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Heart Turned To Me, His Face Thoughtful. “yesterday Morning. Yes, That Means That Daphne Hadn’t Been Home For Two Days Before That.” He Smiled At Me. “you Were Supposed To Be The Alpha’s Eye Candy.” Adam Laughed. “what?” I Asked Him. “you Don’t Think I’d Be Good Eye Candy?” I Looked Down At My Overalls And Grease-stained Hands. I’d Torn Another Nail To The Quick. “honey Is Eye Candy,” Said Ben Apologetically. “you’re . . . Just You.” “mine,” Said Adam, Edging Between Heart And Me. “mine Is What She Is.

-Patricia Briggs

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Heart Turned To Me,

Patricia Briggs

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Heart Turned To Me, His Face Thoughtful. “yesterday Morning. Yes, That Means That Daphne Hadn’t Been Home For Two Days Before That.” He Smiled At Me. “you Were Supposed To Be The Alpha’s Eye Candy.” Adam Laughed. “what?” I Asked Him. “you Don’t Think I’d Be Good Eye Candy?” I Looked Down At My Overalls And Grease-stained Hands. I’d Torn Another Nail To The Quick. “honey Is Eye Candy,” Said Ben Apologetically. “you’re . . . Just You.” “mine,” Said Adam, Edging Between Heart And Me. “mine Is What She Is.

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I Think That I Can Count On The Fingers Of One Hand The Times You've Actually Said The Word ‘women' And Not Replaced It With An Epithet Referring To Female Genitalia." "hey, He's Not That Bad," Warren Said. "sometimes He Calls Them Cows Or Whores.

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Never Accept The Blame For What Evil People Do. We Are All Responsible For Our Own Actions." She Was Lecturing Him, So She Stopped. "sorry. Hang Around With Bran Too Long, And See If You Don’t Start Passing Around The Marrok’s Advice As If He Were Confucius.

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Mercy Is Not A Proper Indian Name."..........."rash Coyote Who Runs With Wolf. We Could Shorten It To Dinner Woman.

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There Are Big Bad Wolves All Over The World Who Tremble At The Sound Of His Name, Yet A Little Puny Coyote Girl Peanut-buttered The Seat Of Bran Cornick’s Car Because He Told Her That She Should Wear A Dress To Perform For The Pack.

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Mine, ... Mine Is What She Is.

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I Hope This Means You'll Quit Asking Me To Kill You. It Gives Me Indigestion.

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You'd Tell The World What Your Best Friend Wore To Sleep If You Thought It Made A Good Enough Story.

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Certainty Of Death

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New Rules. If You Are Smart Enough To Live, You Won’t Hit Charles’s Mate In Front Of His Father.

Don’t Try Threatening An Alpha. They Don’t Like It.

My Mother Was A Children's Librarian. I Remember When Traditional Stories Were Revised For Modern Audiences Until They Bore Only A Nodding Acquaintance With The Originals, But Were Released As 'authentic Indian Stories' When They Were, In Fact, Nothing Of The Kind.

Adam Didn't Approve Of Wal-mart.

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I Don't Get Mad, I Get Even.

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Such A Small Thing To Cause So Much Trouble.

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Zealots Are Like One Track-pony. Don't Get In Their Way Without Expecting To Get Hurt.

When I Put Magic Into A Book - Whether It's A Wizard Or A Crusty Old Werewolf - I'm Asking A Reader To Swallow A Huge Leap That Is Counter To Everything He Or She Knows. An Extra Big Helping Of Reality Makes That Leap Go Down A Lot Easier.

I Thought You Couldn't Make It Here Until Morning," I Said. "i Hurried.

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There Was I Thinking Being A Shifter Had Its Upsides. Looks Like I Was Wrong.

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It Is The Way Of Mortals. They Fling Themselves At Life And Emerge Broken.

Alpha And Omega

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Usually The People I Do Know Are Sufficient To Spawn Any Number Of Nightmares Without Inventing Any.

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Public Speaking

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When A Man Is On The Verge Of Passing Out From Pain, It Seemed Wrong To Notice How Beautiful He Was.

It Was Adam, But He Was Too Late. He Couldn’t Love Me Anymore. He Would Be So Angry With Me. I Had To Hide. He Didn’t Love Me So He Might Hurt Me When He Was Angry. When He Calmed Down, That Would Hurt Him. I Didn’t Want Him Hurting Because Of Me. There Was Nowhere For A Person To Hide. So I Wouldn’t Be A Person. My Eyes Fell On The Shelves That Lined The Far Back Corner. A Coyote Could Hide There.

Um. Charles Thinks That His Wolf Has Chosen Me As His Mate." "in Less Than One Full Day?" It Did Sound Dumb When He Said It That Way. "yes." She Couldn't Keep The Uncertainty Of Her Her Voice, Though, And It Bothered Charles. He Rolled To His Feet And Growled Softly. "charles Also Said I Was An Omega Wolf She Told His Father. That Might Have Something To Do With It As Well." Silence Lengthened And She Began To Think Tha The Cell Phone Might Have Dropped The Connection. Then The Marrok Laughed Softly. "oh His Brother Is Going To Tease Him Unmercifully About This.

