A Bevin Hero [The O'Hagan Way 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (6 page)

“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.

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.”

“Thank you. I feel the same way, Rylan.” I blinked in shock because that was a
powerful
statement she just made to everyone there. Basically she was saying our kingdoms had a much deeper bond than just allies. Wow. “You mentioned earlier that I couldn’t understand your position because the margays’ blood was not bespelled like the fae. That could be changed. That would also be a powerful threat to keep the covens in line.”

“You would do that?” Rylan asked, hope in his eyes as his shoulders relaxed. I knew this had to be weighing heavily on him.

“I don’t know if my magic alone would be strong enough. From what I read of the spell my ancestors wrote of, it took several elders and the King at the time to make the magic work for all the fae.”

“I don’t know if I’d be of any help being half fae but I am of your bloodline,” Barnabas Leopold said. “I would give whatever help I could.”

“As would I, my Queen,” Asterio agreed, stepping forward. “I am three thousand years old and you know my magic is powerful.” Several others did as well and the Queen confirmed that with their help that would be enough magic to make the spell work. Something clicked in my head and I gasped.

“That’s how they’re making humans become demon,” I blurted out.

“By fae bespelling demon blood?” Rylan asked, his eyes going so wide that they looked ready to pop out of his head.

“No, I heard Dubois say they had witches when he was talking to the traitor.”

“Wait, one thing at a time,” Rylan sighed, shaking his head when everyone looked ready to question me at once. “Okay, if you talk to the covens and they agree to this, I will drastically reduce their punishment, but they cannot go
un
punished.”

“I understand.” I swallowed loudly as he stared at my mates. “What is your ruling, my King?” He stared at them for several minutes. Just when I thought I was going to go insane at the silence and waiting, he finally spoke.

“They agree to stay a part of this coven, reside at the palace. No going back to Greece and taking you off with them out of my range of authority and where I can’t watch them.”

“Aye, of course,” Rian said immediately. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Ronan nodding as well.

“Consider yourselves on probation,” Rylan hedged. “We will tell the other covens that your sentencing included a year of service to the crown and the margays, educating vampires about the
true
effects and dangers of not being prepared for the rush. I can’t outlaw direct biting besides mates, because that wouldn’t even have helped us here. That extra aggression you guys feel seems to have been half the problem.

“Plus, I’m a pain in the ass. Not a bastard. It’s none of my business what people do in their bed as long as no one’s getting hurt. So I want that made clear and you both will be in charge of teaching this coven and any other covens who want advisors. Maybe even require them all to go through a seminar.”

“Aye, we will do that. Of course,” Ronan agreed.

Rylan nodded and then narrowed his eyes at my mates. “And lastly, you’re not allowed to be alone with Bevin until I say otherwise. You swore not to bite him and I will leave that up to him if he changes his mind. But until I feel you can control yourselves around him and drink from him if he wishes without worrying for his safety you’re not to be alone with him. This is non-negotiable. Am I crystal fucking clear?”

“Aye,” they both whispered.

“My King, I ask that you at least let me choose the guard,” I said quietly. “If they are to see every aspect of my alone time with my mates, I would beg that it be someone I was comfortable with.”

“You’ll need more than one,” Rylan replied with a nod. “But no vampires. Until we’ve cleared that there were no other traitors in the coven, I don’t want your only line of defense against your mates stepping over the line potentially someone who wants to cause you harm.”

“As you wish, my King.” I sighed in relief. That was
way
better than executing them. It was just a fucking accident after all. Granted, a really big one, but welcome to life… Shit happens.

“Anyone else have anything to say before I finalize my sentencing?” Rylan asked, looking exhausted and ready for a nap.

Desmond and Elena Marius moved closer, each putting a supportive hand on Ma’s shoulder. “Only that we have contacts on all the High Councils that have covens with margays in them, King Rylan,” Desmond said. “We will make sure they all know about the situation and the severity of the consequences. No one wants another accident to happen.”

“Good, thank you. I appreciate that. Fine. Sentencing over.” Rylan stood and stretched. “Alright, everyone, thank you for coming. The palace is still on lockdown until we handle the issue of the traitor. I’d ask the key players in the next discussion with Bevin please join us for dinner.” He glanced at me then. “In an hour? That should give you time to shower, change, take a break after what you’ve been through. Then we’ll make sure you eat and get some good sleep.”

“That sounds great,” I admitted. I started to get up, but after being in that position for so long after how tired I’d been, I started to fall right back over. Instantly I was in Rian’s arms, him having been the closer of the two. “Thank you.”

“Thank
ya
,” he breathed. “Ya saved us, and after what we did to ya, I’m not sure we can ever thank ya.”

I nodded as I thought about it. “Just be patient with me. I’m not sure I’m okay with being alone with you both yet or letting you bite me ever again. I don’t want you dead or to deny you. I’m just scared.”