FENRIR ※ Tony Stark [2]

25 - THE PROMISE

Tony stood speechless, barely able to blink for fear of having the beast jump at his throat while he got distracted.

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THE WOLF BEGAN grunting like a rumble, revealing his long, sharp fangs.

Tony finally snapped out of it and tapped the arc reactor on his chest. Soon enough, the Bleeding Edge armour deployed, covering his body in protective nanotech. The support given by the metal alleviated the pain of his broken ribs and gave him back the range of motion he'd lost.

"Angie, stay back!"

If he had been able to look at her, he would've seen the incredulous look on her face, clearly telling him that wasn't going to happen. The young woman who recoiled in fear at the sight of the Warg was long gone. If one thing was made clear by the last few hours, it was that neither she nor her brother were the same people they had once been.

She refused to be afraid of him anymore.

Just as the helmet snapped shut over Tony's face and an array of high-tech detectors were activated, Fenrir let out a short growl before leaping right at him.

He braced himself for the impact as Fenrir's jaw closed in on his arm. The sheer force of the attack left a dent in the metal. Thankfully, the nanoparticles allowed the suit to regenerate and the dent disappeared as fast as it came.

Angie rushed forward, tackling the beast. Tony took advantage of it to shoot out of his blasters but Fenrir ducked away just in time. He jumped back on him and they wrestled violently on the ground until Angie rushed from behind him, pressing the shaft of her spear against his windpipe, to pull him off of Tony.

"I don't... want to... hurt you!" she stammered with difficulty, still holding him off with all her strength "Stop this... please!"

As Fenrir struggled against her hold, he dug his claws deeply into the flesh of her thigh, making Angie scream in pain. She released her hold on him to cling to her leg where blood was pouring out of the nasty wound.

Fenrir charged back towards Tony, this time pinning him against the wall. He began gnawing repeatedly at his armor, hoping to pierce through. Every ramming of his teeth on the metal cut the breath out of Tony's chest. He tried to fend him off but there was no way he could level with the brutality of Fenrir's attacks.

Angie somehow found the strength hoist herself back on her feet. The searing pain of the fresh claw marks made her eyes water. She watched in horror as Fenrir thrashed Tony with incredible violence. He had even managed to rip through his armor in various places. If she didn't do something Fenrir would kill him without a second thought.

Angie found herself trembling. Her eyes shone with desperation, indecision, anguish. She had to do something.

"You are not Fenrir," she told herself "Fenrir died long, long ago. Whoever you are... and wherever you came from... you are not my brother."

And although Angie did not believe her own words, she knew she had to make a choice.

Trying not to think at all, she pulled the double-bladed spear to her side and charged towards the wolf. The tip of the blade was aimed at his flank. Every bit of her was screaming to stop and turn back... a tear slipped down her cheek as she closed her eyes... but there was no impact.

When she opened back her eyes, she met with Fenrir's golden gaze as they both took in the deviated trajectory of her spear. She had steered it away from him at the last second.

She simply couldn't do it. She was incapable of hurting him.

Tony's breath came back in short huffs as he held on to the ground, now free from Fenrir's grasp... but Fenrir was not concerned with him. The wolf's eyes were still locked on Angie. The mixture of pain and disbelief in his gaze made her heart ache.