Coldsnap: The Billionaire Alpha's Fated Pregnant Princess (GL)-Chapter 12 - Selling, Not Pawning

Chapter 12: Chapter 12 - Selling, Not Pawning
Instead of approaching the shop's front entrance once again, where I'd
be visible
to anyone passing by, I looked around for the 'back' of the place.
Most businesses in my world had service entrances for deliveries. A fact I know from sneaking out for
trysts
with a few...
outwardly reputable
daughters of merchants.
Women who I developed carefully crafted scenarios of
mutually assured destruction
should
our escapades
ever reach the ears of my family.
> An outlet which I poured my distaste for an eventual sentencing. To be married off and promote relations with a distant kingdom was not my desire. It was a burden of my station. <
My complaints to my wolf go ignored, meaning it has no special cares about these thoughts. Of course it doesn't... as a
genderless
spirit they mostly seem to conform to the contractor's
biology
...
Which is why it can even feel
fiercely protective
for the child inside me, same as a she-wolf would be. But that really isn't important right now.
Sure enough, down the closest alley, I found a metal door with the shop's name
stenciled
above it. As well as a plate that says [Employees Only].
I try the handle cautiously and find it
unlocked
- that tingle of
intuition
hitting me as I do. I'm left feeling that it was probably left open for a delivery... or more likely a 'smoke break'.
The
unpleasant scent
of cigarettes is thick in the area. However, I didn't feel like complaining about it until my senses were just
heightened
by the system. Qualities that are already improved even in this 'human' form.
I glanced over my shoulder one last time, confirming I was definitely alone in the alley. Then I slipped inside the building quietly before the perfect opportunity passed me by.
The back room was dimly lit and cluttered with boxes and merchandise waiting for the
chance
to be displayed. I could hear voices from the front of the shop... suggesting the owner was still
dealing with
a customer.
Good. That gives me time to compose myself a little before making my approach.
I made my way toward a
curtained doorway
that would lead to the main shop. Peering around the edge, I could see the counter where the owner was now wrapping up his transaction.
Behind him hung a quite prominent sign:
[NO STOLEN PROPERTY - WE CHECK IDs AND TO POLICE.]
I frowned. Technically the things I have weren't
stolen
. The owner was a dead man and I claimed it as spoils.
But I did not have to be from
this world
to realize that explaining that would raise more questions than
I cared to answer
. It would probably draw the police force to question me. I'd rather not get caught up in that!
When the other customer left, I quietly stepped out from the back
unseen
. Then I circled around a big display and approached the counter. The owner looked up at me then,
startled
that I had shown myself when he hadn't seen me come in.
"Where did you come from?"
His eyes narrowed at me but I just shrugged
absolutely casually
before sort of
lying
through my teeth.
"Been here waiting a while. I didn't want to interrupt your sale so I looked at things over there."
He didn't seem entirely
satisfied
with this explanation. His eyes ticked to the
backpack
behind me and the clothing I wore.
"Really...?"
"Yes. I had a couple things I found and was hoping you could purchase them."
His sense for business appeared to
overrule
his suspicion. The red haired man shook his head and put his hands on the counter firmly.
"Alright. What can I do for you?"
"One moment."
I removed the straps from my shoulder and pulled out the
smartphone
first - arguably the safer of my two items. As he examined it, I glanced around the shop, confirming my
escape routes
. Though, the way I came in was likely best.
Small
cameras
in the corners of the ceiling caught my attention. I knew there was a good chance they would be here, but to be honest it slipped past my mind that
sneaking in and lying about it
while evidence exists might get me into trouble.
> I'll just stay calm. I doubt anything will come of it. It's not like I stole anything, just ignored a sign. <
My wolf
sneezed
... and I don't know how to interpret that reaction. Is it allergic to the way I'm neglecting my
culpability
?
In any case, I just needed to complete the transaction.
Negotiate
a fair price based on the tags I see on
similar
electronics. Then I can begin establishing myself in this urban territory.
All without attracting the wrong kind of attention. Which may be hard with both of the upbringings I have 'access' to. My
way of speaking
is going to draw questions... and Helene's lack of
true
city-living
will make the start here rough.
