Page 108 of Knot Her Reality

He shakes his head as he moves to the light switch. “This ought to be good then.”

The room goes completely dark and I freeze while black lights kick on. Looking around the room, I see how much our clothes light up under the lights. That makes a little more sense, I guess.

“I’ll be photographing your entire night, but I promise I’ll be one hundred percent professional. In the center of the room, you’ll find glow-in-the-dark paints and brushes. You don’t have to use the brushes if you don’t want to. You’re more than welcome to use your hands or whatever you want. Clothing is optional, but Koda thought you’d be more comfortable in the white clothes.”

“Oh, um…yeah. At least for now,” I say hesitantly, seeking out the guys the best I can in this lighting. They both nod, making me feel better. I’m wearing a bikini beneath my clothes, as Koda requested, but I don’t really feel like stripping down in front of a stranger—at least not yet. Who knows what the night will be.

I’m feeling a bit hesitant about the whole thing as we wander over to where the paints sit, but I dip my fingers into one of the containers. When I lift it out, I find a fluorescent pink dripping from my fingers. Evander is standing next to me, so I drag my hands down his shirt. He gasps as he looks down to see the mess I’ve made of his shirt.

“Okay, omega. This means war.”

I squeal and take off as he reaches into a bucket and flings paint at me. For the next few minutes, the three of us fling paint at one another while trying to avoid getting hit with paint ourselves. I completely forget that Kris is even in the room with us when I decide I’d much rather paint their bodies. I hold up my paint-covered hands in surrender before grasping the hem of my shirt and tugging it over my head.

Evander and Koda immediately freeze, their eyes pinned on me as I slide my leggings down and kick off my sandals, leaving me in just my bikini. I snicker when neither of them moves.

“I’ve thought about it, and I think painting one another’s bodies sounds like a lot more fun than a paint fight.” Before I’ve even finished my sentence, they’re both stripping down to their boxer briefs. Mmmm, yes. This was a good idea.

Gesturing for them to join me, they both hurry over, and the three of us sit on the ground. Dipping my fingers into the paints, I bring my hands to their chests and drag them down, stopping just before hitting their boxer briefs.

“Oh, yes. This is much better,” Evander growls. “My turn.”

For the next hour, we paint one another’s bodies and somehow manage to not end up fucking. Honestly, it’s a bit of a surprise to me that we don’t since their touch sets me on fire, but each time one of them starts to take it further, I pull back. Something is holding me back from going there, and I don’t really know what it is.

Once our time is up, we each shower off—separately—before heading back to the compound. Once more, Koda and Evander fall into conversation, while I try to figure out why I didn’t allow things to go any further with Evander. Tomorrow’s the rose ceremony, and I need to figure it out before then. Because if I can’t see him as part of the pack I’m building, then why is he still here?

Gods, this is definitely the part I hate most about being on Heated.

Koda and I spent Saturday in my suite, trying to figure out what we were going to do at the rose ceremony. We’ve now reached the end of week five, and I feel like we can’t just let things ride anymore. There isn’t enough time left to keep anyone on the show that we don’t see a future with. Which is why it took so long for us to agree on everyone, and that’s something I wanted to make sure we did. I don’t want to bring someone into my pack that Koda is unsure of. I don’t want to send someone home that he thinks there might be a spark with—even if it’s not there with me.

As our pack grows, I plan to consider everyone’s opinions because it’s not just my pack—it’s our pack.

We follow Reginald into the ballroom, and I have to keep reminding myself that sometimes we have to make hard decisions—especially when it comes to building our pack.

When the lights go up on the stage, I blink against the sudden onslaught while Reginald steps forward to address the suitors and viewers.

“Welcome back to Heated! It’s time for our weekly rose ceremony now that we’ve reached the end of week five. Time seems to be flying back as Evangeline, and now Koda, work on choosing their pack. Evangeline, are you and Koda ready for the ceremony to begin?”

I nod even though I don’t feel ready. I can’t help second-guessing our decisions; always afraid I might be making a mistake. When Koda’s hand wraps around mine and squeezes, I let the tension spill from me. It’s all the reminder I need that I didn’t come to these decisions easily or on my own. Koda and I are in this together.

“Of course we are,” I finally answer, a smile finding its way to my lips.

“Excellent. Tonight, our only remaining pack, Pack Wells, are our first suitors to join us. Natalie and Ronan, if the two of you will join us?”

I smile as the two of them climb onto the stage with us. I’m so glad that Natalie and I cleared the air. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know her and Ronan, and I’m not ready to say goodbye to them—if I ever will be. I guess only time will tell.

“I know we broke up your pack this week for dates, but this week, Koda and I would like both of you to join us on a date that’s just the four of us.” I grin as Koda holds out a lavender and a peach rose. “We weren’t sure if we should call that a group date or an individual date, so we figured we would give you each one.”

Ronan pulls all three of us into a hug, passing around kisses to each of us. When they leave the stage, I know the next few are going to be easy. While it’s true that Bree tries to have the order be random, I asked for three suitors to go last—Evander, Tessa, and Lillian. That leaves Gavin, Conrad, Jagger, and Alejandro to follow Pack Wells, who each gets a peach rose.

“Now, we invite our remaining three suitors to join us on the stage. Lillian, Tessa, and Evander, if you will?”

My hand seeks out Koda’s as the three of them make their way onto the stage to stop before us. He squeezes my hand as I take a deep breath.

“I asked for the three of you to come up at the same time because your roses are the biggest changes to the show. Koda and I spent the day trying to decide how we wanted tonight to go, as I wanted us to be in complete agreement on all three accounts. Some decisions were easier to agree on than others, but we’ve decided this is what is best for our pack.”

My eyes move to Evander as Koda slips the first rose into my hand. “Evander, we had fun last night on our date with you, but it also made me realize something. The chemistry that I felt when we first met seems to have fizzled out. I don’t know why or how, but when I started thinking about the pack I’m building, I couldn’t imagine you in it, and I’m so sorry for that. I wish I could because you’re an amazing man and alpha, but you’re just not meant to be ours.”

Evander nods, a sad smile gracing his lips. “I was pretty sure this was coming. I’m sad to be leaving because I’ve met some amazing people here, but I think you’re right. We’re not meant for one another, and there’s no reason to try to force that. There’s a pack out there just waiting for me to meet them, and even if your pack isn’t where I’m meant to be, I’m glad I took a chance to come onto the show. I might be leaving Heated packless, but I’m not leaving it friendless.”

---