Page 130 of Moon Craving

Her stomach cramped at the implication of her mind playing such tricks on her.

She covered her face, wishing she really could hide so easily from what ailed her.

She couldn't and pretending never made reality any easier to bear in the long term.

Fighting back the tears, she made herself face her fears. She had not gotten this far by

giving in at the first sign of adversity.

The voices in her head were simply one more thing she had to hide from those

around her. It was not as if imagining she heard her husband's voice, or even that of a

wolf, could cause her or the Sinclair clan any harm. In some ways, it was no different than

being deaf.

It did not make her a demon instead of the angel Talorc claimed her to be. It didn't!

But how she wished she had her sister here to talk this over with, or some way to

correspond with the abbess.

Loneliness swamped Abigail, but she refused to acknowledge the low feeling.

Forcing herself to face the day before her, she crawled from the furs and stood to survey

the bedchamber. She was gratified to discover a pitcher of what must be water beside a

large wooden bowl already half-filled with it. Both sat under the window on a small table

that had not been there the day before.

Who had thought to provide her with such a kindness?

It didn't really matter if it had been Talorc or Guaire who had thought to provide this

most welcome nod to civility; Abigail was just thankful someone had.

She wasn't surprised she had not woken when the table was brought into the

room. She had discovered that her tendency to wake at the least sense of someone

nearby had flown the first night she slept in Talorc's arms. Her husband made her feel

safe. She did not even feel any anxiety at the thought that someone had been in the room

while she slept. They would not dare to be there without her husband's sanction.

If only he could protect her from her own weaknesses.

What would she do if the voices in her mind persisted? What if they got worse?

Could she risk having children, knowing that her mind was so unstable?

Abigail tried to banish the unanswerable questions, but the implications of this new

affliction plagued her through her ablutions. Her worries grew until her hands shook so