Alpha Geek Zane

Former Navy SEAL Delilah Jones loves her job in the shifter protection agency. She’s a tiger shifter, and a professional who always maintains a cool distance from the people she protects. That is, until she meets Zane and realizes the geeky human is her fated mate. His adorableness is making her tigress desperate to keep him as her own. Man, this job is harder than she thought.

Zane is an ultra-geek with a heart of gold who’s learned that his business partner is a money launderer. He turns to the shifter protection agency for help, knowing he can’t face the bear shifter alone. He didn’t expect it would change everything. Like the fact he’d meet the most beautiful woman in his life and want to date her. If he can stay alive long enough to ask her out.

Delilah’s job is to make sure Zane survives long enough to testify, which means saving him with a mystery serum when he needs it most. The effects are instantaneous, but also unexpected. Only one problem, the thing that’s supposed to save Zane could be what ends Delilah’s life.

Chapter 01

Delilah

         Delilah strolled into Nick’s office when she saw the door was open. She had already been notified of a new assignment, even though she had just delivered her last one to court yesterday. There was no rest for the wicked, though, which meant no rest for her.

         Nick didn’t look up immediately as she took her seat across from him, so she stared around the room, lost in the thought. With the new assignment so fresh on her mind, she drifted, thinking over the last few days.

         She didn’t mind the hard work that came with her job, but the guy she had been protecting was a bit of a baby. He freaked out over every noise and was paranoid the whole time. The only thing that she was happy about was that he made no comments about her being a woman. She usually received either flirty assignments or those who thought she couldn’t handle the job.

         Delilah was hopeful that this next guy wasn’t going to be like that. She enjoyed helping people who saw her as a person, not as a gender. Though from certain guys, it didn’t bother her as much …

         “Delilah,” Nick sighed as he looked up. “How’s everything?”

         “Good.” She shook her head, stuffing her hands in her pockets. “Dean testified yesterday.”

         He shook his head. “I meant with you. How are you feeling? You’ve been working a lot lately, and I don’t want to stretch you too thin.”

         She shrugged. “What can I say? I live to work, and speaking of that, I thought you already had a new assignment for me.”

         Nick slid a folder across his desk. “Only if you’re up for it.”

         She nodded, leaving the file there.  

         “Your assignment is Zane Spader. His business partner, Vincent Malone, has been dipping into their bank account, and when Zane made the discovery, his partner made it very obvious that he should steer clear. Zane wants to bring to light whatever criminal activity Vincent is trying to cover up, and I need you to keep him safe while we expose the bad guy.”

         She flashed a bright smile. “My usual gig.”

         Nick chuckled softly. “Yes, you are very familiar with the safe house to the court route at this point. There are few small hiccups in this case, though.”

         Oh, boy. Aren’t there always?

         “Zane suspects that Vincent has criminal ties, so he will have a vast amount of people to enlist to help him with this. He also mentioned that some of the local police are in Vincent’s pocketbook and potentially some of the people in the company. No one can be trusted.”

         “There’s something else, isn’t there?” she asked. Nick’s eyes gave him away easily, and even if they didn’t, Delilah would have had no problem handling a few sleazy humans. There had to be a good reason if he was trying to warn her of the dangers of an assignment.

         “Vincent is also a grizzly shifter, and his name may have passed by me a few times. He’s wrapped up with some very powerful people, and I don’t know what his sports nutrition business has to do with it, but it’s been going on for years.”

         Nick flicked open the folder to a picture of a broad-shouldered brute. The sight of him made Delilah’s skin crawl, and she wrinkled her nose. “A grizzly with a grudge. Great.”

         “Nothing you can’t handle, I’m sure,” Nick muttered with a smirk. He flipped the photo over to a page with Zane Spader in bold across the top with a photo of a geeky guy probably a few years older than her paper clipped to the top.

Delilah lifted the folder off the desk, knowing she should be reading the information about Zane, but her eyes lingered on the piercing green irises that shone out from the photograph behind thick glasses.

         Distantly, Nick was still talking, going over the information in her hands, but she wasn’t listening. She wasn’t sure why she couldn’t take her eyes off this guy. He was obviously a Dungeons and Dragons kind of geek, but he was also kind of cute. Usually, he wouldn’t be her type, but she found herself drawn to him.

         Nick cleared his throat, and Delilah’s head popped up, her cheeks heating as she looked at him. He had caught her almost drooling over the photo and was staring at her with raised eyebrows and an expectant smile.

         “Are you with me here, Delilah?”

         “Yeah.” Her eyes flicked down to the picture again. “Yeah, I’m listening.”

         Nick chuckled. “You think he’s cute?”

         She cocked her head as she stared down at the file as if she hadn’t considered it. “Maybe a little, yeah.”

         He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands. “We haven’t had any history of you fraternizing with past clients, but I do want you to be aware that both at this branch and at the southern branch, a lot of our agents have been sent on assignments with their mates. We don’t know it in advance, but Meghan and I seem to have a habit of setting up fated mates.”

         Delilah bit down on her bottom lip, already sure where this was going, but Nick continued. “Would this be a problem for you? Would you prefer to go with someone you have no potential attraction to?”

         She considered the question, although it seemed a little far-fetched to her. She hadn’t thought of meeting her fated mate ... ever. It just seemed like an improbability, and she was very happy with her life as it was. A fated mate wasn’t going to change that.

         “It won’t be a problem for me to take this case on.”

