by Montana Ash
“What did you want to talk about?” Darius asked from his seat next to Diana.
Beyden cleared his throat and dared to look at Jasminka. The doctor thankfully had her blank mask in place and Beyden decided if she could ignore the shower scene, then so could he. He refused to look her in the eyes though, just in case he saw embarrassment there. Or worse – heat.
“Actually, it was Dr Winchester who brought it to my attention ...” he began, only to be sharply cut off by an anxiety-riddled Ryker.
“What do you mean the doctor?” Ryker quickly asked, turning to Jasminka. “Is there something wrong with Max? Is she sick? Hurt? Why didn’t you say anything before?!”
Beyden exchanged nervous, concerned looks with his friends. Despite the return of his liege and lover, Ryker was a man on the edge. Jasminka, for her part, remained calm and stoic in the face of such raw emotion. Beyden knew the woman was rather wary of his Captain after their unfortunate first meeting. It had been immediately following the battle and the loss of Max had been so fresh they had all felt like they were bleeding out. Ryker had believed her to be dead – gone forever – no matter Max’s final words that she would find a way to return. Beyden understood it had taken Lark, Diana, and Axel hours to drag Ryker away from the bloody battle field. The man had been inconsolable and rage-filled, determined to stay in the place where his last link to Max had been. Once inside their home, it had taken mere seconds for him to go absolutely ballistic. Beyden had been in the infirmary, still unconscious from life-saving surgery, but Axel had taken great pleasure in retelling the story over and over. Apparently, Jasminka’s dark eyes had widened in alarm before taking on a stubborn gleam, and she had promptly sedated the inconsolable man. With a strong tranquilliser injected directly into the meat of Ryker’s arse. Their relationship since then had been somewhat tense.
“Ryker, listen to me for a minute,” Beyden tried to be firm. “Yes, Max is in pain and there is something wrong. But it’s all of us causing the damage – not the doctor. Jasminka is the one who brought it to my attention. We need to thank her, not yell at her.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Beyden? I am not hurting Max. I would never hurt Max. I haven’t so much as touched her since that first night she’s been back!” Ryker spat out, anger and confusion clear in every line of his tense body.
Beyden swallowed, feeling a little less confident in the face of such rage. He looked quickly at Jasminka, only to see her eyebrows raised as if in challenge. Oh, she didn’t think he had the balls to stand up and do what was best for his liege? Well, the woman had never had the privilege of seeing them in paladin mode, Beyden thought. That was about to change. Beyden cleared his throat;
“Physically.”
Ryker paused, narrowing his eyes, “What?”
“Physically,” Bey repeated. “You haven’t touched Max physically. But as Jasminka pointed out to me this morning, Max doesn’t need physical contact to feel.”
“Her empathy,” Lark gasped, eyes going wide in realisation. “Oh, shit! We’re terrible sworn paladins!”
Beyden nodded, “Yeah, we are. We’ve been so focused on our wants and needs for Max that we haven’t given any thought to her true nature. Yes, she has no memory and no idea about her powers or about us. But that doesn’t change who or what she is intrinsically. And that is one big sponge, designed to soak up all the pain and hurt and sickness in nature – including people.”
And that was the real kicker, Beyden thought. As the biological daughter of the Great Mother, Max was able to feel and manipulate all seven elements – not just one like the wardens. It was why she had a paladin from each element in her Order – to ensure she had access to vitality from each domain and to ensure balance at all times. Thankfully, Max hadn’t given them too much drama when it came to her need for vitality. After the initial turbulence of her arrival wore off, Diana had made it a priority to sit Max down and explain the symbiotic relationship between paladins and wardens, and how it also applied to her as a custodian as well. Much like she had the first time, Max had accepted Diana’s offer of energy with little to no fuss other than a few sceptical looks. As far as he was aware, Max had been recharging just enough to keep her well and healthy.
