Claribelle's Mate

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Claribelle's POV

When I made it home, Max was the first one to see me. His face closed off in anger when he took in my tear stained face and he immediately wrapped an arm around my shoulders and lead me upstairs to my room before anyone else noticed. He knew that I wouldn't want anyone else to know that I had been crying.

He sat me down on the bed and then sat beside me, pulling me into his arms. "What happened out there, Belle?" he asked me.

I let out a half sob and explained everything to him. How Jake came to me, how I knew that it wasn't Damien, but I went with it anyway. I told him how much it hurt when Damien regained control and left me again. He sighed angrily, rubbing his hands up and down my back gently.

"Why would you do that to yourself, Belle?" he asked me softly. "Why would you spend time with his wolf, get attached, when you knew it couldn't last?"

I let out a strangled sob, trying and failing to keep it in. I didn't want to cry about this anymore, but my body wasn't exactly taking no for an answer. "I just wanted a small piece of time with my mate, Max," I cried. "I just wanted that moment, something good to remember."

Max continued to hold me and rub my back gently until I calmed down and pulled back. He rested his hands on my cheeks and stared sadly into my eyes. "I hate him for doing this to you, Belle," he told me solemnly, the anger present in his voice, but under control. "Do you want me to go talk to him?"

I knew from the look in his eye, that "talking" did not mean talking and I shook my head. "No, just leave it be," I told him quietly. "I'll just focus my energy on finding those three vampires."

Max sighed. "I don't like that idea either," he muttered.

I couldn't help but smile at him. "I know you don't," I told him, taking his hand. "But I already explained to you why I have to do this."

He nodded in understanding and I leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "You wanna go outside and spar for a while?" I asked him. "It will get some of your anger out and take my mind off things for a little while."

He grinned and pulled me off the bed with him. "That sounds like a great idea," he told me with a grin. "I'm so in the mood to kick some ass!"

I pushed all thoughts of Damien to the back of my mind and laughed and I ran down the stairs with him. "You wish you could kick my ass!" I retorted. I heard laughter as we ran past the living room where most of my family sat.

"Don't break anything!" Uncle Eli called after us.

We both waved a hand over our shoulders in acknowledgement, but didn't slow down. We were on a mission to take each other down and I was gonna win it.
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The next morning, after breakfast, I decided to head back over to Black's eastern border and look for the vampires again. I really wanted to help them. I just had this gut feeling that they weren't really evil. I had to at least try to find them and help them.

I employed the same method as the day before, zig-zagging my way down the border, hoping to catch a hint of their scent. That was the only chance I had of finding them unless they came to me.

I didn't make it much farther than yesterday before I picked up another scent that I wasn't expecting: rogues this time. I knew that they would eventually filter back into this area, I just didn't think they would do it so fast. Hoping they were only passing through and not going to cause trouble, I waited for them to reveal themselves. I heard one shifting and putting on clothes before he and two wolves stepped out of the trees.

He had dark brown hair, menacing brown eyes and a scar across his temple. He was built and looked powerful. I didn't think his intentions were just to pass through. My conscience told me to step back, get away from them, but I refused to show fear. That's what rogues like these lived for.