A large dark paw crushed the soft snow beneath it, soon followed by three more, the white blanket behind him was disturbed by the prints he left. The male lifted his head into the air and gave a few sniffs, he was following the fading trail of elk, his mouth watered at the thought. He picked up that faint scent again and followed it with the intention of not letting his prey get away this time, his footsteps quickened as the scents became stronger and more plentiful. The winters breeze shot through his darkened coat, placing a thin white sheet of snow upon it, making him a little less visible.
The herd was stopped, a time for grazing was a good time to pick out a weak target and disassemble the herd. The male walked closer, brushing past some of the first that still stood in the harsh winter, the wind changed direction, and it pushed his fur forward. The elk lifted their heads at the odd scent, some standing from the spot they were lying down, and looked in the direction of the smell. The brutes golden gaze locked with one cow, her body scarred up from past escape attempts, he wouldn't let her get away this time. He grew closer, and some of the younger elk started to get worried, they walked around more quickly than the older ones who did not seem threatened by the lone wolf.
His eyes narrowed to the female and he continued walking closer, letting a low growl out from his throat. The younger ones finally had it and started to bolt, the older ones following in suit in fear of being left behind. He snapped his jowls at the cow and she sprinted off, he followed quickly, breathing hard as he came closer to her running body. When he got close enough, he bit down onto her right hind leg, sinking his razor-sharp teeth into her hide, and closing them as tight as he could. The cow continued to run, but became more tired by the minute, becoming more unable to keep up with the herd and trying to get the wolf off of her. He let go, but kept her pace, he looked ahead and saw the elk still on the run, none of them coming back to save the female from her death.
She came to a stop in a clearing that was close to a river, the sounds of rushing water more apparent than when he started the hunt. He let out another growl and started to circle her defending body, she kicked forward in an attempt to scare him off. He snarled and ran up under her neck, and clamped down hard, the force of his body making the weakening elk stumble backwards and onto the ground. He stood up to take a quick breath, she tried to stand up as well but was held down by his jaws as he started to suffocate her. The female elk let out a final call for help, but none were returned. After a few minutes, the dark grey and brown male let go of her throat, but the cow was already dead, from excessive blood loss, and her crushed trachea.
The brute dug into the warm flesh of the fallen beast, filling his stomach with the meat that came from its body. This was the first time in days that he's had food, weeks since he's had a proper meal like this one. When he stopped eating, his maw was stained red and the soft snow beneath him had also stained a light crimson colour that seeped from the animals' body. He lifted his head and licked his stained maw, taking some of the dripping blood with it and into his body, like a vampire. The male sniffed the air again, this time the air was crisper and it started to sting his lungs, which were still trying to catch his used breath.
His golden orbs took a glance at the sky, its colours started to shift, the colours closest to the sun were more of a red, while as the sky spread out, the colours changed from the warm tones to the cooler ones, blues, purples. His eyes danced across the sky taking in the colours before he bent his head down and resumed to chomp down on the meat, taking more into his body until his stomach wouldn't allow him to eat any more. Once he was done eating, he craned his head to look behind him to where the tree line started, then looked around the clearing. He watched how the dead looking trees twisted and turned, the way the fallen ones created a good space to hide or to sleep, places where he could be hidden.
He picked himself off the ground, his joints thawing themselves from movement, he yawned and walked back to where the trees began and laid down beside some of the ones that had fallen. They created a good cover for him, his dark pelt with the added snow on top almost made him blend in with the dark trunks of the first. More snow started to fall from the greying sky, covering both himself and the already snowy landscape with more of the ice crystals. His eyelids started to become heavier, soon he was too tired to keep them open so he let them drift shut, placing him into a world of darkness. His large and fluffy ears pinned down against his skull as the sounds of the night started to set in.
When the morning sun rose, his eyes opened, the rays reflected off his orbs in a way that made them seem like they were glowing. His ears pivoted to the sounds of the birds chirping their morning songs, in which he let out a low growl, the sound was irritating to him. The male stood onto his long legs, his paws spreading out as he bowed down and stretched out all of his muscles. He let out a huff, the air around his nose and mouth becoming a light grey cloud of coldness, he didn't mind the cold as he walked back over to the dead elk. The carcass was lightly coated with the powdered snow, the warm flesh quickly melting it away.
The sound of snow crunching behind him made the brute turn around with a snarl, ears pinned to his head.