Chapter Nine
Remington
I step into the dining room, surprised to find Alexei and Nikolai already sitting at the table with coffee in their hands. For once, someone beat me down for breakfast.
“Good morning, Remy,” Alexei trills, pushing to his feet to stand beside the chair at the head of the table. Once again, I’m reminded just how much I love their accents. “Come join us.”
“Good morning, Alexei. Good morning, Nikolai.” Stepping inside, I move around the table and smile when Alexei pulls out my chair. I’m hit with a whiff of his whiskey and oak scent that has me licking my lips.
Once I’m seated, he pushes it forward while Nikolai lifts his coffee cup. “Can I get you some coffee?”
“Yes, please. I’d like that.”
Nikolai nods, doing just that. “And how do you take it?”
I grin. “Lots of cream and sugar.”
“Of course.” Nikolai scoffs while Alexei laughs.
“Nik does not appreciate sweets for breakfast so he drinks his coffee black. Sweets are for always.”
I nod, glancing between the brothers. “Sorry, Nikolai. I have to agree with Alexei on this one.”
Nikolai scoffs before leaning over and handing me the cup of coffee. My eyes fall shut as his butterscotch and bourbon scent hits me.
Shaking my head, I take a sip of the coffee, and find it’s perfect.
“You might not like your coffee sweet, but you made it just the way I like it,” I tell Nikolai with a grin.
He gives me a small smile as he nods. “Good.”
“If you’re making coffees, I’ll take one.”
Looking up, I find Camila grinning as she walks around the table with Rhys just behind her. “Good morning, Camila. Rhys. Did everyone sleep well?”
Even though the five of us stayed up way too late last night, chatting and flirting by the pool, everyone looks nice and rested.
“I slept like a baby,” Camila says as she sits in the chair beside me, sending a waft of her citrus, plum, and vanilla scent. Taking a second deep breath, I recognize amber undertones in it as well. “Even sharing a room with someone I only met for five minutes.”
“The beds are most comfortable,” Nikolai agrees.
Alexei leans forward as he nods. “They gave us pack suite, so we had many beds to choose from. All were most comfortable.”
“I also slept well. Did you, Remy?” Rhys smiles at me, and I wonder if the man is ever not smiling. Not that I want to find out. I quite like his smile.
I lean toward him, wanting to see if I can scent him over Camila. Usually, an alpha’s scent will be stronger than a beta’s. It takes a moment, but then his caramel crème br?lée scent makes itself known.
So damn good.
Before I can answer, the side doors open and food is placed on the buffet.
I’m out of my seat before the servers have closed the doors behind them. “I’m starving. And, yes, Rhys, I slept very well. Thank you for asking.”
Chairs scrape across the floor as the others stand to join me. I reach for a plate, only for it to be snatched from my hands. Growling, I turn around to find Alexei grinning down at me.
“Please, Remy, I make your plate for you.” His smile is so earnest. How am I meant to tell him no?
And what’s with all these people wanting to make my plate for me? I’m perfectly capable of making my own plate of food.
“You’re not even an alpha,” I say with a frown. “I totally thought this was an alpha thing.”
“If you prefer alpha makes your plate, I understand.” Alexei deflates a little, making me feel like an asshole.
“No.” I shake my head. “That’s not what I meant. I’d love for you to get my food for me. It’s not that I don’t want a beta making my plate. It’s just I thought feeling the need to do that was something only alphas did.”
“Ahhh. I see.” Alexei nods, smiling at me once more. “I make your plate, then. It is not just alphas who want to care for their omegas—or potential omegas. Good betas will also want to take care of their omegas.”
Camila joins us, bumping me with her hip. “Come now, Remy. We do not turn down hot men who want to provide us with food. If anyone wants to make my plate, I’m happy to allow it.”
“I will do it.” Nikolai steps up beside her, holding a plate. “Tell me what you would like.”
Camila winks at me as the two of them step closer to the buffet. Grabbing Alexei’s hand, I drag him over and start pointing out what I’d like.
