Destiny Rising (The Vampire Diaries 10)

Elena shook her head. "There's something," she said slowly. "But I don't know where. " She stared out into the darkness for a moment, but there was still no clue to tell her where the oppressive feeling was coming from. "We should call it a night," she said finally.

"Are you sure?" Stefan asked. At her nod, he hiked the guy higher on his shoulder and turned back toward campus. As Elena followed him, she took one last uneasy glance around. Whatever it was, it was shielding itself from her and from Stefan better than the young vampires could.

Something old, then. And evil. Was Klaus nearby? If he wanted to, he could kill them right now, Elena realized with a dizzying flare of panic. He was stronger than Elena and Stefan were. The woods around her looked darker, more ominous, as if Klaus might be lurking behind any tree. She walked faster, sticking close to Stefan, eager to see the lights of campus ahead.

Bonnie kept hold of Zander's hand as they followed Meredith around the edge of the soccer field. They hadn't seen any vampires tonight, but the stars were incredibly bright above them.

"I like patrolling with you," she told him. "It's almost like a romantic stroll, except for, you know, the possibility of being attacked by vampires. "

Zander grinned down at her and swung their clasped hands. "Don't you worry yourself, little lady," he said in a terrible imitation of a western drawl. "I'm the toughest werewolf in this here town and I'm looking out for you. "

"Is it weird that I find that voice sexy?" Bonnie asked Meredith.

Meredith, striding along ahead of them, looked back to raise an expressive eyebrow at Bonnie. "Yes," she said simply. "Very weird. "

A long, drawn-out howl echoed from the direction of the hills just outside of campus and Zander cocked his head, listening. "The guys haven't found anything," he said. "They're heading out to get some pizza once Camden changes back. "

"Do you want to meet up with them?" Bonnie asked.

Zander pulled her closer, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Not unless you do," he said. "I thought maybe we could hang out in my room, watch a movie or something. "

"Passing up food, Zander?" a dry voice said behind them. "It must be true love. " Meredith whipped around, and Bonnie knew she was kicking herself for not sensing the girl coming up to them.

"Hi, Shay," Bonnie said resignedly. "Meredith, meet Zander's old friend Shay. " Werewolf, she mouthed to Meredith when she was sure Shay wasn't looking.

"I hope you don't mind me catching up with you," Shay said, falling into step with them on Zander's other side. "Spencer told me you'd be patrolling over here. "

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; "The more the merrier," Bonnie told her, very consciously not gritting her teeth.

"I'd love to get some fighting in," Shay said, rolling her shoulders. "Feels like I've been doing nothing but sitting around since I got here. Zander could tell you how restless we get when we're cooped up. "

"Yeah, I've noticed," Bonnie said. Zander had sped up his pace to match Shay's quicker one, and his arm dropped from Bonnie's shoulders. She took his hand again, but found herself having to hurry to keep up.

Meredith hesitated, glancing between them, and was just opening her mouth to say something to Shay when Shay suddenly stopped.

"Hear that?" she said, and Zander, Meredith, and Bonnie all stopped and listened, too.

Bonnie didn't hear anything, but Zander smiled and nudged Shay with one elbow. "White-tailed deer on the ridge," he said.

They shared a private smile.

"What are you guys talking about?" Bonnie asked.

Shay turned to Bonnie. "The High Wolf Council divides us into Packs-to-be when we're children, and we grow up playing together. When Zander and I and the others were about fifteen, our Pack spent a week roaming the mountains near where we grew up. " She grinned at Zander, and Bonnie tensed at the intimacy that was clear between them.

"Anyway," Shay went on, "on this trip, after we'd been out running with the Pack all night, Zander and I went to drink from a pond tucked away in the pinewoods. We found deer there, and we could have killed one of them easily - we were wolves right then, and it's natural for us to hunt in that form - but they just looked at us, the sun coming up behind them. And" - she shrugged - "they were beautiful. It was like that moment was just for us. " She smiled, and for once, it didn't seem like she was trying to needle Bonnie. Shay was just remembering. She tipped her face into the breeze. "Smell that?" she asked Zander.

Bonnie didn't smell anything, but Zander sniffed the breeze and shot Shay another nostalgic smile. "Pine," he said. Shay grinned back, her nose crinkling.

After a moment, Meredith cleared her throat and they started walking again, scanning the area for trouble, and Zander squeezed Bonnie's hand. "So," he said. "Movie?"

"Sure," Bonnie said, distracted. She couldn't help seeing the similarities in Zander's and Shay's movements and how, even when Zander was talking to her, he had one ear cocked for faraway sounds Bonnie would never be able to hear. There was a distance between Bonnie and Zander, she thought, that they might never be able to cross.

Maybe Bonnie would never belong in Zander's world. Not like Shay.

Chapter 14