Claribelle's Mate

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Claribelle's POV

I lead Kaden, Evan and Anastasia into Fangs with Damien by my side. Ignoring the doors that lined the hallway, I walked directly to the lone door at the very end of the hall. The second I opened it, chatter and laughter from the vampires below drifted to us.

I waved to Jerome behind the bar as I descended and everyone fell silent as the three vampires trooped along behind me. Ashton walked over and patted me on the back, Kaden tensing because of his approach.

"Good job, Belle," Ashton told me. "But you're never doing something like this again, no matter how much faith we have in you."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Oh, stop it."

I brushed past him and walked up to the bar. "Jerome, this is Kaden, Anastasia and Evan. They agreed to talk to you about joining our coven."

Jerome slid a goblet of blood across the bar to me and smiled at the vampires in welcome. "Welcome to Fangs," he told them. "I'm Jerome. I'm glad that you guys took Belle up on my offer. Come on in the back and we'll have a chat." He pulled open the half door at the end of the bar and gestured for them to enter.

Kaden led the way and Evan went last, keeping Anastasia protected between them. I smiled at the display. No matter the stereotypes that werewolves have for us, we really do take care of our own.

I took a seat at the bar and turned to face the small crowd waiting silently for me to acknowledge them. I took a sip from my goblet and raised an eyebrow at them all, waiting for the questions that I knew were coming.

"Did they give you a hard time?" Nila asked, stepping forward.

I shook my head. "No, they reacted reasonably well, considering that Damien and I tricked them into showing themselves."

"What do you mean?" Frieda asked.

"I had Damien chase me around the woods like he was attacking me and when he got the upper hand, the three of them swooped in to help me," I told them with a grin.

Frieda and Ashton grinned right back at me. "We've taught you well," Ashton replied.

Ashton and Frieda were the battle coordinators in the coven, both having had extensive military careers way back when. They'd taught me almost everything I knew about strategy and battle.

"Do you think they'll fit into our coven?" Alisha asked. She was a pretty little brunette that had only been in the coven for about six years. She was really sweet though.

I shrugged. "I have a feeling they will," I replied. "They were pretty worried about me when they came to my rescue and if that's not a good sign, I don't know what is."

Ashton grinned, raising his goblet in salute. "I think this calls for a celebration," he decided, walking over to the stereo system behind the bar and putting on some music. It wasn't as loud as normal, and it was a nice waltz song.

Lewis grinned and nudged Damien hard enough to make him stumble slightly. I hid my chuckle behind a cough when Damien turned to look at him with a glare and a questioning eyebrow raised.

Lewis nodded his head towards me and walked away. Damien's eyes lit with understanding and he turned to me, holding out a hand. "May I have this dance?" he asked of me with a sweet smile and a sweeping bow.

I couldn't help the wide smile that spread across my face as I curtsied back and took his outstretched hand. "I would love to," I replied.

We all danced for a while, trading partners often. Damien got taken away from me a couple times by Lewis and Anthony to show him the mistakes he was making and Ashton or someone else would sweep me away until Damien was done learning a new lesson.