And that's when Anna realized that what the wolf had been asking Bran for was death. Impulsively, Anna stepped away from Charles. She put a knee on the bench she'd been sitting on and reached over the back to close her hand on Asil's wrist, which was lying across the back of the pew. He hissed in shock but didn't pull away. As she held him the scent of wilderness, of sickness, faded. He stared at her, the whites of his eyes showing brightly while his irises narrowed to small bands around his black pupil. "Omega," he whispered, his breath coming harshly.

Only cowards torture women.

It is the way of mortals. They fling themselves at life and emerge broken.

Dance when the moon sings, and don't cry about troubles that haven't yet come. (Moon Called)

A stupid ruler is much more of a problem than an insane one.

Yes,' he said sincerely. 'Such a one deserves peanut butter on the seat of his pants.

She crawled on top of him, naked and warm and soft, smelling like a miracle that had saved him from a lifetime of aloneness.