Free Lost in Prophecy: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Ascension Series) (Volume 5) by S M Reine Page B

easy to forget, hanging out in the sanctuary—lots of the werewolves didn’t ever bother getting dressed, so long as the weather was good. “No. I’m fine.”
    Yasir tossed a blanket at him anyway.
    “What are you doing here, doc?” Abel asked, chucking the blanket over the back of the couch without even looking at it.
    Stephanie registered mild surprise. “She hasn’t told you?”
    “Told me what?” Abel asked. “Who are you talking about?”
    The doctor smoothed her features. “Hmm. Well, I’m here to check on Levi and the status of the fissure.”
    “It’s still open,” he said. “Thanks for the visit. See you later.”
    “Yes, I didn’t think you would have any interest in my agenda. We won’t waste time discussing it. That’s not why Levi has had an open invitation for you and Rylie to come speak to him—which has been roundly ignored, I’ll note. However, I believe you might be interested in learning more about your brother’s agenda.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Cain, that is. The last person to attempt to lead the Apple on a crusade.”
    Anger rippled through Abel. “Don’t want to talk about him, either. I want to talk about you people leaving here.”
    “Please, Abel,” Stephanie said. “Be reasonable.”
    “I’m feeling real fucking reasonable just by keeping my teeth away from your throats right now.”
    Yasir lifted the gun again, aiming it squarely at Abel’s face. The Alpha coiled. Prepared to launch.
    Stephanie shoved herself to her feet. “Stop it. Both of you. We’re all friends here.”
    Friends? Friends ?
    “Your friend here just about ripped Heaven out of the sky and dumped it on my town!” Abel snapped.
    “That wasn’t what we intended to do,” Yasir said. “It would have gone better if Seth’d been here, like we expected. All we were trying to do was fix the fissure. Cut off Hell.”
    “And cut off the only route to getting all the human slaves out of Hell while you’re at it.” Abel shocked himself with how fiercely he said it.
    He hadn’t started out a fan of Elise and Rylie’s plan to save the humans in Hell. Abel had thought all those people were as good as dead anyway. But they’d saved hundreds of people now, and Abel would have been a cold bastard not to know how much good they were doing. He’d seen the gratitude in the eyes of the Scions himself.
    “I’ll have to beg to differ on the intent of that bridge,” Stephanie said. “Again, I’m not going to try to change your mind about that. We need to talk about Cain and the Apple. That’s all I want.”
    “Fine,” Abel said without relaxing. “Talk.”
    Stephanie sighed. Lowered herself to the couch again. “You’ll recall that my father, Scott Whyte, betrayed the pack a couple of years ago because of Cain’s demands.” She pulled a blanket across her lap and smoothed it over her thighs. “I was angry. We all were, at the time. I couldn’t understand how he could have aligned himself with a cult that stood in direct opposition to our family’s best interests—a cult that hurt people.”
    “Because he was a fucking weasel.”
    “Hmm. Well, that may have been a factor. Scott wasn’t without his flaws. However, when he originally joined the Apple, it was not within Cain’s control. Your brother was a smart man. A man with a vision. He stumbled upon the cult, discovered it lacked leadership, and took charge to pursue his own goals.”
    “Killing Seth and me for revenge, and then making a million more werewolves,” Abel said.
    “Fortunate that he never got that far.”
    “Levi wants to make more werewolves, too.”
    Stephanie lifted a finger. “Hold on to that thought. Cain’s time manipulating the Apple was…unfortunate. Prior to his interference, it was an old, noble organization of witches loyal to Adam, the First Man. That’s what my father joined. That’s what I’ve joined, along with Levi Riese and much of the Half Moon Bay Coven.” She sighed. “Bekah continues to