By some unspoken agreement, none of the males in the Order had offered her vitality. Beyden knew Ryker couldn’t bear to at this point. It was far too much of an intimate act. And it would have been the height of cruelty for the rest of them to offer and have Max accept. So they had left the very important task of ensuring Max remained recharged in the capable hands of the women of the house – including his sister, even though she had no obligation to offer due to her ranger status.
Refocusing on the room, Beyden watched as looks of horror and realisation dawned on faces. “I imagine this place is one giant black hole of misery and despair. It’s no wonder Max only tolerates our company for minutes at a time and spends most of her days with the baby or the dog. We need to change our emotions.”
“Consciously changing how you feel is easier said than done,” Diana pointed out.
Bey snorted at that, “Tell me about it.” He had been trying to change how he was feeling, and subsequently acting, for weeks. So far he was shit out of luck. “But we need to do something. What we’re doing clearly isn’t working. I think we need to do more than just bombard her with history lessons.”
Everyone nodded, looking properly chastised but still just as hopeless as when he walked into the room.
“What do you suggest?” Ryker asked, looking exhausted now rather than irate.
“You’re asking me? Truthfully, I can barely stand my own thoughts. I don’t have a lot of good ones at the moment. You’d be better off asking the smartest person in the room,” Beyden admitted, honestly.
“Jasminka,” Beyden stated, at the exact same moment Ryker said;
“Lark.”
Silence. Everyone stared at him and he felt a flush rise from his neck and onto his cheeks. By the Great Mother, he thought. Why did I say that? Now all of the idiots were going to think he had a crush or something. Which he didn’t, Bey assured himself. One masturbation session and liking the way a woman looked in flowery dresses did not a crush make ... right?
FOUR
Jasminka fell back on her lifetime experience of fake smiles and blank looks. Beyden thought she was the smartest person in the room? That really wasn’t going to help her growing affections, she thought. Thankful her dark skin afforded her some protection against blushing, she continued to stare dispassionately at the room at large, subtly watching Beyden from the corner of her eye. Jazz had to give the man credit, he had really stepped up. It was clear her pep talk had knocked some sense into Beyden and sparked some thoughts that weren’t centred on his own woes. What’s more, he had immediately addressed the issue with his friends.
Jasminka was relieved. She was just as worried about Max as the rest of them. Hell, Max was her friend first. She had met the nutty little redhead eight years prior, and though they were from vastly different backgrounds and their temperaments completely opposite, they had forged an immediate and strong bond. And not just because Max had saved her life either, Jasminka thought. Nor because she had reciprocated, saving Max in return. No, there had been a sense of recognition – a sisterhood if you will. Max had told her she was important and for the first time in Jasminka’s life, she had believed it.
“Well, what do you suggest, doctor?” Ryker surprised her by asking.
“You want my opinion?” She was shocked Ryker would just take Beyden’s word. Though she supposed she shouldn’t be. From what Max had told her, Ryker had a heart of gold and he respected his team as much as he loved them.
Ryker inclined his head, dark gaze serious, “I do want your opinion.” He jerked his head toward a now reserved-looking Beyden, “Apparently it’s worth a lot.”
Jasminka took a deep breath and decided to go hard or go home. It was Max’s future on the line, after all. So, she promptly jumped to
her feet and began rummaging around the kitchen cupboards and counters. “Where are they?” she muttered.
"What are you looking for?" Ryker asked, confusion plain on his face.
"Your balls," was Jazz's swift, offhanded reply.
"Excuse me?!" Ryker sputtered.
"Well, I figured you must have removed them and put them on a shelf. You're certainly acting as if you have no balls. I just hope they're around here somewhere." She continued searching, ignoring the stunned silence of the room. “Surely Max wouldn’t have fallen for a guy who gave up on her so easily.”
Ryker grunted, crossing his arms over his chest, “Okay. You’ve made your point,”
She paused in her fossicking, “Have I?”
Ryker ran his tongue over his top teeth, deep brown eyes sizing her up before he finally relaxed his stance a single iota. “I can see why Max likes you,” he acknowledged. “You’re just as bad as them,” he jerked his head in the direction of the three women, who all wore identical expressions of feigned innocence and suppressed amusement.
