There came a time in everyone’s life when they realized that in spite of how hard they’d been running from themselves, everywhere they went, there they were: Addictions and compulsions were nothing but marching bands of distraction, masking truths that were unpleasant, but ultimately undeniable.

Just once" Blay said softly. "Do it just once. So I'll know what it's like.

She nodded, wondering why couldn't she have been named Mary. Or Sue. Butno , she had to be nine-letter Elizabeth.

V shook his head. “Remember what you saw in that clearing, cop? How’d you like that anywhere near a female you loved?” Butch put down the Bud without drinking from it. His eyes traveled over Rhage’s body. “We’re going to need a shitload of steel,” the human muttered.

Humans are threatened by anything different, and their response is to fight. They're bullies, picking on the weak, cowering from the strong.

You are so beautiful, he mouthed. But of course she couldn’t see his lips. Guess he was going to have to show her.

Sorry to bother you,” Bella said over the wailing. “But she wants her daddy.