Page 28 of Clash of Kings

“Normally King is level-headed, but I don’t think he’s going to take this lying down. He’ll need to save face with the pack.”

“But you’re Bas’s fated mate. Doesn’t that count for something?”

Dakota placed her hand on Sebastian’s thigh. “If it had been anyone other than me? Yes. But King has it in his head I belong to him. Besides that, Sebastian challenged King. Regardless that he let y’all walk away, Alphas don’t let challenges go unanswered.” Bas settled his hand on Dakota’s, but she turned hers over and threaded their fingers. “Is this okay?”

Bas lifted their joined hands to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “More than.” When he returned their hands to his thigh, Dakota leaned her head against his shoulder. Sebastian pressed his lips to her hair. When he straightened, Anthony was eyeing them through the rearview mirror. Catching Sebastian’s gaze, Anthony nodded. Sebastian released an uneasy sigh. He had no doubt they hadn’t seen the last of Kingston Bridgewater, but he had found his mate. His Queen. With Dakota by his side and his Clan at his back, Sebastian felt lighter than ever before.

Chapter 13

Dakota had tobe dreaming. No way was this her life. She, Dakota Young, was the fated mate to the King of Gargoyles. She had to let that sink in for a moment. Would that make her Queen if she accepted the bond? Who was she kidding? It was all she could do not to crawl into Sebastian’s lap and beg him to seal the deal then and there. Not only that, but he was the boy from Utah. It all felt like some fantastical dream. Speaking of dreams, hers had come true. Had it truly been a dream or a prophecy of things to come? If she didn’t think he and his cousin would look at her funny, Dakota would release the squeal threatening to break free. Jolee was going to shit a brick when she learned the truth.

Anthony pulled into a gas station, parking next to an SUV. “Are we going back to the hotel or on to Carlton?”

Sebastian turned to her. “I’m looking to purchase a lodge about five hours from here, and I’d like to get your opinion before I sign the papers. I want to reopen a once thriving business to help Carlton by bringing guests to the town. The place is in decent shape, and it will take minimal renovations to get it up and running. Is that something you might be interested in? If not, we can go wherever you want.”

“I’d love to see it.” Being an architect must pay well if he was going to purchase a lodge. Not only that, but he was King of his Clan. Kingston’s money came from the pack members who worked. Dakota wondered if the Gargoyle Clan operated the same way.

“I’ll ride with Lydia so you two kids can have some privacy. We’ll follow you to Carlton.” Anthony climbed out and switched vehicles.

Sebastian and Dakota got into the front seat. Before putting the Jeep in drive, Sebastian asked, “Can you drive a stick?”

Now Dakota knew she was dreaming. There was no way any male would let a female drive a vehicle this nice. Not the males in her pack, anyway. “Sure can, but I’d rather wait and drive when I’m more familiar with the roads.”

“You just let me know when.” Sebastian tapped the screen, bringing up a map, and when he selected the destination, they were off. “You mentioned you have questions. What would you like to know?” Sebastian asked.

“Everything.” Dakota sat on her hands to keep from distracting him. “How old are you? Do you have siblings? Since you’re King, did you take the throne from your father? Or did you fight for it?”

Sebastian grinned at her. “I’m twenty-seven. I have one sister. Her name is Stefania Seven Di Pietro. She was born on July 7th, thus her middle name, and yes, we call her Seven.”

“Di Pietro?”

“That’s our original family surname. Living as long as we do, Gargoyles reinvent themselves every so often, and Stone is the surname my papa chose the last time he did so, and most of his brothers and cousins followed suit. Uncle Dante is the only one still using their original name. We can live a thousand years if we aren’t killed first. Male Gargoyles can only be killed by a select few poisons or by decapitation. Our skin is impenetrable. Females aren’t as lucky. They don’t have the same skin, nor do they have wings. Until my cousins came along, most of the female Gargoyles had died off. I got off topic, but that’s information you need to know. My papa, Rafael, was King, and he recently passed the crown to me because he was ready to retire and enjoy life with my momma. Like I explained while we were waiting on Anthony, my mother is human, so Seven and I are considered half-bloods. A few of my cousins, like Lydia, Anthony, and his twin, Tabitha, are full-bloods since both their parents are either full or half-bloods. It gets confusing, but Lydia is our archivist, and she can give you a list of everyone and their heritage.”

“A thousand years? Wow. Wolves get in maybe two centuries, and I thought that was a long time. Sorry I interrupted. Please continue.”

“No need to apologize.” Sebastian gave her a butterflies-in-the-stomach-inducing smile. “Let’s see. My papa is an architect. I wanted to follow in his footsteps, but where he focused on commercial designs, I wanted to build residential homes. I grew up in a modern manor, but most of my cousins lived in large wooden and stone houses, and they were more my style. I currently live in Atlanta where our family has been for over fifty years. Gargoyles don’t age like humans, so we have to move around if we don’t want to remain hidden from the public eye or wear disguises. My parents moved to New York, and I wanted somewhere between there and Georgia. I was drawn to West Virginia, and now I know why.” Sebastian held out his right hand. Dakota removed her left from under her leg and threaded their fingers.

“I dreamed about you,” Dakota admitted. “I was running from King, and you swooped down and saved me from him. I didn’t know it was you. Hell, I didn’t know Gargoyles existed, and I thought you might be a dragon. Then today I saw Anthony’s wings when he shifted, and… It had to be you because what happened today played out almost exactly as in my dream.”

“I had the same dream. Well, almost. Only in mine, I saved you from a black panther. When Anthony told me where the meeting with King was, I knew it was a sign. I just didn’t know what kind.”

“How is that possible? Us having similar dreams?”

“I believe it’s because of our connection. I’ve had dreams where snippets were later revealed in real life, but nothing like what I dreamed about you. You and I have been tied to one another for ten years.”

“I still can’t believe you’re the boy from Utah. Why were you there?”

“We were celebrating my cousin Connor receiving his masters. Our Clan will get together for any reason, big or small. The hotel is owned by a Gargoyle couple, and we rented the place for the weekend so we didn’t have to worry about humans.”

“How big is your Clan?”

“I’d have to ask Lydia to be sure, but I’d venture to say a couple thousand here in the States where I’m King.”

“Wow. How do you rule that many?”

“With a lot of help. Papa put males he trusted in charge of different areas, kind of how wolf packs have different Alphas. If someone has an issue, they go to that leader first. If they can’t settle the dispute, they contact me. If that leader moves out of their territory, they’ll contact me beforehand, and I will select someone new to oversee the area. When I was crowned King, I elected Anthony as my second-in-command. He’s not only my cousin, but one of my best friends. We have several cousins who are close in age, and we’re a tight-knit group. I’m hoping some of them will agree to move to West Virginia with me. That brings me back to the lodge we’re going to see. I know you and I just met, and we have a lot to discuss, but your opinion means everything to me, Dakota. If you don’t want to remain in West Virginia, I’ll look elsewhere.”

“You’d do that?”

---