Patricia Briggs

The only certainty life contains is death.

MS. THOMPSON, it said in heavy block letters, PLEASE KEEP YOUR FELINE OFF MY PROPERTY. IF I SEE IT AGAIN, I WILL EAT IT.

Intelligent men are dangerous.

Any idiot can put up a website.

Civilization is vastly overrated.

When I die of heart failure the next time you frighten me like that, you can put that on my gravestone—‘I didn’t mean to startle her.

Cheeses crusty, got all musty, got damp on the stone of a peach,” I agreed. He looked blank, so I repeated it with proper emphasis. “ ChEEZ-zes crusty. Got Al -musty. Got DAMp on the StoneofapeaCH.

Where does a werewolf sleep? Anywhere he wants to.

Women are sneaky.

Some truths are truths, no matter who says them.

She doesn’t need the pack. She doesn’t need me. ”I shot to my feet. “That’s not true,” I said hotly. He tilted his head a little, his eyes meeting mine. His eyes softened. “I misspoke,” he said in a steady voice. “She doesn’t need me to make sure she has enough food or a place to live-that is my privilege, but she doesn’t need me to do that. She doesn’t need me to keep her safe or to make her a whole person. She doesn’t need me to do anything except love her. Which I do.

I suppose we must work on being gracious and grateful until we can do for ourselves. Someday the wheel of fate will put us in a position to be of use to them, and we will remember how much easier it is to give help than it is to accept it.

It was like being leaned on by a very heavy, warm brick. A sexy brick.

She wondered that hope was so much harder then despair.

Knowledge is a better weapon than a sword.

I used my history degree about twice a year whether I needed to or not.

Time was such an odd thing. One moment you could talk to someone, then suddenly, they were gone.

Don’t lick the guests, darling. Bad manners.

I don’t know who you think you are” — my mother’s voice was low and dangerous — “but if you don’t get out of my way right this instant, it won’t matter. ”Adam was the Alpha werewolf in charge of the local pack. He was tough. He could be mean when he had to — and he wouldn’t stand a chance against my mom.

Fear makes idiots out of us all, at some time or other.

Only cowards torture women.

Over a lifetime of dealing with difficult women, I have learned it is often better to give into their demands immediately.

One of my professors once told me that the last official act of the British monarchy was when Queen Victoria refused to sign a law that made same-sex acts illegal. It would have made me think more highly of her, except the reason she objected was because she didn’t believe women would do anything like that. Parliament rewrote the law so it was specific to men, and she signed it. A tribute to enlightenment, Queen Victoria was not. Neither, as I have observed before, are werewolf packs.

People will do amazing things to ensure their survival.

All life is rife with possibilities. Seeds have possibilities, but all their tomorrows are caught by the patterning of their life cycle. Animals have possibilities that are greater than that of a fir tree or a blade of grass. Still, though, for most animals, the pattern of instinct, the patterns of their lives, are very strong. Humanity has a far greater range of possibilities, especially the very young. Who will children grow up to be? Who will they marry, what will they believe, what will they create? Creation is a very powerful seed of possibility.

This world has need of song and sword.

The main thing to remember is that making love is at onces the silliest and the most sacred act humans can perform.

Love is not necessary for sex.

You cannot sacrifice the world for your children.

Cheeky. Carry them for nine months, feed them, clothe them, and what do I get? Impertinence.

A king who trusts no man is weak.

My mother raised her eyebrow, and murmured, “And to think I was always worried that you didn’t have any friends. I suppose I should have been counting my blessings.

Some people are boys longer than others.

Death is not such a bad thing. What would be a bad thing would be living without challenges. Without knowing defeat, we cannot know what victory is. There is no life without death.

Almost-Sister, you picked a real catch. ”“It was I who caught her,” Adam said softly. “It took years.

Brother Wolf gave Anna an amused look and then went back to being scary.

When he grew up, he wanted to be like Charles.

Sometimes I think I live more closely to the past than the present.

Evil must always be fought.

If there was such evil in the world, was it possible that there was good, too?,You have to acknowledge evil, or you give it too much power over you.

A man learns with age, if he is lucky.

I thought it would be quieter here. ” [Anna] hadn’t meant to say anything, but the noise startled her. “The wind in the trees,” Bran said. “And there are some birds that stay year-round. Sometimes when the wind is still and the cold is upon us, the quiet is so deep you can feel it in your bones.

Identity was partly heritage, partly upbringing, but mostly the choices you make in life. ~ Bran,So in the sweltering heat of a July night, I sang a Christmas carol to a room full of fae, who had been driven out of their homelands by Christians and their cold-iron swords.

