The Half-Blood Mate

Chapter Thirty-Five

"I can't blame you for keeping the werewolf part a secret from me. I see why you did it because it's exactly why I kept Beatrix and the girls being vampires a secret." Clara placed her right hand over my left one, which rested next to the other in my lap. "You would have called the men-in-white on me."

The look on her face had me smiling easily. "Probably would have." 

The table we sat at was one of the few that were arranged in a cabaret seating style near the back of the ballroom. Clara and I had our chairs angled toward one another, so we could see each other better. It didn’t matter that the vampires mingling around the room watched us out of interest or that they made a point to steer clear of the sitting area surrounding us. This moment with my best friend felt normal as if we both haven’t just been tossed into a ring of wild animals. 

"What I don’t understand," she leaned toward, narrowing her eyes in a suspicious way. "Is why you did not tell me you and Mr. Knight were having a fling! I didn't know you could be so scandalous. My little buddy has matured." 

The smug look on her face had me cringing and blushing all at once. "You make it all sound dirty."

Clara slapped the table once. "We are talking about this, Amelia B. O'Connell."

"Clara S. Duncan, I will gladly tell you everything about my blooming love life, but it will not be here around a bunch of people who can hear everything we are talking about." I shifted my eyes in the direction of the vampires, who’s gazes I can feel burning into me. I knew they were standing over there listening and waiting. For what — I don’t know.

Looking in their direction, she seemed to be considering the situation. "Yeah, you're probably right. Hey,” She turned back to me with an arched eyebrow. “You know, Harris is a vampie." 

"What?!" I blurted out loud before realizing I caused a few vampires to visibly look our way. Harris was like a net flying too close to my face. I wanted to squash him. I guess his pale skin should have been a red flag to his vampirism, now that I think about it. 

She rolled her eyes before closing them. "Turns out the jerk is unfortunately part of the clan. Which means I get to be the unfortunate soul that has to tolerate him after school hours." 

It’s no secret Harris disliked Clara because she would keep coming to my aid, but I didn’t understand his attraction toward me. I thought vampires disliked werewolves too, and now Clara will have to deal with the punk. "Oh Clara, do you need my super strength because I can use it now?" I reached forward and grabbed her hand. 

She snorted out a laugh. "You don't just have super strength, Girl, you have claws. And no way. I can deal with him any day. Any time."

"Oh right." I should probably start saying claws. Forgot I had them. 

"So your dad is this well known, top dog alpha."

"He was. I guess he still is. He walked me through this werewolf thing, and he is a pretty good guy." I gave her a very brief rundown on the events that happened so far. I’m sure she knows I’m giving her the short version of things, but she knew I wasn’t big on talking about my family life in front of none close people. Or in this case: supernatural beings. 

"I'm glad for you.” She scratched behind her neck only to flick her hair out as she brought her hand down. “I mean not about the part about you losing your birthright, but I don't want to see you getting hurt. I know you'll be in good hands with Mr. Knight though."

"You sound like you're going away or I'm going away."

She shook her head. "We're not going anywhere, but I am glad to see you have another person looking out for you. I'll always be your number one guardian after Mom o'course."