Coldsnap: The Billionaire Alpha's Fated Pregnant Princess (GL)
Chapter 147 - Welcome Wolf, Welcome Back

Chapter 147: Chapter 147 - Welcome Wolf, Welcome Back

She seems like a lovely woman. If I actually intend to reveal my nature, it would be better to learn more about what she thinks. Like it or not, werewolves seem to be the closest thing to shifters to call ’my kind’...

"Do you have a relationship with any of them?"

"Honey, the old wolf families have been in these mountains longer than any of us regular folk. The Goddess blessed them with her gifts long ago and she’s continued to do so all this time."

Martha glanced over at me after making a turn and getting stuck in more traffic. Green eyes with depth stare my way, but I’m not sure if they see through me or past me... or see me at all. Probably some of all of it, forcing her to interpret as she will.

> Mystics are all that way, interpretive conduits. <

"Most people in the city pretend they don’t exist, but anyone with sense and power knows better. Especially those too few of us who practice. Don’t underestimate them or make enemies, you hear?"

"And you’re... comfortable with that? With them?"

"I’ve been selling eggs to one pack’s family for decades. They’re some of my best customers - always pay fair. Never cause trouble. And best, they understand the value of good, natural food. Why wouldn’t I be comfortable with that?"

Scratching underneath my chin, I exhale a hard sigh at her well reasoned beliefs. Not that I expected a magic user of her specializations to be a bigot, but being careful and not assuming similar ideologies exist between worlds...

> Really does not feel like I’m being too cautious. Just prudent. <

"I just know that some people fear what they don’t understand. I guess you’re plenty old enough to know that, though. No offense."

"Fear’s usually just ignorance in fancy clothes. Though I’ll admit, lately I’ve been worried about the wolves. Something’s just got everyone on edge this last week, and I can’t quite put my finger on what."

She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as a few honks in the traffic drew my attention for a moment. I have to say I’m not a fan of being confined in a vehicle like this. Walking freely is so much better.

> Alright. It’s me, isn’t it. She’s talking about us. <

Vrika whimpers as it reinforces my probably vain statements. There are probably a lot of things going on around here other than a single new rogue showing up. Maybe not as exciting as one that drew the eye of the territory’s Alpha...

"Have you sensed anything specific? Perhaps through your regular rituals?"

Martha was quiet for a long while as we passed through another small three-way intersection. I could see that she was struggling with saying something, in that way that people who don’t want to worry others get about them.

"You know how animals behave before a big storm? Restless, agitated, like they can feel something coming that we can’t?"

As a beast and a shifter who particularly dislikes storms, I nodded without any hesitation. Call it Intuition, instinct, or simply an innate ability to interpret scientific properties like air pressure changes.

"Yeah, I know the feeling you mean."

"Well, that’s how I’ve been feeling for weeks now. All of the long time practitioners in the local circles have. Like there’s something building. Something... big."

The snowflake at the top of my vision practically urged me to tell her. But again, it’s probably a better idea to wait until she isn’t driving. I don’t want to test my ability to survive an automobile crash.

"And you think whatever it is is connected to the Solar God being... quieter than normal around now?"

"...I simply think the balance is off somewhere, Citra. Honestly? I don’t know how or where. And that’s what scares me most. In forty years of interpreting signs, I’ve never felt anything like this."

I stared out the window at the city skyline. Thinking about how storage the size of a shipping container couldn’t possibly save too many people. How the start of the Apocalypse coinciding near the usual waking period of a sun deity was surely no coincidence.

"Martha Callway. If you happened to meet a new one of the Goddess’s special children you mentioned... would you help them prepare for whatever’s coming?"

"Without question. No matter what form it takes, all of her chosen and all peoples with good in their hearts should be at least listened to."

She didn’t hesitate - and the conviction in her voice made my chest tighten almost as much as her use of the word ’chosen’. The woman, even beyond being a witch, would make a good ally. I allow my eyes to shift slightly, glowing softly blue as I meet hers at the next stop.

"Then I might need to come back to your farm sometime. To talk more about... the sort of preparations that might be wise for us all."

"So that was it. Wolf or not, my door’s always open, dear. Especially for someone with your kind of troubles - which is to say, congratulations. You’re pregnant... in case you didn’t-"

"Yes, I’m aware. Thank you."

I sighed as I turned and she reached over and patted my knee gently, a gesture I really didn’t enjoy... but I let her do it anyway. As Helene’s memories tell me it’s just an older motherly human thing.

> Still feels like a power move to me. <

As we approached a red light in the heavier traffic, my phone buzzed with a notification. It felt rude to look at it... while technically in the company of someone else, but I glanced at the screen anyway and saw Kyrie’s name.

The message was a photo. Breakfast spread out on what looked like it could be her office desk. A plate with some sort of egg dish covered in a yellow sauce, fresh fruits, and coffee in an elegant white mug. Her morning meal looked sophisticated.

K: [Hope your day is off to a good start.]

I stared at the image, first wanting to point out the parts she could have done better between angle and lighting. My next instinct was to ignore that I’d received it entirely. Then it was to complain to her for showing me something tasty looking while I’m stuck traveling.

> Fresh carrots are actually not bad, but I still kept thinking of the foods that I couldn’t eat right away. The golden egg yolks and mouth watering chicken waiting in the cooler unit! <

Of course, it did not help that Vrika also wanted both of those things. But... altogether, that woman was thinking of me while eating breakfast. And her wanting to share this small moment... made me hesitate to even put the phone away.

"Smartphones. Don’t get me wrong, they’re useful tools, but I swear people spend more time staring at those little screens than the world around them."

The older woman behind the wheel snickered at me when the light turned green. When the movement began, I found myself looking out the window at Lunarizon Tower rising in the distance. On a whim, I rolled down the window and started to hold up my phone.

"Martha, do you mind if I take a quick photo from your vehicle? Of something outside."

"Go right ahead, dear."

I snapped a picture of the tower from between other buildings when it was visible. Then I sent it out quickly enough, without obsessing about its quality so much.

C: [Back, but still busy. Your breakfast looks much better than mine did.]

K: [Welcome back.]

"Good news from your friend?"

The woman driving the truck asked, perhaps noticing my expression - or maybe the ’good energy’ around me. I tucked away the phone in my pocket and stayed quiet and contemplative until we pulled in the parking lot of the farm supply store a minute later.

"...Something like that."

> A fox likes to be chased, after all. <