The Wolf Came on Christmas (Johanna and Alexander) novel Chapter 83

Chapter 83-1

+25 Points

“What’s happening? Where is André!?” I shouted, completely beside myself. I didn’t hear her at all, and leaning against the hood of the vehicle I tried to move toward those screams and howls. “What’s going on over there, Kaylee? Where is Luke?”

“You’re bleeding! Please, you could have a concussion or something broken!”

“IT DOESN’T HURT!” I screamed back, and I began to hear better; the force I used to shout seemed to pop my ears completely, although the ringing remained.

André could be badly injured. Oh Alexander. Or Rex, or any of them-anyone!

Sasha’s muffled sobs and cries urged me to go back for the girl, but terror crawled under my skin like sharp hooks and painfully pulled me toward the lamentations. My vision blurred as grief took hold of me. All I could do was wonder: How could this happen? How could my house blow up?

Kaylee grabbed my left arm and stopped me, firmly. I turned toward her in fury and saw that her eyes were flooded with tears.

“Someone died. It was horrible. They were tangled in a free-for-all fight when Luke and I arrived. If we hadn’t shown up, I don’t know…”

“ALEXANDER!” was the first thing I managed to scream, terrified.

Sasha relaxed and kicked, and I ignored her, paralyzed by horror. I ran, my legs like jelly, and passed Rex’s truck, only then realizing it had been tipped onto its side by the force of the explosion. The snow was dirty, half-melted, and horrifyingly stained red.

Farther ahead, near the fence that marked the edge of my property and the forest, the wolves

were gathered…

Richie, shifted into his wolf form, had ended up somewhat tangled inside his sweater and cargo pants, lying on his side and half leaning against a tree trunk. Something was embedded in his leg and maybe that was why he wasn’t moving, but his bulging eyes stared beyond, and he whimpered softly like a wounded animal. His muzzle was open and his ears were flattened, desperate.

Christian blocked my view with his broad back covered in dark gray fur and large drooping ears, but I saw a man’s legs on the ground and heard more lamenting. Then the gray wolf threw his head back and released a horrible cry-a mix of howl and roar-that burst from his chest with such force that (I swear) it made the snow-covered pines tremble.

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< Chapter 83-1

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As the echo of his pain-laden voice faded into the air, he bent over the man lying on the ground, and I could see Nika holding someone against her chest, rocking him slowly while sobbing. Ishida was sitting back on his heels a few meters away, with both swords crossed on his lap and his fists resting on the ground, in a very strange but ominous posture… his way of showing respect, perhaps.

You didn’t have to be a genius to understand what was happening.

I didn’t see Alexander or Rex there, or André. I covered my mouth with my hand. Hans wasn’t

there either.

“Hans…” I murmured when I realized.

Where had all that blood staining the snow come from, for God’s sake!?

Kaylee caught up to me again and gently took my arm, this time more compassionately. Sasha immediately stretched her little hands toward me, but all I could do was offer her my fingers to hold.

“…Hans is dead,” I murmured, numb.

“I’m sorry. It seems we arrived a little late,” she told me, professional but not without feeling. “They had a hidden shooter in the trees. When we got here, the two wolves-the gray one and the black one-were fighting the panther. And the man with the swords was helping the woman defend herself from the shooter. He took a few bullets… the one you call Hans was already dead when we arrived. Looks like the shot went straight to his head.”

“What happened to the shooter?” I asked, looking toward the trees in fear.

“I’m not sure why, but when he saw us, he came out of the woods and rushed to help the panther. I guess he wanted to warn him so they could escape. The first thing Luke did was leap onto him-the gray leopard-and killed him in just a few minutes. It was an unequal fight, “Kaylee explained, with a faint hint of pride in her voice. “My Luke is very strong, even if he doesn’t look like it, and he has good training. The creature was a snow leopard, just like we suspected. Obviously, he had never fought another cat. I suppose the lion recruited him as cannon fodder.”

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…The leopard is dead?” I repeated, and Kaylee stepped closer and pointed at her husband- probably to emphasize the thick, furry tail hanging from his clawed hand. “Where’s the panther? Did anyone-?”

“That monster escaped before we could get a hand on him. I emptied a magazine myself trying to hit him, but missed every time. He’s very fast. He’s injured, you know-shoulder and abdomen. He has bandages, but he smells strongly. With that scent Luke will track him and won’t stop until he kills him, I promise you,” the sheriff’s wife assured me, firmly. “Those

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Chapter 83-2

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lunatics aren’t going to make a spectacle in our county, and they’re definitely not going to hurt one of our neighbors.”

“I shot him. In the shoulder,” I said, my lips trembling.

Álvaro was still out there. And the lion, whose face we still don’t know.

It could be anyone.

How was I supposed to look at the next stranger who approached me, if I feared they might be that monster?

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