He thrust the spear down, heart hammering in his chest. It all happened so fast. A warm, red mist sprayed his face and hands. The wolf cried out, tucking tail and bolting out of the hut, spear still stuck in its side.

The man closed his bloody hands. The slickness of the blood had caused the spear to slip from his grip. He was a damn fool. Wolves never hunted alone, and the yelps now echoed through the night air. They didn’t have much time.

The man helped his mate to her feet and they slipped out the back of the hut. The moon outside was full and bright, bathing the camp in translucent light. A scream pierced the night, but he simply ran, heart pumping and mate in tow. More voices now, the camp was coming to life. 

That’s when he saw it. Dozens of wolves began pouring through the camp, a stream of gray fur, howling and barking. The men were gathered in the center of the camp, but the sight and sound of the charging wolves caused them to scatter, splitting them into two groups, one to the east, trapped against a jagged cliff face, the other retreating into the forest. 

The wolves had driven the man pack apart, plowing right through the middle. Two men and a woman with child in arms were now cornered, their backs against a sheer cliff face. This was the same woman who was going to help deliver their baby when the time was right. 

Now they were cut off from the rest of the group. He had watched it all happen right in front of him. It had only taken a moment. The wolves had caught the camp off guard, sleeping and content. It was only because his mate had woken and warned him that they were able to retreat to the south side of the forest’s edge, only moments before the wolf pack’s charge.

A handful of wolves were now encircling the trapped group. The man’s stomach churned as he heard the cries of the child carrying on the chilly breeze. He watched as the wolves moved closer. The trapped men were unarmed, backs to the rock. The woman cradling the crying child buried her head in the boy’s chest. They had nowhere to go, nothing to do but accept their fate.

The man looked from the crouching woman to his own, swollen-bellied mate, and then back to the wolves. The fear in his gut suddenly ignited into a white-hot rage. He could not help but think, what if that was his mate there, his child? Would his packmates stand idly by as the wolves tore him apart? How could he ever look at himself again if he did the same here?

He locked eyes with his mate. Her eyes told him everything in only a passing moment. Somehow she knew exactly what he was thinking, because she had already placed another spear in his hands. 

He looked to the spear, then to her, dumbstruck. 

“How?”

She smiled, “Go.”

He laughed and started lumbering towards the cliff face. As he closed the distance his heart hammered in his chest like a war drum, filling him with fire, but he may have been too late.

“Rauughhh” one of the trapped men roared at the wolves, who were only a few feet away now, inching closer. The sound made the lead wolf pause for a moment. He was larger than the others. The wolf has a broad, thick chest, with white fur carved out in the rough shape of an eagle. The rest of his fur was peppered with white and gravel grey. 

The other wolves halted, following the alpha’s lead. There was a moment of strained silence as the alpha sized up the two men in front of him. The man noticed the hesitation and roared again, jumping and gesturing wildly.

Instead of falling back, the alpha stepped forward, baring yellow fangs and giving a throaty growl. The man jumped back, but moved too quickly, stumbling backward and falling to the ground. At the same moment, the alpha’s pupils dilated and he leapt, jaw gaping. 

Crunch! The man had reached a full-speed charge, and in the knick of time, lowered his shoulder and connected with the leaping wolf in mid-air. The beast was heavy, but had a soft side. The tackle took away all the man’s momentum, but sent the alpha wolf sailing through the air, crashing down and crumpling in a heap several yards away.

There was a snarl and another wolf lunged forward. The man swung the spear in a slashing motion, connecting with the wolf’s skull. The wolf fell to the man’s side, but he had no time to celebrate. Another wolf was soaring towards him with slobbering maw gaping. 

The man roared as he shifted his grip to the back of the spear and thrust it forward, this time with a white-knuckled grip. They would have to pry this spear from his lifeless body before he let this one go.

It was a strange sensation, feeling the tip of the spear slip into the wolf’s chest with so little effort. The spear drove itself deep into the wolf’s heart. The man dug his heels into the earth, standing his ground as the weight of the wolf pushed on him. There was a sharp crack.  The spear twisted and split from the weight and force of the leaping wolf.

The beast crashed into the ground. The man stepped on its red-soaked, lifeless chest and wrenched the spear from it. The tip was now nothing more than frayed splinters of wood soaked in blood. The man lifted the spear over his head and roared as a wave of primal energy overtook him.

He looked out at the remaining wolves, eyes burning with defiance, chest rising and falling. He howled again, issuing his challenge to the remaining beasts. The wolves hesitated. They looked at their fallen friends and the man in front of them, silent and still.

The showdown was broken up by the sound of screams and howls coming from the forest. The rest of the wolves must have caught up with the other group that had fled into the forest. The remaining wolves sniffed the air. They must have smelled blood, because they broke off towards the forest, abandoning this stubborn pack of humans for more willing prey. 

The man huffed in relief as the wolves retreated. He could hardly believe it. He turned to his packmates, who were checking on the woman and child. They were both sobbing uncontrollably, but otherwise unscathed. 

The man’s heart filled with warmth from the scene and pride from his own prowess. He felt powerful, indestructible, like the great mountains tall and s-. A blur of fur shot under his legs, blasting him from his feet.

His head bounced off of the unforgiving earth and the air in his lungs escaped. His head was pounding, his vision blurred, the air around him, dusty. Through all of that he saw the alpha wolf dashing towards him. Perhaps it was the blow to the head, but he felt strangely at peace watching his certain death barreling towards him.