Once my plate is full, Alexei leads me back to the table with a hand on my lower back. He sets it on the table when I sit, pushing my chair under the table again.
“Thank you, Alexei.”
“It is my pleasure, omega.” He dips his head before heading back to the buffet.
Rhys sets his plate on the table as he joins us, chuckling. “There was no one left for me to get food for except myself.”
Camila and I laugh before the three of us dig into our food. It doesn’t take long for Nikolai and Alexei to rejoin us. No one speaks as we eat, but it’s a comfortable silence. I like that I already feel comfortable with this group of suitors.
Not that I didn’t feel comfortable with the other suitors I’ve met so far, it’s just…different. I don’t know how to explain it.
Part of me wonders what it’ll be like when I have all twenty suitors together.
Wait, not twenty. There will only be nineteen with Lorenzo in the hospital.
I sigh as worry threatens to consume me. There had been no updates on his condition when I went to bed last night.
A small hand finds mine, squeezing lightly. “What’s wrong, Remy?”
I wince as I lift my head to meet Camila’s gaze. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just worried about Lorenzo.”
“He is alpha who is in hospital?” Alexei asks, and I nod.
Camila squeezes my hand once more before releasing it. “Don’t apologize for worrying about someone else. Hopefully, there will be an update soon.”
I shrug. “I have anxiety issues. I worry about a lot of things that I can’t do anything about. I wish I could make myself stop, but it’s hard.”
“It just shows you care,” Rhys says softly.
I roll my head from side to side, trying to work out the tension that’s slowly setting in. “It’s not what I want to focus on. I want to focus on our date.”
“Oh, good. Me, too.” Camila claps her hands. “And what are we doing on our date?”
“Good try. I’m still not going to tell you what we’re doing.” I laugh, scraping the last of the food into my mouth. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
She pouts, but it’s clear she’s fighting back a smile. “Fine. Be that way then. See if I care.”
Nikolai cocks an eyebrow. “It seems you care very much.”
“Whatever.” Camila sticks her tongue out at the alpha and breaks into laughter. “I just wanted to see if he would give us any hints.”
Someone clears their throat in the doorway, and we turn to find Tessa and Bree standing there.
“Good morning, everyone.” Bree offers us a smile. “Are you just about done eating?”
“Yup.” When I start to stand, Tessa waves for me to stay seated, so I lower myself back into the chair.
Tessa glances around at the five of us as she sits on the chair on the opposite side of the table from me, and Bree sits in the chair on her right. “Remy, I know you’ve been worried about Lorenzo, so we wanted to give you an update. The doctors are telling us he’s stable as of now, but he still hasn’t woken up. At this point, it’s a waiting game. They don’t know when he’ll wake up, but they’re confident he will.”
“As worried as we know you are, we won’t be updating you again unless something changes.” Bree’s tone is softer than Tessa’s as she watches me. “I know I can’t ask you not to worry about him—nor would I—but we need you to focus on the show and finding your pack.”
I nod slowly. “Okay, I can understand that. You promise that if anything changes, you’ll let me know?”
“We promise,” Tessa assures me. “As soon as the doctors notify us, we’ll let you know.”
“Cool. Does that mean it’s time to head out for our date?”
Bree snorts, lifting her hands to hide her face, her shoulders shaking with the laughter she’s trying to hide.
“Yes, Remy. The five of you can go on your date now.” Tessa rolls her eyes as she stands, waving. “Have fun.”
We all push to our feet, heading for the front door. Today’s date should be interesting. While I enjoy what we’re doing, it’s not something I’ve had a lot of time to do in the past, so this could be a complete disaster.
Lucas and another man are standing outside the SUV when we make it down the walkway. The man looks familiar, so I know I’ve met him. I just can’t recall his name.
“Good morning, everyone,” Lucas calls. “Remy, I believe you’ve met Evan before?”
Ah, right. That’s his name.
“Just the once, but yes.” I offer the beta a wave. “Did you let Mike have a day off?”
