Destiny Rising (The Vampire Diaries 10)

Then Zander came up behind her. "Well, hi, Shay," he said, his voice slightly unsure. He was smiling, though. "What're you doing here?"

The girl - Shay, Bonnie thought, what kind of name was that? - glanced at Bonnie instead of answering, and Zander flushed. "Oh," he said. "Yeah, Bonnie, this is Shay, who's a friend from back home. Shay, this is my girlfriend, Bonnie. "

"Nice to meet you, Bonnie," Shay said coolly, raising one eyebrow. Her eyes traced over Zander's naked chest, lingering for a moment on the purpling bruise, and his cheeks flushed pink. "Been busy?" she asked.

"Come on in," he said, and backed away from the door, reaching for his shirt. "I, uh, was just putting some ice on my shoulder. "

"Nice to meet you, too," Bonnie said, a little late, as she made room for Shay to pass her. Since when did Zander have female friends? Other than Bonnie, and Bonnie's friends, he lived in an exclusively male world.

"I need to talk to you. Alone," Shay said to Zander, shooting him a meaningful look and then cutting her eyes sharply to Bonnie.

Zander rolled his eyes. "Subtle, Shay," he said. "But it's okay. Bonnie knows about me and the rest of the Pack. "

A second eyebrow climbed up Shay's forehead to join the first. "Do you think that's wise?" she asked.

Zander's lips quirked into the half smile Bonnie loved. "Believe me, it's not the weirdest thing Bonnie knows," he said.

"O-kay," Shay said slowly. She fixed Bonnie with a long, speculative look and Bonnie stuck out her chin defiantly and glared right back at her. Finally, Shay shrugged. "I guess I lost my right to give you advice a while back," she said, then lowered her voice, as if she was afraid someone might be eavesdropping from the hallway. "The High Wolf Council sent me," she said quietly. "They're not happy with what they're hearing about the vampires at Dalcrest. They thought maybe I could help you guys find some direction. "

Zander's jaw tightened. "Our direction's fine, thanks," he said.

"Oh, don't be like that," Shay said. "I'm not trying to Alpha you. " She reached out and touched his arm lightly, letting her hand linger on it. "It was a good excuse to come visit," she said, even more softly. "I was sorry about how things ended the last time we saw each other. "

Bonnie glanced down at herself. Shay was so focused on Zander that Bonnie had started to wonder if maybe she had disappeared and left them thinking they were alone together. But nope, same solid Bonnie.

"Oh," she said, startled, as everything Shay had said suddenly clicked into place. "You're a werewolf. "

She should have seen it immediately: despite Shay's neat, swinging bob and feminine features, she moved the same way Zander and his Pack did, with a kind of solid grace, as if she was completely aware at all times of her body, without even having to think about it. And she had touched Zander the way he touched the guys in his Pack, easy and as if her body was almost part of his own.

He didn't touch Bonnie that way. Not that Bonnie had any complaints at all about the way Zander did touch her, which was sweet and sure and as if she was the most precious thing he'd ever held. But still, it wasn't quite the same.

There was no one there to overhear, but Shay pinned Bonnie with a glare. "Keep your voice down," she whispered fiercely.

"Sorry," Bonnie said. "I just didn't know there were girl Original werewolves. "

Shay's lips curved into a smirk. "Sure," she said. "Where do you think all the little Original werewolves come from?"

"The High Wolf Council usually divides younger wolves up into Packs of either guys or girls when they send us out to keep an eye on things," Zander told Bonnie. "They think mixing together distracts us from our jobs. "

"Apparently they're not considering the other ways some of us can get distracted," Shay said acidly. Her eyes were cold on Bonnie's, but Bonnie hadn't been through hell and back in the last year to let any bossy and self-important werewolf girl push her around.

Bonnie was just opening her mouth to tell Shay that she'd better lose the attitude when Zander, seeming to sense her reaction, grabbed hold of Bonnie's hand.

"Listen, Shay, I really need to get some rest," he said quickly. "We'll catch up later, okay? Call me or one of the other guys and we'll get together. " Bonnie had a brief impression of Shay looking startled, and then Zander hurried Shay right out of the room and shut the door behind her.

"So . . . friend from back home?" Bonnie asked after a moment. "I don't think you've mentioned her before. "

"Um," Zander said. His gorgeous long lashes brushed his cheeks as he looked down, away from Bonnie, and she might have been distracted by how sweet that made him look. Except that Zander also looked distinctly guilty.

Bonnie suddenly felt her stomach sink. "Is there something you're not telling me?" she asked. Zander shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, his cheeks flushing, and Bonnie's stomach plummeted even further. "No more secrets, remember?"

Zander sighed. "I just think this is going to sound like a bigger deal than it is," he said.

"Zander," Bonnie said.

"The High Wolf Council wanted Shay and me to be together," Zander confessed. He glanced up at her tentatively through his lashes. "They, um, I guess thought we'd be like mates? Get married, maybe, and have werewolf children together when we finished school. They thought we'd make a good team. "

Bonnie blinked. Her brain felt numb, she realized. Zander and Shay had thought about getting married?