The Wolf Came on Christmas (Johanna and Alexander) novel Chapter 114

I followed Andre blindly, hearing him shout his father’s name and other words in Russian that made no sense to me. I must admit that I also followed a bit of the blood trail until he finally found the wolf-boy again.

There were tufts of fur everywhere, stained red and swirling softly in a light breeze. It was the scene of a fight I had not managed to witness in its entirety, but there was no doubt about what had happened. The claw marks on the tarps and on the fallen boards, smeared with blood, were patent proof of it. And the inert body of the lion, lying face down on the ground, arms twisted behind his back, tied with a thick rope stained red and with motor oil.

The damn bastard was still breathing, I realized. Still alive-badly wounded and probably unconscious-but still breathing.

A visceral rage flooded me like fire bursting in my stomach, and I wanted to grab one of those wooden planks and smash his head like a damn melon once and for all, but-

Andre was crawling beside an articulated saw.

He whimpered, backing away.

I heard furious growls, saw a second tail sticking out from behind a metal leg with shock absorbers, beneath the carriage of the debarking machine. I approached the boy and crouched at his level, afraid of seeing something horrible. Andre whimpered again and sought refuge in me, but his eyes remained fixed on the darkness beneath the carriage.

Another growl made the metal vibrate.

I thought about stepping back, but then I saw him.

He was tucked inside that rectangular space, licking the wound that had opened on his left forearm. At first I did not dare look him in the eyes for long-he was clearly possessed by a rage beyond my comprehension (and I thought I saw, as well, splinters of bone protruding through the matted red fur of his forearm; my stomach churned a little).

It was Alexander, hiding from the light like a beaten animal. In that state, he could be very dangerous. I realized, by the way he bared his teeth and his blood-stained muzzle as soon as he saw me, that part of him was not “among us.”

I felt fear immediately, knowing that if I tried something he might snap at me and perhaps tear my hand off. But it encouraged me to know that if he had had enough humanity not to kill the lion (as perhaps his instinct had asked, begged, and ordered him to do) and had captured him as had always been his initial plan, then I could bet a little that he would not

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hurt me.

“Alexander?” I called softly. “Can you hear me, Alexander?”

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Another growl was his only response, vibrating like the sound of the helicopter engine that could still be heard above us. Andre pressed my arm with his claws.

I crawled a little closer, still separated by about a meter and a little more.

“…Alexander, it’s Johanna. Why are you down there?” I said, daring to get closer, placing my hands and knees on the floor. Andre tried to stop me, but I didn’t listen. I leaned forward, my heart pounding at an astonishing speed. My hair fell over my shoulder and I moved it aside carefully so as not to startle Alexander with any abrupt gesture.

“Come on, your team has arrived with a helicopter and they’re going to get us all out of here. Your brother came-can you believe it? I’m sure it’s him. You have to come out of there.

Come with me.”

I don’t know if he understood those words, but he did threaten me with his teeth exposed.

He was so big he barely fit in that space. The blue shine of his eyes (or rather, of his only open eye) burned the soul-he was so furious and so hurt… he was trembling, I realized. He was not going to come out of there without help.

Gathering all the courage I had left, I dared to put my hand forward, ready to scream if he decided to bite me. But although he wrinkled his muzzle and growled again, he did not move.

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Chapter 114-2

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…Are you going to come out? We have to treat those wounds,” I managed to say, trying by every means not to touch that side of his face anymore-the size of the cut filled me with dread. “Come on, Alexander. Get out of there, it’s all over now. Please. Please, come with me.

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He brushed his whiskers against my palm one more moment, and reacted:

“…yes,” he agreed, his voice extremely thick and deep, with a sigh that seemed to deflate him almost completely. “Let’s get out of this place. It’s over.”

Hans’s son jumped quickly out of the pilot’s cabin and ran to help, with Mikhail, when he saw us coming out through the opening of the internal staircase. The German wolf did not seem as badly off as his companions and bore Alexander’s weight quite willingly when he allowed himself to use his teammate’s shoulders as support.

I stayed behind, with Ishida, because I could do nothing else. It was all over.

I hugged myself as I watched them climb into the helicopter, with the utmost care. Andre did not let go of his father’s tail for a single moment, because he carried his broken arm tucked against his chest and could not hold his hand.

Nor did I see Alexander acknowledge his brother at any moment. Perhaps he was not yet in his right mind enough to recognize him.

Mikhail climbed up first, and then it was the others’ turn. Although the spotlights obscured much, I thought I saw Richie in the back, speaking very agitatedly with someone. Were there more people in the helicopter?

I still could not explain how Alexander’s brother had arrived there. Who would have warned him of the situation? Was Rex’s suspicion correct-had Hans contacted the ruling family? To me, what I was seeing was evidence of that. I could imagine no other explanation.

Luke appeared again, climbing quickly up the external ladder. He had shed his semi-animal form and wore only a fluorescent orange windbreaker over his bare torso (I was struck by the small wounds on his human face), but he carried a bundle in his arms, wrapped in a light blue blanket.

My pulse quickened again when I recognized Sasha, and I ran toward him. Ishida joined us when the sheriff handed me the little girl, who was crying at the top of her lungs, and I embraced her in tears, one last time.

The Hattai stood beside me to receive her and take her home.

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