Wolf Tales 11 Read Online Free
Author: Kate Douglas
close. She felt his heart racing, sensed the subtle opening of his mind to hers, as if a dark cloud slowly faded away and allowed the light to pass.
But there was no light in this knowledge. Keisha gasped. “All three of them? Even Tia? But what of her babies? And Tala and Lisa? They’re both so close to their due dates. I don’t understand. Who? Why?”
Anton shook his head. “Tia’s little ones are safe with Nick and Beth. As far as who and why? We have an idea—a good idea, but it’s one that makes me sick inside.” He sighed and very softly kissed her cheek. “It appears I need to make a call. I’ve been searching for another way to help—our low profile is the most important thing we’ve got to keep us safe, but there’s no way around it. I have to share the knowledge of our existence and hope it goes no further than this one man, but it’s the only hope we have if we’re to prevent a terrible tragedy.” He chuckled. “At least I think the man’s trustworthy.”
He wrapped an arm about Keisha’s waist and held her close as he bent down and reached for a small panel in theside of his desk, one hidden beside his right leg. Keisha felt her own heart race to match the pace of Anton’s. She’d known the panel existed—even knowledge as closely guarded as this was shared in the mating bond—but she’d never known Anton to release the secret catch, nor to remove the small box contained within.
He took what appeared to be a slim cell phone out of the box, plugged in a power cord, and attached it to a strip on the underside of his desk. There were no numbers on the phone—nothing more than a series of buttons across the top.
He pressed the red one and held the phone to his ear. Keisha heard it ring twice. A man answered. His voice was familiar, one she’d heard often on the nightly news. She’d even seen him once, in person at a distance, when she and Anton had attended an event in Washington, DC, many months ago.
Wind buffeted their sturdy home, yet even above the roar Keisha caught the sound of her daughter’s restless cry. She slipped off of Anton’s lap and headed for the door. As she closed it softly behind her, she heard her mate’s deep and steady voice.
“Yes, Mr. President,” he said. “My name is Anton Cheval. I had hoped never to have to call this number.”
Chapter 2
Perfume filled the air, cloying and thick. Tia’s first thought was that it was a good thing she was in the bathroom, because she really felt as if she had to throw up right now, and that sickening sweet smell wasn’t helping her roiling stomach.
She blinked and the walls so close around her spun and shifted in and out of her blurred vision. The nausea went from bad to worse, but she was on the floor beside the toilet, thank goodness, and it was fairly easy to lean over the porcelain bowl and vomit the acidic contents of her stomach.
Oh, Goddess!
The pain was overwhelming. She cried out and pressed her hands to her belly. Forcing herself not to whimper, she took a few deep, calming breaths.
The nausea passed, but not the pain. Tia reached overhead, grabbed toilet tissue from the dispenser, and wiped her face. Then she blinked stupidly at the sticky tissue, confused by the crimson stains on the paper. She hadn’t vomited blood. No, there’d been nothing but bile, so obviously she hadn’t eaten in a while, but there was blood everywhere.
Her hands were covered. She must have smeared itacross her face. Blood was all over the toilet seat where she’d held on when she puked. Her jeans were soaked, as was the lower half of her shirt. Thank Goddess the pain had receded just a bit. Now it was a manageable throb in her lower right side, the same place that seemed to be the source of the coagulating blood.
Forcing herself to think, Tia leaned her head back against the metal wall and tried to remember how she’d gotten here. Then she realized she had no idea where
here
actually was. She studied her surroundings
But there was no light in this knowledge. Keisha gasped. “All three of them? Even Tia? But what of her babies? And Tala and Lisa? They’re both so close to their due dates. I don’t understand. Who? Why?”
Anton shook his head. “Tia’s little ones are safe with Nick and Beth. As far as who and why? We have an idea—a good idea, but it’s one that makes me sick inside.” He sighed and very softly kissed her cheek. “It appears I need to make a call. I’ve been searching for another way to help—our low profile is the most important thing we’ve got to keep us safe, but there’s no way around it. I have to share the knowledge of our existence and hope it goes no further than this one man, but it’s the only hope we have if we’re to prevent a terrible tragedy.” He chuckled. “At least I think the man’s trustworthy.”
He wrapped an arm about Keisha’s waist and held her close as he bent down and reached for a small panel in theside of his desk, one hidden beside his right leg. Keisha felt her own heart race to match the pace of Anton’s. She’d known the panel existed—even knowledge as closely guarded as this was shared in the mating bond—but she’d never known Anton to release the secret catch, nor to remove the small box contained within.
He took what appeared to be a slim cell phone out of the box, plugged in a power cord, and attached it to a strip on the underside of his desk. There were no numbers on the phone—nothing more than a series of buttons across the top.
He pressed the red one and held the phone to his ear. Keisha heard it ring twice. A man answered. His voice was familiar, one she’d heard often on the nightly news. She’d even seen him once, in person at a distance, when she and Anton had attended an event in Washington, DC, many months ago.
Wind buffeted their sturdy home, yet even above the roar Keisha caught the sound of her daughter’s restless cry. She slipped off of Anton’s lap and headed for the door. As she closed it softly behind her, she heard her mate’s deep and steady voice.
“Yes, Mr. President,” he said. “My name is Anton Cheval. I had hoped never to have to call this number.”
Chapter 2
Perfume filled the air, cloying and thick. Tia’s first thought was that it was a good thing she was in the bathroom, because she really felt as if she had to throw up right now, and that sickening sweet smell wasn’t helping her roiling stomach.
She blinked and the walls so close around her spun and shifted in and out of her blurred vision. The nausea went from bad to worse, but she was on the floor beside the toilet, thank goodness, and it was fairly easy to lean over the porcelain bowl and vomit the acidic contents of her stomach.
Oh, Goddess!
The pain was overwhelming. She cried out and pressed her hands to her belly. Forcing herself not to whimper, she took a few deep, calming breaths.
The nausea passed, but not the pain. Tia reached overhead, grabbed toilet tissue from the dispenser, and wiped her face. Then she blinked stupidly at the sticky tissue, confused by the crimson stains on the paper. She hadn’t vomited blood. No, there’d been nothing but bile, so obviously she hadn’t eaten in a while, but there was blood everywhere.
Her hands were covered. She must have smeared itacross her face. Blood was all over the toilet seat where she’d held on when she puked. Her jeans were soaked, as was the lower half of her shirt. Thank Goddess the pain had receded just a bit. Now it was a manageable throb in her lower right side, the same place that seemed to be the source of the coagulating blood.
Forcing herself to think, Tia leaned her head back against the metal wall and tried to remember how she’d gotten here. Then she realized she had no idea where
here
actually was. She studied her surroundings
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