Page 67 of Knot Their Reality

"Somebody's in trouble," I sing-song as I walk past them and Carson shoots me a wink. Gods, I love this man.

As soon as we turn the corner, my eyes land on Sophia, and I stop in my tracks. There's never a time she isn't beautiful, but right now she's breathtaking. Her dark hair is down, lying in waves over her shoulder. She wears a silver backless dress that hugs her curves, tight to her thighs before flaring out. I don't know a thing about women's fashion, but I do know that this dress looks like it was made for my omega.

My omega.

A smile tugs at my lips at the thought. Because that's exactly what she is. She's mine, and I'm hers. I've never really believed in fate before, but this has made me a believer. Because Sophia? She's the perfect woman for me—the only woman for me.

I break away from Asher, only feeling a little bad about it, as I approach Sophia. She seems to sense me coming toward her because she spins on her heel when I'm about halfway down the hallway. A smile lights up her face, and as soon as I'm close enough, she throws herself into my arms.

My eyes fall shut as I take in her scent and hold her close. I can hear someone fussing about wrinkling her dress, but I ignore them. When she pulls back enough to look up at me, there's love shining in her eyes.

Gods, what did I do in my life to deserve her? To deserve this? I'm not sure, but I'm damn glad of it.

"Hi, beautiful."

"Hi, yourself. You're looking quite dapper in your tux again." She leans up to brush her lips to mine, though I have to lean down so she can reach. Even with her in heels, I still have inches on her.

"And you're looking good enough to eat," I say quietly as I pull away to look at her. "I love you in this dress."

She preens beneath my attention, and I can't seem to stop smiling. I've never felt anything like this before, but the closest I can think of is when I met my pack.

"As adorable as it is to watch the two of you together, we need to get this show on the road." Bree shoots us an apologetic smile as she steps up beside us.

"Of course, Bree. So how is this going to work?" Sophia steps into my side, her arm going around my waist even as her eyes lock on Bree. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and nuzzle her hair. Even with the scent dampeners, she smells delicious.

"Me, Tessa, and Reginald will head in first. We'll take care of explaining what's going on and then call you in. If you'd like to watch, you can step just inside the door once we have the lights up. The suitors won't be able to see you with the lights shining on both them and the stage because you'll be in the shadows."

Sophia nods. "Good, I definitely want to watch."

There's a quick rundown of how everything will work, and then we're watching as the three of them move into the ballroom. As requested, we wait until the lights are up and Reginald is on the stage before stepping into the darkness just inside the door.

"Welcome back to Heated. Now that Sophia has met all twenty of her suitors, it's time for our very first rose ceremony of the season. As you'll see there are only sixteen suitors currently standing before me. There were some interesting developments with the final four suitors. Tessa and Bree, if you'll come onto the stage and explain what's going on?"

The two women climb onto the stage with smiles. Tessa's eyes go to where the other obviously confused suitors wait. "I know you all expected to meet the last four suitors before the ceremony, but with the developments, we decided that it would wait until after the ceremony."

"The four suitors are a pack, Pack Lewitt. They were a surprise for Sophia as she has met the pack before. Only it didn't end well for them." Bree starts to turn in our direction before stopping herself. "After speaking with them, Sophia decided that she would at the bare minimum go on the group date with them. This next part is probably going to be hard for you to believe."

"You may or may not have heard of omega pairs before. Two omegas would be drawn to one another for reasons they couldn't understand. There was no scientific explanation for the phenomena so it was concluded that they were fated mates." Tessa laughs at the shock on the suitors' faces. "Yes, I know. We're taught that fated mates are just fairy tales and don't happen in real life. Trust me, I had the same reaction."

Bree rolls her eyes. "What Tessa is trying to say is that Pack Lewitt includes a male omega. He and Sophia are an omega pair. The last omega pair was discovered over seventy years ago. Surprisingly enough, it was the grandparents of one of the alphas in Pack Lewitt. I know this is a lot of information for you all to take in—trust me, it has been for all of us.

"You must be wondering what that means for you as Sophia's suitors." Bree smiles as she looks between their faces. "Just because one of the omegas in an omega pair bonds with a pack, doesn't mean that the pack will bond with the other omega. Sophia has agreed to allow Pack Lewitt to continue on the show so they will have the same chance as the sixteen of you to win a spot in her heart and her pack. The only one who is guaranteed a spot is Chase, her omega."

Tessa takes over again. "I'm sure that all of you have questions, but for now they'll need to wait. In a moment, we'll call Sophia and Pack Lewitt in, and the rose ceremony will commence as planned. Tomorrow, we will make sure that all of your questions are answered."

The two of them step off the stage as Reginald once again steps forward. "Now, let's welcome our omega of this season's Heated, Sophia Durham."

I give her a quick kiss before relinquishing my hold on her. Her steps are confident as she moves toward the stage. She accepts Reginald's hand as he helps her climb the stairs before they return to centerstage.

"Hi guys, I'm sure this isn't what you were expecting when you joined the show, but neither was I. I don't think anyone could have expected this." Sophia glances over at the four of us, gesturing for us to join us. "But I'd like you to meet Pack Lewitt and my omega."

She meets me at the edge of the stage, taking my hand in hers. The others follow us as she leads me to the center of the stage. "This is Chase Lewitt. Beside him are his alphas, Asher and Liam, as well as his beta, Carson. Chase, I'd like it if you'd stay on stage with me while they join the other suitors?"

I don't want to tell her no, but I have to make sure it's fine with my pack. This is definitely going to be interesting as I try to figure out how to balance the needs of my pack and my omega. Asher squeezes my arm as I turn to him. They each give me a kiss before exiting the stage and taking their spots amongst the other suitors.

I won't lie, it's a bit odd to be up here with Sophia without them by my side. For the first time, I'm worried about what being fated to her might mean for me and my pack. Sophia must feel me tense because she takes my hand once more, pulling me over to the table with six vases of roses.

"As you can see, there are six different colored roses on the table beside me. Each color has its own meaning. The black roses mean that this is goodbye and you'll be leaving the show. The red roses mean I chose you for my pack. The white roses are an invitation to my room for the night. I'm sure you can figure out what that means on your own." She laughs along with the suitors, and I begin to relax. "The peach roses are an invitation for a one-on-one date. The lavender is an invitation to a group date. The yellow will be the most common roses as they mean that while you'll remain on the show, I'm not inviting you on a date at this time."