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

by Joyee Flynn

  “Good, okay, yeah,” Rylan sighed. “What else? You said earlier you knew how they were turning the humans into demons.”

  “Dubois said they needed to disable Queen Magdalena. They’re working with witches and they said all magic can be taken away. He said they’ve been bespelling the demon blood. It clicked when the Queen offered to bespell our blood to keep us safe. That has to be why they’d be putting spells on demon blood. It must turn the humans demon somehow.”

  “Dear gods,” the Queen whispered. She glanced at King Rylan, her grandson Barnabas, and the Mariuses. “It might be possible. I’ve seen magic that strong.”

  “There’s more,” Bevin said sadly. “They want to capture some fae. They said they didn’t know how to strip fae of magic and wanted to experiment on some of them to figure out how to disable your power, drain your magic or whatever.”

  “They’re thinking in terms of witches,” she replied, shaking her head. “It’s not the same for fae.”

  “What do you mean?” Desmond asked her. “I don’t get the difference.”

  The Queen compressed her mouth in a tight line and then nodded as if figuring out how to explain what she was going to say. “You need to think of witches more like humans with a gift or affinity for the mystical. They chant and brew potions to gain power. Use celestial events and draw on energy from Mother Earth as I’ve heard them call your planet.”

  “Right, I’ve known witches,” Elena agreed. “I had a candle blessed by a spell from one that drew on the power of water provided by Mother Earth. But that’s not how the fae are. You weren’t even on Earth.”

  “Exactly,” the Queen agreed. “You can’t separate our magic. It’s just who we are. Sure I might chant to focus powerful magic or cook up a potion or spell if it’s specific, but I don’t draw power from somewhere else to make it work. The power is me. I’m my own energy source. It’s like trying to separate Rylan from his margay. You can’t. They’re one in the same. The only way to incapacitate my power is to kill me.”

  “Okay so we don’t have to worry about their witches at least because that’s not happening,” Rylan said firmly. “You’re way too hard-core to let some bitches brewing toads’ feet get near you or hurt you.”

  “Thank you, my dear.” She gave him a nod, biting back a smirk.

  “Jon was worried Osvaldo Diaz would actually accept him into the demons’ ranks and not just kill him when he got to their location,” Bevin continued. He quickly explained what else Dubois had said about the demon’s son being killed and the growth of the army and a spot for Jon to be a general.

  “Wow. That’s just, wow,” Ronan whispered with a whistle. I couldn’t agree more. “They talk about kidnapping and murder the way we talk about planting fields. What a bunch of arse weeds.”

  Bev chuckled at that. “When they hung up, Jon was bitching to himself as he headed back to the warrior compound. He said it was really easy for them to judge him for bailing on his post here gathering information when they’re sitting pretty in Paris and Bilbao, Spain. We know Dubois is in Paris so that leaves Osvaldo in Spain.”

  The last words were barely out of his mouth when a litany of cuss words started about twenty feet away… In Spanish.

  “Cyrus, talk to me,” Damian said gently. “What’s in Bilbao?”

  “I know where they are,” his mate answered before storming out of the room.

  “Poor Cyrus,” Bev whispered. “It’s hard being the son of the enemy. At least he got to grow up thinking that his family was dead. I wasn’t that lucky. I just got to be the freak and fucked-up one because I was the only moral one in my family.”

  “What are ya talking about, me heart?” I asked quietly.

  “I come from evil,” he mumbled before a soft snore escaped his lips.

  “Damnit,” the Queen swore and pulled the compress off his forehead. “I didn’t mean to knock him out. Just clear his head. I left it on too long. I’m sorry. I’ve never worked with this sort of affliction.”

  “Thank ya for what ya did for him,” Ronan said as we both knelt on either side of our mate. “He could use the rest. It’s for the best.”

  “That’s kind of you to say.” She leaned in and kissed Ronan’s cheek.

  I looked at Rylan. “What did Bevin mean? What happened to his family?”

  “It’s not my story to tell,” Rylan answered, shaking his head.

  “Please?” I pleaded, glancing at our mate. “He’s been through so much already. He doesn’t need the heartache of telling us something hurtful. At least tell us if they’re still a threat to him.”

