“Are you well?” I asked, suddenly worried that I had said something to offend her.
“No,” she said, shaking her head hard, “It’s just—my mom used to say something like that to me when I was younger so it made me think of her. She liked when I rambled.”
“Then she and I are of the same mind.”
The words were filled with a warmth that surprised me.
Every moment I spent with the omega next to me felt full of astonishing moments such as this. From the way she spoke differently to her unabashed fierceness, it was clear that Guinevere was not of our time.
And that I was completely and utterly fascinated by her.
Chapter Sixteen
“We will camp here for the night,” Lancelot’s deep, serious timber broke through the haze of misery I was currently experiencing.
It had been two days since the trap in the village and I was pretty sure my ass was going to be saddle-shaped by the end of our journey and I was also going to be permanently bow-legged while I walked from now on.
Lancelot was unrelenting when it came to setting our pace, claiming that because we had to take the longer route to avoid potential Saxon invaders that we needed to go faster to catch up with Arthur and the rest of the men.
But I was definitely going to shatter into a million still little pieces if I didn’t get off of this horse immediately.
“Your majesty, may I help you down?” Bedivere, who had already deftly slid out from behind me and landed easily onto the ground like a spry cat, asked as he held out his hand to me.
I had been reluctant to ride with the older alpha at first—not because I disliked him or anything—but because I did not want to be a burden to the man.
It couldn’t be easy steering a horse with one hand and trying to keep a floppy, untrained horse-riding omega like me from toppling off.
Bedivere had done it, though, and with a finesse that surprised me. He rode an older dun horse who he called Evefir and half of the time he didn’t even need to keep his hands on the reins. The old beast would simply follow behind Gawain or Lancelot’s horse.
Only when we needed to pick up the pace did Bedivere gather the modified reins in his one hand and click his tongue in order to spur the horse on.
I gratefully accepted Bedivere’s hand, sliding my fingers into his palm and began my descent from his skyscraper of a horse.
As soon as my slippered feet hit the soft dirt my legs wobbled before giving out and I let out a squeak before strong arms wrapped around me, his solid hand gripping my right elbow.
I smiled sheepishly up at the alpha who was watching me like a hawk, his silver eyes seeming to trace my features for any discomfort.
“Will I ever get used to getting off of a horse, Sir Bedivere, or will my legs be rubber every time?”
“I do not know what rubber is, your majesty, but you will acclimate to riding horses soon enough,” Bedivere told me and I could feel the rumble of his voice vibrating in his chest as he spoke.
That is so nice,the slutty little omega version of me that lurked in the back of my brain whispered.
Gently, I pushed away, afraid that my thoughts would be clearly etched on my face for him to see.
Dark brows threaded with silvery hairs pulled together and he frowned. For a moment I was sure I’d been made, but then Lancelot’s voice cut through our conversation.
“Sir Bedivere, come help me get the fire set up, Gawain, get the horses brushed down and find some water, Henry, can you gather some firewood?”
Lancelot’s interruption could not have come at a better moment, I turned around pressing my hands to my flaming cheeks as the men got to work.
I was not allowed to help—though expressly forbidden would be a better way to describe it. Every single time I tried to help Henry with the firewood or help brush down horses the work was taken right out of my hands by the broody alpha who seemed to relish in bossing me around.
“I can set up the bedrolls,” I offered in vain, pointing at the less-than-comfy rolled up bolts of cloth that each horse carried. They offered little in terms of comfort, but Gawain had told me on the first night that they were more meant for keeping the cold at bay than any sort of cushion.
But, of course, Lancelot just shook his head, his eyes shifting away from mine. “Just rest, your majesty, it has been a long day.”
The alpha had been on his best behavior since the night I’d flipped him off and told him to suck a dick—hell it was like he was a completely different person.