Lucas nods. “If I want to be off on Saturday, I have to make sure he gets a day off, too. Evan will be with Mike on Saturday. While we have more of my guys doing patrols and keeping the grounds safe, we wanted to make sure you always had the same guards with you. Bree thought it would ease your anxiety since that’s one less thing you have to worry about.”
And this is the exact reason I decided to come on the show. I might freak out over things, but I know Bree and Tessa are doing everything they can to make me feel comfortable. There might not be a way to make myself stop worrying about things, but at least they do their best to give me less to worry about.
“Perfect. Thank you, Lucas.” I climb into the SUV with Camila right behind me. I sit in the middle of the back row before realizing how hard it’ll be for others to join me, so I scoot over to the right side.
Camila and Rhys sit in the captain’s seats in the middle row as the twins join us. Alexei sits on the left side, leaving the center seat open for his twin, but Nikolai shakes his head.
“Remy, you will sit in middle.”
Opening my mouth to argue, Camila taps my arm. “Do not argue your way out of a twin sandwich, Remy. I will be so mad at you if you do.”
“You’re an odd duck, Camila,” I tell her and shake my head as I return to the center seat. It takes a bit of maneuvering, but eventually, Nikolai gets situated, and I’m trapped between hot-as-hell twins.
Okay, maybe Camila was right. I do need to be in this twin sandwich.
Nikolai throws his arm behind me, his fingers brushing my shoulder as Lucas pulls away. I can’t help noticing the movement of his fingers as they dance across my shoulder, sending heat rushing through me—my cock hard behind my jeans.
That’s probably my biggest complaint about being a male omega. At least with female omegas, they’re able to hide their arousal somewhat. I have no way of doing that when my cock is throbbing and begging for attention. I guess I could wear bigger pants, but that doesn’t sound overly comfortable. I like the way my clothes fit.
When Alexei’s hand trails across my thigh, I gasp. “What are you doing?”
“That looks painful,” he says with a devilish grin. “I thought you could use some relief.”
I slap his hand away, squeezing my eyes shut as I attempt to regain control. I’m so close to coming in my pants, it’s not even funny. “Absolutely not. You keep your hands to yourself. It won’t take much for me to come in my damn pants, and I am not walking around like that all day. No one is getting me off in the back of an SUV on the way to our first date. Are we clear?”
I hear smothered laughter from the front, telling me Lucas and Evan are listening in to our conversation. My face flushes as I bury it in my hands, groaning. “Sometimes being an omega is so fucking embarrassing.”
“I’m sorry, Remy,” Alexei says softly. “I did not mean to upset you. It was meant to be joke. Sometimes I forget what it is like to be around omega.”
“It’s fine. It just feels like I have no control sometimes,” I respond, sitting back up.
Camila twists in her seat, reaching out for my hand as Nikolai takes the other. “I can only imagine how rough things can be when you’re having to deal with hormones on top of normal attractions,” she offers with a smile. “But we’ll behave, won’t we, boys?”
They all agree, and we fall back into conversation easily. I almost sigh audibly when my cock finally softens just before the SUV comes to a stop.
“Sizzle & Stir?” Rhys asks as he glances over his shoulder at me. “Is this a restaurant?”
“Not quite.”
Lucas clears his throat. “I’ll head inside to make sure everything is clear. No one steps foot out of this SUV until Evan gives the all clear.”
“Of course, Lucas. Thank you,” I tell him as the others murmur their agreements.
Five minutes later, we’re exiting the SUV and heading into Sizzle & Stir. We’re greeted at the door by a male omega and a female alpha.
“Welcome! My name is Pierce, and this is my alpha, Tawny. We’re very excited about your class today.” The omega smiles as he looks between the five of us.
“Class? What kind of class?” Rhys asks, eyeing the white chef’s apparel Pierce and Tawny wear.
I grin. “We’re taking a cooking class! We’re going to learn to make an appetizer, a main course and side, and a dessert.”
