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line behind him so easily. From his sheer size alone he could make half the pack cower.
    Not Gabriel. Not ever again.
    “You want to be Alpha, boy?” Kendrick’s voice banged through his head.
    Somehow he’d have to figure out how to keep his father out of his head. “No. I just want you dead.”
    They circled each other. Gabriel’s wolf had good timing. He didn’t need to interfere with his other half’s instincts. He’d attack when the right moment occurred.
    “If you kill me, you end your mother’s life.” Kendrick sneered, his upper lip curling.
    “This doesn’t get put on me. You did this. And the second you did you became a dead wolf.” Gabe growled, lunging forward.
    His father backed up a step. Neither he nor his wolf had any idea what his father played at. Kendrick didn’t back away from a fight.
    “Think about it, Gabriel. You have two options. You can kill me and then still destroy your mate. Or you can save her.”
    Gabe stopped moving. He wanted his father’s throat; he craved Kendrick’s death in the primal ways that made him part beast and not fully human. Yet even the animal inside him—perhaps because of the love the wolf carried for Carrie—ceased moving to listen to his father’s explanation.
    “You lie.” In all things, in all ways.
    “This is unstoppable . The pack needs to be cleared out. It has to be controlled . Whether I live or die matters not. Westervelt has run its course.”
    His father didn’t know about his mother’s plan. There’d be no handling the pack after the destruction. The women would be gone.
    “I thought you wanted to rule the new pack.”
    “I want it saved. I believe I can bring it back from the ashes. Without me it will disappear, but perhaps that is how it should be. If a wolf doesn’t want to rule humans, there is something wrong with the shifter.”
    Gabriel snorted. “Gods, you are a megalomaniac.”
    “Big word for you, son.”
    He growled. Enough was enough. His dad must not really have a way to save Carrie, or he would have shared it by now.
    “Prepare to die, old man. You won’t ever see what happens to Westervelt.”
    In the distance, the ferry boat dinged its departure. Gabriel took a deep breath. The unmated women would be gone. Whatever happened now, at least part of what Kendrick wanted would never happen. Maybe Carrie had the sense to get on the boat with them and run far, far away.
    Let’s hope . His wolf panted. He wanted Kendrick’s blood in his mouth.
    Kendrick’s head rose and swung toward the retreating ship. “Why is that vessel departing? What have you done? You couldn’t have emptied the island. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. They’ll still kill their mates.”
    “We didn’t empty the island.” Staying vague seemed like the best option; the witch might have left, but his father could still have her at his beck and call somehow. Gabriel didn’t want Kendrick realizing Mary Jo had sent the women away until the ship was as far away as possible.
    “If you want Carrie alive, you’ll do as I say.”
    Gabriel shook his head. “You’ve told me that’s impossible. Why should I believe you? All of this is probably bullshit anyway.”
    “Use your ears. Does it sound like bullshit to you?” The sun had started to rise on the horizon. Gabriel didn’t want to be distracted, but his wolf had always been capable of doing more than one thing at a time. His father wouldn’t get the jump on him just by making him listen to the world around him for two seconds.
    The wind ripped by his head. He could hear the birds in the trees awakening, the fish in the water whipping by the island, a horn on the mainland beeping in the distance, and … screams.
    He gasped before turning in the direction of the sound. Not just one scream. No. Many. Women fighting for their lives and men hollering to the gods for relief from what they’d done.
    The Alpha in him needed to go to them, to help, to protect what he still could. His father’s