Page 39 of Knot Their Reality

The two move toward me, coming to a stop side-by-side in front of me. The second man is the first to speak. "Hello, Sophia. My name is Gage Kenyon, and this is my pack mate, Ulf Wagner."

An unbonded pack then. You can always tell by the last name. Once a pack bonds, they share a last name. It's much like marriage, only a bit more permanent, as removing a mate mark is nearly impossible and often deadly.

"It's nice to meet you both. Why don't you tell me about yourselves?" I ask as their scents reach my nose. With two of them standing before me, it takes me a moment to figure out which scent belongs to which alpha—because they're definitely both alphas.

Their scents pair so well together that it almost seems like one scent, making it even more difficult to figure out which one belongs to whom. But as Ulf begins to speak, his scent intensifies slightly—snow-coated pines, which immediately brings me back to my time in the mountains two years before. When you add in Gage's mistletoe, berries, pine boughs, and holly, it's almost enough to undo me. My mind spirals back to the unexpected Christmas I'd spent in the arms of four men who I thought could be mine. All before they ripped out my heart, leaving it shredded on the floor without even knowing it.

"Sophia?"

I shake my head, squeezing my eyes shut as the memories rush through me. The memories of warm fires and soft-spoken words. Of falling snow, pine trees, and silence. Of feverish hands brushing along my overly hot skin. Of their bodies moving against mine as we lost ourselves to the heat. Of harsh spoken words I was never supposed to hear. Of running as quickly as possible while trying to keep myself held together.

"Fuck," I curse, clenching my hands. "I'm sorry. Give me just a second."

Forcing myself to breathe through it all, I'm finally able to push away the memories and the pain that they always bring.

With an apologetic smile on my lips, I lift my head to find the two alphas staring at me. "I'm so sorry. Your scents... They triggered some memories that I'd rather not have to go through again. But I'm okay now, I promise. Can we start again with you all telling me about yourselves? I don't think I caught a word of it."

"Bullshit," Ulf says in his gruff voice. "You're the furthest thing from okay."

I jerk my head back in surprise, not believing he called me out on my little white lie.

Gage winces. "While it could've been worded better, Ulf isn't wrong. You're shaking."

I can't help the bitter laugh that escapes my lips. "That might be true, but it's polite to ignore things like that and let the person at least pretend they're putting on a good show."

"That's stupid." Ulf shakes his head. "If you're not feeling okay, then you should not say you're okay. If people would just say what they mean and not use pretty, useless words, then there would be a lot fewer misunderstandings in the world. You are not okay."

"No," I spit out. "I'm not okay, but I don't need you to point it out to me. I promise, I'm quite aware of the situation."

"You'll have to excuse Ulf. Tact is not one of his strong suits, though he does have them. If I had to guess, I would say it was his time in the Alpha Guard."

My head whips up to Ulf. "You were in the Alpha Guard, too?"

"What do you mean, too?" the big man asks.

I jerk my head back toward where I know Dylan is standing. "My first suitor of the day, Dylan, was also in the Alpha Guard."

Ulf's eyes follow my movement until his eyes land on the other man. "Whitlock?"

I turn around to face Dylan, wondering what the hell is going on right now. Dylan is grinning at the three of us.

"Wagner," he says with a respectful nod. "I was wondering when you would notice I was standing here."

"The two of you know one another?" I ask slowly, putting two and two together. "You were in the Guard together?"

Ulf nods. "We were. We actually left the service around the same time."

"What a small world," I hear Gage murmur.

Clearing my throat, I turn back to Ulf and Gage. "You'll have time to catch up once we get through this. Now, I know I was freaking out and kind of still am, but can we start over with you telling me about yourselves?"

Ulf's eyes soften before he inclines his head. "Of course, omega. I'm sorry for upsetting you further. I'm used to dealing with a bunch of nitwits that if you don't tell them exactly what you want them to do and the exact steps, nothing will get done correctly. And Gage is correct. Tactless is definitely a descriptor that is often used about me."

"That's okay. I won't hold it against you this time," I say with a smile that he quickly returns.

"I'm sure you've already picked up on the fact that Ulf and I are both alphas," Gage begins before Ulf takes over for him.

"I'm forty-four, and Gage is twenty-nine. When I left the Guard, I didn't know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I just knew that I didn't want to spend it fighting other countries or keeping members of the government safe. They also did not approve of my tactlessness." He chuckles, rolling his eyes. "I ended up working as a roofer and fell in love with it. There's just something about the hard work that I find fascinating."

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