Free Wolf Tales Interlude: The Gift by Kate Douglas Page A

formed a hard crust, enough to support their weight as they raced across the frozen meadow. Stefan quickly took the lead but Keisha followed closely behind, to the right of his flank.
    He ran hard, leaping fallen logs, skimming along the icy surface of creeks and bogs, his mouth wide, tongue lolling, ears sleeked back against his skull. Without warning, Keisha nipped his flank and sped past, her eyes bright and tail streaming out behind.
    She hit the surface of an old mill pond where the ice was thick and the surface broad. Stefan ran directly into her, bowled her over so that she slid on her back across the ice before scrambling to her feet.
    She rushed him, eyes gleaming, jaws wide, ducked her head as she reached his belly, dipped her snout under his chest and flipped him expertly over on his back.
    Stefan landed hard, slid into a snow bank and came up with his face covered in ice crystals. Snorting, he shook his head.
    Keisha stood about ten feet away, feet spread wide and planted firmly. Gotcha! Don’t ever mess with the Alpha bitch !
    Alpha bitch! You still pulling that crap ? He heard her laughter in his mind as he jumped, covering the distance between them in a single leap and bowling her over before she could react.
    The impact took both of them halfway across the pond. A tangle of gaunt willows against the bank stopped their slide. A huge drift of snow cascaded over their heads.
    You okay ? He heard Keisha wheezing for breath. He scrambled out from under the snow, shifting to his human form as he moved. The cold hit him like a fist, but he reached into the drift and pulled the wolf free.
    She shifted, laughing so hard he realized at once the wheezing hadn’t been a problem at all.
    Naked as he was, she wrapped her arms around her slim body and shivered.
    “Shit. I’m freezing.” Keisha shook her tangled hair and snowflakes cascaded all around. “Let’s get back. It’s really cold tonight.”
    They shifted together. The run back to the house was more leisurely, the sense of family stronger than ever. Keisha seemed to relax and really enjoy herself.
    Still, Stefan felt the barrier, the sense of secrets Keisha couldn’t -- or wouldn’t -- share. He was still wondering how he could help when they finally reached the house, gathered their clothing and went inside to shower.

 
     
     
    Chapter Two
     
    “Why are you so quiet?” Stefan paused as he cleared the dishes from the table. “Didn’t you enjoy dinner? Oliver outdid himself.”
    Keisha blinked, caught dreaming. “Oh… I’m sorry. Dinner was excellent.”
    Stefan held the plates out of sight. “What did we have?”
    “What?” Oh lordy, what had she just eaten? She blinked. “For dinner? Uh… we had… I ate…” Keisha felt her skin heat, knew she was probably blushing. Caught, she slumped in her chair. “I don’t know. Sheesh, I feel really stupid.”
    “You’re worried about where you’re going to sleep tonight, aren’t you?”
    Did he have to look so damned smug? How could he know what she was thinking? Her blocks were tight, not a thought escaping. “I…”
    “With me, I hope, but you know you don’t have to and I won’t mind.”
    She took a deep breath. “I want to. Sleep with you, I mean. It’s not like we haven’t before.”
    “Yeah, but the others have always been nearby, or with us.”
    He set the dishes near the sink, walked back to the table and knelt beside her chair. It was so eerie looking into Stefan’s eyes… eyes exactly like Anton’s. He seemed to be weighing something when he took her hand in his, turned it and traced her lifeline with his fingertip, following the dark crease along the lighter flesh of her palm.
    She felt each stroke all the way to her womb.
    It was such a sensual thing, the callused tip of his finger slowly, gently tracing that deeply etched line, back and forth, over and over. Mesmerized, she watched him while her pussy clenched and she felt the hot moisture gathering, readying