Page 35 of Knot Her Reality

I shake my head, trying to wrap my head around what she’s telling me. Sure, there are people out there who would take advantage of an omega, but they’re few and far between. Omegas are too rare to be anything but revered. So why do her alphas keep her guarded at all times? That seems like overkill to me.

We arrive at a building then, and Bridget starts talking, pulling me away from my confused thoughts. Something is definitely weird about Pack Reyes, but that’s something I can worry about later. Right now, it’s time to have some fun.

“Come on, admit it—that was fun, wasn’t it?” I lean forward in my chair, unable to wipe the grin off my face as I glance between the four faces of Pack Reyes.

“I still think it was taking unnecessary risks,” Ana says drolly before her lips turn up at the corners. “But, yes, it was a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be.”

Paisley snorts, holding up her shaking hand. “I was terrified the entire time—I can’t stop shaking. I need someone to explain to me why I enjoyed it so much if those two things are true.”

“Adrenaline,” I tell her. “It’s all about the adrenaline. I’m addicted to it.”

Nash looks pale as he shakes his head. “I don’t think I ever want to do that again.”

Malachi chuckles. “Zip-lining or bungee jumping?”

“Either—both. Just no.” Nash shakes his head. “I don’t even think I’m going to be able to eat.”

“I’m sorry, Nash.” My smile starts to fade. I didn’t realize he wasn’t enjoying himself.

He shakes his head. “It’s okay. The rest of you had a good time, and that’s what matters. I’m used to sitting in my dark room with my face buried in a computer screen. Things like this are outside of my comfort zone, but I’m glad I tried it. At least now I know I don’t like it.”

I don’t know if he’s trying to make me feel better or if he’s being genuine, so I give him a tight smile before turning my attention back to Malachi. “What did you think?”

“That was fucking amazing, Evangeline. If these are the kinds of dates you plan, I can’t wait to go on another one.” He grins down at me, his eyes locked with mine—as they have been every time I look at him. He always seems to be watching me. I guess it should be a good thing, but there are three other people with us—his pack mates, at that—shouldn’t he be paying them some attention too?

I duck my head, needing to look away from Malachi’s intense stare. “We should probably get to eating. It won’t be much longer before we have to head back so I can meet the next set of suitors.”

I lift the lid off my plate, licking my lips when I see the steak, lobster tail, and grilled asparagus. Glancing around, I see the others lift their lids as well, revealing the same thing. “I see we’re all fans of surf and turf with asparagus.”

“I like the steak and the lobster, but I hate vegetables,” Paisley informs me. “But my alphas require me to eat them with my meals.”

“We do need them in our diet. I have specific ones I prefer and those are the ones I tend to stick to. But it’s good that your alphas are making sure you’re eating healthily.”

Ana snorts. “I don’t know about healthily, but we try to make sure she at least has everything she needs in her diet.”

I cut into my perfectly cooked ribeye, lifting a piece and sliding it into my mouth. My eyes flutter shut, a moan falling from my lips as the taste explodes inside my mouth. That’s the perfect damn steak right there.

Opening my eyes, I find four sets of eyes on me. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

Malachi smirks, shaking his head. “No. But that moan you just let out was particularly sinful. Something I would’ve expected to be reserved for the bedroom.”

Heat flickers in my belly as my eyes move to each of them. There’s hunger in each of their eyes—even Paisley, which surprises me. While she said she wanted to give this a try, I really thought she just meant for her pack. This is the first time I’ve seen her show any attraction toward me.

“Ummm…” I fight to remain still in my seat when all I want to do is rub my thighs together. Thank the gods for scent-canceling panties. I can’t even imagine what it would’ve been like to be one of the first omegas before they really knew what the hell we’d evolved into. Because slick is dripping into my panties, and the last thing I need is for the four of them to scent just how turned on I am, considering we’re in a public-ish place. Hell, Lucas and Mike are less than ten feet from us, leaning against the wall.

I clear my throat. “I’ll try to refrain from doing it again?” Why it comes out as a question and not a statement, I have no idea.

“I, for one, wouldn’t mind hearing you make just that sound again.” Malachi is still smirking as he lifts a bite of steak to his lips, humming. “But I can see why you made such a sexy sound. That’s a damn good steak.”

Luckily, that seems to break the tension as the others tear into their food.

Sometimes, being an omega is really weird. I’m not sure how I feel about this pack, but I know they’re all hot and smell delicious. For the part of me that’s all omega, that’s enough. For the part of me that’s more than my omega side, it’s not remotely enough.

Forcing myself to stop thinking about it, I recall what it was like to fly through the air while we were zip-lining. The course is massive, a total of over 8,000 feet, but broken up into smaller sections. Paisley had gone tandem with Malachi, not comfortable doing it on her own. Even Lucas and Mike took part in the zip-lining, Lucas taking the lead and Mike going just before Bridget.

There’s just something about being in the air, the wind whipping around you. I can’t get enough of it. It’s the closest I’ll ever come to being able to fly myself, and I think that’s a huge part of the reason I love it. Just call me an adrenaline junkie.

Once we’ve all finished eating, we climb back into the bungee jumping harnesses so we can be lifted out of the canyon before heading back to the compound. I feel like today has gone so much better than yesterday, which is why I choose to sit beside Paisley on the ride home.

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