The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Fourteen

lusterlessness hunched his shoulders miserably. He had come to the pledge meeting because he didnt want to stay in his agency al unity(a), still now he wished he hadnt. Hed been avoiding Elena, Meredith, and Bonnie it wasnt their fault, notwith rest so much violence had happened around al four of them in the past year, so much death. Hed thought it might be get out being around new(prenominal) people, people who hadnt calln how much darkness at that place was in the world, yet it wasnt.He felt almost analogous he was swathed in spill the beans wrap, thick and cloudy. As the other pledges moved and talked, he could watch them and hear them, but he felt separated from them everything seemed conquer and dim. He felt fragile, too, as if removing the protective layer might desex him fal apart.As he stood in the crowd of pledges, Chloe came over and stood neighboring to him, mournful his arm reassuringly with her smal , strong stack. A gap appeared in the bubble wrap, and he could real y smelling her with him. He put his hand over hers and squeezed it grateful y.The pledge meeting was in the wood-paneled underground room where theyd beginning met. Ethan as authenticd them this was just one of many secret hideouts the others were merely if open to ful y initiated members. Matt had discovered by now that purge this pledge room had several entrances one through an old erect just outside campus, which must have been the one they brought them through that first time, one through a shed near the playing fields, and one through the basement of the library. The ground beneath the campus must be alveolate with tunnels for so many entrances to end up in one place, he thought, and he had an unsettling picture of students walking on the sun-warmed grass while, a a few(prenominal) inches below, endless dark tunnels opened underneath them.Ethan was talking, and Matt knew that usual y he would have been hanging on his every word. Today, Ethans voice serve over Matt almost unheard, and Matt let his eye fol ow the black-clad, dissemble figures of the Vitale members who paced the room behind Ethan. Dul y, he wondered about them, about how the masks disguised them Wellenough that he was never sure if he recognized any of them around campus. all of them except Ethan, that is. Matt wondered curiously what made the attraction immune to such(prenominal) restrictions. Like the tunnels beneath the campus, the anonymity of the Vitales was slightly unsettling.Eventual y, the meeting ended, and the pledges started to filter out of the room. A few patted Matt on the clog or murmured sympathetic words to him, and he warmed as he cognise that they simple machineed, that somehow theyd come to feel like friends through al the sil y pledge bonding activities.Hold up a minute, Matt? Ethan was next to him suddenly. At Ethans glance, Chloe squeezed Matts arm again and let go.Il see you later, she murmured. Matt watched as she crossed the room and went out the door, her hair bouncing against the back of her neck.When he caseed back at Ethan, Ethans guide on was cocked to one side, his golden-br let eyes considering.Its good to see you and Chloe getting so close, Ethan declared, and Matt shrugged awkwardly.Yeah, Well he said.Youl find that the other Vitales are the ones who can understand you best, Ethan said. Theyl be the ones who wil stand by you al through col ege, and for the rest of your life. He smilingd. At least, thats whats happened to me.Ive been watching you, Matt, he went on.Matt tensed. Something about Ethan cut through the bubble-wrap touch modality, but not in the comforting way Chloe did. Now Matt felt exposed kinda of protected. The sharpness of his gaze, maybe, or the way Ethan always seemed to believe so strongly in whatever he was saying.Yeah? Matt said warily.Ethan grinned. Dont look so paranoid. Its a good thing. Every Vitale pledge is special, thats why theyre chosen, but every year thithers one wh os even more than special, whos a threesomeer among leaders. I can see that, in this group, its you, Matt.Matt cleared his throat. accepted y? he said, flattered, not knowing quite what to say. No one had ever cal ed him a leader before.Ive got big plans for the Vitale Society this year, Ethan said, his eyes shining. Were going to go down in history.Were going to be more powerful than weve ever been.Our futures are bright. Matt gave a half smile and nodded. When Ethan talked, his voice warm and persuasive, those golden eyes steady on Matts, Matt could see it, too. The Vitales leading not just the campus but, someday, the world. Matt himself would be change from the ordinary guy he knew he had always been into someone confident(p) and clear-eyed, a leader among leaders, like Ethan said. He could picture it al .I want you to be my right-hand man here, Matt, Ethan said. You can help me lead these pledges into greatness. Matt nodded again and, Ethans eyes on his, felt a effusion o f pride, the first good thing hed felt since Chriss death.He would lead the Vitales, standing by Ethans side.Everything would be better. The path was clear ahead.Indeed, Keynes posited that economic activity was opinionated by aggregate demand. For the fifteenth time in half an hour, Stefan point the sentence without beginning to comprehend it.It al just seemed so pointless. Hed time-tested to distract himself by investigating the murder on campus, but it had altogether made him more anxious that he couldnt be by Elenas side, seeing to it himself that she was safe. He closed the book and dropped his head into his hands.Without Elena, what was he doing here?He would have fol owed her anywhere. She was so exquisite it hurt him to look at her sometimes, like it hurt to stare into the sun. She shone like that sun with her golden hair and lapis lazuli eyes, her delicate creamy skin that held just the faintest touch of pink.But there was more to Elena than beauty. Her beauty alone wouldnt have held Stefans attention for long. In fact, her coincidence to Katherine had nearly driven him away.But under her cool y beautiful exterior was a quicksilver mind that was always working, making plans, and a heart that was fiercely protective of everyone she love.Stefan had spent centuries searching for something to make him feel alive again, and hed never felt as certain of anything as he did about Elena. She was it, the only one for him.Why couldnt she be as sure of him? No matter what Elena said about Stefan being the one, the fact remained the only two girls hed loved in his long, long life both loved not just Stefan but his brother, too.Stefan closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his odorize mingled with his fingers, then shoved himself away from the desk. Maybe he was hungry. In a few quick strides, he crossed his lily-white-painted room, through the mix of his own elegant possessions and the cheap school-issued furniture, and was out on the balcony. Outside , the night smel ed of jasmine and car exhaust. Stefan reached tendrils of Power gently into the night, questing, feeling for something there. A tiny mind quickened in response to his.His hearing, sharper than a humans, picked up the faint whine of sonar, and a smal , furry bat landed on the balcony railing, drawn in by his Power. Stefan picked it up, keeping up a gentle thrum of Power between his mind and the bats, and it gazed at him tamely, its little fox face alert.Stefan lowered his head and drank, careful not to take too much from the little creature. He grimaced at the taste and then released the bat, which flapped tentatively, a little dazed, then picked up speed and was lost again in the night.He hadnt been terribly hungry, but the blood cleared his mind. Elena was so young. He had to remember that. She was stil younger than hed been when he became a vampire, and she needed time to experience life, for her path to lead her back to Stefan. He could wait. He had al the time in the world.But he missed her so much.Gathering his strength, he leaped from the balcony and landed lightly on the ground below. There was a height bed there, and he reached into it, feeling petals as soft as silk.A daisy, fresh and innocent. He pluck it and went back inside the dorm, using the front entrance this time.Outside Elenas door, he hesitated. He could hear the slight sounds of her moving around in there, smel her distinctive, shake scent. She was alone, and he was tempted to just knock. Maybe she was longing for him, just as he longed for her. If they were alone, would she melt into his arms despite herself?Stefan shook his head, his mouth tight. He had to notice Elenas wishes. If she needed time apart, he could give her that. Looking at the white daisy, he slowly balanced it on top of Elenas doorknob. She would find the flower and know that it was from him.Stefan wanted Elena to know that he could wait for her, if that was what she needed, but that he was thinking of her, always.