Page 35 of When Embers Become Ashes

"Alma wants to know if we are doing the pack meet tonight or tomorrow so she knows what she needs to cook." Mika informs Nic, and Luc sends a quick text and mumbles that tonight might be best, giving a head tilt towards the guests.

“What the fuck is going on Dominic? Why do the three of you need to be present? Just so that you can discipline your charge for having a human whore in his bed?” the male growls at Nic.

The air in the room instantly goes still at his tone, and a growl begins to vibrate in more than one chest. I can't stop the Ivanova’s, but I can calm Ren. I place my hand on his back under his shirt. He immediately stops, turning to me, picking me up with one hand, settling into my chair, and placing me in his lap without spilling our drinks. He kisses my temple and then sips his coffee. I hear Luc snort a laugh into his coffee, which quiets the other two Alphas' growls. Nic sighs,

"Trinity, Barnaby, please come in and take a seat." Plastic, I mean, Trinity steps carefully over the threshold and sits daintily on the edge of a metal office chair, Barnaby ‘snort’ slumps into the chair next to her.

“Let’s start at the beginning, without the name-calling, please. I have a migraine coming on from being woken up by your daughter screeching down a hallway she shouldn’t have been in this morning.” Nic rubs the bridge of his nose as he looks at them, waiting for a response.

“The young Alpha asked my Trinity to come to his room this morning. When she arrived,” he pauses, holding Trinity’s hand and giving her a sympathetic look,

“she found him... in the middle of....” it’s like he can’t finish as he’s embarrassed, but it’s obvious he’s playing it up.

“She found me Knot deep inside My Mate!” Ren says, maintaining a straight face and devoid of emotion in his voice, ending with a raised eyebrow as he sips his coffee. He slips out his phone to send a photo of my mate marks to Nic, Mika, and Luc, along with a picture of his own mark. Then he texts Darby, but I can’t see what he writes because Luc starts to choke on his coffee at Ren's comment, while Nic and Mika just stare at him in shock. Barnaby clears his throat.

“Yes, that! I know he’s an upstanding young man, and I feel he’s been tricked into that position. I know Ren...” Before he can finish, there’s a knock on the door. Ren and I rise as he goes to answer it, and I address Barnaby.

"You should show respect to your superiors. Call him Ren again and see where that gets you. The same goes for Dominic and Maykal. The term you're forgetting is Alpha. Also, when talking about ALPHA Firefall, you will address him— not Alpha Dominic. He is old enough to speak for himself." Darby walks into the room, followed by Declan. Darby sets a laptop in front of Nic and Leaves, giving Ren a nod on the way past. Barnaby comes at me quickly, but I’ve had worse come at me.

I grab his wrist with both hands; using his momentum, I swing him around, making him trip over my chair, causing him to fall to his knees, his arm now twisted behind his back. I push my weight onto him to hold him in place. I can feel Saint's shadows surrounding the room, and with my Dark Angel as backup, I know I’m free to speak, injecting some Alpha command into my voice.

“You think you're strong enough to strike me?” I chuckle, “Worse Alphas have tried and failed, and you don’t even have a designation.” He lets out a low growl,

“I’m an enforcer. You're just a human with access to witch charms.” He’s trying to push me off. I glance over my shoulder as Declan approaches. He secures the cuffs before I’m even fully upright,

“Was an enforcer. You’re lucky to still have your throat intact; Gerald Firefall wasn't so lucky when he struck me in front of his son.” I inwardly flinch at the term "Son," but Ren’s arm is already around me, a possessive hand over my stomach. I raise my eyes to his face, a fake pout forming,

“He made me spill my Tea!” I blink at him, a smirk breaking through as he kisses my temple with a chuckle. I turn to Trinity while still addressing Barnaby.

“You accuse me of wearing charms when your stepdaughter is wearing three of them to hide her succubus nature,” I scoff, pulling in an audible breath as if I’m scenting her,

“Not that she needs them she’s a low level, she needs to fuck to feed, can't even feed from residual energies in the air.” Trinity pales at my words, and Barnaby starts spluttering excuses. Saint appears behind her and removes the charms, dropping them into the evidence bag that Declan is holding.

"I’m pregnant with your baby. You promised me that when you took my virginity, you would mate with me. I’ve been faithful only to you,” she blubs in Ren's direction, who just laughs.

“I’ve been on the pack contraceptive injection since I turned 16, knowing next time I saw Ember I was making her mine, and she is the first and only female I’ve kissed, let alone anything else,” he states as he pulls my sweater down over my shoulder, bringing my Alpha mark into view. He kisses it, then takes my hand, scooping up the discarded mugs.

“I sent you three a copy of Embers' marks and my own. The promises she claims are false, and if—and that’s a big IF—she is pregnant, it’s definitely not any of the guys.” He waits for a nod from everyone in the room.

“Come on, Em, if we wait much longer, J won’t have left us anything for breakfast.” Ren’s voice sounds carefree, but I can hear the strain. I follow him out of the room, and as the door swings shut, I pull him down and give him a gentle kiss.

“I know.” Kiss

“I trust you.” Kiss

I leave him after grabbing my mug, setting off in search of more tea.

Alma tells me to take a seat while she brings me a pot of tea. I walk through the room and spot J with his eyes closed, about to put a forkful of waffles, chocolate cream, and strawberries in his mouth. Leaning down, I swipe the forkful and kiss his cheek, aware that I have cream on my lips. Then I chew and plop down in the seat next to him. He growls slightly at me.

"If you’re going to growl at me, I might as well take the whole plate," he mutters something under his breath as he swaps my empty plate for his waffle-filled one and starts building his masterpiece again.

"Thanks Trick, you’re the best!" I smile at him, then thank a chuckling Alma as she drops off my pot of tea.

“Anything for you, Quinny.” He kisses my temple and we both dive in. I eat three of the four waffles, but he easily finishes the one I left behind.

“I have no idea how you eat that much sugar, J. I’d be sick, and I’m three times your size!” The bear shifter across from me comments. I hum into my tea and hear Creed chuckle.

“Like vampires need blood, Incubi and Succubae need sex, and nightmares need fear. Kitsunes need sugar, whether it’s natural or synthetic; it’s what fuels their magic.” The boys around the table blink at me and then look at Jenson.

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