Wolf Tales IV by Kate Douglas Page A

surprise, he controlled his rage.
    Instead of the wolf she feared, it was a very angry human watching the reporter gasp and squirm, his feet dangling six inches off the floor, his face turning purple from the choke hold Anton continued to tighten.
    “You will not write about the wolf. The wolf does not exist. If you persist, you will die. It’s a simple choice to make, Mr. Burns.”
    Burns’ eyes bugged out, his hands scrabbled at Anton’s muscular wrist, and his feet scraped at the wall. Keisha held her breath, wondering how far Anton would take this, knowing full well she couldn’t let him kill the reporter, no matter what she had promised Anton, no matter how great a threat he posed to all Chanku .
    Suddenly Anton took a deep breath and released his hold on Burns. Gasping for breath, the man slid to the floor. When Anton leaned over and grabbed his hand to pull him to his feet, Burns appeared transfixed for a brief moment.
    Then he was shaking his head, absentmindedly rubbing his throat before straightening his coat, apologizing for his clumsiness in tripping over the carpet.
    Keisha wasn’t certain how Anton managed it, but he had Carl nodding and smiling as if nothing at all had happened in the entryway of her home. The reporter pulled out his notepad and jotted down information, even grabbed his camera for a quick photo of her drawings in the upstairs studio. He took a picture of Keisha as well, standing beside her greenhouse.
    She almost laughed when he had her hold some of the very grasses that helped her become the wolf. Anton stood behind the idiot, his canines practically clicking in frustration. Keisha sensed the fury simmering just beneath the surface of Anton’s civilized behavior.
    Burns left a few minutes later, obviously unaware how close to death he’d come. The minute he was gone, Keisha grabbed Anton by the back of the shirt and spun him around. “Would you mind explaining to me what just happened? You practically strangle the man, then he acts like it’s all his fault and we’re his new best friends. What the hell is going on?”
    “Why, Mr. Burns merely stumbled in the entryway before he interviewed you about your memorial garden.”
    His smile was innocence personified, but the effect was ruined by the snarl in his voice.
    “That’s not exactly why he was here. How come he totally ignored the fact you tried to kill him?”
    “If I’d tried to kill him, he would be dead.”
    “That’s not the point and you know it. Why didn’t he ask about the wolf?”
    “Merely an implanted suggestion, m’dear. A form of hypnotism, if you will.”
    “What?” she practically shrieked, took a deep breath and tried again. “You’re saying you used mind control? How?”
    His look was pure Anton , all testosterone-driven male, proud of himself and his ability to protect his mate.
    Keisha growled.
    Anton took a deep breath and answered. “You forget. Before I was a wolf, or before I knew I was a wolf, I was a very powerful wizard. Those skills are inbred in me, partly learned from many years of study. I merely convinced Mr. Burns that a story about your lovely memorial garden in Golden Gate Park was the entire reason he’d been trying to reach you. And you, my lovely lady, have been terribly elusive because you’re very shy by nature.”
    “Yeah. Right. Shy.” She snorted.
    “Not very ladylike, however.”
    “Will he ever remember? Will he come back?”
    Anton nodded, kissed the end of her nose. “He’s going to find his notes, references to you as a wolf. He doesn’t have photos, or he would have used them to blackmail you. I imagine, however, that he has a lot of information in his files. It may confuse him at first, but eventually he’ll remember. Hopefully by then we’ll be long gone.”
    “What about the bruises on his throat?”
    “I’ll let him wonder about them.” Anton looked away for a moment, the fury radiating from his elegant frame almost palpable. He took a deep breath and