by Lacy LeRoch
“Sorry,” Dad mumbles apologetically. “McKinley, please forgive my boldness.”
McKinley reaches his left hand out and places it on Dad’s shoulder. “All is forgiven, Markus.” He squeezes gently and drops his hand. “You don’t need to ask for forgiveness. We are on the same page you and me, we have the same power as one another. But, I need you to hear me. Your girl, Lacy, needs to be controlled. We need to act on this, now.”
I need to be controlled? Who the hell does he think he’s talking about? I can’t believe the nerve of some men, they think because they’re the bigger, stronger ones, they have all the power. I’ll show them. Who does he think he is? He doesn’t know me.
One of the men turns his head in my direction, shaking his head. He tilts his head up, focusing on my window. One of the men slaps him on the back of his shoulder, and he turns back to face the men. Does he know I’m watching the gathering? Why would he shake his head at me?
Chapter Four
I can already tell this girl is going to be trouble. I’m standing here trying to listen to McKinley drone on about safety and how Lacy needs to be controlled, but I can’t focus on his words. I can’t get my mind off the beautiful girl in question, who’s spying on this supposed, private meeting. I find myself debating whether or not I should tell her to hush and be quiet, or let herself be busted by her father.
Goddess Lylian. Why am I always doing stupid things for this little girl? She takes away my common sense and throws it to the wind. I shouldn’t be acting the way I do. I should have already taken her into my care, rules or not because then none of this would have happened. We wouldn’t be standing here discussing all the things she’s doing wrong. The minute that McKinley said she needed to be controlled, it took everything in me not to run over and knock him out.
I am in control of her, no one else. Me, she belongs to me.
That’s what I want to say, but I bite my tongue and keep quiet. I have broken many rules where this young girl is concerned. But I cannot break the main one because that would cost me my head. I need to keep a lid on my emotions before I let the truth out accidently.
“Lyian, if you must listen, you must do it quietly. I will only tell you this once. I cannot control the actions of my Domackin,” he pauses for a second before shaking his head and answering my unspoken question, “my Domackin are my brothers they will not understand. We are dominating, controlling men. Don’t push me on this, my love.” I grit my teeth and beg myself to remain calm.
I know she can hear me when I speak to her telepathically. We’ve already started the bond, she knows she’s mine. While I know she belongs to me, and I to her, we have only ever seen each other in the dreamscape. She scared the living hell out of me earlier today when she made it to Devilice. She shouldn’t have been able to get into my realm. Lucky for me alpha wolf Jordi was able to keep her at bay long enough for me to shift and warn the council she was on our Island. I no sooner got to the council chambers when Markus had put the call out for help. These poor twins must think they’re going insane. I wish I could tell them what was really going on. I feel her huff in frustration at me being in her mind.
“Sweet child, you won’t learn what’s going on, if you keep worrying about me being in your head. Yes, I am talking to you. Yes, I am in your mind. Now hush,” I tell her.
I feel a light brush caress my mind as Lacy pushes in, “Bevan, is that you?”
Lacy is getting good at this. She’s still learning to speak to me telepathically so she won’t have the strength to keep this up for long. I need to get my brothers away from here. I can’t let them know about her, not yet. Not with everything going on. There’s a change coming, I feel it deep within.
“My love, who else would be speaking into your mind? You know as well as I do, if anyone but me were to speak to you telepathically, I would kill them without a single thought.”
I keep my eyes trained on the ground, and my breathing steady. Speaking to someone telepathically, gives off a vibration, a power surge. I need to keep this as low as I can. It’s against our laws for an unmated Domackin to speak telepathically to a Phoenix shifter. And even though I know she’s mine, my brothers don’t, as we do not bare the mating mark yet. I would be punished for entering her mind. We hold our laws tight and obey every one of them.
I never broke any great law until I meet Lacy. Once she came into my life, all the laws I fought to keep for centuries, flew out the window.
Trying to keep my mind clear of Lacy is like telling me not to breathe. She is more beautiful than anything I’ve ever seen. I love everything about her, from her hourglass figure to her brown eyes, right to her fiery red hair.