  “No, no, they’re dead,” Rylan whispered sadly as he pushed Bevin’s hair off his forehead. “He killed them to save me. Bevin killed his own family in service of the royal family but even more than that because he’s that loyal and my friend.”

  “Me god,” Ronan gasped in horror. I felt it flow through me as me own did. “Why did they want ya dead?”

  “They were kidnapping and selling margays to humans who knew about us,” Rylan explained. “Experimenting on us and trying to figure out how to use our blood and its strength for their benefit. What better test subject than the Prince? Bevin knew they hated my family and were immoral but didn’t know how far it went. When they came to him, demanding that he help them take me, using our friendship to draw me into a trap, he said no.

  “They said they’d find a way with or without him and if he was part of their family, that he’d assistance them. He realized they’d really do it, so he agreed. Instead he led them into a trap. He knew some wolves from the closest pack to the old palace and got them to help, not even wanting their blood on my hands. He killed his father himself as the wolves did his mother and two brothers. We heard a commotion at the entrance of the palace and came running.

  “Imagine my surprise to see Bevin sobbing over his dead family, crying that that he had to kill them to protect me. He was inconsolable for months. I thanked and rewarded the wolves and handled everything from there. Bevin demanded a new last name, not wanting even to be a part of them anymore. We went to the elders and they deemed him Bevin Innocente.”

  “Which means innocent,” I whispered as I stared at our mate. “How old was he?”

  “It was twelve years ago last week, on his birthday,” Rylan said sadly. “He just turned thirty.”

  “Eighteen! The poor lad,” Ma cried softly. “He has a family now and we take good care and love our own.”

  “Aye, that we do,” me da, Manus, agreed. “He’s one of us from here out.”

  “I get it now,” I said as I looked at Rylan. “Why ya got so upset immediately at what happened. He’s not just your friend or one of your people. He’s your person. He’s yours.”

  “Yeah, he is,” Rylan agreed, giving me a meaningful look. “I love my mates and I would do anything for them, but Bev ranks right there with them. He’s my person. I never, ever have doubted him. We’ve been best friends for twenty-five years. Ever since this little five-year-old came walking over to me cute as could be, and tiny even then for his age, and announced I wasn’t cool enough to be Prince.”

  “He did that?” Ronan chuckled, brushing his fingers over Bev’s cheek.

  “Oh yeah,” Rylan answered, shaking his head. “He said a Prince had to be the best at everything and totally cool. I thought I was so cool at ten of course, and I looked at him and asked what I couldn’t do better than him. I absolutely thought he couldn’t come up with anything. Bev proceeded to burp the alphabet and then smirked at me, saying he was way cooler.

  “I realized right then anyone, even that young, who had the balls to talk to a Prince like that would always be honest with me, the most loyal friend, and help me be the ruler I wanted to be. We’ve been friends ever since.”

  “You know we’re going to ask if you can burp the alphabet, my love,” Ferris chuckled.

  Rylan glanced at his mate and I saw the mischief in his eyes and the smirk on his face. “Backwards, forwards, and in a
few languages, my mate. I’m the coolest kid around. Bev made sure of it.”

  I laughed with everyone else, staring at me mate. How awesome was it that our mate had the love and respect of a King like that? He’d won the heart of a ruler. Honestly, from what I’d already seen from our mate, I couldn’t say I was surprised.

  Chapter 6

  Damian

  “Talk to me, mi alma,” I whispered gently when Cyrus finally stopped moving when he was outside. I figured he just needed some air and that was understandable, but I couldn’t help him if I didn’t know what was going on. I mean, I knew because hearing that his family was in Bilbao, Spain, meant something to him. But it was more than that.

  “Just when I thought my heart couldn’t hurt anymore,” he sobbed, my chest tightening in fear and at the grief my mate was feeling. “I cannot take much more, amante. I truly cannot.”

  “Take what?” I heard the pleading in my tone. I didn’t know how to comfort him if he didn’t tell me. “Please, Cyrus. What does this mean? How do you know exactly where they are in Bilbao?” I realized some of my family had followed us outside but were giving us space, simply there for support if we needed it.

