LONE TIGER AND CUB
LIZZIE LYNN LEE
Summary
Nursing student Millicent (Millie) Swartz catches a weretiger cub who steals her steak dinner and finds out the cub belongs to her new hot and sexy neighbor Kieran. She instantly falls in love with the cub who seems to be malnourished and neglected. The cub even calls her, “Mama.” When the cub’s father comes looking for him, Millie gives him an earful piece of her mind.
Weretiger Kieran Dunaidh makes his living as a muscleman for a mob boss who rules Grand Junction’s underworld. He comes from an old shifter clan and was supposes to inherit the title Alpha. However, his stepmother schemes a plan that makes him disowned from his father. One day, he receives news that his sister passed away and she wants Kieran to look after her toddler cub, Fionn. Kieran knows nothing about raising a child, and he’d have been lost if it wasn’t for Millie’s help.
Soon, Kieran realizes that the quiet and peaceful family life with Fionn and Millie is all he ever wants. But then the trouble in his old clan drags him into a bloody civil war. Kieran must fight to save his beloved nephew and Millie—the woman he loves. Hell hath no furry like a pissed off lone tiger.
First Edition 2017
©Copyright Lizzie Lynn Lee January 2017
Cover Art by (Lizzie Lynn Lee) ©Copyright (January/2017)
Edited by Amy Black
Proofread by Donna Hokanson
This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Summary
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Join My Mailing List
About the Author
Lizzie Bibliography
Special Preview from Tiger Mate
CHAPTER ONE
Ever since Millicent Swartz moved to Grand Junction, she hoped to catch a glimpse of shifters’ children. Grand Junction was one of the few sanctuary cities in North America where the eldritch community lived peacefully side-by-side with humans. People said shifter babies were insanely cute, but their parents usually hid them from the public view. Privacy was one of the reasons, but shifter parents were also very protective of their young.
Rumor had it that the shifter children were unable to control their transformation at a young age, so their appearances were usually mixed with their spirit animals—toddlers with tufted, furry ears on their head or babies with a bushy, fluffy tail. So when the first shifter kid Millie saw had both—a pair of striped tiger ears atop on his blond head and a striped tail on his cute bum—she instantly went into cuteness overload mode, cooing down at him.
But the child didn’t seem pleased to see her. The boy, who couldn’t have been older than three, was in the middle of stealing Millie’s steak dinner off the grill. When Millie spotted him, he let out an adorable baby-tiger roar, swiped the steaks and hotdogs and fled.
And boy, that kid was fast!
One second he was pawing on the grill, and the next he was jumping over the railing and hightailing it into the bushes. Millie’s apartment complex was located at the edge of a forest preserve, which provided plenty of places to hide. Without second thought Millie followed the steak thief. She cautiously made her way toward the dense bush. As she got closer, she could hear the growls and grunts that seemed to indicate pleasure. She pushed the branches aside to take a peek.
Oh my God.
Millie was almost choked by the boy’s cuteness. Really. He was super-duper cute—she almost cried. She wanted to sweep him up from the dirt and smother him with love. She came from a large family with younger siblings who she often cared for when their parents were out working. This baby cub reminded her of her rambunctious younger brothers. He was fiercely chomping on the steak, which was huge in his small hands. Paws? Er, no, hands it seemed. He looked over his shoulder at Millie as she peered in at him, and she heard a low growl as he pulled the meat close to his chest in a possessive gesture that was unmistakable in its intent. A small tail flashed behind him in apparent annoyance at being interrupted.
Yep, she wasn’t mistaken. He was definitely a weretiger shifter child based on the stripes in his fur. White tiger. Siberian tiger? Millie had seen some white tigers during a grade school trip to the Brooklyn Zoo. She remembered she was entranced by the sight of them. Tigers were naturally regal animals. Born as true predators. Statuesquely ferocious and fearsome, and yet breathtakingly beautiful at the same time. Their growls and roars could make someone jump out of her skin. The little boy growled at her again, clearly trying out his powers of intimidation.
Damn, he’s just too freaking cute. I wish Mom and Allie could see this.
Her maternal instinct overcame her. She couldn’t help but be amused by him trying so hard to be fierce. She put her hand on her hips and peered down at him. “You’re going to have to work on that growl, buddy,” she said with a small smile. She didn’t immediately move toward him. She didn’t want to startle him. Or worse, she’d scare him. Millie looked over her shoulders, wondering where his parents were.
As the details about him began to settle, she remembered she heard a man moved in a couple of doors down from her and that he had a small child. She could only assume that this was probably that child. Her first course of action, though, was to get him out of the bushes. She didn’t want to scare the boy by any means, and he didn’t appear to be too friendly at the moment. She was going to have to use a different strategy.
“I’ll be right back, sweetie. Don’t go anywhere, okay?” The little boy turned away from her then and started chowing down on the meat again. He acted as if he hadn’t eaten in days. It was as if he was completely and totally ravenous.
