Wolf Tales 11 Read Online Free PDF Page B

Jazzy … Keisha sighed as she thought of the young doctor and his mate. They would be flying to San Francisco, too. Adam had offered, but if Lisa and Tala ended up in a hospital, a certified physician would have a better chance of getting access to them for care.
    If it came to that. Keisha’s feet pounded the frozen snow and the wolf behind her kept a steady pace just off her left flank. If only she could lose her thoughts to the feral world of the wolf! It was not to be today, not with her worries about Anton paramount in her mind, drowning out the beast. Though she would love to run forever, run fast enough and far enough to leave all their troubles behind, there was no time. Not if she wanted to make this run through the forest truly count.
    She dipped and spun to the right, slipping between frozen branches, finding a trail barely wide enough for one wolf to pass, yet she hardly broke stride, turning and twisting along the narrow path, with Anton following close behind.
    She didn’t want to exhaust him, but she knew he needed this run, the chance to leave the world of men behind and bond more tightly with the feral instincts resting so close beneath his terribly civilized human skin.
    He would need contact with his wolven self more than he’d ever needed it before. Somehow, even when he shifted, she hoped he’d hold on to the powerful instinct that allowed the wolf to kill without remorse, to use whatever tools he had to protect the pack.
    There was no doubt in Keisha’s mind that they might be called on to take lives tonight. But it would not be the life of the president that was at risk, nor would it be the innocent females and their unborn young. No, the ones who had set this terrible plan in motion might need to die.
    Keisha had no problem with killing to protect those she loved, those she honored and respected.
    Her mate, though, often allowed his human consciencetoo much free rein. He’d weigh the options, consider all the possibilities, often taking the greatest risk himself in order to keep others safe. Not this time. The risk was too great.
    Somehow, they had to end this constant threat to their beloved packmates, to their children, to themselves. If killing was justified, if it was the only choice he could make, Anton needed the strength to make it. The support of his pack, and most of all, the support of his mate.
    Bursting into a small, frozen meadow, Keisha twisted about and planted her front feet hard against the ground. She lowered her head and snarled, challenging Anton, daring him to take her.
    He skidded to a halt, teeth bared, hackles raised. Searching his mind, she found only the wolf, his thoughts as pure and basic as the frozen world around them.
    Mate. Conquer. Control. Dominate.
    If she’d been in her human form, Keisha would have laughed. She’d not taken him to this bestial level for far too long. They’d been so caught up in Lily’s amazing growth, in the dynamics of everyday life within the diverse personalities of their pack, that this side of their lives had often been put aside, this need to run as the wolf, to hunt, to howl at the moon, to mate beneath a frozen sky.
    Anton snarled again. His amber eyes shimmered and his bared teeth glistened beneath the curl of his lips. Dark whiskers quivered along his muzzle. Tiny drops of condensation sparkled on a couple of the stiff hairs. Keisha yipped, and then she bowed her head, turning and showing her throat as she deferred to his superior size and strength.
    Suddenly he lunged at her, nipping unexpectedly at the thick fur protecting her throat and rolling her over into the snow. She scrambled to her feet, shocked and surprised by his attack. What the hell was he doing? Anton was never violent with her. Shaking her head, Keisha backed away.His behavior left her confused, even afraid. She’d not expected such overt aggression, not from her mate, but he charged again, snarling and growling now, and she yipped in surprise. Frantically she