Lupus in Fabula

Kane's vision blurred as the ringing in his head got more intense. His vision blurred in and out of focus, likely concussed from the blow to his head, and breathing brought a jolt of pain in his chest every time his lungs inflated. He saw the paleo dire wolf advancing on him, but he didn't hear Tamsyn exclaim his name in horror, nor did he see her grab the broken piece of bamboo. Instead, the injured hunter simply took his knife in his teeth and held it at the ready. If he was going to die to this giant fucker, he was going to take him down with him at the very least. There was no way in heaven or hell that he was going to leave Tamsyn alone at the mercy of this beast. The only thing he prayed for was that his death would be quick and relatively painless in turn, but with the way the dire wolf was leering at him with saliva-dripping fangs on display, he somehow doubted he'd be granted that small modicum of mercy.

Just as he tensed and prepared to strike out at his foe, Tamsyn drove her bamboo spear into the dire wolf's eye, blinding him in a gush of gore and earning a pained howl from the predator. Kane blinked in shock, taking but a moment to look at Tamsyn in relieved awe. The smaller black fae was already hurrying to his side to help him up, allowing him to use her for support as he got to his paws—only for Kane to see the dire wolf swinging a massive paw towards Tam. "Tamsyn!" he shouted in warning, but it was too late. His aching muscles didn't respond fast enough to push her out of harm's way, and the paleo wolf caught her by the head, hurling her away from him. Kane's heart stopped and his blood turned to ice in his veins when he saw Tamsyn go tumbling across the ground. Hell no! He was not about to lose her too!

Mustering up all of his adrenaline to push through the pain, Kane lunged for the dire wolf, leaping and latching onto its shoulder with sharp claws gripping into thick fur. The primal dire snarled and tried to turn to bite him, but he was on the wolf's blind side, and it turned into a frenzied snapping of jaws randomly, hoping to catch Kane with a lucky bite. Knowing his window of opportunity was short, Kane clung to his enemy with all his might, using his sharp sabers to tear into the flesh and fat around the dire wolf's collar. Once he tasted blood in his mouth and had rent open a wound, Kane once more drew his knife and plunged it with all his might into the bleeding wound. The dire wolf howled in pain again and lashed out with sharp jaws for Kane—this time managing to bite down on the old hunter's thigh. Kane yelped in pain and quickly twisted his head, managing to snap the end of the stone blade off in the wolf's neck and delivering the full dose of poison within the blade directly into the paleo dire's bloodstream before he was ripped off of the wolf and thrown across the clearing again.

Kane landed hard on his injured side and tumbled, crying out in agony as fiery pain flared through his body radiating from his side. The hunter doubled over in pain, his vision swirling and blurring again while he tried to remain conscious and not vomit it hurt so bad. Despite his injuries, his eyes still sought for Tamsyn, his only focus keeping her safe. To his horror, the paleo dire wolf was still standing, blood seeping through his fur from his face and neck, and was heading for him to finish the fight. Malice and hate burned in its remaining eye. Kane's heart plummeted. The poison hadn't worked. He'd failed and now he and Tamsyn were both in grave danger. Swallowing hard, Kane struggled to his paws once more, falling once as he tried to rise, and squaring off against the paleo wolf. "Come on, then... Let's end this."

The wolf snarled in incomprehensible rage—and then stumbled as it took an other step forward. Kane blinked in surprise, his enemy looking equally confused as another step sent the wolf almost falling face first into the ground as its body betrayed it. Kane stayed on guard, taking cautious limping steps over to place himself between the wolf and Tamsyn. The dire gave a confused growl, its legs wobbling while it swayed back and forth. Its eye got hazy, pupil dilating and contracting constantly. It began to pant like it couldn't get enough air in its lungs. And then it collapsed to the ground, its muscles giving involuntary twitches while it tried to do anything at all to get up. Kane's expression grew morbid while he watched the effects of the poison at work, glancing over to Tamsyn and whispering a gentle warning, "You don't have to see this." She could look away or leave if she desired. But he needed to see it through.

The paleo wolf continued its frenetic thrashing on the ground, spittle and foam spilling from its gasping mouth while it clawed at the ground. The wolfsbane worked quickly, putting the dire into a cardiac arrest event while it struggled to regain control of its own faculties. Eventually, the lavender extract began to kick in, and the wolf's body relaxed into a permanent state of limpness as its consciousness slowly ebbed away. Kane had been merciful in that regard. The lavender oils eased the wolf off into a dreamless sleep, and after a few panicked moments of suffering, the wolf lost consciousness. A few moments later, it's breathing stopped forever.

With the fight over and won, Kane released a long held breath, his body collapsing in relief as the adrenaline began to wane away. The awareness of his injuries and pain began to spill into his brain as pain receptors fired all over his body. His thigh was bleeding from several deep punctures and his rib was definitely broken. The ringing in his ears had stopped, but his vision kept blurring in and out every few minutes, a sign of a concussion. But he was alive. He was alive and he had won and gotten his revenge. Sweet relief at the realization of completing his life's goal brought a few hot tears spilling down his cheeks. It was over. Hazel eyes turned to his mate as Kane focused entirely on Tamsyn, checking her over for any wounds. "Are you okay? Did it hurt you, Tamsyn?" He didn't care about his condition. Only Tamsyn mattered in his life now.

"Kaneonuskatew"