“Cooking, you say?” Alexei’s eyes are wide, his smile lighting up his face. “I love cooking. Nikolai is not good, but I am excellent chef.”
“I love cooking but don’t always have time for it,” I admit. “Usually I just grab take-out after work. It’s easier. But since I have the time right now, and I needed a date idea, I figured why not?”
“This should be fun.” Camila’s smiling almost as much as Alexei. “I grew up cooking.”
Rhys makes a face. “What happens when I burn everything? I don’t cook well.”
Pierce chuckles. “That’s quite all right. Each of you will be making more than you can eat yourself. If someone’s doesn’t turn out well, there will be plenty. Plus, Tawny and I will be cooking as well. None of you will go hungry, I promise.”
“If you’ll follow us back to the classroom, we’ll be going over some basic safety before we get the class started,” Tawny advises. “We want to prevent accidents in the kitchen if possible since they’re usually painful.”
“That is because cooking is dangerous,” Nikolai points out. “We should not cook.”
Alexei slaps his brother on the back, sending the alpha stumbling forward. “Do not be kozyol , brother. We will have fun.”
“What does kozyol mean?“ I ask, completely butchering the word.
Nikolai rolls his eyes. “The literal meaning is goat. When used as insult, he is disgracing me.”
I eye the twins. “If you’re going to insult one another, can you at least do it in English? Because I don’t think the meaning translates well to the rest of us.”
Camila shrugs. “I don’t know. I might start calling people goats when they piss me off. I bet that would shut them right the hell up.”
“You’re probably right.” Rhys snickers.
Pierce and Tawny stand there, watching us with amusement dancing in their eyes. I shrug as I step toward them. “Brothers? What can I say?”
Pierce waves me off. “It’s fine. I think this class is going to end up being a lot of fun with this group. Come with me.”
After being handed aprons and hairnets, Tawny goes straight into her safety talk. It mostly consists of information I already know, but I understand her need to go over it. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
“So what will we be making?” Alexei asks once she’s finished.
Pierce smiles. “Remington requested Italian, so we’ll be doing focaccia col formaggio for our starter. For the main course, farro mafaldine with black truffle butter and mushrooms and roasted eggplant. Then, for dessert, we’ll be doing panna cotta.”
Nikolai still wears a frown. “I do not know what most of that is,” he admits. “It sounds hard.”
Moving over to stand beside him, I nudge him with my shoulder. “It’ll be fine, Nikolai. I’ll help you.”
He considers me for a moment. “ Da. You will help and we will make best Italian meal together.”
“That’s the spirit!” Pierce calls out. “Now, you’ll find all the ingredients you need in the small fridges at your workstation.”
As we get started, I’m surprised to find out that the focaccia col formaggio and panna cotta will take the longest, both taking nearly four hours total. We start with the focaccia col formaggio , mixing the dough in a stand mixer before taking it out and kneading it. Nikolai doesn’t have any issues with this part and before long, we’re wrapping the ball of dough and setting it aside.
It’ll have to sit for three hours before we roll it out and get to the actual making of the focaccia col formaggio .
The panna cotta mixture takes us about twenty minutes before we’re pouring it into a pan and setting it inside the fridge to rest for a minimum of three hours. Really, it’ll just sit there until it’s time for dessert.
“Now it’s prep time!” Pierce calls out. “We grow our own vegetables out back, so we’re going to head out there so we can show you how to go about choosing the right vegetables.”
While we prep and cook the meal, we try a few Italian wines Pierce has on hand before choosing one that will pair well with our late lunch. Shortly after three, we have a full meal spread out before us, and I’m so ready to dig in.
We each grab a little from each person’s attempts, and I’ll admit some are better than others, but they all turn out pretty good. I don’t like to brag, but mine and Nikolai’s Farro Mafaldine are the best by far—except for Pierce’s.
Rhys surprises us all, including himself, with his panna cotta. Even Pierce and Tawny can’t stop raving about how good it is.
