Onikuma Boyfriend: Victor Part Two (special preview)

“Remember your story?” He asks. “The one where you got lost in the woods?”

“If you say you’re the Snare, I’m going to beat you to death,” I snarl at him.

“No!” He gasps. “No, of course not. But-” he frowns. “I did kill the Snare, if that helps anything.”

I stare at him hard and narrow my eyes. “Uhm-”

Victor then takes hold of my hands. “The bear that saved you,” he whispers. “That was me.” His hands squeeze mine. 

“The silver-blue bear?” I scoff at him. “That was you?” I try to yank my hands away but he won’t let go. “Victor, is this a joke?”

“I wish it was,” he murmurs. “But, Naoko, look at me.” He tugs me a little closer to him. “Look at my eyes. You told me once they looked familiar.”

I frown but look into his eyes. I gaze at his expression then see those soft blue eyes looking back at me. I had always found them familiar but was never able to pinpoint exactly how or why. Now, it all became clear.

“You’re a bear?” I blurt.

Victor pulls me into a hug. “An onikuma,” he whispers. “A type of bear creature. Had you read past the Snare in that book, you would have seen it.”

I cling to his back. “This explains why you knew so much about bears.” I then look up at him. “So, now you’ll turn back into a bear?”

“Without that medicine, I will,” he growls. “I get sent a fresh bottle every month. It takes three days for the effect of the potion to wear off, then three days for it to take effect again.” He looks at me. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

I sit down beside him and take hold of his hand again. “Where does the potion come from?” I ask. “Could I go get it for you?”

He looks at me with a surprised look on his face that melts away to a smile. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to,” I reply. “Where can I get it? Who do I ask?”

“I can send him an email. It would be quicker for him to mail it emergency. It’s just that, until then, I won’t be able to leave my home at all. The store will have to stay closed.”

“Then let me help,” I say. “I mean, after all, you did save my life. It’s the least I can do.” I kiss his cheek. “All this time, you knew that? You knew my story wasn’t silly?”

“You still smell the same,” he says. “I recognized you as soon as you walked into my shop. I wasn’t prepared for you to be this beautiful woman I saw. I sort of hid for a bit.” He snuggles close to me, pulling me into his lap. “All those years I had been wondering what happened to you, how you grew up, who you became.” He kisses my temple. “I was so excited to see you again.”

“You’re so sweet.” I kiss him softly. “I’m sorry again I broke the bottle.”

“It’s ok.” He whispers. “I needed to be honest with you. I had thought I could hide it forever, but that was foolish of me.”

“Will you let me see?” I ask quietly.

“See what?” Victor laughs. 

“The bear.” I place my palm over his chest. “Or do you want to keep it a secret from me?” I tease him a bit.

“Of course you’ll see me, hard to hide myself when I’ll be bigger than I am now,” he laughs.