Page 27 of The Tiger's Secret Baby (Savage Shifters Special Ops 4)

Magnar started to growl. He curled his hands, as though they were forming into claws. Smoke escaped from his mouth.

Lucian grabbed his arm and shook him. “Control yourself and your temper. Now is not the time or place for that.”

She paused for a second, and then cocked her head as though she was thinking hard about something.

“Does it make you feel like a real man to come here and threaten a woman and a bunch of kids? I wonder, is your penis so small, that you have to prove to yourself that you’re such a big man that you can bully children? Let me tell you something, in a fair fight, I would bet my youngest baby here could best in intellectually and physically. You must know that, too. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have bring an entire entourage with you to back you up.”

Ember started laughing. “You’re pathetic.” She turned her back on him and walked inside the house.

Duggers just smiled. The look on his face was evil. This man clearly was Satan, himself. He grabbed a handful of potato chips and headed off to the car where his men were waiting to escort him back home.

For a few minutes, the kids were quiet and were just standing around. Then, Jared said, “Are you going to let him steal your fun away? We were having a good time before he came. He doesn’t get to win by being a party pooper.”

The kids smiled and soon, they were enjoying the day again, although with not as much enthusiasm.

Ember, on the other hand, was sitting on the porch, watching the kids.

I sat down beside her and put my arm around her. Elise sat on the other side.

“Guys, I’m scared. I’m so afraid they are going to do something to hurt the kids. In a fair fight, the kids would at least have a chance. But these men are evil. They are underhanded and sneaky.”

“We have been working with the kids. We have taught them several ways to defend themselves. We have been teaching them about their talents and how they can use them,” I said. “They are learning very quickly.”

“I hope so. I’m so glad that they had the chance to learn about their heritage from you guys. I really couldn’t teach them much, since I’m just a boring, regular, person, with no super powers.”

Elise laughed. “Your super power is that you are an amazing mom to all of these kids. Every single kid here knows what it means to be loved because of you.”

Ember smiled at that. “Thanks, that means a lot.”

After a minute, Ember said, “I hate that I lost my temper in front of the kids. I have been trying very hard to teach them how important it is to control their tempers, especially Magnar. He is going to get into trouble some day because of his temper if he isn’t careful.”

“Actually, you didn’t blow it by showing that you were angry,” Elise said.

“What do you mean?” Ember asked.

“You showed the kids that you are human, too. That you can get angry. More importantly, you showed them how to control your anger. You didn’t take Duggers out. You could have right then and there, and not a single one of us would have blamed you.”

She sighed, still not certain, but she was going to let it go for now. If I knew Ember, she would rethink the entire situation repeatedly, as well as what Elise and I told her.

“So, it seems that Duggers is so sure of himself that he told us exactly when he would be back. I don’t know if that means he is going to leave us alone for two weeks or if we have two weeks to get ready for a massive storm. Either way, we need to figure out a way to take care of him once and for all. I’m tired of living like a scared cat, jumping at every shadow, because I don’t know when the boogey man is going to show up. I’m positive the kids feel the same way. It’s time to end this,” I said.

“We agree,” Lucian said. “And, we’ll start putting a plan together tomorrow when Gage gets back. Today, let’s enjoy the sunshine and our picnic.”

He held his hand out to Ember and pulled her to her feet. She joined the kids in a rousing game of balloon stomp and several other crazy games.

Although she laughed and seemed as though she were enjoying herself, the worry and fear never left her eyes.

She was right. It was time to end this – one way or the other.

13

Ember

The next day was Saturday, so there were no school lessons for the kids. That was a good thing, because I was pretty sure that I would never be able to concentrate on anything. Duggers threat was ever present in the back of my mind.

I wandered outside and saw the kids laughing and talking as they painted the amazing outline that had been drawn on the back side of our new barn. It was a forest scene, with all of the animals represented.

Love for these kids filled my heart. They are my entire world. I sat on the porch and watched them work and talk. The kids couldn’t have loved each other more if they had been blood brothers and sisters.

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