Jennifer Lynn Barnes

“I was outnumbered, unarmed, weak, and screwed. In that order.”

“Bryn, when you were six years old, you tried to bungee jump off a jungle gym by connecting the straps of your overalls to the bars with your shoelaces. Caution has never been your strong suit.”

“Nobody knew what it was like to be torn between what it meant to be human and what it meant to be Pack better than me.”

“Good boy, Devon," I taunted. "You got me home before dark. If you can sit, shake and roll over, too, I'm sure Callum will give you a doggie treat.”

“You'll have to excuse Zo's manners. She was raised by a group of indigenous swamp wallabies and is at times uncomfortable conversing with civilized humans.""Look, it's like this-" Zo started to say, but then she interrupted herself. "Swamp wallabies?”

“I had to protect him. And me. So I took everything I felt for the pack. I saw the bond, and instead of closing myself off to it, I pulled. I pulled at it and I thrust it toward Chase.”

“For all you know, this moment, this second, or the next, or the next, could be your destiny. It's not about having plans. It's about having purpose and being who, not what you want to be.”

“We just hadn't figured on Fighting life.”

“Ali wrinkled her forehead and cocked her head to the side. Clearly, she hadn't prepared herself for me to be pleasant. After a moment, her eyes narrowed. "What exactly did you and Lake did yesterday?" she asked, like we might have held up a gas station and gone on a crime spree across the country, all in the span of just a few hours."We went to Mexico, had some tequila, eloped with a pair of drug smugglers, and took part-time jobs as exotic dancers. You know, same old, same old."Ali snorted."I'm torn on stripper names. It's either going to be Lady Love or Wolfsbane Lane. Thoughts?"Ali threw a onesie at me. "Brat.”

“Katie nosed at the carpet and then gave it a good chew. When it proved recalcitrant enough that she couldn't pull it up, she growled."Who's a fierce little girl?" I asked her. "Who's going to kick butt and take names and help her big sister get into all kinds of trouble someday?"Devon snorted. "Sometimes, I think the term bad influence was invented specifically with you in mind.”

“There are bad people in the world: Murderers and psychopaths and telemarketers who won't take no for an answer.”

“I'm Chase." he said."Kind of an ironic name for a werewolf." The observation slipped easily off my tongue. The boy didn't blink. In fact, I was beginning to doubt that he'd blink once since I'd come into the room. "Werewolves do a lot of chasing." I explained."And your name is Chase. Hee.”

“You're my escort?"Devon shrugged. "The Big Guy tells you to do something, you do it, even if it means babysitting a bratty little human girl who calls playing with glue an art."I reached over and smacked him.”

“Bryn?"Chase's voice was a whisper in my mind, and the sensation sent a single chill up my spine."Yes?""You asked me what I liked, before." He paused, and all the silence tickled my mind, the chill in my spine climbing its way to the hairs on the back of my neck. "Before, I loved cars, Yeats, having a bedroom that locked from the inside, and you.”

“Personally, no matter how tempting it might be, I make it a policy not to surgically bestow near invincibility upon the people who would most like to see me dead.”

“Casey doesn't trust him.""Casey doesn't trust anyone," I replied. "He's paranoid like that. I mean, come on, he's a werewolf who installed a nanny cam in his kids' room." I pointed my spoon at Ali for emphasis. "A nanny cam.”