No, really," I said. "Now that we know that Flores is really this nasty, fiery, superpowerful nothing-can-kill-me demon from hell, maybe we should consider just giving Christy to him?,Jumping Jehoshaphat. O Holy Night.

This was not a man who wanted to give up his mate. This was a man trying to do the honorable thing—and give her a choice, no matter hiw much it cost him.

Vampire politics make the very complicated dance of manners that is werewolf protocol look like the Hokey Pokey.

If creation was given no limit, ultimately everything would cease to exist.

He was like Superman, but with fangs and oddly impaired morals.

One of the oddest things about being grown-up was looking back at something you thought you knew and finding out the truth of it was completely different from what you had always believed.

You are a sick, sick man,” I told him. “Thank you,” Ben replied, looking modest.

Stupid young girls who get caught alone in the forest fall prey to anything that crosses their paths, be the beast animal, human or shapeshifter.

I like that people can just look at you and know that you are taken, that you are mine. ” He closed his eyes and laughed. “And yes, I know that sentiment is at the top of the Women’s Liberation Movement’s list of things not to say to a modern woman.

Trouble seems to follow me around, waiting to club me with a tire iron.

Such a small thing to cause so much trouble.

It was complicated. I understood it, mostly, but I had to think a little sideways to do it.

Yes,” I told him. “I think the guy playing the Pirate King was awesome. ”He stopped where he was. “What?” I asked, frowning at the big smile on his face. “I didn’t say I liked the Pirate King,” he told me. “Oh. ” I closed my eyes—and there he was. A warm, edgy presence right on the edge of my perception. When I opened my eyes, he was standing right in front of me. “Cool,” I told him. “You’re back. ”He kissed me leisurely. When he was finished, I was more than ready to head home. Fast. “You make me laugh,” he told me seriously.

I was too busy fighting the river to worry about adjusting my beliefs in accordance to reality.

I am the reality of all coyotes. The archetype. The epitome. You are just a reflection of me.

Matt Smith?" I said. "Really? You are not the Doctor, Bran. At your age, it is important to keep a lookout for excessive hubris.

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

Heart turned to me, his face thought­ful. “Yes­ter­day morn­ing. Yes, that means that Daphne hadn’t been home for two days be­fore that. ” He smiled at me. “You were sup­posed to be the Al­pha’s eye can­dy. ”Adam laughed. “What?” I asked him. “You don’t think I’d be good eye can­dy?” I looked down at my over­alls and grease-​stained hands. I’d torn an­oth­er nail to the quick. “Hon­ey is eye can­dy,” said Ben apolo­get­ical­ly. “You’re just you. ”“Mine,” said Adam, edg­ing be­tween Heart and me. “Mine is what she is.

Knowing someone desires you is the greatest aphrodisiac,Dragons and legends. . . It would have been difficult for any man not to want to fight beside a dragon.

Pack is for comfort when you hurt, I thought, putting my head back down. And for the first time in a long time, maybe the first time ever, I appreciated being a part of one.

What do you mean?” Leslie’s voice was cool, as if she questioned witches who were flat on their backs being threatened by werewolves every day.

New rules. If you are smart enough to live, you won’t hit Charles’s mate in front of his father.

Adam has always had heroic tendencies. ”I touched Adam’s arm. “He’s my hero. ”There was another pause. . . “That is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Bran said. “Be careful, Adam, or you’ll turn her into a real girl. ”Adam looked at me. “I like her just the way she is, Bran. ” And he meant it, greasy overalls, broken fingernails, and all.

This place looks like the last scene in Hamlet.

Into the breach, then. Against mobs of middle-aged moms and frightening harridans we shall prevail. ”She nodded sharply, raising an invisible sword. “And damned be he—she—who cries, ‘Hold, enough!’”“Misquote Shakespeare in front of Samuel, I dare you,” I told her, and she laughed.

Honey will wipe the floor with you. " His eyes went half-mast, and his voice dropped in evident pleasure. "I know.

It is hard to accept being different, hard to have people avoid looking at you, and still believe in yourself.

Love thy enemies, it says in the scriptures. My foster mother always added, "At the very least, you will be polite to them.

Reincarnation?”He shrugged. “I’ve never seen any evidence that it’s real. But I’ve never seen anything that disproves it either. I believe the afterlife is better than what we have here—and it would take something extraordinary to make someone willing to come back.

Hard truths can be dealt with, triumphed over, but lies will destroy your soul.

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