Taming the Rogue King

Unwanted Mate

Liam

Ben’s voice through the mind link cut through the haze in his brain. Ben had stated the obvious. Liam's mother was bloody unstable. She could very well kill his mate only because she wanted him to concentrate on avenging his dad.

He was eighteen for f**k’s sake and he still had to worry about his mother!!

No matter how many men she was with, she did not want him to be with a mate. Well, she didn’t mind how many women he f****d till the time they weren’t his mates.

He had a job to do. He was responsible for his dad’s death and only revenge could redeem him!

He controlled his wolf and looked at Bella’s petrified eyes. Pity clawed through his gut as he stared at her childlike face with her pixie hairstyle.

This is the same girl he had rescued from Yara-ma-yha-who who had already started feasting on her while Ben had been trying to hunt for food. Liam had swooped in and killed the bloody Yaramayhawho, saving Bella.

He had earned a Beta and a best friend out of this rescue mission. He shook himself out of the trip down memory lane.

“Are you coming or what?” Ben prompted. Liam looked around and saw the questioning eyes directed at him and Bella.

Coming out of his reverie he growled. “Let’s go!”  Ben & Bella followed Liam while Brianna decided to stay out of it. His curt reply was enough for Brianna to take a step and she knew Ben would update her later.

As they walked towards his office next to his chamber, he thought about how mundane the day had been till now. He had woken up early and gone for a run followed by his strength training routine.

He knew Ben would be gone for most of the day so he skipped his regular fight training and decided to patrol instead. Usually organising and commanding the patrol was Ben’s job.

Ben's sister was graduating from college and he had arranged for the engagement party tonight which would double up as a welcome back party for his sister.

Liam had extra work lined up for him with his Beta gone. He had managed to finish his work and reached Ben’s party slightly later than intended. The party was in full swing. There weren't many occasions where his wolves got to dress up. Being rogues they weren't welcome in any werewolf nightclubs and other gatherings.

So this party was a good break for everyone. Well, dressed women and men danced to the sound of music but his wolf was restless.

He felt anxious. His wolf's emotions were constantly alternating between whining and hyper excitement keeping him on the edge.

When he handed over the gift to Ben & Brianna, his wolf went crazy sniffing around. 

He got a whiff of a faint tropical smell of flowers. The scent teased his senses even as he tried to figure out its source. It was difficult to identify and track the hint of the exotic fragrance, but Liam had to find out!

He saw Bella in her hot red dress dancing with one of his wolves. The girl had grown and looked beautiful. He wasn't sure if he was comfortable seeing her all dolled up like this. But that's what youngsters did. And Bella had the right to live her life the way she wanted to.

Strangely enough, the sweet- smell was emanating from her. This couldn't be happening! He wasn’t sexually attracted to her. The kiddo was like a little sister to him. 

When she arrived close to him he totally lost control. His wolf wanted to pounce on her and it took all his strength to stop him. The fragrance was suddenly strong enough to captivate all his senses.

Bella smelled the same as usual but she was carrying something that was driving his wolf crazy. What was she carrying? He had to find out without scaring her!

He caught hold of her right hand and sniffed. The heavenly aroma from her bracelet calmed him and at the same time gave him a massive hard-on. 

Yes! This was his mate. He knew it! His wolf knew it and both of them wanted the owner of the scent to be here right now so that he could claim her.

He was brought to the present by Ben’s voice reminding him of his mother. What am I doing? If mother gets to know about my mate, she will get my mate killed before I get a chance to meet her.

Without releasing Bella’s hand he walked into his chambers. Two hybrids stood guard at the main door that opened into his living room. He barked out orders for them to move away.

Bella, Ben and Liam entered the cave that housed his chambers. Once inside he closed the door. He had made sure to make his chambers sound proof.

He stopped Bella and pulled the bracelet out of her hand. The red leather bracelet had golden rockstuds on it with Valentino Garavani’s V clearly etched on the inner side. 

My mate likes nice things! He held the delicate accessory in his huge hand. In the last couple of years, he had grown both in size and muscle.

The bracelet looked small and inconspicuous in his palm but it smelled exquisite. He brought it to his nose and took a deep breath inhaling in the scent that brought him peace.

When he opened his eyes he was barely controlling his wolf. His wolf wanted to breakthrough and run away to find his mate but he had to be cautious. His mother had trained him to hate his mate. Although he wanted to hate the bearer of this scent something in his soul had moved the moment the tropical scent had reached his brain.

