Claribelle's Mate

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Damien

I woke up the next morning with Claribelle still wrapped up in my arms. After we marked each other the night before, we'd drifted off to sleep, both of us happier than we ever thought possible. This was the first time that I'd stayed the entire night with Clari and I loved it. Waking up with her wrapped in my arms was the best feeling in the world.

I glanced down at her when I heard a groan and she uncurled herself, stretching out her entire body before yanking herself back into a ball and snuggling even closer to me, if that was even possible. I laughed quietly at her actions and heard her voice in my head.

Stop laughing at me, she mumbled, wrapping an arm around my waist and throwing one of her legs over mine. I could tell she was preparing to go back to sleep and I had no problems staying here all day, so I was perfectly fine with that.

"Sorry, sweetheart," I whispered in her ear. "You're just so adorable in the morning."

She mumbled some incoherent words and before I knew it, she was asleep again. I smiled and kissed the top of her head gently, settling into the pillows to hold her until she was ready to wake up.

As I laid there, thoughts from yesterday crept up on me. Clari was an amazing fighter and we had worked well together in battle. It was a whole new experience for me to fight beside my mate and I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. She was sexy as hell when she fought, but the fears of her being injured were also high. I didn't like her being in danger.

And she was in danger. We had no clue who had sent the rogues after her last night. Whoever did was either stupid or hired a stupid rogue leader. They should have known that a group of rogues can't take on a pack and a coven at the same time. It was suicide for them to even attempt to do so.

I hated the fact that we didn't know who we were fighting. It made it that much harder to protect Claribelle. I wasn't lying last night when I told Clari that I couldn't live without her. Even though I wouldn't admit it to myself at the time, she'd become my world the day that I found her frolicking in the woods with Max while they were supposed to be on patrol.

Jake was a smart wolf, having not been in denial for a second. He'd wanted her from the first moment we scented her in the woods and he'd put up one hell of a fight to keep her.

I felt Jake rumbling in my mind and I grinned. He knew that he was right.

I glanced up as the door to Clari's bedroom inched open and her mom, Ceci grinned at me when she noticed that I was awake.

"She's still asleep?" she asked, nodding to Clari in my arms.

I nodded. "She woke long enough to stretch and went right back to sleep," I told her, just as quietly.

Ceci smiled as she looked at her daughter, sleeping in my arms with a small smile on her face. "I see you two marked each other."

I froze, staring at her in surprise, wondering how she would react to the news. I knew my dad would probably be furious, my mom happy, but I had no idea how Clari's family would react to the news.

"Relax," Ceci whispered. "I'm happy for you guys. I remember when Jackson and I marked each other. It means a lot to Claribelle that you marked her, you know. It takes away her worry about you changing your mind."

Before I could answer, Clari's voice interrupted us. "Stop talking about me like I'm not here," she grumbled, stretching out and turning her head on my chest so that she could see her mom.

Ceci grinned at Clari's comment and replied, "Technically you weren't here when we began talking. You were off in dreamland."

Clari grinned back. "And what happy dreams they were."