Predator

33.

Neela ran her hands down the marks that still littered her body. They weren't fading no matter how many creams she lathered herself in. Everyone said that her scars made her more beautiful but those people weren't her. They didn't have to put moisturizer on the gashes to be sure the healthy skin around it doesn't crack, they didn't have to be stared at by people who don't know what happened. Neela hates everything about herself as long as the scars were there.

"You're thinking badly about yourself, darling," Ryan's morning voice spooked the young girl. "What's terrible is that you have no idea how beautiful you truly are," he stood behind Neela and just took her in through the mirror.

"People say that humans see themselves as 10 times more attractive than they really are," Neela spoke while Ryan kisses the scars on her cheek and shoulder. "That's not true," he came up for air, "if humans really did, they'd all be narcissists. And you, angel, are definitely not one of those people," he went right back to laying kisses on her cheek.

Ryan knew that Neela was still obsessing over the marks that made her look breathtaking. Slowly, his mouth creeped up to Neela's ear and he spoke in a very soft whisper, "you know that place between sleep and awake? The place where you still remember dreaming?" Neela smiled as she remembered the line from a movie she and Ryan just watched a few nights ago, "that's where I'll always love you, that's where I'll be waiting."

~~

Egin came by the house in the early morning. The Soptic's all welcomed him warmly. Egin immediately felt a sense of deja ju once he saw Neela hiding behind Ryan, trying to be out of his sights, but still trying to see what he looked like. "Hello, child. I believe we both still have yet to introduce ourselves," Egin bowed for Neela but her grasp on Ryan's arm only grew tighter, she refused to approach him.

"You were the man in the hospital," Neela spoke with no emotion. Everyone, except Egin, looked down at Neela in shock. Egin knew what he had done, he just thought that she had already knew that. "The one and only," he stood from his bowing position and turned to Damien, "I solved a big problem in doing that for you. Now, Neela really doesn't exist in the human realm."

Damien offered Egin a glass of blood before speaking, "you killed Carmine and set the hospital on fire?"

After taking a sip of blood, Egin smiled, his teeth slightly tinted from the blood that impurified his paper-white teeth. "Have I killed 'the good doctor', I have. Have I broken the hospital, not I." His gaze turned right back to Neela, "that banshee right there is what destroyed the hospital," his pointer finger was lifted from the glass and directed toward Neela.

"Banshee?" Neela asked. Egin, and the Soptic men, completely forgot that Neela was in the room. Ryan basically went into a shock-like state once Neela's voice squeaked.

"Does the human not know of her new found abilities?" Egin spoke in utter shock. "Egin, please," Damien approached his lord so he could whisper into his ear, "we didn't want her to know."

Egin offered Neela a closed-mouth smile. "I'm so sorry, my child. I'm just a man that has too many citizens to look after. I just got you confused with your doppelgänger," he quickly used his power of manipulation to get Neela to lay off the subject, that still didn't help Ryan's shock. "Why don't you go upstairs, my child? I have something to discuss with your family," Neela didn't say one word and only followed the words of Egin.

"Why are you here?" Damien asked once he heard a bedroom door shut.

Egin looked at Damien, breaking the compulsion spell against Neela. "You lot have done me right many times. It's time that I do you right as well." He leaned his elbows on the kitchen counter and took another drink of blood, "you all may do what you What with this information. I, nor will my workers, interfere."

The whole family was curious as to what they were about to be told, even Ryan whom was slowly snapping out of his paralysis. "This information, usually, is to be kept secret from other. But with the hell I've put you lot through, it only feels like the right thing to do." Egin sighed before finishing off his glass, "the person who reported you, Ryan. I have the file here and I want you to hear it coming from my mouth as well."

Ryan was fully snapped out of it now, "who was it? One of our friends, family?"

Egin stood again to look Ryan in his eyes while he spoke, "it was a family member, your uncle in law, to be more specific. It was Gerald, the husband to Gigi. He came to my home with a heavy heart, he wanted to protect the human so badly but misunderstood the situation. He only saw the danger she was put through, not all the love she has received."

Landon and Ryan were both shaking, they wanted to kill something so badly but they knew they had to stay calm. Damien wasn't exactly mad, he felt betrayed. Why would his own brother in law turn in his son for hurting his mate? Why didn't Gerald talk to them before he did something so rash?

"Egin," Damien choked up, "please don't tell me that my sister knew. Was she apart of it?" Egin shook his head immediately, "I don't believe so. Gerald said that only he was turning your son in, he came alone. He seemed very nervous."

~~

"Hello, my beautiful girl," Ryan cooed as he walked through the bedroom door. He had to like like everything was okay.

"I'm tired," Neela was lying down on the bed when Ryan came, she was probably trying to get to sleep. "I know, I'll be there in a minute," he made his way to the bathroom just to do his business and wash his face.

"What did the man want?" Neela asked when Ryan lied down. Her eyes were closed yet she still faced him.

"It wasn't very important, he just gave us the case files from the trial. Go to sleep now," Ryan felt terrible for having it lie to Neela, but she cannot know anything yet.