Bitterroot Valley she said it didn't seem like that long ago

She felt close to full strength again, her young body bouncing back with alacrity as soon as the sickness was gone from it. The elk were still too much for her — and perhaps it would be many seasons before she felt confident enough to take one down on her own — but she was an old hand by now in a deer hunt.

The girl had stalked this heard for several long minutes before she made her move, hidden in the brush at the treeline. As soon as the doe lowered her head to feed, Angel rocketed from her hiding place and launched herself across the short distance. It was just picking its head up, already halfway turned to flee when she made impact. Her jaws closed around its throat while her momentum swung her underneath it, tearing flesh with the force of her bite and the weight of her body.

Blood spattered over her face. She let go, tumbling a short distance to sit panting in the grass. She didn't bother giving chase just yet. The doe was as good as dead, even as it went stumbling off at a quick hobble. She followed it with her eyes, licking blood from her face.