AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Focusing past her delicious curves was difficult, but I walked her through how to chamber a round, flick off the safety and take aim, making sure she kept her finger firmly on the outside of the trigger guard. I never let her fire.
Over and over again, she practiced until I felt confident in her abilities.
Reluctantly stepping back, I showed her how to take the proper stance. I smiled and motioned toward the target set up a short distance away. It was better to start close and work toward targets farther downrange.
“I think you’re ready.”
Demi’s eyes widened. “To actually shoot something?”
“It’s a paper target, Sunshine, and we’re alone out here. As long as you don’t point the barrel in my direction, there’s nothing here you can hurt,” I promised. “We’ve been making enough noise that there aren’t any critters around, either. It’s perfectly safe.”
“You really think I’m ready?” Her bottom lip was between her teeth in her telltale sign of worry. It was a tic of hers, and I wanted to brush my thumb down the center to free it.
“We’re just working on the basics, and you’ve mastered everything I’ve taught you so far,” I murmured, pride and admiration warming my deep timbre. “It’s time to see how your aim is.”
Setting the safety, Demi moved toward the pavilion where I taught her how to load the magazine. She put on a pair of hot pink earmuffs I bought to shield her ears and save her hearing, and then took her spot.
Slowly blowing out a deep breath, she focused on her stance, then lifted her arms, the gun an extension of her hands. Flipping off the safety, she took aim, sighting down the barrel with a slight tilt of her head. The light breeze whipped at the braid she’d woven her hair into this morning. Staying utterly silent so as not to distract her, I drank in the sight of her. Seeing her like this, powerful, with a weapon in her hand, was sexy as hell.
Her finger squeezed the trigger, and the shot fired, piercing through the bottom of the paper.
Demi gasped, blinking rapidly at the target.
“I did it,” she breathed, slowly, engaging the safety and lowering the gun. Even in her excitement, she kept a level head about the kind of power she wielded, but the bright, shining smile she sent my way showed exactly how happy she was.
“You did it, Sunshine,” I purred. “I knew you’d be a natural at this.”
Demi dismissed my praise all too easily. “I wouldn’t say that. This is harder than it looks on TV, and I barely grazed the target, but it was so damnfun.”
“Sunshine, you hit the target on the first shot. Do you know how rare that is? I know rookies who couldn’t do that.” She blushed and tried to wave off the compliment, but I wouldn’t let her. “You’re the most selfless woman I know, and I understand that it makes you uncomfortable when all the focus, all thepraise, is on you. But you should own your accomplishments. Believe in yourself as much as I believe in you.”
Her forest green eyes went soft. “I promise I’ll try.”
“Good,” I rasped. “Because you’re an incredible woman, and I’m never going to stop telling you as much. Besides, I know the Omega side of you secretly likes it.” I smirked as she dipped her head, embarrassed to admit to the primal need.
“I do,” she murmured. “But it doesn’t make it any easier to accept compliments.” Shrugging sheepishly, she admitted, “I’m trying, but it’s still new to me.”
“I wish that weren’t the case, but I’m happy to spend the rest of my life telling you how amazing you are and building up your confidence until you can see what I see. An incredibly strong Omega. A survivor. A fighter.” I nodded toward the paper with one perfectly round bullet hole scorched through it. Jutting my chin downrange, I said, “Why don’t you shoot again? You’ve got seven more rounds before you have to reload. Remember to count your shots, so you always know how many rounds you have left.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon shooting together, and she grew more confident by the hour. Her first sheet was riddled with randomly placed holes, but her second and third showed tighter groupings, revealing how rapidly she’d improved.
Taking off her earmuffs, she beamed at the paper, pride radiating from her as if it were one of the beautiful masterpieces she’d painted.
“I can’t believe I did that,” she breathed, still in shock. “Look! This one was even close to the center.” She stuck her finger through the hole to the right of the bullseye.
“Like I said, you’re a natural.” Guns stashed away safely, I settled my hands on her hips and pulled her close. “It’s a fuckin’ relief to know that you can shoot and have decent aim. I needed to know you could protect yourself…” My voice trailed off, going jagged around the edges.
Fucking Pack Silver. Just the notion that she could be in danger made every muscle in my body draw taut. Not much terrified me, but the thought of my mate in the crosshairs of such a vindictive asshole and his fucked up friends sent a dagger of ice straight through my chest.
My fingers tightened on her waist, and I dragged her closer, enfolding her in my arms.
Every protective instinct I had fired off like a shot. It took everything in me not to toss Demi over my shoulder and lock her away in a tower like a coveted princess. I’d be the damn dragon that guarded her.
Or worse, I’d seriously debated finding a way to microchip her so I could always find her if, by some cruel twist of fate, her old pack got their grimy hands on her again. The thought was unfathomable—and I wasn’t talking about the microchip.
Luckily, I realized how insane those urges made me sound, and I pushed the Alpha instincts down to levels she would consider more acceptable. Besides, I still planned to convince her to let me put bluetooth trackers in the soles of her shoes.
Demi was a fighter. She was smart, strong, and now capable of protecting herself. The pack and I had agreed we would always be her first line of defense, but if she ever found herself in a precarious situation without us around, we wanted her equipped with all the necessary skills needed to fight back.
