“I pray. I go to mass. I even remember to respect my elders and help little old ladies across the street. What the hell did I do to deserve this?”

“What am I going to do with you?I have suggestions, but this might not be the place for them.”

“You’ve carried my heart, all this time. Hell, you owned my soul. Don’t ask me to stop dreaming of you, or to stop asking for tomorrow. Because for five years the hope that came with each tomorrow was all I had left. Remember that.”

“Love changes us, Son." Ray rose to his feet, crossing the room slowly to set his empty glass on the bar. "Don't make the same mistake I did, Rowdy. Once it's over that first time, once you've let another man claim what's yours and yours alone, you lose a part of your soul. Getting it back is hell. A hell I hope you never know.”

“I hate Breeds,” she muttered. “Do you know that? You and your sharp, damned noses. Just because I want to doesn’t mean I should. Hell, I want cheesecake but I know better. It goes right to my hips. Does that mean I have to eat it anyway?” He stared back at her in disbelief. “You’re comparing me to cheesecake?” Offended male fury and outrage glittered in his eyes. She huffed, “Well, the same principle applies.”

“What would I have done if my coya had been captured or killed? My mate, Sharone. The other half of everything I am. What would I have done?”

“You city boys and your psychologists. Just what we need, some fancy-pants lollygaggin' around telling us all how we need to get in touch with our inner child...I find that little inner bastard and I'll choke the shit out of him for the hell of it.~ Jackal ~”