Page 31 of Knot Our Reality

It’s my turn to lie. “You don’t think I haven’t been since finding out I was pregnant?”

“Touché.” Mike nudges me. “But maybe try doing it on purpose?”

“You know I already have an annoying brother, right? I don’t need two more.”

They both chuckle at that, but drop it, making me eternally grateful. I ride back to the compound, sitting between Ian and Dylan. They don’t try to pull me into their conversation, and once we make it back to the compound, they walk me to my suite. With a quick kiss on the cheek from all four of them, they leave me alone with my confused thoughts.

Never in my life have I felt this off my axis. Everyone seems to want me to lean into it, but I don’t know if I can.

Chapter Eight

Dalton

After leaving Emilia in her suite, the four of us headed upstairs to take a shower and relax for a little bit. Maverick and I have one of the pack suites, so we’re on the second floor, while Dylan and Ian have rooms on the third floor.

A knock on the door has me glancing at the clock and realizing it’s later than I thought.

“I’ve got it,” Maverick calls from the sitting room, and I climb off the pack bed I’d been napping in.

Did I really need a nap? Probably not, but I needed some space to think, and it led to me falling asleep.

I step out of the bedroom, shirtless and dressed in a pair of gray sweatpants. “Hey, guys.”

“Hey, Dalton.” Ian flops onto the couch, and Dylan follows suit. “These suites are awesome.”

“And way too much for the two of us.” Maverick shakes his head. “I don’t know why they didn’t just put us in one of the regular rooms.”

Dylan chuckles. “Because you’re a pack—even if you’re not bonded. I’m assuming that’s because at least one of you isn’t into guys?”

“Neither of us,” I tell him. “We’re a rare breed on the show.”

“In the world at large, you mean?” Ian laughs. “I think the number of straight men in the entire world is somewhere between ten and fifteen percent.”

Maverick makes a face. “Why do you know that?”

He shrugs. “I like to read, and I was curious.”

“Are you planning to do the interview without a shirt?” Maverick asks me with a chuckle, and I flip him off.

“Of course not. Although it would probably be good for ratings.” I flex my arms and chest until my pack mate shoves me away from him. “I’ll go get changed. I’m excited to see Sasha.”

Dylan frowns. “How do you know he’s here?”

I chuckle as I stand. “Emilia let it slip. I don’t know who else is here.”

“Is it bad that I hope there’s no one from my season?” Dylan sighs as his head drops onto the back of the couch. “Either way, I’m going to have to explain what happened, but it’ll be worse if they were there for it.”

Not sure what to say, I head back into the bedroom and pick out a fitted black tank top. I should probably put on something besides sweats, but I want to be comfortable since we’ll be confined to the top two floors for the rest of the night.

“It would certainly be easier for you if there weren’t anyone else from your season,” Ian reasons. “But I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference. There will be some who won’t be able to get past what happened, while the rest will accept why it happened. I don’t think it’ll matter as much as you think it will, whether or not they were there.”

Dylan hums as I rejoin them, his eyes shut. “I guess you’re right. I knew it would be hard to come back, but I needed to. I needed to have a real chance on the show, you know?”

“Also understandable,” I tell him. “Better prepare yourself to tell the story, though. We need to head out for the interview.”

“That’s not much better than being shirtless,” Maverick tells me with a chuckle.

I shrug. “I have a shirt on. You’re lucky I didn’t change into my basketball shorts. I was considering it.”

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