Coldsnap: The Billionaire Alpha's Fated Pregnant Princess (GL)-Chapter 407 - [~] Poking The Fissures For A Farce

Chapter 407: Chapter 407 - [~] Poking The Fissures For A Farce

"I know you have a lot of questions."

"QUESTIONS?"

Luca’s thunderous voice came against her statement to the shock of us all. It seemed almost... no, it was completely out of character.

"You left us during the worst crisis we’ve ever faced. You lied to this pack about that rogue’s condition and importance to you until the last minute. And now you return and expect us to just accept it?"

The common area was silent enough before, but it went deathly quiet. Every person’s breathing hitched and stopped - including my own - as we saw the challenge being made.

Her Beta *never* did that. Not publicly. He was her enforcer. Supporting her absolutely in front of the pack.

He was a good man. Too good for me, he seemed to think - but also too good for her.

I know he was the one who always questioned her choices, privately. I’d walked in on more than one conversation like that in my time.

And yet... could there be limits? Is he thinking she looks too weak right now to resist?

"I asked you and Claire to hold the pack together. While I searched for my mate who had went into hiding. Who had went to den. I prioritized finding her over being here. You’re right about that and I could have trusted this pack with more of the truth sooner."

"Yes. It’s far too late to realize that. Your decisions have not been sane, Kyrie. And you could have made a difference during the attack we just faced. That *I* just repelled."

One admitting error. And one continuing to push. What is going on here?

"Possibly. But, I will not be shamed for protecting a mother during the most vulnerable time of her life. I will not apologize for ensuring the safety of our child, who you know I have claimed as my own. And I will not back away from doing what was in my power to bring them both here, to safety; to family; to pack."

She looked around the room, deliberately meeting any Rimecoat eyes that would not look away. Looking for challenges - and finding few. Few willing to admit it.

Some of these people were allied with the likes of Damien Eschenhorn. Apparently, a man that would pretend to look away while sharpening a knife behind his back.

One to stab his allies with as he tore for the top. Just like he stabbed me good - by accusing me of involvement in a kidnapping I had no foreknowledge of...

Like I needed his help to kidnap someone!

My family is richer than he was. We have more connections. If I wanted her gone that way, I could have done it myself.

"You want her as part of our pack that much. What reason do we have to let that happen? You keep saying you are Fated, but we can all see that no marking has been done."

"The speed at which I commit is none of any of your concern. I’m told that a rumor is growing popular. That her son was born during the conclave on the winter solstice. That it is a wolf pup and not a human child."

So that was what she took from Kyrie... she - she let her hold her child?

"I can tell you that it is true. She and her son are unlike the old bloodline. You’ve even seen her form just now. One blessed by the Lunar Goddess herself."

Murmurs at her words and look begin from the crowd. At some point, her hands had changed.

Claws worked the fasteners on the coat, to reveal pale skin covered in dried blood. Fairly fresh, less than a day old.

Hers? No... was there some trouble when they returned that she dealt with? I even hear one Omega on the other side loudly mention a scar visible on her flank.

This may be the longest she’s stood like this. In front of a crowd without snapping on the first person she felt was staring too hard for the wrong reasons.

"If you cannot accept my word on that, then you are free to leave Rimecoat territory immediately. As your Alpha, I will not force anyone to stay. But I *will* force those that stay to adapt. I will not back away from challenge or risk."

Her clawed hand pointed at her Beta as her voice rose. At Luca Stroman, the person who should be her staunchest ally.

"The world out there? Will take all of us doing our parts. Better you learn to make the easy choices now than later. For the hard ones aren’t going to wait for you to decide."

The ultimatum was met with movement near me. Xandra and Arnold, two of our pack that used to talk to me frequently, were sidling toward the stairwell. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Not storming out in anger, but... slipping away? During this?

I moved out of their way and watched as Luca stepped forward. Looking imposing. Healthy. But a *lot* less crazy than she did, standing there soiled... with her partial hybrid arms ready for a fight.

Picturing him being slashed to ribbons like some of the old Alpha’s people had been by this maniac, my heart sits in my throat before he kneels.

A choking sound comes out of me when I see his subservient side. Somehow given without looking any *less*. He really is... too good...

"Understood, Alpha. We adapt. You just tell us why and for what from now on. Instead of running off."

"I can try and do that."

Just like that, the challenge that had been so surprising... is resolved. Theater. Citra had called it that immediately and I believe she was right. I hate admitting that.

But this had been a performance to let Kyrie speak her mind, demonstrate strength, and even to draw out opposition early on. To force the pack to choose to forgive or forget.

They did. Most ducked their heads or kneeled.

But a few of us were not here.

Xandra... her cousin Xara, because of course their mothers tried to match - had worked directly with Eschenhorn. I’d seen them together at gatherings, though I’d never understood the full extent of their relationship.

I naturally just assumed they were copulating. Like she was known to do with every male that would like a try. Which is why I didn’t talk to her very much.

And Arnold... he had been unusually vocal about maintaining the pack’s purity in recent weeks. So much so that he would have made *my* ancestors proud.

He was a friend, I thought. One... too interested in my complaints about the rogues. He had encouraged my anger with her.

Always seemed to be there with another grievance to stoke the flames of my insubordination. Even before I had Helene - Citra, *whatever* - to focus on.

And he was the first one to shove me out of the way in the hall. It was clear enough.

I’d been used.

Just like with Damien.

My perfectly *legitimate* concerns about our pack’s stability, amidst all the lies we’d been fed, had been weaponized by even darker agendas. I turned and slipped away, like them, when Kyrie started speaking again.

Hearing her outline matters moving forward, as if she was completely up to date, was not my idea of necessary. Besides, I haven’t been allowed to be a part of anything since what she did to me.

So part of me doesn’t care how we are going to be taking over and renovating buildings. Construction labor isn’t for me.