Once I’ve eaten more food than I should, I sit back in my chair and glance around the table. Lucas and Evan have joined us while Pierce and Tawny left us alone after tasting each dish. Everyone is joking around and having a good time, and I really see what I’ve been missing out on.
This is what a pack should look like. Or at least, this is what I want my pack to look like. Spending time doing something together—even if it’s not an activity everyone enjoys—and just enjoying that time together.
It’s hard to believe that I’ve known these people for less than twenty-four hours, and I already feel more comfortable with them than most people I’ve met in my life.
Is it because we’re forced together for Heated ? It is because Bree and Tessa are miracle workers and just seem to know who and what that season’s omega needs?
I shake my head at that because I’ve seen some of the suitors on past seasons who were far from a good fit for the omegas.
So does that make it all luck? Fate?
I have no idea, but I’m willing to admit I’m so grateful for it.
“What big thoughts are you thinking over there, Remy?” Rhys asks with a smile.
“It’s crazy that we’re just a group of random people thrown together, and yet we get along so well. It’s crazy what this show does for people.”
When Nikolai smiles, it’s the softest I’ve ever seen him look. “Things are sometimes just meant to be.”
And maybe he’s right.
Lucas pats his stomach. “As amazing as this food is, we need to head back to the compound. Remy has four more suitors he still has to meet tonight.”
Which means saying goodbye to these suitors—a thought that makes me a little sad. Not enough to sour my scent, just enough that makes me wish that maybe I met the four of them somewhere besides the show.
Will I choose them for my pack? I don’t know yet. I still have eight suitors left to meet and two more group dates to go on. I barely know any of the suitors.
As much as I’d love to say yes, I’ll know exactly who I’m choosing after I’ve met them all, but that’s not how it works, is it? Instant connections and attraction are great, but they’re not what you build a pack on. You build it on shared beliefs, mutual respect, and love.
I like these four but I don’t know them well enough to be in love with them. That’ll take time.
I’m sure there are those out there thinking that eight weeks isn’t much time and maybe it’s not, but it’s what I have.
The drive back to the compound goes by entirely too fast and then the five of us are standing outside the door to my suite.
“Have fun meeting the rest of the suitors. They’re all amazing,” I tell them. “And I’ll see you in a few days.”
Camila grabs my hand before I can open my door. “Come now, Remy. If I wanted a kiss when we first met, don’t you think I want one after our first date?”
I really have no desire to say no to that, so I lean down and kiss her. This time, I run my tongue along the seam of her lips and sigh when she opens for me. Her hands slip beneath my tee as our tongues twine together, her body pressing against mine. My cock immediately goes rock hard as I grind against her.
We’re both breathing hard when we break apart.
“That was hot,” Alexei says as he turns my head to him. “My turn.”
At this point, there’s no way I’m not perfuming like crazy, but all I can smell is his whiskey and oak scent, tantalizing me along with his tongue. He pulls away and Nikolai is taking his place. They’re both damn good kissers, but I’m surprised to learn that Alexei is the more aggressive of the two.
I lean back against the door, trying to get my bearings, when Nikolai steps away with a smirk on his lips. I turn my head toward Rhys, ready to kiss him too, but he shakes his head as he brushes his lips against my cheek.
“No, Remington, I think you’ve had enough kisses for now. I promise the next time you see me, I’ll give you a real kiss. Until then, this can hold you over.”
“Okay. Thanks. I enjoyed the kisses—I mean, the date.” I laugh. “No, I also meant the kisses. Thank you. Okay, bye.”
My head is a mess of desire and wanting as I stumble into my suite, slamming the door shut behind me. My cock is pressing painfully against my pants, and I tear them open and shove them down my hips. My hand is stroking my cock before I even give it a thought.
Slamming my head against the door, I groan as relief rushes through me. I’m so turned on, it’s not going to take much for me to come.
I prove myself right when I fall apart after just four strokes, cum shooting over my hands and tee as I sink to the floor.
Panting, I try to catch my breath.
Holy shit, that was fucking hot as hell.