Wicked As He Comes (Tiger in Her Bed)

She shook her head.

“Mom is the grand matriarch of our clan. She felt she had to regain her honor for letting herself and your brothers get kidnapped. She must have felt like a failure because she couldn’t protect the twins. That was why she went into ‘frenzy’ mode. A weretiger is most dangerous when she’s in frenzy. Nothing can stop her, other than letting her blow the steam off. I know we’re living in human society and mostly obey human law, but never forget that we’re not exactly humans. Underworld folks like us also have our own set of rules. In this case, eliminating a death threat to one’s clan is permitted. Believe me when I say everything’s going to be okay.”

“I see.”

“We’ll get through this. It isn’t your burden to bear alone. We’re family; how many times must I tell you that?” John planted a kiss on her forehead. “I love you, Jane.”

Her eyes widened. “You really mean that?”

“Yes.” His smile spread and his eyes twinkled rather mischievously. “Want me to prove it?”

Epilogue

Paris, three months later…

Harry, slow down. Don’t wander off by yourself or you’ll get lost,” Jane warned him when her brother tried to sneak between tourists in front of them. She caught him by the collar and kept him on his toes. Harry’s hyperactivity had proven difficult to handle in a public place with so many visitors. Every little thing excited him, and he just had to go and investigate it. Jane grumbled. “I swear to God, I should put you on a leash.”

George smirked with superiority. “I told you to buy that leash and collar when we visited that store earlier.”

“That was for a dog, George, not a human,” said John with a chuckle.

“Are you sure he’s even human? He doesn’t act like it,” George sneered.

“Shut up, George.” Harry kicked his twin’s shin.

“See? See what he did? I rest my case.”

“No fighting. If you two don’t behave, you don’t get macaroons.”

“What? No fair!” Harry protested.

“Behave, then,” said Jane in a stern voice.

Harry acted like George, mimicking his pompous stroll.

George gave him the stink eye. “Are you sure he’s even related to me?” he complained to Jane. “I wonder if mom picked up a stray by accident.”

“Enough. Be nice or no macaroons for you either.”

That quieted her twin brothers for a while.

They had been looking forward to getting some authentic French macaroons since they all landed in Paris. That afternoon, the four of them perused Saint-Germain-des-Près for a bit of culinary sight-seeing.

Jane sighed, turning to her husband. She linked arms with him as they leisurely checked every specialty shop for pastries. “Sorry,” she said to John quietly. This trip was supposed to be their belated honeymoon. But after the incident with Alfred, the twins didn’t want to be separated from her for more than several hours and they needed Jane to be the one who tucked them in to bed. What happened that night had traumatized them; even George, who pretended that he was fine. The psychiatrist said that George and Harry would need some time to adjust and regain their independence. Until then, Jane had to devote her time to her little brothers.

It was a blessing that she wasn’t the sole provider anymore. John and his family had helped her and the twins through a difficult time; they were always ready to offer her emotional support, especially Savannah. Not in a million years had she imagined that she would get along so well with the mother-in-law.

John looked at her. “What are you apologizing for? This trip is good for all of us. There will be plenty of trips we can take, just you and me, in the future. Mom said kids grow like a weed in the blink of an eye. They won’t be dependent on you forever.”

“I know you wanted a romantic honeymoon and this isn’t exactly romantic.”

“I don’t mind. Besides, I can have you all to myself after they fall asleep.”

“True.”

Because of the incident, Jane had a change of heart about the big wedding in Aspen. John agreed as well, since they still had to go through the mess that Alfred left them. So instead, they had a small ceremony with only close friends and family. There were less than twenty people in attendance, but it was an intimate and memorable affair.

Like John had predicted, Alfred’s disappearance was filed as a missing person case. When Jane and the private eye that John hired to investigate Alfred’s misdeed went through important papers in the Benedict’s family house, they found out that her father had indeed, had a will. He split the estate equally between his children and Alfred as his sole brother. Jane was distraught for a while upon learning the truth. She couldn’t imagine the greed that could poison a man’s heart to do the unthinkable. It wasn’t like Alfred was going to be left out and penniless. But Uncle Alfred wanted it all.