Koga and Kagome: A Romance

by Haley95

After being kidnapped by Koga, Kagome quickly finds herself being swayed by the gentle man and his wooing ways. Unlike Inuyasha, Koga's affection came without painful barbs, though Kagome wasn't naive enough to think that a relationship with the man would be a painless one. After all, every relationship had its problems, but Kagome was willing to give the bold wolf a chance.

Koga of the Yoro Clan

Koga looked around the cave at the few members of his pack that remained after the half-demon Naraku and his offspring Kagura's slaughter. What once had been a bountiful and proud pack were reduced to only a handful of men and even fewer women. As usual, when Koga thought about all he had lost, a rage lit a fire in his heart and the need for revenge pumped through his veins. Naraku would pay dearly for his actions even if it took the lives of the last of his tribe and himself down with the halfling. However, Naraku's demise had to be put on halt until Koga's latest and more pressing bane was taken care of permanently.

Koga had led what was left of his pack to a new cave system far away from the stink of human villages. After all, staying in a place where your kin was slaughtered while you were away hunting was out of the question, the memories would have dragged them all into an all-encompassing depression. However, while the move had been a necessary one the pack had to get used to the alien territory they had claimed as their own. Food, water, and shelter had been hard to find, and once found the territory came with one glaring problem, the birds of paradise.

Aggressive and monstrous, even by demon standards, these birds had been a thorn in Koga's pack from nearly day one. They interrupted nearly all of his packs hunts for food, woke them all hours of the night with their ear-splitting calls, attacked every wolf caught on their own, and recently they had stolen one of Koga's prized jewel shards from his forearm. With their new territory as hostile as it was, one of Koga's pack had begun attacking the human villages around the area for food. When Koga found out he had been enraged and killed the unremarkable weak pack member. The pack already had enough trouble with their new home without involving villages who would no doubt retaliate. Koga knew the last thing his pack needed at the moment was a priestess sent in their direction.

Howls from the southern area of his territory had Koga calling for his betas. When Koga caught up to the howls of his pack he smelt blood thick on the air. By the smell Koga could tell his pack wasn't behind the smell of such blood on the air, for which he was thankful. His relief was short lived when the smell of many of his pack bleeding out on the ground reached his nose. A rumble so quiet it didn't make a sound in the tense air shook his chest and Koga pushed his legs forward strengthened by the shards and took off at an amazing speed.

In the center of the village, he found his pack surrounding a group of six people of various races and sizes. A half-demon in a red fire-rat fur outfit was standing in front and Koga figured him to be the leader. After only a few words, Koga could tell the group had attacked the wolves of his pack on the assumption his pack had killed the villagers lying in various decay all around them. His pack probably didn't help matters by being on the defense the moment they caught the sixes scent. Koga didn't wait long to attack them for what they had done to his pack, and yet the half-demon gave off hints of a power Koga knew he didn't want to face without knowing what he was up against, so he retreated.

The next morning the haunting thought of the pretty priestess who could tell where the shards within his body were located plagued Koga's mind. If the woman could see jewel shards in his body perhaps she could be of some use against his enemy, the birds of paradise, even if she was an ignorant prejudice priestess who taken part in killing his pack members the day before. Koga would have to be careful to avoid the half-demon mutt and his powerful sword, However, his father had taught him the fine art of strategy from the moment he was weaned off his mother's milk and Koga doubted the small group could pose too big of a threat to himself and his pack.

-0-

Koga laughed silently as he watched the half-demon mutt sniff the ground like the mutt he was, however, Koga was pleased to see that his instincts were right when it came to the nose of the halfling. As it was, the mutt was too caught up in sniffing out the false trail Koga had laid earlier that day and hadn't realized he was leading his small pack right into a trap. Only a quarter league up the narrow path and the mutt and his pack would walk right into Koga's trap. Five minutes later, his wolves made their move while Koga shifted back and forth readying himself to move.

