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KEANE

“I’m not just a cat!” My entire life, I’ve been underestimated because of my beast. Fuck, I was one of the worst culprits in that—always thinking I was useless, not good enough, weak. But something had changed now that I’d been mated.

And it wasn’t that I felt stronger—I didn’t. I was woefully unprepared for all of this. But I was determined to be exactly what my mate needed me to be. I was going to be strong. Fierce. And I sure as shit wasn’t going to be a weak point in his life—someone he needed to worry about, someone he needed to rescue, someone who would hold him back.

“We need a minute alone. Let’s finish this later.” Power radiated off my mate.

I started to go toward the door, and my mate’s hand rested on the back of my neck. His lips were near my ear, his voice calm and soothing. “Not you. You stay. They need to leave. We need to talk.”

I leaned into his touch, and he let out a growl—and everyone left. Every single one. And without a single question. At least not one spoken out loud.

The power emanating off him surprised me. I knew he was strong. I’d witnessed it first hand. But he wasn’t the Alpha or the head of the family. I’d very wrongly thought that meant he would stick to the hierarchy. Nope.

It was hot as fuck.

“Here.” His voice was low and calm as he guided me down to sit and knelt in front of me. His hands cupped my cheeks, holding me in a sweet, steady grip. Gone was the wolf that gave no room for disobedience, and in his place was this sexy, sweet man. I liked to think that this side of him was reserved only for me.

“Listen to me, omega mine. You’re not just a cat. You’re my everything. My job, my sole purpose for being, is to make you happy and to keep you safe. I will not let you be in harm’s way.”

I pulled back. “Let me? You think this is a case of you allowing me to do anything?” The anger boiling up from me was disproportionate to his words, but I couldn’t help it. I was pissed. “I’m your mate. I’m your equal. Yes, you’re a wolf, and you’re strong and fierce and have a jaw that could snap me in two, but make no mistake—the Goddess sent me to you because I am yours. Not to own. Not to coddle. But to walk beside… until we go home to Her.”

Never in my life had I stood up for myself like this. Not once. But with Boaz, I felt safe enough to let him know exactly how I felt.

His jaw dropped. And then… out came a chuckle.

“Don’t you mock me.” I pushed him back onto his heels. Or more accurately, he allowed me to push him. Had he wanted to stay exactly where he was, I didn’t have the strength to do anything about it.

“I wasn’t.”

I gave him the stink eye.

“I swear, I wasn’t. It’s just… you’re so full of surprises, and it made me happy. You’re mine, Keane, and I can’t believe I’m this lucky.” He stood up, held his hand out for me, and I tentatively took it, unsure what was going on.

“Let’s go. I’ll train you. I was just scared.”

Scared. My big sexy alpha was scared. I stood up and wrapped my arms around him.

“This should make you less scared.”

He grabbed my hand.

“Because it means we can be the kind of team that no one can come between.”

He dragged me out, barking at everyone waiting in the hallway about “continuing this discussion later,” and brought me straight to the car.

We ended up at a very nondescript building. If anything, it looked like an abandoned storefront, with apartments on top like something out of an old movie. But as we stepped inside, I realized it was so much more.

“This place is mine. It’s where I train. I don’t go to the public ranges or gyms. I never want people to see my weakness.”

“I don’t think you have one.” At least none I could see.

“I do. And it’s you.”

I cringed, not wanting to be his Achilles heel. I was a shitty actor, despite trying to school my face. He must’ve sensed what I was feeling, because he brought his hand up to my cheek and pressed his forehead to mine.

“It’s not a bad thing. If anything, it’s a good one. Because it means that I will no longer be reckless, no longer rush into things without worrying if it’ll be my last mission.”

Down the stairs we went into a homemade shooting range. I’d never seen anything like it. Boaz opened what I thought was a closet and turned out to be a small room, a room filled with guns.

So many guns.

Were they automatics? Hunting guns? BB guns? Air guns? They could’ve been anything—though I highly doubted they were BB or air, since the mafia didn’t mess around.

“What do you want to start with?” he asked as if that were a reasonable question.

I looked around. They were all so overwhelming, knowing that the second I picked one up, I’d hold the power of life and death in my hand, something my beast didn’t have on his own. Maybe if I'd been a dragon, it wouldn’t feel so life-changing. But I wasn’t. I was a freaking housecat.

“What gun did you start with?”

He walked to the back of the room, opened a box I hadn’t noticed, and pulled out a little gun. Little compared to the others, anyway.

“This one.” It was orange camo, hardly fierce-looking.

“A BB gun, then.” I could handle a BB gun.

“No. Not a BB gun.” As we walked into the main room, he told me the story of how he got the gun as a young boy—how he’d been fearful of them and didn’t want to pick one up. And the orange was chosen to make him less nervous, to make him comfortable enough to give it a try.

From there he went into full-on school teacher mode, that was if school teachers taught you how to destroy your enemies. He explained the gun’s components, one by one. Showed me how to take it apart. How to put it back together. He went through every single safety lesson that could possibly exist. And then tested me on the information. All of that before I was able to pick it up and try it for myself.

“Okay, I’m going to guide your arms and show you how to hold it. Then I want you to aim at the number one over there. And when you’re ready, ease the trigger.”

I wasn’t expecting it to be easy or for the force of it to be so strong—nearly knocking me off balance. But I did it. I shot it and stayed on my feet. I didn’t, however, even come close to hitting the number one… but I’d done it. And that was something more than I was able to say when I first stepped foot in here.

We spent the next hour with him helping me, aiding me, guiding me, until eventually I hit my target. It was a huge target, but a win was a win.

Just when I felt accomplished, he gave me a new target. And another. And another, until I could barely stand and my arms were like jelly.

“That’s enough for today. You did so well.”

“Do I get to keep that gun?” I never thought I’d ask for a weapon, but I never thought I’d mate into the mob either, so there was that.

“No. You’re not ready for that yet.” He pressed his forehead to mine.“But soon… soon you will be.”

“Are we coming back here tomorrow?”

“Yes and no.” He put the gun away and brought me back up to the second floor, which was filled with dummies and punching bags and those things you see at the end of a football field that players ram into. I was so outside my element. “Tomorrow we’re coming here, and I’m going to teach you how to take someone down using your hands. Because?—”

“Because my cat is so weak?”

“No. Your cat isn’t weak. But there are times when you don’t want to allow another to shift and acting quickly is key. And there are many humans in this city. Shifting in front of them would be bad.”

I hadn’t even considered that, I was too quick to jump to being butt hurt.

“Do you think I’ll be able to handle this?” Suddenly, my confidence faltered. Now I was worried. Could I handle this life?

“Yes. Fate made you mine for a reason. I promise you, Kitten, I’ll teach you how to keep yourself safe.”

“And you too.” I tapped his nose. “I want to keep you safe too.”

He shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Yes, and me too.”

I wasn’t sure he believed it, but I was going to make it true. Because he deserved a mate who could handle this life—and give back as much as they took.

And I was determined for that to be me.