Taming the Rogue King

Weird Family

Liam

James smiled and waved at Liam. In the darkness of the mirror, his body emitted a soft golden glow. Liam stood, mesmerised by the whole scenario. The oval continued to expand until it corresponded to the size of the mirror and James stepped out of it.

Liam stepped back. Shocked with James appearing out of the mirror in person, Liam’s wolf retreated giving him full control and Liam turned into his human self.

The skin on the left side of his chest burned with a dull ache and he checked himself out. The place where his Lycan form had a tuft of coppery hair had a tattoo on it. Surprised by the appearance of the tattoo from nowhere, he ran a finger on the smaller than his fist sized crystal ball. The tattoo felt fresh, and the skin felt warm. Two small delicate hands of a witch held the crystal ball.

He let his fingers stroke the delicate hands and a thrill ran through his spine. It felt as if he was touching Ira. He instantly dropped his hand and looked at James with a look of mistrust.

The witches were never trusted by the wolves and he had recently realised that the woman he called his mother was one of the recalcitrant witches. He would have tried to kill James of he hadn’t seen James help the werewolves in the fight and James was Ira’s beloved brother.

“Mind?” James raised an eyebrow and waved his hand in the air, covering Liam with a pair of cut offs. “I know you wolves are okay with nudity and so are witches. I would still feel comfortable if you are covered!”

James stepped into the room and asked him if he could get some water. Apparently, he had travelled from a shoot location and had had an all night shoot.

Liam nodded, “follow me.”

James followed him into the living room, where Liam passed the bottle of water to him.

Liam stared at James as he chugged down almost the whole bottle. Liam’s patience was running thin. He tried to keep himself stone still and waited for James to speak. His wolf was pacing in his head, going bonkers.

‘I hate witches! They are so slow! Common! Speak up you Ira’s stupid brother!’ Liam was getting a headache with his restless wolf’s impatience.

Finally, James finished drinking and settled down on a couch. Even in his casual denim and T shirt he looked like a model. Liam had a couple of inches more in height and broader shoulders. He towered over James and asked in his gruff voice, “care to explain what is happening? I am a little impatient here.”

“Ira is on her path to realise her destiny,” James responded with a smile.

Liam waited for more explanation. When it felt like there wasn’t going to be any he grunted. “That’s all you had to say?”

“Oh no! Congratulations. How does it feel to know that you are a Lycan?” James stretched his hand towards Liam for a handshake.

“James!” Liam raised his voice. His heart had started pumping at a faster rate. If he did not get any answers soon, he was going to tear the world apart. He needed his mate here, next to him. Hell! He needed her under him! “If you don’t want me to break the truce before it is formed, tell me what’s going on!” Liam gritted his teeth, trying his best to control his spiralling anger.

“I know bro. Please sit down. I am waiting for my very old mentor to respond. She sent me here asap saying you needed help.” James shrugged. “While we wait for her, can we have a beer?”

Liam grabbed two pints from his bar. Handing one over to James he sat in the arm chair next to the couch.

“Can you tell me what happened with Ira? I am not able to reach her. In our family, we can connect through our minds.” James' calm baritone nudged Liam to speak.

That was the last thing he wanted to do. Reliving the trauma was not a way to wait for someone. But then he guessed that Ira’s brother needed to know. He took a sip of the cold beer to soothe his throat and began narrating his experience.

As he reached the part where his own body transformed into a ferocious Lycan, James closed his eyes.

Once Liam’s narrative was over James opened his eyes. “I think I know what has happened. Let me discuss with Sarena though.” He again closed his eyes and sat with a straight back. His face was devoid of any frown or any expression. He looked like a divine saint.

Liam continued to drink his beer, thinking about how he was going to find his mate if he couldn’t feel her existence or her emotions. Suddenly, his wolf growled. ‘She has rejected us so the bond is broken! So we can’t feel anything. You asked the slut to prepare for that stupid engagement, making Ira reject us.’

‘What? That can’t be!’ Liam tried to suppress the dread creeping up his spine due to his wolf's musings.

‘Why not? Why would she want to remain our mate if we are getting engaged?’ His wolf put forth a pertinent question.

‘She just went away somewhere. Why would we get this weird tattoo otherwise? I bet those are her hands!’ Liam insisted more for himself than his wolf. He had got scared, too.

‘Mmmph!’ Apparently, his wolf had nothing snarky to say.

“Got it! So you have to announce the engagement to your pack tomorrow. You need to let Monike and Bella prepare for the engagement. That is the only logical way for Ira to come back.” James said interlocking his fingers together and pointing at Liam.

“What the f*ck are you talking about? How is that logical? I should go out looking for her you stupid witch! A lie pushed her away from me. I will do anything to get her back!” Liam blasted.

James' eyes turned reddish in anger. “Do not insult me! Don’t take my patience for my weakness. I am here to help”.

Liam opened his eyes wide in surprise. He hadn’t thought that James could get so angry about something.

“She is my sister. My family! If you hadn’t been an i***t, she would have still been here researching your lineage!” James said in an even tone.

Liam hung his head down. He was angry and scared. What if he never met his mate again?

“You will meet her again. Your destiny shows more fights. Now I can’t divulge too much. That will change the course of destiny. Which room could you feel her presence the last before her scent vanished?” James asked.

“The library,” Liam grumbled.

“Oh! Her favourite place!” James smiled again and Liam felt relieved that they were on friendly terms again. “So just remember. Whenever you are here in this room, try to spend all your time in the library. Rest of the time continue with your routine.”

Liam banged his fist against the new centre table, shattering the glass again. “Continue my routine? You are out of your mind.”

“I know you are frustrated. You can continue to look for her. Send your search parties, use your IT. But whenever you are here, stay in the library. And remember to come back here. It is only your presence that can pull her back. She will return!” James said in an enigmatic tone. Then he added in a softer tone. “She has to return!”

Liam saw James bunch his fingers into a fist. The guy was getting angry too!

“The more time you spend here, the sooner she will return,” James concluded.

“In that case, I will not leave this place at all. Until now, I did not know what I was giving away.” Liam growled.

James grunted and stood up. “I need to go now. Your mirror and my crystal are interconnected. They can create a portal when needed. The mirror will respond to people from my family. For some reason, it responds to you, too. I guess your bond with Ira is deeper than we previously thought.” James said while walking towards the bedroom. He looked unconvinced about Liam's bond and completely distrustful towards the Rogue King.

Liam followed him. As James put one step into the mirror, Liam shouted, “stop! The mirror is Miriam’s. Why does it respond to your family?”

“Because it is my grandma’s. Miriam had stolen it from her.” James said and completely stepped into the mirror.

The white oval space started closing behind his back. Liam stared at James' retreating back and the darkness taking over the mirror.

`Weird Witch Family!’

*****