Saving the King

by Leilani Love

  “You will marry me,” Bryan said, his voice coming out harsher than he meant.

  He watched as Katrina turned her head and glanced at him over her shoulder giving him a look that let him know she was not going to budge. Before turning her back on him, she pulled the blankets up to her shoulders and dismissed him.

  Bryan rolled onto his back, confused, as he watched as the firelight played on the ceiling. Katrina should be happy he was going to marry her. Bryan turned and looked at the back of her head and the blond hair on his pillow. He doubted she would appreciate that he was smiling at her. Even though he had no idea why she was suddenly mad, he still found her adorable.

  He waited until he saw her body relax and heard her breathing even out. Bryan curled up behind her and wrapped his arm around her, wanting to hold her before he fell asleep. Katrina sighed and he felt her wiggle closer to him. Kissing the back of her head, Bryan smiled as he finally drifted off to sleep.

  The next morning Bryan awoke just as Arthur started to make happy noises from his bed. He was a happy baby and slept most nights without waking up. He knew from his younger siblings and his sisters’ new baby, that it wasn’t always the case. Looking down, he saw Katrina lying across his chest. Her leg was tucked between his, her hand on his chest and he couldn’t help but notice how small she was compared to him and how she fit him perfectly.

  When Arthur started making more noises, he slid out from underneath her. Bryan picked up Arthur who let out a happy squeal. Bryan glanced at the bed, before walking out, admiring the vision that Katrina made with her hair across his pillow as she slept.

  After cleaning and feeding Arthur, he laid him on his fur bed and watched as he cooed and made noises to get Snow’s attention. Arthur kicked his feet as if trying to get the big wolf to stop pretending to be uninterested.

  Bryan thought over the events of last night. Katrina telling him she wouldn’t marry him wasn’t an option. He knew she cared about him. Her telling him no made no sense. Any woman in her circumstances should be happy he wanted to marry her. What was she thinking?

  Having sisters, Bryan thought he understood women. They were all happily married and glad to have kids of their own to raise. Katrina telling him no threw him for a loop. Hearing a noise from the room, he saw Katrina standing in the doorway.

  “You should have woken me up,” Katrina said as she stepped into the room noticing how Arthur kicked happily as she approached.

  She bent down and picked him up, giggling when he grabbed her face. He tried to give her a big open mouth kiss and Katrina made a smacking noise while she let him. Bryan watched. He knew she was a lady and probably had little interactions with babies before this, but she seemed to grow more at ease every day.

  Bryan stood and walked over to her then reached up to brush a stray blond hair back from her shoulder. He noticed the way Katrina tensed a bit at his touch and how she bit her lower lip. Bryan wanted nothing more than to kiss that lower lip.

  Bryan opened his mouth to say something, anything, to ease the tension between them. Suddenly, Snow and the other wolves sat up at attention. Snow’s lip curled, exposing his fangs as he growled and walked to the door.

  All the wolves followed and Bryan went to the window to watch outside. He couldn’t see anything but trusted them enough to know they had picked up on something. Bryan carefully opened the door, and the four wolves ran out, taking off into the woods so fast they were a flash of fur and then gone.

  Bryan closed the door, and Katrina remained standing where he had left her, holding Arthur close to her chest. “What is it?”

  “I don’t know, lass, but we have to be prepared,” Bryan said, grabbing her arms and gazing into her eyes. “I don’t know what’s coming, but I need you to promise me you’ll listen to me when I tell you to do something, lass. Can you do that for me?”

  Katrina nodded and Bryan gave in to the temptation that was before him and kissed her deeply. Arthur squirmed between them, letting out a sound that let them know he didn’t appreciate being smothered. Bryan kissed the top of his head before letting her go.

  Bryan led her to the back of the bedroom. Moving the chest, he showed her a small bolt hole. “This will get you out and into the bushes. If I tell you to leave, you go this way and try to go straight. There is a hill with a cave that you can hide in until I find you.”

