Page 9 of The Tiger's Secret Baby (Savage Shifters Special Ops 4)

Magnar began to growl, and I wasn’t sure that I was going to be able to stop him from launching himself at Duggers. However, a loud voice sounded from behind me, taking all of us by surprise.

“Who said she was alone?” A man, who had to be at least 6’7, said. He had sandy blond hair and blue eyes. He was not wearing a uniform, but I was sure that this was one of the guards that Gage said he would send to protect us until the team came in the morning.

Three other people, just as big as this one, unfolded themselves out of the jeep.

They all stood next to the speaker, with their arms folded across their chests. Even Magnar looked impressed.

Duggers sneered. “Did you go hire yourself an army? That won’t stop me.”

I started to speak, but before I could get a word out, the man growled behind me.

“We are Ember’s friends. We don’t need an army to stop you, Little Man. Only a small man would come here to bully a woman and children. But make no mistake. If you don’t walk away right now, we will pulverize you.”

Duggers face turned a pale white, and I saw a slight tremble go through him. He looked at each of the stone-faced people standing behind the kids and me and decided that he wanted to live.

“This isn’t the end,” Duggers said. “You’ll be hearing from me again. You’ll regret not selling to me,” he yelled over his shoulder as he walked toward his car.

One of the men whispered, “Let me shred him. He is the worst kind of bully there is.”

The leader of the men chuckled. “I feel ya. But that’s not how we do things. Yet.”

Everyone watched Duggers speed out of the driveway, kicking up rocks as he went.

Then, the kids and I looked at the giants who towered behind us.

“Hi. Sorry, there was no time for introductions earlier. I’m Steve, head of the security part of the Global Shifters Security team. This is James, Jeremy, and Stephanie.”

I think even Magnar was impressed with the team.

I held out my hand. “I’m Ember.” I waved my hand around. “These are my children. This young man is my number two, Magnar.”

The kids gathered around the four officers, peppering them with questions. Then, Jillian, one of my youngest tiger shifters, asked, “Are you guys… Well, are you special too?”

The four smiled at them. Stephanie answered, “You mean, are we shifters?”

Jillian nodded, and all the kids waited to hear her answer.

“We are. I’m a tiger shifter. Steve is a panther shifter. Jeremy is a lizard shifter. James is a bear shifter.”

The kids were suitably impressed, and there were all kinds of “oohs” and “aahs.”

“You guys were in the military?” Weylyn, a young wolf shifter, asked.

Steve nodded. “We were.”

This opened the kids’ horizon.

“You know, shifters can be anything they want to be, just like the mundane folks, right?” Stephanie asked. “You can be doctors and lawyers. Some shifters are teachers or accountants. You just have to learn how to control your shifting and your emotions.”

That started a whole new flurry of questions. The kids were starving for information about life as a shifter. Although I had tried to provide a well-rounded education for them, I guessed that as a mundane human, I still had a lot to learn.

Soon, the sun began to set.

“Okay, guys. Ginger likely has dinner all wrapped up. You need to go in and wash up before you eat,” I said.

They all said bye to the visitors. A couple of the kids even hugged them, which took me as much by surprise as it took the officers. The kids were usually very shy.

“Would you guys stay for dinner as well?” I asked them.

---