Thorne crested the rise alone first. The creature was bigger than any wolf he had fought. Its coat was a mottled gray-brown that blended with the rocks, shoulders heavy, jaws working on the remains of a goat.
When it lifted its head the eyes were pale yellow and fixed on him without fear. It did not growl. It simply dropped the carcass and came forward in a low, powerful rush....
He met it with the axe, stepping aside at the last moment and cutting across the shoulder. The blade bit deep but the animal's weight still carried it into him. They went down hard. Claws raked his left arm.
He drove a knee into its ribs and rolled, coming up with the axe still in hand. Jakob's spear took the creature in the flank a heartbeat later. Tuva's blade also found the neck from the other side. The three of them finished it together, breathing hard, blood on the snow and on their clothes.
