Coldsnap: The Billionaire Alpha's Fated Pregnant Princess (GL)-Chapter 405 - My Name Is Citra Lomdi; You Killed My Rock, Prepare To Die!

Chapter 405: Chapter 405 - My Name Is Citra Lomdi; You Killed My Rock, Prepare To Die!
| Sacrificial Altar |
Red stone. Polished to a shine. Familiar, but not quite anything like one I’d ever seen in my world. A ceremonial brazier - but one so overwrought with a snake motif that it somehow became the entire concept.
The serpent coiled, carved from around a centerpost that would come up to my chest. From tail spiraling up to gaping maw... which served as the holder of the roiling, fully red fire contained within it.
Color which I am familiar with from my worlds rituals, made to burn that way by flakes of a particular metal. Only this flame, lowset where nonexistent fuel should be, doesn’t move with the wind.
Or melt the snow - despite the whole thing haven fallen on its side after crushing the piece of much lighter technology from this world. I do hope that these things are not so valuable or so limited that the system’s timing just caused a big problem for her.
"This is made of jasper, right? It’s very..."
Judging by the way she trailed off, I’m assuming she was going to say eerie, creepy, ominous, or any number of very unhappy words. Which is fair, considering the name of the object.
All in all, it seems to be an attempt by the system to rectify my recent spiritual distress. Considering Tess’s words made me think of my culture’s boneyards again - of beasts scavenging from the dead in a controlled way.
And of course, of our snake shifter priests cleansing the taint of vicious deaths and the corpse sitting in my shipping container. Which I quickly summon out to deal with this thing. There’s no way I’m leaving it where it is.
For it has fangs as red as the rest, but made of a different material. With a clear mystical feeling to them, the kind I don’t want any ’witches’ that I have not met yet to get ideas over.
> They make me think of the daggers used in certain... rituals. And considering the word sacrifice is involved, that’s likely what they are. <
"Do you want me to... no I guess you don’t."
After sliding down from me, she starts to ask something before I transform into the hybrid state. Quickly lifting the item and placing it within the piling up doorway, I start to close the reinforced metal panel.
Sure of what I’d just seen - or not seen - within all of my belongings, I still pause to question myself before letting go of the edge.I turn to the white haired woman and point before speaking in this brutal voice.
"Can you look inside there and tell me if you believe something is missing?"
Kyrie had taken very good stock of everything, after all. Judging by when she retrieved things for Rick Barnes.
She tilts her head with a bit of curiosity while raising a brow, but steps forward while doing so. Creaking open, creaking shut. She touches her hand to the metal and it all disappears.
"Yes. I believe there is something rather big missing from the other side of your bed."
"Did you play a prank on me while storing Mateo away?"
"No. Of course I didn’t. I’m rather new to judging this system behavior, but I think the answer is obvious, isn’t it?"
It was. But I didn’t want to admit that it could seemingly take something of mine... to make something else. To change it’s state.
"My poor chert boulder, turned into that!"
They were the last words I say before transforming back into wolf form. Tail flicking even as I leaned down for her to climb on.
And no amount of rubbing along my neck by a well meaning beauty, who promised sweetly to get me all of the giant rocks I wanted, was making me feel better. It wasn’t just any rock to replace, it was mine!
> I feel like someone who just lost their pet and a parent is trying to console them with a new one. I don’t WANT a new rock. I want my OLD rock! <
Finding it had been a personal highlight of my journey during the cache retrievals. It wasn’t something I needed for survival. Or something I intended to sell. It was just pretty to me and I’d claimed it.
It was something I even started to picture playing with my son around. Once he is energetic enough to be led in tireless circles, chasing me as I moved and hopped around it.
But things keep getting taken from me lately.
My bow... that I ’stole’, lost to nature and bad personal choices. My wolf... that I *guilted* into the contract we shared, lost to that goddess. And now the system has killed my best rock.
"Now, now. You’ll scare everyone when we get close if you keep growling like that. What if I take you out looking for a new one as soon things calm down around here?"
She hasn’t given up after many blocks. As the white tower draws closer. Even when a new drone came back, with an apologizing Tess on the speaker...
> Silly for her to apologize for something she wasn’t at fault for. <
Not knowing whether I mean the disembodied woman - or the Alpha on my back who keeps whispering ’sorry, feel better, I love you’ on repeat like only that is enough to break through my grief... my tail wags. Just a slight bit.
But of course, I must do my best that she doesn’t learn that. So I keep growling, softly. Much more occasionally. Not just because it makes her start petting me again.
"Most of the core werewolf group is waiting in the lobby for your arrival. Luca says he has things planned, to go with it and just act as you always would as the situation evolves."
"So we’re doing that after all. If we must, we must."
I have no idea what they are talking about. But I barely care, because she found a spot that makes it hard to keep walking. Just want to stand still and enjoy the moment as her fingers rub into the tense neck muscle.
Almost. I almost do just that, until I remember what happened when I let her massage my foot. The next sound out of me is a whine. And my speed picks up.
> I need to get her off of me, this woman is too... too... <
Curses are paired with praise in my mindscape.
Most of the latter at her. Half of the former at me.