Predator

07.

The end of the party was nearing. Everyone had a great time, even Gerald when he decided to join everyone once again. Neela made a bunch of new friends with the cousins who were all around her age.

Neela and Landon was coming back from a bathroom break when they heard that the entire building was dead silent, a remarkable change than the volume it was just at a few moments ago. Cautiously, Landon kept an arm out in front of Neela who hid away behind him while walking back into the great hall.

The entire family was standing, asserting their dominance, to something that was on the other side of the room that Landon nor Neela could see. "You're not welcomed here. This is only for family, not liars and people who had betrayed our family's name," Damien's powerful  voice echoed off the walls. Neela's never heard him speak like that, she only knew him as someone with a calming voice. Not with a booming, daunting voice.

"Cmon, you're all my family!" The man who the Soptic's we're having the standoff with's voice was adenoidal. The voice was not recognizable to Neela. However, Landon knew that voice very well. "I want you to stay here. I'll get all of the small children and you'll have to watch them. You're all gonna go into the playroom, don't come back out until Ryan comes to get you, please," Landon spoke quickly and imperatively while also speaking in a hushed voice.

"You've betrayed us all! Your own nieces and nephews! Your brothers and sisters! What would Father and mother think of you if you if they were still alive?" Rose, one of Damien's sisters, yelled at the man who intruded the party.

Landon ushered Neela and about 20 other children, who all stood behind the teenagers and adults, to the room that was just off the great hall. "It's okay to make noise, everyone will be fine," Landon smiled before closing the door.

After a few minutes of children playing, Neela spotted someone playing with the rest of the kids, Austin! She quickly got up from her chair to take a seat on the floor right next to Austin who was still wearing his rags. "I've missed you," Neela spoke to Austin who just smiled at her. He looked less sick than usual, his face was even becoming more round. "Happy birthday, Neela. We've known each other a whole year!" Austin was even more bubbly that day, he just enjoyed playing with his friends. "Do you know all of these children?"

Austin nodded with pursed lips as he had to concentrate on the building blocks in front of him, "I know them all! We're all friends!"

After a little longer, everyone begun hearing the echoes of deafening roars. The playroom actually begun shaking from the guttural sounds that exploded from the demons just outside. Most of the children in the room cowered into the corner furthest away from the door.

Neela went up to the double doors and took one last look back at the children, she put a finger up to her lips which told the children to not make a sound. Slowly, she opened the door and took slow steps to stand in the frame of the ballroom. Neela couldn't tell who was good or bad anymore. There were shards of clothing scattered all over the floor, there were a few  bloodstains on the ecru colored walls.

The sounds became even more thunderous while being right next to the roars, the whole building was shaking. Neela heard a bang, even though it was hard to hear over the immense amount of people yelling. She knew that the man was not good, he was not apart of the family. She didn't want any attention to come to her but she needed to get back to the children.

Neela started taking slow steps back while still keeping her eyes on the man who was trying to compose himself.

She thought it was okay to run, so she did. The man could smell Neela's sweat, he could smell it before the family clashed. But he could smell it even better by the way wind whipped through her hair. Without thinking, the man took control of the chandeliers that were lined in the hallway and manipulated them to come crashing down one by one.

All of a sudden, the whole battle ended by an ear-splitting scream. Seven people knew exactly whose screams those were. While everyone, even the children, ran into the hallway, uncle Aden held the man up against the wall by his throat. "Fucking move!" Ryan yelled to his cousins who were standing in the way from him being there for Neela.

The metal frame from a fallen chandelier crushed and lacerated Neela's hand. Despite Neela's screaming, he heard nothing, he felt nothing. He stood there with hard eyes, looked down at his mate, while shaking in anger. "I want that prick dead," Ryan mumbled to himself but Damien heard him loud and clear.

While Damien walked to the man to take him outside, Ryan went over to Neela. Caleb picked up the frame which  made Neela stop screaming. Her yelling just regressed to silent screams while the tears flowed freely.

Ryan picked up Neela and cradled her in his lap while she just cried, "Angel, you have to try and calm down. We all know it hurts," he spoke in a soft voice right next to her ear. Ryan gulped while hesitantly taking Neela's wrist with his bare hand and let it drape limply across her stomach. "No ones gonna hurt you anymore," he rocked back and forth while trying to keep his demon concealed.

Ryan's dead heart was crawling in anger and defeat. Neela was supposed to never feel scared or be hurt. "Y-y-y-your skin," Neela whined and thrashed her feet. Ryan finally looked down at her so she could see that he would not be turning into a monster anytime soon.

Ryan saw those beautiful, round eyes that he fell in love with 17 years ago. They were filled with pain and fear. Ryan wondered if her eyes were like this whenever he would attack her. He couldn't imagine those scared and hopeless eyes being caused by any action he's done. However, the scars, the abhor she felt afterwards all said that, that was the case.

No matter how much Ryan wanted to feed of Neela again, he refused to let the temptation take him over. He needed to show Neela that he could be trusted, that she could love him like he loves her. "Please trust me," he whispered in Neela's hair while still rocking her back and forth, "I'm so sorry."

"They're gonna kill me. What dad said. I'm glowing," Neela's heart sped up by the realization that she was surround by demons. Some, of which, still fed from humans. "No, no no. They love you, you're their family, okay? They won't hurt you, I promise."

That was a promise Ryan and the rest of the family vowed to keep.