knowing Torin and the Guardians were securing the Scorched Earth borders, and Alexi and the rest of the Renegades were also there, things were safe. They had the most powerful people in this room to assist.

  “How do I open myself to the Chaos?” Carlo looked 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 he tried. His mouth wouldn’t work right, and it was all he could do to just fucking breathe.

  “His body is trying to adjust to the Chaos. It won’t happen immediately.”

  Nanshe. Her voice was a balm to the frantic fear pulsing through his wolf. Glittering silver and gold bands wrapped around the four-legged part of his soul.

  Wait, how can I see my wolf?

  No matter how much he knew what was inside him, Carlo had never actually been able to see his wolf unless he was shifted and in front of a mirror. Even then, their connection was more like two personalities sharing one body in a symbiotic relationship. Now, the Chaos had changed things.

  What the fuck is happening to me? Am I going to be able to talk to you like Giuliana and Pasquale can talk to theirs?