Although I must say, you did a fine job with the national park in Alaska too. It is a true sanctuary for nature and its animals,” Dana praised.
Hyde smiled, bowing his head a little. “I am glad you think so, my lady.”
Dana touched his arm lightly before turning to Max. “Anyway, do not let me stop your important meeting. Pretend I am not here.”
Mordecai nearly choked on his own spit as he turned disbelieving eyes to Dana. “Pretend you’re not here? You’re kidding, right?”
Dana stiffened once more, casting him a dirty look. “If my presence is so distracting, perhaps I will take myself on a tour of Eden then.”
Before he could wrestle his big foot out of his mouth, Knox materialised beside him. “Hey. I was hoping to talk to you all about …” he trailed off as he noticed Dana, his grey eyes widening in male appreciation. “Well, hello there. Max, I didn’t know you had a sister,” Knox’s grin was as unrepentant as it was flirtatious. Mordecai wanted to knock his teeth out.
Dana laughed, the sound literally causing all the birds in the trees to sing. “I am not her sister. I am her mother.”
Knox laughed, clearly thinking he was being punked. But when no one else laughed with him, he quickly closed his mouth and bent down on one knee. “My lady, I apologise.”
“You were simply being you,” Dana cut him off, extending a hand to him and helping him to his feet. “And I for one am so very glad you can be you once again. After everything you’ve endured. So very brave, Knox.” Dana stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Perhaps you would like to give me a tour of Eden? Show me what your chadens have accomplished?”
Knox looked suitably stupefied as Dana hooked her arm through his and led him away. After, that is, casting Mordecai a look that should have flayed the skin from his bones. After scowling in her direction for a few moments, he turned to find multiple glares upon him. “What?” he demanded, feeling like shit and not in the mood to be called out for it.
“Man, you have it bad!” Ryker walked over to Mordecai and slapped him on the back. “I thought it was just a whole bunch of rage combined with a whole bunch of lust. But it’s more than that, isn’t it?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. And why are you still touching me?” Mordecai growled, shrugging off Ryker’s hand where it was still resting on his shoulder. “I can make Max fall out of love with you, you know.”
Ryker snorted, “No, you can’t.”
“No, you can’t,” Max confirmed. “Besides, I’d worry about my own love life if I were you.”
“I don’t have a love life. And if I did, it wouldn’t involve Dana,” Mordecai ground out.
“Why were you such a prick to her then?” Dex questioned.
Mordecai turned a frosty glare on the healed chade. “She took it the wrong way.”
“Of course it’s the woman’s fault,” Dawn said, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes on him.
Mordecai was beginning to sweat. ‘What is happening here?’ he asked his Order.
‘I believe it’s called having a family, sir,’ Madigan answered, merrily.
‘Oh, fuck off,’ was Mordecai’s reply. Out loud he said, “Look, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. I just meant it’s impossible to ignore her. I mean, she’s Mother Nature. A goddess walking the Earth. She’s powerful and soulful and –” he quickly shut his mouth before it ran away from him.
“And she’s beautiful and intelligent, and sweet and kind and funny,” Blu filled in. His eyes were twinkling when he continued, “She’s perfect, my friend.”
“Perfect for what?” Mordecai muttered.
Blu harrumphed, “If you don’t know the answer to that, it’s no wonder you’re tied up in knots.” He turned his back quickly, addressing the rest of the IDC. “Right, let us move on from our clueless friend here, shall we? Let’s start with the construction and then move on to the formalities of Orders and the local council.”
Chapter Five
The next several hours were spent formalising the plans for Eden, for the chadens, for the training lodge, and for the Paladin Trials. Many processes that had been in place for hundreds of years were thrown to the wayside and new protocols and policies were implemented. The chadens, with their special abilities still intact after being made whole, were essentially doing all the building of the structures. It came in very handy