[BotB] Chapter 25

Cursed by the intoxicating scent, Dohwi's body was in turmoil, filled with desire and heat. He spent the night staring at the sleeping Sohwa, only to realize by dawn that he was the one in heat, and not just any heat, but one directed towards a fox. 

The fact that they were different species was not a major concern. The impulse was so strong that it came during summer, a season not typically associated with mating for tigers, leaving Dohwi with no room for moral dilemma or contemplation. 

The desire to claim the female as his own was overwhelming, and every day he resisted felt like an eternity. It turned out that Dohwi was the one who had been in heat the entire time, not Sohwa, and his previous lies about teasing the female foxes were just a cruel joke. 

Dohwi's physical reactions to Sohwa's mere presence were unbearable, and he had to be mindful of his own scent as well. 

"Sohwa was the first to notice the change in his scent, wondering if he had encountered a fearsome beast. Female tigers began to be drawn to the scent of Dohwi in heat, and one day Sohwa fainted from shock when a female tiger showed up at their doorstep. From then on, she would panic at the mere mention of the word 'tiger,' deepening Dohwi's heartache. 

To conceal his mating scent and to distract Sohwa's senses, he buried deer bones under the cherry tree and placed sachets of datura flowers around the house. But these efforts were futile; despite living for a millennium and being fierce by nature, Dohwi remained a bachelor. When heat struck, he would hunt and protect his territory from any intruding tiger, male or female. 

Sohwa was the only one Dohwi had let into his heart, and now that he was in heat for her, the urge to do all sorts of things, even the forbidden, was overwhelming, regardless of how much he tried to hide his scent. 

No matter how many female foxes he killed out of frustration, it did not quell his burning thirst. It was clear that he had to have Sohwa to find peace. 

*** 

Dohwi's spirits lifted as he thought of Sohwa, lightening his steps. It pained him to know she had run away from home to escape him, but he had sensed it the moment he resolved to stop killing female foxes. 

With the arrival of winter and the start of Sohwa's mating season, he knew male foxes would come seeking her before the ice thawed. He could wait no longer; he needed to possess her, his female, ready or not. 

"Come out, Sohwa," Dohwi called out cheerfully, following the small footprints to a badger's den. He wondered if she knew how much joy it brought him to chase after her tiny, pretty footprints as if playing a game of tag. 

But the joyous night could not be spent playing chase in the mountains. The time had come for them to confront their true natures, and Dohwi could no longer pretend to be a docile housecat. 

Fortunately, it seemed Sohwa had finally noticed his transformation into a tiger, judging by the way she had dashed down the wet mountain path. 

"Did you think you could escape from me?" he taunted as he dug at the badger's den where she had hidden. 

"Come out, now. You have to take responsibility for me,” Dohwi said, reaching in with his paw. When Sohwa bit him in response, he could only laugh at the ticklish sensation and her cute, trembling face. 

"It hurts, doesn't it? What will you do if you bite me?" Dohwi enjoyed not only her human form but also her fox form, especially when she dangled helplessly from his grip, her scrambling feet so adorable that he wanted to pop them into his mouth. 

Just as he was about to lick her face, Sohwa urinated, not for the first time. He remembered coming back from a hunt one dawn, finding her digging up a deer bone he had buried, and entering the bedroom to check on her, only to find that she had wet herself out of fear or possibly due to the intensified scent of his own excitement from the hunt. 

The realization that his presence could induce such fear was a shock to Dohwi. He decided then to stop hunting female foxes, burying them as a clear sign that Sohwa would never be with another male.

Sohwa trembled with fear, which was pitiable to see, but there was no helping it after she had provoked the ferocious nature of Dohwi. He thought to himself that it would have been better had she not told him to leave, presuming he would be easily discarded if told to go.