A Bevin Hero [The O'Hagan Way 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove)

by Joyee Flynn

  “The tornado gets bigger still. Then I feel what’s now three times the original despair from him, which gets added to me two times I was feeling. So now the tornado’s at five times and I’m drowning in it. Add that five to Brian’s three and he’s got eight. Then his eight to me five and so on, and so on, and so on until it almost killed us both.”

  “Can that be possible?” Rylan whispered with wide eyes.

  “I’ve seen it, King Rylan,” Brio answered firmly.

  “As have I,” Doc Riley agreed.

  “Okay, who here that’s not an O’Hagan has seen it? Mated to one can count,” Rylan asked, glancing around. Caleb, Ma, Dillon, Zane, Brio, Riley, and several of Caleb’s guards’ hands all went up.

  “Holy shit,” Ferris whispered as he glanced at us. “You didn’t even know it was Bevin anymore, did you?”

  “No,” we admitted as we hung our heads.

  “Okay, I can get the emotion tornado or maybe snowball effect would be better, wave, ripple, whatever,” Rylan said as he jumped to his feet and moved to his mate’s side. He waved to us and then looked at Ferris again. “I don’t get that point though. How could they forget that it was Bevin they were drinking?”

  “Because we didn’t have a typical claiming, my love,” Ferris explained gently as he cupped Rylan’s cheek. “You were grief stricken and I’m sure you didn’t see my desperation at the time.”

  “No,” Rylan hedged, his cheeks heating up slightly. “I remember you feeling needy almost. On edge, but I figured that was everything going on.”

  “No,” he chuckled. “That was a vampire desperate to own his mate in every way after claiming him. It’s raw, and carnal, and primitive. We’re predators. And in that moment, when that bond slips into place, we’re cavemen who want to brand our mate with our name.”

  “Got it, but what does that have to do with them not knowing it was Bevin they were draining?”

  “We’re predators, your majesty,” Isaac Dragos said as he stepped forward. Oh good, someone who knew about shifter blood. “Darcy took too much from Ayden when he just bit him. I did the same with Rory because it flabbergasted me. He was mine. His blood was mine, and in that primitive state of mind, blood good. Sex good. Mate ours. Grunt, grunt, beat chest, and all that shit.” He glanced at Ferris. “Did you know what margay blood would do to you when you claimed King Rylan?”

  “Yeah, but it still knocked me on my ass,” Ferris chuckled. “I only took a sip because that was the night of the tragedy.”

  “Understandable.” Isaac nodded.

  “I was worried I was going to drain Caven, and I knew about werewolf blood, King Rylan. You know this,” Gabriel Marius announced. “I’m not sure I can put it into words since you’re not a blood drinker but your guys’ blood is like raw power. It’s adrenaline and bench-pressing the weight of a car and fighting demons rush with hours of great sex all wrapped into one crazy drink.”

  “Interesting analogy,” Rylan drawled. Then his eyes got huge. “So you’re saying that one of them felt all that and then the other felt what the first felt and we had the snowball effect from that?”

  “That’s my understanding of it,” Ferris answered as he looked at us. “Is that what happened?”

  “Aye,” I whispered in shame. “I’d heard werewolf blood be extra tasty and made ya horny, but this was like drinking jet fuel, a million Red Bulls, and need like I’ve never felt before. Neither of us have ever felt anything like that in our three hundred and thirty-three years. We’ve never once lost control with a human before we were drinking blood out of bags. We didn’t mean to hurt him.”

  “I know we’re explaining what happened so ya don’t execute us,” Rian hedged as he stared at Rylan. “But I beg ya. Please tell us if he be okay. Is our mate going to live? I know the doc said he would, but that was hours ago. Things change all the time.”

  Ain’t that the truth of it? And the bitch of it all was normally the biggest, most catastrophic changes happened the quickest.

  * * * *

  Bevin

  I woke feeling like a truck was sitting on my head and fat for the first time at my life. What was up with that? After blinking awake, I glanced down at my body and it looked the same. Why did I feel so heavy?

