Page 12 of Knot Their Reality

Jackson surprises me when he pulls me into his arms and lifts me off the ground as he hugs me, pulling a laugh from me as he squeezes me close. When he sits me back on my feet, I'm grinning. "I didn't know what to expect when I came on Heated, but you weren't it. And honestly? I've never been more thrilled in my life. Enjoy the rest of your week, and I look forward to seeing you on Saturday."

"You too!" I call out as he moves over to Jace, the two of them talking in low tones as they head up the stairs. My smile dims only slightly when I turn back to Alejandro.

He gives me a wan smile. "I know I didn't give you the best first impression, and for that, I'm sorry. You and the others? This whole setup? It's very different from my everyday life, and I think I've been struggling with that. It's not a bad thing," he rushes to explain. "It's just different. I promise if you don't send me home on Saturday that I'll try my very best to try to figure out why I'm acting the way I have been.

"No. I'm going to think about that until the next time I see you, and then I can try to figure out how to make sure it doesn't happen again. I'll understand completely if I do get sent home during the first ceremony, but I'm hoping that you'll give me another chance." He sighs. "Not that I deserve it. No matter what, this experience will be something that I cherish."

He reaches out to cup my cheek in his hand, and a smile lights up his face. "I love how true to yourself you are. I love that you stand up for yourself and don't take anyone's shit—including mine. You're one of a kind, Sophia, and whoever ends up in your pack... they'll be lucky men."

And then he's gone, leaving me gaping after him.

What the hell just happened?

Chapter Five

Jace

About an hour after we've said our goodbyes to Sophia, Hector comes to collect me and Jackson from where we've been hanging out in my room. The two of us have been quick friends, even with as different as we are from one another. We've tried to include both Alejandro and Ezra in any way that we can, but Ezra's autism seems to make it harder for him to step outside of his comfort zone so we don't push him too hard.

Alejandro, on the other hand, I'm not sure what's up with him. Half of the time, it seems like he thinks he's so much better than us. The other half of the time, he's personable and seems like he'd be a cool guy to hang out with. But I'm not into someone who's so hot and cold—something that I think applies to Sophia as well.

We step into the game room on the third floor to find both Ezra and Alejandro, along with Tessa and Bree. Hector moves to stand next to the two women as they wave us over. I drop onto one of the couches, Jackson quickly following suit.

"I hope that the four of you have used your time with Sophia wisely," Tessa says, eyes narrowing on Alejandro for just long enough that it's noticeable before her eyes rove over each of us. "It is likely you won't see her again until the rose ceremony on Saturday, where she will decide who she'd like to get to know better and who she'll send packing."

"During the rose ceremony, she isn't required to send anyone home—especially since this is the first one. But it is highly recommended that she send at least one person home at each ceremony. Because we're doing things differently this season, we wanted to make you all aware of that." Bree's smile is soft, but when she opens her mouth to speak again, a high-pitched wail cuts her off.

I turn as a man steps into the room, eyes wide as he carries in a screaming baby. He looks familiar, but I can't seem to place his face.

"I'm so sorry, Bree. I know that you're busy, but I can't seem to get her to calm down." The man looks exhausted. "I think it's because Hudson went home this morning."

"It's okay, Emmett." She takes the baby from him. "Sometimes babies just need a little bit of mommy time, don't they?"

I grin at the way her voice goes higher pitched as she nuzzles the baby's nose with her own. She quiets down almost immediately, and Emmett lets out a sigh of relief.

Bree grins as she looks up at him. "Go take a nap. Emmy can hang out with me and Tessa for a bit. We can always use the extra help. Right, Tessa?"

Tessa laughs, shaking her head. "I'm not sure how much help she’ll be, but we've definitely got her, Emmett. Go sleep."

Bree gives him a kiss before he stumbles off toward the stairs. She's still smiling when she turns back to us. "Sorry about that. This is my daughter, Emmy. She’s almost three months old, and Emmett is the stay-at-home dad while we're here filming."

At least now I know why the guy looked familiar. While I hadn't watched the first season of Heated, I'd at least looked up who had appeared on the first season. I'd known that Bree was the first season's omega and that she'd chosen her pack, but that's about as much as I knew about the season. I wanted to see what kind of suitors they selected for the first season so I could get some idea of what I had to look forward to during our season.

I'd thought about watching when they'd called to tell me I'd been chosen as a suitor, but I thought it might make me act differently? Not to mention the omega could be completely different from Bree—which is kind of true. Bree and Sophia are alike in a lot of ways, but they're also very different.

"But he's definitely been pulling more than his share the last couple of days since the rest of my pack came down for the weekend." She laughs. "Now that you know more about me than you ever wanted to, let's get back on topic. Shit, what was I talking about?"

Now it's Tessa's turn to laugh. "At this point, Sophia has already done an interview about the last day and the four of you. Now it's your turn."

"Oh, right!" Bree laughs at herself, still rocking the baby in her arms. "We wanted to give the four of you a choice that we'll give each set of suitors. We can do individual interviews, or we can do one with all four of you. Or a combination of both. It's really up to you."

"I'm down for a group interview. I think it'll help to know where we each stand, instead of having to guess." I shrug as I glance at the other three. "But if you aren't comfortable with that, I understand."

Jackson shrugs. "I'm fine with doing it as a group, and Jace makes a good point. The two of us were actually just discussing the last twenty-four hours, but I'd love to hear how Alejandro and Ezra feel about how they think it's gone as well. If they're comfortable with it, that is."

"It doesn't matter to me," Ezra says as he shrugs. "I would hope by now that the three of you are used to my brash speaking."

Alejandro looks hesitant before he nods. "It's fine with me as well."

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