Arrow Inferno
Chapter 108: Jeremy Stanton vs. Ryan Hicks ~ Feral attraction in the midst of hatred… A mother’s anger!

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"You've managed to be intimate with Ryan without marking him," Gloria said innocently with an impressed look. "I could have sworn you wouldn't be able to hold your beast back." Gloria didn't notice that both Ryan and Jeremy had gone still at her words. She went right on talking. "You two will still have to complete part of the mating ceremony though. The heads and elders would have to take in Ryan's scent like how it's done for all mates of the alphas of a pack." She put down her now empty glass and reached for the teapot.

"It doesn't have to be in the presence of the entire pack." She put down the teapot and reached for the sugar jar. "Since you've been able to hold on with marking him, you might as well wait and do that during the ceremony. That will make it even more memorable don't you think? But that beast of yours has certainly surprised me though." She chuckled, reaching for the cream. "Am I talking to myself?" Gloria finally looked up, wondering why the two sitting with her at the table had gone so quiet.

And that was when it finally dawned on the elder that something was very wrong. For one, neither her son nor his mate would meet her eye. The elder didn't miss their unease. She gently placed the cream back on the table.

"Care to tell me what's going on?" Gloria placed her elbows on the table, entwined her fingers, and rested her chin on her linked fingers. She looked at both bowed heads intently.

Finally, Ryan cleared his throat. "We were working through something." His voice was quiet.

"Working through what?"

"I wanted to give Jer some time to..." Ryan began but Jeremy stepped in.

"It's okay, baby." He murmured. "You don't have to cover for me. I was having a hard time accepting the fact that Ryan kissed someone else...someone kissed him...ugh..." "He was under a spell." Gloria glared at her son.

"I know," Jeremy whispered. "I just..."

"You just what?" Gloria growled. Then her eyes suddenly widened when she finally connected the dots. "You must be kidding me." She breathed. No wonder Ryan had been such a mess. Having to go that long without his mate, and being denied sex when said mate finally returned... That could drive any hot-blooded werewolf insane. Her son must have been really pissed to have gone that long without making love to his mate. She was right after all. Nothing would have stopped that alpha wolf from marking his mate now that it had already tasted him. "Oh my god, you're such an idiot."

"Mum please..." Ryan groaned.

"No, no I have to get this off my chest, Ryan." Gloria looked furious. "Where do you get off judging people?" She gave her son an icy glare. "You actually thought it was okay to punish your mate for kissing someone when he was under a spell? You arrogant, stupi..."

"Gloria enough!" Ryan couldn't suppress his growl of anger. He didn't even notice he'd addressed Gloria by her given name. His amber eyes were a clear indication that his wolf was at the surface. "You can't talk to him like that." He looked pissed.

"Ryan..." Jeremy groaned.

"I have every right to tell any son of mine what I think of them when they fuck up." Gloria snapped.

"Well, he's my mate," Ryan said coolly, trying to calm himself. "And I won't have anyone calling him stupid. As I said, we were working through something. We're okay now. Can we just forget about it and eat?"

Gloria still glared at her son. "Sure, if you say so." She finally murmured and picked up a teaspoon to stir her tea. "Forget about what I suggested earlier. You don't have to hold on and mark him during the ceremony." Gloria took a sip of her tea. "I don't think you can anyway." Now that the two had sorted out their differences, they were bound to have sex, Gloria knew. And there was no way her son could have sex with his mate and not mark him. "And feel free to do it anytime you want because the council has already taken care of it. No one will be affected like we all were the other time." She muttered.

That drew a chuckle out of Jeremy despite himself. "From what I hear, some people no longer need Ryan and I going at it, to have their own fun..."

"Watch your mouth, son." Gloria didn't crack a smile. "The fact that your mate put me in my place doesn't mean I've forgiven you for pulling that silly stunt."

"Oh my god, mum, I'm sorry." Ryan groaned, quickly leaving Jeremy's lap to go and give Gloria a hug. "I'm so sorry." He crooned into Gloria's hair as he held her tight. "He feels bad enough for acting like a dick. I don't want..."

"I can hear you, you know..." Jeremy drawled, digging into the goodies as if it was his last meal.

"Aw shut up will you?" Ryan snapped at his mate. "You did tell me that shedding off the pain is another stress on its own, remember?"

"I do." Gloria nodded.

"So basically, the guy is fucked up."

"Jesus, Ryan..." Jeremy groaned around a mouthful of muffins. Gloria had to make an effort to suppress the urge to laugh.

"We, therefore, have to ignore the silly things he's bound to do." Ryan finished as if Jeremy hadn't spoken.

"How long do you think we should tolerate his shitty attitude?" Gloria looked so serious, it might have looked, to anyone who walked in, as though the pair were discussing something really important.

"Hmmmm..." Ryan looked as if he was lost in thought. "What the hell, let's give him a long rope."

"Will you two stop discussing me as if I'm not here?" Jeremy growled but again, he was ignored.

"You sure that's advisable?" Gloria frowned. It was almost as if there was no one in the room besides her and Ryan.

"If it becomes too bad, I can always turn him into a toad or something," Ryan said, looking all serious.

Gloria couldn't hold it any longer. She erupted into laughter. Ryan joined in even as Jeremy glared at the two people he loved so much. Joel and Phillip, whose grin stretched from ear to ear, entered the house and headed directly for the dining area, surprising a still laughing Gloria.

"Told ya." Jeremy grinned at a happy Phillip.

"What are you two doing here?" Gloria asked, wiping at the tears of mirth on her face even as Joel leaned down to plant a kiss on her mouth.

"I called them to come eat breakfast since you two were too engrossed in your plans to add me to the amphibian species to want to eat." He gestured to his friend and mentor to take seats around the dining table.

"Not possible." Ryan looked confused. "We just started the 'planning'." He gave the word air quotes. "How could they have gotten here so fast?"

"I called them immediately I saw the spread," Jeremy confessed. "They'd been out running so I told them to come straight here from the woods. Where's Paige? I thought all three of you went for that run." Jeremy addressed Phillip. "She went home, Jer." Phillip sighed, grabbing a strip of bacon. "Give her time, buddy." He said, noting the crestfallen look on Jeremy's face. "You okay Prof?"

"Never better, Phillip." Ryan grinned as he took a seat beside Gloria, to the displeasure of Jeremy.

"So I've heard what you're planning to do, son." Joel addressed Jeremy as he poured a lot of cream into his coffee. "And I must admit I've still not been able to say anything about it since Phillip told me."

"What's he planning on doing?" Gloria asked whilst Ryan looked at his mate with raised brows.

"Oh, I see you haven't told your mother." The elderly man chuckled. "Not even your mate?" He added, taking in Ryan's curious look. "Damn boy, the mate must always know. Never make that mistake again." He admonished.

"It wasn't intentional Uncle Jo," Jeremy said quickly with an apologetic look in Ryan's direction. "When I came back from my meeting yesterday, he wasn't around. And like I do all the time, I told Lip and Stan what..."

"You have a mate now, son." Joel cut him off. "You should start doing things a bit differently. You need to communicate more with your mate, Jeremy. If he's not within mind-linking range, you can always send him a quick text message, giving him a gist of whatever is going on. This, right here," Joel threw his arm in an arc indicating Ryan's confusion, "shouldn't happen. Got it?"

"Got it, Sir." Jeremy nodded respectfully.

"Good." Joel reached for some pancakes. "Now tell your story."