  “Hey, you’re awake,” Zion said gently as he sat on the bed. “How are you holding up?”

  “Why do I feel fat?” I croaked out, my throat killing me. He got the idea and handed me a sports drink. I nodded my thanks and took several slow sips while he answered.

  “It’s not that you’ve gained weight. Your body was pretty much drained of blood and that hurts your muscles. So even though we pumped a bunch more into you, it’s going to take some time for the effects to pass. You won’t heal like normal for a few days. Just take it easy.”

  “What happened to those men?” I asked. Damn, it was weird that I didn’t even know their names.

  “Rylan locked them up,” Zion answered. “Don’t worry about that right now. You just need to rest, sweetie.” He leaned in to take the drink, and then I realized that wasn’t the only reason he was moving in. His hand moved up my thigh as he scooted closer, and his lips were coming for mine.

  “Zion, I’m mated,” I whispered as I turned my head away. “They’ve claimed me and I would never dishonor that bond.”

  “Even after what they did to you? How can you be loyal to them after that?” he asked quietly, his hand stopping its progression upward but massaging my leg.

  “Because they were so sweet when I met them. I highly doubt they tracked me down just to kill me. I don’t know. I just know that they’re my mates, and they deserve a chance to explain themselves, not have me cheat on them.”

  “Oh good,” he sighed. I snapped my head in his direction, blinking at him in shock when he sat up and acted like he hadn’t just been putting the moves on me. “Then there’s something I need to tell you. Rylan ordered for us to keep you in bed resting, but the shit is hitting the fan, Bev. You need to get to the throne room if you can. Rylan’s sentencing your mates and he might execute them.”

  “No!” I gasped and then whimpered, immediately scooting to the edge of the bed. “I have to talk to him. He needs to know what I found out about the traitor. I don’t remember how much I told him. He can’t kill my mates! I’m fine!”

  “Just breathe, Bev.”

  Zion wrapped an arm around me and helped me out of bed. I realized then I was only in a hospital gown and my ass was hanging out. I glanced up at him with confusion. He had just been hitting on me. He must have understood because he turned me so he could cup my cheek with his hand.

  “You are a gorgeous, gorgeous little thing that I would have been honored to have as my mate,” he said fondly. “But you also tend to overthink everything. I wanted your instinctual reaction as to your mates after what happened before deciding if I should break the King’s orders or not.”

  “Sneaky bastard,” I bitched as I pulled away and put on a pair of sweatpants real quick. Then I slid on flip-flops and took two steps before I felt like my legs were going to melt. “Fine, you’re forgiven if you help me get to the throne room. There’s no way I’m walking all the way there. Well, anytime today.”

  “I love when you get all bossy,” he chuckled. Zion easily swooped me up in his arms. “Are you sure you don’t want to change? Maybe put on something nicer or shower?”

  “Dude, saving my mates’ lives. Not going on a date.” He raised an eyebrow at me, and I growled. “Let’s go. Giddy up, fae!”

  “Yeah, gonna let that one, and only that one, slide.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m annoyed with you and not just for that stunt when I woke up,” I told him honestly as he walked quickly towards the throne room, more guards flanking us.

  “Why?”

  “Because you didn’t tell me you liked me. We could have been having months of hot fae/margay sex before I met my mates. Now I’ll never get to know what it’s like to be with a man over seven feet.”

&
nbsp; Zion just blinked at me in surprise at my outburst while a few of the guards chuckled. Then he did a great impression of a fish the rest of the way to the throne room. Good. Nice to know I could throw someone off their game as well. When we got there, we snuck in the back and I was shocked how packed the room was. The guards took up positions all around me, but with my shortness I could barely see Rylan on the throne.

  I tapped Zion’s arm, and he got the idea and lowered me so I was standing on one of the chairs in the back row. Geez. Talk about feeling like I was a twerpy kid. I got the impression things had really just started because Rylan was still keeping it formal. It normally took him about five minutes before that went out the window and he was cussing or just being himself instead of a King who bowed to ceremony.

