The Wolf Came on Christmas (Johanna and Alexander) novel Chapter 70

Chapter 70-1

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But the fact that he hadn’t given it much importance didn’t change that he could have done something more at that moment.

Alexander lifted his free hand and stopped his daughter, who, asleep as she was, had already begun to slide over his stomach and was on her way to falling from his lap. He caught her in time and adjusted her better, without waking her.

He lowered his voice slightly before continuing:

“I couldn’t put the pieces together until I was attacked,” he confessed. “I didn’t expect it. He led the panther to me, but I still don’t understand why. I truly don’t. Now that I know they were work partners, it’s obvious it was a plan between the two of them… they were playing with me. They knew I was alone, that there were no others like me in the area. I didn’t think about that until I had the chance to sit down and rest, a couple of days later. The only thing occupying my thoughts after the attack was protecting the children and escaping. As far as I could, wherever I could reach. And not asking for help until I truly couldn’t anymore.”

No one said anything for a moment again, until a growling voice rang out:

“Is that everything?” Hans said irritably. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you should tell us?”

“That’s everything, truly. I know I was wrong. That’s not hard to see.”

This time Alexander looked at him with some irritation, and the doctor lifted his chin in response, until the expression in his eyes changed. It showed on his face that he didn’t know whether to continue his diatribe or stop right there. The fierceness of the “alpha” was probably holding him back. Nika looked somewhat distressed, as did Richie. Ishida remained serious, but not impassive (you only had to see how his hands trembled where they rested on the hilts of those swords), and Chris was very surprised, motionless.

Andre was still looking at his father as if he couldn’t believe what he had just said.

Again, I felt very sorry for the boy. He didn’t deserve to suffer like this. That truth was hard for him. I can’t help thinking what kind of consequences these events would have on his life. On my life. On everyone’s lives.

“Well,” Luke said, pulling us out of our absorption, “you made it far and with your children safe. That deserves a lot of respect. And it’s clear that at least you fought with awareness.

It’s not easy to survive four sets of claws at once.”

“I didn’t know there were four. Who’s the other one?”

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“An oriental, probably Nepalese or Mongolian. From that I deduce he might be a snow leopard, but I can’t be sure. He’s a natural hunter, like the panther,” the sheriff explained, and sighed deeply before continuing. “All right, this is what you have to do…”

“Who said we’re going to follow your orders?” Hans growled, looking at Luke with disdain.

Kaylee was the one who answered him, with a severe, dignified look in her green eyes:

“Because we can help. You can accept our suggestion or discard it, you can think it comes from the county sheriff or from a cat you hate so much,” she replied in a firm, measured tone that made me feel very proud to be a woman. “It’s up to you. But if these subjects are dangerous, what they do might not end here. And there are many people who have nothing to do with you who could be harmed. People who know NOTHING.”

“She’s right,” I ventured to add. Kaylee looked at me then and smiled knowingly. I tried not to smile back and continued. “What if they’re criminals wanted by the police? What if they’re murderers, or something like that?”

“They don’t have criminal records. I’ve checked. But most likely they don’t because they’ve never been caught red-handed,” Luke interrupted with some weariness, then looked at Alexander, knowing he had to speak directly to him. “They’ve obviously killed before. I couldn’t tell you whether wolves, people, or other felines, but I could clearly sense it in the way the lion spoke. So what’s your plan? I hope you have a very good one.”

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Chapter 70-2

“Now you change your mind, huh?” Christian snorted unwillingly.

“What person?” I murmured, lowering my gaze, intrigued.

I looked at the card. Very elegant, but somewhat worn.

It had a logo that could or could not resemble something; its lines were confusing and had to be viewed from a certain angle to decipher it. Yes-curved lines in beautiful Arabic calligraphy that, when tilting the card, formed the drawing of a lion’s head in gold. But what caught my attention most was the written name.

The air caught in my throat. That couldn’t be real.

“Alhasan Al-Brahkhan?” I said, utterly impressed. “Do you know who this person is?”

“Don’t you?” the sheriff asked me ironically.

“What do you mean? Everyone has heard that name! He’s that Arab businessman, the one-”

“The vice president of the second most important petrochemical company in the world: Brahkhan Fuels,” Alexander cut in, in a rather admiring tone. “Wow. My father always suspected his family, that they might be of the feline race. He crossed paths with Saleh, Alhasan’s father, at a convention on environmental risk reduction in London. I was still a child, but I remember he mentioned something about his scent. Of course, we were never able to get close enough to Saleh or any of his fourteen sons to find out anything. Are the lions the dominant family?”

“Hiding in plain sight,” Hans muttered, unsettled. “That’s not typical of felines. Their habits are more discreet.”

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“Yes, well, that’s what those of us who don’t have obscene amounts of wealth at our disposal do by definition, to cover up our biological reality in case we make a mistake. The logistics of hiding certain activities costs a lot of money, and many of us can’t live life fully-not like lions do. They don’t need to hide from anyone. Who would dare suspect one of the twenty-five richest men on the planet?” Luke commented with irony. “I think some I know also share that philosophy of life.”

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