Page 159 of Moon Craving
and so easily. She had assured him she had not lied about anything else, but could he
believe her?
She had married him with the intention of using him to gain access to her sister.
She had spoken her marriage vows and the ancient Chrechte pledge of troth without
meaning the words at all. That truth twisted something deep inside him, hurting in a way
he had not done since losing each of his parents. His sacred mate had spoken her
Chrechte promises like a child with her fingers crossed.
That, at least, caused his wolf to grieve.
Despite the fact that she was English and human, he had given his oath in good
faith, both before the Lowlander priest and in the cave before his Chrechte brethren. From
the very beginning, he had made no plans to find a way out of the unwanted covenant.
The fact that his angel had approached their marriage with such spurious intentions acted
like a spear right through his gut.
He hated discovering she had the power to hurt him thus. It made him angry to
have his emotions at anyone's mercy, even his mate's, but particularly a mate whom he
could not trust. It was a state he had convinced himself he would never experience. Talorc
had been so sure he would never make the mistakes of his father.
Yet here he found himself vulnerable to an English human woman. 'Twas an
anathema to be sure.
She claimed to have changed her mind about using him, as if he should now
believe she wanted to be with him. As if that should make her actions acceptable.
It did not. It only showed she was capable of betrayal for the sake of her own
agenda, just as Tamara had been. Even if Abigail had come to love him as she claimed,
she had started out with the intention of using him, of throwing away their marriage and
their Chrechte mating.
Just how much like his dead stepmother was Abigail?
It was that question that kept him in wolf form running through the woods rather
than returning to the fortress, to his wife.
Chapter 15
Talorc did not send Abigail away. At least not that day.
