Claribelle's Mate

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Claribelle's POV

He sat beside me while I reclined on the bed, staring into each other's eyes. Anticipation filled me as I waited for his response to my question. I knew he could see the hope in my eyes. I'd be crushed if he said no, over the moon if he said yes.

I started to shake when he continued to stare at me, the emotions in his eyes unreadable. The longer he went without answering, the more certain I was that he was going to say no.

Right when I was about to pull my hands away from his and tell him to just go, he whispered, "Please, Claribelle, show me how I can keep you with me forever."

My jaw dropped in shock, hardly able to believe that he'd really said yes. Then a wide grin took over my face and I pulled him down to me for a kiss, my and our first kiss. It was sweet, gentle and loving and when he pulled away, we were both breathless.

"Thank you," I whispered, talking about him accepting me, not the kiss.

He smiled down at me and pecked my lips once more. "No, thank you," he replied, his voice gentle.

I pulled him down to lay beside me. "Why don't you yell all clear for me?" I asked him, too tired to yell. The confusing emotions on top of blood loss had me worn out. I was in need of a nap. He gave me a confused look and I just nudged him, telling him to do it.

"All clear!" he yelled and within seconds the room was full of vampires again. My mom was the first one through the door and she grinned widely when she saw Damien lying beside me. Squealing happily, she ran to our bedside and pulled us both into a hug, being careful not to jostle my side.

My dad, Uncle Xavier and Levi, Ashton, Nila, Lewis and Jerome all filed into the room after her, scowling when they saw us. Well, Nila was as excited as my mom, but I recognized the 'protective faces' when I looked at the guys. I mentally rolled my eyes.

"Are you okay?" my dad asked.

I nodded. "I'm much better," I assured him, all of them. "I just need some sleep, I'll just stay here for a while and I'll come back to the pack house when I'm fully recovered."

My parents nodded in understanding. "We'll let everyone know that you're fine," my mom told me, leaning down and kissing my forehead. "Jerome, can you get her some more blood?" she added.

He left the room quickly and was back in seconds with a goblet of blood in his hands.

"Thank you," I told him as he handed it off to me. I slowly sipped at it and sighed contentedly as it soothed the burning in my throat. It was only this bad because I was injured and I hadn't marked Damien yet.

I looked over at Damien, worried about his reaction to me drinking blood, but he only gave me a reassuring smile.

My dad kissed my forehead and he and my mom left the room. I looked at the vampires remaining in the room and Jerome smiled. "After your nap you need to make an appearance downstairs," he told me. "No matter how many times I tell them that you're fine, they'll want to see for themselves."

I grinned. "I'll go down after my nap."

Levi leaned down, giving me another kiss on the forehead. "Rest up, Belle. Before you know it, they'll have a party planned for the second you wake."

I laughed. My coven absolutely loved throwing parties. They threw one for every occasion they could think of. I personally blamed it on the fact that our coven's headquarters was a nightclub.

Xavier reached out and squeezed my hand gently. "Don't scare us like that again, sweetheart," he told me. "Next time you go after the vampires, take someone with you."