Sometimes I Think I Live More Closely To The Past Than The Present.

A Man Who Will Risk Nothing For Love Is Not A Man

Don’t Fuss. I Love You Just As You Are, Mercy. I Don’t Need To Swallow You Whole, I Don’t Need To Be In Your Head At All Times. I Just Need To Know That You’re There.

There Isn’t A Person In This City More Dangerous Than A Wolf Whose Mate Is In Danger.

Werewolf Games,' Mercy Said Solemnly, 'play For Keeps, Or Go Home.' She Was So Cute Sometimes It Made Adam's Heart Hurt.

I Was Talking Cannibalism, Not Romance.

Then He'd Come Back Home And Found Out That War Didn't Cause Fear- Love Did.

I Was Going To Have To Come Up With A Rank For Myself Besides Alpha's Mate. In The Pack, I Was Just Mercy- But If Ten More People Called Me The Alpha's Mate, I Was Going To Hit Someone. It Sounded Like A Chess Move.

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"i Thought Indians Built Fires With Fiction." .... "i Can Do That, But I'd Like To Eat Sometime In The Next Day Or So. Sterno And Bic Are Much Faster."

I Used My History Degree About Twice A Year Whether I Needed To Or Not.

Dont Let The Bastards Grind You Down?" Bran Looked At Me Incredulously.

To Make Great Art, You Had To Expose Your Soul, And Some Things Should Be Left Safely In The Dark.

I Would Slay Dragons For You,” He Told Her. “i Suspect That Finding An Unoccupied Bedroom Will Be Easier.

A Stupid Ruler Is Much More Of A Problem Than An Insane One.

Are You Going To Tell Me What That Was About?” Adam Asked As We Went Back Upstairs. “sometime,” I Told Him. “when We're Telling Ghost Stories Around A Campfire, And I Want To Scare You.

She Sees Ghosts,” Said Samuel, Impatient With My Whining. I See Dead People,” I Deadpanned Back. Oddly, It Was Uncle Mike Who Laughed. I Hadn’t Thought He’d Be A Moviegoer.

Trouble Seems To Follow Me Around, Waiting To Club Me With A Tire Iron.

If She Kept Wondering About How Much Of Her Life Bran Engineered, She’d End Up On A Funny Farm Knitting Caps For Ducks.

Fortunately, He'd Found That Most People Were Easy To Locate At Five Thirty In The Morning. .

The Warmth Of His Body Shouldn’t Have Felt Good. He Was Angry And Every Muscle Was Tense. It Was Like Being Leaned On By A Very Heavy, Warm Brick. A Sexy Brick.

What Would A Racist Call Werewolves? Wargs? She Kind Of Liked That One, But Suspected That Racist Bastards Didn't Read Tolkien.

Taking Out Werewolves, I Gather And Surmise, Is Akin To Taking Out A Seal Team.

Alpha And Omega

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I Was In The Middle Of A Dream About Garbage Cans And Frogs - Don't Ask, And I Won't Tell.

I Told Them," He Said In A Clear, Carrying Voice, "that They Should Not Give Someone As Old And Powerful As I A Daughter To Love. That It Would End Badly.

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Charles Could Care Less About Shoes - And He Suspected He Wasn't Alone Among Men In His Feelings. Shoe, No Shoe, He Didn't Care. Naked Was Good, Though Over The Past Couple Of Weeks He Was Beginning To Think That Dressed In His Clothes Was A Decent Second Best.

Warren Made A Noise, The First One I'd Heard Out Of Him Since We'd Come Into The Room. I'd Have Been Happier If He Hadn't Sounded Scared. "easy, Warren," Adam Told Him. "you're Safe Here.” "if You Die On Us, You Won't Be," Said Kyle With A Growl That Would Have Done Credit To Any Of The Werewolves In The Room.

Being A Martyr Is Highly Overrated.

If You Leave Me Naked And Waiting On The Bed Without Making Love To Me, I’ll—” I Didn’t Get To Finish The Threat. I Think It Was The Word “naked,” Though Maybe It Was “bed,” But Before I Finished My Sentence, He Was On Me. Mercy To Adam

I Don't Like It When I Outweigh My Men.

I Like To Have A Hero A Little Underpowered. I Mean, Spiderman Is Far Cooler Than Superman. How Do You Challenge Superman?

Evil Must Always Be Fought.

I Thought You Were Dead. Stupid. As If I'd Die Without Taking You With Me.

You Can't Cage An Eagle For Long Without Destroying It.

He Sighed. " I Don't Think An Apology Will Do, Mercy. Because An Apology Implies That You Wouldn't Do It Again. And, Under The Circumstances, You Wouldn't Do Anything Differently, Would You?" "no.

I Think I’ll Just Go Take A Shower,” I Said. It Wasn’t Until Samuel Stiffened That I Remembered I’d Just Come Out Of The Shower. So Much For Playing Normal.

He Was Like Superman, But With Fangs And Oddly Impaired Morals.

Don't Make Light Of Any Man's Pain.

