The Wrong Tiger In My Bed

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The gray haze that had clouded my vision for months finally fractured, dissolving into sharp, brilliant focus. My eyesight was back. Joy surged in my chest, a bright, sudden thing, and I spun around to share the news with my husband.

But as I reached the heavy oak door of our bedroom, the sound of a voicenot his, but his brothersstopped me dead in my tracks.

"Come on, man," his brother was pleading, his tone low and urgent. "I know you lost your memories, but Celeste is still your fated mate. Your fiance."

There was a heavy pause. "Shes badly hurt," the brother pressed on. "Your S-rank healing ability is the only thing that can pull her back from the edge. Are you really going to just stand by and watch her die?"

Silence. The kind of silence that suffocates.

"Look," his brother sighed, a sound full of misguided nobility. "If youre that worried about the little blind girl youve been keeping around... she cant see anyway. Ill stay here. Ill take your place beside her for a while."

And then, my husbandCallan, the man whose chest I had slept against every nightfinally spoke.

"Alright," he said.

Just like that. Alright.

At that exact moment, the holographic live-feeda bizarre, persistent glitch of the universe I had transmigrated intoexploded across my peripheral vision.

[The ruthless founding father of the fan-club has arrived! Who else understands the tragic, self-sacrificing nobility of the grumpy younger brother offering his own body to the cannon fodder so his brother can go be with his true love?!]

[Brother of the Year: If I don't hold this fake marriage together, who will?]

I slowly lifted my gaze and looked through the crack in the door. My heart skipped a violent, jagged beat.

Standing there was a shifter who was taller, broader, and more imposing than Callan. His face was a touch more youthful but undeniably more striking, with a sharper jawline and a straighter nose. He was, essentially, Callan 2.0.

After Callan slipped out the back door, I waited a beat. Then, blinking my eyes into a vacant, unfocused stare, I groped my way blindly into the room and wrapped my arms around the new man's waist from behind.

"Honey?" I murmured, pressing my cheek to his spine. "You feel distant today. Why are you suddenly standing on the left side of the room? Is something on your mind?"

Jace went entirely rigid. Two golden, velvet-furred tiger ears popped out from the crown of his head, twitching frantically. His long tail snapped out, stiff as a board.

Callan was a Snow Tiger. Jace, I noted with quiet amusement, was a Golden Bengal.

Feigning ignorance, I let my arms slide fully around his waist, my fingertips subtly measuring him. His waist is actually a bit narrower, I thought. With deliberate slowness, I let my hands trail upward, my palms flattening against the firm, heavy swells of his chest muscles. Beneath my touch, Jace tightened like a drawn bowstring. The tips of his golden ears flushed a deep, frantic crimson.

My mind quietly calculated the differences: Chest broader by an inch. Waist leaner by half an inch. Hips a fraction wider.

"Honey," I purred softly, trailing a thumb over his collarbone. "Your body feels so tempting today."

The blush violently crawled from Jace's ears down to the base of his neck. He bit down hard on his lower lip, audibly struggling to hold back a sharp intake of breath.

"You're awfully quiet," I said, poking his pectoral muscle.

"Don't..." he choked out. "Don't grope me like that."

He had obviously downed a vocal-altering potion before coming in. His voice was an eighty-percent match to Callan's, but the remaining twenty percent betrayed the raw, slightly raspy cadence of a young man in his prime.

"Your voice sounds a little strange today," I whispered.

I circled around to his front, reaching up blindly until my fingers grazed the prominent bump of his throat. "But..."

I rose up on my tiptoes and brushed my warm lips softly against his Adam's apple. "It sounds incredibly sexy."

Jace reacted like a deer caught in the headlights. He jolted backward, nearly tripping over his own boots, and practically hurled himself out the door, diving headfirst into the snowbank outside.

I stood there for a second, blinking at the empty doorway, before a wicked, quiet smile curved my lips.

[LMAO the younger brother just spawned in the starter village and immediately ran into a wicked villainess. His poor virgin brain is short-circuiting!]

