The Hunter and the Bear by Zoe X. Rider

In this bittersweet love story, when Ketawa, the best hunter in all the Cherokee villages, lodges his arrow in a bear's chest, he expects the bear to fall, not drop to all fours and lumber away. When he shoots a second arrow into the bear, he discovers this is no mere bear. The encounter haunts him, but when he returns, he brings with him the fate of both himself and the Great Bear. (6,700 words)