Page 48 of Knot Their Reality

"You seem to be thinking awfully hard over here by yourself."

I turn my head to find the beta from season one standing beside me, a smile on his face. I'm still fairly certain his name is Brody.

My shoulders unclench as I relax in his presence, something I've never had happen around another beta. We're supposed to be the calming ones to alphas and omegas—not one another.

"That's freaky as hell," I tell him as I shake my head.

The smile falls from his lips as his brow scrunches in confusion. "What is?"

"This whole super calming presence thing you have going on." I laugh, waving my hand in his direction. "I'm a beta too, so why does having you stand here make me relax?"

His lips quirk up before he laughs. "You know? I've had a lot of people say that to me—of all designations—and I honestly have no idea. It's been like this since I was a baby. At least that's what my mom tells me."

"I'm a little jealous," I admit as I turn back to the window. "And yes, I was thinking pretty hard. I'm worried about what will happen after the rose ceremony. We're all getting along now, but will it stay that way?"

He hums. "We'll probably all group off as we progress into the show. That's what happened during the first season. There will be conflict at some point. Someone will get jealous, or say something stupid that they don't necessarily mean. I think conflict is in human's DNA, as much as we'd like to deny it."

"You're probably right," I admit. "But I don't like it. Which, I know is stupid. There are twenty of us vying for what? Five or six spots in a pack with an amazing omega. Someone—more than one someone—is going to end up disappointed."

"You're not wrong, but we can always hope that she wants a huge pack. Maybe she'll want fifteen?" Brody laughs. "What'll really suck is if she only wants three or four. Bree wanted a big pack, and she only picked six. Did any of you think to ask Sophia? Because I sure didn't."

I shake my head. "It didn't even cross my mind. So many things didn't cross my mind while we were there with her. I'm not going to lie, I was just happy to be in her presence. She's kind of amazing."

"She really is. I really like her as a person, as much as one can after only twenty-four hours." He glances outside, following my line of sight. "Last season, Bree met all of us on the same night. I can see why they decided to have Sophia only meet four of us at a time and have given her twenty-four hours with us. Hopefully, she doesn't forget any of us in the meantime, right?"

I laugh with him. "I somehow doubt she'll forget any of us. Though some dates will be more prevalent in her mind as we go into the rose ceremony."

Brody just hums again, and the two of us fall silent as we keep our watch. There's obviously no way for either of us to know what's going to happen—nor would I want to know, even if I could—but there's something comforting about standing there together. It's like we're supporting one another as we wonder what might come to be. And isn't that what being a pack is all about?

I get the feeling I'm going to learn more about myself during this show, and what it means to be a part of a pack even if I'm not chosen. Coming on Heated was definitely the right choice, no matter the outcome.

Chapter Sixteen

Sophia

Finally, we're down to the last set of suitors. Only four more people for me to meet and then all twenty suitors will be here. I'll get to know them over the course of tonight and tomorrow morning, and then I'll have another session with Finnegan, or Finn as he asked me to call him. He definitely nixed the idea of me calling him Dr. Abernathy, or Dr. Finnegan, or anything with doctor. It had actually been quite entertaining to me, but let's be real, I was really just deflecting.

The session had helped a lot though. Having someone to talk to about what I'm feeling was surprisingly... nice. I've never considered seeing a therapist or anything before, but Finnegan might have changed that. Even though we'd only discussed what I've been feeling since I've been on the show, it still made a ton of difference for me.

There's obviously a lot of shit I need to work through in my past, so I just might consider looking someone up once I've finished the show.

I glance around, finding Bree, Tessa, and Reginald standing together with their heads bent. They're talking in hushed whispers, occasionally glancing at me with worry in their eyes, and it's kind of freaking me out. Something is obviously going on, but I have no idea what.

And there went my anxiety levels again.

When they break apart, Bree heads toward me as she bites her lip. The closer she gets, the high my anxiety climbs. Whatever she's going to say to me, I don't think I want to hear it.

"This is it, Sophia, the last set of suitors. Are you ready for this?"

"Ready for what exactly?" I glance over her shoulder at Reginald and Tessa, finding them both staring at me. "What the hell is going on?"

Bree chews on her bottom lip before shaking her head. "I thought this was a good idea at the time I set it up, but now I'm not so sure. There's not much we can do about it now...." She trails off, leaving me staring at her blankly.

"Thought what was a good idea? Bree, what is going on?"

"I'm sorry. I don’t think telling you will help matters any. Just know that I'm sorry to be springing this on you, and know that I did it out of a place of caring."

Then she's gone, and all I can do is stare after her, fear building inside of me. I don't understand what she's sorry for. What is happening right now?

---