  Katrina nodded and he tried to give her a smile. “Get a bag of things ready for you and Arthur just in case.”

  With a nod, Katrina went back to the front room. Bryan went to his chest of drawers and pulled out a small dagger. It was his mother’s; his father had given it to her so she could protect herself when they traveled. His sisters each had their own and they had given it to him hoping he would give it to a woman when he decided to finally settle down. She might not have agreed to marry him yet, but she would, and now seemed like a good time to give her this to keep her safe.

  Chapter 12

  Katrina filled the two extra bladders full of milk, before wrapping up the hard cheese and bread. She didn’t know if they would have to leave or not, but she knew that just in case, it was best to be prepared.

  Had Morgana and her men found her and Arthur? The last time they attacked her, they killed all the Kings’ guards, and the wolves and Bryan had saved them. Would they be able to save her again?

  Feeling the panic begin to rise up inside her, she turned to see Bryan coming from the room, the light from the windows catching the blade in his hand. The thought of something happening to him made her heart stop. She loved him. Bryan had saved her and taken her in. Each morning he woke up and took care of Arthur for her, so she could sleep. He treated her differently than other men. Despite his large size, he was gentle and had taken in two wolves and earned their trust. Bryan was not like anyone she had ever met before.

  When he walked up to her, she noticed he was frowning. “I want you to keep this on you,” Bryan said, as he looked her over trying to figure out where on her dress he could possibly hide a dagger.

  “I –– I don’t know how to use one of those,” Katrina said, taking a step back from him.

  Bryan frowned, and she realized he must have come to the conclusion that there was nowhere on her dress that she could possibly hold that thing in his hand.

  “Katrina, I will do my best to protect you, but if I fail…” his voice trailed off and she swallowed hard thinking about what he meant.

  “If you want to marry me, you won’t fail,” Katrina said, blurting out the first thing that came to her head.

  Bryan growled and pulled her into his arms. His mouth came down hard upon hers, his tongue thrusting inside her claiming her with a dominance he had never used before. Unable to help herself, she melted into him, her hands coming up and holding onto his shirt, as his tongue dueled with hers, laying claim.

  When he broke the kiss, she slowly opened her eyes to find him breathing as hard as she was. “We are getting married, lass. I will not fail.”

  Bryan’s words made her smile. She watched as he slid the dagger into the bag. “Put this by the bolt door and be prepared for anything.”

  She nodded and quickly went and placed the bag where he told her to. When she was done, she watched him as he pulled out a thick, leather shirt men wore during training from his bag he had kept near the door. It helped from piercing or stray arrows. It was light enough not to hinder his movement but added a layer of protection. After Bryan had put it on, she stepped up, putting her hand on his to stop him from trying to tie it.

  “Let me,” she whispered.

  The shirt tied on the sides. One string was long enough to wrap around him and tied to the one in front. Doing this for Bryan put her right up against his body. She blushed being so close to him. When she fell asleep last night, she was so angry at him for assuming what she wanted and not asking her, but at this moment all she could think about was, if they survived this, she would do anything he told her.

  “Katrina,” Bryan whispered, causing her
to look up at him.

  Their eyes locked and she blushed pulling the last string. Her hand on his side, he turned toward her and cupped her cheek. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. His lips brushed against hers, and she smiled.

  “Come lass,” Bryan said, as he took her hand and guided her to the window. “The wolves went in that direction. I need you to watch out this window. I need to see what is going on. If you see one shadow, of anything, you run out the bolt hole and head straight. Do you understand lass?”

  Katrina nodded, blinking back tears. Before he could take a step back, she pressed her lips against his. It was a quick, hard kiss and when she broke it, she took a step back and her eyes met his. “Come back to me.”

  With a nod, he stepped from her, and she watched as he looked at Arthur before grabbing the quiver of arrows and his bow. Then, he strapped his sword to his back and walked out the front door. She watched as Bryan followed the trail the wolf took into the woods. She took a deep breath, got the dagger out of the bag he’d left for her and sat near the window. As she kept an eye out, she also said her prayers to the gods above to protect Bryan and keep her and Arthur safe.