God, how I love her hair.
Just thinking about it, spread out on the grass in the fields of Trulane back on Devilice Island, gets my blood turning to lava. That girl has just as much spirit in her body as the color of her hair suggests.
As if this situation couldn’t get any worse. Wouldn’t you believe it? My cock decides that now, is his time to pop up and say ‘hello.’ I mean really, you can’t be serious. Now, is most definitely not the time nor the place. I for one, do not want to have to explain to my brothers why my cock is hard with them standing around close by.
I shift my feet widening my stance, and place my hands clasped together in front of me. Dear Goddess Lylian, please, let this be enough to hide the sudden tent under my cloak.
I’m starting to feel myself drain of energy. It takes a lot of power to link with someone telepathically, and I’m not only supporting my connection but hers as well.
“Well, you never know who I have running around in my head these days.” She giggles.
I swear to all that is mighty, who hold any strength before this week is out I will take that girl over my knee and give her a spanking of a lifetime.
“Don’t tempt me, my love. Never push me that way. I am a man after all. And seeing your pretty little backside red from my hand…” I respond, groaning aloud at the vision. I lift my head, shocked that I could be so careless and glance around at my brothers. No one looks over or reacts to my little outburst. So, I continue on with my conversation with Lacy. “Lyian, you have no idea how bad I want to come up into that room, and have my way with you.”
Lacy’s sultry moan fills my mind. Good, I know I’m getting to her, just as much as she gets to me. Owen looks my way, shaking his head. I know him well enough to know that he’s pissed off. His lips press together in a thin line. He leans over toward me our shoulders are touching.
“Bevan, you need to shield better. If I can feel it, so can everyone else. Careful brother, you know our laws,” he grits out through clenched teeth.
I nod at the ground. Owen is the last person that I meant to disappoint. No doubt, I will hear all about this when we get home tonight. Owen and I share one of the Watcher’s quarters. I know he wouldn’t say something unless it was true or had meaning.
Every Watcher has the ability to talk telepathically. Some are open and easy to communicate, but others are blocked up like an old rusty lock. I mustn’t have my shield up as much as I should have. If Owen can feel my shift in energy, the rest of the Watchers would be able to feel it as well.
I’m only a level two Watcher. I’m not as strong, or as fast as the level one Watchers, but I can give as good as I get. But to not shield is a rookie move and I should know better than that. I heard a few rumors once that said that when we find a true mate we do and say things we normally wouldn’t do. But of course, the rumors are few and far between because we haven’t had true mates come to us in centuries. You never know what to believe when it comes to ancient tales. I don’t need stories to tell me Lacy is my mate. I feel it, and I sense it.
Owen and I are best friends and I know that I can trust him with anything. He knows all about Lacy. He’s the only one who does. He was the one I turned to when I found out she was mine. After everything that Lacy had been through, I didn’t know what to do? I was lost. In one way, I wante
d her, but in the same breath, a part of me always doubted that she was my Lyian. He helped me see that she was indeed mine, the only reason I ever doubted that she was, is because I’ve been alone for so long and never pieced it all together.
I’ve broken so many laws to be with Lacy. In all reality, I would break them again in a heartbeat if I had to. Why? Because no Watcher in their right mind would ever turn away their Lyian or they would risk never having another.
The High Lords of the Judadic Council, tell a legend that explains the origins of the Lyian. They say a Lyian is a daughter of our Goddess Lylian. It’s said that a Watcher will only get one in their whole life. As the legend goes, there’s only one woman who will fit us perfectly and the Goddess Lylian decreed it. There’s a story that the Goddess herself was betrayed by the man she thought was hers forever. So she cursed us to only feel the warmth and love from one love in a lifetime so that no other would have to go through the betrayal and heartache that she herself had once endured.
A Lyian is a gift to be cherished, worshiped and held high on a pedestal. We are immortal. So that means if we never find her, never feel the pull or are able to chant to her, she will never truly belong to us.
