The Wolf Came on Christmas (Johanna and Alexander) novel Chapter 84

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I wanted to sigh in relief, but instead I deflated into a small, terrified moan.

We had gained a small advantage at a very high price. Hans, taken down by a gunshot.

Why hadn’t they simply killed all of us like that from the start? They had the upper hand – they could have done whatever they wanted.

Hans’s own words answered the question inside my head:

“It’s a game to them.”

A much deeper chill ran through me.

Of course. If they used guns, the game would end too quickly. There would be no fun in it. Fixing everything the easy way. With traps…

I squeezed my eyes shut and wrapped my arms around myself over the horrible coat, trembling. I didn’t collapse into the snow only because I stepped back until I was leaning against the tall bumper of the Toyota riddled with bullet holes.

The animal crying of Richie and Christian echoed in my ears, weakening me more and more.

Sasha finally realized I wasn’t going to pick her up, and she began to cry in a way that broke my heart.

That I couldn’t endure.

Before I broke down myself, I asked Kaylee to hand her to me.

The baby curled into me, searching for warmth, and I pressed her against my chest as if she alone were enough to make me feel better.

I murmured soft, affectionate words to her, trying to distract myself. The sweet scent of her impossibly clean skin filled me completely.

And it worked.

Sasha worked miracles with the sound of her voice and her tender presence.

But something still didn’t fit, and I couldn’t stand the uncertainty.

“Have you seen Alexander? André, the child? Rex, maybe?” I asked desperately. “They were here too! Where-?”

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Chapter 84-1

Kaylee frowned in anguish and shook her head.

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“There was no one else, Johanna,” she said calmly. “I’m sorry. That’s why I asked you about the boy – I knew the pack had a child. You were shielding the baby with your own body when I found you. I placed you against the truck tire. I didn’t see anyone else.”

My legs nearly gave out.

I turned toward the burning house. The fire was starting to die down, but the smoke was darker and thicker than ever. Without thinking, I climbed onto the overturned truck and stood facing the porch – where the front door used to be only a few meters from the flames.

With the baby clutched tightly to my chest, I stared at the destruction.

The awning had collapsed into itself, and only the stubborn structure of the chimney looked like it might survive the burn.

Wood, insulation foam, plastic cables, drywall – but essentially wood.

My house was burning fast, as if it were made of paper.

Nothing would remain.

Goodbye to my peaceful life. Goodbye to my beautiful little corner of Wyoming.

How was I going to explain this?

Or what was Luke going to say?

He was the sheriff – I assumed he would arrange things to look like an accident in the routine paperwork, but…

Goodbye to my peace. Goodbye to my mental stability.

What the hell was I wasting time on?

Kaylee had just said there was no trace of Alexander, Rex, or André.

Panic surged through me again when the information finally reached the center of my brain and I processed it properly.

My chest tightened.

André. Alexander. Agent Aguilera.

Where were they?

My eyes filled with tears again, and a few rolled down my cheeks.

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André, for the love of God.

If God existed, He couldn’t be cruel enough to hurt an innocent child.

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I clenched my teeth and stepped back a few paces. The smell of burned rubber and other materials was making me nauseous. I lowered my gaze, unable to keep watching the fire consume my life.

And then I found the tracks.

My father, being an avid hunter, was passionate about the entire process.

It wasn’t enough for him to have a good rifle and decent aim.- he was a hunter.

Once, during a family vacation, he befriended a Mohawk descendant who taught him some tracking tricks. And naturally, since I was always eager, he passed some of that knowledge

on to me.

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<Chapter 84-2

Chapter 84-2

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The hardest part of analyzing the mess of tracks I myself had trampled was remembering the clues my father had taught me to interpret the drawings on the ground.

Pulling all the relevant information out of my overwhelmed mind took effort, but slowly everything I was seeing began to make sense.

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The snow was dirty and churned up I realized someone had fallen there.

Alexander. And maybe Rex too.

From that scattered snow, blurry handprints and footprints extended.

Then only footprints moving away.

I walked slowly, keeping away from the tracks so I wouldn’t contaminate the trail with my

own.

From the explosion site, the tracks led toward the unfenced edge of the property, heading for the forest and the mountain.

Two sets of feet.

No.

Three.

He was alive.

That was the shirt he had been wearing.

Why was it on the ground?

Questions piled up in my mind, forcing me to think.

I made myself be smart.

I remembered what my father had taught me.

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If it hadn’t been for my mother being fiercely protective – insisting I wasn’t a boy and should do “girl things” – I might have gone with my father and Uncle Lou to Yukon to hunt caribou.

They planned that trip for weeks, and I listened with excitement even though I knew I was forbidden to even dream of joining.

I tried to recall everything my father had taught me about tracks, about following them, about always moving against the wind to surprise prey, how damp ground always reveals water

nearby and where there’s water, there are animals.

–

That helped calm me.

Finally.

I glanced over my shoulder when I noticed movement near the vehicles.

Luke was helping Christian and Toshi lift Hans’s body into the back of the patrol truck.

Hans’s son was saying something, his muzzle wide open, his expression threatening.

“So now you’re on our side, huh?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, dog,” Luke replied, half growl, half good humor. “I’m not on your side yet. I’m just trying to keep my zone quiet. I warned these bastards clearly that if they pulled anything on my territory, they’d regret it. It’s basic law to respect the will of the landowner and all of you are on my land.”

Nika stood closer to the hood with Richie.

–

She was holding him with her body so he could walk – or he was holding her so she wouldn’t collapse. I couldn’t tell.

Even though it wasn’t visible through his dark fur, Richie was in terrible shape.

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He was breathing with his mouth wide open, tongue almost hanging out. He had torn off his sweater and shirt, but his fur shone with an unhealthy crimson glow, as if soaked in blood.

His ribs were slashed open, stained red.

And something was lodged in his right thigh.

What was it?

A piece of wood?

I don’t know.

All I know is that when Nika turned so the wolf could wrap his massive, horrible arms around her, that huge Rambo knife strapped to her back ended up directly in front of my eyes.

The knife.

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