Ronnie Anne threw a frustrated glance in Lincoln's direction; all around her, the party was raging. Her fifteenth birthday party, to boot.
Balloons and streamers floated merrily; as a mix of Ronnie's family and guests danced and mingled. A large buffet table laden with her abuela's tamales, empanadas, and chilaquiles awaited their arrival.
All Ronnie Ann wanted this year was to have her best friend and longtime crush Lincoln Loud at her birthday party.
Lincoln had his back to her and he was dancing with Stella...Ronnie Ann hadn't counted on Lincoln inviting his friends and it was seriously pissing Ronaldi off.
A lot of things were setting her off lately; the Latina glared at the hem of her party dress. Originally, she had thought it was beautiful...now she felt silly and overwhelmed by all the ruffles. Her mom and aunt Frida had fussed over her hair earlier, curling it prettily around Ronalda's face.
Ronnie's chest tightened as she looked back towards the dance floor and saw Stella leaning in close, whispering something in Lincoln's ear. Lincoln smiled and laughed, completely ignoring Ronnie's death stare.
The molten hot jealousy bubbled to the surface before she realized what she was doing; without thinking, she marched past several bewildered guests before reaching Lincoln and Stella.
This was her first time seeing Stella, but just watching her laughing and smiling with Lincoln made Ronnie Ann hate her guts in a whole new way.
It was kind of terrifying but for some reason Ronnie felt stronger as if the anger was fueling her in an unseen way...
Lincoln turned and smiled at her, making Ronald feel even more furious. How dare he act so carefree...didn't he notice how his actions affected her?
Lincoln was a tall and lean built, he did a lot of growing in high-school. He was wearing a grey suit, with a white button up shirt and an orange tie...disipite her anger Ronnie thought Lincoln looked handsome.
" Hey Ronnie Ann? did I introduce you to my friend Stella"...
Stella shrank underneath Ronnie's intense gaze; the petite Asian girl attempted to sneak behind Lincoln, but before she could do so, a deep, guttural growl erupted from deep within her chest.
Lincoln eyes popped open and Stella turned white, trembling slightly...Ronnie Ann backed away with a look of shock on her face.
That was a deep...inhumane growl, Ronnie Ann had no idea how she made the sound...but it terrified her. She could hear the blood pounding in her ears, in harsh waves.
She had to get out of here...
Rosa Casagranda watch the scene unfold infront of her with fear deep inside her heart. This was a bad time of year...a very bad time.
Ronalda stalked off with Lincoln chasing close after her, Rosa had yet to have the talk with Ronalda...about their family curse. And while the symptoms had lain dominant for the last two generations, the new generation was always at risk.
The last Nahuala, was hunted down and killed almost eighty years ago. The curse was passed down from the mother, so it was primarily seen in females. Male Nahualas also occurred...
" Nothings...happened yet...it's probably skipped her...", Rosa whispered softly.
Rosa didn't know what she'd do in anything happened to Ronalda...or any of her children and grandchildren. She hadn't been this scared since it was Maria's fifteenth birthday years earlier...
Outside the party, Ronnie Ann was panicking; her chest felt as if it were about to explode. She was so angry… she didn't even want to listen to Lincoln. His words were almost incomprehensible to her at this point, and that's when she realized that something was horribly wrong with her.
Lincoln scrambled after Ronnie Anne; he'd never seen her so upset before. He hoped she hadn't gotten the wrong idea about him and Stella.
It was Stella who prompted him to confess his feelings, and here Lincoln was messing it up before he even got to tell her.
Ronnie Ann was running now, and Lincoln was running after her; he didn't care what she looked like - he was just desperate to catch up to her so he could apologize. She had looked so beautiful at the party, and Lincoln wanted to tell her how he really felt.
Ronnie's dress ruffled around her body, the hem catching and tearing the fabric. The Latina's feet tore through her dress shoes painfully, she could feel she bones shifting and changing into something else...
Her thoughts were becoming frenzied, anger and jealousy battled within her for supremacy. All she could see was Lincoln and Stella together and her vision started to turn red.
She wanted to hurt Stella...teach her not to steal from Ronnie Ann and Lincoln. He made her feel conflicted. She was jealous and desperately in love with him.
Sensing she was reaching some peak, Ronnie Ann put Everything she had into evading Lincoln. And soon she was leaving Lincoln behind.
" Ronnie Ann"!
Ignoring Lincoln, Ronnie ran as fast as this new burst of adrenaline would carry her. She collapsed in front of the zoo, dropping to her knees. Her bones were shifting painfully, and Ronnie could hear them cracking and then rearranging themselves as her clothing was shredded in the process.
What was happening to her...
Her jaw shifted into a snout, and her eyes took on an orange glow; her ears perked up and her canine teeth grew, becoming razor-sharp fangs breaking through her gums. The pain was excruciating, and Ronnie was helpless but to accept the rapid and painful changes.
Whispy brown hair covered her body, resembling fur. Her fingernails had curved into vicious claws, and a tail erupted from her tailbone, sending Ronnie yet another wave of excruciating pain.
Ronnie settled herself and growled enraged at the pain from the transformation, her new body was stronger than the teen could of imagined.
She was also terribly hungry, smelling the nearby zoo animals. Ronnie's eyes narrowed in a predatory manner as the hunter inside of her tuned into their heartbeats.
Prey, plain and simple.
The creature bent the metal of the fence, making an opening for itself.
Within a matter of minutes the sounds of enclosures being torn apart was joined by the blood curdling screams of the animals being brutally and methodically torn to pieces of meat and fur.
Ronnie vented her rage and hunger, ripping and devouring mouthfuls of skin and fur. The warm blood and meat filled her belly until she was finally full.
The creature licked her claws savoring the flavor, the Zoo was filled with dead animals and decimated enclosures. Corpses were strun about, in all manners of gore.
Clumps of fur were gathered to the sides, Ronnie Ann scanned the bloody surroundings pleased with her hunt. Stepping over the viscera the creature felt a calm starting to overcome herself.
She ran instinctively to Lincoln's house; even though she remembered her feelings for the albino. Slowly but surely, Ronnie Ann was coming back to herself, and by the time she was in Lincoln's backyard, she collapsed once more as her body started shifting back to its original form.
Ronnie Ann returned to reality with her head fuzzy, garbled memories whirling around making it difficult to interpret them.
Her body ached terribly and the Latina could feel the cool air on her nude body, the smell of copper made Ronnie Ann recoil and dry heave.
Looking down at her bloodstained hands, she was reminded of the very same hands that had been jammed into the stomach of a raging lion earlier that night. And soon enough, everything came rushing back.
Ronnie Ann was horrified...this couldn't of been real, she had to be having some God awful nightmare. However much her mind protested Ronnie Ann was still naked in Lincoln's backyard covered in blood and fur.
She stumbled to the back door, hoping it would be Lincoln. She didn't want anyone else to see her like this.
Lincoln pulled her into his arms protectively; Ronnie Ann sank into the embrace, wrapping her arms around him.