Page 8 of Clash of Kings

King growled at his sister. “That doesn’t matter. He’s not coming here to find a mate.” King looked out over the crowd. “This goes for all you unmated females. Do not disrespect me and our pack. Being kind is expected. Throwing yourselves at the male? Unacceptable. Any other questions?” When no one said anything, King dismissed them. Turning to Dakota, he said, “Come with me.”

Dakota didn’t want to, but she was interested in why he singled her out. No, she knew why. This was another way for him to dig his claws into her. Make her think he valued what she had to say when they both knew it was a lie. He had Sloane to turn to for advice. Still, she followed him down the hallway and up the stairs to his living quarters. The pack house was a two-story lodge. The downstairs comprised of the meeting hall that doubled as a dining room, a kitchen, laundry room, and two large restrooms. The tables and chairs had been put away to accommodate more people. Upstairs were several bedrooms including King’s suite. Dakota knew this because Davis had shown her and her family around when they arrived in Panther. Davis had moved out of the suite and into one of the smaller rooms when he passed leadership to King.

The only good thing about going with King was he had gestured for Sloane to follow them, meaning she wouldn’t be alone with the male. When they got to his rooms, King strode to the bar and poured three glasses of whiskey, not bothering to ask what Dakota wanted. He passed the drinks over, then sat on one end of the sofa. Dakota took one of the armchairs across from him.

Sloane chose the other chair and crossed his boot over his knee. “I know we’ve discussed this, but do you trust this stranger?”

King, sitting with his knees spread, took a sip of whiskey. Dakota kept her eyes averted. No way was she giving him any indication she was interested in what he was offering. “No, but I trust Knox Millard. He’s an honorable male, and if he says I can trust Sebastian Stone, then I can.” Dakota’s skin prickled at that name. Something about it was familiar. “Kody, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she lied. “So, what was it you wanted my opinion on?” She raised the glass to her lips, pretending to take a sip. No way would she get tipsy in his room.

“I want you to be on this council. Everyone in this pack trusts you. They don’t come to The Depot for the beer. Well, they do, but they also know if they need a kind word or good advice, they can get it sitting on a bar stool.”

“Not everyone. There are those who would rather see me leave town.”

“She’s not wrong,” Sloane muttered. King growled, and Sloane shrugged. “What? You know I’m right. I can name ten females that’d rather gut Dakota than ask her for advice.”

King scrubbed a hand down his face. He stared at Dakota, and she knew what he was thinking. If she would say yes, all his troubles would go away. Or something like that. Hell, maybe he was wondering what color underwear she had on.

“Yeah, well, those ten females are brainless bimbos. If they weren’t, they’d have found a mate by now.”

“Ihaven’t found a mate, so am I a brainless bimbo?” Dakota arched a brow.

“No, Kody. You’re neither. You can think for yourself. It’s one of your most admirable traits. I at least want you sitting in on the meeting with this Alpha. You’re good at reading people, and I want you to gauge his sincerity.”

Dakota stood, placing her unfinished drink on the end table. “Fine. Let me know when the meeting is.” She had to get out of there and figure out why the name Sebastian was familiar.

King rose from the sofa. “Where are you going?”

“Home. And I’m leaving the back way so I don’t run into my parents. I’m not interested in another lecture from my father.”

“I’ll walk you out.”

“Not necessary. I’m sure you and Sloane have important matters to discuss.” Dakota pointed at Sloane and said, “If you don’t get your head out of your ass, Jolee’s going to take Malone up on his offer. Good night.”

Dakota smirked when Sloane cursed under his breath. She didn’t understand what the male was waiting on. He had taken Jolee on several dates, and according to her best friend, they burned the sheets up afterward. In Dakota’s eyes, Sloane was a jerk. Malone would make a wonderful mate if Jolee could get over being with Sloane because he was King’s second. The woman was gorgeous as well as intelligent, she could cook like nobody’s business, and she was scrappy. She had planned on going off to college to study interior design, but during high school, things with her parents were rough. Her dad lost his job, turned to alcohol, and sat at home feeling sorry for himself. Jolee’s mom worked two jobs to make ends meet, and Jolee helped where she could. What she didn’t do was move back home once she had her own place. Dakota couldn’t blame her. There was no way she could live under the same roof as her own father and not throttle him. A couple years ago, Jolee’s parents had been killed when her father refused to hand over the keys after a night out drinking. He crossed a double yellow line, hitting a semi head-on. Now, Jolee had the pack, but no other family.

Dakota stepped into the hallway and listened for signs of life coming from Davis’s room. She wouldn’t put it past her father to be waiting to ambush her when she left King’s suite. When she didn’t hear anyone, she tiptoed along the wooden planks, making as little noise as possible. She’d opted for her cowboy boots, and the heels were heavy when she stepped. At the end of the hallway, she pushed open the door that led to the back stairway. When she reached the bottom, she paused and listened again. The kitchen was on this end of the house, and several people were congregated there, talking. None of them were her parents or brother, so Dakota continued to the back door. Everyone stopped speaking when they noticed her. Instead of giving them all double middle fingers, she tipped her hat their direction and slipped out into the night.

