Tiger Magic (Shifters Unbound #5)(79)
Author: Jennifer Ashley

“Couldn’t say,” Liam said, coming into the room. “These rumors, how do they get started?”

He and Sean shared a conspiratorial grin.

“Anyway, I’m now in charge of all research concerning the tiger Shifter,” Walker said. “Who’s not to be harmed, by the way, because he’s become a freaking superhero.” Walker leaned forward, looking Tiger in the eyes, a gleam of excitement in his. “And I’ve figured out, my friend, what you were made for.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

Tiger lifted his head, waiting, his heart beating rapidly, but Walker only sat there, hands around his coffee cup, grinning.

“What?” Carly asked, fists on the table, her impatience heightening her scent. “Don’t keep us in suspense.”

Walker cleared his throat and moved his coffee cup on the placemat. “Sheldon thought Tiger was a weapon. A perfect soldier who never gets tired, heals right away, and doesn’t need to eat, drink, or sleep for long stretches of time. As I mentioned, Sheldon wanted to use Tiger as a prototype. He wanted to take Tiger to Afghanistan and demonstrate how well he heals from being shot up or burned. Sheldon’s plan was to breed more Shifters like Tiger, except ones more easily controlled than him, using Collars and other things. He regarded Tiger as his beacon, one guiding Sheldon all the way to brigadier general and higher.”

Liam sat down in his usual lazy way, holding a mug of steaming coffee. “The Fae bred us a couple thousand years ago to be the perfect soldiers,” he said conversationally. “We’d fight their wars so they wouldn’t lose so many Fae, who are, of course, the most important beings in the universe. The Fae found out the hard way that they couldn’t control us, when we fought a war with them and won our freedom. They’re still trying to control us, but in, oh, about a thousand years, they still haven’t figured out how.”

“But you wear Collars,” Walker said.

Liam’s eyes widened. “Well, now, that’s true, isn’t it? How about that?”

Connor snorted a laugh from the stove. “Too right.”

“Anyway,” Carly said. “Back to Tiger. Is that what he was made for, to be a soldier?”

“I thought so at first,” Walker said. “Then I did some digging, back to the original experiments. My old friend Dr. Brennan knew a few of the people from the research team way back when. He consulted with them, as a Shifter anthropologist. I hunted up a couple who were still around and talked to them. The project had been shelved and most of the files sealed, and more was lost when the building in Area 51 burned down. But the researchers had kept their personal notes, and they gave them to me.” Walker shot Tiger a look of sympathy. “They put you through hell, didn’t they? Believe me, I’d never do that.”

Tiger gave him slow nod. “I believe you.”

“You thought so at first,” Carly broke in, still watching Walker. “What do you think now?”

“That Tiger wasn’t bred to be the perfect killing machine,” Walker said. “Yeah, he has all those qualities I mentioned—stamina, rapid healing, a body that adapts to extreme stress.” He fixed his gaze on Tiger again, the excitement still in his eyes. “But you’re not a killing machine, my friend. You’re not a gun to point and shoot.” Walker stopped, letting them all stare at him, waiting, including Sean and Connor, who’d turned from the stove.

Kim came into the room with Katriona, dropped a kiss to Liam’s cheek, and sat down next to her mate. She fixed Walker with a steely glare. “Well, come on, then. Spill.”

Walker grinned. “Search and rescue.” He delivered the words, then sat back and drank his coffee.

They sat in stunned silence, until Liam said, “Ah. Yes.”

Tiger said nothing, but Walker’s words made something click inside him. Something right.

I know what I was made for. What I’m meant to be.

Carly, though, still looked bewildered. “Search and rescue? You mean like with people trapped after a disaster or missing out in the middle of nowhere?”

“More than that,” Walker said, animated. “Search and rescue, domestically, or behind enemy lines. He was going to be put in with A-Teams, to go deep into enemy territory. He’d find civilians hurt by the fighting, like kids and moms, fix them up, keep them safe. The same for civilians of allies or our civilians when war comes to them.”

The sense of rightness spread through Tiger, weaving around him as strongly as the mate bond. Yes, his entire body said. I was made to protect.

Carly’s surprised look fled. “Of course,” she said to Tiger. “That’s why you’re so adamant about the cubs.”

“All Shifters protect the cubs,” Kim said.

“Yes, but Tiger goes above and beyond,” Carly said. “He looks out for every cub in Shiftertown. Anyone who’s vulnerable, actually, like the clerk in the convenience store.”

“She does have a point,” Liam said. He sipped coffee, looking the least surprised of everyone.

“And the cubs aren’t afraid of him,” Carly said. “They all adore you, Tiger. The adult Shifters look at you like you’re some sort of Frankenstein’s monster, but the cubs are always thrilled to see you.”

“That’s true,” Connor said. “I’m still a cub, and I like Tiger.”

“So do the little kids, like Olaf and Jordan,” Carly said. “They trust Tiger completely, no matter how much the adults try to say that Tiger needs to be controlled and contained.”

“That’s because cubs are smart,” Connor said, his expression serious.

Katriona laughed and held out her hands toward Tiger. “Tigger.”

Tiger couldn’t stop himself from rising, going to Katriona, and lifting her from Kim. He touched a light kiss to the little girl’s forehead, sat down again next to Carly, and balanced Katriona on her little feet on his knee. In about a year, he’d be holding his own cub, with Carly at his side.

The conversation around him dimmed and became unimportant.

“See?” Walker was saying. “There’s something inside Tiger that makes the kids seek him out and trust him. Makes sense if his mission is to find them and get them to safety. They’d need to trust him completely.”

Liam nodded in silence. Sean had gone back to making pancakes, and Connor, after one more long, thoughtful look at Tiger, turned to help him.