The first one moved in, the skinniest of them all and he thought perhaps it was the one they were most willing to expend. It dove for his ankles while the others surrounded him and it was at that point that he realized he was mega fucked. They should have tucked tail and ran, but damn it if there wasn’t a tiny sliver of him that wanted to prove that he could defend her. That he could fight them off and be her knight in shining armor. Now he might have just screwed them both. God, he was a terrible mate and father.

He felt sharp teeth scratch at his shoulder and he whirled with a thunderous snarl, snapping at the coyote and managing to meet its ear. It scurried back with a yelp to circle him again, licking its mutty chops. Another flew in to swipe at him and his head lashed out, snagging it’s paw and biting down. He felt it’s paw break in his jaws, the taste of blood filling his mouth both of his and the coyotes. It’s claws had scratched the inside of his mouth. The coyote was down for the count, but the other three were even angrier. They converged slowly and he backed up, auds swiveling back to catch Hal’s words.

The den, huh? It didn’t make much sense to him, but if that’s what she thought they wanted then they could have it. He turned and chased after her, a sense of failure seeping into his chest. Glances were cast behind them and he found two of the coyotes chasing them, but after they had moved a decent distance away from the hole they turned back. So she’d been right. His attention turned back forward as they ran, determined to get the hell away from the mongrels.