Coldsnap: The Billionaire Alpha's Fated Pregnant Princess (GL)
Chapter 42 - [K] Trust In The White Tower

Chapter 42: Chapter 42 - [K] Trust In The White Tower

***[POV: CEO-Alpha Kyrie Voss]***

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I stepped out of the elevator onto the executive floor of Lunarizon Tower.

The fatigue of the past twenty-four hours of being awake weighed on me. I’d ensured no trace of it showed in my appearance before I came in.

Fresh suit, clean hair, not a hint of the forest soil that had clung to my hands and feet hours earlier. After following the trail and learning what my... what Citra Lomdi had been up to.

The familiar scent of polished office furniture and the expected notes of pack members circulating through the building’s ventilation system reminded me of my duties. Returning myself to a more controlled mood.

Claire looked up from her desk at my entrance and a smile of relief could be seen before it washed off... like a bipolar robot. Or so Luca had described her before.

"Welcome back, Ms. Voss. The board is expecting updates on yesterday’s missed meetings."

"They can continue expecting them until our usual gathering time."

My assistant nodded and reached for her tablet to send notice. After years of working together, she anticipated when telling her my decision meant I only wanted to say it once.

I can only hope the board doesn’t bother her too much until then. One of them found their hidden mistress revealed to the public last time they made a fuss.

"Luca has been waiting in your office. He said it was urgent."

"How urgent?"

Claire’s eyes flicked toward the security camera in the corner. Before smashing a key on her computer that paused the recording.

"Pack business urgent."

I nodded. Claire was human - but unlike most of the employees at Lunarizon, she was fully aware of the supernatural world beneath the corporate veneer of its CEO.

Wish I could say the privilege was only earned through years of loyalty... instead of an incident three years ago that had left her with little choice but to know the truth.

But I’ve still always appreciated her discretion.

"Have there been any other visitors while I was out?"

I know what I’m hoping for, but there’s no way she showed up looking for me already. Not her.

"Ms. Whitecrest stopped by last night claiming she needed to discuss what she called a community security concern."

The smirk on her face conveyed it all. My assistant has never gotten along with the socialites in our city.

"I told her you were unavailable and suggested she email the next time to schedule an appointment... so that she did not waste her evening."

"Good."

I crossed the rest of the distance to my office door, but paused with my hand on the white handle. My thumb worried over the lever, feeling like a child afraid to ask for something they wanted.

"Claire, I need monitoring reports. Crystalline Spa for yesterday afternoon. Full security footage if they have it."

"Of course. Anything specific I should be looking for to place timestamp markers in my notes?"

I considered how much to say. Of anyone, I might tell her first about what I found... about having a potential mate.

But I had not told a soul yet. Except the person themselves.

"A young woman with black hair that might have been in a Duskpaw braid. Also, arrange for a transcript of transactions processed on my personal account."

"I’ll have it for you within the hour."

If Claire found my request unusual, she gave no indication. Something I am thankful for, as I’m not ready to talk quite yet.

However, I expect a smart woman like her will come to her own assumptions.

"Thank you."

The door closed behind me with a soft click. My Beta stood by the windows looking out at the city skyline.

His tall frame turned as I entered with a composed enough face. But concern was evident in his scent due to my stunt yesterday.

"You found what you were looking for."

Luca didn’t bother to phrase it as a question. He knew me well enough to understand I would not have come back this early if I had not.

"The wolf they claim went rogue found a hunter around the edge of our territory."

His expression darkened for a moment, knowing I didn’t mean wild game. Not all werewolves were able to tolerate our pact with them.

Erasing generations of oppression over falsehoods as well as exaggeration of truths due to fear is apparently not something done in less than two centuries. The founder of Vossden was a bit of a visionary, but what he saw was well beyond his time.

"Did she kill him? Was it self-defense?"

"It appears he died of natural causes. My guess is she ran across that and... she buried him afterward. Wrapped in a sheet."

"Buried him?"

"Not really a proper grave depth, but marked with some stones. Not hidden."

Even though it was hours and hours ago, I couldn’t keep the tone of surprise from my voice. It also seemed to have a similar effect on him.

"Unusual behavior for someone raised in a traditionalist pack structure."

My Beta immediately murmurs.

"The Duskpaw aren’t known for their... sentimentality. I’ve heard they have trials that end in execution for rogues they accuse of theft."

This was true and verified by the council. But our pacts permit a lot of unimpeachable authority within the territory that the pack claims.

Some laws may be archaic by human standards, but not all wolves will care to see it that way.

"Did you find anything else?"

I nodded, not elaborating on the pelts and preserved parts I’d found displayed like art pieces. The old hunter’s collection had turned my stomach.

Not because I was unfamiliar with what some hunters did to our kind to study us. It was the reverence with which he’d arranged his kills.

Trophies. Like a serial killer unable to understand that what it killed was half human.

Standard procedure was to notify the council and have a team of trusted hunters take everything on site. But I... won’t.

"Just a few little things."

The clothes, the backpack, the disturbed shelves. Iit was clear that the hideout had been used to help my mate survive.

It feels wrong to destroy it without talking to her. Especially if... she desires to go back for some reason.

I can wait. The loss I’d incur if I have to admit I’d known for some time is not that much.

"Nothing too concerning."

After taking my seat behind the desk, my fingers began tapping over the empty notepad continuously kept at the center. Luca walked around to stand in front of me and wait for orders.

I met his gaze evenly. My Beta knew something was up with me.

His loyalty was beyond question these many years. His discretion, as impeccable as Claire’s.

But this pull, this drive to protect a woman I’d barely met. That wasn’t something I was prepared to explain to them as the fated mate bond.

Not yet. Because it sounded almost as insane as calling Citra a witch-wolf.

"Have the Duskpaw responded to our denial of their hunting party request?"

"They’re not happy, but they’ve respected the boundary so far. Their Alpha sent a formal protest to the council that claims we’re harboring a criminal rogue that belongs to them."

"Their claim is invalid if she’s already accepted a rejection from her mate. I can verify that she had no marking."

My voice grew heated and his face changed. That’s not... optimal.

Not if I want to keep hiding this for now.

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