Predator

03.

It was Neela's birthday. The rest of the family wanted to meet her that day, so they've planned the Soptic ball around her birthday. Neela was getting dazzled by the maids, she didn't want anything to be too extravagant, her wish is their command—so almost no one is dressing up.

The ball was at a location different from the house, this would be the first time Neela was out of the house in a clear mindset. She thought it was beautiful. However, as she sat in the moving car, never had she seen anything more terrifying than the people that inhabit the streets. Some people would have humans attached to their wrists by chains, some would be on leashes, be fed from, but no one was even batting an eye at the scenes! Passerby's would just maneuver themselves around it to keep walking.

To say the least, Neela was skittish about going to the ball. She'd be one of the only three humans there and she couldn't take her mind off what Damien had said.

"Remember to try and not be so nervous. You, and the other humans, will be glowing to us because of your blood. Most of us will be perfectly fine, including Ryan, but here are some of us who still drink from humans."

Neela couldn't get that thought out of her mind whatsoever, she begun to feel uneasy about the whole party once Damien told her that at breakfast.

"Angel?" Ryan suddenly whispered to Neela, which scared Neela as the car was completely silent. Ryan and Neela rode in a car by themselves that day. "What's wrong? I can feel your heart," Ryan didn't take his eyes off the road.

"I'm just anxious about the whole ball thing, I feel like something bad will happen," Neela admitted while rubbing her tired eyes. "Is it because of my family you're worried about?"

Neela squinted her eyes, now also looking at the road, in confusion. "Yes and no. Damien told me this morning that I'd basically be glowing to all of you and that I need to be careful because some of your family feeds off humans," Neela trailed off and Ryan chuckled, "Do you really think we'd let anything happen to you?"

~~

The dance hall was packed with people. Most of them had red eyes, Neela guessed that those were the ones who still fed off humans. As she walked gloved hand-in-hand with Ryan, she gazed at all the people around her. Some looked human, some looked evil, some looked just like Damien and the boys.

While walking, Neela just felt lighter—more at ease. She wasn't as nervous or anxiety-driven as she once was. Ryan noticed this as well, he stopped his and Neela's actions, Ryan sharply turned around to look at the faces in the crowd. Soon enough, he found his uncle.

The two could see each other very clearly with their heightened vision. Ryan glared down his uncle, while his uncle just smirked in return. After about 30 seconds, Ryan turned around and brought Neela to the front of him, so she wouldn't be exposed to his uncle.

"He shouldn't have done that to you without my permission," Ryan spoke as he waddled himself and Neela over to the people he liked. "What did he do?" Neela asked as they stopped to stand in the corner of the ballroom with the family.

"He used his power on you. That uncle has pathokinesis. He can make you feel any emotion he wants, he took away your nervousness." Ryan raised his voice over the music that had begun to play. Ryan closed his eyes and gyrated his shoulders as he heard his name being called from inside his head. Once he opened his eyes, no one noticed this episode except Damien.

'Are you okay?' Damien mouthed while Ryan's Aunt Gigi introduced herself to Neela. Ryan nodded and smiled while pulling Neela closer to his side.

"You must be very bright if you're going to that school!" Aunt Gigi squealed and slapped Damien's shoulder, "you should be proud of her!"

Damien smiles while looking down at his daughter, "I am! Of course! All of us are! I knew she was a very smart girl, but once I saw her school records, I was blown away," Neela gave Damien a closed-mouth smile.

"Are you interested in powers and things of the sort, Neela? I've a variety of books that I think you may be interested in!"

~~

Neela talked to a bunch more of Ryan's family. She's even learned a lot about their powers, she enjoyed Gigi's the most; her power is visual projection. Gigi can have anyone see what she wants them to, no matter if the scene is good or bad.

Ryan's friends finally came. However, he was most hesitant to introduce Neela to them. All of them are immature. They basically acted like how he acted before Neela was born; untamed, wouldn't listen to nobody, mass feeders, overall terrible people. However, Ryan connected, and still connects, with those people a lot. He just had to give them time before they found mates for themselves.

"Neela, this is David, Wesley, and Amra. We used to all hang out together." Ryan made awkward hand motions between his friends and mate. "Nice to meet you," Neela begun putting out her hand until Ryan grabbed her wrist to stop her. When she looked up at him, he just shook his head no.

"When will you come hang out with us like old times?" Wesley asked Ryan after a few minutes of small talk. Ryan laughed, "once all of you find mates, of course!"

"Like that'll ever happen," Amra laughed. "Remember I said the same thing and 500 years later, here I am," Ryan smirked with his arms up in an exaggerated way. "But really, once all of you calm down, then we can hang out a lot—"

Neela enjoyed seeing Ryan like this. He was carefree and not so on his toes about everything. He wasn't hovering too much over her which made her feel grateful. This was the actual Ryan, she felt.

After talking some more, Ryan's senses suddenly all got cut off. When he felt like he opened his eyes, he was in darkness and quietness. "Should we have our own party?" The demon inside his body spoke.

Sternly, Ryan spoke. "No, fuck you. You're not going to ruin our ball, Neela's day. I won't let you do it."

"HA!" Ryan was suddenly face-to-face to what he looked like in demon form. "You're so oblivious to our powers. Cmon, Ryan, remember how uncle Thomas used his powers on our mate? That should've been us calming her down! I just feel the anger wanting to be released. Just let me out!" Ryan roared at himself.

The real Ryan brought out his hands and begun choking demon Ryan, "never again will you ruin this." Ryan seethed, the rage of fire was hot in his eyes.

"You don't even know what you're actually doing," the demon spoke normally while being dangled in the air, "even if you did, you couldn't get out of here so easily."

Ryan yelled and threw his demon, "let me out! I've won against you! I'll always win now! Never again!" Ryan could feel his eyes turn red while he yelled, while all the veins in his neck protruded out of his skin.

Coming back to reality, he could hear screams and yells. His friends were at his sides to protect him from the attendees of the party while everyone else was surrounding someone who wouldn't stop coughing.

Neela wasn't at Ryan's side, so he pushed through his friends and his family. No matter how much of a fight they tried to put up, Ryan would always be victorious.

There she laid, coughing up blood with new bruises beginning to form on her neck.