Sadie’s POV
"Mommy?"
I stood up so fast I nearly lost my balance. Lily was in the back doorway, still in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes with one fist.
"Go back inside, Lily."
"But I heard–"
"Inside. Now."
She went. I stayed, staring at the tracks, my mind racing through every rational explanation I could muster. A large dog. A deer – no, deer didn't have prints like that. A bear – possible, but bear prints showed claw marks. These didn't.
These looked like wolf prints. But wolves hadn't been documented in this region for decades. My father had said as much. The rangers had said as much.
My father, who had also said the rangers were wrong.
I pulled out my phone and took a photograph of the prints. Then I turned and went inside, locking the door behind me, and checked every lock twi
