Page 104 of Moon Craving

The thought had him surging to his feet. "I will take the first patrol."

Abigail paced, her attention drifting to the cavern entrance every few steps. It

remained as empty as it had been since she said her good-nights to the warriors and

found her way to her and Talorc's temporary sleeping chamber.

Her husband had disappeared at the end of dinner and not returned since. At first,

she had been relieved by his absence. His cruel comment regarding not being enemies

with his wife being enough to wish for had put her on the verge of tears. Coupled with the

way he had ignored her all day to hunt, on foot yet, left her in no doubt about how he saw

her.

As an unwelcome interloper.

Just like her parents.

For just a little while, when he had taken such tender care of her after

consummating their marriage the night before, she had let herself begin to believe it might

be different.

Only, no matter what he had said during the Chrechte marriage ritual about her no

longer being English, regardless of how deeply emotional their physical joining had felt to

her, he did not care for her. She had been a fool to think one day he might. An absolute

fool. The intense physical intimacy that had been so transforming for her had meant less

than nothing to him.

She was his enemy. That she was his wife could not cancel out that salient fact.

She could not credit her own stupidity in allowing even a tendril of hope to grow

that there might be a place for her among his clan, even once they learned the truth of her

deafness. Talorc would be only too happy to use the deception as an excuse to get rid of

his unwanted English wife. Just as she had first believed.

She swiped at the moisture trying to pool in her eyes. She would not cry. She

would not.

Nor would she have Talorc return to find her pacing with impatience for his arrival.

With that thought in mind, she stripped to her shift and climbed between the furs to

force or feign sleep. Either would work, so long as Talorc did not realize how hurt she was

to learn her idiotic hopes had been just that.