Red Rose Moon (Seasons of the Moon) by SM Reine Read Free Book Online

reached up to touch her cheek, and she closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, Steph,” he said. “I’m so sorry. I never wanted you to think so badly of me.”
    “What is the Apple?” Seth pressed.
    “The mark of Cain.” He choked on the words. “It’s hard to explain how I got involved with the Apple, but it was long before either of you were born, and I hope you can trust me when I say that I never thought that it would involve hurting people. I haven’t hurt anyone. But I had obligations. There was no choice but to resurrect Eleanor.”
    “There’s always a choice,” Stephanie said.
    Scott’s brow wrinkled, making the skin around the bullet wound pucker. “I don’t consider letting Cain kill my children a choice.” He gave a rattling sigh. “I don’t have the answers you want. I’m sorry.”
    He sounded like he meant it. Seth paced away from him, trying to calm his pounding heart.
    If they couldn’t trust Scott, who could they trust?
    “Do you know anyone else with the Apple?” Seth asked, even though he suspected that he knew the answer.
    Scott shook his head. “Please let me out of here. I need to attempt to heal myself.”
    “Will you die if you don’t?” Stephanie asked.
    “No, but—”
    She stood and straightened her blouse. The look she gave her father dripped with disdain.
    “Consider it a lesson,” she said. She turned to Seth. “Let’s let him think on this. We have to finish getting ready for your wedding.”

T EN
    Sacrificial Wolf
    Eleanor came to kill Abel that night. She carried a knife the size of her forearm in her left hand, which was not her dominant side. When she circled around him, Abel saw why. The opposite shoulder terminated in a stump of bone, gleaming a dull shade of gray in the moonlight.
    It was starting to snow again, so she was careful navigating the hill to his side.
    He studied her every movement as she approached. Even dead, Eleanor was smart. If she dropped her guard for an instant, he was going to have to act fast to get free. He still wasn’t sure how—after hours of fighting against his ropes, all he had gotten were sore wrists and not an inch of slack, and his anger had faded into something more like grim resignation.
    “Eleanor,” Abel said when she finally stood over him. She reeked of death and soil. After a beat, he changed it to, “Mom.”
    “Don’t call me that,” she snapped.
    Eleanor jerked the fork out of his side. Abel’s cry echoed off the hills. She flung it down the hill, and the fork disappeared into the bushes.
    He sagged, panting and shaking as the healing fever swept over him again. Snow drifted through the air, landing on his chest and melting into tiny puddles. It didn’t melt when it landed on Eleanor. Her hair was crunchy with ice.
    She waited to move again until he was totally healed, and then she lifted the knife. The sour tang of silver’s stench filled the air.
    “Let me go,” Abel said.
    Her eyes narrowed. They had sunk deeper into her skull, like she was beginning to shrivel. “I don’t talk to animals. Especially not the ones on the butcher’s block.”
    She struggled to lower herself onto her knees. It was strange seeing her fight against her own body’s mobility. Alive, Eleanor had been graceful and strong. As a corpse, she was in shambles—and getting worse.
    Once she was closer, Abel could see that her arm wasn’t the only thing missing. Her throat had collapsed. Her hair was missing on the left side.
    Eleanor slid a hand over his chest and rested her fingers on his heartbeat. He realized with a jolt that she was trying to find his heart, because her right eye was glazed and blind.
    “Wait,” Abel said.
    She didn’t respond. Having found his heart, she positioned the point of the knife over his chest.
    Eleanor was going to kill him. Just like that.
    His heart raced, and his breath caught in his throat.
    “Rylie’s pregnant with your grandbaby,” he blurted.
    Eleanor froze. The knife drew back, but his