Page 19 of Clash of Kings

Jolee:I love you, girl. I’ll see you when you get here.

Me:Hopefully. Love you too.

Dakota stuck the phone between her legs. She closed her eyes and brought forth the image of Sebastian Stone. She didn’t know what it was about the man that held her attention, but thinking of him and her dreams was a better way to pass the time than worrying about what King would do once they were back home. After a couple hours, Dakota opened the package of cereal and crunched on it. She wasn’t hungry, but she loved the sugary treat. She felt King’s eyes on her in the rearview mirror, but she continued to ignore him.

King didn’t speak until they pulled onto pack land. He drove Dakota to her cabin where her car was already parked. He shut the engine off, and Dakota groaned. She didn’t want him inside her home any more now than before. He unbuckled and turned so he could look at her.

“I still want you on the council. I had to cut the meeting short when you ran off, so I’ll let you know when the rescheduled time is.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you come after me? Why couldn’t you let me be?”

“Because you’re pack, and pack doesn’t leave without a good reason.”

“My parents left our old pack,” Dakota argued.

“And they had a good reason after what Pheonix did to the human.”

“So now I’m a prisoner? You’re never letting me leave Panther?” Dakota hissed.

“If you have a good reason, then sure, you can go. You didn’t have a good reason other than you were pissed off. You left without telling your parents. Do you know how worried your mother was?”

“I’m sure she was the only one,” Dakota muttered. “May I go inside now?”

“Call your parents, and then call Vernon. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you back. Noah’s good, but he’s not you.”

Dakota didn’t tell King that she didn’t plan to go back to the bar full time. She wouldn’t do that to Noah, not after offering him the full-time hours. She pushed open the door, got out, then closed it gently even though she wanted to slam it. Dakota ignored King as she strode to her car and looked inside. Her stuff was still in the back. When she opened the driver’s door, King rolled down the window.

“What are you doing, Kody?”

“Looking for my fucking keys, if that’s okay with you? I need them to get in my house.”

King sighed but nodded. Fucker. If she thought she hated the male before, she had been mistaken. Dakota snatched the keys from the ignition and slammed her car door before striding up the steps. She didn’t look back as she let herself inside. Dakota waited until she heard King’s motor start and the vehicle drive away. She called Jolee and asked her to come over, and her best friend nearly burst her ear drum with excitement. Then Dakota went back outside and began lugging her things into the cabin. The more trips she made, the madder she got.

One way or another, Dakota would find a way to escape Panther. Kingston Bridgewater could go fuck himself.

Chapter 10

Sebastian stood onthe balcony holding a mug of coffee that had grown cold. The view was nothing spectacular even though he could see a mountain in the distance. The night before, Anthony dropped Sebastian and Lydia off at the hotel, then went back to Panther to meet up with Jolee. Lydia sat with Bas in his room for a while.

“Now that Big Mouth is gone, do you want to talk about it?”

“What’s there to say?” Sebastian didn’t want to get his hopes up that Dakota was his mate. Just because the males of Bridgewater pack gave off a familiar scent didn’t mean anything. His Goyle begged to differ. So did Lydia.

“Bas, if your beast insists the scent you locked onto is your mate’s, then you need to trust it. Maybe it’s not this Dakota, though. It could be another female. I caught a whiff of something in the bar, and there were plenty of women there.”

“I noticed it too, but if my mate had been there, it would have been stronger.”

“Then it begs to reason Dakota is your female, and the scent was left over from when she was behind the bar earlier.”

“True, but…” Bas ran a hand over his short beard. “We’re here to get the Bridgewater pack on board with the council. If Dakota is my mate, I don’t see things going well.”

“Then screw the pack. Mates come first. There are plenty of other wolves out there to join us. I don’t get why Knox Millard didn’t agree to sit on the council.”

“He said he’s too old, which is bullshit. According to Connor, Knox is eighty-four. He has plenty of years left in him.”

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