Claribelle's Mate

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Claribelle's POV

Training the night before involved a lot of good natured teasing intermingled with questions about how the dinner went. Most people would be annoyed having an audience of fifty or so people asking them personal questions about their first time having dinner with their boyfriend's parents, but I didn't.

First, because I'm a vampire and my coven, large as it is, is my family. I know that they all care about me as I do them and that's why they are curious. Second, Damien isn't just my boyfriend, he's my mate. We are meant to be together forever and we both know that, as does the coven. The teasing was the same thing. They always tease, but I always do what I can to give it right back to them.

I trained all night with a smile on my face and laughed so much that my abs hurt before Jerome even had me doing my crunches. Even through my crunches, some of the coven still had me laughing. I loved being with them because of their laid back personalities and how much they cared.

Michael interrupted my thoughts as he burst into my bedroom. He had a grin on his face as he shouted, "Damien is here!"

I laughed as he wrapped his arms around my waist, holding tight in an adorable hug. Wrapping my arms around him as well, I said, "Thank you, Mikey. You wanna go down there and keep an eye on him while I finish up in here?"

He nodded quickly, puffing out his chest as he turned around and left the room. I shook my head, a smile on my face. He loved it when I gave him a job to do.

I quickly pulled off my pajamas and threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top. I put my hair in a ponytail to keep it out of my way for the day and headed downstairs.

I had to work hard not to laugh at the picture in the living room. Damien was sitting on the couch while little Michael stood in front of him, his arms crossed, staring him down.

Smiling, I said, "Thank you, Michael. You did awesome. Why don't you go see what Jason is doing and see if you can keep him and Brett in line?"

He nodded, turning to walk out of the room. "Nobody can keep Jason and Brett in line," he muttered as he went, making Damien and I both laugh.

Damien stood as I stepped into the room and I raced forward to hug him tightly. He laughed, holding me just as tight and burying his face in my hair. "I missed you, too," he whispered in my ear.

I giggled slightly, leaning against him even more. Though we hadn't been apart for very long, I had missed him. Our bond was strong and I couldn't have been happier about it. All my childhood, I'd dreamed of having a relationship like my parents, well maybe not exactly like theirs. I certainly didn't want to be stalked by a crazy alpha and killed, but still, similar. And now I had it.

Someone cleared their throat behind us and I turned around to see Uncle Xavier. I grinned, stepping out of Damien's arms to give him a hug as well. "Hey, Uncle Xavier!" I greeted him. "You helping set up the party today?"

He nodded. "Be careful today, Belle," he told me. "We don't know for sure that those vampires aren't dangerous."

I nodded, rolling my eyes. "I know that," I told him, "but we have a pretty good hunch that they're not."

Now he rolled his eyes ruffling my hair and making me slap at him. Now I had stray hairs all over, falling out of my ponytail. While I fixed it, Uncle Xavier turned his attention to Damien.

"It's good to see you again, Damien," he greeted with a nod. "Take care of Belle out there, okay?"

Damien nodded, walking forward to wrap an arm around my shoulders and pull me close to his side. "I will, don't worry, Xavier."