Moon Awakening

'His pride would be pricked by an insult to me.'

'I think you were right a moment ago when you said that Drustan was hurt by your lack of belief in him. As your husband, he expects to come first with you, but if you are sacred mates, I think that it's more than an issue of pride for him.'

'True-mating is not a result of love.'

'No, but I'm sure it leads to it.'

'I hope so because I don't want to be miserable alone.'

Emily laughed at that. 'I'm sure he's every bit as miserable. He looked good and upset when you ran from the hall, now that I think about it.'

'Did he? Are you sure?'

'Yes.'

'He was just worried for the babe.'

'It's not even his child; if he worries for it, he does so because he cares for you.'

'Do you think so?'

'I am certain of it.'

'But earlier he said I might as well wear the Sinclair plaid and be done with it. And in the hall, he said our marriage vows didn't mean anything.'

'He said he believed they did not mean anything to you. Those are the words of a hurting man, not merely an angry one.' She hoped she was right, but even if men were terribly different from women, they couldn't be so nonsensical that no amount of logic could be applied to them.

'I wish I had trusted him, but even now I can't convince myself that to have told him would have been the right course to take.'

'It's a matter I think you two should discuss further.'

'Are you going to discuss Lachlan's accusations with him?' Cait asked.

'That's different. He is not my husband.' But even though she did not think he would give her words any credence, she would have to tell him her suspicions about Ulf.

Cait sniffed the air near Emily delicately. 'He marked you with his scent.'

'I washed,' Emily mumbled.

'But a werewolf's scent does not wash away that easily. He claimed you.'

'No, he didn't… he only touched me. We didn't even…' She let her voice trail off, but she knew Cait would understand what she was alluding to.

'You came close.'

'He wanted to, at the end. I think that was why he was so angry in the great hall. He thought I'd almost tricked him into mating with me, but I wasn't going to allow it. I know he doesn't want a human woman for a wife.'

'He wants you, Emily.'

'Lust… it's not the same,' Emily said, her throat constricting with tears she would not shed.

Cait sighed. 'No, it isn't.' She broke away from Emily's hug and started pacing. 'But we cannot afford to be preoccupied with that right now. Both Drustan and Lachlan are so busy being angry with us for deceiving them that they are not looking at things logically.'

'Which means we will have to do so for them.'

'Precisely.'

'Lachlan said there was no scent of an animal on the soldier. Is it possible for an animal to have killed him and not left a scent behind?'

Cait stopped pacing and frowned. 'No, but then there should be the scent of a man or a werewolf on him and there isn't. Except Ulf's and that's because he found him and carried him back to the keep. There was no scent in the area where the boy was wounded.'

'You said your brother could mask his scent.'

'It wasn't Talorc. I'm sure of it.'

'I believe you, but he's not the only werewolf with that ability.'

'No, it's something you are trained to do from the time of your first change… though I never got that good at it. But it doesn't matter. A werewolf can mask his own scent, but not the scent he leaves on others.'

'Then how was the boy killed?'

'Without being touched… perhaps with a knife that had been cleaned in sand and dirt from the bottom of the loch.'

'To remove any scent from his handling of the blade?'

'Yes.'

'But that would mean the killer did not touch the young soldier at all… not even to subdue him, right?'

Cait looked sick. 'Yes. The soldier had to know him and worse, the boy was Chrechte. He probably did not have control of his change yet, but it would take another werewolf or a very strong human warrior to kill him.'

'It would have to be a Balmoral and an experienced one at that.' Emily's suspicion of Ulf grew. 'Lachlan is not going to suspect one of his own people of such an atrocity.'

'I agree. We need to talk to Talorc. He may have seen something.'

'But how? I doubt we will be allowed out of the keep, much less beyond the castle walls. Lachlan was angry we'd gone out without escort before. He said he was worried for our safety, but he probably did not trust us,' she said angrily.

She would wait to tell Cait her suspicions until they heard what Talorc had to say. If she was wrong, she would prefer no one knew what she had thought. She had enough problems with Lachlan's brother without accusing him of a crime she was not absolutely sure he committed.

'Either way, he would have instructed the guards at the gate to prevent our departure.'

'What do we do?'

Cait didn't answer, but rushed into the bedchamber. She came back seconds later carrying her Sinclair plaid.

'You're going to change your plaid?' Emily asked in confusion. She knew her friend was irritated with her husband, but to take his words to heart right now seemed a waste of time and effort.

'No. I plan to use this to gain our freedom.' With her femwolf strength, she started ripping the plaid into long thin strips.

When she was done, she tied the strips together until she had a thin plaid that was nearly one hundred feet long.

Without waiting to be asked, Emily took one end and, bending her arms, separated her hands so Cait could wind the cloth around them like a thick skein of wool. 'What are we going to do with the rope?'

'There is a room at the top of this tower. It can be used to hold prisoners, like your chamber, but it has a window large enough for us to climb through on the side that connects to the outer wall.'

'Why on earth would it?'

'I believe it's intended for use in case of a siege, for escape or to get more food supplies. It is too high to be reached by anything but a siege tower, and a tall one at that. But there is only a narrow strip of land between the wall and the cliff. No siege tower could possibly approach the castle from that direction and archers can't get good aim at it either.'

'I see… but if we're going to escape through it, then couldn't a prisoner?'

'A warrior's plaid wouldn't make a long enough rope and women are rarely captives. Besides, it would only be used if your chamber was already occupied. Do we really need to discuss this now, Emily?'

'I'm sorry. My curiosity gets the better of me sometimes.'

Cait smiled. 'I like that about you.'

Emily grimaced. 'Just not right now. I understand. We will have to hope the guards on the wall walk do not see us.'

'It's a risk we will have to take. But unless the guard on the tower hangs down to look over the side, he will not. There is no other way out of the keep or the castle walls that I can think of.'

Emily bit her lip. 'I can't either, but if the room is above this one, the drop to the ground is very long. That is too dangerous for a woman in your condition. I will go to the lake and search for Talorc. I can tell him the situation