Living with the Dangerous Beast-Chapter 49: The True Form

“I won’t be able to survive there... I really won’t....”

His undeniable mean streak showed as he continued to tease the pitiful fox.

“I know, it’s dangerous. If I invade his territory, he’ll come after me and kill me.”

Sohwa gasped, terrified. Dohwi looked down at her, feigning innocence.

“But I feel safe with you, Sohwa.”

“Huh?”

“You’ll protect me again, won’t you?”

Sohwa’s pupils darted nervously. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Who, me? Me, protect YOU?”

“You did it last time. You told me you fought off that group of 17 tiger hunters on your own! Just to save ME!”

‘No, I only fended off seven! The rest met their demise on their own!’

Unable to confess the truth, Sohwa’s lips trembled.

“You fought seventeen hunters; I’m sure you can handle a single tiger. Am I not right?”

“B-But... I heard that the tiger is actually a deity....”

She muttered, but Dohwi pretended not to hear, continuing his teasing. freewēbnoveℓ.com

“I trust you, Sohwa. I’m not afraid.”

His light brown eyes full of trust made her mouth dry.

‘Honestly, I’m a coward. At that time, I was just out of my mind. I was afraid of losing you... I might not be able to do it again!’

She knew that she had to eventually spit out the truth, but seeing this younger tiger was depending on her, she couldn’t say that she would run away if the same thing were to happen.

The day she first found Dohwi in the middle of the mountain roads....

A small, bloody little cub was abandoned in the middle of nowhere. She picked it up, worried a hawk would take it. Even though she was aware that the hawk might smell the blood and follow her.

‘This poor little thing....’

“You’re right!”

Unconsciously, Sohwa nodded solemnly.

“I’ll protect you.”

Saying it out loud gave her courage. She had already fought off a dozen hunters with guns, so what’s the deal with a single tiger? She was prepared to do anything for the sake of Dohwi.

“You can trust me, Dohwi!”

Satisfied with her answer, Dohwi resisted the urge to ‘devour’ this adorable fox.

But his burning eyes were unmistakable. Sohwa coughed, quickly transforming into a fox and slipping from his grasp.

“Aren’t you cold?”

She tilted her head, looking up at him. Dohwi smirked as he watched her put her front paws down to leap.

“What if I am?”

“Then I’ll give you a scarf.”

Sohwa swiftly climbed onto his body, balancing precariously on his shoulder, and wrapped herself around his neck.

“It’s a fox scarf! Do you feel warm now?”

“Yes, very warm.”

Dohwi affectionately petted Sohwa’s soft, furry head as they headed home.

Though he used the lack of prey in Mount Yeehwang as an excuse, moving to Mount Taeryong was mainly for Sohwa‘s own good. She preferred human food over eating wild things in fox form, but with the village gone, there was no way to obtain it.

Fortunately, Mount Taeryong had many monsters who mingled well with humans, making it easier to get human food.

As he pondered what to make for dinner to satisfy this picky-eating fox, Sohwa subtly reminded him.

“Uh... Please don’t hurt Daebum, Dohwi.”

“Okay.”

“Pinky promise?”

“I promise. I won’t hurt him.”

Such a quick, easy answer made her doubt Dohwi’s sincerity, but she didn’t have any other option but to trust him.

Instead, she licked his hand that was fiddling with her paws, while looking up at him.

“By the way, when will you show me your true form? Daebum bowed to me upon seeing those claw marks.”

Sohwa was curious about how magnificent the little black cub she had picked up had grown. So, she waited for him every dawn when he left the house, determined to see him in his tiger form. But strangely, she kept missing the opportunity.

“I want to see the ‘great tiger’ that you really are, too.”

“....”

Dohwi’s silence confirmed her suspicion that he was hiding his true form from her on purpose.

“Are you afraid I’ll faint seeing your true form?”

“....”

“You always go silent like that when you don’t want to answer my question, Dohwi.”

She bit down on his hand multiple times to get him to answer, but Dohwi kept his mouth shut.

His own worries grew. When she was in heat, he planned to spend a night together and become her true mate. He wanted to show her his tiger form afterward. But her heat never came. How much longer must he wait? He feared she might leave him one day.

Especially recently, Sohwa often threw small tantrums claiming that she wanted to see his true form. Even though he knew that she was waiting at dawn to catch a glimpse, he was more than concerned.

Recalling the times when she would get terrified and sick just by dreaming of a tiger, he feared she would run away if he revealed his true form to her.

He didn’t want to break their happiness. He just wished her heat would start soon, so they could become the family they both wanted.