[Theres no way Jace catches feelings for the cannon fodder. Can the president of the rival fan-club really fall for the enemy?]

[Jace absolutely loathes this woman for getting between his brother and Celeste. If he ever catches feelings for her, I will eat my own shoe.]

[Comment above: Start chewing, babe. No need to wait.]

It took Jace several aggressive rolls in the freezing snow before he managed to cool his blood enough to step back inside.

"Honey, draw me a basin of water. I want to wash my feet," I ordered, my tone perfectly even.

If he was going to collude with his brother to deceive me, he could pay off his brother's debts in manual labor.

"Fine," he muttered.

To his credit, he was obedient. He returned quickly, carrying a wooden basin steaming with hot water. I sat on the edge of the bed, slipped off my socks, and extended my feet toward him.

Jaces hands were noticeably larger than Callan's. My feet looked incredibly small resting in the wide expanse of his palms. The thick, rough calluses lining his fingersthe undeniable mark of a man who spent his life wielding weaponsscraped pleasantly against my skin.

His face was an unreadable mask of cold indifference as he knelt on the floor, easing my feet into the warm water, but his touch was surprisingly meticulous as he began to wash them.

"My toenail polish is chipping," I directed, completely unapologetic. "Repaint them for me."

His brow furrowed in deep irritation. "You can't even see. What's the point of painting your nails?"

I feigned a flare of temper, shifting my foot and pressing it down hard against his chest. "You never used to talk to me like that!"

A breathless "Um..." tumbled from his lips.

Tigers possessed an inherently yang constitutionthey ran incredibly hot and were impervious to the winter chill. Because he thought I was blind, Jace hadn't bothered to put on a shirt.

My foot had missed the center of his chest. My toes were currently pressed directly, and rather firmly, against his bare nipple.

Jace scrambled backward so fast he nearly kicked the water basin over, his face blazing. "I'll... I'll go find the polish..."

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Okay, that one actually was an accident.

That night, we lay on the same bed.

I rolled over, pretending to reach for the glass of water on his nightstand, and caught a perfect glimpse of his illuminated phone screen. He was texting his brother:

[Callan, how do you live like this? I feel so sorry for you.]

Late in the night, shivering against the chill, I demanded he shift into his beast form to keep me warm.

"Absolutely not!" Jace hissed into the dark. "My beast form is a combat state meant only for the battlefield. It is not a personal space heater!"

I let my voice go cold, lacing it with hurt. "Is that so? Have you had a change of heart, or are you an entirely different person? You used to let me sleep holding your tail every single night. Why is tonight any different?"

"I am exactly who I've always been!" he snapped, his voice tight with the fear of being exposed. There was a heavy rustle of blankets before he finally compromised with an aggrieved sigh. "You can hold the tail. Only the tail."

A thick, plush, golden tail slipped under the covers and curled against my chest. Compared to Callan's fur, Jace's was undeniably softer, smelling faintly of crushed pine needles and fresh snow.

It was incredibly comforting. Wrapping my arms around it, I easily drifted into a deep sleep.

The next morning, I slept in, waking only when the sun was high. Through the window, I spotted Jace in the yard, fiercely chopping firewood. He was a portrait of raw, untamed energy, but when he turned, I noticed the heavy, bruised shadows beneath his eyes.

[Of course he has dark circles! The cannon fodder is a restless sleeper. Halfway through the night, she stopped holding his tail and accidentally grabbed his other "tail." The poor boy had to go roll in the snow three times before dawn.]

[Wait, what are you guys talking about? Does the tiger have a mutation? Two tails?]

[Sweet summer child, please log off and go watch cartoons.]

I took a slow look around the cabin. The floors were swept spotless. The chickens had been fed. Even the crumbling robins nest on the rafters had been carefully replaced with a sturdy, handcrafted wooden box.

I had to admit, the kid had an eye for detail and the domestic diligence of a seasoned househusband.

