“I could show you how big I am, but you probably couldn't take it.”
Silva choked. “Was that a joke? Did the Guardian as old as dust just make a joke?”
Torin sent her a lopsided smile, and if Carlo didn’t thinking he was imagining it, he’d say Silva blushed. But he didn't think it was possible.
Right?
Carlo and the rest of them lifted their heads when the elevators doors opened. Pasquale and Giuliana entered with Fabiana behind them. She ducked her head, hiding from everybody's pointed gazes.
“What are you doing here?” Arturo demanded
Pasquale wrapped his arm around his sister. “It's time we told you something.”
Adonis slammed to his feet, his nose lifted into the air as he inhaled deeply. Pasquale eyed him before looking back at Arturo.
“My sister has already told you about her paintings.”
Arturo nodded. “I remember it was the part of the message you wanted me to send Carlo.”
“They're something a little more important than we originally wanted to share. I had to protect my sister as much as possible.”
Dominic lifted an eyebrow. “You are one of my capos. You deserve that level of secrecy. However, it should have been run by me.”
“To be fair,” Pasquale argued, “Giuliana knew, as well as Carlo and Nanshe. If there had been anything that could have put the packs in danger, they would have made sure to tell you, but we had to figure out what was going on before we could bring it to your attention.”
“Pequeña,” Adonis called out.
Fabiana lifted her head, stepping out from behind her brother. “Me?” She pointed to herself.
“Yes, you. Stand tall, lift your head. A Queen does not bow in front of anyone.”
A dull flush spread over Fabiana's face, and Pasquale growled. “Don't try to get cute with my sister.”
Adonis shifted his golden eyes to Pasquale. “There's nothing you could do to me, Alpha,” he admonished before he looked back at Fabiana. “I’m waiting.” He smiled when she stood straighter. “Good girl.”
Giuliana looked from Fabiana to Adonis. “What the hell?”
“As cute as all this is, explain to me about these paintings,” Arturo interrupted.
Pasquale took one moment to stare at Adonis before he addressed the rest of them. “She paints the future.”
Carlo set forward as pandemonium ensued in the room.
It took a few minutes before everybody quit asking questions and Nanshe cleared her throat. “To be clearer, she creates art like a prophetess. She explained the paintings she is forced to complete show what possible futures could come around. I noticed it when we saw the original paintings, and even the one that shows me being killed by my sister. If the fight hadn't happened the way it did, along with some other factors, it was possible it could have happened.”
Carlo looked at Nanshe and back to the others. “She’d also showed me what the Chaos would do to my body once I accepted it. Although I didn't understand when I looked at her original painting, I can say it was real. My world has changed.”
Carlo took a step backward, spreading his arms, and let his new shift take over. The wolves in the room backed up.
“What the hell?” Romano jumped in front of Kalinda
“Do not worry,” Carlo explained. “I am well aware of who I am and not lost to the wolf. This is my new form from when the Chaos touched me. Yes, I can turn into a complete wolf as I had before, but I can also use this one that is more powerful.”
Carlo shifted back, rolling his shoulders. “However, maintaining that form is much more draining. It is not something I would want to do for an extended period of time.” He nodded his head at Fabiana. “She painted that long before I actually received the power.”
They all looked around at each other.
“This is serious. Dominic liked a title with ‘protectors.’”
Torin tapped his chin. “It's not too bad of a choice, Arturo. You already have Guardians.”
“Oh yeah. And there's a cool movie about them, you know, protecting the galaxy,” Silva added.
Romano laughed, even as Dominic groaned. “I swear, she and Romano are like a male and female version of each other.”
Silva looked down and kicked the ground dramatically. “Okay, so obviously we're not going to be guardians but protectors. And that sucks big balls because I had green paint. Hashtag, I wanted to be green. Hashtag, you all wouldn’t let me. Hashtag, it’s not easy being green. Hashta–”
Dominic rushed to interrupt her. “Well, 'portal cities' is an easy addition. Portal City Protectors.”
“Why not? It's simple and straight to the point. PCP for short,” Romano offered.
Arturo nodded. “Then that's what we will be. The Portal City Protectors can be called whenever needed to protect our city. Is this okay? Everybody in agreement?”
Everyone nodded their heads.
“Fine, that is clear. We'll keep the earpieces for the connections. We may need to work out other things in order for us to speed up communication. Kalinda, would you like to contact other Mage Councils and other cities?”
