Tiger Born by Tressie Lockwood

dropped into a chair and put his booted feet up on the desk. His father never seemed to mind as he did the same often. “The people drive me crazy. There are always those that need disputes settled, petty stuff they could do on their own.”
    Ward chuckled. “They can’t help it, Son. It’s in their nature to seek out their alpha for guidance. In my absence, they turn to you. It’s the tiger in them.”
    Heath had no wish to disagree with his father, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t annoyed by the way things were right now. In his mind, the people were lazy. Rather than try to work things out on their own, they took the easy way and sought Ward or himself to tell them what to do, or to force whoever they argued with to do what they wanted. He’d never met such a spoiled people. Not that he didn’t care about them. He did. Every last one, but maybe he needed an outlet.
    “Dad, about the land,” he began.
    “Mmm, Carmine.”
    “Why is he so damn stubborn about writing that slot of land as being a part of Siberia?”
    “Because he’s an asshole. His head is big and his dick too small.”
    Heath chuckled.
    “Seriously,” Ward said after he’d indulged in a good laugh, “he and I have history, and because he knows we want the land, he’s holding on tight. The city doesn’t need it. In fact, they could benefit from the sale. I’m sorry, but it all comes back to how he can screw me over.”
    Heath sat up. “Does he know what we are?”
    “Maybe.”
    “Dad.”
    “Let it go for now, Son. We’ll straighten it out when you get back. Now, is that what you wanted to talk to me about, or is there something else?”
    Heath drummed his fingers on the old, scratched desk. Why didn’t his dad get a new one? He could afford it. He often thought at Ward’s age, he was set in his ways. He made changes with reluctance, and the only reason he considered expanding Siberia’s city hall was to make more room for Heath. Heath didn’t know how or when to tell his father he would be pulling out of the day to day over here. He would find some other way of contributing to Siberia’s economy. After all, everyone needed to do their fair share to help the town continue to thrive, and even with its issues, he loved being here, among people who were like him.
    What bothered him most, of course, was the thing he wanted to discuss least. “It’s Deja. I thought we were getting back together, but things went wrong.”
    Ward scowled at him. “You realize you have the power to make her bow to you.”
    “Are you kidding? Why would I want to do that? I want her to want to be with me.”
    “Oh, she wants you.”
    Frustration threatened to choke off Heath’s air supply. “How can you say that? I mean, sure, physically, but her heart—”
    “Is yours.” Ward sighed. “When will you young people understand? None of this is new.”
    “None of what?”
    “Shifters.”
    Heath narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
    Ward stood up and strolled toward the window. He pulled aside the blinds and peered out. Through the gap, from where he sat, Heath saw people walking along the street, animated in conversation. One or two had shifted to their tiger forms as if it was more natural than their human form. Ward turned back toward him with a smile of satisfaction on his face.
    “There are some that believe Spiderweb’s idea for creating shifters is not something brand new. In remote parts of the world, it’s believed that shifters always existed, even as many as thousands of years ago. People born like us with the natural instincts of finding their true mate.”
    “True mate,” Heath growled. “I’m tired of that being stuffed down my throat. Deja and I will never see eye to eye. She wants children.”
    “And you don’t?”
    For a moment, he considered a beautiful little girl with Deja’s big brown eyes, and his chest constricted. “It’s not that I don’t want them. I won’t have them. You didn’t see the pain Deja