Page 80 of Moon Craving

patience she had not expected from a man who had declared it was time for them to

consummate their marriage. He put his hands out and she laid hers in them.

He nodded and then began speaking.

The blessing went on for long moments in the language she had no hope of

deciphering. Nevertheless, a sense of well-being grew inside her with each word he

uttered. She did not know what the blessing entailed, but she could tell from the serious

expression in Talorc's glowing eyes that it was important to him.

He stopped speaking, but neither of them moved. The air around them was

completely still, indicating the soldiers had not moved either. They were all waiting for

something. She could feel it. But she could not guess what it was.

He tilted his head back like his soldiers, drawing her attention entirely to him. His

expression had turned feral, his eyes glowing once again with that strange light. Talorc

opened his mouth and she thought he howled.

Unable to hear it, she could not be sure. Whatever it was, she felt a mystifying

need to share the experience. Without conscious thought, she reached out with one hand

and laid it on his chest so she could feel the vibration of sound through her fingertips. He

was howling.

Truly. Just like a wolf.

And she thought the others were as well, their heads thrown back, their arms

reaching high, palms out. The air shimmered with the sound she could not hear, making

the hair on the back of her neck stand up and goose bumps rise on her exposed limbs.

Then, as suddenly as he had begun, he stopped. The other men lowered their

arms, and she could feel that they had stopped howling as well. One by one, they came to

her and Talorc. Each man dropped to one knee beside them, speaking some Chrechte

pledge before bowing their heads and then leaving the cavern.

When she and Talorc were once again alone, he released her hand and cupped

her face with both of his. "You are no longer English."

"I'm not?" She didn't know what she'd expected him to say, but it hadn't been that.

"You are my wife, mated to the Chrechte pack leader by ancient and true rite."

She didn't understand why he referred to his clan as a pack. No doubt it was one of