Kalinda nodded. “I'm on it. I can contact them to let them know what to be aware of since we now know that Skuld is moving.”
Zahara shifted forward. “Ya not goin’ t’ get much from N’Orleans.”
Kalinda lifted her brow. “Why?”
“Well, N’Orleans has t’eir own rules, chile. I happen t’ know the group t’ere. Ya let me call t’em an’ I'll let ya know wha’ t’ey say.”
“Sure, Zahara. You can handle New Orleans, but I'll contact the other portal cities we know of. We could get Boulder on because we've already worked with them when it came to the Renegades. Carlo, you still have a connection with New York City.”
Carlo groaned. “I don't necessarily like dealing with vampires, but I can reach out.”
“No problem. We'll get in with Miami, Los Angeles, Norfolk, Seattle, and we might even be able to get in with some islands. Trinidad and Tobago have their group as well, don't they?” Kalinda looked at Zahara.
Zahara nodded. “Yes, but ya prob’ly need me t’ contact t’em as well.”
“Thank you, I'd appreciate that.”
Arturo clapped his hands together. “So we have our orders. We're going to contact other packs and other locations. Kalinda will handle the mages. Zahara will contact any of the witch doctors and those who live on the outskirts and don't like being under the National mage councils or the International Bureau.”
“No pro’lem.”
Arturo looked to Carlo. “Now, back to you.”
But Carlo was seeing the past, seeing what was going on around him and scanning back and forth.
Arturo growled at Carlo. “We’re right here.”
“It’s going to take some getting used to,” Carlo returned with a grimace. “Seeing the past is still hard on me. I’m sort of starting to feel like Verdandi.”
“What?” Arturo scrunched up face, showing he had no idea what Carlo was talking about.
“It’s a lot to explain, so I won’t do it now. Needless to say, I understand that me being in the Chaos Realm will be better for all of us. With me controlling the flow of time and dealing with history, I’ll be able to give you another line of defense from within the Realm. At least someone will know if Skuld is coming.”
Arturo shook his head. “It’s still difficult learning who you are. I’m going to miss the hell out of you. But I understand where you must be, and mates always come first.”
“Don’t get sentimental on me now, Arturo. It’ll feel a little weird and I’m not used to it. But I do agree it will be better for me to be there. Isadora will have to deal with not being able to punch my balls every time she turns around.”
Arturo sighed and looked over at Nanshe. “Maybe it would be better for us not to tell her if Carlo cannot come back. Will he be able to leave his throne?”
Nanshe shook her head. “To b
e honest, I’m not sure. I know I can traverse through the Chaos as much as I want to, but Carlo is still getting used to his power. Every time he uses it, the Chaos wants him more. Hopefully, with more practice, he will be able to travel when he wants to. But until he gets good control over his use of portals, it’s better for us to be safe. However, you do have Fae, and with them you were able to travel much easier. We may be able to see if Kallan or Teague can travel when you want to.”
Arturo stood and approached Carlo, lifting one of his hands. “It has been great working with you, cousin. I hope to see you again.”
“This is not the end of me. I will be back. For now, all packs will have a connection into the In Between. With me living there with Nanshe, I'll be able to see if Skuld moves quicker than anyone else and get a message out here. Now that we have the ability to move back and forth with portals, it'll be fine. Once I get accustomed to Chaos and know how I should move, it'll be a lot easier for me to handle it.”
“Okay,” Arturo acknowledged, swallowing. “Please be safe. You're one of the few family members I have left.”
“Always,” Carlo promised, pulling the Alpha into his arms for a quick, fierce hug. “Thank you for standing beside me and not letting me fall. Thank you for supporting me when others wanted to use me. Thank you for everything. You will always be an Alpha to me.”
Arturo leaned back, gripping Carlo’s shoulder. “What’s an Alpha to a king?”
They laughed.
A king indeed.
Carlo turned to Nanshe. “Are you ready to go home now?”
“Yes, I am.”
Sometimes, the past did affect the future. For Carlo, he was happy their paths had changed this time around. They had found love and wouldn't turn their backs on it. Encantado would be safe, and now they had a dedicated team to protect it. Between Carlo and Nanshe in the Chaos Realm and the Portal City Protectors on the human side, Skuld would be destroyed.
