Winter Born by Sherrilyn Kenyon Read Free Book Online

“I wish I were.” He scowled at the other male, who was still cupping himself. “You okay, Mikey?”
    â€œYeah,” he said, grimacing as he forced himself to straighten. His face was still an awful shade of red and he was panting. “Just my luck that you would find a mate who is as pissy as you are.”
    â€œI take offense to that,” Pandora said.
    Mike gave her a menacing scowl. “And I take offense to my sudden need for testicle retrieval. You know, I would have liked to have fathered some children one day.”
    Leo laughed at his twin brother’s discomfort. “I’m just glad you got to her first.”
    Mike curled his lip. “Shut up.”
    Dante rolled his eyes before introducing his brothers. “Pandora, meet my brothers, Leonardo and Michelangelo.”
    â€œLike the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?” she couldn’t resist asking.
    â€œLike the Renaissance painters,” Leo snapped. He exchanged a snarl with his twin brother. “I seriously hate those damned turtles.”
    As if on cue, four people dressed as said turtles walked by and frowned at them.
    â€œI swear the gods are mocking us,” Mike said as he saw the green-foam-covered humans.
    â€œI know the feeling,” Pandora said, sighing. There were no better words to describe her present predicament.
    She had no idea what kind of … creature the Fates had joined her to.
    Then again, Dante wasn’t the one acting so bizarrely. She was the one with hormonal overload poisoning. She honestly couldn’t blame Dante if he started choking her.
    She just wished she could be herself for a few hours so that she could sort through all this better.
    â€œWell, 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.
    â€œShut 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.
    â€œOh shit,” he breathed as he looked from her to Dante. “You’re mated?”
    â€œYeah,” 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.”
    â€œTrue,” 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.
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” Dante asked.
    â€œIt’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?”
    â€œYou may be Arcadian,” Romeo said, “but you’re a member of our pack now and we’ll treat you as such.”
    â€œBut what of the children you told me about?” Pandora asked Romeo. “Won’t you make me watch them?”
    â€œThey’re my