it gave her half a chance. But perhaps they were offering the same to him? A chance? Unable to reply, the creature stood still and hoped they understood it was as compliant as it was going to get. Unfortunately for the young man, he began to glow and emanate a familiar and very powerful energy. Knox was unable to stop himself from rushing to meet the energy and trying to inhale it as quickly as it could.
It would be much later, when it realised it had referred to itself by name for the first time in decades. And exactly what had been given back to it that day.
A name.
An identity.
A life.
Chapter One
“My lady,” Knox bowed low, showing respect and deference for Dawn’s position. Not only was she a member of the IDC, but she was one of only two female life wardens on the planet. She was really freaking important. “I am at your service.”
Dawn didn’t respond right away, her bright, hazel eyes narrowing on Knox for several seconds, before she sighed, the sound filled with disappointment and causing Knox to study her more closely. He hadn’t had much to do with Dawn since his return to the land of the living and had never been lucky enough to run into her in his previous life either. To his knowledge, they had always been stationed on different continents, with him being largely in South America and Dawn in Europe. As a life warden, Dawn had no doubt travelled regularly and had probably been in Australia many times over the years. But Knox had lived permanently in South America, moving only within that region with his Order and his sons and had never set foot in Australia until he had been recalled just before the Great Massacre. And from that moment on, his life had irrevocably changed. His transition into a chade had not been a slow degeneration, but a swift decline into madness and pain. After his hopeless existence for decades, he had been cured, reunited with his sons, given a purpose with Dave’s Dive, and then a leadership role with the chadens. So, he hadn’t had much time to get to know many other wardens or paladins, let alone the new members of the IDC. He was more than happy to get to know the beauty standing before him though, but Dawn seemed less than pleased with the prospect.
Dawn’s voice, when she finally spoke, was dry. “Thank you. But I assure you, I can service myself.”
Knox felt his eyes widen and he very deliberately did not look at any of his sons. They were notorious pranksters as well as flirts and Dawn had made that way too easy. Knox cleared his throat, “I’m happy for you. I happen to have made a career out of servicing myself too. But I think we might be talking about two different things here. The Great Mother seems to think I may be of some assistance to you. Regarding the orphanage and the clinic, and perhaps even the ill paladins.”
Dawn’s hazel eyes were wide, and she covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head furiously. “Gods! I did not mean it like –” she snapped her mouth shut, glaring at her four paladins, who were lined up behind her. She then schooled her features and turned back to Knox. “I simply meant that I am capable of handling all the tasks I was given. But thank you.”
‘Hmm, that thank you sounds remarkably like fuck off,’ Kai noted, speaking to Knox directly through their very new Order link.
‘Yeah, no shit,’ Knox agreed. He didn’t bother turning to his three paladins who had ventured closer upon hearing the conversation. Blu, Max, and Mordecai had given Knox permission to form an official Order with his sons a couple of months before the new IDC was formed. He may not be a warden anymore, but he required vitality just the same. At first, he had been reluctant to accept the offer from his sons. He feared hurting them in any way and he wasn’t sure he could trust his newfound healing. But, after much open communication, he had learned that his reluctance to form an Order with them was hurting them anyway. After being separated from him for so long and thinking him dead or lost forever to madness, they craved closeness. Knox could safely say it was the best decision of his life, and his boys were right. Their relationship had grown by leaps and