His plan worked out perfectly. The mutt was in the river, the fire-cat, demon slayer, and Munk had been too occupied to help the priestess he'd slung over his shoulder easily the kit was lost somewhere during the attack. Her light frame had made Koga worry for her health momentarily and he scowled at his alpha mentality that made him worry about everyone within his grasp figuratively and literally. However, her sharp piercing scream in his ear as they vaulted over the edge of the cliff they were on, drowned out nearly everything as his ears felt like they were bursting from the sharp sound. Only once they had stopped falling due to the grip Koga had on the side of the cliff did she quiet down. Thankful, Koga started jumping up to the nearest foothold after foothold until they reached the narrow path once more, only to have the priestess let out a short painful burst of scream with each jump.

Once on the path, Koga quickly ran off at nearly his full speed and paused briefly once he was sure he was out of range to gloat. "Huh, looks like the mutt can't keep up, no one can run as fast as I can!"

"Of course he can't, you have help from the sacred jewel shards in your legs. You don't get to have bragging rights if you are cheating!" the priestess scolded indignantly.

"Tell me then priestess, do you consider the mutt a cheat when he battles with the sword he carries?" Koga asked with a growl.

"What, no, of course not!" the woman shouted confused.

Koga smirked and asked, "Why not, the power from the sword is not his own, therefore he is using a power that is not his own to fight and win battles, so how am I cheating when he is not?" The priestesses face went slack with shock before a thoughtful expression crossed her face that disappeared the moment Koga took off once more. When a shadow from one of the birds of paradise blocked the sun overhead briefly Koga prepared to stop, after all, the whole reason he'd kidnapped the woman was to find the damnable bird that had the jewel shard taken from his arm. However, when he did stop the woman was already searching the sky for what had made the shadow that had covered them in darkness moments before.

"What are those things?" she asked in a trembling voice.

Koga answered with a smirk, They aren't bluebirds I can tell you that much, and I bet even you can guess the size of food they like to hunt, something you might want to keep in mind while you are in my care. Now tell me woman, do any of the damned birds have a jewel shard?" There was a short pause where the woman in his arms studied the birds flying above, however soon she told the wolf holding her captive she couldn't see any jewel shards in any of the birds overhead and Koga took off back toward the den once more. While Koga was running Kagome couldn't help but wonder if what Sango said was true about wolf demons being no more than wolves in human form, after all, the demon who'd captured her and now had her held captive had done so with a well thought out plan meaning he had human intellect.

Just after midday Koga jumped to a rock centered in the middle of the stream and began addressing the men dressed like him standing on the shore near a beautiful waterfall. When they saw Koga, one shouted out that Koga was back and many others came out of hiding to greet the man who'd just arrived in their presence once more. Soon Kagome was being brought into the cave system where man and women dressed in armor and furs jeered at her until she was roughly thrown onto a hard flat circular surface deep within the cave system. Once she was thrown down she could hear various men asking if they could have different parts of her to eat. So focused on their words Kagome missed Koga's quick scowl chased off his face not long after and replaced with a smirk at their words.

"The woman is completely off limits! I will personally kill anyone who touches her, she is not food." Then Koga turned his head and looked over his shoulder at the three wolves sniffing around his tale. He then noticed the child fox demon clinging tightly to his tale. Picking up the child he playfully said, "I thought I lost this little guy by the river, here guys an appetizer as he's too small to be a full meal." As he was facing away from the woman and she didn't know him, Kagome completely missed the teasing smirk Koga had on his face and the tenor of his tone that told everyone he was messing around. Everyone in the tribe knew the young were protected no matter the race by Koga and by default themselves.

Therefore, Kagome stood up in righteous fury and snarled, "Don't you dare lay a hand on Shippo. If you harm even one hair on his head I'm not helping you no matter what you and your people do to me."

Koga smirked in pleasure at the female, her motherly instincts pleasing to him. "Calm down woman we don't harm the young, though it's nice to see that you have a backbone." With that he turned around to the wolves, that acted more like pampered lap dogs in his presence than the vicious animals that had killed those poor village people yesterday, picked up one around the waist and offhandedly commented, "You are all turning into gluttons, just look at the weight you have all put on. None of you are eating until you have lost some of this padding."

