Coldsnap: The Billionaire Alpha's Fated Pregnant Princess (GL)
Chapter 44 - Harsh Wake Up Calls

Chapter 44: Chapter 44 - Harsh Wake Up Calls

A bleating sound jerked me from a fitful sleep. I bolted upright, heart racing and black fur bristling.

Cotton sheets and a lumpy mattress. The hum of an ’air conditioner’ I remember finding so fascinating for a few minutes, before I fell asleep.

Right. The motel. So much for my grand declarations of adaptability and resilience.

I groaned and rubbed at my face... while returning back to fully human form. With the door locked secure last night, I’d stripped down to nothing for comfort - luckily I did not just stretch or tear a set of my only undergarments in my panic.

Just a bit, I understand why the Duskpaw forewent those sorts of clothes. But this is the city and - for the most part - I should be safe enough not to have to worry about needing the werewolf forms.

Smooth palms pressed onto my closed eyes, with hands that still smelled faintly of ’complimentary’ soap... according to the little card I’d read last night. A scent from after I used the toilet in the bathroom here.

I truly cannot believe that was all it took to put me over the edge and spend more money that is not mine.

Apparently... that there was nowhere polite for my upset and stressed insides to lose their burden was enough for this spoiled princess I am to go running for the nearest lodging with at least an ’eight’ rating on the map.

When I was fine just using anywhere out in the forest. When I could have just used a ’convenience store’ bathroom then returned to my alley.

I knew that. I just refused to let myself think that I knew that.

Because that place had become a ’five’ at some point as I had tried to sleep, while every single building in the area around me had higher values.

"Pathetic."

I muttered the accusation aloud before glaring at the ’alarm clock’ that was still making so much awful noise. As if it were personally responsible for my moments of weakness.

The glowing red numbers blinked back at me, so similar to the lower bounds of the | Survivor’s Wisdom | scale. But the mechanical device is utterly unmoved by royal disapproval.

Or maybe this body just doesn’t have the face for it? The cut of Helene’s eyes are softer and missing the lines of kohl usually applied.

Not that I could do that sort of cosmetics application myself. Truly spoiled.

I smash buttons and toggle switches ineffectively, looking for the way to make it stop, and eventually succeed. By pulling the cord out of the wall.

> 6:00 AM. Who in the nineteen hells sets an alarm for that early for someone that checked in at midnight? <

A thought tickles out of Helene’s memory that this should not have usually worked. That old devices like this usually used ’batteries’ as backup energy sources.

But I really do not care. The noise has stopped and that is enough!

"Mmgh..."

When I flopped back onto the scratchy pillows... my irritation over being awoken began to be replaced with a grudging sense of gratitude. If I’d slept any longer, I might start being more reluctant to leave.

To waste the day by just holing up and doing nothing. But I won’t.

The bone-deep exhaustion that had dogged my steps when I made it to the city yesterday, after the few days of travel, was now more of a dull ache. A few hours of mostly uninterrupted sleep and relaxation at the spa had done wonders for body and mind.

Enough that the prospect of facing another day in this strange world didn’t seem quite as daunting. I have... to be thankful for that.

> Oh, stop it. Stop it, stop it! Why should I go running to actually tell her thank you again? <

Vrika whines at my refusals and turns his back on me again. I guess this is going to be a daily occurrence at minimum, isn’t it?

However, I knew I couldn’t afford to get used to relying on this. Being grateful is one thing, but being in debt is another.

The access to funds that woman had given me might have bought me a brief respite last night, but sooner or later, I will have to be able to fend for myself. To survive without relying on the dubious charity of a stranger CEO with unsettlingly... attractive orange eyes when she turns into a beast.

Because when she doesn’t get what she wants out of me, will I not be cut off from these funds? When she finds out there are things about me that she doesn’t like?

That is how people in power are most of all. They hold the cards that you need and dangle them in front of you so they can take what they desire.

"I’ve done it myself. As much as I’d claim that attempts at fairness between parties were involved. And this time I have no leverage to even things at all..."

No point in dwelling on things I couldn’t change. I push myself out of bed and plod toward the bathroom.

The jacket I’d worn yesterday was hanging on a hook, only slightly unclean. A few dirty marks easily scrubbed out.

My pack stuffed under the sink counter contained only a few basic supplies. A single bottle of water and some ’wet wipes’ that had been handed over to me by that charitable woman.

It wasn’t much at all. The days in the forest had felt liberating in some ways, reminding me of my youth.

But it’s clear how much I’d taken for granted being served at the palace or the homes of lovers. In the middle of the city, I have no idea what I should be doing or focusing on.

How to gather funds, the most efficient ways to feed myself... there are so many things to learn. I’ll have to find a place with that sort of knowledge when I go out.

I step into the weird mixture of tub and shower while fiddling with the flaking chrome fixtures. The pressure isn’t as good as at the spa, it seems to take a while to warm, and the temperature it does reach is unsatisfying.

"Stop complaining, you’ll just somehow talk yourself into how this place is utterly unacceptable. Learn to control yourself, Citra."

Drying off and trying to fix my hair back up the way I watched the stylist do it, I then picked out one of the neutral tops and denim pants. When I look at the result in the mirror, I can only sigh.

"Passable. Consider it passable. You look fine."

Stuffing everything back inside my backpack, I couldn’t help but feel something uncomfortably close to longing as I glanced at the rumpled sheets. The temptation to burrow back inside was almost overwhelming.

But I squashed that feeling ruthlessly. Along with any stray thoughts of the woman whose generosity had made that comfort possible.

I didn’t need anyone’s pity or protection. Even if a small, treacherous part of me whispered that it might be nice to have.

> Like when my second brother used to indulge me, before he decided that showing me attentive favor and getting scolded for it was more trouble than it was worth. <

More of my past reasoning for distrust pressed at the wolf spirit, who could only seem to think of the short term kindness shown to me. Drunk on the magical draw that this world’s Lunar Goddess allows to happen.

And if my hand lingered for a moment on the card in my pant pocket as I closed the motel room door, well...

That feeling a little beyond gratitude was no one’s business but my own.