Katrina slowly nodded, understanding the truth in his words. When she nodded in agreement, she expected Bryan to pull away. Instead, she felt his hands caressing her arms in a way she was sure was meant to be reassuring, but instead caused her to shudder with a need to be closer to him.

“I don’t want to put you in danger,” Katrina whispered, realizing that in the short time they’d been together, she had already started to care for him.

Bryan smiled at her and dipped his head to brush his lips against hers, causing her to gasp in surprise. His eyes twinkled, and he did it again. This time, she felt his lips curve in a smile. “Let Morgana try to take you and the lad from me.”

Despite being scared, she couldn’t help but smile at him. Tempted to give in to the urge to kiss him, she leaned forward, only to stop when Arthur started making noises on the blanket. Before she could walk away, Bryan kissed her one time, quick and hard, before releasing her.

Without a word, he walked out the front door, leaving her alone with Arthur and her thoughts. Katrina felt her cheeks heat up and knew she was blushing as she walked over to Arthur and sat with him on the floor. When he smiled, laughing up at her, she giggled, feeling younger than she had in years.

“I think we’ll be okay,” she said, as she picked Arthur up to put him on her lap.

He had grown so much. He was already trying to hold his head up, and she bet that, soon, he would be rolling over. “You know your mother loves you so much. She was so excited when she told me she was expecting you. She knew you were going to be a boy.”

Arthur gurgled up at her, and she smiled. She felt a wave of sadness thinking about her friend. Yes, she was her Queen, but before that, they were friends. Just two little girls who played tag outside and would often sneak out and hide from their tutor together. They often talked about their dreams, about one day being married and having children.

Becoming a Queen’s companion had put her dreams of being a wife and mother on hold. She didn’t regret her choice, but now she had nowhere to go. Could she stay here with Bryan? Did he want her to? If not, could he help her get home to her family with the baby?

There were so many unanswered questions. After a few minutes of playing with Arthur on the floor, she heard the door open and looked up to see Bryan. “I’m starting to worry about the wolves. I am going to go out for a bit and see if I can find them in one of their usual hunting spots. There are a few that are close to the house.”

Katrina nodded, biting her lip, and watched as he walked over to her. He bent down and patted Arthur on the head, then surprised her by brushing his finger across her cheek. “Stay inside while I am gone. I won’t be long, I promise.”

She nodded. This wasn’t the first time he had left her alone. Normally, one of the wolves stayed with her. Since she had been awake, this was the longest they had been gone. Arthur loved the wolves, and despite her misgivings, they seemed to be gentle with him. She had often found the female lying on the floor with him. Snow, the alpha of the pack from what she could tell, never got near Arthur but instead was often watching from afar.

As the day dragged on Katrina did her best to clean up the house. She wasn’t used to cleaning, and her hands hurt from the scrubbing. She never thought of herself as spoiled or even thought about what the housemaids must go through. Her back ached after scrubbing the floor. She didn’t even get done with more than half of it before she stopped to sit on the chair. As Katrina stretched her back, she looked out the window and realized how far the sun had gone down.

Katrina did know how to cook a few things, so she put together what she needed for the stew. As she hummed to herself, she tried to think about anything other than the fact that Bryan had been gone for so long. Once that was done, she heard Arthur begin to fuss and knew it was about time for him to be changed and fed.

After taking care of Arthur, she checked the food. It had been a long time since she had cooked, and she felt proud of herself that it smelled edible. After lighting a few more candles, she spread the new fabric out on the floor next to Arthur. “You’re growing too big. We need to make you something new to wear.”

Arthur smiled and grabbed at his feet. Katrina couldn’t help but grin as she watched him. Bryan had bought her everything she would need, including thread and needles. She used the pins to mark the fabric and went to work.

Katrina lost herself in creating an outfit and chatting with him and occasionally making sure to get up to stir the stew. When her stomach started to rumble, she found herself debating if she should just go ahead and eat.

Before she could make up her mind, the door flew open, and in walked Bryan. She smiled, jumping up from the floor to go to him. Katrina threw her arms around his neck holding him tight, blushing when she heard his soft grunt.

She started to pull away after she realized what she had done and felt him wrap his arms around her. She gave in to the urge to hold him a few minutes longer before stepping back. Her cheeks felt hot, and she knew she was blushing.

