Claribelle's Mate

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Claribelle's POV

"What's going on?" the black haired man asked suspiciously, still not looking at me, but keeping his eyes trained on Jake, obviously not trusting his docile behavior.

"Okay, this is probably going to sound bad," I warned them, holding my hands up. The brown haired man stepped closer to me in a threatening manner while the black haired man gripped the woman's arm and pulled her closer to himself. "I'm not here to hurt you!" I added, sensing their wariness and their readiness to run. "Quite the opposite actually. You can forget about the werewolf, he's actually helping me, he won't hurt you either."

They were tense, obviously not trusting my words. "Jake, come here," I told him. I wanted them all facing me and the black haired man wouldn't take his eyes off Jake. Jake trotted to my side and the vampires all sidestepped to stay out of his reach. I smiled when his eyes returned to their natural blue, letting me know that Damien was back in control.

I rested a gentle hand on his back as he stood beside me.

"What is the meaning of this?" the black haired man snapped at me.

"My name is Claribelle and this is my mate, Damien. I'm from Jerome's coven. I was asked by my leader to find you and offer you membership to our coven," I told them calmly.

The woman gasped, stepping forward before being brought to a halt by the black haired man. "Are you serious?" she asked of me, ignoring the hold that the man had on her.

"Dead serious," I replied. "I've been looking for you for a few days, but the first day I got attacked by some rogues and I needed some time to heal. I wasn't sure how to find you, so I asked Damien here to help me. I assure you I mean you no harm. I just wanted to talk to you."

"Why would you offer us a place in your coven?" the black haired man asked of me. It was obvious that he still didn't trust my motives.

"Because we know what deal you made with Raven's coven," I told them. The woman stepped back again, putting herself in line with the two men once more. "We were only worried about getting you out of Damien's territory until you let that wolf live. Then my leader decided that you may want a place in a coven that won't make you kill werewolves for entry."

The brown haired man eyed Damien and I distrustfully before saying, "This all sounds a little too good to be true."

I nodded in understanding. "I know it does," I told them. "I just don't know another way to explain it to you. The simple fact is, Jerome will welcome you to our coven as long as you abide by our rules. We do not hurt werewolves or any human or vampire that doesn't attack you first. We are an easy going coven and we don't like to fight if we don't have to."

"I don't know if I can trust this," the black haired man stated. "I will not put my sister and friend in danger."

I took a step forward, feeling Damien shift uncomfortably as I moved closer to the vampires. They tensed as well and I stopped. "You are putting them in danger every time that you attack Damien's pack," I told them. "Jerome is offering you a family again. You don't have to accept right now. I can take you to him and you can talk things over with him."

"And if we decide not to accept his offer?" the black haired man asked. "What will happen to us then?"

"Then I was wrong about you," I told him solemnly, "and you will be free to go. But if you attack any packs around here again, we will not be lenient."

The woman stepped forward. "We need to discuss this," she told me. "Can you give us a moment?"

I nodded. "Of course." I walked a little ways away and sat against a tree so that I could still see them, but they had privacy to talk. Damien lay down beside me, resting his big head in my lap.