A Bevin Hero [The O'Hagan Way 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (9 page)

“Thank you for that, Bevin,” Queen Magdalena chuckled. “I’m fond of you too.”

“Oh! And he called Caven a purple-eyed freaky wolf pussy. Dude! He’s soooo not a pussy. He kicks ass,” Bevin rambled. “And he said Ry was going to chain people up and fuck the secrets out of them if Caven and the Queen couldn’t scan their brains. As
if
! Have you seen his mates? Yeah, he gets
more
than enough sex. I’m going to now too! Isn’t that wicked cool?”

“Aye,” I agreed, racking me brain as I saw all the worried faces. Bev had all the answers right then and no way of really communicating with his loopiness. “Me heart, I need something from ya. I mean I
really
need it.”

“Anything for my sexy Irish mate,” he purred. “What can I do for you?” The little imp waggled his eyebrows at me even.

“I just want some alone time with ya. Maybe we can eat in your rooms and get to know ya better.”

“That’s what you’re asking me for? I want that too.”

“Okay, but we have to tell ya King what ya know first. Just blurt it out real quick, answer a few questions, and we’ll take dinner to go. But ya have to focus for us.”

“Ya can do it,” Ronan agreed, joining us and giving Bev a quick kiss. “Ya have to claim us fully, don’t ya. We can’t do that until ya tell King Rylan what ya know so he can keep everyone safe.”

“Right, yeah, I can focus,” he said, taking a deep breath. He let out a giggle and shook his head. “Okay, I can’t when you’re by me. Maybe set me down.” I did and he moved away a bit and plopped on the floor. “Can I get water? I feel really hot.”

Someone got him some and he took several long drinks and deep breaths before closing his eyes. “Can I just do it now and from here? I feel better centered now. I just feel hot and like I’m spinning.”

“Get me a cold compress,” Rylan said quickly.

“I have it,” the Queen countered. Something appeared in her hand and she gracefully knelt down and put it to Bevin’s forehead. “Better?”

“Much, thank you,” he sighed. “It’s cleared.”

“It’s temporary.”

“Okay.” He gasped and glanced at us. “Oh god. I’m so embarrassed—”

“I don’t know what for,” Ma said firmly as she knelt in Bev’s line of sight. “Ya were bragging about me sons, happy fate gave them to ya. I’d say that shows ya to be an extraordinary man after what ya went through when ya met. I think ya a sweet and wonderful addition to our family.”

“Thank you.” Bev blushed and I saw Ma give him a wink. I swear that woman could work miracles and always knew what to say. Our mate took another breath and then looked at his King. “I was hanging out in my favorite tree, taking a break and letting my margay out. I heard a voice towards the edge of the warrior’s property saying he had to get out before it was too late and he was dead. Then I heard the name Dubois and I immediately jumped down and crawled through the grass as fast as I could.”

Rylan nodded. “And you knew who it was?”

“Not at first. His back was to me and he was a good distance away. I heard bits of what Dubois was saying. Basically that Jon was being paranoid. Then he turned around and I have no doubt that it was Jon.”

“And how do you know who he is?”

“I was with you when you confirmed with Caven that he had been one of the warriors around the day the guys bared their throats. I watched Caven and the Queen try and scan his mind.”

“Good. Okay, what else did he say, Bev?”

“That we knew the traitor was a warrior and they were being kept out of the loop,” he said quietly, nervously. “That people were trying to read his mind but he saw the suspect list because even with the added security some people didn’t change the passwords to their e-mail. I guess he pulled it out of someone’s e-mail who’s in on what’s going on.”

I cringed as I heard several people cussing. I guess more than one person didn’t change their passwords. Twits. That’s the first thing someone should do when there was a security breach. Oh well, I guess they had bigger things on their mind.

“Dubois was pissed he wanted to leave. He said they’ve not finished planning the attack, and they needed the layout of the palace. So they don’t have it yet, but they want us.” He opened his eyes and met Rylan’s gaze. “And there are things not on the plans that only a few know about. We never kept a paper trail of it so that can’t ever be discovered.”

“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.

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.”