When he came inside and saw I was awake, however, his face snapped back into that familiar, frosty scowl. He practically shoved a mug of hot milk and a slice of toast into my hands.

I took a sip of the milk and let my brow crease in displeasure.

"What now?" he demanded. "What's wrong with it?"

"Its too bland. I need two sugar cubes."

Jace groaned, rolling his eyes. "You are impossible to please."

Without another word, he snatched the mug from my hands, chugged the entire thing in three gulps, marched to the sink, washed the cup, and began pouring a brand-new glass of milk.

I stared at him in quiet disbelief. ...Couldn't you have just dropped the sugar into the first cup?

Once he finished the firewood, he sat by the hearth, glaring at his phone. Based on the aggressive typing, he was updating his friends:

[Shes a total nightmare. But don't worry, I haven't given her a single warm look while doing the chores.]

The stream lit up instantly.

[Bro, its been twenty-four hours and youre already washing her laundry with a grumpy face?]

[Bestie, has it occurred to you that shes blind and literally cannot see your 'cold, intimidating glares'?]

[Jace: Mind your business! I have my own pacing!]

Clearly fed up with me using his tail as a security blanket, Jace went online and ordered an industrial space heater for the cabin. In his mind, if the room was boiling hot, I wouldn't need to cuddle with him.

Unfortunately for him, a massive blizzard had grounded all the delivery crews. The heater was delayed indefinitely.

For nearly two weeks, my only comfort was a single, golden tail. It was starting to annoy me. When Callan was here, I used to bury my icy hands and feet deep into the thick, warm fur of his stomach. It made me feel incredibly safe.

[Shes probably missing Callan right now. While Callan is currently wrapped up in the female lead's soft embrace, Jace is guarding his purity like a monk. No matter how much she flirts, he remains an unmovable mountain.]

[Callan is destined for the female lead anyway. Jace only recognizes Celeste as his true sister-in-law. The sooner this cannon fodder accepts reality, the better.]

That night, after yet another strategic roll in the snow to cool his perpetually running blood, Jace finally climbed cautiously into bed.

"The temperature dropped again today," he muttered, shifting awkwardly. "If you want, I can shift..."

I rolled over, turning my back to him, and pulled my worn tiger plushie tight against my chest. "Let's just sleep. I don't need your tail tonight."

If I had to force it, I didn't want it.

Even if I was genuinely craving the heat of his body.

Behind me, I felt his entire massive frame lock up. He sat frozen at my back for a very long time, his gaze practically burning a hole through my spine. Eventually, in absolute silence, he retracted his ears and tail.

He pulled his blankets tight to his side. The bed was now divided by an invisible, icy wall.

Jace had likely assumed that without my constant touching, hed sleep like the dead. But the truth was, he lay awake, staring at the ceiling, completely consumed by insomnia.

On my side of the bed, my breathing remained even and deep.

Somewhere around three in the morning, I felt the heavy, plush weight of a tail slither around my waist, gently trying to drag me backward toward the heat of his chest.

Deep in sleep and irritated by the disturbance, I blindly swatted a hand backward. A solid smack echoed in the dark.

The pulling stopped instantly.

When I woke the next morning, my tiger plushie was missing, and our separate blankets had mysteriously tangled into one shared nest.

Jace wasn't in bed. I looked out the frost-rimmed window and saw him standing in the middle of a howling snowstorm, furiously scrubbing my plushie in a bucket of soapy water. He wrung it out, pinned it to the clothesline, and watched with profound satisfaction as the freezing wind instantly encased it in a solid shell of ice.

He turned around, a triumphant smirk on his face, only to lock eyes with me staring at him from the window.

"Haha, great weather today!" he yelled over the wind, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just thought I'd wash your toy and let it... get some sun..."

I just slowly closed the curtains.

Jace hadn't just washed the plushie; hed washed the clothes Id discarded yesterday. Unfortunately, his brute strength had ripped two massive holes right through my underwear, forcing him to trek down to the local market to buy replacements.