         Nick surveyed her. “I just want you to be aware that it is a possibility and seems to be occurring at a much higher rate than I would have ever expected. We do fully support our agents in embracing the mating as no one will protect someone better than their mate. Are you sure that you are okay with the possibility?”

         Brushing it off as unfeasible, Delilah responded adamantly, “I’ll take the job.”

         “Great. Well, all the notes you need are in there, and if you need anything, give me a call.”

         She nodded, getting up from the chair, but as she reached the door, Nick called out, “Oh, Delilah, last thing. We have implemented a new procedure in the agency that you probably won’t encounter, but just in case, I wanted you to be aware that all clients are now given a waiver stating if they consent to the use of a Final Option in case of emergencies.”

         “Final Option?”

         “It’s not a big deal. Just something you needed to be aware of.” Nick was already pouring over his files again. “Just hope you don’t need to use it, and call me if anything happens.”

         Though it was odd, Delilah turned without another question, heading for her car to pour over the material. Once she was fully prepped, she headed to Zane’s condo building, having brought her equipment and bag with her to meet Nick.

         When she arrived, she wasn’t surprised by the massive building, though she felt a little out of place going into it. She left most of her things in her trunk, except for one bag slung over her shoulder as she waltzed into the lobby.

         It bothered her that in a building with thick marble floors and ornate furnishings, there was no one at the reception desk, even with the glass doors anyone could see right through. As she headed for the elevator, a man stood up across the lobby and made a beeline for her.

         He cut her off just before reaching the hallway, and the bear scent that clung to him stuffed its way up her nose. Based on the brutish features and shorn hair, Delilah knew that it was Vincent before he opened his mouth.

         He tried to loom over her to intimidate her, but he clearly didn’t understand how well a tiger could hold her own. She knew he could smell the feline scent on her, but he must not have anticipated how good of a fighter she was if he was going to be this bold.

         She rolled her eyes at him, jutting out her hip and crossing her arms. “Get lost. You don’t scare me.”

         She expected him to bite back, but instead, he raised his eyebrows at her and said, “I’ll pay you triple your salary to look the other way when the time is right.”

         A laugh burst out of Delilah at the absurdity of how sure of himself he seemed. “Does it really work like that for you?” She took a step closer until they were almost touching. “Nothing is going to happen to that guy, and if you don’t back off, then I will cut you down. You don’t know who you are messing with.”

         His eyes ran the length of her, and the arousal glittering in his eyes made bile rise up in her throat. She jerked her sleeve up, showing him her SEAL tattoo. “Do you know what this means? Not only can I kick ass, but I also have honor and integrity while doing it.”

         Vince pushed off the wall he had been leaning on, staring past her. “Honor and integrity will never get you a quarter-million dollars in your bank account. I have no problem saving the money and handling the both of you myself if that’s what you prefer.”

     “Bring it on,” Delilah sneered. She shoved past him, jabbing in the code Nick had given her to call the elevator. At least this place had one form of security besides all the cameras everywhere. She hoped that there was someone actually watching those somewhere. 

         He opened his mouth like he was going to say something but closed it again, and as the elevator doors dinged open, the strong scent of desperation wafted over her. This guy was not going to give up easily.

         She stepped into the elevator, and Vince didn’t come after her. For now, she didn’t have to worry about him, and she shoved the grizzly to the back of her mind as she stepped into the lush hallway.

         Artwork lined the walls, and strange metal sculptures were strategically placed in seated areas. Delilah had never been somewhere like this, and she tried to ignore how inadequate she felt walking among the luxury, even as she stopped in front of the gold door to Zane’s condo.

         She raised her hand to knock when she noticed an ornate doorbell. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, she pressed it, listening to it chime through the condo. Heavy footsteps sounded on the other side, and a weird churning feeling stirred in her stomach.

         Something was tickling at her brain as she heard someone stop on the other side of the door, and she couldn’t figure out why she was feeling so weird until Zane opened the door, and suddenly, they were face to face.   

         Oh, fuck.

         His scent washed over her, and she knew instantly that he was her mate. It was an animalistic confirmation, something she couldn’t even explain. Suddenly, her blood was boiling, and her heart was pounding, and her whole world had shifted its point of gravity.

         Delilah blinked, stunned as Zane smiled at her, and she knew she was in over her head. When Nick had proposed this as a possibility, she hadn’t fully considered what it would be like. She had truly believed it was impossible.

         Now, the reality of it was hitting her because her mate was standing in front of her, and he wasn’t this big alpha, as she had imagined the few times she had entertained the idea of meeting her mate. No, the only man in the world that could fulfill her every need and make her infinitely happier than she ever knew ... was a human.

         He was fragile and thin, and even worse, there was a massive target on his back. The only relief that came from being assigned to him was that she would be the one protecting him. This was no longer about doing her job. It was about protecting her fated mate and keeping him alive.

         On the downside, she was also already struggling to keep herself from jumping on top of him and ripping his clothes off, and they hadn’t even officially met. That was really going to mess with her brain. But she couldn’t leave the job because she told Nick she wouldn’t. Not that it mattered, because Delilah would not be trusting Zane’s life with anyone else.

She was going to keep him safe from both the enemies looking to kill him and herself, she realized as her tiger started to come to life. It was ready to mate, but she knew it would be too rough for him.

Seeing no other options, she decided to ignore it and treat him as a regular client. Even though it felt like an impossible task as her body screamed out for him, and he was standing there oblivious to her torment.