The Wolf of the Wilds

The Montis

They left the Arbre pack in the earlier hours of the morning to the chorus of bird song and the grateful farewells of wolves. Helena was once again at the back of the convoy, but this time her steed, Cheval, was much less temperamental than the last.

Cheval was a gift from the alpha family of the Arbre pack. At first Helena had tried to decline, but they had insisted so much it had given her a headache. In the end she just gave in.

Apart from the fact she didn’t have a clue how to look after a horse, she rather liked him. He was bitter at the world, much like herself, and every step he took was with a deep and unyielding hatred for the ground he stood upon. In other words, he was wonderful.

Over the next few days, as they got closer to Montis territory, Helena learnt how to care for Cheval. She watched the other wolves’ moves closely, observing their routines and habits for information. It was a rather enlightening experience. On top of learning the basics of equine care it turned out that Hermine had a nail biting problem, Ben was having anxiety dreams from being apart from his mate and Adrian really loved humming while he made dinner. Felix had been helpful, giving her tips every once in a while when he didn’t think anyone was listening.

Eventually their journey came to its end.

The group had been travelling up a steep hillside, one covered in ferns and heather. The smell of the sea had been growing ever stronger for a while now and the sky was dark with the promise of rain. The winds here were stronger, more coastal, with an undercurrent of ash and industrial processes.

Helena frowned, biting the inside of her cheek to quash the emotions that came flaring up with the presence of that all too familiar smell. She began breathing through her mouth to lessen the odours effects, distracting herself by gazing around at the rolling, lush green hills below.

“Hey, Lena! Do you smell that? We’re almost there!” Adrian called from a little way in front. Helena summoned a feeble smile, sending him a thumbs up.

“That’s good. Why does it smell like fire?” she spoke loudly so that he could hear her over the din created by the howling gale.

“We have a lot of metal workers in our pack! The furnaces are always burning,” he called back, his face alight with excitement. Now Helena looked, the other wolves also seemed more at ease, their postures relaxed.

They reached the crest of the hill and Helena’s eyes grew wide as she clutched at her knife handle.

Below, within the gentle clutches of a valley, sat a town. It was larger than Arbre, but infinitely more pleasing to the eye. The buildings were built from a light coloured rock that reflected what little sunlight they received, the roofs tiled from the same dark slate she’d seen in other northern territories. Instead of the wooden fortifications of Arbre, the Montis defences circled the town at a distance. They were forged from metal and stood tall above the town, crowning the hilltops that enclosed the settlement, with guard stations positioned along them at intervals.

A howl rang out across the valley, echoing and bouncing off of the steep reliefs.

“We’ve been spotted!” Edgard said with a grin on his face.

As they got to the boundary, Helena saw wolves lined along the fence, waving and welcoming them home. They were let through with a great cheer and Edgard and Hermine dismounted their horses to greet their pack members. For a moment they were lost within the swarm of wolves, embracing, greeting and talking. The other Montis wolves soon joined the throng and Helena was left awkwardly stood a little distance away, not sure what she was supposed to do with herself. Instead she took the time to observe the place some more.

Wind turbines and mills were scattered across the slopes of the valley, power lines running on wooden posts down into the basin. At the far end of the valley, the ground flattened out where the land met the sea. The pack had constructed a harbour there, several boats tethered at the docks.

Helena felt a slight pain in her chest and pulled her eyes away from the harbour and back to the gathering of wolves that’d started to make their way down to the town. She released a heavy sigh, running her fingers through her hair.

“This is going to be fun,” she murmured. “Walk on Cheval, we ought to follow them.”

The roads leading to the pack den were bustling with celebrations. Coloured fabrics were hung from the windows and flower petals littered the ground. Helena just kept her head down, praying that no one would speak to her. She entertained herself by crunching every petal she came across under the heel of her boots, finding a sick kind of pleasure in it.

The den was a spindly building standing three stories tall. It was less of a house, more of a tower with large windows and a pointed spire that set it apart from everywhere else. By the doors, stable hands were waiting to welcome the returning travellers. They gave Helena an odd look as she relinquished her hold of Cheval, but she headed inside without talking to anyone and closed the wooden door behind her.

In the foyer the travellers and several other wolves were mingling. Judging from their no nonsense expressions, they were the other betas, the adult members of the alpha family and the head warriors.

A stern looking woman with dull brown hair pulled back into a slick bun glanced over at the rogue, her nostrils flaring a little as she sniffed the air. Her eyes grew narrowed, the light creases of age growing darker. She turned her body towards Helena fully, her lips pursed into a line.

“Alphas. Why is there a rogue in our den?” She hissed, her voice gravelly and coarse. The room grew quiet as the wolves noticed Helena’s dark presence hovering by the entrance. 

“Petrine. She is Adrian’s mate and a fine warrior. You don’t need to be concerned,” Hermine said across the room. The tall, balding man stood beside Adrian turned to him and clapped him on the back.

“Congrats! See, all that waiting and travelling finally paid off didn’t it?” He said with a teasing grin. Adrian glanced over at Lena, his ears and cheeks a dusted red.

“Victor, please shut up,” he said back quickly, turning his head away.

Helena just snorted and did a half bow to the room at large.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” she said with slight hint of a drawl, “my name is Helena.”

A/N

I hope you enjoyed this part. It was a bit of a filler so I'm sorry for the lack of action. Hopefully it'll begin to pick up soon. As always votes, comments and constructive criticisms are welcome.

Have a nice day.

-H