The Wolf Came on Christmas (Johanna and Alexander) novel Chapter 46

Chapter 46-1

+25 Points

You truly never realize how oppressive the silence that follows bad news is until you can feel it in your own flesh. And what I always feel after bad news is an indescribable cold.

That disturbing stillness that followed what Rex said was horrible.

But it must have been worse for Alexander-my figure.

I brought my hand to my mouth, and immediately felt my heart drop into my stomach. She was dead. Alexander’s wife, the children’s mother-Anya-was dead. My throat tightened and for some reason my eyes started to sting badly, but it must have been from the brutal shock of the moment; or maybe because Sasha was playing with a lock of my hair, tickling my neck. My whole back burned when I became aware again that I was still holding the baby in my arms. It comforted me a little on her behalf to realize she would never remember those terrible, final words.

For several seconds, the only thing there was was the broken, metallic sound of the storm happening where Rex was, over in Alaska, and a tension you could feel on the surface of your

skin.

I barely peeked my head around the edge of the wooden panel.

They were all standing, tense. Although none of them dared approach Alexander-who was in the middle of the living room and still had his back to me (conveniently, perhaps)-I could feel an inexplicable force binding them together, a collective feeling of grief and terror transmitted through their postures. The black wolf lowered his ears and tucked his tail between his legs, and his sky-blue eyes, usually lively and cheerful, were fixed respectfully on the floor. Hans and Christian glanced at each other, as if they didn’t know what to do or say. Nika tried to reach her hand toward Alexander, maybe to touch his shoulder, but the impulse died halfway and she chose to stay firm where she was, with that hard, professional air.

The one who worried me the most, however, showed nothing.

I didn’t even notice tension in his shoulders or a tremor in his fists-nothing. And yet, I didn’t need to see Alexander to know what his expression was, or to imagine what he must have been feeling. I could picture his hard, absent face, judging by the stunned and defeated looks

of the others.

He was keeping up appearances for them, probably.

I felt very close to him in that moment. Because going blank was exactly what I had done when my mother told me Paul had died. I said nothing. And of course there were feelings and sensations-but they were all too strong and too close together, and my mind collapsed and

1/2

<Chapter 46-1

stayed that way until I stopped feeling.

Had Alexander collapsed, in his own silent, peaceful way?

Rex didn’t bother asking if anyone had heard him.

“…I’m sorry, Lai. I’m so sorry,” he said instead.

“Where is she?” Alexander’s voice asked, calm.

+25 Points

“…buried behind your house. About a hundred meters into the woods. There are no signs of forced entry or blood in the residence, and I couldn’t find a single footprint that wasn’t yours, your children’s, or hers. Nothing happened inside. But it’s been snowing heavily around here lately-the police would never find the body.”

“How did she die?”

That time Rex hesitated again, but answered as requested.

“Well… it’s not nice to explain.” He began, then continued after a short throat-clearing. “He… he slit her throat. Four transverse lacerations. I recognize the ‘handwriting’-the length and diameter of the wounds suggest-”

“Retractable claws,” Alexander finished the sentence for him, with a growl. “I knew it. At least

the damn bastard had the decency to bury her. Alright, Rex-clean things up there and come back to Wyoming as soon as possible. You know what to do. Good work.”

My mouth went dry with shock. Was that it? Wasn’t he going to ask that-? And was he really planning to leave his wife’s body in the forest, without giving her a proper burial?

Comments

LUCK DRAW >

528

“Apart from the fact that people here don’t like strangers… since I couldn’t use the badge to ask for information, I had to improvise; but I think I discovered something quite disturbing.” This time it was Rex who growled. “It seems that a few days before this happened, your wife met with a man at the diner downtown-the one next to the gas station. You know which one, right?”

Alexander clenched his fists. And the way his arms trembled…

“Yes,” he answered. “Anya went every morning, before school.”

1/2

< Chapter 46-2

+25 Points

“The shopkeeper saw her at least three times talking to a stranger who, according to him, said he was a substitute teacher at the high school. Guess what? The school hasn’t hired a substitute teacher in several months. The shopkeeper mentioned something else: he remembers the guy very well because he had a very noticeable scar on his face-two slanted cuts over the left eye.”

Everyone’s reaction-except Alexander’s-was to straighten up even more, alert. At first I didn’t quite understand the point or what had impressed them so much.

“…I see where you’re going, but the panther that attacked me didn’t have facial scars. Are you suggesting there’s a third one?” Alexander commented cautiously.

“Wait-third? What third?”

“Yesterday morning I was attacked by a white tiger at the front door of this very house. Richie found the trail of a second feline and we’ve already confirmed it’s the panther that ambushed me in Anchorage. They’ve found me-I don’t doubt it,” Alexander explained, annoyed. “But neither the panther nor this tiger had scars on their faces. Can you confirm whether that scarred guy is another cat?”

“…that’s what I was getting at. I didn’t find tracks or signs of violence in the house, but it reeked of a couple of cats. They slept on your couches for a few hours, and they ate everything in your pantry. I’m not saying this John Doe with scars is also a feline-but it would be a major oversight not to consider it.”

“Third son,” Alexander interjected firmly. “There have to be three.”

At that moment I didn’t understand why Alexander so quickly concluded that the scarred man might be a third feline. Something was escaping me. He and his companions-or maybe just he-knew something I didn’t…

1