Human women have been slapping men for being bastards for centuries. You were doing what comes naturally.

Lifting her head, she joined in as the others in the group began to howl in response to Brace's triumph. The sound was . . . It touched the soul, the music haunting, starkly pure and yet so very earthy.

Content in a way he’d rarely been before Mercy, he simply stroked her until she purred. It delighted him as it always did. “I made you purr.” A lazy yawn. “I’m faking it.

"We die," she said, "we die together. That's the deal."

No more chances, Golden Eyes. You’re mine and I’ll draw blood to enforce my claim.

Truth was a tool. It should never simply be said. No, it had to be bent, twisted, colored, until it became a weapon.

There's not much left inside me, Max" Sometimes, all she heard were echoes.