42
Elena, Stefan, and Damon headed toward Elena’s dorm together, and tension thrummed sharply between them.
Elena had taken Stefan’s hand automatically as they walked, and he had stiffened and then gradually relaxed, so that now his hand felt natural in hers.
Things weren’t back the way they had been between them, not yet. But Stefan’s green eyes were full of a shy affection when they looked at her, and Elena knew she could make things right. Something had shifted in Stefan when Damon came to rescue him, when Elena untied him and told him how sorry she was. Maybe Stefan just needed to know that whatever was between her and Damon, he was first for her. No one was shutting him out.
Elena unlocked her door, and they all went inside. It had been only a few hours since she was last there, but so much had happened that it seemed like somewhere from a long time ago, the posters and clothes and Bonnie’s teddy bear all relics of a lost civilization.
“Oh, Stefan,” Elena said, “I’m so glad that you’re safe.” She reached out and wrapped her arms around him and, just like when she took his hand, he tensed for a moment before hugging her back.
“I’m glad that both of you are safe,” she amended, and looked at Damon. His black eyes met hers coolly, and she knew that, without their having to discuss it, he understood that things weren’t going to go on the way they had been. She loved Stefan. She had chosen.
When Stefan told them of Ethan’s plan to take both of the brothers’ blood and use it to resurrect Klaus, she was horrified. Not just because of the danger Stefan had been in, or because of the terrifying idea of Klaus alive again, and no doubt vengeful against them, but because of the trap Ethan had laid for Damon. He had planned to take the best of Damon—the reluctant, often marred, but still strong love he had for his brother—and use it to destroy him.
“I’m eternally glad you’re both okay,” she said again, and reached out to hug Damon, too.
Damon came into her arms willingly, but, as she squeezed him tightly, he winced.
“What’s wrong?” Elena asked, puzzled, and Damon frowned.
“Ethan cut me,” he said, the frown turning into a grimace of pain. “I’m just a little sore.” He tugged at his shirt, fingering a torn edge, and pulled it up, exposing a swath of pale taut skin. Against the white skin Elena saw the long cut was already healing.
“It’s nothing,” Damon said. He shot Elena a wicked smile. “A little drink from a willing donor and I’ll be as good as new, I promise.”
She shook her head at him reprovingly, but didn’t answer.
“Good night, Elena,” Stefan said, and brushed her cheek gently with the back of his hand. “Good morning, really, I guess, but try to get some sleep.”
“Are you going after the vampires?” she asked anxiously. “Be careful.” Damon laughed.
“I’ll make sure he takes care with the nasty vampires,” he said. “Poor Elena. Normal life isn’t going so well, is it?”
Elena sighed. That was the problem, wasn’t it? Damon would never understand why she wanted to be an ordinary person. He thought of her as his dark princess, wanted her to be like him, to be better than ordinary people. Stefan didn’t think she was a dark princess; he thought she was a human being.
But was she? She thought briefly of telling them about the Guardians and the secrets of her birth, but she just couldn’t. Not right now. Not yet. Damon wouldn’t know why it upset her. And Stefan was so pale and tired after his ordeal with the vervain-soaked ropes that she couldn’t bring herself to burden him with her fears about the Guardians.
As she thought this, Stefan staggered, just a fraction, and Damon reached out automatically to steady him. “Thank you,” Stefan said, “For coming to save me. Both of you.”
“I’ll always save you, little brother,” Damon said, but he was looking at Elena, and she heard the echo of when he had said the same words to her. “Even though I might be better off without you,” Damon added.
Stefan gave a tired smile. “Time to go,” he said. “I love you, Stefan.” Elena brushed her lips against his
softly.
Damon gave her a brief nod, his face neutral. “Sleep well,” he said.
Then the door was closed behind her, and Elena was alone. Her bed had never looked more comfortable or inviting, and she lay down with a sigh, looking up at the soft light that was beginning to break through the window.
