Page 37 of Roommate Wanted (Knotty #1)
Nia
One Month Later
Nothing should have changed, yet everything had. I found my place in the world. I’d never belonged anywhere, not fully. Too sharp-edged for home. Too soft for work. Caught in the in-between.
Until Lyall. The shifter who stalked me. Obsessed over me. Infiltrated my life one calculated step at a time until he wormed his way into my home.
I found my place in his heart. Through our bond. With Conall’s unwavering devotion at my side. For once, I wasn’t too much of anything. I was exactly where I belonged.
The pack were cautious of me. That didn’t last long.
Lyall’s threat to exile anyone who had a problem with me being an ex-human was issued during the last pack meeting with his claws extended and his Alpha power booming through the forest.
His parents had become my staunchest supporters. They let the true Wulver legend seep in quietly, in whispers and shared glances. The old story, the forgotten one. The one where the first shifter didn’t choose another wolf. He chose a human. And she became something more.
Their story resonated with me.
Sometimes I caught myself wondering what their bond was like—how a Viking shifter and a mortal woman could fall in love so fiercely that even the wildness of his blood couldn’t keep her human.
After eons, all that remained were traces. Fragments of their legend carried in whispers, in instinct. I was in awe that their legend touched through my bond with Lyall.
That our bond could defy nature.
**
My phone buzzed, and I dragged my gaze from my screen to see Lyall’s name. I grinned at the notification, picking up my phone.
Lyall: Meet me in the cask room.
Me: I can't. My boss will fire me.
Lyall: I cleared it with him.
Me: You're taking advantage of my employment contract.
Lyall: You signed it.
The contract was a farce, but I loved being in the office with him. My phone buzzed again.
Lyall: Bring the handcuffs. They’re in the top drawer.
I chuckled and didn't get a chance to stand up when another message came through.
Lyall: I can't see your sexy grey skirt yet.
Me: You're a tyrant.
Lyall: And you love it. I can smell you from down here.
I closed my eyes, clenching my thighs together. After taking a few deep breaths, I got up to get the handcuffs, discreetly tucking them in my handbag.
“Did the Alpha summon yae again?”
Ailsa asked with a grin.
“You know the score. He is the boss,”
I replied.
“Mair like ye’ve got him in a chokehold. Ah’ve never seen him like this. He can’t do wae’oot yae for mair than an hour. Ah timed him.”
I burst out laughing.
“You've got too much time on your hands.”
“Naw. He makes it so obvious,”
she said, giving me a wave as I walked past her desk.
“I’ll see yae in a couple of hours.”
**
My heels clicked on the wooden floor. The cask room was dark and discreet. We’d broken each other in on nearly every barrel type over the past few weeks.
Hickory. Oak. Cherry. Cedar.
Each held a memory, hands braced, knees shaking, his voice low in my ear.
I paused at the doorway, inhaling. The scent hit me like it always did.
Lyall.
Amber and musk, with that smoky undertone that always made my stomach clench. I followed it deeper, between the rows, the familiar tang of wood and spice heavy in the air.
He was behind me before I heard him move.
“Yae took yer sweet time,”
he grumbled, pulling my suit jacket off.
“How do you even get any work done?”
I asked, listening to him open up my bag and the jingle from the metal cuffs.
“On ma laptop or phone. Yer sweet cunt takes precedence,”
he said spinning me around to unbutton my top.
“Plus, yae wore yur grey skirt an' bright pink top. So, technically, this is your fault.”
Lyall logic.
I shook my head.
He’d taken his jacket off and was wearing black trousers, shirt and tie. I ran a finger down the red silk material until I reached his abdomen.
“Hmm. Quite a large problem you have there, Mr MacDougall,”
I said as he rolled my skirt up my thighs.
His hands froze.
“Stockings?”
he groaned.
“Oh, ma sexy wee cocksleeve. We might be down here for a while wae ma big problem.”
That wasn't a problem for me since my knickers were sticking to me.
He crouched down and rubbed his nose in my knickers. He took a deep inhalation but fell backwards with his eyes on my crotch as if the devil was crawling out of me. He stood up and grabbed my arms.
“You're pregnant,”
he rasped with a wild look in his eyes.
“It’s true, then. This is the first of eleven pups.”
“Do I even want to know?”
I muttered to myself.
“How do you know that I’m pregnant?”
“I cun smell it on yae,”
he breathed, awestruck. Then his eyes lit up.
“Ma wee angel’s carryin’ oor first pup.”
He crushed me in a bear hug so tight I wheezed.
“Shite—sorry. Sorry.”
He immediately loosened his grip, patting my hair like I might break.
“We need tae get yae home. Into bed. Rest. Blankets. Soup.”
He was already grabbing my clothes, muttering to himself like a deranged midwife.
“No. What about the handcuffs?” I wailed.
“Sorry, darlin’. Yer cocksleeve days are officially on hold,”
he said, fumbling to button up my top with all the care of a man dressing a sacred artefact.
“Oh, why don’t you just wrap me in cotton wool while you’re at it?”
I asked, sarcasm dripping off every word.
“Don’t be silly,”
he said, dead serious.
“That’s for the final trimester.”
I stared at him in horror while he put my jacket on. Our cask room trysts were over. My life flashed before my eyes.
“Lyall, let’s not be so hasty. If I get a pregnancy test—”
“Hush, darlin’. A've been sniffing your pussy fur nearly four months. Yae think I cannae tell the difference?”
Nooooooo.
He handed me my purse and scooped me up in his arms.
“Let’s get yae hame, tucked up in bed.”
I was in shock as he carried me through the distillery, pack members watching. We walked past a grinning Ailsa.
I sagged onto his chest.
My life as I knew it was over.