Arrow Inferno
Chapter 40: Jeremy Stanton vs. Ryan Hicks Feral attraction in the midst of hatred… Friend goals!

***

When Philip entered his alpha's suite the next morning, it was to find the huge red wolf and the stunningly, beautiful, white wolf, cuddled cozily together right there on the plush rug in the suite...fast asleep. The head Beta quickly pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and took a shot of the pair with a shit-eating grin on his face. He immediately sent it to Stan who whistled so wolfishly over the link the three of them shared, Jeremy opened his eyes.

'Really?' Jeremy drawled as he took in the sight of his Beta grinning mischievously at his cell phone. He couldn't believe his silly wolf had put him to sleep for that long. When he heard his wolf in his mind saying he needed the rest, he gave a soft growl. 'What time is it, Lip?' He didn't move a muscle as he didn't want to disturb Ryan.

'It's almost six.' Philip responded, folding his arms across his chest and grinning like a simpleton.

'Shit.' Jeremy growled. 'He'll be late. I need to wake...'

'Wait wait...' Philip gushed. 'Did you at least ask him to mate with you?'

'Lip come on...' Jeremy groaned. 'That was the last thing on my mind.'

'Does everything have to be about sex?' Philip snapped. 'This is very important.'

'Who said anything about sex? Ever heard of spending quality time?' Jeremy chuckled. 'Now get the hell out of here so I can wake him up.' The big red wolf told his Beta as he gently extricated himself from his mate. He stood and stretched, then turned to face his Beta, who hadn't moved at all. 'Is there a problem?'

'No, no. But you have to bring it up soon, Alpha.' Philip said stubbornly. 'The news of you finding your mate spread like wildfire last night. Much as the pack is happy for you, we both know Ryan will become a target. Till you mate him properly and give him your mark, he's not safe. All those hopefuls will try to harm him now that they know they don't stand a chance of ruling by your side. Besides, you can't be sure of everyone, Jer.'

'I know. I know. Fuck!' The alpha swore with frustration. Left to him alone, his mate would be given whatever time he needed to accept the idea of mating with him and accepting his mark. But he knew that what his Beta had just said was very real. They were animals at the end of the day, and a jealous animal acted very irrationally. 'I shouldn't have kissed him last night.' He groaned.

'What was I thinking?'

'You did the right thing. If you hadn't, he would have been humiliated and you know it. You did what any mate would do under the circumstances. Besides, most importantly, it showed the people that you are not disgusted with the fact that your mate turned out to be a man. Everyone knows how you feel about...that kind of relationship.' Philip tried to suppress his amused smirk but couldn't.

'Up yours, buddy.' Jeremy rasped, wishing he could flip Philip off. 'I did it because I'd been dying to for a very long time.' He groaned. 'Not even wild horses would have stopped me from tasting those lips. Now I've only succeeded in putting his life in danger. Why do I always make his life hell with my actions?' The alpha sounded distressed.

'It was going to come out at a point, Jer.' Philip pointed out. 'If you ask me, that was perfect. But it still put a target on his back. That's just how it is. The only way he can be protected is if he has your mark and you know it.'

Mating with Jeremy and receiving his mark was actually Ryan's golden ticket to a safe and peaceful life because Jeremy would be able to sense it anytime he was in danger, no matter how far apart they would be on the planet. That was the biggest advantage of being mated to an alpha. The mark would also scare people with evil intentions away from Ryan. It was only someone with a death wish who would dare attack someone who had been marked as an alpha's mate. The disadvantage, however, was that whenever there was war, the alpha's mate was always a target. The enemy would either attack the alpha's mate to make a statement or kidnap the alpha's mate to force an alpha to surrender. But for now, Ryan would be safer and better off with his mate's mark. They needed to be mated in the right ceremony in the shortest possible time and Jeremy knew it.

'I don't want to rush him.' Jeremy groaned.

'Just talk to him, Jer. Make him understand. It's for his own good...and the pack's.' The alpha couldn't concentrate on the pack as he should if he was always worried about the safety of his mate. 'The attacks can begin at any time.' Philip looked worried. "Cause I don't think your kind of women would need time to plan.'

'They don't.' Jeremy sighed. He mostly went in for women who were not only strong but also sure of themselves. 'But the last thing I want to do is force him, Lip. I don't want him to give in simply because he was forced or scared into agreeing. That's not the kind of relationship I want with him.' The eyes of the alpha were filled with apprehension. 'I want more.' He whispered.

Philip stifled his surprised gasp. He was seeing a totally different side of the Jeremy he'd known since childhood. By his nature, Jeremy was not one to let his guard down and allow himself to feel. But Philip could see that Jeremy had really strong feelings for his mate. What made anyone who found a mate happy was the hope of gaining that inner bliss that Jeremy couldn't seem to suppress.

And that was just so damned beautiful to witness. It dawned on Philip just how important Ryan was to his friend's happiness. For a moment, the Beta was busting with joy but then he suddenly remembered how badly Jeremy had treated the one person who held the key to his happiness and instantly got angry. They wouldn't have been in their current predicament if Jeremy had...

'You should have thought of that before allowing yourself to lose control.' Philip growled. But even as he pushed the thought onto their link, he knew that it was a mean thing to say. And the devastated look in the red wolf's eyes said it all. 'I'm sorry Jer."

'Never apologize when you're right.' The alpha said gruffly. 'You know Luna is going to punish me don't you...' It wasn't a question. Everyone who knew what he'd done to his mate knew the axe was going to come down at a point. They just didn't know when.

Philip nodded. 'Don't think about it.'

The wolf gave a humourless laugh. 'I have more important things to think about right now. My main aim is to get him to forgive me.' He said, looking at his sleeping mate. 'I'm scared, Lip.' Jeremy whispered.

'We'll get through this, Jer. My main concern right now is his safety. But just do whatever you feel is right. I'll support whatever decision you make. But know this; if any of your whores make an attempt on his life, I'm going to kill first and then ask questions later. You might not be able to do it but I can. Just giving you a heads up.' Philip turned to go. But at the door, he stopped with his hand on the doorknob and spoke without turning; 'I hope you know, that with the way you're feeling about him, should anything fatal happen to him, even Luna can't stop you from the terror that you would unleash.'

'I know.' Jeremy said quietly.

'Think about that.' With those last words, the Beta left the suite.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck.' Jeremy muttered as he went to stand beside his beautiful sleeping mate. As he looked down at him, he felt his heart swell with tenderness and joy. The alpha knew he wouldn't survive if anything happened to the stunning creature he was looking at. 'Watch over him, Luna.' He prayed.