Eclipsed Hearts

Slow Boat

[Ian]

Gino Clarke stood there acting like he owned the boat and I was some piece of meat for him to enjoy on the trip. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t subjected myself to the touch of men in order to get this far. Only this one would know I didn’t like it.

“Why wouldn’t I be there? This is a conference for people looking to become entrepreneurs or become better entrepreneurs. You’re not the only wolf in the state who wants to live by their own rules and not the rules of a pack or the humans,” I replied with a fake smile.

“I thought you already had a line of work that accounted for that. Playing hunter….”

My smile fell. He reacted with a look of pleasure as he moved in closer to me.

“You thought you were being sneaky. I never even thought of killing a hunter and taking their place. At least, that’s what I think you did to the real Ianto Thornwood, Anthony… or is that not your real name either?”

Even though it was a question, I knew he already knew the answer. If he had been watching my family and knew who I was pretending to be, he knew my real name.

“Are you threatening me, or actually curious, Gino?” I asked, my placid expression not conveying my icy tone to the people who might see us.

“Truly curious. I never thought to do it, so what made you do it? Was it all those pups you’re raising? If you need money, I can help you sell them off. Or… sell your time in a more… enjoyable endeavor,” he replied with a purr.

I forced a chuckle, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck prickle with unease. Gino Clarke was playing a dangerous game, one that he didn’t fully comprehend. But I couldn’t let him see my fear.

“Sorry to disappoint, Gino, but I’m not in the business of selling pups or myself,” I retorted, my voice dripping with disdain. “And as for my alias, it’s just business. Nothing personal.”

Gino’s smile faltered for a moment, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his features before they hardened again. He took a step back, his eyes narrowing as he regarded me with newfound respect. I used to be just another wolf trying to trespass in his territory.

“Nothing personal? You joined the enemies of our people. You kill werewolves. Do you think your little bіtch would be all over you if she knew? Do you think those pups would accept the kisses and cuddles of a killer like the ones who took their parents? I know all about you and your past, Ian Kent. Perhaps we can help each other, though.”

“What sort of help could you offer, Gino? You moved into my territory, do you think I didn’t know about you. The only reason you know anything about me is because I made sure to cross your path. Wolves like you make life dangerous for me and my family,” I growled quietly, turning slightly to get him to move closer to the railing.

I couldn’t kill him here where there were witnesses, but I needed Mari to see that I was making inroads with him if she was watching. I couldn’t risk looking for her. If he caught wind that I was with someone, it would ruin this entire plan.

“You think it was a coincidence that your pack was attacked? How do you think that hunter found his way so close to your pack that he could fool some i***t into caring for him? Someone tipped them off and that hunter was hurt by his own family on purpose.

“You’ve been around hunters for years now. They’ll do anything to get in with us and kill us. Let me join your little family, give me your bіtch’s brother and one of the older girls, and I’ll help protect you. They’ll be my family too. We can kill the humans I’ve been fuсking and inherit their house. It’ll make a good packhouse. I can be your Beta and we can find a Gamma. Your bіtch can stop acting like a male and just keep her tail raised like a good Luna,” he proposed.

He was trying to piss me off. There’s no way he could really believe I would allow that. Or did he think that the way I acted with my family was the fake me and the hunter was the real me? I needed to test the theory.

“Why do you want my bіtch’s brother?” I asked.

“He’s cute and soft. Definitely not a dominant wolf. I can take care of him, but I’ll need a female for breeding. I’ll take Violet for my female. She looks like she’ll breed well and she’s non-dominant, too. I know all of their names, everything they like, everywhere they go, and all the people they meet in a day. Jaden wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore if I were around.

“I’ve seen you take him and his sister to bed with you. The thought of what you could do to him fascinates me. I’m asking for the older of the girls, she’s older than Fern was before you started fuсking her.”

My blood boiled at his audacity, the venom in his words twisting my gut with disgust. How dare he suggest such vile acts? How dare he think I would ever entertain the idea of handing over my family to a despicable creature like him? Gino’s proposal was not only repulsive but a clear sign of the depths of his depravity.

“You seem to know a lot more than I thought you would. You know I take them to bed together often…. That makes me wonder exactly how closely you’re watching. Do you even understand that you’re running the risk of making me an enemy rather than an ally?” I asked.

“We’re made of the same stuff, Ian. I killed wolves, humans, and anything else that got in my way to take care of myself. You’re the same. You killed Ianto Thornwood and took his identity. I never thought of making my own little family the way you did, but as I get older, I like the idea of settling down.

“Those humans I’ve been with were easy to manipulate into giving me what I wanted while thinking they were still being fair to their spoiled spawn. We’ll have their house and everything in it. Their kids get their other money and other properties to split. That house is more valuable and has priceless items in it we can sell.

“I can smell your anger. You can’t get angry when someone wants a piece of what you set up. Not if you want to be safe. Not if you want them to be safe. I could always take them from you. Or make sure the nearby pack finds out about you.

“Do you really think they’ll let you keep those kids or your bіtch? If they don’t come raid your house and take them away, they’ll come to kill you all to ensure that more rogues aren’t around to threaten them. If you remember anything about being in a pack, I’m sure you’ll remember how much they hate rogues,” Gino replied, turning to lean against the railing and look out at the water.

My mind raced with conflicting emotions. Gino laced his words with threats and manipulations, but there was a twisted logic to his reasoning. I couldn’t ignore the potential dangers he presented. The safety of my makeshift family hung precariously in the balance, and I needed to tread carefully.

I took a step closer to Gino, narrowing the distance between us as I stared into his cold, calculating eyes. “You think you can waltz in here and demand a share of what I’ve built without consequences? You underestimate me, Gino. I didn’t claw my way to this position just to let it all go to some aѕѕhole who didn’t do ѕhit to build it. I took care of those kids since they were babies. They trust me. I’m their Alpha. If you want to be my Beta, you have to show me you’re worth my time.”

“How should I do that, other than offering you a fuсking mansion and millions of dollars? Isn’t that enough?” he scoffed.

Thinking about it, I worked to find a way he could prove it to me. It would help me get him to a place where I could kill him easily. I hadn’t planned on him confronting me on the boat. I thought there would be time to settle in, at least. This wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened, though.

“You killed a lot of people. Show me you’re human enough to have felt something. What’s the kill you regret the most? You tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine. This will show us the kind of men we really are,” I told him, to buy time. It would tell me more about him as a person, too.

Gino looked out at the icy water that spanned for miles. There was a distant look in his eyes, like he could see the other side of the lake in the invisible distance. I waited for him to find his answer.

“Yeah, it was the one that made me the man I am today. It’s the reason I know you’re the same sort of man as me. If you could hunt werewolves like one of them, then that means you’re killing families, too. I thought it would be easy when I accepted the job. I was a twenty-three-year-old, badaѕѕ rogue werewolf…. They can do it, why couldn’t I?”