Arrow Inferno
Chapter 11: Stanley ‘STAN’ Norris vs. Ian ‘WILL’ Williams ~ Danger and charm… Talk your way out!

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"Oh shit." It was a tiny whimper.

But that was all it took. The wolf paused, its teeth still bared. What he'd just heard was a sound of fear. He focused on his mate's face and immediately felt himself go weak at the look of absolute terror on that face. The urge to deliver that all- important bite drained out of the wolf instantly. But one thought raced through his mind... Why was he so terrified?

'Because he thinks he's your next meal, you fool', his human growled inside him.

'But why would I want to devour him? He's my mate.' The wolf sounded surprised.

'He doesn't know that, Scooby.'

'Don't call me that.' The wolf growled, making his mate squeeze his eyes shut. 'He has to know I mean him no harm.' He sounded very worried.

'And how is he to know that, ya stupid mutt?' Stan scoffed. Even though his wolf was stronger than he was, he could always argue with him to his heart's content. Whether that stubborn wolf would take whatever he had to say was, however, up to the wolf.

'How can I make him know?' The wolf flicked his tongue against his mate's cheek in an effort to calm him down. And that was when he heard him speaking...

"I know you're a beast and can't understand a word I'm going to tell you." Will was saying shakily. "But I'll say it anyway. It is obvious you mean to kill me. I wish that wasn't so but what can I do. Know what's killing me right now? It's the ridicule I'm going to face...or should I say my memory is going to induce from my silly friends. They will have a good laugh if they hear I've been mauled to death by a wolf. A frigging wolf!" 'What the fuck!' The wolf stared, totally lost. His mate sounded as though wolves were nonentities.

Will saw the wolf looking at him, almost as if he was listening to him. He knew he was only biding his time, relishing the moments before he ripped into his meal but at least till those huge teeth sunk into him, he could pretend the deadly animal could hear him.

"You see, I've always loved wolves. Had pictures of wolves plastered all over my room growing up. My mother thought it was a phase. But I never grew out of it. So you see...I'm on your team. Killing me would be a form of betrayal. But the ridicule! Just imagine the inscription on my tombstone: Here lies Ian Williams, the wolf lover...Killed by a wolf. Fucking hell! Those idiotic pals of mine will have a field day. Please spare me that. Don't kill me."

Stan's wolf found his mate's request so ridiculously funny he brought out his huge tongue and licked his face again.

"Oh fuck, cut out that shit, Judas." Will groaned shakily making Stan burst into laughter inside his wolf.

'He gave you a new name. Judas!' Stan's laughter annoyed his wolf and made him growl again which frightened Will.

"Oh please..." He gasped. "You will hate my meat. Trust me, I'm not tasty at all." Will pleaded.

'Wanna bet?' The wolf thought, totally amused.

"I'm sure you can catch some tasty squirrels if you look around."

The wolf suddenly rolled Will onto his side and ripped off his holster which held his pistol and flung it beyond reach. Then he moved off Will to lie beside him. He knew those bullets wouldn't do anything to him since they were not silver bullets. But he didn't want his mate shooting him and wondering why he wasn't dying.

Will slowly sat up, careful not to make any sudden movements. That animal would rip into him if he felt threatened in any way. He sat and looked at the wolf but was careful not to maintain eye contact with it. From what he knew about them, they felt challenged when stared in the eye. Despite his fear, however, he couldn't help but acknowledge how magnificent the beast was. Unfortunately, he needed to find a way to escape from all that magnificence. And fast. Before it was too late. Will's mind raced. How was he going to escape? Without his gun, he was helpless. He would have preferred a ruthless assassin to the magnificent deadly beast he was facing any day.

"Hey, not that I'm complaining but what are you waiting for?" Will asked, slowly shifting his eyes from side to side, doing a quick check. Wolves moved in packs. Maybe the animal was waiting for the rest of the pack. Oh shit! He was going to be the family dinner. Or... "Are you too full to indulge right now?"

Then a thought occurred to him...a very nasty thought.

"Hey, I hope you didn't see any other runner." Will breathed, feeling his blood turn to ice. "Oh my fucking god I hope he hasn't..." He suddenly looked very agitated. "Shit, shit, shit... Stan where the fuck are you?" He groaned. Then he looked the wolf in the eye and damn the consequences. "What did you eat, you shithead? If you've done anything to Stan, I swear I'll..." But his threat trailed off into a helpless groan. What could he do when clearly, he was to be the next meal. The wolf's head tilted to the side with a look of interest as he watched his mate. He thought it was very sweet how his mate seemed more worried about the fact that something could have happened to his crazy human. But he also saw how distressed his man was getting and hated it. He moved closer to him, his aim to comfort his mate but he saw how he flinched in fear and remained still. The last thing he wanted was to scare the man. But unfortunately just being in his wolf form was doing the job.

"I really hope you haven't done anything to him," Will spoke with barely suppressed anger. "That would create a lot of problems for us. You included. Because even if you kill me, my people will figure it out eventually and hunt you down. We don't take shit from anyone. Not even rabid beasts like you."

The wolf moved closer then and licked Will's face again. 'What are you doing? Just let him go already?' Stan hissed at his wolf.

'I'm enjoying his company.' The wolf continued to leisurely lick at his mate's neck.

'You mean his threats.' Stan drawled.

'Empty threats. I haven't killed you, have I?'

Will glanced at his watch and groaned. He'd run for almost an hour before encountering his furry assailant. In other words, he'd already been in the jungle for almost two hours. His sister was going to be very worried if he didn't call as he was expected to.

"She might as well get used to it." His chuckle was without humour. He turned to look at the wolf who was grooming him as if he were his pup. "My sister will be expecting my call. My mum is not well. There has been no big change in her situation since I've been here. But I always call with the hope that there is good news." Will didn't know why he was even telling the wolf. It was not as if it understood what he was saying. But somehow hearing himself speak felt soothing. So he continued talking to the wolf.