Page 92 of Moon Craving

"Aye. Most likely."

"And get my hand bitten off?" Abigail shivered. "I don't think so."

"He would not have bitten you."

"How can you possibly sound so certain?"

"I know that wolf."

She shook her head but believed him regardless. "You're serious. That's why you

did not get between me and the animal."

"If I had tried to touch you or stand between you, then things might have gotten

ugly."

"That makes no sense."

"Yet it is true."

"Are you trying to convince me that Scottish wolves are so different from those

found in the wilds of England?"

"Some. That wolf, yes."

"I will take your word for it."

"So, you do not wish to meet the gray wolf again?"

"No." But even as she denied the desire, she wasn't sure she spoke true.

"Perhaps, if I could see him and know he would not hurt me. He was beautiful."

Niall nodded, as if satisfied by her answer, though she couldn't imagine why it

should matter to him.

By the time the hunters who had ridden their horses returned in the early afternoon

along with game for the roasting fire, she and Niall had established the beginnings of a

true friendship.

Abigail insisted on helping to prepare the rabbits for the spit. Then she implored the

soldiers to hunt again, this time for wild vegetables and berries to eat with the game at the

evening meal.

Chapter 9

No matter how far into the woods Talorc ventured, the memory of Abigail's sweet,

fresh scent drew him back to the clearing. He followed her and Niall on their walk, his

wolf's paws silent on the forest floor. He masked his scent so that even Niall did not