Page 87 of Knot Her Reality

“The two of you don’t count,” she mutters, crossing her arms as she settles back into her chair. She’d been hesitant to answer the question, and I wonder if this is why.

“My turn!” Koda interjects, drawing the attention from Pack Reyes. “I want to know what everyone’s hobbies are.”

We get a big mixture of answers here. Anything from dirt biking from Evander to needlepoint from Jagger—things I already knew. No one’s answers surprise me, even if I hadn’t known what their answer would be beforehand. Hopefully, others ask questions that’ll reveal more about them.

When it’s his turn to ask a question, Malachi’s smirk tells me that he’s about to cause trouble. “What’s something you hate?”

“Freeloaders,” Ana says slowly, her eyes on the table as Malachi shakes his head.

“Come on, Ana. We both know that’s not what you hate the most.”

Ana growls at him, crossing her arms over her chest and refusing to meet anyone’s eye. “Shut up, Mal.”

“That’s not how the game works,” I warn Malachi. “She gave an answer, and if she doesn’t want to give whatever you’re fishing for, then she doesn’t have to.”

Malachi blinks at me, acting innocent, before he shrugs. “I just thought you might want to know that one of your suitors can’t stand other female alphas. Might cause a bit of a problem if you decided you wanted both in your pack.”

My eyes slide to Ana as she pushes to her feet. “No, Mal. You wanted to be a shit-stirrer. After all, it’s what you’re good at. But since it’s out there, he’s right. I’m not comfortable around other female alphas. I view them as competition in a way I don’t male alphas. I won’t apologize for that, but I am done with this game.”

“Ana—“ I attempt to call after her, but she just waves me off. I sigh, turning my attention back to Malachi. “That was uncalled for.”

He smirks, shrugging. “It needed to come out before we go any further down the road with you, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to tell you. You might not like my methods, but I know Ana, and this was the only way.”

Suddenly, I no longer feel like playing this game either. This wasn’t how I wanted today to go.

“How about we take a break?” I finally say, climbing to my feet. “I think I could use some time in the pool.”

Shedding my cover-up, I walk straight for the pool. They’ll either join me or they won’t. Honestly, I don’t care.

How is it that we’re barely on the fourth week? I have five weeks left to choose my pack, and I feel like all I’m dealing with is drama at every turn. Maybe I should just go back to bed. I was happy in my nest.

I startle when arms twine around me, a chin resting on my shoulder. I know from the blackberry, waffles, and maple syrup scent that it’s Koda, so I relax back into hold. “You okay, babe?”

“Not really. I’m just so tired of all the drama.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have gone on a reality dating show if you didn’t want to deal with the drama,” he snickers in my ear, and I laugh with him. He’s not wrong. “It’s bound to happen as you narrow down your choices, and at least you’re learning who the drama queens are.”

Laughing, I spin to wrap my arm around his neck. “Did you just call Malachi a drama queen?”

“Sure did, and I regret nothing.”

“I heard that omega,” Malachi growls as he floats closer, a smirk on his face. “And you’re not wrong.”

I shake my head as I allow Koda to pull me across the pool and into the deep end. “You have me now. You don’t have to go through this all alone. If you need something, you just need to tell me.”

Leaning forward, I brush my lips across his as I run a hand through his hair. “Thank you, Koda. I will.”

He just hums as I release my hold on his neck and lay back into the water, keeping a hold of my waist as I float. For just a little bit, I think I want to just relax and forget about it all. It’ll be there later, and then I can make a decision about how to move forward—with Koda’s input. Because I’ve started my pack, and though it’s just me and another omega, I know that I have to consider his thoughts and feelings as well. Which honestly brings me a lot of relief. I’m not on my own anymore.

“What are you going to do with Malachi and Ana’s revelation?” Koda asks me later as we’re getting ready for bed.

I’m only wrapped in a towel as we climbed into the shower after the day spent mostly in the pool. We never did go back to playing games after Ana left. She also never returned and that’s now two weeks where she’s rushed off on a day where we were all supposed to be getting to know one another. That doesn’t bode well for her and her pack because in order to accept one of them, I have to accept all of them.

“I think I’m going to take Ana, Paisley, and Tessa out on a date,” I tell him as I drop my towel and reach for Koda’s discarded shirt. He only wore it long enough for it to smell like him, so I’m going to wear it to bed.

Koda pauses in pulling up his boxer briefs, and I take the time to ogle him a little more. This man—my mate—is fucking gorgeous. He might not have the knot I need, but his dick is nothing to scoff about. And damn, does he know how to use it.

“My eyes are up here, babe.” Koda chuckles as he continues getting dressed. “Are you sure taking all three of them on a date is a good idea?”

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