The Wolf Came on Christmas (Johanna and Alexander) novel Chapter 53

Chapter 53-1

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“…Alright, yes. That’s what I’m afraid of-that the cats will jump the patrol and come straight here, thinking we’ll be more vulnerable. I don’t want to take any more risks. Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Your arm, I mean. I’d like to check those bandages,” he said, and his voice truly sounded worried.

“I’m fine, I already told you. Really. Hans helped me, he was very kind.”

“Alright.”

At last he let go of my elbow and brought his hand to his lower back. He hesitated-I could tell. He didn’t quite know what to do next, or rather, he didn’t quite know what to do with me. Then he showed me the gun he had hidden in the waistband of his jeans, the one Rex had left him. I shuddered when I saw it, and my first reaction was to protect the baby’s head with one

hand.

He offered me the grip of the pistol.

“I want you to have it. Please,” he asked seriously.

“What? Alexander, Rex gave you that weapon so that-”

“So that I could protect myself and my children. And you know how to use it, from what you told me. Considering you can’t turn into a creature three times stronger, nor do you have fangs or claws to defend yourself, or skin that’s hard to pierce with sharp objects, I think this gun will be more useful to you than to me. You’ll never use it if I can help it, but I’ll feel calmer if you have it.”

”

He might have been right, but I didn’t feel ready to take it.

“…That’s the same thing Rex told you. That he’d feel calmer if you had it.”

“Johanna, please.”

“It’s dangerous to have a gun near the children,” I insisted stubbornly.

It wasn’t a lie-but it was still a weak defense.

“I trust you won’t leave it where Andre can get it. And you may think it’s an exaggeration to give it to you, but just in case… indulge me, will you? I think you and I already understand each other well enough to take on this kind of responsibility. Will you do it?”

He tilted his head slightly to one side. I couldn’t help picturing a puppy begging. A more grown-up version of Andre, pleading with me with his eyes. Those eyes had something-I had

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Chapter 53-1

already learned that. Damn him. Why was he doing this?

Or rather-why was I doing this to myself?

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I sighed and looked grumpily at the hallway carpet, embarrassed. Alexander was much better than Puss in Boots at appealing to people’s sensitivity or obedience with a look. That sky-blue, slightly dark but crystalline and luminous gaze was disarming. Manipulative. Sasha stared at him with fascination, which distracted me for a moment, but I wasn’t going to cave just like that. After sighing lazily, the next thing I did was obviously to snort:

“…I was thinking of giving Sasha a bath.”

I held out my hand for the gun. He handed it over with something close to a triumphant

smile.

Of course, I thought about putting it away right away. But part of me wanted to keep it on me -it was extra protection, just as he said-although it seemed a little illogical that anything would happen to me while I stayed inside the house and they had everything under

surveillance.

Ishida said it, didn’t he? No one could approach on foot.

Right. Let’s pay attention. No one could approach walking…

“That sounds good,” Alexander agreed, smiling and barely showing his fangs. “And Andre can go with you. He really likes bathing his sister.”

“…I see,” I grumbled, uncomfortable.

I adjusted Sasha in my arms and took the gun the way it’s supposed to be held.

Mentally, I tried to remember step by step how to use it properly, with the idea of taking off the safety as first priority. Alexander seemed satisfied with how I handled it and went downstairs, just as Ishida came up carrying some coiled cables on his left arm and a pair of pliers along with other small tools.

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Chapter 53-2

“I imagine. She’s a little princess, isn’t she? Aren’t you a little princess?”

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I smiled at Sasha, and she looked at me with those big blue eyes, her little mouth open in expectation.

chest

She was so beautiful-please! I wanted to take a picture of her! I can’t describe the tenderness she stirred in me when I saw her so happy, or the warmth that rose in my when she looked at me like that with those sweet little eyes. Anyone would grow attached to a creature that precious. Andre was no exception. I felt deeply proud to think that I mattered to those children, in some way.

It was also important not to let that feeling go to my head.

I finished bathing the baby and pulled the shower curtain aside a bit to reach the warm towel I had placed on the radiator earlier. Then, when I distractedly glanced at the pile of clean towels and baby clothes I had left on the toilet lid, I realized we were missing something

vital.

“Oh, Andre… I forgot your sister’s diapers. There’s a package in my bedroom-could you go get it?” I asked with a gentle smile. “They’re in the dresser, the second drawer. Can you tell

which one it is?”

The boy nodded and ran off, dissolving into the white steam of the bathroom. He left the door half open as he went into the hallway, so the cloud of steam began to dissipate. I hurried to lift Sasha out of the water and wrap her well in the warm towel so she wouldn’t catch cold, and I sat for a moment on the edge of the tub behind the curtain. I placed the little one on my lap to dry her. She laughed again-maybe my fingers were tickling her.

But suddenly Sasha stopped laughing while I was doing that.

At that moment, I had no idea what had happened or why she was staring toward the curtain with such anxiety-but I should have trusted that little creature’s instincts more, instead of drooling over how pretty she was. I followed her gaze and dared to kiss her cheek. I couldn’t resist. She made me want to hug her, tickle her, and play with her so badly…

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