Page 11 of The Tiger's Secret Baby (Savage Shifters Special Ops 4)

Duggers laughed. “The sheriff is my cousin. He’s good at losing paperwork.”

“Well, losing must run in the family. Because you will lose this war. Good day, Sir,” she said, and hung up the phone.

“You handled that beautifully,” I told her.

“Thanks. I’ve had to handle obnoxious people during the last several years. I’ve had to learn not to let people get my goat. If I’m going to win any fight, I’ve got to learn how to control my temper. Otherwise, I can’t think well. To win, I have to outsmart people, because, with a passel of kids, I can’t outshoot, figuratively speaking, anyone.”

My admiration for Ember grew. She was still the sweet, kind, caring woman that I had known all those years ago. Now, she also had grit and steel that let me know she would always stand her ground.

When we went back outside, I found Gage, Lucian, and Jared helping with the barn. Pulling them aside, I let them know about the phone call.

Magnar overheard the conversation, and steam began to roll out of his mouth. His face turned bright red, and he said, “This would be over if Mom would just let me chomp his head off. No one would ever find his body.” He was growling and trembling from rage.

Lucian stepped forward. “I guess you are a dragon shifter?”

Magnar nodded.

“As a dragon shifter, you have some powers that other shifters don’t. That means that you have to be extra mindful of your temper and how you use them. Just like a witch has to be careful not to delve into dark magic, lest it overcome her, as a shifter, you can’t let hate and anger rule you.”

“You sound like Yoda, fromStar Wars.”

“Thank you. He’s my favorite character. Regardless of who says it, the principle is the same.”

Magnar nodded. “Did you have to learn to control your temper?”

Lucian nodded. “When my brother, Cedric, was killed, all I wanted was revenge. My sole purpose in life was to take out those who had taken my brother. I joined the military with the only intention of taking out those who had hurt me. However, I finally learned temperance and peace.”

“But you still have to resort to violence sometimes, especially in the military,” Magnar said.

Lucian nodded. “That is true. Sometimes, we do have to fight back. However, we use violence as a last resort. Look at your mom. She tried reasoning and talking for a long time until she felt that her children were in danger. Only then, did she seek out help, knowing that sometimes, you have to fight fire with fire, figuratively.”

Magnar seemed to reflect on Lucian’s words. “I understand. My temper is something that I’ve always struggled with, but only when I feel that someone is hurting someone else.”

“That is when you need to control your temper the most. Your temper will interfere with your reasoning. When your reasoning is compromised, you will lose the fight every time.”

Then, Lucian patted Magnar on the back and walked away.

About that time, Ember called for the attention of all of the children. Magnar stood on one side of her and the little girl, who had come to tell Ember about the telephone call, stood on the other side of her. There was something about the little girl that looked familiar. I’m not sure what it was, and I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

When everyone had quieted down, Ember introduced us. “They will be staying with us for a while to help us with the problems that Mr. Duggers has been causing. They also have people watching the house and the other parts of the land, but they will have a badge on, so you can tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys.”

Gage held up a badge so the kids could see what it looks like.

“No one goes anywhere alone. My babies who are under twelve must always be with someone who is at least sixteen. If you see anyone around who doesn’t have a badge, you come to tell one of us right away? Okay?”

They all nodded, and there was a chorus of “Yes, Ma’ams.”

“Also, don’t be alarmed if you see strange animals running around. Most of the people that these guys work with are shifters,” Ember told them.

That made the kids very excited.

The little girl standing by Ember asked, “Are they shifters?” pointing to us.

“Yes, they are,” Ember smirked. “I’m the only one here who has no extraordinary talents.”

Suddenly, there was a flurry of activity, and all of the kids suddenly shifted into their other forms. There were clothes lying all over the place. A menagerie suddenly filled the yard.

Laughing, we also shifted.

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