i brought her into this, matt thought, and cupped her cheek gently, feeling sick with guilt. "i shouldn't have let her go in there," he said, his voice choked.

jasmine wiped away the tears, her hands shaking. "i'm okay," she said, her voice rough, and tried to sit up.

"stop!" matt said, pulling her closer, trying to hold her tight. "you're bleeding."

"there are bandages in my bag," jasmine said, laying her head back in his lap. her voice shook, and matt could see her gritting her teeth, forcing herself to be calm. "put pressure on it."

elena was already in motion, deftly pressing a cotton pad against jasmine's neck and wrapping gauze around it. "the bleeding's almost stopped," she said. "it's not as bad as it looked."

now that he knew jasmine would be okay, matt felt like he was going to throw up. everyone he had ever fallen in love with had died, even elena, and he had just gone ahead and let jasmine into his mess of a life.

"we're going," he said to her soothingly. "i'll get you home." he tried to pick her up again, but jasmine twisted out of his arms.

"wait," she said, determined. "i want... i could use the blood of a natural vampire, for comparison."

"jasmine, you don't have to..." matt began, his heart aching.

she gave damon a shaky smile. "put out your arm for me? please?"

damon extended one arm, and jasmine used a fresh hypodermic to draw a vial of blood. she worked efficiently, but, as she capped the vial, her hands shook and she dropped it, spilling more blood across the concrete floor. "sorry, sorry," she said, her hands fumbling in her bag, a flush stealing across her pale cheeks.

"my fault," damon murmured, holding out his arm and smiling reassuringly. "i'm so clumsy sometimes."

matt blinked. damon salvatore, gentle and kind with matt's girlfriend? bothering to put someone other than elena at ease?

matt ran a hand down jasmine's back, reassuring himself that she was solid and real and not hurt. he was heavily aware of the unconscious vampire, his face turned toward them, soon to awake again.

"you're not safe," he murmured, almost to himself, and felt damon's eyes on him. "none of us are safe, not while jack and his vampires are after us."

part of matt wanted to rush jasmine away. if none of them were safe here, wasn't the solution to get away? jack didn't want jasmine, didn't want matt. he was after damon.

but matt knew that elena, whose dark blue eyes were fixed intently on damon's face, would never agree to leave him. and he could tell just by looking at jasmine, capable and strong once more, that she wouldn't either.

"not until we figure out a way to kill them," damon agreed. he nodded to jasmine. "that's where you come in."

something in matt hardened. the only thing that mattered was protecting jasmine.

"you have to keep experimenting on him," he told damon, looking at the young face of the vampire in the cage, slack in unconsciousness. "if we want this to end, we'll have to finish them."

chapter 11

"more coffee, hon?" the waitress refilled bonnie and elena's cups before moving on to the next table. the little diner halfway between their apartments was busy, bright, and cheerful, as it always was on a sunday morning. they hadn't been here in a while, but bonnie thought bright and cheerful was exactly what elena needed right now.

"sounds like jasmine's tougher than i thought," bonnie said, swiping cream cheese across her bagel. elena had been filling her in on the latest in the quest to discover the truth about the synthetic vampires. "has meredith found out anything from the hunters down in atlanta?"

elena sighed, resting her chin on her fist as she stared into her coffee. "she hasn't returned any of my calls. i got a text saying she was okay, but that's it."

"yeah, same. she's probably busy," bonnie offered. meredith was pretty good at looking after herself. right now, bonnie was more concerned about elena.

elena had been distant lately, caught up with damon and with her new guardian task. bonnie was glad that she had something to focus on. elena was still pale and solemn, but she didn't seem as stunned with grief as she'd been right after stefan's death.

bonnie ripped open a sugar packet and poured it into her coffee. mostly to get the sad, distracted expression off elena's face, she asked, "how's the search for siobhan? any luck?"

elena scowled. "i haven't had any leads on her since i lost her aura at that drive-in. i keep dreaming about her, but i can't find her."

munching her bagel, bonnie listened to elena describe the dreams-a dark-haired woman in a cabin, a bloodred aura, nothing much happening, but a sense of dread overhanging everything-and tried to offer helpful suggestions. "maybe she's up in the hills? there's a lot of hunting cabins up there."

elena leaned back in the booth, her shoulders slumping. "i thought of that. i tried walking through the hills, but i didn't feel anything. my guardian powers are supposed to lead me to her, i guess i have to trust that they will when the time is right."

the waitress slapped the check on their table as she walked by. bonnie was reaching for it when elena sat up straighter and frowned at her. "anyway," she said briskly, "we've talked about my problems, but what's going on with you? you seem stressed."

"i do?" bonnie asked reluctantly. she'd been trying to act normal, to make elena feel better. elena nodded, and bonnie rested her temple in her hand. "i guess... zander's been strange lately. he's always on the phone with the rest of the pack, but he never tells me what they're talking about. it's like he's got secrets with them that he doesn't want me knowing. he's never been like that before. and then with how weird he was about the pack not helping defend us all against jack." she glanced up at elena, who nodded in confirmation. "i can't help wondering-"

as she talked, she thought about how zander had stayed out late the night before, long past when she had gone to bed, with no explanation, and she could hear her own voice getting higher and softer, like a little girl's, "-wondering if zander maybe doesn't like me so much anymore."

elena laughed. "listen, bonnie, if there's one thing i know, it's that zander's crazy about you. seriously. you two are perfect together." her smile faded, and bonnie knew she was thinking about stefan.

