Ivy Bartasso has grown tired of her life as a fitness instructor. She’d been trained in law enforcement but hadn’t thought about going back into it until she’s offered a job with the shifter protection agency. Suddenly, her life is full of excitement: starting with assassins and leading her straight into a meeting with a hunky geek… who happens to be her fated mate.

Jett Frakes has discovered a nefarious plot to poison the city’s water supply. He’s gathered all the evidence he needs to take the company down, but before he can follow through, he’s found out. Now his life is in danger, and the one person who can keep him safe is a beautiful panther shifter who makes him feel larger than life.

But when an ambush nearly kills Jett, a special serum will have him changing into something bigger… badder… and alpha.

Chapter 1

Ivy

Another day, she thought, waving at a gaggle of regulars headed to the locker room. She sighed, running a hand through her dark hair. Another dollar.

It could have been the new little star on her name tag that identified her as a manager in the New Track Fitness gym or the daily grind itself, but her life was becoming stale. There were only a few clients she even bothered to train personally, like Meghan Bennett. The two women were alike in more ways than the naked eye could attest, each living split existences as both human and shifter.

Shifters required an extra push because physical fitness came easy to them. That was her job, to sense other shifters and help them where they needed it. Ivy had always prided herself in caring about her own body, in training others to hone their strengths was a joy… for the first three years or so.

Ivy hated to admit it, but she craved something new.

Five years ago, she’d been training at Quantico for a security career with the government. Six months in, her human mother developed cancer. Ivy had to drop out to help take care of her. After a two-year battle and still losing her parent, Ivy didn’t have the heart to rekindle the passion she once had. But now, she craved something more.

She wanted to make a difference in the world. She wanted some excitement, a challenge to her skills that lay dormant most of the time. She could go back to Virginia to continue training since she had so little of it, but it was such a big move in her life…

“Manager to the front,” came the crackling buzz of the overhead radio. “Repeat, manager to the front.”

She stifled a groan. “Oh, what now?”

Ivy wanted to throw the towel in for the day, but she could deal with one last issue before she did. When she arrived at the desk, she was shocked to see Meghan waiting, looking a little impatient, pacing around the small front area. The moment she caught sight of Ivy, she brightened. “Hey! I hope I’m not interrupting, but I wanted to chat with you for a minute.”

“You’re never an interruption,” Ivy said with a grin, pressing the button to unlock the gate that would allow Meghan into the gym’s central area. “But you don’t look dressed for another workout.”

“That’s because I’m not here for a workout,” Meghan said. “Could we go to one of the back rooms where we could have a little more privacy while we speak?”

“Sure.” Ivy had a little office all to herself. She loved taking advantage of the new locked door. She led Meghan there, then closed the door securely behind them. “So, what’s on your mind?”

A secretive look came over Meghan. “Well, I guess I should dive right into it then. I need your help, and it’s not exactly a short-term gig. I know how much you enjoy your work here, but a position at the agency I work for has opened up. I wanted to run it by you before we talked to anyone else about it.”

“The agency you work for?” Ivy cocked her head. “What exactly do you do, anyway?”

They’d talked plenty during her training sessions, but Meghan had always been a pro at keeping things on the down-low. Even on her gym application, her work title simply read consultant with nothing to embellish the curious denotation.

“If I told you,” Meghan teased. “I’d have to kill you.”

Even though it was clear she was joking, there was a gleam in her eye that convinced Ivy there was some merit to her words. She paced to her desk and sank into her chair before speaking again, keeping her voice low. “Give it to me. In the simplest terms.”

“My agency hires shifters of your caliber to protect sensitive assets until they can be properly processed.” Meghan leaned forward in her chair. “Some of our assets are especially vulnerable to other powers that might want them… um… dead.”

Ivy leaned back, taking it all in. “So, like personal security?” This ignited a familiar spark in her that she hadn’t felt since her mother had gotten ill.

“It’s more involved than that,” Meghan said, tapping her fingers on the armrest. “The institutions we deal with are high profile, and they don’t like their secrets spilled.”

A prickle of excitement bloomed inside her. Was this the change she needed? “And here I thought you were a consultant.”

Meghan smiled. “I have a feeling you’re much cleverer than that,” she said, her amusement fading too soon. “I wouldn’t have bothered you at work if it wasn’t urgent. You don’t have to say yes, but...”

“Fuck yes,” Ivy interrupted. “I’ll do it.”

Meghan paused, looking her over. “You’d have to start right away.”

“Like, how soon?”

“Today. Right now.”

Ivy stood from her desk like someone lit a fire under her. “Let’s go.”

“You don’t want to hear any more about the job?”

“Nope. Protect assets. Beat up bad guys. I think I get the picture.” Ivy carefully removed her tired name tag, closed the pin, and then grabbed her purse. “I don’t think you realize how badly I need a change of scenery.”

Meghan followed her out, looking shell-shocked with the turn of events. “I’ll brief you on the way to the office, then.”

“Sounds good,” Ivy said, brushing past several of her coworkers then dropping by the building manager’s office. She poked her head in briefly, flicking her name tag in the general direction of his desk. “Hey, Neil. I quit! You know where to send my last check.”

With Meghan behind her, she swanned out to the sound of excited chatter and applause. Neil stormed out, looking more frantic than pissed. “Wait, when did this happen?”

“Didn’t you hear?” She spared him a brief glance over her shoulder. “Just now.”

The applause only grew louder.