Watchers don’t feel love or feel the need to have someone close. Being male, of course, we have sex. We feel all the other urges a mortal male would have, but for us it’s empty. It will only give us pleasure until the act is over, then we go back to being nothing, void of all emotion. When we meet our Lyian, we experience all emotions and feelings for the first time, and they’re thrown at us all at once.
“Oh, what’s wrong with my big tough Watcher?” Lacy asks, teasing.
Take deep breaths Bevan, deep breaths. I’ve never known someone who can get me hot and cold at the same time. I love her teasing, but I hate it just as much. I swear this girl is going to drive me insane. God, I adore her sassy mouth.
I look discreetly around at my Domackin brothers. They haven’t caught onto the fact that I’m speaking to Lacy.
“Lyian, you know I love you. But your cheek tonight is not needed nor wanted. If you keep up this display of childish behavior, I’ll come up there lift your nightdress up over your tight little ass, pull down your panties, put you across my knee, and spank you until you beg me to stop.”
Hmmm, why did I have to tell her that? Now my body craves for me to do exactly that.
“Yes sir, I promise, I’ll be a good little girl,” Lacy purrs, as sweet as syrup.
I picture her standing next to the window, hands clasped together in front of her. As she swings her arms from side to side like a little girl. I send this mental image to her, making sure to leave her naked. When I know the image is seared into her mind, I use a high jolt of power and send a phantom touch of me spanking her. Lacy squeals in delight and laughs aloud. My brothers look up toward her window.
Fuck!
“You fucking idiot,” Owen hisses next to me.
I need to draw their attention back down here. The thought of Lacy getting busted is hot. But her punishment should be mine, and mine alone. It should be my hand that feels the sting, not another’s. I turn to face McKinley, raising my eyes to his making sure to keep eye contact. Anything else for one of our leaders would be classed as disrespect.
“McKinley, would you allow me to make a pass of the land? Just to… ah… make sure the family is safe and secure, while you continue your talk with, Markus.”
He smirks, darts his eyes to the window quickly, then turns back to face me. Shit, I think he knows. Here I was thinking I was able to hide it for the time being.
He runs a hand through his short trimmed, ruddy beard. “Go make your rounds, Watcher.” He walks over to me, head down and whispers, “All of your rounds.”
No, he wasn’t fooled at all. At least, he’s giving me permission to see my Lyian. I bow down low at my leaders and turn and then walk away.
“Bevan,” McKinley calls out.
I spin around fast to face him. We lower lever Watchers are never allowed to have our back facing the higher members. I like my head the way it is, so I always make sure to follow that rule.
“Yes.”
He stares me down, smirking and laughs softly and shrugs his shoulders. “We are all leaving in less than an hour. Make sure you’re ready when the call goes out.”
“Yes, McKinley.”
I bow at the waist, turn and walk away. That ass, he knows we need longer than the average mortal. I won’t get any loving from my girl, but at least I can make sure her needs are met. First, I need to disrobe and make it look as if I’m doing the security sweep. Even though, I’m pretty sure that he knows my intentions. He was, at least, kind enough not to out me to the other brothers.
I reach down and remove the clasp that holds the front of my robe closed around my shoulders. The clasp is a beautiful phoenix rising from the ashes, so place it carefully in the pocket of my black jeans. I disrobe by throwing my cloak onto the grass.
This is the part I hate—shading. Lacy hates it when I shift into smoke, but it’s the fastest way to travel. It burns from the inside out, and feels like every bone in our body is snapped into tiny fragments over and over. Even with the pain we endure, it’s still the most preferred form of travel.
I close my eyes, focusing on nothing but black smoke, nothing but a black swirling mist. No smell, no form or feeling to it. A higher lever Watcher can make the shift without any pain. I still haven’t mastered that ability yet.
Trust me, this doesn’t tickle. I can’t wait to become a level one Watcher. Lacy was meant to be my last mission, but that didn’t turn out the way it was expected and the mission was a failing mark. So now, I have to wait until I’m assigned a new one. I could get it tomorrow, or in ten years’ time, it all comes down to the leaders, the Seers, or fate.