  Chapter 13

  Every step Bryan took deeper into the woods was farther and farther away from Katrina and Arthur. His natural instinct was to stay with them but he knew if they reached the house, the chances of the two of them getting away got smaller.

  Following the trail, Bryan saw when the wolves split up. He followed Snow knowing that as alpha of his small pack, he would be taking the most direct route and that his brother would be circling then coming up from behind on whoever had gotten their attention.

  Bryan had only ever seen them act that way when they came across Morgana’s men in the woods. It didn’t take long before he heard the shouts of several men and the growl of his wolves. He carefully followed the sound. Stopping behind a tree, he grabbed an arrow and shot at one of the men rushing toward Snow with his blade high.

  With one shot straight to his back, the man fell to the ground. He took aim and shot at the next man while trying to see how many of them were out there. Every time he heard one of the wolves growl, he saw more men appear and realized that the other three were forcing most of them from the woods, causing them to group up. There were so many of them, Bryan knew he wouldn’t be able to stop them all on his own. All he could do was decrease the number and hopefully give Katrina and Arthur enough time to escape.

  Bryan had shot several more arrows when he saw a man coming out of the woods. His arm was up and about to throw a dagger at him when he saw Minx jump out of the woods. She landed on him from behind, saving Bryan as her teeth bit the back of Morgana’s man’s neck.

  Bryan started walking back, shooting arrows as he went when he felt someone come up behind him. He turned, grabbing the sword from his back, swinging it just in time to block the blow of the man sneaking up on him. Bryan was quickly able to gain an advantage and stabbed the man, killing him.

  That was when he noticed that some of Morgana’s men were already behind him. Taking aim, he shot the one farthest away before running after the one closest to him. Minx appeared at his side, and she jumped on the back of the man closest to them.

  In front of him, he saw the leader, the same one from before. Bryan needed to warn Katrina so she could escape. With a whistle, he got Minx’s attention and he pointed in the direction of the house. “Minx, protect!”

  Minx took off in a flash heading toward the house. Bryan followed behind the men. The tattoos he had noticed on their faces ran the length of their back. Every one of them was shirtless with tattoos and piercings and the few he got close to had eyes that were almost completely black.

  When he stopped the next one, Bryan felt a blade slice against his arm, cutting him. It wasn’t deep enough to hinder his movement, so he swung high and hard, his sword was sharp enough to cut the head off with one stroke.

  Time was not on his side and Bryan felt his panic rise, hoping against hope that Minx managed to warn Katrina in time to get out. When Bryan got to the house, the door was kicked open, none of Morgana’s men were in sight. Bryan ran into the house and into his room. He sighed in relief when he saw the bolt door open.

  Bryan ran out of the house grabbing the extra quiver of arrows he kept by the door. This was all he had left and based on how many of Morgana’s men he saw earlier, it wouldn’t be nearly enough. When he ran around to the back, he saw a very visible trail left by Katrina as she tried to run away. Between the dress and carrying Arthur, she would leave a trail even a blind man could follow, and he swallowed the lump in his throat as he saw the trail of men following her.

  Scared, Katrina watched for what felt like hours, until she saw Minx run through the woods. Covered in blood, Katrina knew instantly that Bryan had sent her to warn her. She opened the door letting Minx in, as she ran to the back, grabbing Arthur and the bag that Bryan made her pack. She opened the bolt door, holding Arthur tight to her with one arm, as she gripped the blade with the other.

  Minx walked in front of her, leading her out as Katrina started panicking about what was next. How far would she get holding Arthur? He was too big for her to carry in the bag and she knew it would soon be dark, and she didn’t know if they would get that far.

  Arthur started to fuss and she tried her best to sooth him while walking quickly. When she saw a large clearing, Katrina debated about what to do. The clearing was the fast way to get to the hill Bryan mentioned, but it also exposed her.