He couldn’t kill his mate. He just couldn’t punish his wolf like this. If he did not meet his mate he would still keep his word to his mother. She had asked him to promise her to stay away from this temptation. It was forbidden.

Mates made us weak. His dad had made her weak and she did not want him to be weak ever.

He looked at Bella who stood frozen. Her beautiful almond-shaped eyes with colourful eye shadow looked at him dreading his reaction. His heart felt a tug at her blatant fear and he said in a controlled tone, “Bella! Tell me who gave you this bracelet?”

“I can’t tell you that. You will get her killed.” She spoke in anguish. Denying to answer Liam meant trouble yet she could not deceive the person who had given her the bracelet. Liam was impressed by Bella.

“What if I promise you that I won’t hurt the girl?” He said evenly, weighing Bella’s reaction as he studied her beautiful and innocent features. Her tall frame looked taller in her stilettos. He wanted to rip the shoes off Bella and sniff them.

He mentally face palmed himself. Did his wolf really have a foot fetish or was this the exotic smell wafting from Bella’s feet. He gritted his teeth in irritation. He wasn't used to not thinking straight and obviously wasn't used to being denied.

“How do I trust your words? You are known to be ruthless where your work is concerned.” Bella squared her shoulders ready to face her punishment.

Although he had always liked Bella’s guts and had supported her education knowing that loyalty was her best strength, right now he wanted to strangle the girl. He needed to know about his mate dammit and the only person who could tell him about her was suddenly acting all haughty.

“Bella! I have known Liam for years now. He would never break his promise. You need to tell him.” Ben pleaded. He had a mate so he would know the desperation, thought Liam.

Bella folded her hands in front of her chest and stated. “She is my best friend. If Liam wants to kill her, he will first have to kill me.”

Liam banged his fist against one of his walls sending a palpable shiver down Bella’s spine. She shuddered but did not budge.

“You know I can command the answer out of you, don’t you? Yet I am requesting you because I respect you. Don’t you think I deserve to get the same kind of trust and respect from my Beta and his sister?” Liam growled fighting with his wolf to stay in control. 

Bella appeared to replay his words in her head. Finally, he saw the coldness in her eyes dissipate. “I borrowed it from my best friend Ira. She gave me the shoes and bracelet to match my dress for Ben’s engagement. It's a loan. I will be returning it to her when I meet her in Melbourne for Uni.”

“What’s her name? Tell me all about her.” 

“Her name is Ira and that’s all I am going to tell. You have promised that you won’t harm her. If you meet her, your mother will kill her. You have to stay away from her so this is all that you will get from me.” Bella stated with finality.

“Dammit, Bella!" He ran a hand through his short brown hair making them spike up. "Okay! I promised so I will stay away. But you won’t meet her either. I can’t risk my mother finding out about her. You will go to Griffith instead of Melbourne. You will not contact her and the bracelet and shoes will stay with me!”

“But the bracelet was a gift from her cousin. She would want it back.” Bella protested. She did not want to be away from Ira. She at least wanted a chance to let Ira know. They had made such elaborate plans for their Uni.

“It's my final decision. You may go now.” Liam turned around putting the bracelet in the pocket of his black formal pants that he had worn for Ben’s special day.

As Bella started to walk out he spoke again. “Remember to leave the shoes behind.”

She huffed in anger, removed the shoes and walked out barefoot from Liam’s room.

“You know, you can be very rude and obnoxious sometimes! You didn’t have to ask her to leave the shoes behind right now!” Ben said disapprovingly.

“That’s the least punishment that I can give your sister for knowing my mate so intimately. I won’t even get to meet Ira!” Liam groaned.

“Whatever mate. You know we are with you, right?”

Liam nodded. “Ask Bella to be ready tomorrow morning. She is going to be my Delta!” He dismissed Ben and got back to brooding.

Now that he knew about his mate, how was he going to keep away? How was he going to hide her identity from his mother? He had to move quickly and get the revenge that his mother desired. She could not know that he had found his mate.

But what if Ira found her love in the meanwhile and got married? His wolf howled in protest and jealousy burned through his veins as he thought of another man touching her. But he could do nothing. He had to control himself and forget. His mate’s life depended on his control.

*****