[Lucy's POV]

I've been trying to convince myself that maybe Raizel is just doing this to shut down Zara's obvious flirting. There's no way he's lost it so much that he'd actually call his tamer 'honey' in front of everyone.

What started as just normal stress has now turned into full-blown anxiety because of the way he keeps looking at me. His eyes are not only unsettling, but they’re also downright intense.

"Tell me the truth, Raizel."

My heart raced as Zara stepped closer to where Raizel and I were standing. She leaned down to get a good look at my face.

"Are you an assassin? A noble’s daughter? Or maybe a clever tracker? Who the hell are you?" she asked with a sneer, squinting at me.

I gasped softly. It took me a few minutes to process what she had just said.

Me? An assassin? This girl isn't just flirtatious; she’s got some wild imagination too.

"Why aren’t you answering? Did you swallow your tongue, or maybe you’ve got something else from Raizel in your mouth?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

I literally swallowed at her words. What? If there’s anything from the man she’s obsessing over that I’ve swallowed, it’s just a lot of nervous spit!

"Just admit the truth, b*tch! There’s only three of us here. We can offer him a hot and steamy night if you want," she added with a flirty wink at Raizel.

My eyes widened in shock as I stared at her. Is this really part of being a tamer? I may not look innocent, but I’m still a virgin.

Zara and Raizel have the same dirty minds.

I stayed silent, debating what I should do to make her stop. Should I just tell her the truth, that I’m Raizel’s tamer? Or should I straight-up tell her that I’m not interested in the man she’s drooling over, that I couldn’t care less if she and Raizel hugged it out with her Mafia Lord fantasy?

As I was deep in thought, her face twisted, and suddenly I felt her long nails digging into my cheek. They were about to pierce my skin.

"M-Ma’am, you’re hurting me," I said, still holding on to my respect for her despite her actions. I loved my job, and I owed the Sebastian family a lot, so I wasn’t about to make a scene.

I was about to speak again, to ask her to stop, when I froze at what I heard next.

"Don't lay a finger on my woman, Zara!"

My heart skipped a beat when I heard Raizel's cold voice, his eyes blazing with anger.

He grabbed Zara’s wrist, forcing her to release my face.

"Damn, Raizel! You almost twisted my beautiful arm! Can’t you be gentle, just a little?" Zara complained, though I could tell she was in pain from his grip, but she kept that annoying accent.

I let out a harsh breath. It was clear Raizel had hurt her, but she was still putting on that affected voice. This woman was all drama, to the core.

"Don't test me. You know what I can do to you and your nightclub," Raizel warned, his tone dark.

I swallowed hard. I knew what Zara had done was wrong, but was it enough for Raizel to threaten his own friend? That is, if they were even really friends.

The woman had no choice but to get up and return to her seat.

"Sorry, I didn’t know this woman meant so much to you. Are you in love with her? What exactly is your relationship?"

I felt my heart race as Raizel suddenly let out a harsh breath and kicked the table in front of him.

My mouth fell open as I stared at the shattered glass on the floor. He didn’t even hesitate to destroy that table, even though it was clearly expensive.

"Love? Dream on!" he barked before standing up.

Before I knew it, he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him. For the nth time, I felt like a puppet in front of my master.

"Let’s go!" he ordered firmly.

I swallowed hard when I heard Zara’s loud laughter. Her voice was grating on my ears.

She raised an eyebrow and smirked at us.

"Play with me, Raizel, and forget about that woman. At least now I know what kind of relationship you two have."

I rolled my eyes subtly. She must’ve realized that Raizel and I had nothing between us, so she was back to flirting with him again.

"Mess with me, and I’ll kill you, Zara!" Raizel growled, leaving me stunned.

A few moments later, I tried to pull my hand away from his grip, but his hold was too tight. It felt like any moment now, he’d turn his anger on me instead of Zara.

I let out a soft sigh when I heard Zara laughing again. It was like her laughter was stuck on repeat, even though we had already left her nightclub.

Does this woman not feel any fear?

If looks could kill, she’d have been dead long ago from the glares Raizel gave her.

I hadn’t even recovered from the chaos Zara had caused when I found myself stunned by what happened next.

As a tamer, it was my responsibility to teach Raizel what’s right and wrong, including stress and anger management and how to walk the right path.

But it was as clear as day that what his mother was hoping for was a long shot.

She knew it was impossible to change a Mafia Lord just because of a woman. No matter how hard I tried, he wouldn’t listen to me, and my knees would buckle in fear every time his temper flared.

"Man, this sucks! You’re all weak pieces of sh*t!" he shouted, fuming.

I squeezed my eyes shut as he mercilessly kicked the men who were already lying on the floor.

The worst part was, they didn’t even stand a chance against him. Their guns looked like toy guns compared to Raizel’s men earlier.

Is this really how ruthless a Mafia Lord is? Was what I saw at the mansion just a warm-up?

"Clean up!" he ordered.

The people around us didn’t waste any time, gathering up the scattered weapons and money from the floor. If I wasn’t mistaken, the bundles of cash they collected from the casino we went to were worth millions.

I glanced at Raizel, noticing the blood on his face. He looked like a butcher at a meat shop, but worse, he wasn’t cutting up animals—he was butchering people.

I couldn’t help but wonder if he was really human or some kind of demon. It was like death itself had taken on his form.

It was a shame, really, how good-looking and fit he was, yet not even a flicker of remorse crossed his face as he crushed the men he was punishing.

For crying out loud, why was I even thinking about his murderous tendencies? So what if he was handsome and "yummy"? As if I’d ever fall for someone like him.

I sighed heavily as I spotted an old handkerchief inside my bag. I figured it wouldn’t be too embarrassing to offer it to him.

I was used to being judged by rich people because of my family’s status. But I swore to myself, I wouldn’t die poor. I’d find a way to make my dreams come true and lift my family out of poverty.

"Give me that handkerchief!"

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Raizel’s commanding voice. Before I even realized it, he had already grabbed the handkerchief from my hand.

I thought he was going to wipe his face with it, but I felt my body tense when he just stared at it instead.

Was he disgusted? The color of my handkerchief hadn’t faded, so what was the problem?

"I don’t have any contagious diseases, sir. There’s nothing for you to be afraid of," I said softly.

His brow furrowed as he looked at me intently. I felt like I was drowning in his gaze, and my knees were close to giving out.

He just smirked at me.

"I changed my mind."

My jaw dropped as he handed the handkerchief back to me.

I let out a harsh breath in frustration. Of course, this guy wasn’t any different from the other rich people I’d met. He hadn’t said it outright, but I knew he was grossed out by my old handkerchief. Snob!

I didn’t even bother to fold the handkerchief properly. I just shoved it back into my bag in frustration.

"Where’s the fvcking handkerchief?!"

It felt like cold water had been poured on me when he snapped.

Didn’t he just say he changed his mind and didn’t want to use my handkerchief?

Now he’s looking for it?

"I told you to wipe my face with it! Didn’t you hear me? Damn!" he growled through gritted teeth.

I stared at him in disbelief.

"You didn’t say that. You just said you changed your mind and handed it back to me."

It wouldn’t hurt to speak up every once in a while. No matter how many times I replayed it in my mind, he hadn’t told me to wipe his face.

Like, not at all!

I stayed frowning until his dark expression loomed over me, and I instinctively stepped back.

"Damn! What’s wrong with you? I don’t have to spell everything out. Just wipe my face with that hanky!"

Why did it feel like this was somehow my fault? He hadn’t actually said anything!