Page 28 of Knot His Reality

The only thing I know about Nathaniel is he’s a bonded omega. Because ofHeated, Rancho Mirage has had an abundance of omega-owned businesses opened. Not only do Bree and Tessa prefer to use these businesses for dates, but the show has also brought a lot of tourism to the area. Apparently, everyone wants to visit the places that appear on the show.

I say apparently, as if I don’t want to visit those places as well. On the forum I run online, there have been a few groups that have met up in Rancho Mirage to do just that. I could’ve joined any of them I wanted, but I couldn’t justify being away from work for that. Convincing myself to leave my work behind for three months was hard enough.

“I’m just going to pop in and make sure everything is good,” Lucas tells us. “Mike will let you know when you’re good to come inside.”

“This area is cute.” Brooke glances out the window, taking in the cobblestone sidewalks and the brightly colored buildings.

I nod. “I thought so. It was one of the reasons I chose the place.”

“The name doesn’t give much away.” Lee glances up at the sign, eyes narrowing. “Is that a mug? Is this a bar?”

He’s already figured it out, so I nod. “It is. We have the place to ourselves for the next four hours or so.”

Brooke frowns. “Is day drinking our date?”

“Not exactly,” I snort. “But you can drink if you want. I’ve never been a big drinker, so I probably won’t.”

“You’re all clear to exit the vehicle,” Mike calls back, and I tear the door open and jump out.

I’m so pumped about this date. It might not be as exciting as an arcade, but it’s still something I really enjoy.

Turning around, I gesture for Brooke to exit on my side and then help her out. Lee and Quinn climb out as I bounce from foot to foot.

“You’re really excited. I can’t wait to see what you have planned for us.” Brooke grins as she watches me.

I wrinkle my nose. “Don’t get too excited. I’m a nerd. You might not enjoy it, and that’s okay if you don’t. I know we’re all different people. I just couldn’t pass up the chance.”

Lee brushes his hand over my arm. “You have me intrigued.”

“Same,” Quinn calls over his shoulder as he walks toward the door, holding it open for us. Brooke and I enter first, finding Lucas standing just inside the doorway and a pack of five men standing near the hostess stand.

“Welcome,” a blond man almost yells, excitement clear in his eyes as he clears his throat. “Sorry about that. My excitement got the better of me. I’m Nathaniel, and these are my alphas, Teddy, Paul, Rick, and Nick.”

Lee and Quinn join us, standing at our backs as each of the alphas lifts a hand in greeting. Even though I’m standing a mere foot away from them, I can’t pick up a single one of their scents, which surprises me. Usually, once mated and bonded, packs don’t worry about scent blockers. Our scents change when we bond, blending with that of our pack or partner. It essentially says we’re off the market and doesn’t appeal to unmated omegas and alphas in quite the same way.

“Why don’t you come inside? We have you set up in our back corner booth, but if there’s somewhere else you’d rather sit, just let me know.” Nathaniel steps further into the building, his alphas stepping aside to allow us through.

The further we walk in, the more I notice the lack of scents—even my scent. “What is this sorcery?”

Nathaniel glances over his shoulder, laughing when he meets my eyes. “You mean the lack of scents? Pretty awesome, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes, but how?” I shake my head, trying to think of how they’re pulling it off. We’ve come a long way in advancing our designation-based technology since the Event—at the cost of other technology where research stalled out for years and has just recently begun again—but I haven’t heard of anything that can completely wipe away scents.

“We’ve been experimenting with scent canceling and blocking technology since we opened Nathaniel’s.” It’s not Nathaniel who answers but one of his alphas. Paul, I think. “We’ve been trying to pin down a combination that makes it possible for everyone to enjoy their time here without worrying about their scents.”

I nod as Nathaniel comes to a stop at a massive booth that can see the rest of the bar. It’s big enough to fit at least twelve large alphas. A glance around the room shows a lot of larger tables and booths just like this one, but with smaller ones as well. They’ve made this place as inclusive as they can—making it so that large packs can sit alongside a couple and everyone is comfortable.

I love it.

Nathaniel gestures for us to sit, and I end up sitting between Lee and Quinn, with Brooke on Lee’s other side. “We found two scent sprays that, when used together, are effective in blocking out even the horniest of omega’s scent. We use that with a top of the line filtration system that pulls in the air and separates the scents out before circulating it back into the room. We also use this new brand of scent canceling cleaning products to wipe down each chair, table, and booth in between uses on top of using it to clean the place in general. This is as close as we’ve come to being able to wipe out scents completely.”

“It’s amazing,” I tell him. “Everything about this place screams comfortable. I bet you guys make a killing.”

Nathaniel shrugs, his neck turning pink as he looks away. “We do pretty damn well, but we’re not here to talk about my business.”

“Whatarewe here to talk about?“ Brooke asks. “Remy wouldn’t tell us anything.”

“We’re having a trivia marathon!” Nathaniel announces, looking just as excited at the prospect as I am. “Teddy, will you bring me the tablets? Remington informed me he loves trivia, but he’s better at certain categories over others, so I made sure there’s a mix in there. We have eight rounds that will last fifteen minutes each and they will all be on different topics. We’re also trying different ways of doing trivia today with you as our guinea pigs.”

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