The alpha's muzzle was dark with blood, and as he licked his chops, I saw bits of fur stuck to his teeth. He must have dug up the rabbit carcass, and now he wanted more.
The rabbit meat! I still had some down my shirt. Maybe that's what they smelled. Maybe if I gave it to them, they'd leave me alone.
I pulled out the wrapped bundle with my free hand and hurled it at the alpha. "Here! Take it and piss off!"
He snapped it up in one motion, barely chewed, and swallowed, then kept staring at me.
They wanted more.
They want me.
The alpha took another step forward, and the others followed, tightening the circle. I couldn't back up anymore without stepping into the fire. Shit. What do I do?
The tree! I needed to put the solid trunk at my back so they couldn't surround me.
The torch in my hand flickered, the flames dying lower and weaker.
“No. No. No.”
The dingoes crept closer, their gazes never leaving me. Patient. Hungry. Unafraid.
I glanced at the fire for another weapon, but there was nothing. Just that massive branch, which was too big to lift.
The alpha's lips curled in a snarl, revealing every yellowed tooth.
I swept the flames in a wide arc, driving back two scrawny females as I spun around and inched backwards. My back hit the solid tree trunk, and I pressed against it, feeling the rough bark dig into my shoulders.
Safe. At least from behind.
My torch flickered and weakened.
“Oh God!” I’m running out of time.
The pack closed in another step.
I raised my dying torch with shaking hands.
“Mitch! Help!”
Where the hell are you?
Chapter 26
Charlie
* * *
The alpha dingo’s hackles rose, every muscle in his body coiling. Then he lunged at me.
His sharp, bloody fangs snapped shut just inches from my knee.
"Get away!" I swung the torch with everything I had, flames streaking orange through the darkness. He dodged back at the last second, paws skidding in the dirt, but his eyes locked onto mine. Yellow-green. Unblinking. Evil.
The other dogs were getting bolder. The circle tightened, inch by inch, a wall of matted fur and fangs closing in on me. Their ribs jutted out beneath mangy coats, and they stunk of wet fur and old blood. These weren't well-fed animals. They were starving.
And I was meat.
Beside me, two of them snarled at each other, snapping over territory, or who'd get the first bite of me. Out in the darkness, more howls echoed in long, rising calls that made my blood run cold. Were they calling more dogs?