"A homing beacon so that wherever you find yourself, you can always come back to me simply by thinking of me."
She scowled at his words. "I don't have those powers."
"I know. It's why I'm giving you the ring. The spell works from my powers and it's unbreakable."
Her lips trembled at his kindness. He'd really meant it when he said she had her freedom. Swallowing against the lump in her throat, she slid the ring onto her left hand. It was a perfect fit. "Thank you."
He inclined his head to her, then pulled her lips to his so that he could give her a passionate kiss.
A bright flash filled the room.
Pandora pulled back with a cry as someone grabbed her from behind.
Two seconds later, all hell broke loose.
Chapter 4
Pandora cried out as she realized that eight panthers from the pack that had originally snatched her from her time period had suddenly appeared in Dante's suite.
"How dare you run from us?" their tessera leader snarled as he slung her away from the bed and Dante, into the hands of two of his cronies.
Pandora fought their hold as Dante threw his hand out and blasted the man who had grabbed her. The leader recoiled into the wall, but came right back on his feet.
Dante crouched low, ready to pounce on them. "Don't you dare touch her."
The leader straightened to give Dante a murderous glare. "Stay out of this, panthiras. She belongs to us."
Dante came off the bed with a snarl. "The hell you say." He turned to panther form as he attacked.
With the exception of the two holding her, all the men in the room transformed into panthers to fight. Pandora cringed at the growls and roars as the animals slashed and clawed each other in a primal battle.
Terrified that they might hurt Dante, she bit the man to her right, then stomped the foot of the one to her left. They let go of her, then reached for her again.
She spun away from them. Clothes appeared instantly on her body.
"Run, gataki," Dante said in her mind. "They won't be able to find you in the crowd."
The next thing she knew, she was downstairs in a women's bathroom stall.
"Dammit, Dante!" she snarled as she left the stall and almost ran into a human woman dressed in an ornate burgundy and gold Renaissance gown who appeared to have just left the stall before her.
The woman gave her a fierce scowl that Pandora ignored as she brushed past her.
She had to get back upstairs with some reinforcements.
Dante couldn't fight that many panthers on his own. They'd kill him.
Her heart hammering, she ran out of the bathroom to find herself inside a roomful of dealers. She scanned the booths hoping to find one of Dante's brothers.
Instead her gaze landed on a medieval weapons booth that was lined with every kind of weapon imaginable.
Pandora headed for it. She skimmed through the weapons. They had poleaxes and swords, which would be too awkward for her. She had no idea how to skillfully wield one, and the daggers would force her to get too close to the panthers.
But the double-sided handaxe…
She seized it without hesitation, then closed her eyes, conjured up an image of Dante, and prayed his spell actually worked. Her head swam as she was whirled back into the room in the middle of the fight.
Pandora tightened her grip on the axe, then realized she wasn't sure which panther was Dante.