"maybe," bonnie said doubtfully, poking her finger through the puddle of coffee left in her saucer. she couldn't really put what she was worrying about into words, and certainly she couldn't explain to elena, who had not just stefan but even damon eternally, endlessly, death-will-not-part-us in love with her. but people did fall out of love, all the time. there was something in zander's eyes when he looked at her-something sad, and faraway. it wasn't the way he used to look at her. "i'll see him later today, at least. we're going to have lunch and catch a movie."

"see?" elena told her. "talk to him, and you'll work it out."

"maybe," bonnie said again. they paid the check and walked out into the bright glare of the sunny parking lot.

elena hugged bonnie hard before she got into her car. "it'll be okay," she said reassuringly.

bonnie smiled and raised a hand in farewell as elena pulled away. just as she turned to head to her own car, her phone buzzed in her pocket. it was a text from zander.

sorry, can't make it for lunch. catch up with you later. xo

glaring down at the phone, bonnie felt her cheeks getting hot. six years together, and he wouldn't even tell her why he couldn't meet her? he just blew her off?

it was so frustrating. the sunlight dimmed, and she wondered if she was the one doing it. she could feel her power gathering within her, ready for her to call on nature, work her will. she could ball this power up and fire it off at zander, find out once and for all what was going on with him.

better yet, she could force her power inside him, make zander do what she wanted, make him be the sweet, easygoing, loving guy she was used to. she felt energy rising, swirling dark and expectant inside her.

her heart was pounding like crazy. bonnie stopped and pressed her hand against her chest, breathing deeply, until the dark energy started to dissipate. what was she thinking? she couldn't use her power on zander. it would be using him, abusing him, and if she did that, then she was the one who would kill the love between them.

stuffing her phone back into her pocket, bonnie marched over toward her car. she just had to have faith. whatever was going on, zander would tell her in his own time.

meredith crawled through a dark tunnel, the stone cold beneath her hands and knees. her new vampire vision lit up the rough surface of the tunnel better than a flashlight would have.

she wasn't entirely sure where she was. they'd started out three days ago, she and jack and his team of synthetic vampires, chasing a band of ordinary vampires through the hills and valleys outside a small town in the appalachians. but they must have covered hundreds of miles since then. these vampires were wily and experienced, and they'd managed to evade their pursuers for a long time.

but now she and the others had tracked them down at last. desperate, the vampires had taken refuge from the daylight in a system of caves that honeycombed the hills. it was the perfect time for jack's synthetic vampires to move in for the kill.

ahead of her, a boot scraped softly against rock. meredith's body flooded with adrenaline. she was so close, she could feel it. this hunt was almost over.

she could see the end of the tunnel now, her sharp night vision illuminating where it opened out into the cave ahead. her hand slipped on a stone, and meredith froze, listening. another sound: a tiny shuffling noise, her prey flattening himself to one side of the tunnel exit. she could hear a slow heartbeat, smell the cold scent of a vampire-so unlike the scent of humans.

her new senses were an advantage here, not a distraction. she was using the meditation techniques they all practiced every night, breathing deep and counting slowly to focus her mind and shield her presence. the vampire at the other end of the tunnel stood out like a beacon to meredith, but if she were doing everything right, and she managed to keep quiet, he would have no idea she was coming.

pushing off with her legs, meredith burst from the tunnel like a rocket. with a quick sidesweep of her leg, she took the vampire, an older man with scraggly blond hair, to the ground before he could even react. his mouth dropped open in surprise as he hit the cave floor. she could see so well, see the frown that creased his forehead and the tension in his muscles as he pushed himself back up. he wasn't used to fighting someone stronger than he was, she could tell.

in a second he was charging at meredith. he slammed into her hard, his cool breath coming in fast little puffs. there was a swift stinging pain in her side, and her eyes filled with tears as she saw the shard of rock he'd used to cut her clutched in his hand. blinking the tears away, she swung at him, slamming him back against the wall of the cave. his eyes widened, and she knew he had seen the long cut on her side heal itself already.

he stumbled, surprised, and then came at her with renewed, desperate vigor. she kicked at him, but he managed to trap her leg between his thighs, and they both fell, their legs tangled together.

meredith's head hit the rocks hard, but she immediately started kicking and punching at the vampire above her. jack chose to hunt the oldest, strongest vampires he could find, the ones who were the real competition for his creations. if this one managed to get away, it would be hard to find him again. he might escape entirely, the way damon had.

not that she cared about jack's plan, meredith reminded herself fiercely. but no matter what had happened to her, she was still a hunter, and she would hunt. vampires were still the enemy. from her prone position, she slammed a heel into the back of the vampire's knee, and he staggered.

adam, another of jack's team, burst through the tunnel entrance. charging forward, he drove a stake through the older vampire's chest. with one long gasp, the vampire fell like a stone.

meredith lay still for a moment and caught her breath. "thanks." she shoved the body off of her and onto the floor. climbing to her feet, she wiped the older vampire's lukewarm blood off her arms.

adam, who was young and cute and blond, with a tiny spray of freckles across his cheeks, ducked his head and grinned at her, swiping a hand across the blood smeared on his chin.

"want a hand getting him out?" he asked.