Chapter 31

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Chapter 31
Claribelle

"Well, we need to set up a time for a pack meeting tonight first," Alexander suggested.

Damien nodded beside me. "Yes, we do. I don't want to do it too late though. Clari has training at Fangs tonight."

I was shocked that he'd remembered which days I trained with the coven. Alexander reacted well to the statement, though. The barbeque the day before was definitely helpful in working with Damien's parents.

Ashley was easily able to fix the training conflict. "We will just have everyone get here around four and we can make the announcement at four thirty. That will give us plenty of time to sort out any of the more vocal pack members and still have Claribelle at training on time."

I smiled slightly at her consideration. "Thank you, Ashley," I replied with a smile.

She nodded, standing up and reaching for my hand. I placed it in hers and she pulled me from my chair saying, "Let's leave the guys to talk and you and I can head down to the living room to talk."

I nodded and leaned down to give Damien and quick kiss and a smile before following his mom out of the office. "You know that the pack will probably be unhappy with the announcement today," Ashley told me as we took seats on one of the couches in the living room.

I nodded. "I'm expecting it," I told her. "Alexander didn't really take the news well, but he's doing much better now. It's all a matter of perspective. I know that a pack and coven can get along. I grew up with it. All I have to do now is show your pack the same thing that I've known since birth."

Ashley smiled. "You're a very smart young lady, Claribelle. It may be unconventional, but I'm really glad that you're my Damien's mate."

I smiled and my eyes watered slightly at her praise. I made sure not to let any tears escape. "Thank you, Ashley. That really means a lot to me."

She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and hugged me slightly. "I knew from the first time I met you that you and Damien were meant to be together. You wouldn't have been paired together if that weren't the case. I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't uncomfortable with the idea of his mate being a vampire, but I did my best to get over it.

"We werewolves may not know a whole lot about vampires, but I knew that you wouldn't hurt my son. The mate bonds just don't work that way. And now, you've taught me more than I could have imagined. Your coven doesn't work at all the way I've always imagined and you blew my mind in the best way at the barbeque."

"I'm glad that I was able to show you that, Ashley," I told her sincerely. "What I need to do now is show the rest of your pack the same thing."

"It's not going to be easy," she responded, rubbing her left arm with her right hand, her eyes unfocused. "There's plenty of people in this pack with reasons to dislike vampires."

I nodded. "I know that. And they hate those vampires for a reason. I'm not going to try to tell them that all vampires are sunshine and daisies. My coven is actually pretty rare in the vampire world. I just need your pack to realize that my coven isn't like the vampires they have had experiences with."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Ashley asked. Her voice wasn't aggressive, simply curious.

I smiled slightly. "The same as I did with you. I'm going to show them by example and then I'll invite your entire pack to the barbeque in a couple weeks. It's early, but I'm sure my pack and coven will be more than happy to have an extra one."

She nodded slowly. Reaching out, she took my hand in both of hers. "I know that you know this is going to be a difficult road, Claribelle. I just urge you to use patience with the pack. Don't give up on them. It's going to take time. I know that you and Damien can run this pack and I don't want him leaving before you've really tried."

I put my other hand over hers. "We're not going to give up, Ashley," I assured her. "This is Damien's pack and I'm going to do everything in my power to keep it that way. We will not give up. I will make your pack see what I've known my entire life."

Ashley smiled and yanked me into her arms for a tight hug. "I'm so happy that you're going to be my new daughter in law."

I laughed slightly. "Thank you. I'm glad to be joining your family as well."

I glanced up as I heard footsteps and saw Damien and Alexander walking into the room. "Did you guys get everything figured out?" I asked as I pulled gently away from Ashley.

Damien nodded, coming over to sit beside me and putting his arm around my shoulders. He pulled me tightly against him before speaking. "The pack has been alerted to arrive here by four. They're expecting to meet my mate, but they haven't been warned that you're a vampire. I think it's better to show them than tell them."

I nodded in agreement, though I wasn't really sure either way. If we told them, some might not show up to the meeting or they'd show up unnecessarily aggressive. If we didn't warn them, the shock might not be good either. It could create a moment of chaos or even a feeling of betrayal. I guess there wasn't really a great way to do this.

Deciding to just go with the flow and deal with the problems as they arose, I leaned against Damien and smiled when he kissed the top of my head. "So what do we do until four?" I asked.

"Let's just relax and get some food," Damien suggested.

That's exactly what we did.

We turned on the television and found a movie, popped some popcorn and relaxed together in the living room for a few hours. Ashley and Alexander curled up together on one couch while Damien and I took the other.

All too soon, it came time for the pack to begin arriving. Cole came first, walking into the living room with barely a sound, only my keen ears picking up on his arrival. He took in the relaxing scene, glared at me and then took an arm chair as far from Damien and I as he could get.

I had known Cole was going to be one of the hardest to win over, but I was determined to try. He wasn't going to be won over with a speech though. I would just have to show him that I wasn't like the vampires that killed his father.

Damien smiled over at him. "Hey Cole. Look at you being all early."

Cole only grunted and I could almost feel Damien roll his eyes.

The rest of the pack members didn't come through the pack house. I could hear them as they made their way around the house and towards the back yard. Damien had already explained that that's where pack meetings are held because it would be a pain to try to squeeze everyone into the pack house. My pack was the same way.

"Well, are you kids ready?" Ashley asked as she and Alexander stood from the couch.

Everyone looked to me.

I nodded slightly. "Let's do this," I told them, taking Damien's offered hand and letting him pull me off the couch with him.

Damien's parents lead the way out the back door with Damien and I following closely behind them, Cole standing on the other side of Damien so that he wasn't near me.

He was going to be a tough cookie to crack but I was determined to gain his trust. He was Damien's best friend and I knew it was important to Damien that he learned to trust me.

Damien's pack was quite large, I noticed as I glanced around his parents. Probably close to the size of mine. I felt nerves rising as we approached the platform by the pool.

They still hadn't noticed me yet, but it was only minutes away from the time I would stand before them as their future alpha's mate. I could only hope that they wouldn't take it too horribly.

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