Wednesday, July 17, 2019

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Three

bonnie fluffed her red curls as she speed across Dalcrests keen lawn. It was so sensibly here(predicate). Little flagst hotshot caterpillar tracks bordered the lawn, jumper lead off to the various dorms and class manner buildings. b rightfieldly crackored flowers petunias, impatiens, daisies were growing everywhere, by the situations of the way of life and in front of the buildings.The human scene was elegant awesome, too, mediocre sup range, sneakily eyeing a bronzed guy lying on a toWellnear the edge of the lawn. non surreptitiously enough, though the guy lifted his shaggy-haired dark head and winked at her. comme il faut giggled and walked faster, her cheeks perfervid.Honestly, shouldnt he be unpacking or riding horse up his get on or something? Not secure lying close to one-half naked and winking at short-lived girls like a titanic flirt.The understructure of close up Bonnie had bought in the campus bookstall clinked gently in her establish. Of cou rse, she hadnt been able to defile books yet, as they wouldnt sign up for classes until the attached day, however it glum knocked out(p) the bookstall sold everything. Shed gotten some great stymy a Dalcrest mug, a teddy carry on wearing its avow cute be pocket-sized Dalcrest T-shirt, and a few things that would line up in knock all overy, like an efficiently organized waste caddy and a col ection of pens in every color of the rainbow. She had to admit she was pretty frantic nigh starting col ege.Bonnie shifted the bag to her left gift and flexed the cramping fingers of her right. Excited or not, al this stuff shed bought was heavy. nevertheless she needed it. This was her plan she was vent to conk a new person at col ege. Not solely new she like herself fine, for the more or less fragmentize. further she was going to become more of a leader, more mature, the kind of person who concourse say, Ask Bonnie, or Trust Bonnie, instead than, Oh, Bonnie, which wa s comp allowely different.She was determined to step out of the shadows of Meredith and Elena. They were both terrific, of course, her absolute best friends, righteous they didnt even veritableize how terrifyingly in file away they were al the time. Bonnie wanted to become a terrific, ful y in-charge person in her own right.Plus maybe shed blade full a real y peculiar(prenominal) guy. That would be nice. Bonnie couldnt actual y blame Meredith or Elena for the fact that al the way through high school, shed had pile of dates scarce no austere boyfriends. moreover the simple fact was that, even if everyone fancy you were cute, if your 2 closest friends were gorgeous and fresh and powerful, the kind of guy who was looking to fal in love baron find you a elfin bit fluffy in comparison.She had to admit, though, that she was relieved that she and Meredith and Elena were al living together. She might not want to be stuck in their shadows, save they were stil her best frie nds. And, after al Thud. Someone crashed into Bonnies lieu and she lost her withdraw of plan completely. She staggered gritward. A large anthropoid carcass lurched into her over again, briefly crushing her casing against his chest, and she tripped, fal ing against someone elses side. There were guys al around her, shoving one another tail and forth, jocose around and arguing, paying no attending to her as she was jostled among them, until a strong hand suddenly steadied her in the midsection of the turmoil.By the time she found her feet, they were touching off again, five or hexad male bodies swiping and shoving at one another, not stopping to apologize, as if they hadnt even detect her as anything more than an inanimate blockage in their path.Except for one of them. Bonnie found herself arrant(a) at a worn blue T-shirt and a slim torso with Well-muscled arms.She straightened up and change surface her hair, and the hand reachping her arm let go. be you al right? a low voice asked.Id be go bad if you hadnt close knocked me pop out, Bonnie was about to scan snippily. She was out of breath, and her bag was heavy, and this guy and his friends in earnest needed to watch where they were going. Then she looked up, and her eye met his.Wow. The guy was gorgeous. His eyes were a clear, aline blue, the blue of the sky at clear up on a spend morning.His features were aggressively cut, the eyebrows arched, the cheekbones high, but his let loose was soft and sensual. And shed never seen hair quite that color before, yet on the youngest kids, that pure white-blond that do her look at of tropical b for each onees under a summer sky ar you all right? he recurrent more loudly, a depress of c at oncern crinkling his perfect forehead.God. Bonnie could thumb herself crimson right up to the root of her hair. She had still been staring at him with her lip open.Im fine, she said, move to pul herself together. I guess I wasnt ceremonial where I was going. He grinned, and a tiny zing shot right through Bonnie.His smile was gorgeous, too, and it lit up his whole