The Wolf of the Wilds

The Proposition

The more time she spent with the man, the more she despised him. From the moment she'd set eyes on him, stood amongst plotting alphas in an abandoned warehouse, she'd had a strong dislike for him. But as she grew to know Oskar Arv, she came to realise how much of a sadistic, perverted dick he was.

He seemed to relish other's discomfort and spent most of their meetings teasing Adrian with sly remarks, wasted their time with impossible proposals, and leered at her like she was a hunk of meat. Three hours into their first meeting and Helena was already biting her tongue to stop her from snapping some sense into the man. Rather than look at him, she concentrated on Adrian's hand where it rested on her forearm.

"I apologise Miss Helena, this must be awfully dull for you." Oskar's greasy voice was an unpleasant interruption. "Would you like to perhaps go to the local bazaar for a little shopping? There's no need for you to hang around listening to us men ramble on," he said, watching her with a slight quirk to his lip.

She would've quite happily have added another scar to the man's face as he undressed her with his eyes for the second time that hour. Adrian's hand gently squeezed, keeping her on her leash of sanity. "Don't worry yourself, Alpha. I am perfectly content just listening, although I will point out that the Montis does possess a fully operational harbour, so deliveries via the continent is an unnecessary expense. It also reduces the chance of any of the shipments being disrupted by ogre activity, which I've heard can be quite a problem in the Balthae peninsula," she replied, meeting his gaze with a hard stare.

His eyebrow shot up as he leant back into his chair. The look on his face went from a leer, to somewhere between curiosity and thought. "A very valid point," he hummed. Judging from the line between his brows, he was considering something, but Helena suspected that it wasn't her proposal he was giving so much attention. The meeting continued, and the Arv duo seemed set on antagonising them as much as wolfly possible.

"I'm sorry, Oskar, but we'd be far better off importing ore from elsewhere at this price. I've never heard of a 'product security deposit' and I deal with many of the Montis' import procedures," Adrian said, glancing over yet another document.

"In your part of the world it isn't common maybe, but we would never like one of our valued partners to be impacted by...an unfortunate accident," the Beta explained, sharing an amused look with his superior.

Adrian muttered something under his breath, so quiet that she couldn't make out the exact words, but she got the impression that they weren't kind. The conversation eventually continued, but Helena was counting down the minutes to lunch. An hour left. Then half an hour. Finally, just five minutes.

"Shall we have a break now? I think some food might clear our heads," Oskar announced finally.

"Thank fuck," Helena whispered, her words obscured by the scraping of their chairs.

No one stuck around as they left the room. Helena stayed at Adrian's side, exchanging grimaces with him. Once in the foyer, where food was arranged to one side and guards lined up on the other, she paused.

"Adrian, I'm going to visit the loo," she murmured, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Don't eat anything until I come back."

Adrian smiled at her and waved her away. "Safe travels. I'll try not to poison myself in the few minutes I'm out of your presence," he teased.

Helena didn't hang around and rushed up a short flight of stairs to where the toilet rooms were located. It wasn't until she'd spent several years living in the wilderness that she found an appreciation for the miracle that sewage systems and bathrooms were. It was also rather novel using an inside toilet for once, such luxuries were mostly found in cities like Semul and Cruor.

She washed her hands on the way out, sending a glare at the mirror on the way back. Her reflection was about as ghastly as one would expect, especially with the quality of sleep she'd been getting in recent nights and the overbearing amount of stress she was under. It was a miracle she didn't look worse.

Stepping out into the corridor, she came face to face with Oskar. He'd been leaning on the opposite wall and as soon as he saw her, a smirk pulled at his lip. "Ah. Hello dear, just who I was looking for," he said, straightening and taking the strides towards her. He was uncomfortably close, and his height would've been a source of anxiety had Helena given a fuck.

"Oh?" she murmured, sending him a coy smile. "Do you make a habit of waiting outside the bog for young women? Or was this just a pleasant coincidence?"

"Not a habit, just a little tactical thinking. Your mate doesn't like to give you space, I've noticed."

Up this close, she could plainly see the scar etched into his skin. It was silver with age, but it raised many questions for her. Scars were rare for their kind unless a poison was used to inhibit healing, and there was a clean, almost deliberate precision to it. "Have you considered that maybe it's me who doesn't like to give him space?" Before he could answer, she sighed softly and turned her face away. "Anyway, how can I help you?"

Oskar took another step forward, but Helena stepped away, her back bumping into the wall behind. "Has anyone ever told you that you are a beautiful woman, Helena? You are mysterious. Down to earth, but ethereal in a way. It is quite...alluring." She felt his fingers brush at her hair, and she found herself completely flummoxed. That wasn't at all what she'd been expecting to hear.

Glancing up, she found his eyes watching her with a dangerous intensity. There was nothing soft or caring there, just hunger. "I'm flattered," she said, struggling to keep the disgust from her face. "Beautiful isn't a word that applies to me, but I appreciate the effort. May I point out that both of us have mates, and that I am young enough to be your daughter?"

She had to clench her fist to stop herself from flinching when he touched her cheek. It was a light stroke of the thumb, but her skin crawled, and a cold sensation took hold of her chest. "It's a shame that your mate has neglected your self-esteem," he purred. "A more mature man like myself could teach you so many things that that beta of yours has never even comprehended. Haven't you ever wondered what the strong, capable arms of an alpha could do to you?"

By the moon he was a persistent dickhead. She didn't know about him, but she had several lessons she wanted to teach him. Most involved a blade and lots of blood. "Oskar," she whispered, gently taking his wrist. "I will say this once, so listen. I don't want to sleep with you. The only man I want to spend my nights with has blue eyes, is approximately twenty years your junior, and bears a striking resemblance to yourself." She dug her nails into his flesh and wrenched his hand away from her. "And if you dare touch me without my permission again, I will show you just how useless those arms of yours can be." She stared up at him, taunting him to retaliate.

When he finally moved away, she sent him a cold scowl and marched back towards where the scents of lunch emanated from. Adrian was quick to notice her unease when she returned. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Helena was thankful that the underhands were also eating their lunch with them, and the resulting din made it easier for their conversation to go unnoticed. "Oskar ambushed me outside of the bathroom and offered me a night of raunchy, sexy sex, if you must know," she muttered, allowing hints of revulsion to stain her reply. "He seems set on trying to hurt you in any way possible."

The effect was immediate. Adrian's face twisted into a furious snarl and his hands shook. Multiple curses passed his lips as he looked around the room with a glare. "I swear if he keeps this up, I'm going to snap soon," he hissed.

Helena rested her hand on his shoulder. "He wants a reaction. Don't give him an excuse to lash out at you."

"I know, I know," he whispered.

Neither of them were particularly hungry after that, and they picked at the buffet with little to no gusto. When the meeting began again, it was curt. The tension was so thick in the air that it made it difficult to breath. Surprise, surprise, they adjourned as soon as they reached the end of the transport plans and neither party offered a farewell as they left. 

A/N-

Thank you for reading this part! Sorry for the delay in uploads, I've been having trouble with perfectionism and insecurities with my writing. Please let me know what you thought about this part!

Have a lovely week.

-H