Excerpt of Nothing but Echoes by Anne Montgomery

The man screamed again. The kwewu never paused. The animal
tore at the one causing the pain. Massive jaws clamped down
on the woman’s upper arm, breaking skin as the wolf dragged
her to the dirt floor.

Badger dropped his hold on the man’s injured arm, and for a
moment stood rooted in place, unable to move, unsure of what
he was seeing. A giant white wolf—was the creature animal or
spirit? Then he saw the arrow sticking from the creature’s
side and knew it was of flesh, blood, and bone. Kaya’s
screams drove Badger toward the animal, which now had her
pinned to the floor. Bloody saliva dripped onto the healer’s
face as she tried to push the creature away. An awful growl
rose in the animal’s throat.

“Ahhkk!” The sound emanating from Badger was almost as
terrifying as the rage of the wolf. The animal turned toward
this new threat, a human who stood close to her master. The
kwewu leaped away from the woman on the floor into Badger’s
outstretched arms. The big man tucked in his chin,
protecting his throat, and squeezed with every ounce of
strength in his massive arms. The wolf writhed, scratching
his naked torso with her nails, and caught the lobe of his
right ear in her teeth. A crimson river streamed down
Badger’s neck as he crushed the beast to his chest.

The kwewu cried out, but that was not the reason Badger
relaxed his grip.

“No! No!” The blue-eyed man yelled. “Down!” Holding his
injured arm, he tried to stand, but wobbled back onto the
bed.

Badger again tightened his grip on the wolf, fully intending
to crush the thing to death. Strangely, the animal had gone
limp. Still, its eyes were open. Then the animal looked at
the blue-eyed man and began to whimper.

Badger knitted his brow, unsure of what to do next. Kaya sat
up, holding the wound on her upper arm, blood seeping
between her fingers. Seeing the damage the wolf inflicted,
the blood smearing Kaya’s face, Badger intensified his hold
on the animal.

Deer Runner suddenly appeared in the doorway with two other
hunters. He leveled an obsidian-tipped arrow at the wolf.
“Drop the animal, Badger! I cannot shoot. Get out of the
way!”

The big man turned with the creature in his arms then let
the wolf fall to the ground.

“No! Please do not kill her!” The blue-eyed man cried in a
language only he understood. He righted himself and
staggered, falling down and covering the kwewu with his
body. The wolf heaved with exhaustion, breath coming in
ragged gasps as he buried his face in her bloodied white
fur.

Deer Runner drew the arrow back as the group of villagers
swelled at the doorway.