“Did you find them?” she asked, knowing when he left he was really worried about his wolves.

Bryan shook his head. “I saw hints of them but didn’t actually find them,” Bryan said, pausing. She watched as his hand came up and pushed a piece of stray hair back behind her ear.

“Sorry I worried you lass. I didn’t mean to be gone so long.”

Katrina nodded grasping her hands in front of herself before rocking on her heels. “I’ve made stew for when you returned.”

“You made supper?” Bryan asked.

Katrina smiled at the note of surprise in his voice. She nodded, “It’s one of the few things I know how to make. My mother decided that I should know something for those times when we were traveling.”

Bryan, she noticed, looked with interest toward the pot that was hanging over the fire. “I need to clean up and will tell you what I saw as we enjoy your delicious meal.”

His simple words of praise made her smile. She watched Bryan go over and greet Arthur who smiled and cooed at the big man pouting a bit when he left. Katrina took the time to make two bowls of stew. Bryan had baked bread two days ago and she placed it on the wooden table along with two cups of cider.

Once Arthur was settled closer to the table, she saw Bryan come out of the room. Both sat at the table. She watched him as he tentatively took his first bite. She hid a smile as she noticed how he hesitated first. His eyes widened, and she watched as he nodded. “This is good.”

Katrina beamed, feeling a sense of pride at something so silly. Women cooked for men all the time. She hadn’t, but others did. Katrina took a bite of her own food and was happy to taste that it had turned out well and wasn’t only edible but rather good if she did say so herself.

“You said you saw hints of them?” Katrina asked after they both took a few more bites of their food.

“There’s a trail several miles from here. It looks like they are tracking a group of men.”

She frowned. “Do they normally track men?”

Bryan shook his head. “No. But I’ve never seen a group this big before. The only other time they have ever tracked men was when they were…”

Bryan’s voice trailed off and she nodded realizing that he was talking about the time they had saved her. “Do you think they’re tracking Morgana’s men?”

After a long pause, he nodded. He watched her as he took another bite. Katrina thought about what he’d just said. Not only was her home under attack, but her Queen was missing. Her family was so far away, she realized she was now completely on her own. When Arthur made a noise demanding her attention she bent down to pick him up thinking she also had a baby to keep safe while Morgana’s men hunted him.

Lost in thought she jumped when she felt Bryan take her hand and squeeze it gently. “Lass, I see your mind spinning. I promise to keep you both safe.”

She nodded and realized, somehow, he would. Bryan was strong enough for her to lean on. She gave him a smile and heard Arthur gurgle his happy noise. The two of them finished eating and Katrina couldn’t help but give him the occasional glance out of the corner of her eye.

When they’d both finished eating Katrina got up to lay Arthur down so she could clean up the pot she’d used when Bryan stopped her. “I’ll take care of that while you put him to bed.”

There was something in the way he looked at her that made her shudder. She nodded, her body responding to the hungry way he watched her. Taking care of Arthur, she sat on the bed and rocked him gently, humming softly. When Arthur finally fell asleep in her arms, she got up and gently put him in his bed covering him with the fur.

Katrina quietly walked to the front room and saw Bryan staring out the window as he sat on the chair. She smiled, his concern for the wolves made him even more endearing. She stepped up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure they are fine.”

He nuzzled her hand with his cheek before Skissing it gently. When his eyes met hers, she whispered, “I was scared something might have happened to you while you were out.”

Bryan didn’t say anything, instead he grabbed her hand and moved to pull her onto his lap. When he looked deep into her eyes, she felt vulnerable. “There was no way I wasn’t coming home to you and Arthur.”

Those words on his tongue gave her hope. Her lips parted, and she wanted to ask him what he meant when he interrupted her thoughts with a kiss. His tongue slid into her mouth, and she let out a small moan. Her fingers found their way into his hair, and she held him tight, as her world seemed to spin with his kiss. Bryan pulled back and gently put his forehead against hers. She was happy to see he was breathing just as hard as she.

“Katrina, if you want me to stop, please tell me now,” Bryan said and she opened her eyes to look right at him.

He was giving her the option. There were so many reasons to say no. But, as she sat on his lap, and he waited patiently for her answer, she couldn’t find a reason that would matter.