was alive and kicking and she wasn’t afraid to laugh at herself. Knox appreciated that in a person. “Should we start again? I am Knox, an air chaden. These are my sons as well as my Order,” he gestured to his three boys over his shoulder without turning. “And Dana thought I might be of some assistance to you.”
“Assistance … would be nice,” Dawn allowed, speaking slowly as if not fully on board with the words yet.
But Knox didn’t care. He was taking them as acceptance and running with them. Dawn had intrigued him, made him laugh, and shown she was independent. She was also astoundingly beautiful, with a statuesque body of an Amazon warrior of old. He was eager to spend more time with her any way he could. Helping her out at Dana’s request was the perfect excuse. “Excellent. Just tell me where you need me and when and I’ll be there.”
“That … would also be nice,” Dawn said, just as slowly.
Knox grinned. It seemed the woman didn’t quite know what to make of him. He could definitely work with that. Still, one thing was troubling him. “If I may ask, what had you in such a mood?”
Dawn’s mouth firmed and her eyes narrowed in the direction of a male warden in the corner of the room. “I admit, I’m a little sensitive about the whole ‘female life warden’ thing as it stands. I was placed on a pedestal as a child and treated like royalty. I’m sure a lot of wardens would have loved it, but I always found it to be …” she trailed off.
“Fucking annoying?” Knox filled in the blank.
Dawn was startled into a laugh, her eyes lighting up happily. “Yes. Fucking annoying. Anyway, that douche nozzle over there,” she gestured to the man she had been staring at. “He is a life warden. He seemed to think I would welcome his advances to make little life warden babies. It is our duty, after all,” Dawn added, mockingly.
Knox felt his whole body tense up and he clenched his fists. His feet began to lift off the ground and air swirled around him in a menacing fashion. Kai, Kane, and Kellan were quick to move next to him, each reaching out and placing a hand on him to soothe and calm him. Knox took a few deep breaths, feeling his feet hit the floor again. He knew his anger was over the top – he hardly knew Dawn. But the thought of some prick soliciting her for sex and/or babies made him see red.
“I’m going to go punch him in the nutsack,” he stated. Before he could move, Dawn’s warm laugh gave him pause. And he looked over to find her smiling and happy.
“I think we’re going to get along just fine, Knox,” she said, absolutely delighting him. “And I think you and my potentate will also become good friends. He had the same idea, though it included nose-breaking instead. I’m going to tell you what I told Micah; I can take care of myself. Percival isn’t the first to solicit me in such a way and he won’t be the last. Still, it clearly affected me more than I realised, considering I practically jumped down your throat when we first met. But Percival had just gotten through giving me a lecture about how special I am – being a female life warden and how it was my responsibility to continue on the legacy.”
“I understand,” Knox said. And he did. He didn’t blame Dawn one bit. He looked over at Percival one last time, assuring himself he wouldn’t forget the other man’s features and hoping they would cross paths at some point in the future. He then looked at Micah, Dawn’s Captain and potentate. The other man gave him a knowing look, as well as a small nod, and Knox knew they were on the same page.
“Well, thank you. Umm, tomorrow I will be at the orphanage with Celeste. Although the headquarters here are almost complete, there is still a lot to do and a lot to organise for the children’s home,” Dawn informed him.
Knox nodded his head. There was still a lot of physical construction to be done, as well as the entire interior and the landscaping. His chadens had started on the HQ building first and now that they were down to the finer details, like paint colours as the IDC had just been discussing an hour before, they were now focusing their attention