Tim Was Dead. And He's Always Been A Loser. I'd Be Damned If I Was Going To Be The Victim Of A Loser - Or Anyone Else.

Apparently Deciding Charles’s Brief Introduction Wasn’t Good Enough, His Brother Reintroduced Himself. “dr. Samuel Cornick, Elder Brother And Tormentor. Very Nice To Meet You, Anna—

This World Has Need Of Song And Sword.

It's Easier To Dismiss Ghosts In The Daylight.

It Is One Of Those Lessons That Every Child Should Learn: Don't Play With Fire, Sharp Objects, Or Ancient Artifacts.

He Can Stop Me In My Tracks, But He Can't Make Me Do Someting I Don't Want To

Drink It,” I Told Her. “it’s Good For What Ails You. Caffeine And Sugar. I Don’t Drink It, So I Ran Over To Your House And Stole The Expensive Stuff In Your Freezer. It Shouldn’t Be That Bad. Samuel Told Me To Make It Strong And Pour Sugar Into It. It Should Taste Sort Of Like Bitter Syrup.” She Gave Me A Smile Smile, Then A Bigger One, And Plugged Her Nose Before She Drank It Down In One Gulp. “next Time," She Said In A Hoarse Voice, “i Make The Coffee.

He Stopped What He Was Doing And Pulled Out His Magic Phone. Okay, The Phone Wasn't Magic, But It Does Things My Computer Struggles With.

Charles Looked At Her Thoughtfully. "people Talk To You," He Said. "that Could Be Useful.

If Creation Was Given No Limit, Ultimately Everything Would Cease To Exist.

A Man Learns With Age, If He Is Lucky.

If You Could Just See Your Face,” She Told Me. “you Look Like A Cat In A Bathtub.

My Foster Mother Always Laughed And Said It Was His Reputation For Knowing Everything That Allowed For Him To Appear Infallible: All He Had To Do Was Walk Through The Room And See Who Looked Guiltiest When They Saw Him. Maybe She Was Right, But I Tried Looking Innocent The Next Time, And It Didn't Work.

Knowing Everything

Wolves Eat Coyotes," Gordon Said[...] If He Weren't An Old Man, I Had Some Rude Things I Could Have Said To That. "yes," Observed Adam Blandly. "i Do." Yep. That Was The One That Came To Mind. And He Didn't Even Blush When He Said It. Maybe Gordon Would Miss The Double Entendre. But He Grinned Cheerfully At Adam.

My Grandfather Would Have Loved To Have Met You," He Told Her Huskily. "he Would Have Called You 'she Moves Trees Out Of His Path.' " She Looked Lost, But His Da Laughed. He'd Known The Old Man, Too. "he Called Me 'he Who Must Run Into Trees,'" Charles Explained, And In A Spirit Of Honesty, A Need For His Mate To Know Who He Was, He Continued, "or Sometimes 'running Eagle.' " " 'running Eagle'?" Anna Puzzled It Over, Frowning At Him. "what's Wrong With That?" "too Stupid To Fly," Murmured His Father With A Little Smile.

Adam Swore Harshly. "new Werewolves Are Dangerous, Woman. Especially When They Are Cold And Hungry." He Looked At Mac, And His Voice Changed Completely, The Heat And Anger Gone, "mercy, Come Here." I Didn't Look Down To See What He'd Noticed In Mac's Face. I Took A Step, But Mac Was Wrapped Around My Left Leg. I Stopped Before I Fell. "uhm. I'm A Little Stuck For The Moment.

Yes, Well," Said His Da With A Hint Of A Grow That Told Him Just How Worried Bran Had Been About Him, "that'll Teach You To Dodge A Bit Quicker Next Time." "sorry," He Apologized Meekly As He Sat In The Passenger Seat. "good," Said Bran, Shutting The Door Gently. "don't Let It Happen Again." -bran And Charles

She'd Never Have Allowed Herself To Be Held By Anything As Mundane As A Few Bars And A Reinforced Door

When I Write, I Get Glimpses Into Future Novels.

And Thus Charles Found Himself Wandering Around A Hotel, Trailing Federal Agents As He Held A Cardboard Coffee Cup Holder In Each Hand, Instead Of Out Killing Misbehaving Werewolves.

Wandering Around

I Like What You've Done To Your Face," Ben Said, Tapping His Eye.

Your Woman Tells Me You Will Hunt Me Down And Eat My Marrow While I Live." "did She?" Charles Looked At Her, And She Saw The Approval In His Face. She Doubted Anyone Else Would Have Read Anything At All. His Voice Was A Caress, Just For Her. "would You Like That, Love?

Why Is It That All Cars Are Women? Because They're Fussy And Demanding.

When We Got To The Moron Who Was Sitting In The Only Path To The Stairway, Adam Caught My Waist And Lifted Me Over Before Stepping Over The Man Himself. “scott?” Adam Said As We Headed Upstairs. “yeah?” “unless Someone Shoots You, Skins You, And Throws The Results On The Floor, I Don’t Want To See You Lying In The Walkway Again.” “yessir!

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