Nanshe flicked her fingers to start a portal, but Carlo stopped her. “Allow me, mate.”
“Stubborn male.”
THE END
Epilogue
Things were changing.
Fabiana glared at the bright-red paint covering her canvas, even as her hand worked with the black to change the visage. She couldn’t stop it if she tried, but this was now painting number two for the night, and she was more bothered than she wanted to admit.
They’d survived.
Asherah was safe.
They now had Carlo in the In Between, beside his mate. He had become the King of History and their ally in the battle to come. They literally had the past on their side and protection from within the Chaos Realm.
But still Fabiana painted because the battle wasn’t over.
If she hadn’t been told about Torin, she wouldn’t know what she’d painted, but she had, and she did. The massive, dangerous body of the Fury rose above her friends. They weren’t dead in this painting, but they were fighting against an unknown force.
And she didn’t recognize the other people with them.
Carlo and Nanshe were at the back, their shadow army racing to the left. Kalinda was surrounded by mages, Heath and Asherah at her side. Wolves streaked from the bottom, Dominic, Arturo, Pasquale, and Adonis leading the charge. And they had others—dark-skinned, painted humans—tossing magic between the wolves. And from the right?
A mass of black and white bodies she couldn’t get a clear picture of, led by Torin.
With Silva.
She wasn’t going to investigate too far.
If she did, she’d have to also give thought to the other painting.
The one showing her with a golden-skinned man with dark-brown, wavy hair, green eyes, and a taunting smile. His arms were wrapped around her waist, and she had a soft, submissive but challenging expression on her face.
And somehow … even as he held her, and there was a chain around her and held in his fists, he was on his knees.
She knew who he was and didn’t want to admit it. Suddenly, a single word was whispered in her ear.
Moon.
Yes. The Moon was going to bleed, and war was coming.
“I will kill them all. My sister, that pathetic mate of hers, and every one of those wolves.”
Skuld thrust her blood-red nails into her hair, right above her horns. Urd—because she refused to call her that old name, tie her to the simplicity of their old life—had sided against her. No matter what, Skuld had never believed she would.
So what, she’d found a loophole to defy the gods’ rule on affecting humans? Urd should have joined her. There were meant to stand side by side. Two halves to a whole. Two–
Skuld froze. Two.
Slowly, a smile spread across her lips. Yes, there would be. She’d have her revenge. Skuld would be sure her future would be there, and she refused to be erased.
Because, evil was always stronger than good.
Isn’t that what humans always cried about anyway?
Silva would die, and everything she’d spurred into action would be destroyed. Skuld had made a mistake sending her into the human world, even with her magic locked away, but perhaps that was one of Skuld’s greatest accomplishments. It would just a bit of time to plan. Let them think they were safe.
Yes, the Moon was going to bleed, and war would come.
Fabiana and Adonis are coming to your e-readers next!
Pre-Order today!
Mated to the Moon
About the Authors
Georgette St. Clair writes hot, sexy romances starring Alpha heroes. The road to love may be rocky and fraught with peril (and humor and scorchtastic sex and healthy heapings of snark), but her shifters will stop at nothing to claim the women they love.
Georgette has worn many hats in life: newspaper reporter, EMT, internet marketer, cocktail waitress, temp, nurse’s aide (not in chronological order).
When she’s not rescuing fur-babies, she spends her days in a fantasy universe where she nudges her smart-mouthed, take-no-gruff heroines onto paths which will set them on a collision course with true love.
FOLLOW GEORGETTE:
FACEBOOK
NEWSLETTER
WEBSITE
GOODREADS
Writing professionally since 2008, LeTeisha Newton's love of romance novels began long before it should have. After spending years sneaking reads from her grandmother's stash, she finally decided to pen her own tales. As many will do during their youth, she bounced from fantasy, urban literature, mainstream, interracial, paranormal, heterosexual, and LGBT works until she finally rested in contemporary romance.
LeTeisha is all about deep angst and angry heroes who take a bit more loving to smooth their rough edges. Love comes in many sizes, shapes, and colors, as well as with—or without—absolute beauty and fairy tale sweetness. She writes the darker tales because life is hard … but love is harder.
FOLLOW LETEISHA:
FACEBOOK
NEWSLETTER
WEBSITE
GOODREADS
Mated to the Chaos (Portal City Protectors Book 5) Page 18