  “Bilbao, Spain is where the Diaz castle is,” he answered in a choked voice, his shoulders still shaking. “My father was not the eldest of his siblings so he did not inherit it. It always bothered him and that’s why he left Bilbao and moved to my old coven in Spain where he met my mother.”

  “Oh no,” I whispered, guessing what was next. My mate nodded.

  “My uncle died many years ago. It went to my eldest cousin,” he explained. “If my father is in Bilbao then he is there, and I can only guess what has happened to my remaining family. They had many children, Damian. All my cousins lived there. More than you and your brothers. Eleven of them with forty-two children, some mated with children of their own.”

  “Cyrus.” I hugged him tightly, not knowing what else to do or say.

  “I might be the last,” he cried against me. “If they are gone then I am the last Diaz of that line. My grandfather only had four children. One died a small child. Another died before I was even born. Then there was my uncle and my father. My siblings are all gone. If my cousins are now then I’m it. I’m all alone.”

  “You’re never alone,” Victor said firmly as he hugged us both. “You have a family, brother. We will find out what happened in Bilbao and see if we can still save them. But no matter what, you are not alone.”

  “You’re one of us, Cyrus,” Mother agreed as she and Father joined in the hug as well. “And your line won’t end with you. You and Damian will have lots of kids.”

  “But they will be Mariuses. There will be no more Diazes.”

  “Nonsense,” Mother argued. I mentally sighed in relief. I didn’t give a shit what the last name of our children was. I just wanted to make sure we had kids one day and loved them. “There’s no rule that they have to be named Marius. They can be Diaz. They can be called Turkeys if you want. That’s up to you and Damian. We will love you both no matter what.”

  “I do not want to call our ninos Turkeys,” Cyrus chuckled, as he wiped his eyes. “But thank you for saying that. You’re right. I’m not alone and I will never be as long as I have my amante.”

  “And you will always have me,” I swore to him. “I’m with you forever, mi alma.”

  “Thank god for that,” he sighed. My poor mate. What other heartbreak could possibly be thrown at him? It was better not to say that because just when I thought things couldn’t get worse they always did.

  * * * *

  Bevin

  I woke up the best way possible… With fingers inside of me, lips all over me, hands teasing me, and my mates going on and on about how perfect I was.

  “He yowls in his sleep. Fuck, he be hot,” Rian groaned. “I just meant to wake him up to eat, and the next thing I knew I was getting him ready for me cock.”

  “He’s just too tempting,” Ronan agreed. “I can’t wait to see what he looks like when we’re making love. How does he claim us? Was the bite enough?”

  “Yes,” I hissed as I lifted my hips, taking their fingers deeper inside of me. “I claimed you both as you both claimed me.” They both froze and I blinked up at them. “What?”

  “The claiming didn’t take,” Rian whispered sadly as they pulled away, taking their lips and fingers that had been bringing me so much pleasure with them. “Ya don’t have marks on ya and we can’t feel ya emotions. At first we thought it was because ya not a vampire but we asked Finn and Fergus and they said they can feel Brio’s. The bite not be enough. It’s bite and sexual. No one really knows what that means, some say playing like we did.”

  “But some say it has to be intercourse,” Ronan finished for his twin. “Or it could be that when the bond was forming we were also taking too much of your blood and life force so it didn’t set. We don’t know. But ya claimed us. We’ve not claimed ya.”

  “What does that mean for you?” I asked as I sat up slowly, very aware suddenly that we weren’t the only ones in the room. I rolled my eyes at Lavache and Teagani. “Both of you? Really?”

  “King Rylan’s orders because you’re all loopy and he figured there’d be lots of sex so it would be harder for only one of us to intervene if needed,” Lavache answered. I nodded. I did feel loopy and like drunk but the severity of the conversation was keeping it at bay for the moment. But it was growing fast. Maybe it was a side effect of whatever the Queen dosed me with?

  “Nothing,” Rian assured me. “Ya claimed us and ya be our mate.” They both gave me weak smiles.