Millie quickly went back to her apartment and dug around in the refrigerator. She took out the other steak that she had intended to eat the following evening so that she didn’t need to stop at the grocery store again so soon. She reluctantly pulled it out, deciding that she was going to have to bait the little boy to get him to come to her.
She went back out onto the patio and saw with relief that the little boy was still in the bushes. He appeared to have the last bit a hot dog hanging out of his mouth.
“You sure are hungry, aren’t you?” she said to him softly. She got down on his level so that he wasn’t staring up at her. He looked at her suspiciously until she pulled the new steak out from behind her back. Granted, it was still raw, but she suspected this was not a problem for the biology of a weretiger, the way it would be for humans. They innately went for meat, which was no doubt what this little boy had done. He must have smelled her cooking meat and been attracted to it. She took one step backward and was delighted to see that the little boy followed her. He was cautious, but the steak was clearly enticing him.
She kept moving slowly backward until she was eventually back inside of her apartment. As soon as the little boy stepped inside, slightly wobbly but far more steady than she would have anticipated fo
r his age, she put the steak on a plate and set it on the floor of her kitchen. The little boy gave her glance, and she stepped out of the way. Then he dashed towards it. She quickly moved to the other side of the room and closed the sliding glass door behind him.
Aha! You can’t run away from me now.
But he was too preoccupied with his meat to notice. The little boy sat happily on her kitchen floor and began to dig into the second steak. He tore into the meat and chomped it like a true carnivore. Upon a closer inspection, she noticed he had tiny feline fangs. No wonder he could eat the hunk of steak like such a little boss. Millie crossed her arms and wondered what she was going to do now. He was filthy, and clearly needed to be cleaned up. A flash of anger rose in her throat. Geez. Who would leave a toddler alone like that? When was the last time he had a proper bath? And why was he dressed only in a diaper? Did they even feed him? This was clearly child abuse. She decided that she would get him cleaned up before she went about trying to figure out what to do with him.
That course of action at the forefront of her mind, Millie began the slow approach to show him that she was his friend. “Hello, baby cub. Aren’t you the most adorable, furry, itty-bitty, little thing ever? How come you’re so cute? Oh God, I could just eat you up, nom, nom, nom.”
He turned his head at her, still munching. His piercing blue eyes made her pause. He seemed like he might attack her at any moment. There wasn’t a shred of fear in him.
She smiled, and sincerely hoped it was friendly. “My name is Millie. You know, I’ll give you more steak if you let me give you a bath…”
*
Kieran Dunaidh looked at his watch, then back at the man sitting at the far end of the bar. He knew he had been gone too long already, but his target didn’t seem to be that interested in finishing up what Kieran counted as his fourth beer. The guy wasn’t really talking to anyone other than the bartender. He seemed to be trying to drown his sorrows, and Kieran could fully understand why. Gavin Druckin owed a lot of people a lot of money, but Kieran’s boss was determined to be at the front of the line for repayment.
That was why Kieran was at the bar instead of at home, and he was worried about what he might find when he got back—especially considering he’d left the little one there alone. He’d only been back in Grand Junction for a couple of days when his boss called him with this new gig, despite the fact that Kieran had insisted that he no longer wanted to do this line of work. The money was far better doing this than being a straightforward bouncer. He figured one last job couldn’t hurt. The thing was, he was still trying to figure out how to juggle all the responsibilities that were now on his plate.
He perked up when he saw the man reach into his pocket and pull out his wallet. It seemed that Gavin was finally ready to leave, and that suited Kieran just fine. The sooner he got this job over with, the sooner he could go home to his nephew, Fionn.
He was careful not to show his interest in Gavin.
The element of surprise was crucial. The guy had to know that he had a target on his back, but he was acting as if everything was fine. But he hadn’t been going to his regular hangouts recently, and it had taken Kieran about a day to track him down to this new dive bar. So clearly the guy knew that there was something amiss. Somebody would be looking for him. Today, that somebody was Kieran.
Kieran’s official job title was “security officer” at the biggest casino in Grand Junction, although he’d been living in a neighboring town until recently. He’d been with the casino for just more than a year. His unofficial title, though, was bill collector, and not the nice sort. He had a bit of a reputation, and it had been rightly earned throughout his early adulthood. In fact, his experience with his fists was what got him kicked out of his clan five years ago.
Kieran’s father was the Alpha of the Dunaidh clan. His new stepmother, Selena, who was eager to have her own cubs be the heirs to the clan, somehow convinced his father that Kieran wasn’t worthy to be his heir, considering his past transgressions. So Kieran had been disowned, and it was something that still rankled him. After being thrown out, he been responsible for his own well-being, and that was why he turned to the one talent he could leverage. While people wouldn’t necessarily say it was his brain, they would definitely comment on his brawn.
He finished his beer in one quick draw as Gavin headed for the door at the back of the bar. Lucky day. He knew Gavin had parked in the back, and had been hoping that he’d take the alley door to get back to his truck. He saw that Gavin’s stride was uneven at best.
This is going to be too easy.
