From Trajectories, coming 3/2012 from Turquoise Morning Press. Note: This excerpt is not the final edited copy and may vary slightly from the published version.
Maddie suddenly growled, stopping dead. One paw hung suspended in the air and she tensed.
“Maddie? What’s the problem?”
The retriever lowered her head to the ground, slowly pacing a circle. Kit leaned over the spot that had thrown the dog off. Maybe it was a coyote. Maddie hated them.
A paw had indented the soft ground right where the aging dog had gotten spooked. Kit nodded—positive it was a coyote—and crouched down next to it to get a better look. Maddie circled around her, chest rumbling. Kit knew a little about prints. Her dad had been pointing them out to her since she could walk. Deer and rabbit marks were everywhere, but this didn’t belong to one of the gentle guys. It had the four toes and pads of a predator, and it was big. Laying her hand over top of it, she could spread her fingers and barely cover it. Deep claw marks dug into the leaf mold ahead of the pads. Cats sheathed their claws when they walked; this was some sort of huge canine.
If this was a coyote, it was mutant. What sort of a thing made a print like that?
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Tess Grant 
You give us just enough to want more. Clever lady, Tess.
Can’t wait to find out what it is 🙂
Love it, as usual!
🙂 What a tease your are. I love the way you show us that paw print.
I’m frightened and expect a wolf to leap on her back at any moment!
You’re going to leave us here. That’s not fair
Um, why’d you stop here? Really? Dang, that’s not fair! LOL I want to know what made that print! Great sample!
I was still scared from last week’s sample! Now I’ve got something else to keep me awake tonight. Thanks for sharing! It’s great to have you on the blog hop,
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving.