MDA: Ch. 10
CLARISSA'S POV
I fidgett nervously as I wait for Lionel. Mum made us all dress nicely. I don't know why, it was supposed to be a casual dinner.
Mum had announced to the boys, without my knowledge or consent, that my mate was coming over for a family dinner. As you can imagine, it didn't go very well.
*flashback*
"You have a mate!" Jett yells while storming into my room. I stare at him shocked, stopping midway through brushing my hair. How- Who- Mum!
"You have a mate!" It's dad this time as he follows Jett into my room. They both seem peeved off and a tad upset. Ok, very upset.
Then Dylan bursts into my room, but he seems... happy?
"You have a mate!" He practically squeals like a teenage girl, pushing pass dad and Jett to engulf me in a hug. I stand frozen in absolute shock. It's gotta be mum, she's the only one that knows.
"Clarissa Rosemary Night, you found your mate and you didn't tell us!" Dad booms. I open and close my mouth like a fish, having no clue what to say. What do you say? Damn that letter and damn my mother.
"I- I-" I stutter, blinking rapidly as if they'll disappear and none of this ever happened. I can see it in dad's eyes, he knows this was the secret I was keeping. I didn't dare look into Jett's.
"Here's your mother telling us dress all spiff and spam because your mate is coming 'round for dinner and you didn't utter a single word!" Dad yells again, angrier than I've ever seen him. Even when he read the first letter.
I glance at Jett and I really wish I didn't. He's seething, his eyes switching from black to silver constantly. Seeing my big brother fighting for control when he never has to makes something inside me click and I blurt out without even thinking, "I didn't tell you because he's a rouge!"
The whole room goes silent as I hold my breath. Dylan steps away from me to stand on the other side of dad that Jett isn't occupying. I glance at him to see him almost hurt by my reveal. What did I expect though? For them to be jumping with joy?
"Rouge?" Dylan asks quietly. I nod my head, dropping my eyes to the floor.
"I didn't want to tell you guys because I knew you would flip out. I just... wanted to have a moment with just him and me before everything else. I'm sorry." I whisper, moving over to my bed and plonking down on it like a sack of potatoes. I feel like it too.
My confession seems to make Jett even madder because a growl rips through the room before he storms out. Dad follows suit, but he doesn't growl, just seems very cautious and angry about it all. Dylan's the only one left in the room. I don't notice him come and take a seat next to me until his arms are wrapped around my shoulders.
"Hey, it's ok, you don't have to cry." He coos, rocking me back and forth. I sniffle, noticing the silent tears running down my cheeks. I bury my head in my brothers shoulder and release a cry that sounds like a dying frog.
"I knew they would react like this, Dylan! Why can't they just let me be happy!" I cry harder, tightening my hands into fists around his shirt. I'm still a little shocked that Dylan isn't reacting the same way. Or is he? He's probably acting the same as Jett right now, but on the inside.
"They're just worried, Clarissa. They don't want you getting hurt, none of us do." He replies, rubbing a hand up and down my back. I'm not much of a cryer, but when I am, it's always in front of mum or Dylan. I hate crying in front of Jett and dad because they just seem so... above it. Dad's an alpha and Jett's becoming an alpha. I don't want to show either of them weakness, it makes me feel low.
"I know they are, it's just..." I don't finish my sentence, not really knowing how to finish it. I sigh and pull away from Dylan. I smile a watery smile and give him a kiss on the cheek before making my way to the bathroom to have a shower.
*end of flashback*
So, that was fulfilling to say the least. Jett has calmed down a lot since then, dressed nicely in a black button shirt and dark jeans. Dylan and dad are wearing the same thing as Jett, except Dylan's shirt is white and dad's shirt is a navy blue. Mum's wearing a nice navy blue dress to match dad, but it isn't too fancy. It looks causal. As for me, I'm also wearing black skinny jeans with a nice, flowing shirt that's white with black swirls on it. Overall, we look photo ready, like the perfect family.
While I'm fidgeting and freaking out inside, mum is putting the last of the food on the table and dad, Jett and Dylan are lazing on the couch watching some tv program with guns. Everyone is tense. Inviting a rouge into your home because he's your daughters mate can be very stressful.