Jazz released a breath, grateful her tactic had been received in the spirit she intended; half joking, half serious. The joking half was her attempt to inject some levity into the room as well as show them she had a playful side and encourage them to show her theirs. The serious half? Well, that was where Jazz was trying to see the man Max fell in love with. Jasminka hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Ryker before Max had lost herself, but she had heard plenty. Max had constantly talked about the fierce, loving, loyal warrior who had stolen her heart and completed her in a way she couldn’t begin to express. Jazz hadn’t seen much of the man Max called her soulmate since she had arrived. She didn’t blame him – not much anyway. She understood trauma, and pain, and the need to heal. But she couldn’t help but be disappointed in Ryker – and the others – when they appeared to be giving up.
Jasminka smiled at him, “I’ll take that as a compliment. Now, your first mistake; you’re fixating on the parts of Max that have changed. You should be focusing your energies on the parts of Max that haven’t changed.”
“Like what?” Darius asked, looking a little disgruntled, but a lot interested. Jasminka knew a fellow control freak when she met them and understood how the situation would be trying for him. So she answered;
“Well, for starters, Max is still a woman ...” Jazz let the hint hang in the air for a moment. She barely refrained from snickering at the clueless looks on the men’s faces.
“Sooo, we should what? Braid her hair or something?” Darius asked.
Diana shared a look filled with knowledge and fun with Jasminka before patting her partner’s head gently, “I think Jasminka is hinting at something a little more ... sexy.”
“Sexy?” Ryker practically yelled, “What the hell do you mean, sexy?”
Jazz raised her hands in supplication, “Hear me out. Max is perhaps the most perverted woman I have ever met. You guys are perhaps the hottest men I have ever met.”
“I get where you’re going with this,” Axel tipped his chair back until it was balanced on two legs. “Gangbang. Right on, Doc. Didn’t know you had it in you.”
Jasminka wanted desperately to laugh. She had developed an affection for Axel since her arrival. The man had gone out of his way to make her feel at home. But instead, she ensured her serious mask was firmly in place as she narrowed her eyes at him, “I would attempt to smack some sense into you, but child abuse is a crime.”
Axel’s blue eyes widened before he laughed so hard he nearly fell off his chair. Then others joined in and Jasminka couldn’t deny how good the shared amusement and comradery was. Clearing her throat, she clarified her earlier statement; “No gangbang. I was thinking more of appealing to her innate nature. Show her what she’s missing by not remembering. You want to know what triggers memories in amnesiacs? High intensity emotions. What is sure to trigger an emotional response in a pervy deviant like Max? Abs. And pecs. And biceps. Those nipple rings of yours for example, are the perfect weapon in your arsenal and yet you’re keeping them hidden.”
Ryker opened and closed his mouth a few times before snapping it shut. He then nodded his head decisively, before yanking his plain white tee off and letting it fall unceremoniously to the floor. "Right then. All you men; take off your shirts," Ryker ordered.
Jasminka watched Ryker's pecs flex as he fisted his hands, glaring at the unmoving occupants of the room. Damn, she thought, Max is one lucky woman.
"Well?!" Ryker barked. "What are you waiting for? Get naked, soldiers!"
Male eyes darted back and forth with scepticism, while female eyes lit up with glee.
"Yes," Cali purred, "get naked, gentleman." She smirked when her fiancé merely rolled his eyes.
Axel was the first to move, "You don't need to tell me twice." The surfer-boy look-alike grinned, twisting his hands in his shirt before lifting it over his head.
Ryker gave him a nod as if for a job well done before glaring at the rest of his Order. "Consider it an order. Don't make me say it again. You're all to walk around half naked, flexing the shit of your muscles until further notice. Do you understand?" The man practically growled.
"Um, Ryker ..."
Jazz swivelled to look at Beyden, only to find his hand raised as if he were in a classroom and his cheeks flushed with colour. The man really was too adorable.
"You don't really want us to parade around in front of Max with our shirts off do you?" Beyden asked, looking uncomfortable.
