Free Winter Born by Sherrilyn Kenyon Page B

harsh. Last time you turned your brothers loose on a pack, they left no male standing.”
    â€œI know.” Dante looked back to her. “And so do they. Your sister and her friends are all safe now.”
    Pandora threw her arms around his shoulders and held him close. “Thank you!”
    He hugged her back, then kissed her gently.
    Pandora turned back to Sefia as another thought occurred to her. “What about your children?”
    â€œTheir father is raising them, per Dante’s orders.” Sefia looked at Dante with glowing eyes. “Your mate took all of the women to La Costa and is paying for us to stay and be pampered there for as long as we like.”
    â€œAnd we volunteered to guard them,” Mike said, indicating himself and Leo.
    â€œIs that a good idea?” Pandora asked Dante. After all he and Romeo had said about the twins, she wasn’t sure whether having them as guards would be a help or a hindrance.
    Dante’s face mirrored her skepticism. “I personally don’t think so, but Romeo talked me into it. There’s a large number of the females who aren’t mated.”
    â€œAnd Dante owes us big after the filking fiasco,” Leo said irritably. “There weren’t any naked women there, just some guy singing about Star Trek and Romulan brew. It really pissed us off.”
    Pandora had to stifle her laughter.
    â€œAre you coming with us?” Sefia asked.
    Pandora felt a lot more torn than she should have. Spending time with her sister at a resort or staying with a Katagari panther at Dragon*Con …
    There shouldn’t be a choice.
    So why did she feel this way?
    â€œIt’s entirely up to you,” Dante said quietly. “I told you I wouldn’t interfere with your freedom.”
    â€œC’mon, Dora,” Sefia said, taking her hand. “We’re going to have a lot of fun.”
    Dante’s face was completely stoic and yet she sensed his sadness.
    â€œI’ll be back soon,” Pandora promised him.
    He nodded.
    â€œI’ll take them upstairs to my room to flash them to the resort,” Romeo said.
    Dante didn’t speak as he watched his brothers disappear into the crowd with Pandora and Sefia.
    He’d done a good deed and now he knew why he hated doing good deeds.
    They were painful.
    What did he get out of it? Not a damn thing except a pain so profound that he felt as if something were shredding his heart.
    â€œHere,” Ash said, handing him a beer. “Have a seat.”
    Sighing, Dante took the beer and grabbed the chair where Pandora had been sitting on his arrival. “I did the right thing, right?”
    â€œNo,” Simi said as she wiped barbecue sauce off her chin. “The panther woman didn’t want you to leave her and now you made her go away. That was just stupid if you ask the Simi. Not that anyone ever does, ’cause if they did, then they would be smart. Some people are smart. But many, like you, are too stupid to ask me what I think. See?”
    â€œIt’s not that simple, Simi,” Dante said, wondering why he was trying to explain himself to a demon who had no understanding of human emotions or animal relationships. “She doesn’t want me to own her.”
    â€œWell, the Simi doesn’t understand that. Owning’s not so bad. I own akri and he kind of fun.”
    Dante arched a brow at Ash who didn’t bother to correct his demon.
    Whatever. Those two were far beyond his understanding anyway.
    â€œI’m telling you, Faith,” a woman said as she and a friend walked by them. “There’s a portal in the handicap stall downstairs that allows people to drop in from alternate universes. I was in there with Amanda helping her with her costume when this woman popped in, holding an axe. She immediately popped back out.”
    Dante laughed at that, even though a fierce pain cut through him at the memory.
    Only his pantheress would be so