Prey.

28.

Neela and Austin were sitting in Neela's room eating when Damien came. Damien entered the house swiftly with Evan and Ethan following behind. "Sean!" Damien called out in the vacant living room, "everyone come downstairs!" He demanded in his alpha voice.

"Austin, please stay here," Neela begged to the small boy. "What if the man goes around you?"

"Everything will be okay, Austin. Did you hear that man downstairs?" Neela asked in referral to Damien, Austin nodded. "He's gonna make sure nothing bad happens." Austin still looked hesitant to stay behind, "Austin, please." Neela begged once again, "if someone else sees you, things could go bad." That statement made Austin sigh and sink into the bed.

"Neela, let's walk downstairs together, please?" Ryan knocked at Neela's side door. "You yelled at me," Neela stated while shaking her head no. "Yes, I know. And I'm sorry about that. I should listen to you about why you didn't tell me, instead of being so quick to anger."

Sean heard some of the words being exchanged and knocked on Neela's main door, "Neela, come on. Father's here." He tapped and spoke with the manic tone of voice once again. Neela sprung into action when Sean requested her.

Neela walked with Sean but walked a little further ahead in case Ryan came. Once Damien saw Neela, he met her halfway. Damien grabbed onto Neela's marked wrist. "Are you okay, my daughter?" Neela's scared eyes peered up at Damien's, "no, I'm not."

Damien sighed and grabbed Neela's face tenderly, "I'll fix all of this. I'll do right by you." He promised with a gentle smile, "how are you gonna fix it? He'll kill me if I leave." Neela whimpered and begun to veer away from Damien's palm, not trusting him.

"Just trust me, Neela, please," Neela said nothing slowly removed herself away from Damien's skin. After a few minutes, Damien joined everyone on the couch. "does he know?" Damien asked Sean and his son shook his head. "Who knows what?" Ryan asks.

"Ryan..." Damien began as he sat in front of his son, "Neela was hurt. Very badly, apparently." Damien didn't have to say anything else. Ryan knew what he was going to say, "I'm sorry, angel.." Ryan looked right at Neela with the most sincere eyes. "Can you tell me what I did to you? I never remember when my sides switch."

"Ethan is going to do that," Sean interrupted, "she didn't want to say it out loud for everyone."

Ethan walked over to Neela and he held out his hand.

May I?

Neela sighed and placed her hand in Ethan's. Ethan didn't look at her or anyone, his mind was far away. Ethan was surprised to see and hear everything that Neela did. Granted, he never experienced Ryan while his over side taken over. But all of this? This was hard to believe that any of his brothers could cause this much pain and suffering.

Thank you.

Ethan just walked right back to his spot on the couch, with showing no emotions. But deep down, he just wanted to embrace Neela. "Was I the one who claimed you?" Ryan broke the pregnant pause in the room. Neela didn't look at him. No one answered his question; he knew the answer. "Did it hurt, Neela?" Neela said nothing and kept her eyes low. "Neela, please look at me. I'm sorry."

"Ethan, my son, what happened?" Ethan's solemn face peered up at his father; he concentrated on showing every detail Neela showed. After the memory was relayed, Damien looked at Neela's broken form. "Neela," Damien quickly gained the girl's attention. "You're our family. You're now my daughter. We will forever do right by you." The older man promised, but Neela still hesitated.

"I can't be here," Neela whispered, but all of the supernatural creatures heard her. "It's too dangerous for me. And those stupid dreams..." Neela trailed off and rested her head in her palms. "Neela, you said it yourself; he'll kill you if you attempt to leave."

"What?" Ryan interjected, "I threatened to kill you?" Ryan then stood to his feet, to which Damien blocked his view of Neela. "I--and the dreams? We have the same dreams, don't we? That's how I found you! I found out you existed when you were in the bus crash!" Neela shook her head as tears begun to fill her eyes, "we don't! We don't have the same dreams. Why do you think I freaked out so much when I woke up? Or even why I was yelling that only you were gonna kill me?"

"Neela, I would never hurt you deliberately. Even my demon wouldn't kill you; he loves you too. He just wants you to be afraid. He doesn't want you to be too close; he knows he's too strong for now. You have got to believe me, Neela." Ryan was almost on his knees, begging.

Damien guided Ryan back to his seat, "Neela, I'd like for you to go back to your room. I'll call you down to talk to you privately." Neela watched Ryan as he looked up to the chandelier; she noticed his eyes flash red. Neela couldn't hold the tears back any longer, she ran to the staircase. "Please don't cry, angel." Ryan's voice boomed through the echoing living room.

~~

"Now that we're all calm now," Damien breathed as he took a seat, "Sean. Why were you frantic on the phone? Tell me about your proposal."

Sean glanced over at Ryan who was staring out into space with a blank, emotionless face; he looked to be sick. "Neela's father, he's in the hospital." Sean took a shaky breath in, trying to recollect his thoughts. He wanted everything to sound coherent and not manic.

"He's not eating, sleeping, bathing; he's dying. And Neela, she's just depressed, lonely, she has even begun to talk to herself; she needs her medication." There was a pregnant pause as Sean tried to form sentences in his head, "we need to turn Neela's father into one of us."