He threw a twenty on the bar to cover his tab and then moved to follow the man. It was a Monday night, so it wasn’t terribly busy in the bar. He knew that he could pretty much count on no one following them out, but still he intended to take care of his business quickly. He emerged into the alleyway and looked both ways. It looked as if Gavin was holding onto the wall for support.
It wasn’t until Kieran was in the alleyway and just a few feet away from Gavin when he realized with a start that Gavin had been ready for him. He saw the glint of metal in the faint light from one of the parking lot lights just as the object swung back in his direction. The man had straightened and had a look on his face that was unmistakable.
“I knew it, you’re following me. Who sent you?” Gavin hissed. The gun shook in his trembling hand.
This man clearly wasn’t accustomed to aiming, or even carrying a piece.
Kieran was amused by the little turd’s bravado. Big bark, but no bite. He should have concentrated on paying his debt instead of trying to weasel his way out. You couldn’t expect to owe Sandford Miles and walk away scot-free. Sandford was a man obsessed with money. When he loaned it to someone, he expected to have it back with interest. Big interest. Kieran was the reminder that Sandford sent to the flaky debtors, that not paying the debt could be a very, very unpleasant mistake.
Kieran lifted his hands up. “Hey. You shouldn’t be waving that thing around if you don’t know how to use it, buddy. You’re gonna hurt yourself.”
The man’s nervousness was palpable. “What do you want? Is it money? My watch?” With one shaky hand, he fumbled at his pocket to extract his wallet. He yanked it out and threw it at Kieran. “There, take it. Take it and leave me alone.”
The thin leather wallet hit Kieran and bounced to the ground. Kieran only eyed it with annoyance and didn’t make any attempt to take it. “I don’t want your fucking money, you dick. I’m just a messenger for Mr. Miles.”
“Miles? Sandford Miles?” Gavin licked his lips in anxiety.
“Ah. So you do remember. Mr. Miles wants to know when you’re going to settle your account. You owe him a lot of money.”
“I owe him nothing. He already took my house, my business. My wife left me. My kids want nothing to do with me. I have nothing. Nothing!”
“Look, I’m just the messenger, not customer service. Direct your complain to Mr. Miles. Who knows, he might cut you some slack.”
“I did! But that bastard won’t help me!”
“Like I said. I’m just the messenger. Go talk to my boss. He wants to see you. Now.”
Gavin’s grip on the gun tightened. “I ain’t going back there.”
Kieran’s nose twitched as he inhaled, the air thick with the man’s fear. “See? That isn’t wise. The last thing you want to do is to piss off Mr. Miles. He’s…how do we say it? Difficult when dicks like you skip on your loans. He hates that.”
“Fuck Miles!” Gavin screamed in desperation.
Kieran moved a heartbeat before he heard the sound of the hammer click. Nothing happened, which Kieran expected because he had already noted that the safety was on. He hit Gavin’s forearm, and the gun clattered to the ground. He had taken note of Gavin’s stance when he pulled the gun, and it wasn’t one of an experienced shooter. The man would probably have put a hole in himself before he put a hole in Kieran. He quickly whipped the man’s arm behind his back and felt a little bit of ple
asure at the fact that the man grunted in pain.
Kieran sighed exaggeratedly. “Now that wasn’t very nice. I don’t like to manhandle people unless I have to. I’m beginning to think a scumbag like you doesn’t deserve to be treated like a normal person. In fact, you make me sick, Gavin, you hear me? You had a beautiful house, beautiful family, successful business and you squandered them—and for what? A hope that you can win those back tenfold on a poker table? What kind of scumbag gambles everything at the expense of his family? With money you didn’t even have. People like you disgust me.”
Gavin jerked and writhed like a dying bug pinned under a pin-sharp nail. “It wasn’t my fault. Your boss offered to give me the loans.”
“Of course he did. It’s his business, you dumbass. Just because he offers, doesn’t mean you have to take it. And look at you now, you’re a pathetic excuse for a human being. Which brings the purpose of our meeting. Mr. Miles wanted you to know that you can run all you want, but you can’t hide from your debt. Especially when it’s owed to Mr. Miles. Got it? Capisce?”
“You think I don’t know that? Skip the sermon for fuck’s sake. I ain’t got nothing. What are you going to do? Try and squeeze blood from a stone?”
Looking at the man kneeling at his feet, Kieran felt weary. How many times had he had these kinds of encounters? How many times would he have to do what he was about to do next? He didn’t know why men bothered resisting once it got to this point, but they always did. That meant that it was time for him to make his point.
Kieran reached down and yanked the man’s hand upward. He knew that in this particular position, the pain would have to be excruciating, and he was rewarded by a shriek of pain.
“Well, if you don’t have the money, Mr. Miles accepts payment in…other forms, as well.” Kieran let the man think on what those might be before taking Gavin’s thumb and waggling it between his fingers. In this particular position, there was no way that Gavin could struggle without potentially breaking his arm.
Lone Tiger And Cub: BBW Weretiger Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance Page 1
