Arrow Inferno
Chapter 91: Jeremy Stanton vs. Ryan Hicks ~ Feral attraction in the midst of hatred… All hell break loose!

***

"Ryan?" Paige breathed through her tears as she watched Ryan's demeanor change right there before her eyes. Although she could still see the pain in his eyes, he suddenly seemed to have developed a...thick skin of sorts. He didn't seem as he had just moments earlier...as if he was about to die. He looked...dangerous. "Ryan..." Paige wasn't afraid of Ryan. She just felt uneasy. "I've called Dad and Phillip. I'm sorry for causing all this but we will fix it." She spoke softly, trying to calm Ryan. She didn't know whether it was working, but that was all she could do. "I don't know how but I promise, we..."

"Alpha?" Deloris called out softly when she appeared inside Ryan's study, cutting off Paige's tirade.

The warlock's eyes widened when she took a look at Ryan. Just one look told Deloris that something was very wrong. There was a wildness about him...almost as if he was having a hard time holding on to his control. He paced like a caged bull. The Ryan pacing before her looked nothing like the Ryan that she'd come to know and love. Even when he'd gone up against Reynard Wyatt, he looked grounded...in control. This Ryan...

"What's..." Deloris started to speak but trailed off when her eyes landed on the dead albino. "What is he...I thought he died on the day of the battle."

"I brought him here." Paige sounded like she had a thousand frogs stuck in her throat. And she looked terrified, regretful, and defeated...she looked terrible.

"What?" Deloris screeched just as Phillip's wolf burst into the room. "We'll deal with that later, Missy. Now, tell me what the bastard did to him?"

"He broke Ryan's bond with Jeremy." Paige sniffled.

"What?" Deloris gasped even as Phillip's wolf shifted back to a very naked, very sexy human.

"What?" He roared. "How the fuck did that happen?"

"Not now, Phillip," Deloris muttered. "Something has to be done, and fast." She looked lost in thought. The warlock had a bad feeling. The council couldn't bring Jeremy back unless Luna willed it. And unless Luna wanted to communicate with them herself, summoning her wasn't an easy feat. It could take a minimum of two days. "Oh my god, this is bad."

"I need to get to him." Ryan suddenly growled. His eyes began to glow. It was obvious that he'd completely lost it. "I need to do it now." Ryan's voice didn't sound like his at all.

"Meet us at the conference hall, Phillip," Deloris said just as Stan's wolf burst into the room. "You too." She addressed the wolf as she grabbed Paige's hand.

Without another word, Deloris touched Ryan on the shoulder and then disappeared with him and Paige, leaving behind Stan's wolf and Phillip.

**

"Ryan..." Gloria gasped when Deloris appeared on the lawn with Ryan and Paige. Her hand went to her chest when she took in Ryan's glowing eyes. Everyone could feel the sheer force of power emanating from Ryan at that moment. "Honey?" But Ryan didn't even spare Gloria a glance. His focus was completely on the high priestess.

"I want my mate back now." Ryan's voice cracked like a whip, the sound reverberating through everyone present. That voice didn't sound human at all.

For a moment, the high priestess stared blankly at Ryan as if she hadn't heard him. Her mouth was opened in awed shock and her hands were visibly trembling. She knew that she was in the presence of a higher being. And the one person, who was seen as the most spiritual and closest to Luna in the pack, felt like bowing. She snapped out of her daze when Ryan snapped his fingers to get her attention. "Err...I...we..." She stuttered, looking completely overwhelmed.

"Did you hear what I just said?" Ryan tilted his head to the side as he stared at the woman. "This is life and death." Ryan could feel the presence of Phillip and Stan behind him but didn't turn to look at them. Just knowing they were there was okay for him. "If I don't get to him now, he dies."

A collective gasp went up at Ryan's words. With the exception of Phillip, Stan, Paige, Ryan, and the elders...eight of whom made up the council members, no other pack member knew about Jeremy and the Fort. But Ryan's words sent a shiver of dread down the spine of each person present. The feeling was so intense that the high priestess sprang into action. She didn't need to be Einstein to know that whatever was going on was very serious. And she sure as hell didn't want to go against the being standing in front of her. He definitely didn't look like someone who could be reasoned with. She valued her life too much to attempt to reason up with him anyway. The high priestess knew that she needed to consult with Luna immediately. And even as she turned and began to move towards the council quarters, which was opposite the conference hall, her high command was heard;

"All council members, to the quarters, now. We need to..."

But before she could complete her instructions, Ryan stretched out his right hand and pointed his index finger at nothing in particular. A purple ray of light shot out of the tip of his finger. And then right before the eyes of the people gathered, the portal that appeared to take Jeremy away months earlier reappeared with its dreadful whoosh sound.

Everyone present gasped. The high priestess stopped in her tracks when she heard that sound...that sound which only meant one thing. She slowly turned around and stared, her eyes bulging out to the extent that they looked as if they were going to pop out. Ryan slowly turned his head to look at the trembling high priest and uttered in a voice so guttural it was almost seductive;

"I don't think you understand the word, now." Then he turned to look at Phillip and Stan. "Ready?"

"Do it," Phillip growled whilst Stan grinned like a simpleton.

Ryan focused on the swirling portal. Then in a loud and authoritative voice that rumbled across the clearing like thunder...demanding instant obedience, he called out Jeremy's name.

A second. Two seconds. Three seconds. The answering roar...

Whoever was answering Ryan's call, sounded damn pissed!