Page 40 of Master of Kayos

“Really?Wait.Why would I need a sidecar?”

“Because your mom will be riding behind me.And if you don’t cause too much trouble, I’ll even have Hayden customize it for you.”

“That’s your youngest brother, right?The one mated to the woman with the car name.”

“Correct.Her name’s Mercedes.We’re going to be finishing up here today, and then we’ll come meet you at Poppy’s.”

“At this rate, you might beat us there.Mercy insisted we stop for the night.”

“Everyone had a rough day, so that’s understandable.”Kyllian pointed to the phone and raised his eyebrows.Quinn bit her lip again and shook her head.“Look, kiddo.I need to go and make a few arrangements.You stay out of trouble, and we’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“She doesn’t want to talk to me, does she?”Nikita asked, her voice wobbly.

“She absolutely does, but your mom wants to do it in person.There are a lot of people in the room with us, and what the two of you need is a little privacy, okay?I promise she’s looking forward to meeting you.”

“Gryphon’s honor?”

“Gryphon’s honor.I’ll never lie to you, Nikita.No matter what.”And he wouldn’t.He might have to skirt the truth sometimes considering her age, but Kyllian found honesty worked best, even if it hurt or was hard to hear.

“Thanks, Kayos.For everything.Do you need to talk to Mercy again?”

“No, I’m good.I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon.”

Kyllian disconnected, and Quinn buried her face in her hands.Kyllian pulled her to him and onto his lap sideways.“I wasn’t lying, Pretty Lady.The two of you need privacy when you talk for the first time.”

Quinn rested her head on his shoulder.“You’re right, but I don’t know what to say to her.”

“Just tell her the truth.”A knock sounded, and Jericho opened the door to their breakfast after looking through the peephole.“Let’s get some food in us, then we’ll figure out how your dad’s going to take Dennis out with the fewest casualties.”

Kyllian had been right.Trenton didn’t like his plan.At all.

“They still have plenty of ammunition, Kyllian.I won’t let you sacrifice yourself.”

“I’m not that altruistic.I’ll issue the challenge, and they won’t shoot me.”

Trenton ran both hands through his hair, pulling the short strands.“If you get close enough.No.There has to be another way.”

Quinn had been quiet up until then, and when she finally spoke, Kyllian’s beast preened inside.“Dad, Kyllian can do this.Unless you want to ride in on Gryphon back and shoot from above.”

Trenton pointed at no one in particular.“See, that’s a better plan.Take him out from farther away.”

Trenton was letting his human half lead.“Don’t you want to look him in the eye and let him know who it is who’s ending his life and why?”

When Trenton’s eyes clouded over, Kyllian knew he had the male.

“Dammit.Okay, we’ll do it your way, but if something happens to you, I won’t be the one facing Sutton.”

“If my pop were here, he’d be the one leading the way.”

Quinn clapped her hands once.“Let’s do this.I have a daughter I want to meet.”

Kyllian counted on his Gryphon voice to keep any of the wolves from shooting.At least that was the plan.The Hounds left their bikes parked in the underground garage of the hotel.Devon had rented a car while Kyllian argued with Trenton.Storm patched himself up, and the Gryphon was almost back to fighting form.When it was time to go, he insisted on being with them.Kyllian didn’t argue.

As they neared RC territory, Kyllian kept his window down and voiced every wolf he came across as did Devon from the car behind.When they reached the turnoff, one of the pack stood with a rifle trained on them.Kyllian quickly said, “I’m here to challenge the Alpha.Tell everyone to stand down and let us pass.”The wolf’s eyes grew wide, but he couldn’t disobey neither Kyllian’s voice nor the challenge.The male inclined his head and let out a howl.Several howls answered.Kyllian found that ability fascinating.The Gryphons couldn’t communicate in such a way.

When they rolled to a stop in front of the lodge, Dennis stood outside waiting.As planned, Kyllian stepped out of the vehicle first and voiced everyone.“Dennis Hightower, I challenge you.The rest of you will put your weapons down.You will not interfere in any way.”

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