  “We didn’t come here with the intention of killing him, your majesty. Quite the opposite. We came to claim him as ours and mate. He is our mate. It was an accident. We’re not denying there was a crime committed, but murder implies we came here with the intention of hurting or killing him,” one of my mates said earnestly. They were kneeling at a slight angle, so I could see the one closest to me, and he looked destroyed.

  I knew there had to be something more to what happened. Fate wouldn’t send me assassin mates!

  I listened to everything everyone said, taking it all in. I didn’t know everyone as well as Rylan did, working more behind the scenes, but I knew that the Queen would never ask Rylan to do this if she didn’t believe them. And there was no difference in what everyone was saying. It was scary in a way that they could feel that much and be overwhelmed by everything. But who could really make that up if they tried?

  “I know we’re explaining what happened so ya don’t execute us,” one mate hedged as he stared at Rylan. “But I beg ya. Please tell us if he be okay. Is our mate going to live? I know the doc said he would but that was hours ago. Things change all the time.”

  “I’m okay,” I called out from the back. Every head in the throne room turned towards me and I felt my cheeks heat up. I hadn’t meant to blurt that out.

  “You’re supposed to be resting, Bev,” Rylan growled.

  “With all due respect, your majesty, but the injured party is normally present when the accused is brought before you and this sacred court.” I gave him a look I knew he could read. I wasn’t happy. This shouldn’t have been going on when I was un-fucking-conscious.

  “This wasn’t just about you, Bev,” he sighed. “Word of this leaks out and all of us could become chew toys if they see my punishment as lax. Besides, I wasn’t going to sentence them yet. The Queen asked on behalf of the family for an audience. That’s it.”

  “I understand. But I’ve not been running laps around the throne room. I’ve just been standing here, well-guarded. I’m fine.” I went to hop off the chair and of course that’s when my legs chose to be weak and not work right.

  “No!” I heard two people shout and my body froze midair right before I would have crashed face-first into the marble. Then I was floating… Yes, floating towards the front of the room.

  “Um, am I hallucinating from blood loss?” I asked in a slightly panicked tone.

  “No, it be our gift,” one of my mates answered. They sat back on their feet where they’d been kneeling, and I was levitated right onto their laps. “Ya be alright?”

  “We’re so sorry. Do ya hurt?” the other one asked as he moved his hands over my arms. “Ya need to eat and drink. Ya must feel weak.”

  “We’ll take care of ya,” the first one whispered as he brushed my hair off my face. “How much did ya hear?”

  “I think all of it. King Rylan was reading the charges when I walked in,” I said in a breathy voice. Part of it was that they were touching me… But that wasn’t the only thing. One of them sniffed the air and they both froze.

  “Ya still afraid of us though.”

  “Yes,” I admitted. “Maybe? I don’t know. I don’t even know your names. And I’m just scared. I know enough information that every demon and the traitor will want my guts as a hat. Then all this? It’s a lot.”

  “We won’t bite ya,” that first one assured me. “Things went amuck after we bit ya. We won’t do that. We just want to help and take care of ya. We can protect ya.”

  “That remains to be seen,” Rylan drawled.

  One went to open his mouth but the other clapped his hand over his twin’s mouth. “Don’t. Don’t let ya temper fuck us. We screwed up. I’d be annoyed with us too if the situation was reversed.”

  “No, by all means, be honest,” Rylan purred, his eyes shining with mischief. “Tell me what you were going to say.” I shook my head. Dick. He really could be a feisty dick sometimes. I think he got bored or something.

  “Ya a plonker, Ronan,” the first said as he removed his hand.

  “I’m not going to cuss out the King, Rian,” he snapped. “I was just going to make a point about how for all of our faults we would be good protection for our mate.” Then he looked to Rylan. “That’s all. We were able to get past ya guards. That’s all I was going to say.

  “And I mean no disrespect. But we have a powerful gift that we can access easily. Ya saw how easy it was for us to keep our mate from falling. We’ve got enough chips against us, we don’t need that one too. We know how to fight. We’re good in a fight. We’ve trained hard and can handle ourselves. We’re fast. We’ve almost tied Rory in races. We can help protect Bevin.”

