“Tell the old man I don’t have anything to report and if he wants to keep harassing me for information that doesn’t exist he’s going to get caught and then this whole thing will be for nothing.”

Gabriel didn’t look up at the man who walked beside him. He didn’t have to. Recognizing Claudius’ putrid scent happened to be downright easy. Someone should tell him to take a shower some time.

“He’s getting impatient. You haven’t had anything useful in too long. He’d like to remind you that he has Carrie, and her well-being is dependent on you doing what you said you would do.”

“I’m not likely to ever forget.” Without turning, Gabriel reached out and grabbed Claudius by the throat. With a shove, he had him up against the wall of the building they passed. Winter in Portland meant seasonal restaurants were closed. No one would be coming around the bend to see the scene Gabriel intended to create.

Claudius gasped for air. “If you kill me, Kendrick will kill her.”

Gabe shook his head. “I don’t think so. Seems to me that if you were really pivotal to the operations at Kendrick’s place you’d still be there. What’s the matter? Now that he has his plans in place and Drea by his side, you’ve become, what, sort of the fifth wheel to all this insanity?”

His father’s comrade gurgled as Gabriel increased the pressure on his throat. “Tell my dad I’ll report when there is something to report. There’s nothing new going on. Back off.”

He dropped Claudius on the ground with a thump. “If I see you again, if my father sends you here again, I’ll kill you. I doubt he’ll even be surprised. I’m supposed to be breaking down, remember? Maybe I’m out of my mind.”

Claudius didn’t make a sound while Gabriel walked away from him. He had a task to accomplish. Michael had sent him on a mission he had no intention of failing. Certainly even he could manage to buy alcohol without fucking it up too badly.

Gabriel’s hands shook while he lit his cigarette. Dirty habit. If he didn’t watch out, he’d end up smelling as disgusting as the humans in the shop he’d just left. Still, it gave him something to do while he waited. It wasn’t like he could talk to his wolf.

The man approached him from the side, just as he suspected he would. Gabe didn’t know him, which meant Kendrick had managed to expand his network of people over the last few years. This didn’t shock him in the least. Kendrick had always been horribly charismatic.

Once upon a time, he’d also been thrilled to live by the man’s directions.

“Do you have Tristan back?”

Gabe’s head shot up. Standing at roughly five foot five inches, Kendrick’s henchman stared up at him with venom radiating from his gaze. He smelled like peppermint and spoke with a British accent. Wow. Kendrick had gone international in his plotting.

“I was under the impression that you had him.”

Tristan had been missing for weeks. Rex had missed an appointment with him. By the time his youngest brother had gotten there, scents of Kendrick’s men had been everywhere. No one had heard anything since.

“We lost him.”

Gabriel tried to digest that piece of news. He took a couple of deep breaths and tried counting to ten. But he couldn’t help himself. He launched himself on the man, slamming him down on the ground.

“If my brother comes to any harm, and I mean so much as a hair out of place, you’ll all live to regret it.”

“Now, now.” The infuriating man had the gall to laugh. “We have your mate. Wouldn’t want anything to happen to her.”

“Kendrick won’t hurt Carrie.” Saying her name made the muscles in his neck strain. He never said it, thought it, or dreamed about it anymore. He couldn’t let himself. “Because then he gets nothing from me. But you make sure this is understood. Tristan gets hurt and I’ll bust through my father’s doors like hellfire and I’ll watch him burn to the ground. I imagine after almost thirty years with the man Carrie would understand.”

He got off Kendrick’s henchman. “Now get out of here before I put you in the Atlantic with your throat ripped out. I’ve always wondered if sharks eat their own.”

Gabriel stormed off toward the boat that would take him back to Westervelt. He hated his monthly visits to the mainland. Even the ones when Kendrick’s people didn’t show up made him want to toss his own distorted soul into the waiting waters.

He closed his eyes and looked for her, knowing he couldn’t even think her actual name. Twice in one day would destroy him, cause his internal organs to start liquefying or something equally horrible. Searching for Carrie caused him pain.

But at that moment he couldn’t stop himself. Her soul—filled with colors he hadn’t known existed until she gave them to him—had faded. He took two steps until he could lean against the wall of one of the warehouses that lined the street. What did that mean? He ran his hands through his hair. Did this indicate she’d approached death? No. He’d know if that were the case. If Carrie endured physical pain, he’d feel it.

No; her soul fading had to do with him and her soul not wanting to be mated to him anymore.

He ran for the boat.

Tristan had gone missing and Carrie’s soul had faded from his. Why had he ever thought he could do anything to help? Maybe it all would have been better if he’d died the same day the other mates had perished. Killed himself and hoped Carrie could find a way to resist following.

So many mistakes. So many lines drawn in the sand that he’d crossed over. Who the hell had he become?

His brothers had all mated. Well, almost all of them. Rex hadn’t found his mate yet, but with the way things had started happening Gabriel would bet that the fates would deliver him a mate in no time at all. And his sister would show up too.

He cleared his throat and watched Michael stare at his mate while she ran away from them. Trouble in paradise. The first few months of mating had to be tough on them. The old days of lovemaking and long runs through the woods were behind them. Now, they had to make do with the complication of the whole thing while fighting for their lives.

Michael. His big brother who had taken care of him when it had only been the two of them against the world. They had plotted and planned for the day Tristan would finally take over. That had happened.

A light dawned in his mind. Gabriel’s role had been made clear to him. He’d kept them all safe until they could find their other halves. Each woman had brought her gifts to the pack and now they were closer than ever to taking down Kendrick. After Kendrick’s destruction, when Westervelt could be properly re-formed, all would return to normal. They had strong mates who would weather their storms with them.

Children had been born. Tristan and Cullen were fathers already. Theo’s wife expected a baby. In no time, Michael would have his new lady knocked up and breeding.

There was a future to be had. And the last thing Gabriel could do for all of them was to end his father. Free Carrie. Send her on her way. Her soul had fled his body and he couldn’t blame it one bit.

Carrie would live. Kendrick would die. All he had to do now was say good-bye and leave the pack forever. Tristan would never understand. Maybe someday, if the gods were kind, he’d get to tell him how truly sorry he felt. Or at least how apologetic he should feel.

If he thought himself capable of feeling at all.