Page 191 of Moon Craving

"I would like to be a fly on the wall when you break the news to your husband you

know all about his wolf."

Abigail could not prevent a grimace from twisting her features.

"He'll be relieved, believe me. Lachlan's wolf needs my acceptance and love as

much as his human side. He adores being scratched behind his ears; I bet Talorc does,

too."

Abigail forced a laugh and a smile that would even fool her sister. She maintained

the facade through her sister's final evening meal among the Sinclairs and leave-taking

the next day.

That night for the first time, Abigail begged off making love with Talorc using the

excuse of tiredness. Silent tears tracked down her cheeks in the darkness as her

husband slept beside her on the furs.

He had deceived her just as she had done him, but still he had cruelly condemned

her for keeping her own secrets. He doubted her love for him, but more important, it was

clear now that he would never love her.

Not only was she not a Highlander by birth, but she was not a Chrechte. Emily had

shared the role her humanity had played in Lachlan's difficulty accepting his feelings for

her. And that man was as besotted as any man had ever been in the history of the world.

What chance did Abigail have of overcoming a prejudice so noticeably more

ingrained in Talorc?

He had no desire to share his special heritage with her in any way. The wolf, who

according to Emily, needed Abigail's love and approval, was withheld from her. Even

though they could share the intimate bond of speaking in each other's mind, Talorc held

back from doing so with her.

And that was perhaps what hurt the most. Talorc must realize the devastation

Abigail had experienced losing sound from her life. To have the chance to hear again,

especially her husband's voice, was the most amazing miracle possible.

But he denied it to her because sharing it with her meant sharing his secrets as

well. It meant trusting her. Something he would never do for a woman born and raised in

the country he reviled. The agony of that knowledge battered at Abigail's already abused