  “Except other than the day your farm was attacked then?” Rylan asked with a raised eyebrow. Wow.

  Chapter 4

  There were several gasps at the question, and I shot him a horrible look. That wasn’t fair and he knew it. What the hell was going on with him?

  “How could ya bring that up?” Brian whispered in horror as he stared at Rylan like he was the enemy. Which was weird because they seemed very understanding of Rylan’s position until then.

  “No, it be fair of him to ask,” Rian said sharply, effectively silencing his family. I don’t know if he realized he was doing it, but he hugged me tighter as if needing the comfort. Ronan moved closer so he could touch me too, and it was so loving.

  “It is?” Rylan asked, his eyebrows shooting up. Then he schooled his features and settled. “Explain what you mean besides trying to side with me so I might be lenient.”

  “We brought up that we could fight. Ronan said we were fast, we could protect Bevin. We were attacked and ya weren’t there so it’s fair to ask how we handled ourselves,” Rian answered. “The answer is we were on the other side of the farm. When we heard Finn screaming for everyone we took off towards home. We got there just as the others did, and we were maybe three times as far away.”

  “We realized they were going in through the back because that was the closest entrance, but our father’s swords were over the mantle and towards the front of the house,” Ronan said quietly. “We went in that way and grabbed them.”

  “So you killed the demons?” Rylan asked, curious now. Knowing him, he knew the answer and was checking to see if they would be honest with him.

  “No,” Ronan answered. “Dillon was there and he’s killed hundreds. He’s better trained and could handle the situation better. I tossed him the sword I had.

  “And I tossed the other to me da because he was in the thick of it while me other da tried to save Ma,” Rian added. “Knowing how to fight means knowing when to let someone better equipped step in.”

  “Agreed,” Rylan said as he looked them both over. “Why aren’t you warriors?”

  “Not broad enough,” Ronan chuckled, shaking his head. “Apparently we not be broad enough in the shoulders and chest. After our transition and we shot up, we went with our das to the warriors’ compound in our part of the world, and they said we’d never make it through training. We were tall but not of the frame where we could bulk up. That we’d be useless in a fight.”

  “Their loss. If you’re smart enough to handle yourselves as you did, get into the palace against two
finely trained warriors, and almost as fast as Rory, you would have done a great job,” Rylan said, shaking his head. “Muscle doesn’t always make the winner in battle.” He glanced between my mates and I cringed. “Fine, I concede your point that you can help protect Bevin. And I apologize for being crass but he’s my family and the only threat I see in the room to him is you.”

  “We understand,” Rian whispered as his eyes filled with tears. I realized both of my mates were bobbing their heads in defeat. Oh hell no.

  “Please, my King, spare them,” I begged as I pulled away from them and knelt in front of them, facing Rylan. “Have I not been a loyal subject and friend? Please do not deny me the mates fate gave me.”

  “I want to, Bev,” Rylan whispered, sadness filling his eyes. “I was angry before and thought them to be bloodthirsty monsters. I can see now that’s not the case and it was an accident.” I sighed in relief. “But what happens the next time there’s an accident? Someone could die because I didn’t make an example of them. How could I live with myself then? How could you?”

  I nodded, fully understanding his position. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt because a vampire got out of hand. Then it hit me.

  “I will call the covens where our people are. I will issue an official statement as to what happened and make them understand and agree that if something like this ever happens again, our blood donations will not only stop to that coven but all of them. Then it won’t just be about that vampire or that coven, but they’ll have other covens pissed off at them. Wouldn’t that be a big enough deterrent?”

  “And they would need to know, accident or not, that if they took a life it would be an immediate death sentence,” Rylan hedged, glancing between his mates. They leaned in and whispered quietly. I heard enough to know Ferris and Onah were on my side. Not that I thought Rylan wasn’t but he had a whole people to worry about.

  “King Rylan, if I may?” Queen Magdalena asked as she stepped forward.

  “Of course, Queen Magdalena. Your counsel and ideas are always welcome at my court.”