Claribelle's Mate

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Damien's POV

All through dinner, Clari slowly made progress with my parents. My mom was easier by far, having succumbed in the living room, but my father was a harder nut to crack. I couldn't tell if Clari noticed or not, but she was getting through to him, albeit slowly.

He was very standoffish when we had arrived and while he wasn't as outgoing as my mother, I could tell he was warming to her the longer she and my mother talked. And they talked about everything.

I was amazed with the ease that they were conversing. Clari had answered all of my mother's questions about the coven and the people in it along with questions about her family and pack. In turn, my mom regaled her with stories from my childhood that had me grumbling and turning to my father, trying to drown out the embarrassing recounting of my childhood. The only good thing was that Clari seemed to love it.

I couldn't help but smile when I looked over to see her laughing hysterically at something my mother had told her, my mom smiling at her and laughing a little as well. It did funny things to me to see them getting along after spending so much time wondering if it would be possible.

We all continued to sit at the table for a while after the food had been cleared, just talking about anything and everything that came to mind. My father started questioning Clari about vampires again, deeper questions than my mother had asked.

Clari took it all in stride, happily answering his questions and pointing out any biased beliefs that made it through in his questions. When he finally petered out, she smiled, stood and said, "I should be getting to Fangs. I have training tonight and I'm already an hour late."

"Oh dear!" my mother exclaimed, standing as well. "Won't your coven leader be angry that you're late?"

Clari grinned widely, shaking her head. "No, he won't be. My mom said she would let him know why I'd be late and he can't stay mad at me for long, anyway. I'll probably just spend some extra time training with him before I go home tonight."

"They sure are strict about training for claiming to be a peaceful coven," my dad retorted.

I rolled my eyes and Clari looked like she was trying not to do the same. "You train your pack plenty as well, for claiming to be all high and mighty," she said. "We train to be prepared, and they focus especially upon my own training because I'm so young."

My dad grunted and my mom even rolled her eyes this time. "Well, you'd best get off to training, sweetheart. We will see you tomorrow."

Clari nodded. "I'm glad to hear it. Thank you for all the wonderful stories about Damien. I had a very good time tonight."

My mom smiled widely, her pleasure clear on her face. "It was no problem dear. I quite enjoyed myself as well." She rounded the table and pulled Clari into a hard hug.

After starting in surprise, Clari was quick to hug her back. When they pulled away from each other, Clari's eyes were bright with happiness and I could tell how much my mother's approval had meant to her.

I stood and held out my hand for Clari. "I'll walk you out."

With a quick nod, she grabbed my hand and turned for the door. Before we left, she looked over her shoulder at my dad. "It was nice to meet you, Alpha Alexander. I do hope that your temperament improves by tomorrow."

We were out the door before he could even think of replying to her politely given rebuke. I laughed as I led her out the front door. "I can't believe you said that to him!" I told her, trying to rein in my laughter.

She smiled at me but said seriously, "He needs to realize that I'm not going to back down just because he's being rude. Being open and friendly gets me a long ways with your mother, but I have to earn your father's respect and standing up to him is the only way to do it."

I was impressed with her ability to root that out in only one dinner. It normally takes people a long time to learn anything about the way my father thinks. Even I was confused by his behavior tonight. Every time that he seemed like he was warming up to Claribelle, the next words out of his mouth were antagonistic and leading. I mentioned this to her.

She brushed it off with a wave of her hand. "He's testing me," she responded. "He has a hard time trusting vampires and he's trying to tell if his hot and cold attitude will throw me off. It won't and I proved that to him more than once, especially in my parting comment."

Unable to resist any longer, I pulled her into my arms. She smiled gently up at me and I leaned down slowly to kiss her. It was a soft kiss as I tried to tell her how much I adored her without words.

When I pulled back, I rested my forehead against hers and stared into her eyes. They were swirling with happiness and love and I knew that I could get lost in them if I stared too long. "You're amazing, you know that?" I asked her.

She grinned impishly up at me and nodded. "I know that." She leaned up and pecked my lips once more before pulling away. "I'll see you in the morning."

I nodded as I stepped back. "Bright and early," I agreed.

She ran off towards town with that startling vampire speed that I wasn't sure I'd ever get used to. I watched her until she disappeared from sight, wishing she was just a little slower so that she wouldn't have disappeared so fast.

I stared at the empty landscape around me with a sigh, missing her already, before I turned around to go back into the house. I wanted to know what my parents had to say after that, especially my father.

My parents had moved from the dining room to the living room while Clari and I were outside saying goodbye. They were sitting together on one of the loveseats and I sank into the chair across from them and waited.

It was silent for a while before a small smile crept onto my father's face, making me stare at him in amazement. He was smiling?

"I like her," he finally told me, making me release a puff of breath. I didn't realize that I'd been holding my breath, but I was relieved that he liked her.

My mom nodded in agreement and I grinned, sinking back into the chair back. Grinning, I replied, "She liked you guys too. Even you, dad."

He chuckled. "I wondered. I did my best to freak her out and she held her own. She may be a vampire, but I think you'll make a great pair."

My heart warmed at his statement. I already knew that we were perfect for each other, but it meant a lot to hear my father agree. Clari and I might not need his approval but we both definitely wanted it.

"About that barbeque," my dad continued. "I don't know how many pack members I want to take to that. I want to start with the higher ups in the pack and introduce her to the entire pack later."

I nodded in understanding. "That was what Clari and I were thinking. And we definitely want to be careful about who we bring tomorrow. They're going to have to know why we're going and that vampires will be there."

My dad nodded. "I want to take the Beta and Gamma families for sure, and maybe a few of the top fighters in the pack."

The Beta and Gamma families would be nine people and then maybe the top five fighters would put us at fourteen. Seventeen if you count my parents and me. I told my dad the numbers and he nodded after a moment of contemplation.

"I will call them together in the afternoon after you and Claribelle get back from trying to track down those vampires. We can tell them about her and the barbeque then."

I smiled. "Thank you guys for accepting her," I told them. They both nodded with smiles in my direction. I told them goodnight and headed up to my room to relax.

I watched television and let thoughts of Clari float through my mind until I fell into a happy sleep, my dreams also filled with thoughts of Clari.

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

Good morning everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The BBQ is coming up! Who's excited?

~Haley~