Coldsnap: The Billionaire Alpha's Fated Pregnant Princess (GL)-Chapter 350 - [C] Alien Straw That Broke Her Back…

I didn’t bother knocking. Popping in unannounced when she was not in a meeting was basically in my job description. Right next to organizing schedules down to the tens of seconds...

She looked up from a map of the Pacific Northwest region taped to a corkboard, pins marking locations I recognized from my own damn research. The areas that have been hit with thefts of certain long shelf life goods. Practically the same kind we have been stockpiling.

Apocalypse prepping has never been so in vogue. But no one has been stupid enough to rob a Lunarizon shipment. Yet.

Of course, investigating werewolf conspiracy theories that turn out to be real is more of a hobby with additional pay. No official laundry list of duties. Even if I do it on company time, just like she does.

"Your alien girlfriend did a thing again, apparently."

"I... what am I looking at?"

I extended my phone toward her and she looked at me weirdly. Confused at what she saw - and also probably my chosen phrasing. Or the attitude I have.

"Look at the text, too."

"Ah." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Ah? *Ah*, Kyrie?"

Stomping my heel on the ground, I know I’m being childish. But I still take the chance to do it. Some straws of information piled on you have to be considered back breaking at some point, right?

Besides, I’m much more beautiful and dainty than a camel. Even if I’m not glass that will shatter... ugh! The contrite boss lady here finally met my eyes.

"That’s... it was not my information to share in detail. But yes. Citra isn’t originally from here, she says. The body is Helene Duskpaw, but the mind... or the soul, she described it, has been replaced."

"...Replaced."

It’s times like this that I hate how she doesn’t keep a chair across from her desk. I thought the mere idea of aliens was enough to allow me to be friendly-frustrated, but body-snatchers is actually breaking something far higher up than my back.

"Transmigration. Was the word she used. Helene died and she... slipped in."

Holding my temple, I sway into the desk and slam my palm flat to keep myself stable. ALIEN BODY SNATCHER ZOMBIES?!

"The distinction over who she was seemed less important than the effects of the system and the warning about impending doom. So I told you the things I needed you to actually help me deal with."

If I had my glasses on, I’d take them off and rub my eyes. Shouldn’t do that with the contacts. I just close them and count to ten while breathing in and out. Like a smart boss does, who keeps calm in situations I’m sure I would attack people in if I had her strength.

"Okay. Okay. Other worlds exist. Aliens. Got it. Fine. That’s fine. This is fine."

"I didn’t say aliens, you did. It’s just a... soul. She was a fox shifter... like a-"

"That look. You just realized you said ’just a soul’ and really, truly meant to downplay it despite whatever blasphemy it entails, didn’t you?"

"...Yes. Please just let me finish?"

And I did. I let her explain to me why she didn’t say anything. What she didn’t say. And by the end...

"Alright, that’s enough. If I start thinking too hard about the implications of multiverses and transmigration on top of everything else, I’m going to have a full on breakdown in your office and not just get halfway to one."

"That was only halfway? Also, no one said anything about *multiverses*."

"Instead, I’m going to focus on the fact that her power system turned into bio-mechanical looking thing that could either be a magical energy reactor or a weird flux capaci-"

Suddenly stopping, I tilt my head and think about everything I know from what I’ve seen. And everything I might not know from what Citra has not even told Kyrie.

"Are you sure she isn’t building a time traveling spacecraft out of the containers? Well, maybe you don’t know if she is. Nevermind, lets seriously move on from that and give me your opinion on what we are dealing with after this morning."

Smiling and shaking her head, I watched her look to the notepad on her desk. When she came in today, she started using it instead of the company tablet. Considering what she told me about other Chosen and the effects...

"The accelerated supply staging at the Tower and key properties now includes extra security by reaching out to the hunter’s network."

"Getting them on board with the right amount of pay and by letting them think it was about a winter storm emergency initiative drafted by the government agencies certainly helped."

"Luca has training exercises ramping up for cold weather rescue. Getting the pack ready without causing panic is important, but the human members of the company need this advice and knowledge too.

"Already put out a memo that at least one seminar is mandatory before the 22nd. That it will count as a bonus paid day for them for attendance. And I’ve pretty much confirmed the communication blackout is automatic like you said... and while I can’t definitively say it is centered on Chad himself, it was already the theory."

I pulled up my analysis on my phone, turning the screen so she could see the clean network maps I’d been quadruple checking. One of the many tasks after her fox - that feels weird and right at the same time - went AWOL... that have caused me not to sleep enough in the last day and a half.

"Honestly it makes me feel better. It means he’s not actively hacking me- us. Just passively protected by a stupid... effect. I can work around passive when I’m not using half my time looking for our vulnerabilities."

"What about the truck theft angle you mentioned this morning? Can I get the spots to add to this?"

Swiping to another screen, I slide it and let her start placing her pins. The manual method is kind of charming, I guess. I’ll snap a picture for Citra before I leave.

It’s only fair to reciprocate alien looking technology with alien feeling methods.