Wolf Tales V by Kate Douglas Read Free Book Online

she’d heard from Xandi, though she obviously couldn’t tell him how. Tucked her own cell phone into a fanny pack.
    Keisha took a deep breath. Damn, if only Anton were here! He’d know if she were doing the right thing. It was risky, but her senses were sharper as a wolf, her legs faster, endurance and strength multiplied. The fog would help hide her, but the risk of discovery was great.
    Xandi’s life depended on Keisha. She had no other choice. Keisha could do things as a wolf she could never accomplish in human form.
    She stripped her clothes from her body. Naked, pack slung about her neck, Keisha slipped out the back door, checked to make sure no one was watching and shifted.
    Within seconds, a wolf leapt the back fence, raised her head to sniff the smells of the city and, with the small black pack hanging loosely around her neck, raced in the direction of the mental touch she’d felt just moments ago.

 
     
     
    Chapter Seven
     
    Xandi blinked against the darkness, praying her blindfold would slip, wishing she could see something, anything that would lead Keisha to her. She’d lost track of the time. Every moment Keisha searched as Chanku put the entire pack at risk of discovery.
    She rubbed her face against her shoulder but couldn’t reach the blindfold, tugged at what felt like handcuffs holding her wrists but only succeeded in making her wrists bleed. If she could be sure she was alone, Xandi knew she’d risk shifting. It would be so easy to free herself.
    No luck. I can’t move the blindfold. Keisha? What if you link, the way we used to do during sex? Then you’ll see what I see… if I ever see anything !
    You’re too far away for a complete link. I’m on Nineteenth, heading toward the Golden Gate… I’m planning to cut through the park. Your mental signal is growing stronger. Keep feeding me anything you sense .
    Xandi opened her mind, absorbed the sounds and scents around her. She drew on her Chanku heritage without shifting, delving deeper into her basic wolven instincts.
    Fear hovered just beyond. She refused to acknowledge its presence.
    The scents grew stronger, the sound of water lapping nearby, the roar of cars overhead.
    Overhead?
    Keisha? Is there any place under a bridge or overpass where he might have me? I smell fish and hear water, but I also hear lots of cars going overhead .
    Fort Point !
    What ?
    Fort Point. It’s just at the foot of the bridge, an old military base. I’m not that far away and the signal is stronger in that direction. Hang on .
    Xandi sensed his presence even before she heard the door squeal on its hinges. Her body tensed. He’s here. In the room .
    So am I. Not physically, not yet. But I’m getting closer .
    Xandi almost sagged with relief when she felt Keisha enter her mind. Instead, she sat straighter in the hard-backed chair and took a deep, calming breath.
    “Who are you? Why are you keeping me here?”
    She sensed movement, felt the brush of fingertips along her cheek and immediately recoiled. Her heart pounded beneath her ribs.
    “Who are you?” It was all she could do not to scream. Heart pounding in her chest, breath rasping in her throat, Xandi forced herself to find a calm she didn’t feel.
    It’s Burns. I can feel him. But what the hell is he trying to prove ? Keisha’s soft mental voice tinged with her usual steel helped calm Xandi’s racing heart.
    She felt the man’s presence, stronger, closer. His lips brushed against her ear and he whispered softly, “Why haven’t you shifted? I know you’re one of them. Shift. That’s all you have to do. Turn into a wolf for me and I’ll let you go.”
    “You’re crazy.” Xandi practically spat the words.
    Quiet laughter echoed in the room. “Ah, no crazier than your friend. That little black girl’s hiding a secret that’s going to make me rich. No, I’m no crazier than your friend… or her mother. The bitch!”
    Did you hear him? Keisha, could your mother shift ? Xandi turned and faced the