The Vitale Society was gone. Ethan’s plan had been stopped. The campus was safer, and a new day was dawning. Stefan had forgiven her, and Damon didn’t leave, didn’t turn against them.
It was, for now, the best she could hope for. Elena closed her eyes and fell willingly asleep at last. Tomorrow would be another day.
The Vampire Diaries_THE HUNTERS VOL#2 MOONSONG
L. J. Smith's books
- Baby for the Billionaire
- Entwined with You
- Forever Too Far
- Resisting Her
- Forever Black
- The Bet
- Suddenly Royal
- Rock Me Hard
- Damaged
- Seduce McKenzie Brothers
- One Night With a Billionaire
- The Ugly Duckling Debutante
- A Game of Thrones
- Never Too Far (Fallen Too Far)
- Wait for You
- Bender (The Core Four Series)
- Fighting to Forget
- Love in English
- Night After Night
- Phenomenal X
- Reasonable Doubt
- Shadow Spell
- Unfixable
- Uniform Desires(Make Mine Military Romance)
- Slade (Walk Of Shame #1)
- Until Nico
- Baiting the Maid of Honor_a Wedding Dare novel
- burn for me_a fighting fire novella
- Burned
- Devil’s game
- DRAGON’S LAIR
- If I Stay
- Ravage Me (Ravage MC #1) (Volume 1)
- Seduce Me
- Torn from You(Book1_Tear Asunder)
- A WHISPER OF ETERNIT
- Embrace the Night
- Just One Kiss
- Kiss Me Like This
- Loving Mr. Daniels
- Mind Over Marriage
- My Skylar
- Safe With Me
- Still Obsessed (Obsessed #4)
- The Mighty Storm
- Trouble
- Wallbanger
- Wethering the Storm
- A Dash of Scandal
- One Day In The Life
- Protecting What's His
- Ravenous (Book 1 The Ravening Series)
- Stealing Parker
- Along came the spider
- Forbidden
- Jack & Jill
- Loreli James
- VIOLETS ARE BLUE
- The Eye of Minds
- The Kill Order (The Maze Runner 0.5)
- Virus Letal
- The Invention of Wings
- Under the Wide and Starry Sky
- A Gate of Night (A Shade of Vampire #6)
- A Castle of Sand (A Shade of Vampire 3)
- A Shade of Blood (A Shade of Vampire 2)
- A Shade of Vampire (A Shade of Vampire 1)
- Archangel's Legion (Guild Hunter #6)
- Ascension (Guardians of Ascension #1)
- Awakening the Fire (Guardian Witch #1)
- Beautiful Monster (Beautiful Monster #1)
- Blood Politics (Blood Destiny #4)
- Bloodfire (Blood Destiny #1)
- Bloodlust (Blood Destiny #5)
- Bloodmagic (Blood Destiny #2)
- Bloodrage (Blood Destiny #3)
- Captured (The Captive #1)
- Curtsies & Conspiracies (Finishing School #2)
- Bad for You (Sea Breeze #7)
- Breakable (Contours of the Heart #2)
- Devil's Game (Reapers MC #3)
- Easy (Contours of the Heart #1)
- Hold on Tight (Sea Breeze #8)
- Jerred's Price (Saurellian Federation #3)
- Reaper's Legacy (Reapers MC #2)
- Reaper's Property (Reapers MC #1)
- Rush Too Far (Rosemary Beach #1)
- Take Me On (Pushing the Limits #4)
- Barely Breathing (Breathing #2)
- Out of Breath (Breathing #3)
- Reason to Breathe (Breathing #1)
- Fear of Falling
- Finding Cinderella (Hopeless #2.5)
- Good For You (Between the Lines #3)
- Here Without You (Between the Lines #4)
- Hopeless (Hopeless #1)
- Losing Hope (Hopeless #2)
- Point of Retreat (Slammed #2)
- This Girl (Slammed #3)
- Where You Are (Between the Lines #2)