Page 4 of The Tiger's Secret Baby (Savage Shifters Special Ops 4)

“Sir, I want to help you,” I called to him.

He jumped, looked at me, and was about to run away, but then Rose held out one of her chubby hands to him. She started to shift to the tiger form in my arms. I hastily tried to hide her under a blanket and whispered to her that she had to shift back.

Curiously, the boy stepped closer.

“Your daughter is a shifter?” he whispered.

I sighed. I couldn’t deny it. He had seen her change right in front of him. “She is.”

“I am, too,” he said. “I’m a dragon shifter. My name is Magnar.”

He held out his hand to me just as any polite person would do.

“My name is Ember, and this is Rose,” I smiled at him. Impulsively, I added, “Why don’t you come with me? We can talk at home.”

Without hesitation, he nodded and walked with me to the car. I buckled Rose into her car seat, and told him to get in the back seat next to her and buckle up.

I was sure he was surprised that I trusted him to sit next to my baby. However, I knew in my soul that he was a good kid who just happened to have a lot of bad things happen in his life.

Once we got home, he ate so much food, I was sure that his little tummy was going to explode. Once he was satiated, he said, “My dad was a dragon shifter. He left my mom soon after I was born. She died a couple of years ago. None of her family members wanted me because I was a freak, so I ended up in foster care. I ran away.”

I thought about what he said. He was a runaway, but likely no one was looking for him. However, I couldn’t just keep a secret kid at my house. That wouldn’t turn out well for any of us, including Rose. I made my decision.

“Tonight, you will take a shower and sleep. Tomorrow, I will call social services and apply to be your foster mother. Would that be okay with you?”

A hopeful smile crossed his face. “It is. Thanks,” he said. Then he added, “Are you sure? Lots of people don’t like me.”

“Well, Magnar, I like you. I have a feeling we’re going to be a great family together.”

Magnar was the first of many children I had managed to collect over the next nine years. Somehow, a whole slew of orphaned or unwanted shifter children found their way to my house. Instead of being just a teacher, I also became a safe haven for the kids. The government, not knowing their special status, paid a fee for each of the kids, so I was able to make sure they all had clothes, lots of food, and other things to help them develop skills, hobbies, and talents.

Luckily, the farm was paid off from the inheritance, so outside of the standard utilities and such, I was able to save money for each of the kids, which helped them with college or to start their own life once they became of age.

I thought life was perfect until the developers started buying up land around me. A man, by the name of Alan Duggers, had the idea of creating an oasis outside of the city. My property was a prime piece of real estate.

The kids and I were enjoying ourselves one afternoon, when a well-dressed man approached me. His carroty red hair was combed perfectly, and his emerald green eyes glittered with malice.

The kids sensed evil in him the moment he arrived.

“I’m Alan Duggers. I’ve been developing all of this land around here. I would love to take this piece of land off your hands for enough money that you could buy an even larger piece with more acreage and a bigger house for you and your young’uns.”

“No, thank you, sir. I appreciate your offer, but my land is not for sale.”

His smile faded, and he said, “Think about it. This is an offer too good to pass up.”

Duggers came by every other day. Each time he came by, his demeanor became more and more frightening.

One afternoon, he stopped by and asked if I had reconsidered.

“No, sir. This land is not for sale. Please leave.”

I started to turn my back, but he grabbed my arm and snarled at me.

“You’re making a huge mistake. You will regret this,” he hissed.

I shook his hand off my arm. “Good day, sir,” I said, through clenched teeth.

Trying not to show my fear, I waited while he sized me up and turned to leave.

---