Predator

39.

That week went a lot quicker than Neela had expected. She was hoping for the week to drag out so she could have more time to prepare herself. She woke up to the house being in complete silence, besides Ryan shuffling around in bed. Usually, the house would have been booming with talking, playful bickering, and even the sound of food being cooked and sometimes dropped.

"Where is everyone?" Ryan asked with his eyes still closed. With butterflies deep in her stomach, Neela have a vague answer, "Evan told me that he would take the other boys away so we can be alone." This is when Ryan peed through a slit in his eyelid, "why would we need to be alone?"

Neela day up and took a shaky breath in, "I want to be marked by you."

"Neela," Ryan said in a warning temper. He honestly didn't want to mark her—not because he didn't love her or want them to have that stronger bond. He held it off so long because he knew that she would be riding the next week out in pain, he didn't want that for her. "No, it's time. It's supposed to happen in relationships like this," that was the first time Neela had spoken up and argued back about something, and honestly, Ryan was proud of her for it. It showed him that she truly wanted it, that she trusted him, that she loved him.

"Do you know what's going to happen?" He wanted Neela to be absolutely sure about what being marked held in store for her. "Lots of pain?" Ryan wanted to smile at Neela's naivety, but couldn't find it in himself to do so. He didn't want to treat his experience as something fun and simple, he wanted to take it seriously. "Why don't we clean up, eat, and then we'll start." Ryan stood up and leaned down to Neela's height, when she nodded is when he gave a small smile. He pulled her head closer and gave her two light pecks on the lips before turning out of the bedroom.

~~

After eating is when the couple grew more nervous. Ryan tried his best to mask his emotions, while Neela let it all show. Ryan day himself and Neela down on the couch and he just watched her. She couldn't look him in the eye, she couldn't stop her hands from fidgeting, he loved it.

"You're gonna sleep for awhile and when you wake up, it will hurt for a few more days. After the pain is gone, you won't feel anything or even bleed from that spot again."

The anticipation of it all was slowly killing the couple. Ryan had tried to move his head and Neela's in different directions, but he couldn't bring himself to do it for a bit. He got fed up with himself and pushed himself away from his mate. "I'm afraid of hurting you," he spoke while sulking on the floor. "Please? I'm tired of waiting, it feels like the perfect time."

He thought for a few moments before heaving a sigh then opened his arms, "let me just hold you for a minute," he spoke in a soft voice and shimmied toward Neela. Once they both felt comfortable, Ryan wrapped his right arm around Neela's waist, and his left arm was around her shoulders, he held her still.

Ryan released his fangs, and without thought, plunged his white teeth into the soft skin, right above her left collarbone. The rest of Neela's body became numb and stiff, except for where the bite was. The whole tiny part where Ryan's teeth were, felt like darts were being thrown in the same place over and over again.

Mere moments passed before the painful feeling turned into what could only be described as suction. A stiff cry left Neela's throat as her body went into a state of paralysis, making all of her weight fall back into Ryan's arms. When Ryan was pushing his venom back into her wounds is when her feet started slightly convulsing, until it traveled throughout her body, making it look like her whole body was seizing.

Neela was asleep, but he still felt the need to speak to her, so she knew she wasn't alone, "It's okay. It's okay now." Ryan tried very hard to control his emotions as he laid her back on the floor. He knew that she couldn't see, only slightly hear him, he had to be the strong one for the both of them.

~~

About dinner time is when the rest of the boys care home. They tried to come in quietly, but Ryan was able to hear them, his heightened abilities and all. He walked downstairs after telling Neela where he was going and when he would be back.

"I've done it," he announced to his brothers who all offered smiles and thumbs up. "Is she doing okay?" Landon asked as he sat the grocery bags in the kitchen. "She's asleep for a bit. I think we both did well though. We were hesitant the first few hours, but we got it done."

~~

Dinner was eaten peacefully even though everyone wanted to talk about the two things that weigh heavily on their hearts—Neela being marked and the boys being able to see Damien's body the next day. It wasn't exactly a funeral, that wouldn't be until the next week.

The boys all said goodnight to each other and made their ways to their bedrooms.

Ryan smiled when he saw Neela sleeping peacefully, "I'm back angel, and I actually had human food, I also enjoyed it." His curiosity was killing him, he just had to see what the marks looked like. Now that he was calm, he was able to get a better look at them, "I'm just going to move you for a second," Ryan explained while moving Neela to lay on her right side.

The bites honestly looked a lot less worse than Ryan had expected. There were two tiny puncture wounds where his teeth were inserted and around them were red and splotchy patches. He knew the redness would go away, but his teeth marks would stay forever. And honestly, that's the only scar on Neela's body that he was happy and proud of.