The door swung open and hit the inside wall with a bang, startling the raven that had been resting inside the tower
"Squawk?" it said. It then cocked its head to the side, as if contemplating something
"Oh bugger, I meant 'caw'"
Vimes, who had been watching the raven from where he was sitting on the stairs, blinked. He couldn't have just heard the raven talk, could he?
The raven, for his part, just glared at Vimes before flying out of the tower through a conveniently open window. Vimes watched its departure, but didn't mull over it for long. He had other things to worry about, like the sleek golden shape which had just trotted into the tower.
He watched as the werewolf padded around the little room, sniffing the air. Vimes curled up on the step behind the banister, attempting to make himself invisible and failing miserably. Where was the convenient silver tipped arrow when you needed it? All he had with him was his sword. He estimated the probability of it managing to kill the werewolf if he threw it at him from his position on the stairs. The answer lay in the not-very-encouraging regions of under ten percent. He doubted that he even had a one-in-a-million chance here.
Having finished his tour of the room, the werewolf moved into the centre of the room and stopped. There was an inrush of air and what looked like a mini tornado coming into contact with a moulting dog, and then Wolfgang appeared in his human form. A cruel smile flitted across his face. Hands on his hips, he shouted,
"Mister Civilised! I know you are here! Why don't you come out from where you're hiding? You're not scared of me are you?!"
Vimes remained where he was. Sooner or later Wolfgang would find him. He wasn't going to waste precious energy to bother to get down from the stairs and present himself in front of Wolfgang. Of course, if he wanted to defend his pride he should go and meet Wolfgang rather than let himself be found like he was some kind of prey. But Vimes knew about pride. Downfall came after it, and that could be pretty nasty with a werewolf involved.
Wolfgang turned to look up at the stairs, still with the malevolent grin on his face,
"Oh please don't say you're hiding up there! How childish!"
He began to walk over to the stairs, his bare feet moving soundlessly on the stone floor. Stopping at the base of the stairs, he looked up them. His eyes came into contact with Vimes. An almost friendly, welcoming expression passed over him,
"Well, hello! So nice to meet you here!"
Vimes said nothing in reply. One part of him was busy trying to work out what it is that one said to a megalomaniac, psychotic werewolf and more importantly, how you went about getting rid of it. The other part of him was lost in the contemplation of something he would have rather ignored.
A ray of sunlight shining through the window had fallen onto Wolfgang's body, making it gleam and shine. His long blonde hair glittered strangely, and it seemed as if there was a golden light surrounding him. He looked like an angel. Possibly a soulless, evil, fallen angel, but like an angel nonetheless.
Noticing that Vimes was scrutinising him, Wolfgang made his way up the stairs to the one on which he was sitting. Kneeling down on the step immediately below Vimes, he whispered in a voice that was lower and quieter than normal,
"Interested in something?"
Vimes still didn't reply and instead stared back into Wolfgang's deep blue eyes. His subconscious was screaming at him, telling him to stop seeing Wolfgang as an attractive man and to start seeing him as someone who would very possibly rip his throat out. Vimes ignored it though. His previous problem with alcohol had helped him ignore his inner voice when he was in no mood for rational or reason.
He marvelled at Wolfgang's self confidence. He did not look in the slightest bit uncomfortable with his nakedness. Not that he would have a reason anyway. His body was perfectly sculpted, like a marble statue. Well defined musculature was in evidence and his well built body was covered in a wrapping of smooth, pure-looking skin. Vimes almost reached out to touch him, already imagining the silken feel of it beneath his palm, but one last strand of common sense held him back. Instead he reached for his sword and tightened his grip on it. Wolfgang noticed the movement of his hand, stood up and laughed,
"Oh dear, you're not thinking of killing me are you!"
He walked up a couple of step and then knelt down on the step directly behind Vimes.
"Not that you could kill me with that stupid sword! You civilised man! Could you kill the brother of one of your watchmen? Or woman should I say!"
Stretching out one hand, he traced a finger down the commander's cheek. Vimes shivered and noted that the finger was more of a claw. The city had tamed Angua, but Wolfgang, who had spent his whole life in the forests of Uberwald was still feral and wild. His instincts, thoughts and emotions were all animal. Even in his human form, all his actions seemed to be ruled by the wolf that was in him. Like now, as Wolfgang's body leant in closer to come into contact with his own, and he felt an incredible heat travel through him, he could never imagine Angua doing something like that. Wandering around without any clothes was normal for Wolfgang. After all, wolves didn't wear clothes, so why should he?
Vimes remained motionless as Wolfgang sneaked his other arm around Vimes' waist. He felt the sharp canines graze his skin as the werewolf nuzzled his neck. Still, he didn't move. It was tempting to just lie back and give himself up to the werewolf, but his inner policeman kept on reminding him that he was meant to be on the opposing side. Turning himself to face Wolfgang, he got a bit of a shock to see that he looked as if he was in mid-morph.
"Get away from me", he commanded, as coldly as he could.
To his surprise, Wolfgang complied. He walked down the stairs, still only on two legs, but now with golden fur covering his entire body. When he reached the bottom, he glanced back up at Vimes.
"Maybe we'll meet up again, yes?! Then you can go for a run through the forest with the rest of the pack!" His voice, though it still contained its haughty tones, was somewhat approaching a growl.
Vimes just raised an eyebrow sardonically. Wolfgang gave him one last wicked grin and then fully transformed back into a werewolf. He trotted out of the door and disappeared into the forest. Next time, Vimes vowed, next time he'd kill him.