Arrow Inferno

***

"I'm waiting for Jeremy to tell me the meaning of what I saw and heard at the council quarters," Ryan said quietly. He was sitting opposite Gloria in the back seat of Joel's Navy blue Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman. Joel sat beside the miserable- looking woman. "Care to do the honours? What's this Fort that's scaring everyone? I plan to go with him by the way."

"Oh Ryan, you can't." A sob escaped the elderly woman.

"But I can, and I'm gonna. I'm entitled to leave..."

"You can't follow him into purgatory, son." Joel cut in. "And even if you could, his punishment demands he goes alone."

"Purgatory?" Ryan gasped. He didn't even know it actually existed. "What kind of punishment is that? I know it's because of what he did to me. I gathered as much. But I don't want him to be punished. Doesn't what I want matter? After all, I was the one wronged. Can't I just go and talk to the council to forget..."

"He wronged Luna too Ryan," Gloria said quietly. "Jeremy showed disrespect by hating her choice of mate for him. So he's being punished by Luna."

"Seriously?" Ryan hissed. "Some god you have. Isn't she rather supposed to be merciful? I mean she should know that Jeremy didn't have control over his actions."

"His Ojah power was triggered because of his level of anger and hatred for the idea of you as his mate," Joel explained. "So the fact that he was not in control is really not the issue. He shouldn't have allowed himself to lose control in the first place. Even you, Ryan...you knew he wasn't in control of his actions." Joel pointed out softly. "And yet that didn't make him any less guilty in your eyes." Joel could have bet his last cent that Ryan hadn't even forgiven Jeremy for what he'd done to him. He didn't blame him though.

"But I'm no god." Ryan rasped. "I'm only human."

"Well, Luna did show some mercy." The elderly man said. "Ideally, Jeremy would have been stripped of his alpha status. He did that to none other than his mate, Ryan. And as Alpha, he has to lead an exemplary life. The only reason his alpha status wasn't stripped was that Luna took into consideration the fact that his Ojah power was in control. But he can't go unpunished."

"This is all my fault." Ryan gasped. "If only I'd tried harder to forgive him..."

"It wouldn't have changed anything, Ryan," Gloria said, squeezing Ryan's hands which were clasped in hers. "He's not only being punished for what he did to you. It's also for hating Luna's choice as Joel rightly explained. We just have to accept it."

"What exactly is going to happen to him at this...place?" Ryan couldn't even bring himself to mention the name.

"He will relive every hell he's ever gone through, again and again," Gloria whispered. "It's like a never-ending loop. And he's going to feel the pain a thousand times over." "Oh my god." Ryan's hand went to his mouth. Thanks to his wolf he knew the kind of hell Jeremy went through each time he thought about the death of his father and brother. "His father and..."

"Oh, there's more." Gloria breathed. "That day, he'd gone on a rampage and killed lots of hunters. Some innocent bystanders had lost their lives when the hunters tried to shoot at Jeremy. Although he hadn't pulled the trigger, he's never forgiven himself. All the tragedies that have befallen these pack members and the pain he went through during each... What he did to you..."

"Jesus!" Ryan felt sick.

"I'm so scared." Gloria sobbed. "People don't usually survive the Fort."

"That boy is strong Gloria." Joel soothed. "He'll be okay."

"But who told the council?" Ryan's eyes welled. "How did they know?"

"They didn't," Joel answered. "Luna just decided to pick today to..."

"But they must know that sending him away is punishing me too." Ryan groaned.

"He's been permitted to give you his mark before he leaves Ryan," Gloria said. "To keep you safe."

"That won't change anything," Ryan growled. "I can't be without him. I should be allowed to go with him."

"Oh, Sweetie..." Gloria gave a tremulous smile. "Your pain will be taken away. You will miss him but that pain... the kind you felt when he didn't come to see you for a while during your hospitalization, will be taken away. You'll be fine." "No, I won't." Ryan rasped, his cheeks wet with tears. "And at what point was all this decided? I was right there."

"Though we were not part of the channeling, Gloria and I could listen in because we were linked to the council," Joel explained. "Jeremy was given one wish. He could have asked for anything...even for his punishment to be waived. And it would have been." The elderly man looked angry. "It was almost as if he welcomed the punishment."

"When people are asked to make a wish when faced with punishment, they usually can't wish the punishment away." Ryan pointed out quietly.

"That's the human world." Joel countered. "We are supernatural beings. Jeremy is a powerful being and Luna, though angry at his actions, knew he wasn't completely responsible for all. That punishment would have been waived if he'd pleaded his case and asked for that and he knew it. He could have pleaded and asked to be spared and Luna would have spared him. Hell, he could have even asked for a reduced sentence. But all he could think about was you. He said he wanted you to be safe. Said something about you not being comfortable with bodyguards. So his wish was to be permitted to mark you. That is the surest way to keep people with evil intentions away from you. And with that, you can move around freely without someone shadowing you. He got his wish."

Ryan stared at Joel with his face as white as sheet. Despite the way his heart pounded within his chest, he felt numb all over. The roaring in his ears was so loud it felt like he was about to explode. He gently withdrew his hands from Gloria's, opened the car door, and got out.

"Ryan..." Gloria called but the door shut behind a physically trembling Ryan.

His focus was on the huge office building where he knew his mate was.