Mum smiles at me, seeing my anguish. I give a wonky smile back, having already forgiven her for the earlier evenings antics. It's hard to stay mad at mum when you know she doesn't mean to make you unhappy. Trust me, all three of us kids learnt that very quickly when we were younger. We were total suck ups and probably still are, Dylan mostly.
"Relax, Princess. Everything's going to be fine and the boys are going to behave, aren't you boys?" Mum asks sternly, directing her voice to the three males on the couch. None of them answer, just continue to watch the tv in tense silence.
"Celina, forgive us if we're not on our best behaviour." Dad growls, tightening his fists that are resting on the back of the couch. Mum sighs before giving me another encouraging smile.
Just as she's about to open her mouth to say something, the doorbell rings. It's like a wake up call. It takes less than a second for everyone in the room to lunge for the door, except me. I'm frozen, stuck to the spot like glue. Why did I suggest this? I should've just never asked him and none of this would be happening right now. I would have to tell my family at some point though, so I guess the sooner the better. Is it better though? Should I have waited? Oh my goddess! Get your thoughts together!
I finally snap out of my state when Jett wrestles Dylan to the floor, gripping dad's ankle on the way. All three of them fall to the floor in a massive heap. I sigh and walk pass them, glancing back as they continue to wrestle and mum tries to stop it.
As I reach the door, I clear my throat to catch everyone's attention. Four pairs of eyes, each with their own emotions, look up at me. I motion for them to stand, which they do begrudged.
I take a deep breath and turn my attention back to the door when the doorbell sounds again. It's now or never Clarissa...
I slowly open the door, only to have all of my nervousness, anguish and anxiety washed away at the sight in front of me. Lionel's standing there dressed nicely in a dark grey shirt, one hand in his jeans pocket with the other holding a bunch of yellow rose. He smiles sheepishly at me, as if to say, 'I had now clue what to bring'. I laugh lightly at his face, opening the door wider. He steps inside, his ice blue eyes never leaving my own swirling gold ones.
"Sorry I'm late." He says with a grimace. I wave him off, happy that he actually turned up. I half expected him not to, I know I wouldn't. Actually, I probably would.
A clearing of throats makes both Lionel and I snap our heads at my family. I see Lionel gulp out the corner of my eyes and feel his anxiety wash over me, or maybe it's mine.
Dad and Jett are glaring so hard at Lionel that I wouldn't be surprised if he ran out of here crying. It's like they don't want me to have a mate. Come to think of it, they probably don't. They probably want me to stay the little innocent five year old they still think I am.
As for Dylan, well, he's smiling, which is a good sign, but he's also looking very cautious. I must admit, out of all three of us, Dylan is the one that has mum's... feelings, I guess. Whatever emotion she feels, Dylan seems to feel the same. So, if Dylan's looking at Lionel cautiously, then so is mum.
"So, um..." I say nervously, fidgeting even more because I don't want to ruin my hair by running my hand through it. This is going to be a long night...
"Mum, dad, Jett, Dylan, this is my mate, Lionel." I introduce while my heart beats a thousand times a minute. Lionel smiles politely at them all, his smile wavering slightly on my dad who is still death glaring him.
"Lionel, you've already met my mum, Celina. These are my brothers, Jett and Dylan, and my dad, Axel." I introduce again, pointing at each person as I do. Mum smiles kindly back at Lionel, but that cautious look never disappears.
"It's an honour to finally meet you all. Clarissa speaks highly of you." Lionel says all professional like. I can't help it when I blush slightly at his words and duck my head.
"Well, I'm sure that my husband and our children are just as ecstatic to meet you too Lionel. What lovely roses you brought! I'll go put those in a vase." Mum nicely says, taking the yellow roses from Lionel and walking towards the kitchen and out of sight.
The awkward silence that follows afterwards is anything but comfortable. I ring my hands together, unknowingly moving closer to Lionel as my dad and brothers scrutinise him from head to toe. I bite my lip as I watch Lionel's reaction. Although I know he's feeling scared out of his mind on the inside, he looks calm and collected on the outside.
Mum pops back out of the kitchen and directs us all to the dining room after suggesting we should eat. Once my family turns around, I grip Lionel's hand in my own for both our sakes. He smiles down at me thankfully while I smile back. I tug his hand slightly so that he bends down to my height. I whisper in his ear quiet enough so that my family can't hear, "I promise they're not as bad as you think they are."
