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.
Not until one attacked her. Assuming her mate wouldn't do such a thing, she swung the axe with every ounce of strength she possessed.
It made contact with the beast's shoulder.
The panther howled as he limped away.
"Pandora!" Dante snapped in her mind. "What are you doing?"
"I'm saving my mate," she said between clenched teeth as she went after another panther. "You're not Dante, are you?"
"I'm behind you."
"Good." She swung at the panther in front of her who dodged her first blow but was caught by her second one.
Before she could swing again, she found herself back in the handicapped bathroom stall, this time with two women who were trying to unlace a female Klingon costume.
They both gaped at her as they stared at her bloodied axe.
Too worried over her mate, Pandora paid them no attention.
"I'm getting tired of this!" she said, then wished herself back to Dante.
Dante cursed in her head as she reappeared in his room. "I'm going to take that damned ring from you."
A panther leaped at her.
Pandora started to swing, but caught herself as the panther flashed to Dante's naked, human form. He wrapped his arms around her and flashed her into her hotel room.
"Dante?" she said, her voice shaking as she realized he was covered in blood from the fighting. He looked terrible. There were bite wounds and scratches all over him.
Dante wanted to speak, but in truth it was taking way too much of his powers to assume human form while injured. His human body ached and throbbed.
He had to protect Pandora.
Closing his eyes, he summoned Romeo.
But no sooner had he sent out the call, than his human legs buckled.
"Dante?" Pandora asked as she pulled him into her arms.
He had no choice except to return to his panther's body.
To his surprise, she didn't release him or flee in fear of his animal form. She held him tight and stroked his fur.
He licked her chin, but couldn't muster any more strength. He was in way too much pain.
Pandora's heart stilled at the way Dante was acting. He had to be hurt badly to not even move.
A flash of light startled her. She reached for her axe, then hesitated as she saw Romeo in human form by the bed.
His gaze narrowed on her as he saw his brother's limp form and the bloody axe. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing. The other panthers came for me and I tried to help Dante fight them off."
Something hit the door, then flashed into the room. Romeo whirled as a panther rushed them.
Dante leaped out of her arms so fast that she shrieked. He went straight for the panther's throat as Romeo changed form.
Pandora grabbed the axe from the floor and scrambled to a corner.
One by one, four more panthers appeared in the room. There was no way to tell them apart as they fought with Romeo and Dante. Roars and growls echoed in her ears and the scent of blood filled her nostrils.
Two more panthers appeared.
How she wished she knew if they were friend or foe. All she could do was grip her axe and pray.
The one panther she thought was Dante appeared to maim the one he was fighting by snapping the hind leg of his opponent. A baleful whine filled the air as the panther evaporated from the room.
The victorious panther turned to another that was fighting with the two new panthers. With his powerful jaws, he grabbed it by the neck and slung it away from the two.
He charged the downed panther, using his shoulder to drive it farther away from her and from the other two who snapped behind him.
His enemy tried to claw at his head, but the panther ducked his head and bit into his opponent's throat.
The opponent became wild, thrashing before she heard something break. It went limp.
Two more panthers vanished instantly.
The remaining four turned on the one panther that had been left behind and cornered it. It roared fiercely, then poofed out as well.
Terrified of what that meant, Pandora tensed as the four panthers turned to face her.
She watched them, determined to fight to the bitter end as they stalked nearer.
Three of them fell back while the fourth approached her.
"Dante?" she asked hesitantly, hoping it was him.
He collapsed at her feet before he placed one large paw on her foot and licked her ankle.
She sobbed in relief as she slid down the wall to pull his head into her lap.
The other three flashed into Romeo, Leo, and Mike.
"How badly are you hurt?" Romeo asked the twins.
They were a bit scuffed up, with bruises and bloodied lips and noses, but weren't hurt nearly as badly as Dante had been.
"We're okay, thanks to Dante."
Romeo approached her slowly.
"He's unconscious," she said quietly as she kept her hand on Dante's ribs to make sure he was still breathing. "There were eight of them in the beginning. He fought them alone."
"Dammit, Dante," Romeo snarled as he picked the panther up in his arms. "Why didn't you call us sooner?"
"Put him in my bed," Pandora said, moving to pull back the covers.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded.
Romeo set him down, then ordered Leo to keep watch at the door in case the others came back.
"Mike," he said to the other twin. "Go grab Acheron and tell him I need a favor."
Pandora crawled into the bed beside Dante. Part of her was terrified to be so close to him in his animal state and yet the other part of her wanted only to comfort her mate.
She'd never been this close to a panther before. It was scary and yet not.
Somehow it seemed right to be here.