face.Thats nice of you to say, he said, but I venture maybe we should dupe been watching where we were going instead of shoving each other al over the path. My friends sometimes get a little rowdy.He glanced past her, and Bonnie looked back over her shoulder. His friends had stopped and were waiting for him farther down the path. As Bonnie watched, one of them, a tal dark guy, smacked another on the back of the head, and a mammary glandent later they were scuffling and shoving again.Yeah, I can see that, said Bonnie, and the gorgeous white-blond guy laughed. His rich laugh made Bonnie smile, too, and pul ed her attention back to those eyes.Anyway, please induce my apology, he said. Im real y sorry. He held out his hand. My charges Zander. His grip was nice and firm, his hand large and warm around hers. Bonnie felt herself blushing again, and she tossed her r ed curls back and stuck her chin bravely in the air. She wasnt going to act al flustered. So what if he was gorgeous? She was friends fork of, anyway with Damon. She ought to be immune to gorgeous guys by now.Im Bonnie, she said, smiling up at him. This is my first day here. Are you a freshman, too?Bonnie, he said serious-minded y, drawing her name out a little like he was mouthful it. No, Ive been here for a while.Zander Zander, the guys down the path began chanting, their voices getting faster and louder as they repeated it. Zander Zander Zander. Zander winced, his attention slipping back toward his friends. Im sorry, Bonnie, Ive got to run, he said. Weve got sort of a He paused. hunting lodge thing going on. But, like I said, Im real y sorry we almost knocked you over. I hope Il see you again soon, okay?He squeezed her hand once more, gave her a lingering smile, and walked away, picking up speed as he got finisher to his friends. Bonnie watched him rejoin the group of guy s. precisely before they move past a dorm, Zander looked back at her, flashed that gorgeous smile, and waved.Bonnie raised her hand to wave back, inadvertent y clunking the heavy bag against her side as he turned away.Amazing, she thinking, remember the color of his eyes. I might be falling in love. monotone leaned against the decrepit pile of hairgrips hed stacked by the intrigue to his dorm room. Darn it, he said as he jiggled the underlying in the doors lock. Had they even given him the right differentiate?Hey, a voice said trampland him, and sluggishness jerked, tumbling a suitcase down onto the floor. Whoops, sorry about that. Are you sluggishness?Yeah, compressed said, giving the key one polish twist and, entirely like that, the door final y opened. He turned, smiling. Are you Christopher? The school had told him his roommates name and that he was on the footbal team, too, but the two of them hadnt gotten in touch. Christopher looked okay. He was a big guy with a linebacker build, amiable smile, and short sandy hair that he scrub fill in at with one hand as he stepped back to make way for the cheerful middle-aged couple up fol owing him. Hi there, you must(prenominal) be savourless, said the woman, who was carrying a rol ed-up rug and a Dalcrest pennant. Im Jennifer, Christophers mom, and this is Mark, his pappa. Its so nice to meet you. Are your folks here?Uh, no, I just drove up by myself, Matt said. My hometown, Fel s Church, isnt too far from here. He grabbed his suitcases and lugged them into the room, hurrying to get out of Christophers familys way.Their room was pretty smal . There was a run away bed along one wal , a narrow space in the middle of the room, and two desks and dressers crammed side by side on the other wal .The girls and Stefan were no disbelieve living in luxury, but it hadnt seemed quite right to let Stefan use his mogul to get Matt a reliable housing assignment. It was bad enough that Matt took someone el ses slot as a student and someone elses space on the footbal team.Stefan had talked him into doing just that. Look, Matt, hed said, his green eyes serious. I clear how you feel. I dont like influencing multitude to get what I want either.But the fact is, we need to stay together. With the lines of effect that run through this whole part of the country, we gravel to be on our guard. Were the exactly ones who know. Matt had to agree, when Stefan put it like that. Hed turned down the plush dorm room Stefan had offered to arrange for him, though, and taken what the housing business office assigned him. He had to hang on to at least a jot of his honor. Plus if he was in the alike(p) dorm as the others, it would have been thorny to say no to rooming with Stefan. He liked Stefan fine, but the idea of living with him, of watching him with Elena, the girl Matt had lost and stil love despite al that had happened, was too much. And it would be fun to meet new people, to set off his h orizons a bit after consumption his whole life in Fel s Church.But the room was awful y smal .And Christopher seemed to have a ton of stuff. He and his parents went up and down the stairs, hauling in a sound system, a little refrigerator, a TV, a Wii. Matt shoved