[BotB] Chapter 21

Sohwa's whole body trembled at the low, slicing vibration of his anger, and she instinctively covered her ears. "What, what kind of sound is that?" she stammered. "It's just a breath," he replied. 

Sohwa, still shocked, managed to pull her arm away. Or rather, she tried to, but Dohwi's forceful grasp pulled her closer to him. 

"How much it must have hurt," he murmured, ignoring her assurances that she was fine. Dohwi pressed his face against her arm and tenderly licked the wound with his tongue, an unfamiliar and moist sensation to Sohwa. 

It was the first time she'd been licked by someone else. As Dohwi dedicated himself to the task, bending his large frame and tilting his head to reach her injury, a twinge ran through Sohwa's lower belly. His intense gaze and the undulating muscles in his throat each time he moved his tongue felt oddly intimate to her. 

The raw sensation of his tongue was unsettling, but even more disconcerting was the realization that Dohwi, a robust man, was the one behind it. Her heart throbbed with a strange warmth that replaced any fear. 

"Stop, please stop," she pleaded, trying to push him away, but he only moved closer, locking eyes with her. His brown eyes, which she had once found beautiful, began to deepen into a golden hue. The once gentle touch of his tongue now felt prickly. 

"Sohwa, stop..." she murmured, caught in a strange tingling sensation throughout her body. 

Outside, not far from the door, the cry of a fox could be heard. It was a faint sound, but both of them, with heightened senses, heard it clearly. The moment froze as their eyes met again. 

The deeper and resonant voice belonged to a male fox, undoubtedly in pursuit of a mate and drawn to Sohwa, who was nearing her own mating season. Dohwi's gaze turned sharp as he looked towards the door, his intent to destroy any outsiders threatening to take what was his. 

Dohwi rose abruptly, full of intent, and Sohwa grabbed onto his leg with all her might. "Dohwi, you can't!" But he looked down at her, his ferocity seemingly dissipated. 

"Why don't you let it go? It'll leave on its own," Sohwa begged, and Dohwi, gazing into her eyes with an impassive expression, seemed to consider her plea. 

Finally, he smiled cruelly and leaned down, cradling Sohwa's face gently in his hands as if she were a treasure, and caressed her lips with his thumb. His eyes, glittering gold, were close enough to kiss. 

"My sweet fox," he whispered with a brutal smile, his cold breath brushing her cheek. "I need to eat too. I'm quite hungry," his voice was gentle, his touch careful, but his eyes, those of a predator ready to hunt, were not. 

"I've never tried fox, thinking you might find it appalling... but this one just might be to my taste," he admitted, no longer hiding his true nature. His yellow eyes scanned Sohwa's face thoroughly. 

"Wait here for me quietly. I'll tell you all about how it tastes once I return." 

***

Sohwa was near fainting. She couldn't remember what she had been thinking while sitting in the main hall until Dohwi left through the gate. 'I must leave. I have to get away.' 

She managed to stand on her trembling legs, but the thought of escaping was daunting. Dohwi would easily catch her with his sturdy legs, as fast as any human could be. Not to mention his ability to pursue her even more quickly if he were to transform into his tiger form. 

'But I have no choice but to run.' Tears streamed down her face. She was certain she would be next after the male fox Dohwi had pursued with threats to tear him apart. Would a second taste be so difficult for him after the first? Transformed into a fox, Sohwa looked back at the only home she had ever known with a heavy heart and ran away. She never imagined that the young black cat she had picked up out of pity and fondness would bring such a terrible end.  Mujin, Hoyoung, and the monks had all warned her, and yet she hadn't listened. She had been too confident in Dohwi's seemingly endless kindness, believing that nothing untoward could happen. Was her own complacency to blame? As if to mock her innocence, the path from the main gate to the mountain slope was cruelly marked with large paw prints. They were similar in shape to hers but overwhelmingly larger in size. The claw marks were so deep that anyone seeing them might think they were made with a pickaxe, hinting at the sharpness and enormity of the claws they belonged to.