Her mom smiled. “That’s my Cassidy for you. She saves people.”
“She said she loves being a firefighter.”
“She does. I’m assuming she told you why she had to leave Thomas Ridge?”
“Yes. We know about the obscure rule that says in order for Doug to take over as Alpha of his clan, he needs to mate with someone who will bear him a child. I trust you know what Doug is like?”
“Oh my, yes. He’s terrible. We totally supported her leaving, hoping that when Doug’s dad dies, she can come back and resume her life.”
That might have been the plan, but both Mike and he wanted to convince her to stay in Wildwood with them.
“Mrs. Evans, can you give us Mindy’s parents’ phone number? When Cassidy spoke with her, Mindy was staying at her folks’ place.”
“Of course.” She located the number on her phone and gave it to them.
“Did my daughter say she’d be coming back here?” Mr. Evans asked.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
Zach pulled out the note Cassidy had written and handed it to them. “When we came home from work, we found this.”
Mrs. Evans read the note, her face drawn, and then handed it to her husband.
“Cassidy always puts others ahead of herself,” her dad said.
“We know. She was terrified that Doug and his clan would come after you two,” Zach told them.
“They can come, but we can’t tell them anything, because we have no idea where she is,” she said. “Mindy called and told us she’d heard from Cassidy.”
“We told her that we didn’t want to know her location,” her father added.
“I understand,” Zach said. “Cassidy may come here, or she may go someplace else. If she chooses to come here, I imagine it will be sometime today or tomorrow. While we wait to see what she does, we’d like to scope out the Kitchener Clan.”
Mr. Evans eyes widened. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“Why not?”
“If they think you know anything about Cassidy, they will harm you to learn what you know.”
Mike leaned forward. “How many are in their clan?”
“Over a hundred. Or should I say, a hundred who can fight. There are a lot more who are women and children and some elderly wolves who shy away from battle,” her father said.
“Is everyone in the Kitchener Clan in favor of Doug being the next Alpha?” Mason asked.
The parents looked at each other, and then Mr. Evans shook his head. “We can’t really say, but from what Cassidy told us, the answer is no. They like Chris Wentworth, the Beta.”
“I imagine the Beta isn’t too happy about Doug usurping his position to be the Alpha.”
“I would think not.”
“We should go to the bus station. If Cassidy is coming here, we want to make sure she stays safe,”Zach telephathed.
“Sounds good,”Mike shot back.
“Where is the nearest bus station?” Zach asked.
“It’s two towns over in Edgemont.” Mr. Evans gave them directions.