“He’s a werewolf, duh.” Bethany dusted herself off. A flaky flurry of burned skin settled around her. “I should have figured that out in high school. Oh, but you’re not allowed to gossip about any of this.” She pointed at her mother. “Or I’ll be back. And the next time, I’ll be angry.”

Lee gave a dry laugh. “This wasn’t angry?”

“Everyone’s still breathing, aren’t they?” She jerked her chin at her father. “Including him. Is he gonna be okay?”

Cody straightened. “Yeah. No thanks to you.” He ran one hand through his hair and looked soberly at her. “Listen, I’m not your enemy. And you’ve got to realize things are different now. For the rest of your existence, you’re just one slipup away from villagers with pitchforks and torches. Okay?”

Bethany shrugged. “Whatever.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know. But this had to be done.” Ignoring Cody, she pinned her father with a flat stare. “You do understand me, don’t you, old man?”

He gritted his teeth. “Yes.”

“Good.”

At Cody’s suggestion, I got Lee onto his feet and into the living room while Cody went to retrieve the first-aid kit from the cruiser. Jen was in the kitchen making coffee because that’s the sort of thing you do when you’re trying to reestablish a sense of normalcy and you have no idea what else to do, and Brandon was playing some kind of first-person shooter military video game with a twelve-year-old’s determined intensity, blocking out the reality of the world around him in which his newly risen vampire sister had very nearly killed his father.

“Korengal Valley Mission?” Lee asked, settling onto the couch beside him with a wince, still cradling his arm.

Brandon glanced at him. “Yeah.”

He smiled. “I might have a few tips for you.”

Fifteen minutes later, Brandon had the mother lode of insider advice on how to advance in Korengal Valley Mission, Cody had Lee’s broken forearm splinted and taped to his body, and Bethany was ready to go back to the House of Shadows.

“Give me a lift?” she asked her sister. “You don’t have to come in, but I’d really rather not call Geoffrey. Or steal your car.”

Hands wrapped around a mug of coffee, Jen gave her a slow, measuring look. “Beth, do you really expect me to believe you’ve been planning this for eight years?”

Her sister shrugged. “Well, not exactly.”

Jen said nothing.

The television emitted staccato bursts of gunfire. Lee and Brandon bent their heads together, murmuring. Cody’s portable police radio crackled and he stepped outside to handle the call.