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Other than Mason Granger, who would be stationed in the parking lot, there were ten others. As soon as Mason contacted Zach—via their satellite phones that Jeffrey Granger had lent them—that the Kitchener Clan had entered the forest, Seth and Trevor would have the men shift into their wolf form so they could have their ears tagged.
That had been a hard sell at first, but when Charley explained the reason, they agreed it would be easier on them not to fight the wrong person, especially since Ian and Mick were not familiar with all of the Granger men.
Zach’s phone rang, and Cassidy jumped. This was it.
Zach answered. “How many? Okay. Follow at a distance, but don’t let them see you. Or better yet, wait at least ten minutes before leaving the lot. Fine. See you soon.” He hung up. Zach turned to the group. “There are twenty men, just like Cassidy's dad said. I’m betting they stopped at the Double G Bar since it didn’t take them long to learn where the cabin is. Let’s be ready.”
Ian looked over at Charley. “Most of us can handle two wolves, but we are depending on you and Cassidy to slow them down if need be.”
“We’ll be ready.”
Cassidy reminded them of Doug’s colorings. “He’s dark brown with one white paw. His right hand man, Sherman Watts, is light gray with a brown patch on his flank.”
She probably didn’t need to remind the men. Mostly, she was reminding herself.
“What about the Beta? Do you think he’ll come?” Liam asked.
“He should. It would look bad if he stayed back. He’s mostly dark gray with some black on his rear. To be honest, I don’t know much about the others.”
“That’s really helpful, Cassidy,” Zach said. He turned to the others. “We are assuming they will be hiking in, but should they decided to shift and run in, they will be here shortly. We have to be prepared for either scenario.”
Seth and Trevor motioned the men head out so they could be tagged. Ian and Mick hugged and kissed Charley, wishing her luck, while Zach and Mike each hugged Cassidy. “See you soon, and good luck shooting the bastard.”
She smiled, though her lips wobbled. “That’s the plan.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
When all but Trevor had disappeared into the forest, she and Charley headed up to their lookout spot. Because it might be a long wait, they grabbed both comforters—one to sit on and one to wrap around themselves.
“Have you done many stakeouts before?” Cassidy asked her shooting partner.
“Too many. Just wait until the wolves show up. Your adrenaline will be like a tidal wave through your system. When that happens, you have to inhale, hold your breath, and slowly exhale. Then raise your bow and take aim.”
“The men want to battle without our interference, if possible,” she reminded Charley.
"I know. Once we start shooting, no telling if the wolves will scatter or not."
“I just want to be the one to shoot Doug. Our men don’t want to kill him, just send him a warning.”
“Do you think the entire Kitchener Clan would retaliate if our men took out four or five of their wolves?”
“Most definitely. They are aggressive by nature.”
Charley smiled. “Then I won’t shoot them in the heart.”
She probably couldn’t do that anyway unless her arrow missed their ribs.
Cassidy sat back and lined up her arrows. She’d gone to every store and bought what they had. There hadn’t been time to make any extra.
An hour into their vigil, Mike who claimed he didn't need to be ear tagged due to his coloring sauntered out in front of the cabin. He looked up and nodded.
"His pretty gray coloring is rather distinctive," Charley said.
"It is indeed." Mike's face was a combination of brown and gray which contrasted with his light gray body.
Earlier, the men had placed branches and snow across the normal path, forcing any hiker to take the alternate trail to the cabin. Trevor, who would be remaining in the cabin until he was needed, was to keep the fire stoked so that the wolves would have no trouble finding them. The only thing missing was a solar-powered neon sign that read:Cassidy is here.
She chuckled.