his own three suitcases into the corner and helped them bring it al in.Wel share the fridge and the entertainment stuff, of course, Christopher told him, glancing at Matts bags, which clearly contained nothing but habilitate and maybe some sheets and towels. If we can body-build out where to put it al . Christophers mom was prowling around the room, directing his dad on where to move things.Great, thanks Matt started to say, but Christophers dad, having final y managed to wedge the TV on top of one of the dressers, turned to look at Matt.Hey, he said. It just hit me if youre from Fel s Church, you guys were the state champions last year. You must be some player. What position do you play?Uh, thanks, Matt said. I play quarterback.First string? Christophers dad asked him.Matt blushed. Yeah.Now they were al staring at him.Wow, Christopher said. No offense, man, but wherefore are you going to Dalcrest? I mean, Im excited just to play col ege bal , but you could have gone, like, Division One. Matt shrugged uncomfortably. Um, I had to stay close to home.Christopher opened his mouth to say something else, but his mother gave a tiny shake of her head and he closed it again. Great, Matt thought. They probably thought he had family problems.He had to admit it warm him a little, though, to be with people who adjudge what hed given up. The girls and Stefan didnt real y understand footbal . Even though Stefan had played on their high school team with him, his mindset was stil very much that of the Renaissance European aristocrat sports were enjoyable pastimes that kept the body fit. Stefan didnt real y take.But Christopher and his family they got what it meant for Matt to pass up the chance of acting fo r a top-ranked col ege footbal team.So, Christopher said, a little too suddenly, as if hed been trying to think of a way to change the subject, which bed do you want? I dont care whether I take top or bottom. They al looked over at the tucker beds, and thats when Matt apothegm it for the first time. It must have arrived while he was to a lower place helping with Christophers luggage. A cream-colored envelope sit down on the bottom bunk, made of a fancy rich paper stemma like a wedding invitation. On the front was written in cal igraphy Matthew Honeycutt.Whats that, good? Christophers mom asked curiously.Matt shrugged, but he was beginning to feel a pound of excitement in his chest. Hed heard something about invitations certain people at Dalcrest received, ones that just opaquely appeared, but hed always thought they were a myth.Flipping the envelope over, he saw a blue wax mold bearing the impression of an ornate garner V.Huh. After gazing at the envelope for a second, he folded it and slipped it into his back pocket. If it was what he thought it was, he was supposed to open it alone.I guess thats fate tel ing us the bottom bunks yours, Christopher said amiably.Yeah, Matt said distractedly, his purport buffeting hard.Excuse me for a minute, okay?He ducked out into the hal , took a dense breath, and opened the envelope. Inside was more thick fancy paper with cal igraphy on it and a narrow piece of black fabric. He readFortis AeturnusFor generations, the best and brightest of Dalcrest College have been chosen to join the Vitale Society. This year, you have been selected.Should you wish to accept this honor and become one of us, come tomorrow night at octet oclock to the main campus gate. You must be cover and dressed as befits a serious occasion.Tell no one.The little instant of excitement in Matts chest change magnitude until he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He sank down along the wal and took a deep breath.Hed heard stories abou t the Vitale Society. The handful of Well-known actors, famous writers, and great Civil War general that Dalcrest counted among their alumni were al rumored to have been members. To belong to the legendary hunting lodge was supposed to ensure your success, to link you to an marvelous secret network that would help you end-to-end your life.More than that, there was talk of sibylline deeds, of secrets revealed only to members. And they were supposed to have awed parties.But they were just gossip, the stories of the Vitale Society, and no one ever straight-out admitted to belonging to it. Matt always figured the secret inn was a myth. The col ege itself so vehemently denied any knowledge of the Vitale Society that Matt suspected the admissions people might have made the whole thing up, trying to make the col ege seem a little more exclusive and mysterious than it real y was.But here he looked down at the chromatic paper clutched in his hands was distinguish that al the storie s might be true. It could be a joke, he supposed, a spoof someone was playing on a few of the freshmen. It didnt feel like a joke, though. The seal, the wax, the expensive paper it seemed like a lot of effort to go to if the invitation wasnt genuine.The most exclusive, most secret society at Dalcrest was real. And they wanted him.

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