Coldsnap: The Billionaire Alpha's Fated Pregnant Princess (GL)
Chapter 87 - Not Looking For Reasons To Stay, Just Places…

Chapter 87: Chapter 87 - Not Looking For Reasons To Stay, Just Places...

***[Back To Citra POV]***

I’d heard the soft chime of her phone receiving my message - and imagined her looking at the photo I’d just taken. Flirted with her because she was looking at me that way and I was curious what she would do.

And took pity on her when she did nothing. I could have just walked away without saying anything, but I told her goodnight first... again.

Because I wanted to be the one to end the moment or because I wanted to see if she’d say anything more? In my mindscape, Vrika whined softly - already missing her presence.

> We’re better off on our own... <

But the wolf and I both knew I was deceiving myself. The period of lightness and safety next to her truly was a very precious respite after being hunted.

Whether I could have handled it without her or not doesn’t change anything. I still would have been shaken and wanted comfort, no matter what I’d been forced to do.

She provided that and I found it as pleasant as I did tense - and that leaves me with mixed feelings. Annoying, how easily conversation flowed between us once I stopped actively trying to be almost hostile.

More vexing was how much I’d enjoyed seeing her momentarily flustered by getting her photo taken. Once I was certain Kyrie wasn’t following me, I shifted the bags from being in both hands to just one.

I pulled out the hunter’s phone, telling myself it was only to check the list of accommodations she had sent - that I couldn’t help noticing the photo I’d just taken displayed on the screen in the ’messenger’ window.

> It was just a photo. Stop making it into something it’s not. <

My wolf practically danced with joy as I stared at the Alpha, so I had to make it clear. The woman on the screen looked almost... normal in it... or at least a far cry from the person who had lifted a man against a wall just an hour or so earlier.

> Maybe I should add this to her contact information. <

Before I could talk myself out of it, I tapped through the menus and set the image of her startled face as her contact photo. Purely for practicality... to more easily identify her messages.

"Once I start messaging other people."

I tapped the link she sent for me and scrolled through the list of places. There were over a dozen options, each with a brief description, address, and nightly rate - or monthly for the few apartments.

> Yeah... no. <

I immediately discarded those and the others closest to the downtown area. The last thing I needed was to stay anywhere near Lunarizon Tower or within easy reach of Kyrie’s influence... because I’d grow dependent on it.

My eyes landed on one near the middle of the list that seemed the most attractive:

[Oak Knot Inn - Budget-friendly extended stay motel, clean rooms with kitchenette. Northeastern district, quiet area. Weekly rates available.]

Pulling up the system map, I see the northeastern district it references was about as far from the city center as I could get while still being in Vossden - and not the ’suburbs’ out past that way.

Far enough away to make it clear I wasn’t seeking Kyrie’s protection, but still within reach of the services I needed. It was also at least thirty blocks from my current position, making it another hour of travel today at my brisk walking speed.

"The distance will give me time to clear my head. And remove the fuzzy feelings from... nowhere."

⧖ ☾ ❄ ☽ ⧖

By the time I reached the motel, my shoulders were screaming from the strain of carrying everything. What had seemed like reasonable purchases throughout the day had collectively become a physical burden I couldn’t ignore, even with werewolf constitution.

The motel itself was fairly unremarkable - a two-story, L-shaped building with exterior corridors and parking spaces in front of each room. The sign, however, had a giant symbol that gave me pause.

> I’m not sure what they call that here, but it looks quite similar to something from my world. A symmetrical symbol of folded lines with no real beginning or end. <

Traditionally, the snake shifters were said to have developed it - and it began with an image of one impossibly long snake looping over itself and biting its own tail... to represent the meandering nature of life.

But it lost the head and tail aspect eventually in their icons and now looks like this series of overlapping, knotted lines in a sort of circle. In either case, it represented the overall cyclical nature and... endlessness of life and death.

"Do I really want to stay here? There isn’t a priest inside going to ask me philosophical questions I’m not prepared to answer in this world’s terms... right?"

Eventually I shrug off the uneasy feeling, and find the lobby to be small but unexpectedly tidy compared to the last place I stayed. With a few plastic smelling plants and a bulletin board covered with local flyers.

Behind the counter, a middle-aged woman with reading glasses perched on her nose looked up from her novel. Marking the place in her book with a card before closing it, dropping the eyewear from her face while letting a silver chain catch its fall... she greeted me.

"Evening. Looking for a room?"

"Yes. Do you have any available?"

"Just yourself?"

I nodded and she leaned up to glance at my numerous bags as I set them down. My hands feel a little cramped from gripping them this whole time.

"We’ve got a few singles open. How long will you be staying?"

The question gave me pause. Until now, I’d been taking each day as it came, never knowing I’d be staying more than a night in one place when I woke the next morning... even if I did stay at the other place twice.

> It’s not a commitment problem, shut up. <

But right now? The thought of packing everything up and finding somewhere new tomorrow made my shoulders and hands ache in protest. Even though I knew I’d be fine within the hour and after a good night’s rest.

"What are your weekly rates?"

The woman smiled, clearly pleased by the prospect of a longer booking customer. I suppose you would be, when it is this late and you have open rooms...

"Twenty percent less per day than the nightly rate, all said. Includes a basic cleaning service midweek."

I did a quick mental calculation when she tapped on the listed prices. The result made me wince, but paying all at once now is really no different than if I continue to do this every day... and I’ve already determined I’m too spoiled to camp.

> Otherwise I would have just bought some camping gear and went back to live in the forest. <

Surprisingly, Vrika didn’t seem to want- right, of course it doesn’t want to go either. The Alpha is in the city! My wolf’s reasons are so impure.

A week would give me time to sort through my possessions and really consider what I need. Plan my trip to the hunter’s cabin... and perhaps even find some paid work nearby so I don’t feel that stab of ever accumulating unpayable debt.

The next medical appointment at the clinic wasn’t even for another three weeks, so I had time. To take care of other aspects of living here.

"I’ll take it. For a week."