Page 5 of My Shifty Bodyguard

“Never. That’s kind of crazy, right?”

Dax hesitates. Then he nods. “Yes. It is crazy. I’m sorry I can’t show you the town…hell, I’m sorry I can’t show you the world…but I’ll try to make your visit as enjoyable as I can.”

He’s sorry he can’t show me the world?

I wonder what that means.

I wonder why his words make something inside me melt—something I didn’t even know was frozen.

Chapter Three

Dax

Violet has been at our goat farm for seven minutes and forty seconds, and I’ve spent every single nanosecond of those in a full-body panic.

My fated mate.

The universe not only has decided that I need one, it throws in the complication of her being Violet. The woman I’ve been assigned to protect, not mate. The too-pretty, too-curious, too-everything woman currently squatting in the Rambouillet sheep enclosure with a look of enchantment on her face.

Her eyes are wide, her lips are parted…

“Oooh, why don’t we have sheep? I’m going to ask dad to get us sheep when I go home. I love these little guys,” she says, scratching one behind the ears. “They look like angry cotton balls.”

“Careful,” I warn. “They can be—”

BONK.

A ram lowers its head with the precision of a professional linebacker and slams her straight in the butt. She flies forward, lands flat on her face in the straw, and pops back up like she’s on a trampoline. A bolt of protective fury shoots through me—irrational, feral, and specifically directed at a sheep who now topped my personal Most Wanted list.

The sheep sensing the rage crackling from my body, turns and bolts away full speed.

“I’m fine!” Violet chirps, brushing off hay. “That was basically a hug.”

I nearly die.

Before I can help her out of the enclosure, my phone buzzes. I grab it from my pocket. My father’s name flashes across the screen, and impatience surges through me. Anything that distracts me from Violet is an irritant.

I swipe to answer.

“Yes, father?” He and my mother are in Kentucky, visiting her pack.

“Son.” His voice is the usual blend of formal, solemn, and mildly disappointed in everything. “Your mother and I have received an answer to the inquiries we put out.”

“Inquiries?” Alarm bells start ringing in my head.

“We believe we’ve found a potential mate for you.”

My eyes snap to Violet, who is now scratching another sheep under the chin and telling it it’s a “handsome gentleman.”

“One minute,” I say, and I quickly jog away so she won’t overhear me.

“A mate,” I repeat, trying not to choke on the word.

“Yes. A perfect match. Excellent trading partners. Strong lineage. Located in California.”

I turn away from Violet, lowering my voice. “Can you maybe… put that on hold?”

“No,” he says impatiently. “We cannot. She’s a very desirable match. She just turned 21. She won’t be available for long.”