Slipping around the back of the house and entering through the back door I make my way up to Lacy’s room. I only hope she remembered to remove the barrier spell that coats her room, or the pain that I felt when I changed into a shade won’t be the worst I feel tonight. The pain of a barrier spell will knock me on my ass and hurt for weeks. The spell is set up to hurt the intruder in two ways. One, knock them out cold—that won’t happen to me as I’m a Watcher. It will only knock me flying—and two, wherever you touched the barrier it will leave a burn mark.
Last time she forgot to remove it my ass got burnt, and I couldn’t sit down for weeks after that visit. The worst thing was I could never tell Lacy about it. I’d come here, to her realm to watch her sleep, the way I have been for the last two years. She doesn’t know I’ve done it, but I needed that reassurance and knew she’d be safe with me around. Not that Markus couldn’t protect her, but Sarah keeps him busy.
“Baby girl, please tell me you’ve removed the spell this time. Last time hurt like a bitch,” I call out, walking up the hallway.
She starts giggling behind her closed bedroom door. Lacy sobers up fast when she registers what I’ve just said. “Bev, did you just say it’s happened before?” she asks, confused.
Oh shit! Fuck… and all that in-between I didn’t mean to let that slip. I side step the question, and keep talking as though I never heard her ask it. “Baby girl, come on… open the door. Give me permission, now. Don’t disobey me.”
I get the response I was hoping for when she starts laughing again. “Oh Bevy, Bevy. What are you going to do to me if I don’t remove the spell?”
That’s it! My blood burns hotter than a furnace. My cock strains in the front of my jeans. It rivals all that have come before it. I want this girl and I want her now.
Barrier spell or no barrier spell that girl is going to get it. I shift back into Watcher form and push on her bedroom door. Good, Markus is a smart man and he’s made the door from oak. No evil can pass through oak unless invited in. I shove my shoulder into the door hard causing it to hit the wall.
I need Lacy more than ever before. The silly girl, she knows better than to give me sass. Her backside is fin
ally going to meet the sting of my hand.
I wasn’t expecting to see her this way. My heart swarms and mouth waters all at the same time. If my cock could possibly get any harder, it would. Lacy is sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning backward on her elbows. Her beautiful red hair is fanned out behind her. Just the sight of her like this has me panting.
My brain shuts off. I lick my lips and run toward her, ready to pounce. I take three steps into the room and want to scream at my stupidity. I forgot about the fucking barrier spell.
Shit! This isn’t going to be pretty.
I hit the back wall with a loud thud. That hurt, but not as much as it should have. Wait a minute? That wasn’t a barrier spell. I glance over in Lacy’s direction. She isn’t screaming, so that’s a good thing. Lacy isn’t looking at me, but over at the bedroom door. Oh no, this really can’t be good. Please tell me it isn’t one of the Watchers, or worse… Markus.
I come to my feet swaying, and turn around to look at the wall, I just landed in. There’s a hole the size of my ass staring back at me. Damn, it’s big. This would have been funny under different circumstances. I shake my head at my wayward thoughts and turn to look at what has Lacy’s attention.
I’m expecting to find one of my brothers standing there catching me in the act. All I wanted was a little bit of time with my girl, but no it’d seem I can’t catch a break.
Why is the whole universe against me, if we are meant to be?
Lucy stands in the doorway, her legs parted slightly, her shoulders squared. Her left hand is facing up, aimed at me. Her eyes shine menacingly in my direction. Shit! Her eyes are shifting from red to blue and back again.
Shit, Shit, Shit!
This can’t be happening. I bring my left arm up, facing my palm outward toward Lucy. “Stillness now is what you need. Stillness now will be, will be.”
Lucy looks like she wants to murder me as her eyes narrow. She pulls her lips back and snarls. Before she gets a chance to attack me, the stillness spell kicks in. Blessed is our Goddess Lylian.