"You bet your giant arse I do. The good doctor is right," he nodded respectfully to Jazz. "We’ve been focusing on re-educating Max about everything she forgot – as well as wallowing in our own misery. We need to address the woman in front of us; right here, right now. And I’d bet money that woman is still a depraved she-demon like Jasminka said. Now suck it up, man. It's time to take one for the team. That goes for you too, Dex. And you, Lark. Nobody gives a fuck about your scars. In fact, you know Max loves them. It could just work in our favour."
Jasminka had no idea what scars Ryker was talking about and never would have suggested something that would make the happy earth paladin uncomfortable. Much to her relief, Lark simply laughed and stood to remove his own shirt under the lustful eyes of Ivy. Ryker glared at Dex until Cali helpfully stepped up to her man, stripping him of his tank. Dex rolled his eyes again but made no protest.
"Darius!" Ryker yelled. "That goes for you too."
"Ry, you can't be serious! In the kitchen? You know how I feel about that. It's unhygienic."
Jazz suppressed a giggle when the Order's second in command shuddered in distaste.
Ryker snarled, stalking over to the knight. "Unhygienic? Like I give a fuck?! This is for Max! Now take off your shirt before I cut it off," he threatened.
"Oh, I'd love to see that," Diana half whispered, shuddering for an entirely different reason.
Jazz couldn't help her vigorous nod of agreement.
Darius remained stubbornly silent, glaring at Ryker for a few seconds before he finally sighed, yanking his black tee shirt off in clear frustration. "Fine. Happy now?"
Even pouting, Jasminka couldn't help but think the man was gorgeous. In fact, surrounded by five shirtless knights and one chaden, wearing a mixture of scowls and grins, Jazz couldn't help but thank fate for throwing Max in her path all those years ago.
Ryker crossed his arms over his chest, "Good job, men. Now, as I said; this is for Max. Do what you need to do to exploit that perverted mind of hers. But no touching! If any of you so much as breathe in her direction or allow her to cop a feel ... I'll slice your dick off at the base. Understood?"
Several gulps could be heard before a resounding chorus of; "Yes, Captain."
Jasminka shared feminine smiles with the other three women in the room. She had to hand it to herself – this could just be the best idea she'd ever had.
FIVE
“There we go. All clean and dry,” Max told the dark-haired, blue-eyed baby in her arms. Ma
xwell gazed back at her, absolute trust in his peaceful expression and Max felt her heart melt once again. She loved spending time with the beautiful little boy. He was the very definition of innocent. His soul a pure, clean slate and his mind unhindered with the worries of the world. His nursery was one of the only places in the truly beautiful log house where she could feel relaxed and at peace.
Mordecai and his four paladins were at the door or in the hallway – hovering close by but not within the room itself. She rolled her eyes and pulled a face at the baby. The Death Warden avoided her like the plague, yet simultaneously never let her out of his sight. He had barely spoken a handful of words to her since her first real memory of finding herself on the beach with a bunch of seriously good-looking individuals watching her. She now knew that the dark-haired, lightly-accented man was her biological father. Details regarding their relationship had been sparse but it didn’t take a genius to figure out things had obviously been strained between them. Despite that, the man took it upon himself to be a part of her protection detail, especially when she was with the baby, she noticed. He clearly had a soft spot for the tiny human.
She couldn’t believe Cali and Dex had named their firstborn after her. Clearly, they had all been close for them to do so. As the little guy gurgled and waved his arms around the place, Max found herself angry over her memory loss for the first time. She wanted to know what made her so special that she had inspired so much good favour from such noble and dedicated knights. Oh, she knew what they had all told her; she was a flesh and blood custodian. A daughter of the Great Mother – creator of all that was natural in the world. She also knew it was in the paladin nature to serve, protect, and provide vitality. But surely that couldn’t be enough to cause them to wage a war on her behalf. And that is exactly what had happened, Max knew. A war. A revolution. Everyone had been hesitant to talk about it at first but Jasminka had advocated for full disclosure. Something about facts acting as triggers for memory recovery.