Dakota made her way along the path through the woods that led to not only her cabin but other homes as well. It was a two-mile hike, but her boots were worn in and comfortable. The air was crisp, so she buttoned her flannel shirt over her tank top. She expected to encounter more of her pack mates along the way, but there was no sign of anyone. They were probably hanging out at the pack house, discussing the Alpha who was coming to visit.Sebastian.Why did that name give her goose bumps? As soon as she walked into her home, Dakota dug her laptop out of the drawer where she stored it. As it booted, she grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator, then toed her boots off and tossed them toward the closet where they landed with a thunk. She removed her hat and set it on the table beside her computer.

Once she could access the internet, Dakota typed in the name Sebastian Stone. There were several hits, but most all of them were of the same man, an architect out of Atlanta, Georgia, who specialized in building log and stone houses. His company, or his family’s company, Stone, Inc., had been around for over half a century. Before Sebastian joined the company, they focused on designing commercial buildings, mostly high rises. When she switched from the home page to the about section, Dakota nearly fell out of her chair. There were two photos, one of Sebastian, and one of a man named Travis McKenzie, the commercial architect. Travis was cute in a boy-next-door way, but Sebastian Stone? Holy goddess, the man was stunning. He had dark hair and a closely cropped beard, but it was his eyes that held her attention. They were a dark blue, and Dakota could swear he was staring into her soul. It was hard to gauge his age. He could be anywhere from mid-twenties to early thirties.

Opening a new tab, Dakota searched for any scrap of personal information on Sebastian, but there was none. No other photos. No personal articles. No mention of him if it wasn’t about his work with the company. The homes he built were beyond amazing. They put the pack house to shame, and it was a nice building even if it was in a poor area of the state.

Dakota took a swig out of her bottle, staring at the screen. Why would he not have photos of himself other than the professional head shot? Because he was an alpha shifter? And since he was an alpha, he probably already had a mate. Not that it mattered to her. She already had one gorgeous alpha trying to get in her pants. But damn. Just… damn. Regardless of Kingston warning their pack, the females were going to fall all over themselves when they got a look at this man. And Dakota was supposed to sit in a meeting with him?

Damn.

Her cell phone rang, bringing Dakota out of her lustful musings. What? She was young and single. She could look. Taking her beer with her, she walked over to where her phone was charging on the kitchen counter. When she saw her father’s name on the screen, Dakota hit the ignore button. He would probably show up at her house if she didn’t call back soon, but she was in no mood to hear how she had disrespected their family in front of their Alpha. Calling Nix a dick hadn’t been her finest moment, but she was sick of his meddling. Sick of him trying to stay in their father’s good graces by needling Dakota at every turn. If he really wanted to gain brownie points, Nix would ask Savannah to be his mate, then the families would be united without Dakota being the one to give in.

The only way to avoid her father dropping in was to be gone if he showed up. Dakota finished her beer, took one last look at Sebastian’s photo, then stripped out of her clothes. She stepped outside through the back door and took to her fur. As she launched off the porch into the darkness, Dakota did her best to put all thoughts of both alphas out of her mind. As paws met dirt, Dakota’s Wolf lapped at the air with its tongue. Rarely did she give her beast free rein, but tonight, she gave it the freedom to run uninhibited. And run they did. Dried leaves crunched under their paws with each step. Branches scraped her fur as they rushed between trees and around brush. They crossed a creek and jumped the railroad tracks. At the cemetery, her Wolf turned and retraced her steps back to the cabin.

By the time they returned home, a couple hours had passed, and both woman and beast were exhausted. When Dakota shifted to her skin, she had to hold onto the banister to make it up the few steps to the porch. She opened the back door and sniffed the air, searching for any indication her father had been in her home. It took a second, but she found it. That scent that was uniquely his. Dakota was surprised he hadn’t waited on her, but she had been gone for hours. She didn’t bother picking her clothes off the floor. Instead, she stepped over to the table to wake her laptop up. There, taped to the screen, was a note from her father. After reading his heated words telling her to get her ass to their house tomorrow, she crumpled the paper and tossed it in the garbage. She might be his daughter, but she was a grown ass woman. Maybe itwas finallytime to get the hell out of Panther.

Chapter 6

Anthony’s case endedup taking longer than expected, so Sebastian headed on to West Virginia. Lydia was riding with Anthony, and since he wanted them both with him when they visited the Alpha in Panther, Bas drove to the town of Carlton to look at the first property. Not knowing what the roads would be like, he opted to take his Jeep instead of his sports car. He had scanned the weather forecast for rain, but it looked to be clear skies for the next week. He had the front split panels removed and stowed in the back, just in case. Bas loved riding with the top off, but it wasn’t practical when he was driving hundreds of miles, and there was always a chance Mother Nature would change her mind about giving the earth a shower.