"Seems like the battery's dead, but it looks fairly new."
The shop owner spoke after trying a few times to activate its 'power button'. He turned the relatively clean phone over in his hands a few times before sitting it
flat
on the counter.
"Where'd you get it?"
"Found it, like I said. In the woods outside town."
He gave me a
skeptical
look if I've ever seen one. I guess that's not something that
happens
every day.
"No password lock?"
"I wouldn't know."
Or so I say, but the few
careless
seeming things I saw in that hideout makes me think it is unlikely. With a frown, he lifted it back up again. Eyeing it like he wasn't sure he
wanted
to purchase it.
With the sign
posted
behind him, I can imagine his hesitance.
I felt the
metaphysical
weight of the claw necklace in the backpack. I wanted to save that for last... as it was either going to be worth a
substantial amount
based on some of the jewelry prices I see-
Or perhaps get me thrown out, if he has a
connection
with my kind. Either way, I needed to be prepared for
quick
action.
"Hold on. Let me check something in the back."
He swiftly
disappeared
through a different doorway than I'd come through earlier. With the device along with him. Not a restroom, so perhaps a
side office
?
I stood at the counter as the seconds
ticked
. The
clockwork timepiece
that I saw earlier through the window making an awful lot of noise.
Goosebumps
started to rise as I was suddenly aware of just how
exposed
I was. The cameras that are watching me. The people that might enter the shop at any moment. Whatever the owner was doing out of sight.
I worried about the
police
already, but was there something like a listing for stolen phones? After all, it's not like I'm the one who purchased it, so for all I know that hunter may have gotten his hands on it
illegally
.
Had he gone to call someone to find out? Search on a 'computer'? Or maybe, just maybe... to merely try and charge it up and see if it was
worth buying
to resell.
I strained my ears. I could hear sounds back there, but no voices. Even still, my
instincts
screamed at me to hurry up and leave.
With effort, that feeling was tamped down. After reasoning that it would only make me look
more suspicious
if I just left. Not to mention, it might cost me the money I could have made.
I remained where I was, fingers drumming
nervously
on the counter. Ready to bolt back through the curtain if necessary.
And that's when I felt the tingle again. Though calling it a
full on jolt
this time might be more appropriate. An intense alarm of awareness that
something was coming
.
> Quick, search. <
I glanced first toward the room he disappeared to, but the sensation
lessened
like I'd turned the wrong way. My gaze swept warily across the cluttered shop.
But there were only cluttered shelves and display cases.
Then I felt it
increase
. A presence from behind me. From the same
back entrance
I'd used. I could feel eyes on my back, studying me with an intensity that made my skin prickle.
My muscles tensed, threatening to start
shaking
as the sensation grew stronger with each passing second. Raw and
unmistakable
, this was a beast with power stalking me.
Even without scenting it directly... almost too reluctant to breathe, my new
special intuition
screamed that whoever had followed me inside was
dangerous
in ways I couldn't fully comprehend.
That winding path I took through the city streets seemed wiser, now, yet they had
tracked me
despite those precautions. That alone made them
persistent
and... not simple.
I 'shifted' a little. Slowly. Inside. Sitting on the edge of turning fully hybrid. Angling my body for both defense and escape.
Ready to guard my
stomach
first if necessary. If that was why they were here.
All my fear and caution, pressed toward protecting Helene's
child
, finally has my wolf growling.
> Be ready to help, please. <
The footsteps I hear are measured and deliberate. Not the
rushing
of someone intending any immediate harm before I could react. The
confident
stride of a predator who knew their prey wasn't going anywhere unless they let them.
I tried to keep my expression blank as I slowly turned to face whatever was about to
ruin my chance at life
. But I probably look a little
sullen
. How could I not, after all the effort I used to get this far?
A faint scent reached my nose as I raised my eyeline. In spite of the musty shop air, it was crisp like
fresh snow
. Like the air before a winter storm.
Pure
like the white clothes on the woman moving toward me.
The wolf inside me stopped its growl
immediately
and...
wagged its tail
.
> I knew you would betray me some day. <