Lionel rolls his eyes at me, but nods anyway, drawing up to his full height. I really hope that statement's true...
Dad takes a seat at the head of the table as always, while mum flanks his right and Jett his left. Dylan sits next to Jett and I sit next to mum, which only leaves the foot of the table for Lionel. He takes a seat slowly, looking at my dad as if he's gonna jump on him for sitting down. When he doesn't, Lionel releases a breath of relief.
We all serve ourselves in silence, tension building in the air every second that passes. We eat in silence, making me bounce my foot on the floor nervously. This is not going as planned...
"So, rouge huh?" Dylan breaks the silence. I drop my utensils and slam my head on the table with a groan. Oh. My. Goddess. I lift my head and stare at him with wide eyes, but he shrugs with a slight grin. He had to break the ice with that topic? Seriously? He couldn't have asked about the weather
'Relax, it's all going fine. You worry too much.' My wolf tells me. I grit my teeth at her calm tone. How can she be calm at a time like this?
'Fine? My brother just asked the rouge question! It's not going fine!' I scream, only to be drawn out of my head by Lionel.
He clears his throat before muttering, "Yeah, three years now."
Dylan nods his head before silence engulfs us again. I clench my teeth in annoyance. Is this how it's always gonna be? My family feeling uncomfortable and cautious around my mate because they won't put in the effort to learn things about him?
I slam my knife and fork on the table, my anger getting the better of me. Lionel looks at me concerned, but I ignore him as I do to the rest of my family. I stand up abruptly and rush out the room, ignoring my mum's calls. I stomp all the way to the bathroom and slam the door shut. I lean my hands against it, putting all of my weight on it and dropping my head with a tired sigh.
Why isn't this easier?
I know for a fact that my family will fight for each other 'till the end. I know that we'll follow each other to anywhere and everywhere we'll go, just to make sure every one of us is safe. I know that we'll do this and more for each other, but I never expected that they'd do this. I was half expecting them to jump up, guns blazing and kill Lionel right there before we even started eating!
I love my family, I really do, but this is all too much. They either need to accept the fact that I'm with my mate, who is in fact a rouge, or... or... I leave.
With a new determination set ablaze inside me, I march out of the bathroom and back into the dining room. What awaits me though, makes me stop in shock for what seems like the millionth time today.
Lionel and dad facing head on, eyes black as coal and looking angry as hell.
"How dare you come into this house and act like you're my daughter's mate!" My dad yells, his eyes pitch black.
"Act! You think I'm acting! I'm falling for your daughter and hard! Why can't you see that!" Lionel screams back, making me wince. I was gone for two minutes and this is what happens?
Wait, falling for me? As in... Love?
"You falling for my daughter?" Dad asks incredulously with a merciless smirk. "You wouldn't know what love is you filthy rouge."
Lionel tenses up at his words, his eyes going distant for a total of a second. In this second though, dad does the last thing I would have ever wanted him to do to the most important person in my life. He punches Lionel square in the jaw and sends him flying into the wall with as much force as a bulldozer. I don't realise I'm screaming until my dad's angry eyes zero in on me. You can easily see his wolf is in control.
"You are not allowed to speak to this boy any longer!" He yells at me. My jaw drops in shock. Hurt courses through me, but is quickly foreshadowed by blinding rage. He thinks he can keep me away from my mate? How dare he...
"You are not allowed to speak to him, look at him, or even breath his way. Moon Goddess help me Clarissa because if you do-" Dad starts to threaten, but I cut him off with my own angry voice.
"You'll what dad? You'll lock me in my room and let me wallow in my misery?" I shout back, everyone in the room going silent at my outburst. "You know nothing about Lionel! Do you even know why he's a rouge? Maybe he wants to join the pack! You wouldn't know because he haven't asked! You can't keep me away from my mate dad! Not now and not ever!"
I ignore my family's bewildered looks at me raising my voice for the first time ever, and for that fact to dad, as I make my way over to Lionel. He's still on the floor, looking a bit disorientated from the blow. I place a hand on his jaw, resisting the urge to pull it back when he winces. I rub my thumb softly over the already forming bruise, the guilt eating away at me.
"I'm so sorry." I whisper with tears in my eyes. Lionel smiles painfully at me and waves me off like I did earlier. I chuckle slightly.
