Arrow Inferno
Chapter 104: Jeremy Stanton vs. Ryan Hicks ~ Feral attraction in the midst of hatred… Where I belong!

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Jeremy stared at his mother. Ryan obviously hadn't told her what he'd done. That was good because he had no intention of telling his mother. "Where did he go Ma?" Jeremy's voice was hoarse. "I need to know where he is."

"He's fine. Just tell me what you did to him."

"Where is he?" Jeremy was getting worked up and Gloria could tell.

"He's asleep in the guest room." She said quietly.

"What?" Jeremy gasped. "I didn't smell... Is he okay?" He asked as he got to his feet with the intention of going to his mate. Gloria held him back. "Wait, Jeremy."

But Jeremy snatched his hands out of Gloria's grip. "You can't stop me from seeing him."

"I know and I won't," Gloria said softly. "Just come sit with me and listen to me. Please."

With a deep sigh, Jeremy went back and sat beside his mother. He looked shaky. Gloria reached for his hand and rubbed soothing circles at the back.

"He cloaked himself, Jeremy." She said softly. "I didn't even know that till you asked me where he is. I thought you came here because you knew he was here. The question is, why would your mate cloak himself? He obviously didn't want you to find him. For a mate to do that, you must have hurt him real bad. What did you do?"

Jeremy shook his head sadly. "I can't tell you Ma. But I will fix it. I promise I will."

"Telling me you'll fix it isn't going to get you off the hook, Jeremy," Gloria said coolly. "There are no words to describe what that boy has had to endure. Meeting his father like that, being thrust into all that violence, seeing people that he'd come to see as family die at the hands of his father...it has all been too much. And you hadn't been there to help him through all that. That boy needs the highest level of comfort from you, Jeremy. The last thing he needs from you is this." She threw her hands up angrily. "Making him feel this way. I've never felt a person hurt so much as I had when I held Ryan in my arms today." She whispered.

"Shit," Jeremy swore.

"I don't know what you did or said but I expected better from you son. Ryan doesn't need this from anyone. Especially not from you." Jeremy nodded, feeling so wretched. "Can I see him now?"

Gloria nodded. "But please don't wake him up." She cautioned. "He was strung up so tight I had a hard time getting him to sleep." "Fuck!" Jeremy visibly shook as he got back to his feet.

"I'm sure he will be fine by the time he wakes up tomorrow," Gloria said. "I'll tell him you came by when he wakes up."

"I'm staying with him Ma." Jeremy couldn't control his low growl. He knew his mother would insist he left. Well, not this time. He sure as hell wasn't going to allow anyone to tell him not to be with his mate. Not even his mother. Jeremy's eyes turned amber. His wolf was close. And no one in their right minds challenged an alpha whose wolf was that close. Especially not a mother. They knew better. "This is not like the other time. He's my mate now. He stays with me." Gloria nodded and watched her son move towards the guest room. Jeremy was right. They were mated now. His place was by his mate.

Jeremy sent a quick message to Phillip and Stan on his mind-link to tell them that he'd found Ryan. He thanked them once again and then opened the door to his mother's guestroom. He gasped when sorrow instantly hit him like a punch. Although Ryan was asleep, his emotions surrounded him as if it were another entity. He lay on his side, buried under the covers, facing the door. The room was bathed with light from the moon which streamed in from an open window. Tendrils of hair lay across his forehead, down one side of his flawless face. Jeremy swallowed hard. His mate was just beautiful. That angelic face... He was perfect. Jeremy took a step closer to the bed but stopped with a pained whimper when he saw the streaks of dried tears on Ryan's face. What had he done, he railed at himself. His wolf was going crazy inside him. He needed to hold Ryan, feel his heart beating against his, feel his breath on him...

Jeremy stripped. He just wanted to get as close to Ryan as he could without waking him up. Getting naked meant instead of two sets of clothing between them, there was only one. Completely naked, Jeremy lifted the edge of the covers and slid in beside Ryan. Ryan didn't wake up when Jeremy got in beside him. But he snuggled into Jeremy, settling in as if his body were made to perfectly fit Jeremy's. Even in sleep, he obviously craved the closeness of his mate. Jeremy gently pushed the hair off Ryan's forehead and stared down into the most breathtaking face he'd ever seen. God, he loved him.

Then as if he couldn't help himself, Jeremy lowered his head until his lips feathered against Ryan's. He didn't kiss him because he didn't want to wake him up. But he didn't separate their lips either. He just allowed his lips to rest against Ryan's. He didn't think about any other person. It was just his mate's lips. And it felt great.