I wasted no time with trying to signal any of my pack, and instead simply roared as I charged to the nearest wolfstag.

"No time to relax! We're surrounded! Stay together, and don't let anyone get swarmed! Focus on survival before kills!" I was surprised at the small part of me that had stayed calm, but I noticed the flashing [Pack Tactics skill activated] in the corner of my eye, and grinned as I was about to make contact.

[Bloodlust skill activated.]

I felt my vision narrow as I rushed forward. The cub in front of me was obviously taken aback by the ferocity in my approach, and doubted himself. Big mistake.

This one was about the size of the largest I had felled previously, so about 15cm shorter than I was at this point. A small part of me was frustrated by how they seemed to be growing just as quickly as we were, but the rest of me was simply pissed at being outmaneuvered. I showed no mercy or hesitation as I swiftly grabbed its entire face in my mouth (only stopping there because of the horns) and forced it backwards. I could feel the cub's spine resist, then a wet crunch reverberated through my entire body as the wolfstag's body folded in half.

I wasn't left to my own slaughter though, and was blindsided by a sparking headbutt on my flank. Shudders ran forcefully up my spine as I tried to keep myself from falling to my side. I whirled and noticed another wolfstag cub, this one only about 7cm smaller than me, with lightning coursing over its curling horns. It was flanked by two more cubs of the same size as the one I had just slaughtered. The still slightly sane part of me was happy that I was taking the attention of 4 of our ambushers, but the rest of me didn't care how many were before me.

Before I could totally collect myself, my aggressors pressed the advantage. The leader occupied my front while the two smaller ones began to circle around me, searching for any opening. It had been a while since I had made this decision, but I quickly rushed the flanking cub on my right. The wolfstag startled, then held its ground and lowered its head, growling threateningly as it tried to fend me off long enough for its fellows to arrive. I purposefully took a ringing strike to my face, knocking a couple of my teeth loose in order to close the distance. Tasting my own blood as my head was thrown to my left, I knifed my hand into its newly exposed neck and spread my fingers and twisted. The cub squealed in pain and panic, and I quickly went to tear deeper into it, but was knocked loose by a painful headbutt to my left flank.

This time, I was sent sprawling, and I quickly limped to my feet. My hips were going to give out if I took one or two more hits like that. Fortunately for me, the wolfstag that had reached me first was the smaller, non-electrically endowed one, thus I would only be bruising after that strike. Looking at the foe I had struck, it seemed to be retreating from the fight. It was bleeding profusely, and I figured it wouldn't last, whether or not it retreated, so I welcomed the more even fight. I wanted to check on the rest of the battlefield, but the two still in the ring weren't about to give me time to recover.

With a snarl, the larger leader decided to take the fight to me and leapt forward. I dodged as fast as I could, but my body was starting to wear down. It got a solid bite into my right shoulder and began to drag me down. Its teeth were shooting sizzling bolts of pain into me, and I tried to chomp down on its neck, but I was blocked by its horns. Thus, I began trying to stab it with my left hand, but it wisely kept itself distanced from me. I began to panic as I realized that its backup would surely begin the work of crippling me. I thrashed as hard as I could, and, feeling the muscles in my right shoulder beginning to tear from the bone, I wrested myself from the cub's grasp.

I pulled back just far enough to set the smaller one in my sights. I needed it dead before I could focus on the big one. I had just a second's warning before I felt its teeth dig into my tail. I wrenched myself back and was able to settle my bite deeply into the scruff of its neck. With a scream of effort and pain, I bodily threw it into its leader, sending the two sprawling. Shrugging off the pain, I rushed forward, nearly without thinking, and in one swift movement, ripped the throat out of the smaller one.

I gloried in its panicked, final gasping breaths, but I couldn't relax, as the enraged and mostly unhurt leader was angrily dashing towards me once more. I reflexively dodged to my left, and my hip collapsed underneath the unexpected strain of an unexpected root and my sudden movement. Luckily for me, the wolfstag wasn't prepared for that either, and its legs were briefly caught up in my thrashing tail. I reached forward, and, by a stretch of luck and my neck, caught the hind leg of my foe. It stumbled again, and was similarly caught up in the sprawling roots around us. I hauled it back towards me, and my brain went foggy. All I remember clearly is repeatedly crunching into the meat in front of me while wildly flailing my still functioning left arm. Blood sprayed around me, both my own and that of my foe. I felt teeth dig into my face at one point, narrowly missing my right eye, but I simply used that as a reference point and stabbed into its throat. At that point, it went limp, and I quickly looked around to see how the pack was holding on.

I was surprised to see Silf steadily choking the life out of a cub, obviously having faced it alongside Netre, who was attempting to eviscerate the still conscious cub. Cazala was barely hanging on against a single of the leaders, and was pretty bloodied. On the other side, there was a group of 3 shredding a single one of the unnamed members of my pack, and before I could do anything, they ripped his left leg off and left him there bleeding. The other 4 keelish and Treel were facing 3 wolfstags and there was a dead wolfstag body in front of Treel. They were in a bit of a standoff as Treel tried to support the rest of the pack, but that balance was sure to be tipped in the favor of the wolfstags once the newly freed up three joined the fight. Figuring that Cazala would be fine once the other two joined up and went to support him, I rushed as fast as my aching body could take me to support Treel and the rest. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough for one of the group, who was blindsided, knocked out of the protective circle, and quickly ganged up on and ripped to pieces.

I was, however, fast enough to dispose of one of the bastards killing my kin before he saw it coming. I quickly and simply knifed my left hand in to open its stomach, from genitals to sternum, and saw all its viscera tumble out onto the ground. I then quickly ripped the foreleg off of another before any of them could come support their fellows.

"SHED BLOOD AND REND FLESH!!" I screamed as I literally jumped towards the closest foe, and the small pack rallied behind me as we 5 quickly intimidated and tore into the beginning to be demoralized wolfstags. The three smaller spawnlings made sure the two I had felled were dead while Treel and I, bloodied and enraged, charged the rest of the panicking wolfstags. We were able to down 1 more each, and the other 2 fled into the surrounding brush. Unable to concern myself with those out of the battle, I turned to see how Cazala and the others were doing. Amazingly, like a tiny, angry bear, Silf had set himself up under the rampaging wolfstag. He didn't pay any attention as he was battered and stomped on by the much larger creature's hoofed feet. Meanwhile, Netre and Cazala nipped at it, not allowing it to try to settle in and finish Silf.

The wolfstag realized that he and his pack were beaten, and decided to retreat as it literally jumped over Netre and began to try to run. I was having none of that, and sprinted alongside several of my pack, and, after the first one caught up, the fleeing creature had no prayer left to live. We ripped into it and tore its internals out while it still shrieked for help, or mercy.

Then, there was only silence, except for the rushing of blood in my head, and the dripping of blood on the ground. The ambush was over.