Then Shippo was lifted up and tossed to Kagome's weighting arms where the kit clung to her in relief at being away from the sharp fangs of the wolves all around the two of them. Kagome felt herself warming to the man who'd captured her, feeling as if she had misjudged him. Then the image of the dead villagers filled her mind and she steeled herself to such thoughts. Kagome knew she couldn't let herself warm to a man capable of such misdeeds.

"Out of the way! Move, we have injured here." One of the men shouted from somewhere up ahead capturing everyone's attention. Many of the pack members crowded around all wanting to see for themselves the damage inflicted and to find out what had happened to their fellow pack members. One of the wolves who'd greeted Koga and Kagome by default by the waterfall said, "Back up, and someone go and get these men some water!"

Koga approached the injured party with a very worried look on his face and addressed one of the men nearby who'd helped bring the injured men into the caves. "What happened, was it them?"

"Yes," the man nodded and continued, "They attacked during the switch in watch when there were more of us out than usual. Only the two we brought in survived, and as you can see they just barely made it out with their lives."

Kagome had crept closer during the debriefing and couldn't help but gasp in horror, "Such terrible wounds."

"All done by the birds of paradise, as they call themselves, you saw them earlier on our way here. They are brutal beings and we've lost many of the few of us that survived the attack Naraku delt us to their malice. The birds take great pleasure in eating members of our pack and leaving what they don't eat in places where we are sure to find them." Koga explained to Kagome as he led her back to the place he'd first brought her to upon entering the caves earlier.

Kagome couldn't help but ask, "Even with the jewel shards your no match for them?" more than a little horrified by the idea.

Koga sat down and looked up at the woman who wore such an earnest expression. "One of the birds also has a jewel shard. He is now even faster than me, after all, those who fly are faster than those on the ground. They killed more than fifty of my pack members in a single attack. It has to be the power of the jewel. I'm afraid it won't be long before my pack is wiped out completely by the menaces." Koga paused and let the woman before him process what he'd said he continued, "What we need is to balance the power somehow."

Kagome was quick on the uptake. "So you took me so that I could either find the jewel shard the birds of paradise have, or use my ability to be able to find more jewel shards you and your pack can use to help yourselves fight them?"

"That is correct. I am tired of my pack being needlessly killed off by the beast. If this war between us drags out much longer more and more of us will be sacrificed in this fight until there are none of us left." Koga affirmed before asking, "So, will you help my pack or not?"

Kagome answered in the affirmative, but she was already planning her escape. Koga could see by her body language that the woman was only agreeing to buy herself time and anger already running through his veins came to the surface and his face dropped into a glare. How could this woman not sympathize with what was happening to his pack? Perhaps he should make her picture herself and her family in this type of situation, maybe then she might actually want to help his pack out of this plight.

"Do me a favor woman," Koga said addressing the woman in a harsh tone and she shifted nervously back and forth on her legs as he addressed her in such a tone. "I want you to picture what is happening to my pack happening to your family. Can you imagine them being picked off one by one while you did everything in your power to save them only to fail dismally?" He paused while such thoughts flashed through her mind against her will and when it looked like she was about to speak he interrupted her firmly. "Now I want you to imagine finding someone who could save your family and yourself from such a fate. I want you to imagine them refusing to help you as what is going on in their life is more important than the lives of you and your family. Perhaps then you will understand how I am feeling right about now, but as you are only imagining it and not actually living it, I doubt you will come close to understanding the depths of my despair." Koga got to his feet moments later and walked off leaving the woman who now had misty eyes behind as she felt the impact of his words.

Kagome watched as Koga walked off feeling like the lowest of the low in human society. How could she be so selfish as to not help these people out? True they might not be the best of people, the flashes of what Sango and Shippo had said about the wolf packs earlier playing in her mind, but just because they weren't saints didn't mean they didn't need help. The dead bodies filling the villages in the surrounding area weighed heavily on her mind and caused a war of emotions to strike up within her.

