He needed to run faster, just a bit further. The lean and thin coyote mix galloped beside the sprinting elk, his eyes concentrating the on the neck that was his target, rather then the type of prey that he had come upon. Yes, it was different. But Heath’s mind fell into the carnal instincts that had been in instilled in him the day he had been born, passed to him through the lines that were once free of all that made them change and brought them closer to the humans that had once ruled these lands. Given the hands, the knowledge of tools, it brought them into the world of the broken cities. His mind was lost to the horses that had filled his once meaningless life, forgot the stables, forgot the clothes he chose not to wear this day. It was nothing more then the wind in his ears, the sound of the heavily breathing elk, and his own. The pulse that pounded in the neck Heath sought, his open mouth beginning to strive for the taste of blood with its wet jowls.
Back legs pushed with a power that he would not suspect he had in any other state of mind. It threw his form at the beast, and a newly sparked hope needed him to hit the target. His nose touched the soft velvet, pushing violently against it and at the same moment his jaws fell shut, muscle tightening until they seared with pain. His body tensed, paws hardly touching as he refused to allow the elk to slip from his fanged jaws. His tongue felt the pulse, the beating heart of the creature quickening in the fright. The beast and the wolf were jarred by a sudden strike, and for a moment Heath merely figured it was the second of his pack to attach themselves along the prey’s hide. The blood flowed into his mouth, not satisfying the craving that he had but only intensifying it.
The pair began to fall, the breathing of the elk faltering once, and then again and again. Heath did not allow his jaws to slack, meeting the snow as the dieing creature did. It was there they lay side by side, teeth deep in the beast’s skin. The pulse was gone, quickly and oddly so. The blood coated his mouth, the warmth on his tongue and filter down his throat. Heath released his mouth from the jugular, honey eyes blinking against the daze that he had fallen into. They followed the blood of the broken artery and focused on the spears that stuck from the chest and flank of the beast. The coy-wolf’s breath was ragged with effort, teeth exposed and crimson with the life of the fallen smeared across them. Remembering there was no other pack mate, no one else to help in the bringing this prey to the ground, the hybrid looked behind him, turning to face whom ever had assisted him in the kill.