Suddenly, Sienna was yanked away from Lord Marius like an ant sticking to a large piece of bread it couldn’t even carry. Aunt Linera swooped in, throwing her body between the chair and Sienna’s body.

Despite her leg crushing against the chair, Linera didn’t flinch. She fussed over Sienna who had steadied herself instead. "Are you okay?"

Before Sienna could answer, Lady Cadelaria said sternly, "Chubby Charms, if I ever see your lips within five feet of my husband, I will demolish you."

Sienna blinked, rubbing the sore spot on her shoulder where she had been grabbed. She could feel a pinch, as if her mother-in-law had sunk claws into her while pulling her away.

Aunt Linera stepped in front of Sienna. "Lady Cadelaria, I understand your possessiveness of your husband. But, with all due respect, Sienna is your daughter-in-law. It wasn’t as if she was trying to seduce him."

Lady Cadelaria responded with a scoff. Her eyes held the same coldness found so often in Elias’s eyes. "And yet, such things have happened in a number of households. Only last year, Elder Kiprin married his son’s ex wife. While she was married to the son, she often took walks with Kiprin, played chess and went to concerts with him. In the end, the innocent feeling were twisted into something else. While I trust my husband, I can’t say that I have the same faith in Chubby’s ethics."

"I am not that kind of woman. It is gross to even think about." Sienna declared. "And don’t call me chubby."

Lord Marius raised his brows. "Thank you for clarifying Sienna. I am not offended at all to be found gross."

Sienna winced. She hoped he was not reading her words the wrong way. "I don’t mean that you are gross, father-in-law. I mean that Elder Kiprin is gross for what he did." She laughed nervously. "I think I will go inside for my nap now. As for the children’s wish list, it is entirely up to you."

As she walked into the house, she could hear the conversation between her mother and father-in-law.

"Did you have to say that to her Laria?" Lord Marius asked. "I am feeling very wronged here. You know I would never do something like what Kiprin did. I was one of the very first people to tell him how wrong he was for following his heart foolishly and bringing shame to his family."

Lady Cadelaria replied. "I trust you Marius, but Chubby charms, not her. She is wicked that woman and she has our son wrapped around her finger. He doesn’t even listen when I say something negative about her now. He has forgotten the past so quickly. Maybe she didn’t trick him into bed, but I still believe she is not fit to be his wife or the Lady of the fox tribe. Be honest Marius, what other tribe has a human as their matriarch or patriarch? It is not natural."

Lord Marius sighed so loudly that Sienna’s ear which was pressed against the door heard it. "Laria, the past is called a past because it means they were events of yesterday. As for what is natural or unnatural, leave it to the Beast gods to decide.

Sienna gave us two full blooded beast cubs as grandchildren. They are not deformed, their mental strength presented as superior at birth. They are in the one percent of the best who don’t need to wait for their teenage years to awaken a beast gene.

Her contribution to the fox tribe lineage is as great as yours. Her children are as great as our children. She is now finding her footing in the tribe. She was great at handling the summit and all the dangers which presented. Not to forget the fact that she is on good terms with the royals."

Lady Cadelaria snorted. "Her bee detected the danger, not her."

Lord Marius laughed. "You said it yourself, her bee. Not your bee, not Elias’s bee, not a bee that belongs to the royal family or a random one that happened to be passing by. It is her bee and she ordered it to patrol for danger. It is called management, Laria. She is a good manager, and she grows the best fruits. I heard they mature overnight. Elias has already set aside a winery to make specialized wines from her fruits."

"See." Lady Cadelaria rushed to her her husband, sitting on his lap. "How can one make plants mature overnight? It must be some kind of witchcraft. What we need to do is get the priest over here so that he can take a look at Sienna or that garden. One of the two is wrong."

A lemon hit Sienna’s back. She pulled her head away from the door and looked back to glare at her mother. "Ouch!"

"Eavesdropping is wrong." Her mother whispered.

"But they are talking about me," Sienna whispered furiously. "Lady Cadelaria thinks I am a witch. She must be thinking that it is how I seduced her son."

Mrs. Miller pulled Sienna’s arm, leading her up the stairs. "If you were a witch, I would know."

Sienna snorted. "You didn’t even know that I had suddenly started growing mental strength until Elias strangled me!"

Her mother pushed her into the bedroom. "The gods be praised for the miracle which neither you nor I can explain. Now go take a bath and sleep."

Sienna almost left, but she suddenly stopped because she remembered something else. She had left Lady Cadelaria on her porch. The woman had succeeded in invading the tranquility of her beach paradise. Wouldn’t she kidnap the children?

"Mom," she turned around in a panic. "My kids. Bring the kids here, hurry. I don’t trust Lady Cadelaria not to steal them anymore than she trusts me not to seduce her son. If she won’t let me steal her child then I won’t let her steal mine."

Chuckling softly, Mrs. Miller headed downstairs and when she returned, she had two sleeping children. One, in each arm. While she laid them on the bed, Sienna unbuttoned her shirt in front of the mirror.

She winced.

Mrs. Miller walked over with a frown on her face. She took one look at the obvious nail marks, red wounds and blood on her daughter’s shoulder and clenched her fists. She turned and marched downstairs with the fury of the sea, carrying a storm.