Ivy couldn’t help but laugh, blushing fiercely as they exited the gym. Meghan elbowed her. “I don’t think Neil’s going to give me my deposit back, now that I’ve poached one of his best personal trainers.”

“He’ll live,” she said with a shrug. “That place subsists on wine-mom regrets.”

Meghan stifled a laugh.

They closed in on a sleek SUV that looked like it had rolled straight off the lot. Meghan hit her fob, causing the lights to flash. “You sure you’re ready to get started? We can swing by your place first if you need something. Maybe a change of clothes…?”

Ivy didn’t want to admit it, but she was right. She stank from the day’s work, still wearing the heinous orange and purple polo shirt that identified her as a New Track Fitness employee. “Yeah. Let’s make it quick.”

When they arrived at her place, she stripped then showered with practiced efficiency. She was buzzing to get started with this new job and didn’t want to waste another minute of her life doing something that simply paid the bills.

The SUV was still waiting for her when she emerged fresh and ready to go.

“Do I need to bring anything?” she asked after tapping on the window.

Meghan shook her head. “Just a set of clothes. We’ll get you a company car.”

Ivy patted a bag that was slung over her shoulder. “Got that.” She leaped into the vehicle as she buckled up. “What’s the rundown?”

Meghan glanced at her from the corner of her eye. “I’m really going to miss you being my personal trainer, you know.”

“You should have thought about that before you poached me,” Ivy said, impatient to hear what terrible, awesome assignments they had planned for her. “So, what do you need from me? What can I do?”

Meghan kept her eyes on the road. “It’s not going to be easy. God knows I wouldn’t have recruited you out of the blue if we had a better option. Things escalated quickly with this job. Otherwise, you’d have gotten a solid month of training and personal safety courses. Probably some defensive driving classes too.”

“Right, right,” she said. “Stakes are high. Options are limited. Tell me something I don’t know. Like who is this ‘asset’ I’ll be protecting.”

“Jett Frakes.”

The name wasn’t familiar to her.

Meghan continued. “I don’t know much about him since he’s not on my caseload, but he pissed off some big names in pharmaceuticals.”

“That’ll do it,” she said.

“Yep,” Meghan said in turn. “They’ve got lots of money and lots of cronies. I know you’re proficient in self-defense, but are you good at offense? You’ll need to keep this guy alive.”

Ivy’s lips firmed, then she nodded. “Second-degree black belt.”

“That will certainly do you well in the field.” She gripped the wheel tighter. “Your first task is to get this guy somewhere safe.”

Ivy tensed at the challenge, though she was pumped for the new line of work. Save some hapless idiot who crossed some pharmaceutical thugs? Already it was more thrilling than slogging away at the gym. “Are we headed there, now?”

“Not yet,” Meghan said. “Nick wants to meet...”

Something buzzed in Meghan’s pocket. She pulled the phone out to check, then set it on the hands-free stand. “Go for Meghan.”

Through the radio came a warm but serious voice. “Is Ivy there with you?”

“She is,” Meghan said, offering a wink. “I didn’t even need to torture her to get her to come along. She’s accepted the job.”

“That’s good to hear,” the voice said. “Ivy, I’m not going to lie to you by saying this will be easy. This is going to be tough work where everyone, at any moment, could be out to get you. After this point, you’ll have to sleep with both eyes open and only trust the people in the agency. Everyone else is suspect.”

Meghan rolled her eyes. “Don’t scare her off. She hasn’t even signed the contract yet.”

A laugh echoed from the other line. “Let’s just see how she fares in the field, for now. Our new client needs someone to protect him until the law can get his case seen. If the bad guys get to him, the bastards won’t see their day in court. We need to get him to a safe house. Do you think you can handle it, Ivy?”

“Yes,” she said, shifting in her seat. “I feel like I’ve been training for this my whole life.” During her short time in Quantico, she’d had a few evasive driving courses and basic security training.

“That’s a good attitude, Ivy. My name’s Nick. I own the shifter protection agency that you’ll be working for. I’m hoping we can meet in person soon, but I’m glad to have you on board. Meghan has told me a lot of great things about you.”

“Thank you, sir.” The last word was difficult for her to manage. She didn’t even know who this guy was, but she trusted Meghan; therefore, she trusted her new boss, Nick. “I look forward to it.”

There was a silence on the line for a moment before he spoke again, his tone changing to something rigid. “I’m going to get straight to the point. Jett is a scientist with the United States Geological Survey who stumbled upon some information that’s going to open up a host of lawsuits if it gets into the right hands.

“Our only job is to keep him alive long enough to bring his proof to the courts and have him testify against the offending parties. It’s imperative that we keep everything on a need-to-know basis, especially if this asset becomes compromised. We don’t get paid if he dies, but I’d rather not lose good agents, either.”

Ivy swallowed hard.

This Nick fellow sounded calculating, but at least he had their best interest in mind. Still, there was a flare of purpose inside her that grew at the thought of protecting this Jett Frakes. “I won’t let you down, sir.”

“Good. Is there anything else you need to know?”

Meghan and Ivy glanced at one another, then Meghan spoke up. “Nope. I think we’re all good here. I’ll send a message when the asset is secure.”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

The connection ended, the steady hum of the engine getting loud in the silence. Ivy fiddled with the window control, opening it a crack before shutting it again.

Meghan glanced at her. “I guess that wraps up orientation.”

“It was— abrupt,” Ivy said, then nodded. “But I’m excited to get out into the field to kick some ass. You won’t regret recruiting me, Meghan. I can promise you that.”