The Wolf of the Wilds

The Unlikely Pair

The next day Helena found herself in the town square again. Fortunately this time the area was far less crowded and only a few wolves wandered through as they went about their daily duties. The rogue didn't go directly to the pack den and instead made a detour, heading towards the grocery store.

It was sat at the junction where a road led into the open expanse, just on the corner. Each crate was labelled in an unreadable scrawl, a red sign hanging from the shop front.

Helena past the produce with little more than a side glance and she peered through the window to see if Iona was working. The sight that met her was a surprise.

Felix was there, stocking shelves while Iona sat at the till. Both seemed immersed in a deep conversation. Iona was chewing on her bottom lip, a playful glint in her eyes. Felix, meanwhile, was grinning light heartedly, amusement dancing across his square features.

Helena smirked slightly as she noticed how Felix's gaze rarely left Iona's face and how the women kept throwing the omega appraising glances when she thought he wasn't looking.

"How curious," Lena murmured as both of them starting laughing at a joke Felix made. She decided to intrude on their pleasant little chat and stole inside, putting on an innocent facade. The tinkling of the bell made the pair of wolves whip around.

"Oh! Hello Helena," Iona greeted her, her voice slightly higher in tone than usual. Helena pretended to not notice the awkward tension that had overtaken the shop and instead cocked her head to the side.

"I didn't know you were working in here Felix," she said gently, putting on a deliberately relaxed quirk of the lips. Felix jumped down from the top of his foot stool, landing with his arms outstretched as he attempted to not mess up the landing. He waved his arms towards Iona.

"Iona managed to convince the owner to let me stock the shelves every so often. It's been good fun so far and hopefully it'll make money a little less tight as winter approaches," he explained simply. Helena nodded a few times.

"That's great news. Good company as well?" She questioned with a false air of innocence. The light creases around Felix's eyes grew more pronounced as he beamed.

"Oh yes! It's been really nice chatting to Iona. I'm sad I didn't try talking to her before now."

Out of the corner of her eye, Helena could see Iona looking down, smiling slightly at the stock records.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but at least you're well acquainted now. Anyway, I just popped in to say hi. I have a meeting with the alphas in five minutes," she said, gesturing to the clock outside on the wall of the pack den. It's arms were quickly approaching the time of their appointment and the metal jerked as each second and minute past.

"I hope it goes well, you can come and have a drink with us afterwards. Come to my place when you're done," Iona suggested.

She left after assuring the pair that she'd return later and set off across the cobbled square. The pack den was lively and bright, but Helena had been there enough times to know it's layout like the back of her hand. She avoided the front desk and slinked her way to the alphas' office, tapping the door several times to alert the pair of her presence.

"Come in Helena!" Came the reply from within. Inside Ed and Hermine were sat at the desk, paperwork arranged in neat piles around them.

"Afternoon," she said, not waiting to be asked to take a seat opposite them.

A tense quiet hung over the room and neither party was sure how to break it. Finally Helena gave in with a sigh and reached into her bag, placing a jar of rings, necklaces and bracelets before the other wolves.

"I went to the metal specialist and had her do an assessment of value. In that jar is slightly over 400 exim worth of goods; it'll cover the cost of my trip, whether you decide to keep some of it for yourself or you sell it all off," she said boredly as Hermine plucked off the lid and peered inside.

"Where did you find all of this?" She asked, picking up several of the pieces and holding them up to the lamp beside her.

"The old city. It's all genuine. If it's worth more than 400 exim then I recommend you put the money towards repairing the water pump in the omega district."

Edgard nodded several times, his chair creaking as he leant over to get a look at the bounty.

"We certainly will," he agreed, his eyebrows shooting up. Once Hermine had satisfied her curiosity, she passed it on to him and he started inspecting each piece one by one. Hermine linked her fingers together and sent Lena a smile.

"So how are things Helena? You and Adrian been doing well?"

"Things have been alright. He's got a bit of a protective streak I've noticed. He wasn't too happy after yesterday's altercation."

Hermine shifted uncomfortably and looked down.

"I am sorry about that. It was a bad situation yesterday, you shouldn't have been dragged into our fight."

"It's alright. I've been in worse situations before."

There was quiet and then Ed spoke up.

"We're thankful for what you did. I know you were protecting yourself, but it meant a lot to see our pack support us that way. It'll be good to have you with us in Semul. I hope you have a good time."

"I'm sure I will. How are the preparations going?"

"So far we've been amassing our party. It sounds like Ben, Felix, Marty and Jameson will be joining us. Petrine is considering coming and several of the pack warriors are also wanting to attend."

Helena raised an eyebrow.

"It'll be like old times then. I haven't seen those three since we arrived back on Montis territory. I'm sure they're thrilled by my presence," she replied, her voice alight with sadistic amusement. Edgard grinned, sharing a look with Hermine.

"I'm sure."