Kael staggered back several steps. His left arm hung completely limp now. Useless dead weight.
The alpha and its gang circled him slowly, blood dripping from its muzzle. Kael's blood. Its eyes locked onto him with an almost human intelligence.
It knew it was winning. It was just playing the long game now.
Kael spat blood onto the rocks. The taste was copper and salt like. He grinned through the pain anyway. The expression felt manic.
"Your turn," he muttered.
Kael lunged forward with everything he had left. His boots dug into blood-slick stone. He aimed for the neck joint where armor met flesh, deep this time. No half measures.
The blade punched through, metal scraped against bone. The alpha roared, a sound that rattled Kael's teeth. The beast thrashed violently, trying to shake him off. Its whole body bucked like a wild horse.
