A strong gust of icy wind sent him to the ground. He could feel the cold, like teeth sinking into his skin, through the snow and up his hands till it seemed to travel in his veins, his sight swallowed by nothing but white. He got back up to his feet, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on the lurching brown figure camouflaged in the flurries of powder. Details cut themselves out through pauses in the storm. Wicked yellow eyes fixed atop a wolf snout, jaws opening and closing slightly tapping together rows of red stained teeth. Its massive muscular body covered in brown fur, twice the size of his, giant shoulders supporting arms that stretched to the ground, the thing hunched on two powerful legs.
The creature breathed in heavy, labored breaths, its shoulders rising and falling making it appear at rest. It would lunge at any moment. The red trail in the snow was now buried, but he'd seen them. He counted four arrow shafts buried deep into the fur. The beast was wounded, tired. All it would take was a well placed blade to put it out of its misery. Same applied to him, a swipe of those claws would tear him in half. He tried not to think of those jaws closing in around his throat. He hesitated, shaking from the cold, hand resting loose on the dagger at his belt. He could barely feel it there, praying the numbness would allow him to grasp it when the moment came.
For the beast there could be no mercy. The whole town had woken to the young girls screams, but by the time people had emerged from their houses, there was barely enough remains to identify a father and daughter. The guard strained out a few words through the pain, hands at his stomach, trying to keep his entrails inside of him.
"Wolf-man… Werewolf beyond the gates." He went back inside, suited up and began following the trail.
Its breaths became short and sharp, then it let out a thunderous roar, hoping to scare him off. The man took a step forward. He did not let his fear show, he knew this would end tonight. There could be no other way. The beast shared this feeling in a final acknowledgment, with a growl it dove forward, sprinting on all fours. It covered the distance in three long movements, springing up at him, claws and teeth bared. It was slower than it knew, blood loss had betrayed it. He got past its claws without a scratch, digging the dagger deep into its chest. The beast felt it at once, flailing wildly as it hit the ground. He kept out of the way of its swats, digging deeper into its chest until its movements died down.
Its breathing deepened and it stopped resisting. It looked at him long and hard. Tears were coming out of the man's eyes now as he watched the beast's cloud over. He rested its head on his knees and it tried to let out a howl, only coming out as a soft pitiful whine. Then it became still. He cried, resting his head in the fur next to the dagger. Suddenly, he whipped his head up, screaming at the storm, the mountain. The emptiness he felt. He'd killed his only brother.