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said.
    Abel finally stopped fighting. He didn’t know who was supposed to have arrived—the necromancer? But an aura of anger radiated from the mobile home, and he was certain that something had gone wrong. Really wrong.
    “It’s not safe to keep Abel much longer,” Cain finally said. “He’s dangerous.”
    Eleanor’s response chilled Abel.
    “Fine. I’ll kill him.”
    Trevin, Crystal, and a few of the other werewolves that had survived the attack on the sanctuary were getting set up for Rylie’s wedding. The arch and chairs had arrived, the baker’s truck was rolling up the driveway, and things were starting to look like a real wedding.
    Despite the light dusting of snow, the news report was good—the next day was supposed to be in the high forties and only a little overcast, with no actual falling snow.
    Perfect for an outdoor wedding in winter.
    “What are you going to do if the weather gets bad?” Yasir asked, handing a box of ammunition and an empty magazine to Seth. They were on the other side of the property getting ready for their part of the wedding.
    “Wear a warmer jacket,” Seth said. Loading a magazine was tricky with a broken hand, but he had practice at it. “We can’t do this inside. It has to be outside, where we have more room to maneuver. How many men will you have?”
    “Two full units are on their way,” Yasir said. “Over a dozen men. Considering my batting average as of late, I’d say at least five or six of those aren’t going to try to kill us.”
    He popped the magazine into the bottom of his gun.
    “Not bad odds,” Seth said, giving Yasir a slanted smile.
    “What are you guys doing?”
    Rylie came down the hill, wearing a white tank top and a dusty pair of jeans. It looked like she had been hard at work getting everything arranged.
    Seth stepped in front of the car so that she wouldn’t see the guns they were assembling in the trunk, but Rylie didn’t need her eyes to tell what was going on. Her nose wrinkled as she sniffed.
    “We’re preparing,” he said.
    She frowned. “You’re armed.”
    Seth looked to Yasir for assistance, but the other man seemed to be pretending to be deaf.
    He didn’t bother trying to hold Rylie back when she stepped up to look in the trunk. They had several fully automatic weapons and a few smaller, easy to conceal guns spread in front of them, like a miniature armory.
    Rylie pulled a face. She must have smelled the silver bullets. “Do you think Cain is going to attack the wedding?”
    “I just want to be prepared,” Seth said, voice level.
    Her eyes flicked to Yasir. “Is that why your ‘hunter friends’ are coming? Are they Union?”
    “Rylie…”
    “The Union tried to kill me,” she said.
    “To be fair, they’ve tried to kill most people at one point or another,” Seth said. Rylie didn’t seem to think that it was funny. He wrapped her in his arms. “I’m just trying to keep you safe. That’s all. Nobody is going to hurt you.” She sighed and didn’t respond. Seth was pretty sure that meant she didn’t forgive him. “Did you need something?”
    “Stephanie sent me,” she said. “She wanted me to tell you that Scott came back from the dead.”
    Seth met Stephanie at the cellar door, and they entered together.
    “Back from the dead” was an interesting description—and pretty appropriate, considering that Scott had a permanent hole in his forehead. There was no mistaking him for alive. Not the same way that Gwyn had always looked lively and bright.
    “I’m sorry,” Scott said as soon as they descended the stairs. He was sitting against a few boxes in the corner, and he looked horrible.
    “Why, Papa?” Stephanie asked. There was a softness to her voice that Seth had never heard before. “You betrayed us. You’re working for Cain.”
    “The Apple,” he whispered. “I had no choice.”
    Seth stepped forward. “You mean that tattoo—right? What is the Apple?”
    Scott gripped his daughter’s hand. He