Free Wolf Tales 11 by Kate Douglas

she’d ever seen him wearing shoes before. Generally he kept to his puma form when he was outdoors. As far as she knew, he only appeared as a man when he joined Adam and Liana in their bed, or showed up on occasion with the rest of the pack for breakfast.
    He’d taken human form for the first time just a couple of weeks before. Keisha was still getting used to his androgynous beauty. Definitely of Native American blood, he would have been considered beautiful as either a man or a woman, but there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Igmutaka was all male.
    She’d never forget the first morning he’d appeared in the kitchen for breakfast. He’d been badly injured in his cougar form, but Liana had found and healed him. He’d hung around to thank her, but he’d done it as a man.
    He’d fit right into the pack, and Keisha knew it hadn’t taken long for him to share Liana and Adam’s bed. She wondered how the spirit guide felt about the two of them bonding as mates. Would he feel left out of the relationship? Or would he continue on as their sometimes lover, spending more time in his animal form than human?
    No matter. That was something for Adam, Liana, and Igmutaka to work out on their own.
    Anton stopped beside the car. Keisha thought he looked as if he was trying really hard not to laugh. “Going somewhere, Igmutaka?”
    The spirit guide nodded. “With you.” He held up a small travel bag.
    Anton shot a quick glance at Keisha, then shook his head. “It’s a four-passenger plane. All I could get on such short notice. Room for payload, but not extra passengers. Logan and Jazzy have the other seats.”
    Igmutaka bowed his head. “Then I will be payload. I will travel as the cat and shift when we arrive. I must go with you.”
    Anton nodded. “Okay. We can do that. What do you know? Have you been in contact with the little one?”
    Igmutaka let out a deep breath. “In a way. Not true speech as you would understand. I sense danger. I know the baby is aware her mother is frightened. Tala is a woman of honor and she carries a child I must protect. You will take me to her.”
    “That’s all we need to know. You’re welcome to come with us, but you’ll need to wear a collar and a leash so you don’t scare the crap out of the pilot.” He chuckled. “A loose cougar on board might be a bit much for the poor guy. If you’re ready, let’s go. You can shift in the car.”
    Anton gazed at the house, in the direction of Logan’s clinic on the second floor. After a moment, he nodded. “I’ve asked Logan to bring an extra bag for your clothes and boots, along with a leash and collar. The collar’s designed to break away should you need to shift in a hurry. It’s for looks, not restraint, the same kind the Pack Dynamics wolves wear.”
    Igmutaka nodded and climbed into the seat at the very back. Anton sat beside him. Jazzy and Logan came out of the house a minute later and handed over the leash, collar, and extra travel bag. Logan rode shotgun, Jazzy sat in the middle seat beside Keisha. Once they were settled, Adam drove away from the house and headed for town.
    It was a quiet ride to the airport in Kalispell. When they arrived, Anton climbed out of the back with a large puma on the end of a leash and extra bags thrown over his shoulder.
    He shook Adam’s hand. Whatever passed between the men remained private. There were some things Keisha realized she really didn’t want to know.
    Keisha tightened her seat belt and tried to relax in the small jet Anton had chartered for the flight. He’d never replaced the one that had crashed on the way to Tia and Luc’s wedding, and Keisha wondered if she’d ever enjoy flying again.
    Anton sat across from her. Jazzy and Logan were in the seats behind them, and Igmutaka sprawled in the narrow aisle between the seats. Considering the fact he’d never been in an airplane before, he seemed terribly calm, but then he’d been alive for thousands of years. Maybe he’d just