Arrow Inferno

***

"Is there a problem?" Ryan asked, taking in Paige's demeanor.

"I think so." Paige started packing what was left of their breakfast, their conversation forgotten. "We're all to converge in meeting room two in ten minutes." "Who and who?"

"You, me, Lip, Stan, Mama G, Dad, Deloris, George, Pete...you know George and Pete don't you?"

"George is the head hunter right?" At Paige's nod, Ryan smiled smugly and added... "And Pete is the head assassin."

"Good job." Paige moved towards the cute kitchen in the suite. "It's an emergency meeting of sorts. All the other Betas will be there too."

"Whatever it is must be serious," Ryan murmured, following Paige into the kitchen. "Why do I have to be part?"

"You're the alpha's mate, Ryan. You need to know what's going on." Paige explained as she washed her hands.

"Philip is the alpha, Paige."

"Lip is only acting." Paige sighed. "When will you get it into that head of yours that being an alpha's mate makes you an alpha too? Come on, let's go." Paige grabbed her cell phone off the dining table. "Philip is doing a brilliant job." Ryan shut the door behind them.

"I haven't said he's not. In fact, I've been told he's actually evolved into a real alpha and that's great." Paige said, steering Ryan towards the stairs since the meeting room was on the eleventh floor which was right beneath their floor. "It happens sometimes. Jeremy can either keep him on or assign him to another territory when he gets back."

"I'm happy for him." Ryan looked thrilled. "But I don't think those two would want to live apart." He chuckled.

"I know right." Paige laughed. "Stan would hit the roof 'cause that would mean he'd have to divide himself into two."

"Did somebody mention my name?" Stan shouted with a mock scowl just as they got onto the eleventh floor.

"You mean Stanislav?" Paige asked innocently and promptly burst into laughter when Stan slowly extended his middle finger.

"Will the lady kindly sit on this, please?" Stan asked, making Ryan laugh too. "You good, Ryan?" He asked, drawing a laughing Ryan into his arms.

"Yeah, Stan. You?"

"Been running around like a dog chasing its tail, thanks to those alpha killers." He growled, pushing open the door to the meeting room. "When we finally catch up with those bastards, I'm going to suffocate them in their own shit." "Ryan?" Ryan heard Gloria call his name just as he was about to enter the meeting room. She and Joel had just stepped out of the elevator. "I didn't see you the whole of yesterday. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too mum." Ryan moved towards Gloria, laughing at the contented look that appeared on Gloria's face at his words.

The joy that always appeared on the face of Jeremy's mum whenever Ryan addressed her as mum, never ceased to bring an answering joy into Ryan's heart. Gloria had told him before he'd mated with Jeremy that she didn't want him to address her as Gloria after fully mating with her son. Though he'd been devastated after Jeremy's departure, Ryan had remembered Gloria's words and started referring to her as mum. And he would never forget the look on Gloria's face that first time.

"Paige and I got back very late last night," Ryan said, giving Gloria a bear hug. "Didn't want to come and disturb you." He held Gloria at arm's length to admire her gorgeous outfit. The woman had style. "Damn woman, you look fine." He murmured, making Gloria laugh.

"Aw stop it." Gloria took Ryan's hand into hers and turned him towards the meeting room. "You work too hard."

Ryan sighed. "I need to, to get my mind off... Hello Uncle Joel."

"How are you doing Ryan?" The elder asked, giving Ryan a sympathetic look.

"Can't complain, Uncle." He murmured. "I literally can't."

"Hey, hang in there, son." The elderly man patted Ryan on the back. "So...have any idea why we're here?" Joel asked as they entered the meeting room.

"Nope. No idea." Ryan responded, smiling at an already seated grim-faced Deloris, Camilla's warlock mother and a member of the council.

Ryan, Joel, and Gloria went round, greeting and hugging those who were already seated. The room was supposed to be the smallest meeting room in Jeremy's mansion. Basically, it was a boardroom that had exquisite modernist furnishings and was equipped with a projector and Polycom, perfect for delivering messages during meetings. The meeting room seated a maximum of twenty people. Thirteen people currently sat around the huge mahogany table, with Philip at the head. When Gloria got to Paige, she leaned down and asked with concern;

"How is he doing?"

Paige smiled. "He's okay Mama G. Did you know he's actually never dreamt about Jer since he left though?" Paige asked curiously.

"He can't," Gloria responded firmly. "That will mess with his head. Cause him too much pain. We have to prevent that from happening."

"Yeah but...shouldn't he at least be able to feel some...pain?" Paige muttered. "I mean, is all this shielding really necessary? I can't help but feel he's being robbed of some of the important emotions in life that connect us to our human soul." "You have a point there, honey." Gloria sighed. "But Jeremy didn't want him to feel pain. Besides, he does feel, doesn't he? He misses him." "It's not the same thing." Paige groaned.

"It is." Gloria countered. "It's only that the intensity has been reduced, thereby eliminating the pain. Remember, we don't know the level of powers that he wields. One can't really tell what he'll do if he's in pain. Remember the portal? For all you know, he might be worse than the Ojah we already have on our hands. Think about it." Gloria kissed Paige on the cheek and moved on.

But from the skeptical look on Paige's face, she didn't look convinced by the elder's explanation. Had it even occurred to any of those uptight elders that Ryan feeling pain, might rather lead to something positive, Paige thought. With a sigh, she turned to look at her brother who was loudly clearing his throat to get everyone's attention. She would talk to Gloria again after the meeting.

"Thank you all for coming." Philip began. "We have a big problem. What we all thought was a war against the werewolf community just became a personal pack problem." He paused to look at all the faces around the table. "You all know how we've all been trying to trace who is behind the attacks. Anytime we think we have a solid lead, we get thrown off. The best trackers in all the various packs in the world came together and tracked our attackers to where we were sure they were. But what did we find? A stretch of bare land. It was obvious we were up against a great force. Well, now we know who it is. I'm sure the old folks amongst us have heard of the Wyatt Clan."

Gloria gasped. "Shit!" She muttered just as Joel swore darkly.

"Yes. They are the ones after the strong alphas. I say the issue just got personal because they've kidnapped one of our own. Camilla. She was kidnapped about three days after Alpha Jeremy travelled."