Page 42 of Clash of Kings

“No, I was going to call her next. Not that it’ll do any good, but I want her to know I’m okay.”

“Kody, your dad’s not going to let her answer the phone. When I say Arthur’s angry, I mean he’s next level pissed and heading up a posse to come after you. He’s just waiting on you to call Diana so he can figure out where you are. Things here are nuts. King is telling the whole pack lies about what went down. I’m sure he demanded those who witnessed everything to keep their mouths shut since no one is disputing him. He’s saying Sebastian challenged him, then backed out. Sloane has vowed to get revenge on Anthony, and now I know why. Speaking of, has he asked about me?”

Dakota rolled her eyes. “He said to tell you hello, but Jo, you need to let that go. Gargoyles have fated mates, and since you aren’t Tony’s, whatever you’re thinking isn’t going to happen.”

“You don’t know what I’m thinking. Why can’t I have a little fun with him until he finds his mate?”

Dakota placed her free arm over her eyes. “Would you want that? To knock boots with a male when you know it’s not going to lead anywhere?”

“It’ll lead to amazing sex. I already told you his tongue—”

“I don’t need another visual, Jo. But you do you, Boo. If you want no-strings-attached sex, then go for it.”

“Back to your— Shit, I gotta go.” The line went dead, and Dakota stared at the phone.

“Damnit. I hope she’s okay.”

Sebastian took the phone from her and placed it on the nightstand. He then rolled Dakota so she was on top of him. Dakota took advantage of the position and straddled his waist.

Bas reached up and tugged both braids. “I think we need to form a plan and go on the offensive. I didn’t want it to come to that, but I can go back, challenge King in front of the pack, and take him down. Not kill him, but make him submit.”

Dakota ran her fingers through Bas’s chest hair. “I’m not sure that’ll work. Wolves fight to the death when challenged.”

“Fuck. I don’t want to kill him.”

“Let me call my dad. After he gets finished yelling, I’ll try to get him to see reason.”

“You think it’ll work?”

“Nope, but I have to try. At least it might calm his ass down.” Dakota leaned over and snagged the burner from the nightstand. Since she didn’t have her father’s number programmed, she called her mom’s phone. It only rang once before her father answered.

“Dakota? Is that you?”

“Yes, and before you start—”

“Where the fuck are you? Are you okay? Goddess, your mother’s worried herself sick.”

“I’m fine. I wasn’t kidnapped. As a matter of fact, Sebastian saved me from Phoenix. It’s him you should be yelling at.”

“Your brother was doing his job. Now, where are you? I’ll come get you and—”

“No, what you’ll do is listen to me for once in your life. Sebastian is my mate. He and—”

“Kingston is your mate. You need to accept that and—”

“Shut the fuck up!” Dakota took a deep breath. Her father started cussing, and Dakota hung up on him. She waited a full minute before calling back. “Don’t say a word, or I’ll hang up and you’ll never hear from me again. Got it? Now listen without interrupting. I know the lies King has been telling. What he didn’t tell you is that Sebastian and his cousins are Gargoyles. Gargoyles have fated mates, and I am Sebastian’s. We’ve already shared bites, so that’s that. You’ll have to get over it, as will King. Sebastian knew I was his mate as soon as he and I were in the same room. He is also the boy from Utah. He survived Phoenix’s attack, and the goddess led him to Panther. To me. We were discussing the shifter council, and it got out of hand. Sebastian didn’t challenge King to overthrow him as Alpha of the pack. It was to get King to let me go. Sebastian told the other wolves that it wasn’t a disgrace for King to back down knowing the Gargoyles could take them all out, not just King. King tossed Sebastian and his cousins out of the pack house. Sebastian saved me from Phoenix, we left town, and now Bas and I are mated. End of story.”

“May I speak now?”

“Only if you aren’t demanding my return because that’s never going to happen.”

“No matter the reason Stone did it, a challenge was made, Kody. You know what that means to an Alpha wolf.”

“I do, but do you want Kingston dead? Because if he demands Sebastian fulfill the challenge, King will die.”

“You’ve disappointed me, Dakota. You were going to be the one to save our pack, and now you’re nothing but a traitor, siding with this asshole.”

“Bas isn’t the asshole. He’s King ofallthe Gargoyles. Think about that for a second. Consider putting all wolfpack Alphas in a ring and seeing who came out the ultimate victor between them all. That’s what you have with my Sebastian.”

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