He hadn't been gone long when a frantic knock rattled the door.

I opened it to find Kieran.

He was leaning heavily against the doorframe, his face flushed a feverish pink, two long, white rabbit ears drooping weakly against his damp silver hair. His mating heat had hit him early.

He swayed on his feet, his words slurring together. "Faye... please. Help me..."

Despite the freezing temperatures, Kieran was wearing only a thin white dress shirt, the top buttons torn open to reveal skin as pale as fresh snow. Snowflakes clung to his thick, dark eyelashes, his nose was painted a delicate, icy red, and his deep blue eyes looked up at me like fractured sapphires.

I had always known my neighborwho doubled as my pro-bono physicianwas beautiful, but right now, he was breathtaking.

His knees buckled, and he collapsed forward, burying his face in the crook of my neck. His breath was scorching hot against my skin.

"The new Federal law passed," he rasped, his voice trembling. "Humans can officially bind with two shifter mates at once..."

"When he gets back... he can be the primary mate. I'll be the secondary. I swear, Ill never cause drama or make things hard for you."

"Please, Faye. Just let me be yours."

He pulled back slightly, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "But if it's too much... if it puts you in a bad spot... just pretend I was never here. I'll go home. I'll soak in the ice bath..."

He made a pathetic, shaky attempt to pull away. I reached out, grabbed the lapels of his shirt, dragged him back into the house, and kissed him to shut him up.

"Stop talking," I murmured against his lips.

Honestly, the math was simple. Callan had his fated female lead. Jace was guarding his virtue like a medieval knight. I was a practical woman living in the freezing wilderness. A bed without a warm body in it was just a waste.

Besides, rabbit fur was incredibly soft.

That was the conclusion I reached as I ran my hands up and squeezed the base of one of his velvet ears.

Kieran violently shuddered at the touch, burying his face against my collarbone, letting out a soft, broken sound that was half-sob, half-sigh.

Since the day I had crossed over into this world, my vision had been severely compromised. Kieran had been the one coming over every day, patiently treating my eyes free of charge.

[Whoa, whats going on? Why is the screen suddenly a blur of censorship mosaics?]

[Are we not allowed to watch? Don't be stingy, Doctor Rabbit!]

[Honestly, I feel bad for the cannon fodder. Callans S-rank healing only works on the female lead, so Fayes been stuck relying on conventional medicine. The rabbit doctor really stepped up and took care of her when no one else did.]

Once Kieran's fever had stabilized somewhat, he sat back against the pillows, pulling me securely against his chest.

"Don't worry," he whispered softly, kissing my hair. "When Callan gets back, I'll explain everything. I'll tell him I seduced you. I'll take all the blame."

The words had barely left his mouth when the front door banged open.

"Honey! I bought the new clothes, come feel the fabric"

Jace froze.

Kieran and I looked toward the doorway. Jace, broad and imposing, was standing there wearing a sheer, loosely knit chainmail-style top. It technically counted as clothing, but left absolutely nothing to the imagination.

Clack.

The cardboard box containing my new underwear slipped from Jaces fingers and hit the wooden floor.

Jace snapped out of his shock, his eyes turning a ferocious, bloodshot red. With an earth-shattering roar, his beast form erupted from his skin. A massive Golden Bengal tiger filled the room, shaking the floorboards.

"You dare crawl into my bed?! With my wife?!" he bellowed, his voice vibrating in my chest. "Don't be afraid, honey! Im going to rip this filthy rabbit's throat out!"

I panicked, terrified Kieran was about to get slaughtered, and lunged forward to stop it.

But Kieran didn't flinch. In a flash of blinding light, he summoned his spiritual beast form. The creature that materialized was a monstrous, pure white rabbitbizarrely, it was even more massive than Jaces tiger. Its jaw was lined with thick, jagged fangs, and its usually serene blue eyes burned a demonic crimson.

"Both of you"

Before I could finish, Kieran launched himself forward, locking his jaws around the scruff of Jace's neck and dragging the massive tiger backward out the door and into the blizzard.