  She noticed Arthur, who was still fussing in her arms, his lips quivering. “It’s okay, Arthur. Bryan promised he would be right behind us.”

  Minx stayed beside her as she started to try to run as quickly as she could across the clearing. When Minx stopped and started growling, Katrina looked up to see a large man stepping from the trees. He was covered in tattoos and she felt his black eyes piercing her.

  She held the dagger tighter taking a step back when she heard a sound behind her. She turned quickly and saw men coming up out of the woods. Every one of them shirtless, covered with tattoos and eyes as black as their leaders. Minx kept low in front of her and watched the leader as if she automatically knew who the biggest threat was.

  “Give me the boy,” the leader finally spoke, as he took a step toward her. His voice was deep with a thick accent that caused her to shudder. The setting sun seemed to shimmer off the giant battle ax he had strapped on his back, making the dagger in her hand look more like something one would use to eat with instead of protecting themselves.

  “No,” Katina managed to say with more conviction in her voice than she felt as she drew herself taller.

  When the man laughed, everyone laughed with him. The echoing sound was chilling, which added to her fear. Minx stayed by her side and Katrina tried to find an opening. One of the men stepped forward and Minx bared her teeth as she crouched low. She was about to pounce on the man when a whistling sound passed by her ear, immediately followed by an arrow flying past her and landing in the leader’s chest.

  As she turned her head, she saw Bryan coming from the woods with the other three wolves in tow. He screamed a battle cry that echoed. The men all started to run toward her and Minx jumped on the closest one, quickly tearing at his throat. The other three wolves got to her before the men did and they kept a circle around her as Bryan fought his way to her.

  With a quick stab, he killed the last man that was behind her as he came and stood inside the circle of wolves, who were keeping everyone from her. All of Morgana’s men pulled out their swords and began to circle them again, this time closer.

  Before they broke the circle, a flash of lightning appeared in the sky above them. Katrina screamed as the man in front of her got hit by a bolt of lightning. She looked around and saw Merlin standing at the opening, the air shimmering around him. He raised his hand and this time lightning flew from his fingers to the surrounding men, who began to attack. The wolves jumped first, but Bryan had pulled her behind him,
telling her to stay close as chaos began to erupt all around them.

  Chapter 14

  Bryan swung his sword, killing the man in front of him, just in time to fend off the next attack. The sound of Arthur’s cry was muffled by the sound of thunder that rolled overhead, as bolts of lightning streaked around him. He was never so surprised, or grateful, as when Merlin showed up.

  The sound of one of the wolves crying in pain caught Bryan’s attention. He turned just in time to see one of the men pulling out a sword from the wolf before kicking him away. Bryan turned when he heard Arthur’s screams and saw Katrina struggling with one of the barbarians who was trying to rip Arthur from her arms. Before he could react, Katrina moved her hand and stabbed the man in the chest. The man staggered back but wasn’t dead and Bryan quickly pulled her behind him as he stabbed him again.

  When another group of men started to emerge from the woods, Bryan felt his heart sink, when suddenly Merlin shouted, “Down now!”

  Bryan put his arm around Katrina and forcefully brought her down to her knees. He then put his body over hers, covering her from whatever was coming. Bryan kept his face down but felt the air all around them heat up, as Arthur’s cries got louder. He worried that he might be squeezing Katrina and Arthur too hard but couldn’t risk getting up.

  As quickly as the rush of heat hit him, it was gone. He carefully looked up to see all the men lying on the ground dead. The wolves must have followed his lead as he saw Snow stand, first checking on his mate, Minx, licking her cheek. Bryan helped Katrina to her feet. Looking around, he only saw Merlin, slowly walking toward them. His eyes were glowing, neon-blue, so Bryan stood in front of Katrina.

  Merlin nodded at him. “Take Katrina back to your home. I will be there shortly, after I make sure no one else comes for you.”