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We are the tenants, not the landlords, a temple priest once said at a weekly gathering. We only borrow the air we breathe and the food we eat and the water we drink.
In order to remember what you see, you have to swallow the words along with the pain, Jean had said. If you speak, what you saw will fade like a dream. You might remember wisps, but not enough to be useful to you.
“Simon was being mean. He made the Meg cry. I’m going over to the store to see if I can find a sparkly that will make her smile again. The Meg smiles a lot—when the Wolf isn’t snarling at her.”
“Whether you’re beaten or pampered, fed the best foods or starved, kept in filth or kept clean, a cage is still a cage,”
The Others didn’t understand the story either, but they all agreed on one thing: there wasn’t a single chick in the whole movie.
“Namid is full of many things, some wondrous and some terrible,” he said softly. “And some of her creations are both.
“I’m not some human you can intimidate. And I’m not a pup anymore. You don’t tell me what to do. No one tells me what to do.”
“It’s not a leash,” a young, scratchy voice shouted. Or tried to shout. “It’s a safety line. Adventure buddies use a safety line so they can help each other.”
“The Sanguinati do not feed on the young,” Erebus said. “And we do not feed on the sweet blood, because they are both wondrous and terrible. That forbidding was done long ago, and it is still passed down from one Sanguinati to another, even though we had forgotten the reason for it.”
He’d banish Elliot from the Lakeside Courtyard before he let the other Wolf—or anyone else—harm Meg in any way.
Meg. One of Namid’s creations, both terrible and wondrous.
Most of the terra indigene didn’t want to love humans; they wanted to eat them. Why did humans have such a hard time understanding that?
The sweatshirt was big on her and she looked ridiculous. He liked it. And he liked that she was wearing something that carried his scent.
“Pass the word that there is meat available for whoever wants it. And make sure at least some of the blood is offered to Erebus.” “That part was already done. Nyx came by and collected it.” Yes. Erebus would want blood from the man who tried to take Meg, who touched Meg. “You want us to save any meat for you?” Blair asked. He wasn’t human. Would never be human. “I want the heart. I’ll come by for it later.” When Meg was asleep.
“Then it’s time for you to experience the world instead of just identifying its pieces.”
Simon closed his eyes. Keeping his head against her arm, he breathed in the scents that were Meg. The hair was still stinky, but not so much now, and the rest of her smelled good. Pleasing. Comforting.
Pleasure. Comfort. Contentment. Except for the hair, she really did smell good.
She smelled good. She tasted even better.
On the other hand, he liked that he wasn’t interchangeable with the rest of the Wolfgard and that Meg knew him on sight, even the first time she’d seen him as Wolf.
It took a little too much effort to stop himself from running over to the office and marking his territory. Not that he should consider the Liaison’s Office as being more his territory than the rest of the Courtyard.
Since she was spooned around Sam to keep him warm, Simon had figured it was only sensible to stay as Wolf and tuck himself against her back to keep her warm. The fact that tucking up against her made him feel content had nothing to do with that decision. Nothing at all.
“I’m not sure the euphoria is worth the pain that comes before it,” Tess said softly. “She didn’t make that cut for herself, Simon. She did it for us. Remember that before you snarl at her.”
He watched her, listened to her, and knew she was truly asleep. He kissed her forehead and found the act pleasing for its own sake. And, he admitted as he licked his lips, it was enjoyable for other reasons. Meg wasn’t bitable, but he really did like the taste of her.
Of course, if Meg had taken shelter somewhere else instead of stumbling along until she came to the Courtyard, she might not have found them, and he might never have known her. So maybe Namid was wise to make human females do foolish things.
She knew what it felt like to be free, to have friends, to have a life. To have people she loved. She wasn’t going to let anyone take that away from her.
<Meg!> Smelling blood, he noticed the gash in her chin. He licked off the blood, licked and licked to clean the wound. <Meg!>
Not so angry now. Not feeling so alone now with his body touching hers.
Red flickered in his amber eyes and he snarled at her. “If you ever scare me like this again, I will eat you!” Then he pressed his forehead against her arm and whined.
Simon nodded. “She should stay in the den until next week, but she snarled at me when I suggested it.” Monty wasn’t sure if the Wolf was offended or pleased, so he didn’t reply. But he thought, Good for you, Meg.
the blood of cassandra sangues was the source of the sickness that was touching humans and Others in the West.
Something had changed between them while she was in the hospital. She wasn’t sure if Simon considered her a friend, a playmate, or a valued toy, but he seemed to enjoy playing games with her.