The two alpha males were terrifyingly matched in combat power. In the vast, blinding expanse of white snow, it was a brutal clash of fangs and claws.

Kieran specifically targeted Jaces face, slashing wildly at his handsome features. In retaliation, Jace ruthlessly aimed every strike directly beneath Kieran's belt, determined to end the rabbit's bloodline permanently.

The chat overlay was absolutely losing its mind over the sudden action sequence.

[Tsk tsk tsk, who says male leads aren't scheming? The rabbit wants to cure her eyes, use his beauty to secure a permanent place, and ruin the competitions face. Meanwhile, the tiger thinks the rabbit only won her over with his bedroom skills, so hes trying to castrate him!]

[Doctor Rabbit is a total manipulative green-tea bitch, but god, hes gorgeous.]

[Brother Tiger has zero brain cells, but absolute brute strength.]

[Cannon Fodder Faye: Wow, such a hard choice. (Not)]

It was the first time I fully agreed with the comments. I leaned against the doorframe, yelling into the wind, "Guys, stop fighting!"

But they were too far away, entirely consumed by bloodlust.

Kieran shifted back to his human form, licking a smear of blood from his sharpened claws. "I've seen her actual mate. You aren't him! So where the hell did you come from, you home-wrecking stray?"

Jace, bleeding from his cheek, shifted back, his chest heaving as he glared at the doctor. "I'm the home-wrecker? Youre the cheap whore who crawled into a married woman's bed the second her husband was out of town! You're the absolute lowest of the low!"

Kieran threw his head back and laughed, a cold, mocking sound. "I looked up the registry. Faye is bonded to Callan, but they never signed the official marriage certificate. Which means she legally only has one partner. She doesn't have a husband."

He tilted his head, his blue eyes narrowing. "Let me guess. You're a Golden Bengal. Her mate is a Snow Tiger. You took advantage of the fact that she's blind and swapped places with him, didn't you?"

Jaces face twisted in violent, defensive rage. "So what?! Im the one washing her feet! I'm the one massaging her! I'm the one warming her bed! Which means when the certificate is signed, itll be my name on it!"

He summoned his claws again. "And once I kill you, you filthy rat, she'll never know."

"Your math is a little off," Kieran purred softly. "Because... I think she might already be able to see."

A flicker of absolute terror crossed Jace's face. "Impossible!"

"She can see," Kieran repeated, his voice laced with venomous triumph. "You aren't her original mate. She has no emotional attachment to you. You aren't as strong as me, and you certainly aren't as beautiful as me. Tell me, why would she ever pick you?"

"You're dead!" Jace roared.

He launched himself into the air, bringing all his weight down to deliver a fatal blow to the arrogant herbivore.

Kieran was an S-rank mutated beast; he had more than enough speed to easily dodge the attack. Yet, inexplicably, at the absolute last microsecond, he shifted his stance, deliberately allowing Jaces spiritual energy to severely scorch his arm.

From the doorway, I watched in stunned silence as Kieran was thrown backward by the impact, soaring gracefully through the air until he landed directly at my feet, collapsing weakly into my arms.

"Faye," Kieran gasped, coughing weakly against my shoulder. "Don't be mad at Callan. It's hard for him to accept our new dynamic, I understand that. But he's lost his mind... It's okay if he hurts me, but I couldn't let him hurt you. Why don't you come stay at my house? Let him cool off for a few days."

Jace, having just landed from his attack, heard the entire speech. His jaw dropped. His golden ears lay flat against his skull as he stared at the bleeding rabbit in my arms, his entire body trembling with rage.

"You manipulative little bastard!" Jace screamed. "That is not what you were just saying!"

Kieran let out a fragile, wounded sigh, sinking deeper into my embrace, while the massive, terrifying tiger roared in the snow.

I gently stroked Kieran's hair, looking up at Jace with deadpan eyes. "I think I'm perfectly capable of telling which one of you actually needs my protection."