Page 104 of Knot His Reality

“Oh, mine was on purpose,” Ian says with a laugh. “There are certain people you already have better connections with, and I want to see how all of you are together so I can figure out where I fit.”

I consider that for a moment before nodding. “Okay, I can see that. Have you figured it out yet?”

He shakes his head. “Not fully, but I can see that you need me to step up, so I will. I’m an analyzer. I can’t help it, but I promise I’ll put in more effort now.”

“Thank you. What about you, Nolan?”

He grimaces. “I’m not very good at things like this. I’m not sure coming on the show was the right choice. I’m enjoying myself, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t know how to assert myself with the others. It makes me uncomfortable.”

That’s something I completely understand, but it’s also not normal for an alpha. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’m well aware that while each designation has characteristics that most people have, it’s not true for everyone who has that designation. In fact, it endears him more to me.

“I understand, but I can’t be the only one seeking you out. You understand that, right? I need to know you’re interested in spending more time with me. That you’re interested in me.”

“Yes.” He nods slowly before looking away. “I don’t think I’m the right alpha for you, Remy.”

His words bring a slight sting of rejection with them but not much.

“I’m sorry,” he continues. “I’ve been thinking about it for a little while, and while you’re amazing, I don’t think we click. I probably should’ve said something sooner.”

I shake my head. “No. You’re fine. I’m glad you’re mentioning it now. Even if we’re not meant to be a part of the same pack, that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, right? We have a week here, and while I’ll be busy for a good portion of it, I’d like to hang out with you some. Let’s get to know one another without all the pressure.”

“Really? You don’t want me to just go home?” Nolan seems surprised by my words, and that hurts more than his rejection did.

“Of course I don’t want you to go home. The main point of being on the show might be to find my pack, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use it to find friends. Trust me when I tell you, I need more friends in my life. Plus, I love my hometown, and I want all of you to enjoy your time here.”

Nolan grins. “Then yes, Remy, I would love to get to know you as friends.”

“Awesome. I think it’s time to go play in the water for a bit. Do the two of you want to join me? I’m pretty sure we have body-boards here. This isn’t a good beach for surfing, but the waves are good for bodyboarding.”

Ian’s eyes light up. “That sounds wonderful. I’m in.”

Nolan nods. “Me too.”

We grab the boards before heading into the water. I’m so glad I decided to pull them aside, and that Nolan admitted he wasn’t interested in a romantic relationship.

Am I a little disappointed? Sure, but that’s only because no one likes rejection. Even though that’s exactly what I’m doing to those I don’t choose for my pack. A little rejection won’t hurt me, and it really does take pressure off me.

It turns out, a day at the beach and a conversation is all I needed today.

“This is so cool,” Hawk says with wide eyes as I help him into the water.

It’s Wednesday, and we’re at the marine park. I’ve really enjoyed the day so far. I’ve always loved this place.

While it’s a park for people to visit, it’s also a sanctuary and rehab facility for marine animals. They release as many animals back into the wild as they can, but not all of them will survive in the wild. So they keep them here and train them.

There are a few shows, but not many. It’s mainly about getting to see various marine animals in a contained environment. The major draw is the animal experiences. Already today, we’ve already swam with belugas, fed killer whales as their trainers worked with them, trained seals and walruses, and played with penguins. Now, we’re going swimming with dolphins, which has always been my favorite.

“It really is. This was always my favorite part of the park,” I tell him as I help Emilia and then Jasper in. Riley climbs in next, helping Carter and Victoria in. Rhys and Gracie were supposed to meet us here, but we haven’t heard from them. Neither of them are answering the walkie-talkies. Bree and Tessa are here with their packs, including Bree’s kids. They said they’d figure out where the pair disappeared to.

We split up when they wanted to spend more time in the Arctic area. I was too cold, so the rest of us left them to it. The rest of my pack mates and suitors are also here, but they’re not allowed to come to whatever area we’re in since it wouldn’t be fair to the suitors I’m on a date with.

“Okay, we’re going to let the dolphins in now. Are you ready?” One trainer asks, and we scream out that we are.

The gate rises and in swim a whole pod of dolphins—ten of them, to be exact. One for each of us and one for the trainer. The two extra are meant to be for Rhys and Gracie, but two other trainers join us in the water.

The dolphins swim around us, nudging us with their heads both underwater and on the surface. It takes a moment for them to settle down, but once they do, the trainers walk us through some training exercises. Then we all get a chance to hang onto two dolphins as they race around the large pool. We’re all required to wear a life jacket which makes sense with how fast the dolphins zoom around. Eight to ten miles an hour might not seem like much on land, but in the water? It’s almost like flying.

None of us want to get out of the water, but we have reservations at the restaurant in the park soon, so we have to get washed off and changed back into our clothes.

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