Predator

11.

"I would never lie to you, my lord," Gerald kneeled in front of the man who sat on his immense throne that was colored purple and yellow. The man was called Egin.

Gerald was surrounded by dim lighting, the only light coming from candles that were mounted onto the castle walls, "would you have any proof of this abuse?" Egin's black and red cat eyes stared into Gerald's.

Gerald stood to his feet and took a few more steps closer to the throne sat in the middle of a great hall, "of course I do, my lord," he begun lifting the sleeve of his white button-up t-shirt. "I have the special abilities of tactile telepathy and tactile though projection, my lord. Please, take my hand and you will see the abuse with your own eyes."

Gerald kneeled once again with his down and his exposed arm raised for Egin to take hold of at any time. After deliberation in his head, Egin held Gerald's hand and rested his other hand on Gerald's elbow, the two stared deeply into each other's eyes.

Egin saw everything that Neela had endured. He could see her eating the pills as if they were tic-tacs, jumping out of a two-story window, being slapped to the floor, he could even feel a tingling in his back and nervousness erupt in his stomach when he saw the memory of Neela being branded.

Gerald groaned when his arm was released, it hurt to have to see the pain and abuse again. It was too much for him to handle, that's why he was there, to get help. "A human girl? All those acts were committed to a human girl?" Egin spoke in his normal, soft voice while looking up at the purple sky.

"Most of them, my lord. The girl has tried to commit suicide once and almost died by the hand of another demon who was killed by her family," Gerald stood back up to become face-to-face with Lord Egin. "Why have you came to me? Why have you traveled to report these violations?"

"My family, past and present, blood and by marriage, are all very important to me. I would protect my family with my livelihood, as would any other demon," Gerald sighed as he walked to a window that was off the side of the runway that led to the throne. "My wife is the sister of the father of Ryan and the human girl. The father was horrendous to his mate when first brought together. The wife had a very tragic end and Damien payed for it. I don't want the human girl to meet Rin's fate."

Egin knew too much of Damien's past, especially with what happened to Rin. Egin actually sympathized with Damien's loss as Egin went through almost the same tragedy and fate. The two men both defended themselves, along with their families, to affirm that they did nothing to harm their mates.

The rulers, when Egin was on trial, did not believe him at the time and was sentenced to 900 years in the Underworld. When Egin came to power, he did not believe Damien and was also sentenced to 900 years in the Underworld.

"The severity of this situation will not be taken lightly, you know this, yes?" Gerald turned to face Egin's face and nodded, "are you sure you'd like to formally report this to me? Or would you forever hold your peace?"

~~

Neela walked out of school with one of Ryan's cousins, Millie, the two girls were very intelligent and had most classes together. They are the first people from the history of the Soptic family name to be so academically talented.

After Millie walked away to meet with her dad, Neela easily spotted Ryan. When Neela first arrived at the Soptic estate, she was told by one of the boys that Ryan was deeply feared when he was cursed and that the fear had still carried over to present times. Everyone in the parking lot stood clear of Ryan. The only time someone would even look at Ryan was to make sure he wasn't sneaking up on them.

With a smile on her face, Neela walked over to Ryan who had his arms wide open for Neela to settle in his embrace to which she happily found herself in. "How was your day?" Ryan asked while rocking himself and Neela back and forth.

"It was fine. Most of my classes were outside because of the nice weather," she spoke while handing the older man her backpack. "Were people mindful of your hand?" Ryan stroked the cast despite Neela not being able to feel it, "did they help you? Do you feel any pain?"

Neela loved that Ryan was so cautious of her. Everyone in this realm was so much more respectful and polite to every person they met. Even if a demon who fed on humans interacted with Neela, they were courteous and knew their limits. This place was a lot better than what Neela had on earth and she was grateful she had gotten so use to it in so little time.

"Come on," Ryan took Neela's hand with his own bare one and took her to the passengers seat. He helped her in the car and even buckled her in. "Ready to go home?" Ryan smiled brightly when Neela nodded. Before shutting the door, Ryan surprised Neela with his lips on her corner of her mouth to which she jumped back in surprise from.

Ryan and Neela both felt like their lives were perfect. Ryan still knew that Neela would cry at night, holding out her arms for her real father and he could live with that. He knew that Neela was still scared of the situation she was in, she felt fear that his demon would come back, that her constitution would be an endless spiral of confusion and pain and love.

However, someday, is what Ryan keeps telling himself. "Someday I will be your happiness. Someday you'll see that you are the air I breathe."