Claribelle's Mate

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Damien's POV

Jake and I were furious as a vampire came up and wrapped his arm around our mate's shoulders, saying, "Did you miss me, Belle?" and I couldn't, nor did I try to, stop the growl that rumbled from my chest. Especially when she turned into him with a grin and squealed, hugging him.

Who the hell was he?

"Ian! What are you doing here?" Clari exclaimed in excitement. I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her onto my lap the second she released him from the hug.

The guy gave me a strange look and I glared back at him.

I felt Clari sigh in exasperation. "Damien, this is Ian, a friend from another coven. Ian, this is my mate, Damien," she told us.

I didn't hold out my hand for him to shake and he only laughed at me, making my anger increase by leaps and bounds. "I think we done pissed him off, Belle," he told her, grinning.

She shook her head, turning to face me. "Be nice," she scolded me. "He's a friend and nothing more."

The vampire, Ian, put his hands to his chest, over his heart. "You wound me so!" he cried dramatically.

I smiled slightly when Clari rolled her eyes and threw her empty goblet at his head. Sadly, he caught it before it could hit him and he tossed it to Jerome who was watching the encounter with a small smile on his face. He refilled the goblet and then slid it back across the bar to Clari.

Ian sat down on Clari's barstool and even though I wasn't sure I liked this guy yet, he just got some brownie points. Now Clari had to stay seated in my lap because he took her spot. She turned to face the bar, grabbing her goblet and taking a sip.

"So what brought you by?" she asked Ian.

He shrugged. "I was in the neighborhood, figured I'd stop in and see you," he responded.

She laughed. "You're never in the neighborhood, I haven't seen you in nearly a year!"

He grinned back at her and Jake bristled, not liking how close these two were. I ignored him, trusting that Clari would've told me if anything ever happened between them.

"Okay, I wasn't in the neighborhood, but I needed to get away for a little bit. Maybe a while," he added, furrowing his eyebrows. "My parents are trying to arrange a mating to a vampire in another coven and I'm hiding."

I raised my eyebrows in shock. Not many still arranged matings anymore, at least not in the werewolf community. I didn't know anything about the vampire community, but if the looks on Jerome and Clari's faces said anything, I'd say it's the same.

"That's ridiculous!" Clari exclaimed. "They shouldn't make you do that!"

He nodded in agreement, as did everyone in hearing range.

"You can't run away from them forever, though," she added. We sat in silence for a moment before Clari jumped slightly in my lap, making everyone look at her. "We need to find your mate!" she exclaimed. "Then they can't make you mate with someone else!"

It was a good idea, but it was easier said than done. Ian pointed that out, but Clari just shushed him and looked around the bar. "Go ask a bunch of ladies to dance and if it's no one here, we'll keep trying another night!" she decided.

Ian rolled his eyes, but stood up. "May I have this dance?" he questioned, bowing to Clari and holding out his hand.

Jake growled and I had a hard time holding one back as well. Clari just laughed, slapping his hands away. "Stop wasting precious time, Ian!" she scolded him, pointing out to the dance floor.

When Ian left, Clari slid back onto her barstool and I gave her a disgruntled look, not liking her moving. Jake and I were both very happy with her where she was. She only laughed at me, gave me a cheeky wink and sipped from her goblet again.

"Do you want something to drink?" she asked me, setting the goblet down.

I raised my eyebrows at her. "What are my choices?" I asked her.

She shrugged, a devious glint in her eyes. "A negative, AB positive, and if you're lucky, Jerome might be able to round up some O negative."

I snorted and shook my head while Max laughed. "It's a bar," he told me. "Jerome keeps it pretty much stocked."

I looked back at Clari, shaking my head at her for trying to scare me. "Sure, I'll have a coke," I told her and she grinned, waving Jerome down.

We sat at the bar for a while, just chatting and I thought back to the way her coven surrounded her when we walked into the club. They truly acted like a family and I didn't understand. I had been raised to believe that vampires were monsters, evil. I could wrap my head around Clari being good, because she was my mate, but it was confusing to see the ties between her and her coven.

None of them seemed evil, even drinking blood from blood banks out of goblets. They all seemed to truly care for one another and were honestly worried about Clari, even after Jerome had apparently told them that she would be fine. It kind of boggled my mind. I was starting to realize that vampires had good and bad sides just like werewolves.

I smiled slightly at the thought, running a hand down Clari's back gently. My grin widened when she shivered.

If I could find a way to show my pack that, I could make this work. I didn't want to live without Clari by my side. A day with her and I'm already crazy attached.

"Do you want to dance?" Clari asked, breaking me away from my thoughts.

I smiled and stood, holding out a hand for her to take. "I would love to dance," I told her, pulling her out to the dance floor when she took my hand.

We got there just in time for a slow song to start, something that was rare in the club. I pulled her tightly against me, smiling when she rested her head on my chest. I rested my head against hers and swayed us slightly to the beat of the song. It felt amazing to have her in my arms.

My parents had both explained to me how amazing it is to find your mate, it was why I was so eager to find mine. Then, with the whole freak out when I met Clari, I was worried that I would never know what my parents had told me about. Even though I was pissed that she got hurt, I was also beyond happy that she was the one that was looking for those three vampires. That's what brought me back to her, and I could never be more thankful.

I was a fool for all the things I said to her that day in the woods and I never wanted to hurt her again. Jake grumbled at me, happily pointing out that I should've listened to him from the beginning.

I just wanted this to be easy. I wanted to be able to take her home with me, have the pack accept her and take over the pack and live happy lives.

I knew it would be harder than that, knew that our relationship wasn't going to be easy, but I also knew something else now. The fight would be one hundred percent, totally worth it.

~~~*~~~Author's Note~~~*~~~

I hope you're all having a wonderful Tuesday! How was this chapter? Hopefully you all enjoyed it :)

Next one is next Tuesday :) have a wonderful week!!

~Haley~