  “Wow, you two should never play poker,” I bitched as I jumped out of bed. “I won’t have liars for mates! I’m a damn cat. I can smell a lie!” I yanked on the pants I’d had on earlier, somehow losing them when I’d passed out in the dining hall. I guess they’d undressed me for my nap.

  “Shite, we didn’t know that,” Ronan hissed.

  I spun around and shoved him hard in the chest. “Oh, so it was okay to lie to me when I wouldn’t have known?”

  “No, we just didn’t want ya to think we were pressuring ya!” Rian yelled. I shook my head and stormed toward the door of my suite. He raced there and blocked it. “Please, me heart. We’ve screwed up so bad that we were just trying to do the right thing by ya. We weren’t trying to be lying bastards like mean.”

  “White lie so ya didn’t feel obligated to do something ya not ready for,” Ronan explained as he hugged me from behind. “We’re sorry. We won’t keep anything from ya again. We were going to tell ya, just not yet. We need to take care of ya, not have ya worrying about us.”

  I thought about it and I could see from their perspective that they were doing a balancing act. “Okay. Let’s eat.”

  “Thank ya, me heart,” Ronan whispered.

  “But I want a vampire in here who can tell me the truth of what it means that the marks didn’t take for you guys,” I said firmly. They both winced and I knew it was bad. “Vega! Get in here, please!”

  The door opened and I went to the seating area in my suite. I had raced out of the bedroom, but I actually had two of them, a living room, a small dining area, kitchenette, study, and bathrooms. It was a sweet setup. There were perks in being Chief Advisor.

  “Bevin, I know you guys have like ultrasonic out-of-this-world hearing, but I keep telling you ours isn’t that shabby either,” Vega chuckled as he stepped inside. “I heard you through the door just fine. I was already reaching for the knob to come in when you started bellowing out my name.”

  “Right, sorry,” I sighed as I plopped down at the table. My stomach grumbled at all the food in front of me. Guess I was hungry. Then again, all I’d had was an apple for breakfast and looking at the clock now, it was well after eight at night. Damn. And I’d almost died. I needed sustenance big-time. I grabbed a sandwich and bit right in, starving.

  “Ya need to hydrate too,” Rian said gently as he placed a sports drink by my hand.

&nbs
p; “Thank you.” It sounded funny because I was talking with my mouth full. Vega stared at me with wide eyes. I know. I was the perfect manners guy. “Whatever the Queen gave me is temporary. I can feel the loopiness coming back. I want to discuss this while I’m lucid but I’m fucking starving, so forgive my pigginess.”

  “Of course. Okay, so you want to know what it means for Rian and Ronan that they’ve not officially claimed you, right?” Vega asked. I nodded. “I need to know a little more and I’m sorry for the personal nature of the questions.” Again I nodded as I took another large bite of my food. God, when had food ever tasted this good? “You’ve claimed them, yes?”

  “Yes, a few hours ago.”

  “You’ve been intimate? Had sex?”

  “Intimate, oral only. I received,” I mumbled, my cheeks heating up. “I’ve marked them. They’ve had my seed on their body, and well, in it too.”

  “Both of you?” Vega asked, glancing at my mates.

  “Yes,” I growled. “Ronan was jacking me off so it got on his hand but Rian was standing in front of me. I marked them both. My margay was thrilled, but that’s also why I’m about to get all loopy. I marked them each twice without claiming them. So just tell me what I need to know.”

  “They’re going to start hurting soon,” Vega blurted out. I blinked in shock at him. “You’ve claimed them and been intimate. Ferris told me he was just starting to feel a little itchy when he claimed Rylan, and it was about the same time between as you guys have had. And if they feel what the other does, and it’s heightened, it could get bad fast.”

  “And then?” I whispered before eating more. If I had enough food in my mouth I couldn’t make decisions or answer questions.

  “It turns into a clawing need. We feel the pull to our mates normally, but if one side has claimed them but not the other, it’s like waiting in a line that you’re stuck in, can’t leave, and isn’t moving. It’s maddening. It will start affecting their mood, making them more aggressive and territorial because you’re not officially theirs in their eyes. And after that it will start affecting them physically. Muscle and joint pain, then loss of appetite. It could eventually kill them.”