Shadows began to move between the trunks of the oaks and pines: lean, hungry shapes with long snouts. Leading them was a large, scarred female with a torn ear. Behind her, the rest of the pack fanned out. Seven, eight, ten… Mike lost count as the pack hesitated, caught between the instinct to run from a predator and the confidence of their own numbers.
They began to circle, trying to flank the cougar, but the big cat didn’t give an inch. Mike saw the muscles in the cat’s haunches bunch up, his claws digging into the frozen Appalachian soil. His hackles rose until he looked twice his size. Then, the pack charged.
A young male with a mangled lip lunged first, aiming for the throat. The cougar spun with a speed that defied his weight, striking out with a massive paw. The blow sent the dog flying ten feet into the brush; it didn’t make a sound when it hit. Mike saw the deep red furrows left on the dog’s flank as blood sprayed the ground.
The rest didn’t waver. The lead female attacked from the left while two others went for the right. The cougar moved like a tawny blur, every strike precise and lethal. He snapped the spine of one dog with a single bite to the neck and swiped another away, but there were just too many of them.
Mike watched in horror as a smaller, quicker dog leaped onto the cougar’s back, sinking its teeth into his shoulder. The big cat roared in pain, trying to shake it off, just as three more latched onto his hind leg. The cougar went down on his side in a cloud of dust and pine needles, and Mike let out a desperate, useless shout.
He thrashed against his bonds, but the rope only bit deeper. The cougar wasn’t done, though. Even on the ground, he fought with a terrifying ferocity. Moments later, the surviving dogs broke and ran, fleeing the clearing where they had expected an easy meal and found only death.
The cougar stood for a moment, his sides heaving like bellows. His fur was matted with blood—some his, mostly theirs. Mike noticed a shallow but bleeding gash on the cat’s left flank. A thin trail of crimson ran down his golden coat, dripping onto the cold earth.
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