Arrow Inferno

***

The Jackal smiled with satisfaction when he heard Ryan's hair-raising scream. He'd always wanted to go out with a bang. Well, what a bang. He was finally ready to meet his maker.

His mission had been a simple one. With his gift of glamour, he was supposed to disguise himself as the Alpha of Stanwood Pack...Jeremy Stanton. Then he was to manipulate his mate, Ryan, to think he was having a dream. He wasn't supposed to say a word to Ryan. All he had to do was give him a smile, a light caress, and a few pecks along the jaw. That was it. Although his powers had drastically diminished after the battle between the Wyatt Clan and the Stanwood pack, the Jackal wasn't worried at all because he was supposed to be in and out of there in not more than two minutes. That was a piece of cake. He was The Jackal after all.

But what the little bully didn't know was that he had his own plan. His plan was to stick it to the Stanwood Pack who had wiped out his clan, by taking out both its alpha and his mate at once. They were mated after all. All he had to do was break that bond. For whatever reason, the alpha was nowhere to be found. Although the pack seemed tight-lipped as to his whereabouts, the Jackal felt there was more to it than what met the eye. Wherever Jeremy was, he wasn't going to come back anytime soon. Well, all the better for his plan. All he needed was one demonic bite. And thanks to that bitch, he was in the best position to administer that bite.

He'd been so pumped he'd almost given himself away. He'd seen the shock on Ryan's face at whatever expression he'd seen on his face. He knew he had to make his move at that instant. Chanting with all the strength he had...calling upon every dark magic that was left within him, he'd swiftly leaned down, pushed Ryan's t-shirt off his shoulder, exposed his mark, and bit into it...hard. He'd instantly severed the bond between Ryan and Jeremy. And if that scream from Ryan was anything to go by, he'd accomplished his mission.

The Jackal rolled off Ryan and smiled evilly at a white-faced Paige. She looked almost frozen on the spot as she watched Ryan writhe on the couch. Her eyes welled up.

"What did you do?" An anguished whisper. "What did you do?" Paige turned her head to look at the albino she'd made a deal with.

"I told you as clearly as I could, that you don't wanna go up against me." The Jackal sneered. "Who's laughing now, you stupid, arrogant, shit..." The next sound that came out of his mouth was a horrible gurgling sound... A still dazed Paige had torn out his throat.

The Jackal's death instantly released Ryan from his lethargic state. He shot off the couch and clutched at his chest. He gasped for breath. His eyes watered. He was actually surprised he was still alive. The level of pain he felt was absurd. Not only did his heart feel as if it was being ripped out of his chest, but his whole body was also throbbing with pain that was so excruciating he was literally going insane. Immediately after he'd been bitten, he'd felt his wolf go crazy inside him. The wolf had struggled to burst free... escape the agony...but then Ryan had felt him begin to weaken. And that was when Ryan felt something that scared the bejesus out of him... His mate was slipping away.

"Jeremy..." Ryan gasped, his face flushed with agony. "He's dying Paige..." Ryan couldn't breathe. He fought for air as a horrible sound ripped from his burning lungs. "He's...I have...Jeremy...what..." He couldn't seem to string a sentence together.

"Oh my god." Paige breathed, snapping out of the haze she seemed to be under. Her arms went around a trembling Ryan from behind even as she reached out to her father and brother on their mind-link. 'Dad, Lip, I've fucked up. Ryan is, oh my god...Dad...' She screamed.

'Slow down, baby girl.' Joel said softly, trying to get a sobbing Paige to calm down.

'Take a deep breath Slip.' Phillip added even as he shifted and sprinted towards the mansion.

'He's dying!' Paige screamed. 'Oh god, I thought I was helping...' She sobbed. 'Jer...he can feel Jer slipping. Help!'

**

Ryan could hear Paige screaming but it seemed to be coming from a very faraway place. He wondered how he could feel her arms around him and yet her screams seemed so far. That wasn't normal at all. As for his wolf, he could feel it weakening by the second. Everything seemed to be slipping away. His mate, his wolf, his sanity, his life... Was he still dreaming, Ryan wondered. If he was, he needed to wake up from the nightmare. But somehow, he knew it wasn't a dream. It was real. Ryan just knew that death was near. He'd never been so scared in his life. And that was when he prayed. He didn't know whether the Supreme Being he'd known of since he was a kid, listened to the prayers of supernatural beings too. Ryan hoped for his sake and his mate's, he did. He'd never been one to pray but in that instant, he felt that it was all he had.

Ryan prayed for strength.

***

"What's going on?" Gloria asked worriedly, taking in Joel's flushed face.

The last of the alphas had just left. The briefing had gone very well and everyone was happy and grateful. The various heads, betas, and elders which included the council members, were on the beautiful lawn outside the conference hall, staring admiringly at the enormous wolf fountain. The fountain had always been the pride of the Stanwood Pack. It was a dynamic fusion of architecture, sculpture, and running water which gave birth to a spectacular display. The classically beautiful solid sculpture displayed an alpha wolf standing on top of a platform, with water flowing from its howling mouth onto about fifteen howling wolves that stood beneath him.

The wolves, some of which were smaller than others, also had water spraying out from their mouths. Above the alpha wolf was a big brightly shining moon, at which the alpha seemed to be howling. The classic arrangement of colourful lights added a wonderfully whimsical touch to the setting. The werewolves believed that there was something magical about the fountain and that Luna filled their hearts with peace whenever they stood around it. They therefore never passed up an opportunity to stand around the fountain after any major event. Burying their dead colleagues and having a successful meeting with powerful alphas was definitely a very big deal.

The people standing around heard the worry in Gloria's voice and gave their full attention to Joel. They all waited for his answer.

"It's Paige," Joel responded gruffly. He'd never heard his daughter sound so distraught. "She's not making sense but it had something to do with Ryan and Jeremy. Phillip is on his way to them. Whatever it is, it sounds bad." Even before he finished what he was saying, Stan shifted and sprinted away towards the mansion.

"Deloris?" The High Priestess turned to the only warlock they had on their council. If anyone could get to Ryan faster, it was Deloris. "Check it out." She instructed.

"Right away," Deloris responded, bowed her head, and then disappeared.