"Did you mean what you said about falling for me?" I ask quietly, looking down slightly. Lionel tucks a finger under my chin to make me look back into his gorgeous ice blue eyes.
"Every word." He whispers back, making me smile.
I wrap my arm around his torso while I wrap one of his arms around my shoulders.
"Come on, let's get you to a bed." I say quietly, giving him a soft smile. I walk pass my parents and brothers, feeling too drained to even look at them.
"Clarissa-" Mum starts to say, approaching me with a sad look. I snap my head to her, anger filling me. She didn't try to stop what dad did, just stood there and stared like the rest of them.
"Don't." I say strongly, sending a glare her way. Mum retracts instantly, looking just as broken as I feel inside. Dad takes her into his arms, but she pushes him away and turns the other way.
I take Lionel all the way up to my room to put him on my bed. He sits down, putting a hand over his eyes. I don't believe how this night has gone...
"Where did you hit?" I ask pained. He hit the wall hard, so he was bound to have hit something painfully.
"Back of my head." He says with a wince, his eyes looking like they're going in and out of focus. That's probably a bad thing, but with Lionel being a werewolf, he should be fine. I'll just get him some painkillers and some water.
I make my way to my bathroom, looking under the sink for some painkillers and a glass for the water. I find both and fill the glass half way. I walk back to Lionel and give both to him. He gulps down the water generously and takes the pills in a rush.
"Lay down." I mummer quietly, not wanting to agitate the headache he almost certainly has. Lionel does as I say, his eyes closing and falling asleep within the minute. I sigh and run my hand through his soft, dark hair. He was putting in effort tonight when no one else was and looked what happened.
'Clarissa? Your father and I would li-' Mum's voice begins in my head, but I quickly block her out as well as dad, Jett and Dylan. What they did tonight was not ok, it was nowhere near ok. They should've had the decency to at least try. If not dad or my brothers, then I would've at least expected mum to.
I make myself busy by unbuttoning Lionel's shirt and sliding it off him, revealing his sweet abs that I failed to notice earlier today. How does a girl miss that? I leave his jeans on, not really knowing if he has boxers on underneath or not. I go back to my bathroom with pjs in hand and get changed, brushing my teeth.
Just as I'm about to slip into bed with Lionel, a soft knock at my door stops me. I locked it before because I didn't want dad or my brothers sneaking in and killing Lionel while we slept. I wouldn't be surprised if one or all of them did, just disappointed and very heartbroken.
"Clarissa? It's mum." Mum says softly from the other side of the door. "It's important. Can we please talk?"
I close my eyes and sigh through my nose. Way too much has happened tonight. All I want to do is snuggle up in bed and go to sleep. Instead of going to my safe haven like I should, I get up and walk to the door. I unlock it and step out without looking up, closing it behind me gently.
"Mum, can we not-" I begin as I open the door, only to stop when I see not only mum, but dad, Jett and Dylan standing there too. I don't even think twice when I turn back around to slam my door. The only things that stops me is mum forcefully placing her palm on the door.
"Clarissa, wait." Mum pleads. I close my eyes and shake my head.
"It hurt what you guys did. All I wanted was for my mate and family to get along, but you didn't even try. You looked at him as if he was some... some monster. Just leave me alone." I whisper, feeling tired and betrayed.
When mum doesn't move her hand, I turn my head around to look at her as a single tear cascades down my cheek.
"Please." I whisper brokenly. All rules of not crying in front of dad and Jett fly out the window at that moment. Mum lets go off door slowly, her eyes dropping. Jett stumbles back a bit and when I glance at him, he's staring straight at me with a pained looked in his eyes. He hasn't seen me cry since I was eight, so I hope he gets the shock of his life.
I close my door and lock it with a soft click. This has officially been the worst night of my life.
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Hello all you lovely people! How goes you? This was a loooooooong chapter so I hope you all enjoyed it! I really enjoyed writing it, so if you guys enjoyed reading it, that would make my day. Next update will be very soon! It'll only be a shorty I think though because it's gonna be in Jett's POV.
I'm working really hard to make sure that I finish this before the 17th, so I'm gonna start working in two chapters a day. If I don't get it finished though, I will still be working on it and just mass update when I can.
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Love ya
Violet