Five
Viviana stood at her window, watching the Guardians train on the lawn behind her house. They were out here every day at seven a.m. They looked so fluid doing their moves. Some kind of aikido warm-up, or something. She wouldn’t know what it was called, because Marlana had never let her go down to train with them.
She didn’t need to be down there to follow their movements, though. She stepped back from the window and followed along, listening to Agatha’s spoken instructions. Viviana knew the routine by heart—she’d been secretly following along with the Guardians’ exercises since she was a teenager. She peeked out occasionally to watch their synchronized movements. She envied them. She envied Laura, especially. Laura was a Guardian and she had a mate. And Laura had stood up to Marlana that one time, a few months ago.
Viviana would give anything for the nerve to stand up to Marlana.
As she ran through the stretches and then some of the yoga moves, she heard voices from down the hall. Marlana’s voice was one of them, but the male voice wasn’t Viviana’s dad. The male voice didn’t sound familiar at all. She listened harder, and she heard the man say, “Yes, that’s why private security has been a good career choice for me. I guess you could say I’ve always had something to prove. This work is physically demanding. Long hours. My alpha’s the one who got me into it.”
Viviana froze in downward dog pose. They were interviewing for the bodyguard position.
Her mother said, “Can you start tonight?”
Abandoning her poses, Viviana opened her door wider and peeked down the hall. Light was coming from the open door of Marlana’s office. On soft feet, Viviana stepped out of her room.
“What would your ideal job be?” Marlana asked.
His voice was smooth. “Working security for short-term events,” he said. “Or maybe when I have more experience, running security for a high-end estate, like this one.”
“We already have Guardians for the territory,” Marlana said. “This is more like a short-term event. A specialized case.”
Viviana didn’t really intend to go into the office, but eventually her curiosity got the best of her. The voice of the guy sounded so soothing. She wondered what he looked like. Finally screwing up her courage, she knocked.
“Enter.”
Viviana stepped into the room. First, she saw her mom, who squinted up at Viviana. Marlana wasn’t wearing her reading glasses, which cracked Viviana up. Vain. She smiled. “Mother.”
“Viviana. Happy birthday. Meet your new bodyguard.”
Viviana turned to the man. He sat on one of the chairs in front of the desk. Happy birthday, indeed. He was gorgeous—light brown hair cropped short, light brown eyes with long lashes. His jaw made him look stubborn, like he was used to being in charge. She subtly inhaled, trying to figure out if he was a cat shifter, or a wolf. Bear? He was big enough. She couldn’t get a sense of his animal, though. Did that mean…?
She sniffed again. She wasn’t wrong. He was human.
“What’s…what’s…? This doesn’t make sense,” she said to Marlana, waving her hands in the air.
“This is your new bodyguard,” Marlana said.
“Right,” Viviana said. She wasn’t sure how to continue. Humans weren’t even allowed in the house. He’d mentioned an alpha, though, hadn’t he? “But he’s—”
“Human,” the man said. “Yes, we all know I’m not a shifter.”
Viviana shook her head. “Mother, humans are weak. I could protect myself better than he could.”
“It’s time for you to leave the room,” Marlana said, communicating with her eyes that Viviana better obey. “Go pick out a dress for your party tonight.”
Viviana started to open her mouth to argue, but what good would it do?
She turned on her heel and walked back out of the office. This was preposterous, a human bodyguard for a shapeshifting mountain lion. It was like asking a duck to guard an alligator.
She hadn’t even gotten the guy’s name. Handsome or not, she didn’t care. She didn’t need him trailing around after her.
*
During breakfast, the bodyguard was still at the house. He sat at one end of the table, chatting with Marlana like he was some long-lost son. They were discussing the Evergreen Pack up near Anderson. He’d been raised in the pack from a young age, it sounded like. Viviana was curious what the story was there, but not curious enough to ask.
She still didn’t know his name, and she told herself she didn’t care.
A knock sounded on the front door, and Viviana got up to answer it. But the bodyguard was already standing and striding toward the door.
“Is he even working yet?” she asked her mother.
Marlana shook her head, smiling. “Not until tonight. He’s going to be on night shifts because the vampires aren’t a danger during the day.”
Made sense. But ew, where would he be staying? There were two empty rooms next to Viviana’s. She was afraid to ask.
She heard Fraze’s voice in the hallway. “…need to talk to Marlana, immediately.”
Marlana stood as Fraze stepped into the room. “Frasier, this is Hudson. He’s going to be guarding Viviana at night.”
So Hudson was his name, Viviana mused. It suited him. Strong. No nonsense. She wondered if it was his first name or his last name.
Then she reminded herself that she didn’t care…even as he glanced her way.
A warm, shivery feeling started in her lower belly and spread outward. He shouldn’t have this effect on her. She wouldn’t let him. She focused again on Fraze.
Fraze was looking from Marlana to Hudson and over to Viviana, his eyebrows raised. “Oh. Okay. Welcome, Hudson. Marlana, I need to talk to you. Privately.”
“Hudson is aware of everything,” Marlana reassured him. “You may speak plainly and in front of him.”
“All right. So, Gracie just texted me. Last night her court discovered something new—a rogue vampire came in from Paris. The court doesn’t know who, yet.”
Marlana tapped her chin. “So the vampire Viviana may or may not have seen or heard the other night…”
“…was probably real,” Hudson finished. “Did you say there’s a party tonight?”
“Viviana’s birthday party,” Marlana answered.
Viviana scowled. It was like she wasn’t even here—they kept talking about her like she was an object.
“I recommend you postpone the party,” Hudson said. “The fewer people around, the easier it will be for me to do my job.”
Marlana’s mouth went down in a frown. “Are you or are you not a bodyguard? Did you not work in private event security for five years?”
“I did.”
“This is just like a private event. Do your job. Stick to Viviana. The house will be full of shifters and a rogue vampire would have to be crazy to take us all on at once.”
“Maybe he’s right,” Viviana said. “Maybe we should postpone.”
“Nice try,” Marlana said, flashing a sarcastic smile at Viviana. “The party’s happening.”
Viviana didn’t imagine Hudson’s glare in her direction—as if the party were her fault. Didn’t he hear her say it should be postponed? She’d agreed with him, for heaven’s sake.
Great. Not only did she have a babysitter, but he was an asshole babysitter.
Happy birthday to me, she thought.