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“Ren, why the last-minute meeting? I hate it when you give me no information like this,” Jace whines from next to me.

“I’ll be quick, but I want this done before the meet,” Ren states, not giving anything away.

The last of our future pack enters; Ren will be our Alpha when he turns 18. Jace and I are his Betas, while Creed, River, Kodi, and Jay are his Enforcers. Trent, Paxton, Saint, Marcus, James, Xander, and Calum are older and have jobs that keep them from direct pack work. Devin, Darby, and Miles have their own roles to play, but Ren has already made it clear he doesn’t want a traditional pack.

He likes how Uncle Nic runs Triple Moon and isn’t fully setting up until we've all finished college or until those who want to go have completed their studies. Ren takes a breath as he stands.

“This will be quick as we all need to get ready. You’ve all met Ember by now, even if just at mealtimes, and you probably know I’ve mated and marked her.” I see a few shrink and look sadly at the floor. Odd! Ren clocks the reactions too, but continues.

“I’m not Ember’s only mate, she has ten marks” WHAT!! I didn’t know she had that many, a few of the guys perk up again; Ren turns the TV on.

“This is a photo of her marks” he looks at me,

“she’s aware I’m showing you all this if you are one of her mates, but don’t wish to see the mating through; she understands and accepts that not everyone will be happy mating someone that is viewed as different, not that those were her words” he pauses, and I hear J mumble something in Japanese and Ren nods, J looks pissed

“I, on the other hand, don’t understand why you wouldn’t want her and think you’re a fucking idiot if you can’t see how amazing she is, there is no rush, all I ask is if you are hers please talk to me before you seal or deny the bond so Pine doesn't freak out” He looks around the room, nods, pats J on the shoulder, then heads to his bathroom as everyone leaves, each with various emotions.

"J, what did she say? Ren said she didn’t use those words?" I ask. He looks at his feet as he heads to the door.

"She called herself broken. She’s been told all her life that she’s broken and worthless, not even worth what’s between her legs. After a while, she started to believe it." He leaves us with shared looks of horror on our faces. After everyone has left, I turn off the TV, head to my room to change, and then go to Ember's room to help her against Miles.