Wolf Tales V by Kate Douglas Read Free Book Online Page A

direction of the man’s voice. “What’s her mother got to do with this? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Oh, yes you do. You know what your friend is like. She’s a tease, just like her mother. A monster. A wolf in human form. I think you are, too.”
    I don’t know if my mother could shift or not. She died when I was little. Keep him talking. Get him to take the blindfold off if you can. The more I can see, the better my chance to get you out of there .
    “I don’t know anything about her mother. Keisha does not turn into a wolf. Are you nuts?” She shook her head and laughed. “Well, I guess that’s a given. Take this blindfold off of me. I know who you are, Mr. Burns.”
    Her head jerked back with the force of his backhanded slap. “Ah!” Xandi tasted blood, but at least he ripped the blindfold away.
    “You’re playing a dangerous game, bitch.” Burns stared down at her, his sallow face illuminated by the glow from a small flashlight clutched in his hand. “How come your friend hasn’t come to save you? I know you communicate. Is it telepathy? Do you read minds? Are you aliens? What the fuck are you?”
    Xandi ignored his question. She took in all she could of her dark surroundings, hoping Keisha would grasp the images.
    Burns set the flashlight down on a small table and walked around Xandi, trailing one finger along her collarbone, over her shoulder, across her back. The narrow beam of light sent a crazed pattern against the wall, over his fleshy hand. Xandi shuddered, aware even as she struggled to hold still that Keisha fought the same battle within her mind.
    Xandi stiffened her spine as Burns slipped his fingers beneath the neckline of her sweater. Where the hell are the police ?
    I left a message and I have my cell phone with me. Maybe the detective isn’t taking my calls .
    Not the time for humor, m’dear . Xandi turned to follow Burns as he circled her, his hands now trailing over her arm. “Why did you kidnap me?”
    “You really want to know? Might as well tell you, since it looks like your friend is taking longer than I expected.”
    He squatted down in front of Xandi. His eyes were surprisingly clear, not the crazed look of a madman. Xandi found his calm demeanor unsettling.
    “Her mother was a wolf. Yeah, you look at me like I’m nuts, but I saw her shift. We went to high school together. I worked on the school paper. It was late, the school was almost empty, and I imagine she thought she was alone. I was in the journalism room, putting the paper to bed when I saw her in the quad outside. Just standing there, sort of staring at the woods beyond the campus. I watched her…”
    He looked off in the distance, as if remembering. Xandi felt a shiver run down her spine.
    “She sort of shimmered, this cute little black girl. Damn, she was such a hot babe. She just… shimmered. Then there was a pile of clothes on the ground and a huge wolf standing over them. She turned and saw me. She snarled. Man, did that bitch have a mouthful of teeth! I slammed the window closed and locked the doors. When I looked back, she was gone, but I know she saw me.”
    Keisha? Did you hear him ?
    Yeah. I’ve got a bad feeling about this .
    “I watched her after that. Followed her for a long time without her knowing it. She got married. What a mistake. The guy was a gardener, a real loser, but she had a baby. I kept waiting and watching, but I never saw her shift again… not until years later.”
    Did Keisha know any of this? Xandi watched Burns as he rocked back on his heels. Though he looked directly at Xandi, she sensed his mind was somewhere else. Somewhere in the past. Keisha’s presence was a rolling tension in her mind.
    “One night, in Golden Gate Park, I spotted a wolf.” He laughed. The sound scraped across Xandi’s already raw nerves. “Like wolves were a regular occurrence in the park? I don’t think so. I followed it. It loped along without a care in the world, but right at