Coldsnap: The Billionaire Alpha's Fated Pregnant Princess (GL)-Chapter 409 - So Scratch My Eyes Out

***[POV: New Mom Knows Best]***

"Can you please not fraudulently induce someone into a scenario with that kind of face while petting him?"

My voice came out very... *accusatory* despite agreeing to let her hold my son - and knowing what kind of person she is. Claire blinked a few times behind her glasses, before lifting up and handing him to me.

"That’s fair. Here. For what it’s worth, I wasn’t enjoying it. Using Victoria, I mean. I’d keep the puppy if you’d let me."

"I know."

She was being very careful, but it still made me intensely nervous. Far more than I was with Kyrie holding him. So, taking him back into my arms, I settled into the opposite end of the living room couch.

She scooted further away and began to tap on that tablet she’d brought. That bit of distance felt deliberate. On both our parts.

Like she understands I’m not about to come right out and apologize for anything.

However, a cold shoulder is not really all that cold when it’s staying right in the room with you. It would have been more... depressing if she just left.

> But maybe I just don’t understand human dynamics. She could be trying to tell me she loathes my guts enough to work instead of talk and air her grievances? Maybe I should start. <

"That’s what I can’t stand. In front of children, at least smile when doing terrible things behind the scenes for good reasons."

"Sounds messed up. Is that what your mom did?"

All of my muscles, everywhere, twitch at once at being compared to her. She... Queen Mother Himani rarely showed a smile. She maintained an icy, judgmental state in public.

Though she did sometimes smile in private.

Usually after she’d finished her harsh criticisms and stressed how she was berating me for my own benefit. Or when she caught me in a fib that she could hold against me.

> Actually, in some ways, isn’t she a lot like- <

"You’re frowning a hell of a lot more than I was. Did I hit a nerve? Need me to take the kid back since we aren’t allowed to be upset and hold him?"

"No, thank you. It will probably wake up to feed soon anyway."

While I tried to shake the idea of silver fur and amethyst eyes, wearing a set of glasses and sitting behind a desk in an office dress suit - she sat down her device and her head tilted more than a human’s should. Almost horizontal!

"Even if I knew that it had to be done, hearing you say it just made it very real. I traced a purchase of one of our medical grade milking units to you. Do you need a space to summon your container and get some bottles of your milk out?"

"No, I... haven’t used that yet. Weren’t you listening in with Kyrie?"

"I was, but I only ever hear what she said. Wait. You’re telling me you just let it nom right on-"

"I’d appreciate a change of subject. And for you to *get out* when it is time."

She snorts and rubs at her eyes under those glasses. Brown, tired, and far more warm than my mother’s ever were. I guess being alike in some ways doesn’t make them the same person.

I should remember that. Just in case I start to feel like I am becoming too much like her. Or if this child becomes too much like me.

"Really don’t think you could even pay me to watch. I’ve been bit by little dogs before, on the ankle and hands. I can’t even imagine..."

"Please don’t trail off. Please *stop* imagining it. I’ll kick you out right now."

"Luca did bite my forearm once. It was kind of hot? I still don’t think-"

"Claire. Just... just tell me why you made him corner her and agree to turn her into a spy, okay?!"

It’s a natural process of life, why do these humans here have to push everything until it is something to be ashamed of!

Fine. I’ll get that stupid machine out and use it next time. I should make sure it works right before I pull the bear out to butcher, anyway.

"I missed messing with you. Sure, I’ll explain. Victoria’s pathetic and pitiable. But you were right on the money."

"Meaning?"

"She’s pretty much harmless - even kind of beneficial in the right setting. We’ve known that for years. I’ve been tracking her camera footage for a month."

"Stalking her, you mean?"

"If you have to put a frowny fox sticker on it, sure. Lodestone flagged every interaction. People who shunned her moderately - those were likely just following Kyrie’s lead. But the ones who went pretty excessively harsh on her?"

She turned the screen toward me, showing some sort of chart of connections. Lists of logs with filenames that made my head hurt. Why do they need to be so long with so many numbers?

"Those people had personal stakes in silencing her... or at least making her disrespected by all. And some of those reasons were because they’d been connected to Damien Eschenhorn - just like Arnold Taggart was."

Showing me a picture of a man who looked like he modeled for lumberjack advertisements, not just because of the beard, but because of the tartan flannel... I tilt my head almost as harshly as she had a bit ago.

"He looks familiar."

"I bet. The Taggart family around here is old enough. Not Whitecrest or Voss old, but significant. And more importantly for you, he is like... a once removed cousin of Grant Hoffman."

When she says the name, it clicks. He does indeed have a resemblance to the park ranger werewolf that tried to ask me on a date. I shake my head while trying to get rid of the choices I made *instead* of using his interest for information out of my mind.

> I came up here to get space from Kyrie, not think about the night I lost half of my remaining will to fight the idea of being with her! <

Hm. I wonder if he survived? I guess I’ll be learning a lot about who did and didn’t in the next days. Maybe I’ll be brave and open the roster later, too.

"So, yeah. I made her a controlled experiment. Her social death revealed the shape of potential troublemakers. Without them knowing their personality and behavior were being mapped by an artificial intelligence."

"Clever?"

"Necessary. Everyone has been on edge since the last situation, then with the storm... it was up to me to keep things together. So I did it the only way I knew how. Data - and massive overreach of surveillance agreements."

My son shifted position, his small weight preferring to stuff his nose into the left breast. I waited for a few moments to see if he was actually waking to feed on it, but I guess that wasn’t the case.

"Well, I’m sure you did more than anyone else’s best. Good job."

The praise floated off of my tongue so easily while staring at the pup. But after I said it, I wince due to sounding so... general. Like I was just trying to shut her up.

"...The witches were actually another good addition to the tower. For a lot of reasons, but they allowed me to map wolves that worked best with people outside the pack during stressful situations. So I have a whole list for you now, you know."

"A list of what?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The brunette woman reached out and sat her tablet on the coffee table before leaning back into the couch and hugging herself. With her feet up on the cushion and knees up in the air.

It was the most unrelaxed, relaxed position I’d ever seen someone take.

"Candidates to add to your system’s pack. Or are you going to run from that too, Citra?"