Coldsnap: The Billionaire Alpha's Fated Pregnant Princess (GL)-Chapter 419 - Cages Just Wide Enough To Wrap Your Head Around

Chapter 419: Chapter 419 - Cages Just Wide Enough To Wrap Your Head Around

Quickly, it’s clear that this room I had not even noticed on the way through before is... apparently some kind of security monitoring station. Two whole walls had a station of screens with multiple people watching them.

With headsets on and laptops at the ready. Wearing similar clothing to Kyrie, the simple almost uniform style of plain shirt over utility pants that I’d seen being sold on the Hunter’s App network.

But my eyes couldn’t focus on the people nearby. They were locked on the figures on the screens. Thousands, maybe. All packed into stacks of partitioned levels lit by low levels of light.

Families clustered in what I’m guessing are common areas on the ground, lines formed toward countless kitchens sharing meals that I’m sure must be rationed based on the careful amount and quick pass-through that involved scanning some sort of identification card in front of the server.

"Trouble in grid 16 earlier. Another human making a shiv. It’s like they think they are imprisoned and not just being sheltered..."

"I’ll have the former elected officials of the city give a new speech. Hopefully that will curtail those tendencies, but people are worried and looking to protect themselves."

"You mean they are scared and looking to be ready to attack what they fear before it attacks them."

The words left my lips and turned heads in the room, as I watched only one corner of a screen. A woman rocking a baby not much bigger than my pup while sitting on a cot. Looking at the rest of her family sitting there just playing cards.

Under a single strip of light. To maintain a semblance of normalcy. When nothing about anything is the same for them.

"I’m tired, Kyrie. Let’s go to bed."

Seeing a glimpse, from behind this show of surveillance technology, of the situation she has come back to handle... has exhausted my patience to remain here. For I don’t like this moment of twisted sympathy inside me mixed with a feeling of abdicated leadership.

I don’t like that I thought I was in good company now, here in this tower. Of being *one* now with those mass of people. Humans whose tightly woven small worlds were all upended - just like mine was when I transmigrated.

Disheartened completely in myself, to find that I am at all smug. At this ’company’ I should commiserate with being shown they are in control of almost nothing. That their societal cage has grown smaller.

While mine... mine grew wider. Enough to allow me to choose the responsibility of selfish survival, virtuous protection of a single child relying on me, and not fret constantly about the people of a kingdom swearing fealty.

To a Princess that felt scorned by the title. By the responsibility.

By everything, always.

⧖ ☾ ❄ ☽ ⧖

"Citra? We’re here."

I blinked and realized I’d been staring at the bottom left corner of the elevator for probably fifty floors. And the Alpha of this city stood there holding the door open. Patient as always.

Waiting as always. A very soft smile erases the probing look on her face as I stared.

"...I’m very tired, too. You don’t have to worry about me trying anything."

"I wasn’t. Just... just thinking."

When I stepped out, holding the child that had been in my mind, she moved with quick steps away through the apartment. Like someone performing a familiar routine.

Checking the door to the roof I’d used earlier was locked and close. Adjusting the thermostat on the wall panel that apparently also held some other security features based on what I’m seeing now.

She tapped something on it and a hidden panel slide back. Her hand reached in and threw a lever before we heard a very mechanical clunk sound from the lift behind me.

"Disconnects the circuit. No voltage means the hydraulics keeping the steel rods loaded against the springs are free to come out and lock into the rail slots. Immobilizes the lift entirely."

"I can’t help but feel like this was added because of me."

"It is nice for a child safety feature. Or a mate kidnapping feature? But no, this was always part of the setup. I used to always flip it when I was in for the night."

"Is that so."

No part of her looked like she was joking when she said the very *questionable* part. It’s strange that I have to feel like defending her against my own wariness, just because she didn’t hold me here against my will the other times.

> Like being thankful for the serial killer for not stuffing you in their fridge the first five visits to their lakehouse! <

"You can take my bed if you want. I can sleep on the couch."

"I don’t follow."

"Just offering you some alone time. If you needed it."

She was already turning toward where I’d pushed her big couch against a wall when my free hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Tugged and pulled a bit more to the direction of the shipping container.

"Stop being silly. You have a bed right beside my own. You have ever since I bought the stupid thing. Why would we choose to complicate things now?"

Apparently she has no answer to that. At least for what I imagine was a count to ten. Long enough to get inside with her and start arranging our son on the bed for long enough to get ourselves ready.

"I’ve never been fully clear on the need to complicate anything between us, Citra."

My hands don’t stop moving as I smooth the bed, throw off the items I’d gotten out to examine while she was off being a leader to her people for a while.

"Don’t be stupid, either. Poking at the traps the hunter set is not very fox, Ms. Voss."

At least, I assume that’s what she was doing all that time. But now I do have cause to believe that all she did was just spend hours messing around, looking for ways to make me figuratively crumble in her hands.

> When all she really needs to do is just touch me with them. I’m more like a dry sand castle here... emotionally... than I’d like to admit. <

With the space cleared, I pivot to grabbing the only thing by the waist that belongs on that side - the only thing that ever belonged on her side of the adjustable beds. Gently, insistently leading her closer to the mattress and to my body.

"Just be sweet. Just hold me to sleep. Just be Kyrie."

Her brown eyes look at me, staring right into this body’s light-grey irises like there is something much deeper inside than she can see at a mere glance. Like they are an abyss of some sort that hides a light.

Instead of just an admittedly quite pretty polished coin of metal... that is only ever good for reflecting what others want to see in its surface. Or maybe for acting as a spacer between the floor and a wobbly table leg.

"I can do that."

She answers and guides us down. Holding herself lightly over the top of me as my back finds the bed. Her forehead moves down and touches mine while the cartilage of her nose spars with my own for two beats of my heart.

Then with that infuriating tease of a moment is over, she manages to roll us up together and scoot closer to the pup.

"As long as you stop thinking that you shouldn’t be Citra."

Her hand reaches over and moves him onto my chest. Letting me smell his scent wrapped all together with hers at once. My lip and eyelids quiver and a slightly raspy whisper manages to be coherent enough. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"...What do you think you saw in me?"

I’m not sure if I mean just now, the moment she met me, or any moment since then. But I ask anyway - even though I’m not sure what I’ll do if I know.

The only thing I can be sure of is that *she* thinks she knows. Because she doesn’t answer. Just rests her face against the back of my neck while holding me until I drift to slumber with worry melting away like seafoam under each of her shallow breaths.

And again, after the pup wakes us up to be fed, she holds me with that sweet encouragement.

And again...

...and again...