Sherrilyn Kenyon - Stroke of Midnight

"Well, I see all of you found her."

Pandora looked past Leo to see the first one of the brothers she'd met. Ironically, he was the only one whose name she didn't know.

"Shut up, Romeo," Leo said irritably. "Don't think we don't know it was you who spread her scent around this hotel to drive us crazy. You almost got me killed when I grabbed Simi by mistake and she pulled out a bottle of barbecue sauce to sprinkle on me. If Ash hadn't come up when he did, that damn demon would have gladly eaten me."

Romeo laughed for only an instant before he sobered. He sniffed the air.

"Oh shit," he breathed as he looked from her to Dante. "You're mated?"

"Yeah," Dante said. "Thanks, Romeo. Had you not had her scent all over you , I wouldn't have been able to pinpoint her so easily. I really appreciate the road map."

Pandora stiffened at Dante's sarcasm. "Thank you for making me feel really bad. You know, you could try and be a little more positive about this."

"True," Romeo said. "She is Arcadian and not nearly as likely to roam."

It was Pandora's turn to be "thrilled." "Just think, now all of you have a babysitter for your litters and someone a lot weaker to knock around whenever you get angry at your enemies."

All four of the panthers scowled at her.

"What are you talking about?" Dante asked.

"It's all you want me for, right?"

He looked at her aghast. "You're my mate, Pandora, not my servant. Anyone in my pack, including my brothers, who disrespects you disrespects me. And believe me, that's one thing no one will ever do."

The sincerity of that tore through her.

He really meant it.

Gratitude and happiness welled inside her, and for the first time since her father had handed her over to their enemies, she had some real, true hope. "Really?"

"You may be Arcadian," Romeo said, "but you're a member of our pack now and we'll treat you as such."

"But what of the children you told me about?" Pandora asked Romeo. "Won't you make me watch them?"

"They're my offspring," Romeo said. "I've been raising cubs and siblings for more than three hundred years, even Dante. Why would that change now?"

But she had assumed…

"Who watches them while you're gone?" she asked.

It was Mike who answered. "Our brother Gabriel and our cousin Angel."

"Yeah," Dante said. "They do fine with cubs. It's Frick and Frack here who screw them up and get all of them into trouble."

Mike gave him a droll stare. "I really wish you'd stop calling us that."

"When you grow out of your awkward pubescent stage, I will." Dante checked his watch. "That should be, what? Another fifty, sixty years?"

"We're older than her," Leo said, pointing to Pandora.

"Yeah, but she's got something neither of you do."

"And that is?"

Dante rubbed his eyes as if his head were beginning to hurt. "If you can't see what she has that neither of you do, you, need even more help than I thought."

Leo made a disgusted noise at him. "I'm not going to stand here and be insulted. Since I can't touch your pantheress without losing a limb or my balls, I'm going to pursue something a little less dangerous."

Dante and Romeo exchanged an amused look that was completely mischievous.

"Why don't you try one of the filking rooms?" Dante asked. "I heard from Acheron that a lot of wild things go on in there. Women taking off their clothes. Wine being passed around to anyone who wants some."

Both of the twins' faces lighted up.

"That sounds good and dirty to me," Mike said. "Perfect. Later."

Pandora laughed as the twins bolted away from them. "You do realize that filking is just science fiction folk singing, right?"

Dante gave an evil laugh. "I know. I just wish I could be there when they realize it too."

Romeo shook his head. "You are so mean to them. It's a wonder they don't kill you while you sleep."

Dante scoffed. "Yeah, right. Those goofs are lucky I tolerate them."

"And yet you do," Pandora said, smiling at the knowledge. "Why is that, Dante?"

Romeo returned her smile. "Because my brother has a heart that he hates to own up to."

"Shut up, Romeo."

"She's your mate, Dante. Be honest with her. Don't let the past sour you for eternity. She's not Bonita, you know?"

Dante growled and lunged for Romeo, who stepped back lightning fast.

"Later," Romeo said before he left them.

"Bonita?" Pandora asked as soon as they were alone… or at least as alone as a couple in a crowd of thousands could be.

Dante didn't answer. From his expression she could tell he was thinking of something very painful.

Her heart wrenched at the thought. Was she an old lover? "Who was she?"

He let out a long, tired breath before he answered. "She was the bonded mate to one of my older brothers, Donatello. He was the pack leader before me and he loved his mate more than his life."

Pandora felt for the panther. "Let me guess. She betrayed him."

"No," he said to her surprise. "They were bonded together, and one night while she was home from her journeys, she lashed out at him while they were having sex and ripped into his jugular. They both died before he could get help."

Pandora covered her mouth as she envisioned the horror. Once Were-Panthers bonded their life forces together, neither of them could live without the other. If one died, they both died.

How terrible that Bonita had killed them in one act of thoughtless passion.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Thanks," he said quietly. "It was a damn waste of two decent panthers." His gaze penetrated her. "It's why I never wanted a pantheress for a mate or even a lover. I don't want my cubs orphaned because I let my guard drop and left myself open to a female's attack."

"I would never rip at you."

"How do you know?"

"Well," she said as they started moving through the lobby, "right now I don't even know how to turn into a panther. So that alone makes you safe. I tried to do it a couple of days ago and all I got was a tail that was very hard to hide until I went to sleep and it left me."

Dante laughed, and though she ought to be offended that he was laughing at her misfortune, she wasn't. There was something about him that was truly charming.

"I've never heard of that happening before," he said.

"Stick around. All kinds of weird things have been happening to me lately."

He brushed the hair back from her face. "I think I might like to do that. If you don't mind."

For some reason, the thought warmed her. Dante was a lot of fun to be with.

When they weren't fighting.

"What do you expect of your mate, Dante?"

He shrugged, then put his arm around her as they cruised by the banquet tables that were lined with fliers and giveaway items. "Nothing more than any other panther, I guess. I expect you to come home when you're in season and leave when you're not."

It was too good to be true.

"You would let me leave if I wanted to?"

He frowned. "It's the nature of our species, Pandora. Why would I stop you?"

"But the other pack—"

"Ain't right in the head," he said, interrupting her. "There's something profoundly wrong with anyone who would try to get a panther to act against his or her nature. That's something I'd expect an Arcadian to do, not a Katagari."

She smiled up at him as she felt another hormonal surge go through her.

By the sudden feral look on Dante's face she could tell he sensed it too.

His arm tightened around her.

"Can we wait?" she asked quickly. "I don't want to rush mating with you again until we get a few things straight between us."

Even though sex with him would clear her head, her human heart wanted more between them than just a physical relationship. She wanted to know the human part of her mate.