Read Online Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2) by Theresa Hissong - Free Book Online

throw
together some sandwiches for a quick dinner before she made an
excuse to head to bed for the night.
    “Do you want me to do that for you?” He
frowned, nodding toward her cast.
    “No,” she sighed, shaking her head. “I
appreciate everything the pride has done for me, but I need to do
things on my own.”
    “Um,” he said, shifting nervously.
    “What?” she asked, looking over her shoulder
at him. Dane’s ice blue eyes narrowed as he ran his hands through
his dark blond hair. Nova looked away when his damaged ear was
exposed. She never asked him about it, and knew he had trouble
hearing out of that ear from an injury he’d sustained many years
ago, but she wasn’t going to pry for the details.
    “Let me do it,” he replied, reaching for the
package of deli meat.
    “No,” she growled, pausing the Guardian in
his reach. “I can do it.”
    “Nova,” he warned, reaching for her again.
“You’re hurt.”
    “I’m not an invalid,” she said, turning to
the side to glare at him, but he was closer than she expected.
    It happened. Dane’s fingers brushed across
the back of her hand, freezing them both. Nova’s heart raced, her
eyes darting to his face, which suddenly appeared as if it were set
in stone. His skin turned deathly white as he stumbled
backwards.
    “What the fuck ?” Winter yelled as he
stepped into the kitchen. No one had heard him enter and that was
not good. Not good at all , Nova thought.
    “No!” Nova hollered, just as Winter grabbed
Dane by his collar, pulling the Guardian out the back door. Nova
was right behind them, scrambling for something to say to stop them
from killing each other.
    “Go in the house, Nova!” Winter ordered over
his shoulder. She stood on the porch, her arms folded across her
chest. These panthers were going to drive her crazy with their
alpha ways, always growling and fighting for dominance.
    “I didn’t mean to touch her,” Dane defended,
pushing the other Guardian away. “Back off, Winter.”
    Winter crouched low, his canines growing
thick in his mouth. Nova could see them biting into his bottom lip.
She turned toward Dane and his were equally as frightening.
    “Are you mates?” Winter demanded, lunging
forward and grabbing Dane by the front of his black shirt with both
fists. Dane wrapped his fists in Winter’s shirt, both men leaning
forward, their noses only inches apart. Winter turned his head
slightly, his eyes glowing amber. “Is he your mate?”
    Nova recoiled, stumbling back from the venom
of his words. She’d never seen him so angry. He wasn’t even that
angry when she’d confessed that she’d accepted a date with
Perry.
    “What do you care?” Dane goaded, tossing his
head to the side to clear his long hair out of his eyes. “You won’t
claim her.”
    “Dane!” Nova chastised, her warning going
unnoticed. “I know you hear me, Dane!” Even with his damaged ear,
she knew that he heard her from the teasing smirk on his face. She
also knew he was pushing Winter and ignoring her. The fool wanted a fight. Men!
    “Answer me,” Winter snarled, pushing the
Guardian backward. He dodged out of the way when Winter took a
swing, a wicked laugh leaving Dane’s lips.
    She didn’t know what to do. They were
probably going to kill each other. The touch was an accident and
she didn’t feel anything toward Dane. He was just a friend, but she
knew that Winter wouldn’t listen to anything she had to say in the
other Guardian’s defense.
    As she jumped off of the porch, both men
froze when she walked right up to them, separating them quickly
when she stood between them. They were both a good foot taller than
her, but Nova wasn’t surprised they separated so quickly. She knew
it was because of their aversion to touching females. Her chest
hurt when she realized Winter had moved back the furthest, but then
shifted to the side so he had a direct path to Dane.
    A warning growl rose from their throats. She
paused for a second when she got a good