Coldsnap: The Billionaire Alpha's Fated Pregnant Princess (GL)-Chapter 113 - The Breaking & Entering Storm

Chapter 113: Chapter 113 - The Breaking & Entering Storm
> Why here? Why now? <
Huddled close in my fox form, Vrika lifted its head in my mindscape -
fully alert and pleased
. Out in reality, we scanned the area until we spotted the clue. A
white SUV
parked near an abandoned factory’s office building.
Then I caught movement... a figure with
very confident athletic grace
patrolling along the perimeter fence in dark clothing. Hood up, but
a few loose strands of white hair
visible enough from this angle.
I immediately considered simply
changing direction
. But my hoping to avoid the encounter altogether seemed to have
summoned a cursed wind
.
My turn to the side paused
only a second later
... as I knew she’d already caught my scent. She was probably out
looking for it
, anyway, with my luck.
"Princess? Is that you?"
The voice I’d been
imagining
through all those texts the night before carried
so clearly
across the large amount of park between us.
Certain
, but
uncertain
in a way that made me straighten my shoulders and lift my chin.
Refusing to appear as if I’d been caught doing something wrong. Even though technically... I had just committed some form of ’fraud’, surely. And had just done something impossible with some form of magic that shouldn’t exist.
"Ms. Voss. Fancy meeting you in this delightful part of the neighborhood at... well it must be past three in the morning."
"This isn’t exactly a tourist destination even in daytime, Citra. What are you doing all the way out here?"
Her answer back to me was amused and a little happy. It lacked any of the suspicions
she needed to have
. The ones she would likely use against a
rogue wolf
stalking about in the night.
Because
that rogue is me
... and she either trusts me too much, or the pull of fated mates is making her
ignore
caring about it. A
stupid, stupid
wolf either way.
Just like the night she
walked me back
to that first motel, without her usual
white business suit
fitted on her. She had quite a different impression on her, then and now.
She stopped approaching
fairly far away
and pulled her hood back. But also too close, because from this distance I actually caught that
little moment
she had.
When she realized
her hair was messy
from it and her eyes ticked away from mine while brushing at it. Just a little too quickly. Too nervously.
Adorably girlishly
.
> Irritating. Why do I want to touch it so badly? She can smooth it down herself. Keep quiet, you. <
"I was exploring. Learning some of the city’s boundaries in the dark."
"At 3 AM?"
Her eyes studied me... gleaming with that subtle orange-brown in the darkness that showed
her own wolf was active
. From sneakers to jacket, to the same backpack she met me in, her gaze
softened
after tracing my hair and face. I really wish it would
stop doing that
.
"I merely couldn’t sleep. What’s your excuse?"
I
shot back in a clipped tone
before a drop of rain hit my cheek, followed quickly by another. As we stood there, that same
little curse in the air
that surely moved the wind also made clouds overhead grow thick enough to fall out of nowhere...
And the desire to go hide in a
nice warm dry place
increased - along with the number of hairs on the back of my neck standing right up. As clear of a feeling as any
to a beast
.
> This isn’t just going to be passing heavy rain, it’s a thunderstorm coming in. <
"I’m sorry you couldn’t get any rest. For me, it was pack patrol. We take responsibility for more than just the downtown area. I maintain a rotating schedule of times and locations and tonight, I was assigned here."
Coincidences just happen like that.
Right
. Even though I wanted to leave quickly and hide, I stood and
sneered
instead.
"You personally patrol? Isn’t that what underlings are for?"
Trying to make her think I
think lightly
of her and her pack. Just so she stomps off mad and I can run for cover alone... doesn’t seem to phase her. She just
smiles
and explains herself calmly, in that
stupid
way she has.
"A good Alpha knows every inch of their territory. Besides, it keeps me connected to what’s happening in Vossden beyond boardroom politics. It also... helped me run into you the first time. And this time."
The drizzling rain intensified quickly as I just stared at her - and she stared back. Until fat drops that
couldn’t be ignored
pounded against us, against the park, and the pavement. Kyrie turned and glanced at her SUV in the
far
parking lot.
"We should-"
I flinched involuntarily at the
sudden light
as she began to suggest something. The lightning flash illuminated everything in white for a fraction, followed a second or two later by a
deafening crash
of thunder.
Reverberating through my chest in a way that
made my skin crawl
before another flash and another boom - more
immediate and close
. So much that the hairs all over tingled. A hand pointed out toward a small maintenance shed close by when my vision returned.
"There! Run!"
For once, I didn’t
argue with her
or comment.
Black fur
was bristling from all over me, uncontrolled despite my rational half... despite Vrika! I just ran while
following her directions
.
Sheets of rain so thick I could
barely see through them
poured from the heavens by the time we crashed through the door. As... she did. Running just a little faster than me to be the one that
damaged city property
.
The lock on the door hadn’t endured her
werewolf strength
. And now we stood in the dark - in a room smelling of damp lawn equipment and old fertilizer. But it was
drier than out there
by far.
"Well. That was quite sudden. I should have listened to the forecast. I’m sorry for holding you up."
Both of our dark clothes were
thoroughly soaked
by the cloudburst. The rain did not care that I had a jacket when it was worn too loosely. Kyrie pushed wet hair back from her face as I
wrung cold water
from my own.
> Keep me warm, please, Vrika. And sane. Please. <
My jacket and backpack are both
quickly discarded in a heap
... so acutely aware of how my clothes
clung to my skin
. While I’m grateful for any distraction from the weather, I’m also not in the mood to
enjoy the feeling
of being seen like this.
That way she
tilted her head at me
for a few seconds before shaking out her own sleeves was so obvious that for anyone else, I’d be
teasing
them. It wasn’t the look of someone only interested in why you had
fur covering you
.
It was closer to being
ogled
by the Alpha... at a moment when we’re
stuck together
. In
shivering revenge
, out of the corner of my eye, I closely watched her remove the light black hooded jacket she wore.
After shaking it a few times, she then spread the
drier side
over the top of an old wood crate.
"You might as well try to get comfortable. This doesn’t look like it’s letting up anytime soon."
Lightning flashed again, brightening the small space
as I flinched
. I tried to wonder if this was some sort of
karma
... to end up trapped with her the very first time I see her again. The night I finalize a preparation to leave a couple days
without saying anything
.
> In the middle of thunder and lightning, one of the few things I am uncontrollably afraid of. <