Page 35 of Roommate Wanted (Knotty #1)
Nia
With the final touches added, I stepped back to admire my handiwork.
The silk-grey dress shimmered like silver. It was subtle, but the perfect shade against my brown skin. The front was modest. The back? Nearly nonexistent, save for a few delicate strings crisscrossing to keep it all together.
The diamanté earrings and necklace caught the light and glittered like stardust.
“Ye’r goin’ oot like that? Where’s the rest o’ it?”
Lyall shrieked like a panicked schoolgirl.
I rolled my eyes at the dramatics.
“I’m meeting your pack. Didn’t you tell me they practically wander around naked?”
He ran his hand through his hair before rubbing a hand over his jaw, looking me up and down while I admired his formal attire. He wore the MacDougall tartan complete with kilt and cloak. Unfortunately, his chest wasn't bare, and his hair could be a few inches longer, but his dangling manbag—
“Naw. Yae cannae go oot like that. Change intae summin’ else.”
His voice shattered my fantasy.
Not a fucking chance. My shoes, makeup, and handbag were all perfectly matched to this dress. We were past the point of negotiation.
“Lyall,”
I cooed, walking toward him.
He shook his head even as I reached up to stroke his neck. The exact spot where I’d marked him. His weakness.
“Your parents went to a lot of trouble arranging this party. Didn't you say that your pack is like your family?”
I asked softly, but suspicion rolled down the bond like a fog bank, followed by the stubborn weight of his ego.
“Aye, what of it?”
“Don't you want me to make a good impression? You’re their Alpha. For them to accept me—being human and all—”
I said, letting my words linger.
He closed his eyes, teeth clenched. Silent war.
“I guess yer front is all covered up,”
he muttered, before spinning me around.
“But—for the love of—yer arse cheeks are right in ma face. Are yae even wearing yer knickers?”
I grinned. His voice had gone full squeaky panic.
Sweet victory would be mine.
**
“We’ve been in hiding for two weeks. Won’t they be annoyed?”
I asked as we drove through the countryside.
The roads were pitch black. I wasn’t used to the silent eeriness of rural life.
“Naw. Everyone knows wit it’s like with a bonded pair. Some couples vanish for months tae get it aw oot ay their system.”
“When can I see the distillery?”
I was curious to see how whiskey was produced.
“About that, why don’t yae come and work wae me?”
The suggestion didn’t surprise me. The last few weeks, we had been wrapped up in one another and our bond. Conall wouldn’t survive living in the city, and I couldn’t be without either of them. They felt like home in a way I’d never imagined.
“I’m sorry, Lyall. I can’t,”
I said gently.
His face fell, and his knuckles turned white from strangling the steering wheel. I felt a stab of pain through our bond and almost rubbed my chest.
“I’d end up suing you for sexual harassment, taking your mansion and business as compensation. You’d be homeless, relying on Conall to hunt your food for you,”
I said, sadly shaking my head.
He took a deep breath before glaring at me.
“Keep your eyes on the road,”
I screamed.
The narrow, spindly roads in the pitch black were death traps.
“Yer arse is mine tonight,”
he growled, but his eyes were on the road.
I chuckled.
It was worth it.
After all, I had to get him back for all the shady shit he did to me.
**
The hall that was booked for the party was stunning. Everyone had dressed up for the occasion, and it was nice to see a few friendly faces. His parents were the most welcoming, and then there were Ewan and Callum. They enjoyed baiting Lyall, who played it cool.
Lyall was like a celebrity within the pack, admired by both young and old.
“What took yae so long, Alpha?”
Kyle asked.
“Ah thought yae wud stay in London forever.”
“He had tae woo the lassie,”
his dad said.
“Mair like stalking the wee lassie,”
Callum added.
“It’s be’cuz she’s human,”
Willow said, staring at Lyall in a way that made me want to claw her eyes out.
“If yae arnae going tae be civil then I suggest yae get yersel’ hame,”
his mum snapped at her.
Willow shrugged and, with a flick of her mousy brown hair fucked off to the open bar. Lyall’s eyes followed her, but they were full of animosity. I nestled into him, and he swapped the drink in his hands to put his hand on my back. It slid under my dress and rested on my ass.
“Yer dress is handy after all,”
he murmured.
“I hope your kilt is, too.”
**
The music swelled, and I slipped away to the bathroom. Too much wine. Too much smiling. Too many hungry eyes on Lyall.
I paused in the corridor, rounding the corner when I heard my name. My real mistake was stopping. Listening.
“She’s no even one o’ us,”
Willow’s voice sneered.
“A human. Weak. Can yae imagine her birthing tae the next Alpha? She’ wudnae survive.”
“Lyall deserves better,”
another woman whispered.
“Someone who understands what it is to be a wolf.”
“She’ll go mad,”
someone added.
“Bonded tae a wolf? It’s only a matter o’ time before she starts foamin’ at the mouth.”
“Ah cannae wait to see her get what’s comin’ fur her,”
Willow said with a snigger.
I didn’t stay to hear the rest. I made it to the bathroom and locked myself in a stall. The tears came silently, burning hot and sharp.
Was this how they saw me? Fragile. Temporary.
A toy for their Alpha to play with?
Then the tears stopped.
Because fuck that.
I wiped my face. Reapplied my lipstick. Fixed the small twist in my dress and turned toward the mirror. My reflection stared back at the fire in my eyes, spine straight, mouth curling into a slow smile.
If they thought I was going to slink back to London like some broken bitch, they didn’t know a damn thing about me.
Lyall was mine. Conall too. Not just because they claimed me, but because I claimed them.
And I would not be whispered about like some scandal.
I would be seen.
And I would be fucking heard.