Further into the cave, Kagome could see the two gravely wounded wolf demons being treated by a small team of healers in the tribe. Beyond those wolves, some of the pack were eating what Kagome knew were tiny portions of food. She took a closer look and noticed most of the pack members were on the thinner side and wondered when the last time they were able to go out and hunt without fear of being hunted themselves was. Her trail of thoughts made her wince. Her mother had once commented how she had become self-absorbed in recent years, and Kagome found herself agreeing with her mother's assessment of her character for the first time.

The longer Kagome examined herself the more she realized just how right her mother was about her. Kagome was all about herself and had been for some time. Now that she was aware of her deficiencies Kagome knew she needed to work on rectifying them. In essence, she needed to relearn what it meant to have a servants heart.

More appropriate clothes would be adorned while she lived in this time period regardless of how similar it made her look to Kikyo as her attire had already garnished more than enough negative attention for her group. Kagome also needed to be better to her family when she went home for visits. She also knew needed to start doing more for the family she had around her this far in the past. Helping out as many people as possible when she could was also something Kagome needed to begin doing as it would help her reevaluate what was important in life, especially during these times.

Near late afternoon Shippo got Kagome's attention by transforming into Koga behind her. Kagome had been startled at seeing the man behind her until she heard Shippo's voice come from the man's mouth instead of Koga's own deep tenor rumble. Kagome got to her feet and began walking with Shippo back in the way they'd been brought in when they had first arrived. Kagome could feel the stares of the pack bore into the two of them as they walked toward the cave entrance, and Kagome had the feeling none of them believed that the man beside her was actually their alpha.

As they walked slowly among the pack members, Kagome was at war with herself both wanting to stay and help while also wanting to return to Inuyasha and the others. Perhaps if she escaped she could make it back to Inuyasha and convince him to help the wolf pack with her. The jewel shards would convince him to help if only to get his hands on another jewel shard. However, Kagome doubted that Koga would willingly hand over any of the jewel shards found on his territory.

As the light from the day outside became visible Kagome froze momentarily as Koga's words from earlier pierced her thoughts. "I want you to imagine them refusing to help you as what is going on in their life is more important than the lives of you and your family. Perhaps then you will understand how I am feeling right about now, but as you are only imagining it and not actually living it, I doubt you will come close to understanding the depths of my despair." Her thoughts about becoming less self-absorbed warred within her head as she debated what to do next. However, before she could make a decision on whether to go and find Inuyasha, or stay and help these people being picked off one by one, one of the wolf demons behind the two of them called out and brought them to a halt. "Koga, where are you going with the woman?"

"The human needs some fresh air as the smell has been overwhelming her for the last couple of hours," Shippo said in a firm tone.

"Ginta, Hakkaku, go watch Koga's back while he's outside." The same wolf demon ordered to the pack members behind him.

Kagome knew the gig was up the moment one of the wolves further in asked, "What are you talking about? Ginta and Hakkaku left with Koga almost an hour ago for patrol idiot." Three of the wolves closed in behind Shippo and started sniffing curiously as the uproar of wolves arguing behind them picked up in volume. When one of them bit Shippo's tale Kagome could easily see things going downhill fast, especially when the pain of having his tale in the jaws of a wolf forced Shippo to revert to his true form.

When the two turned around they found nearly all of the wolf pack within the caves had surrounded them pointing spears and other various weapons at them. Needing to protect Shippo Kagome picked up one of the weapons and brandished it clumsily at the crowd of demons surrounding them. Only when one of them lunged in Shippo's direction did Kagome turn tale and run with the child in toe. Kagome's lead was brief and she knew the wolves would catch up to her and the kit soon, they did know the area better than she did after all. When a steep drop off cliff edge stopped Kagome from advancing any further she knew how foolish it had been to run. Quickly thinking over the options she had before her Kagome turned to Shippo. "You can expand your body and fly right?"

"I can, but not with you with me-" His sentence was cut off when Kagome picked him up and threw him off the cliff edge while shouting, "Go find Inuyasha," before using the weapon in her hand to stop the wolves from plucking the kit out of the air and turned back to the men pursuing her.

One hurled an insult she was too pumped up to hear properly and Kagome watched as he advances while saying, "I'm going to devour you alive human!" He was stopped seconds later as a fat pig's carcass dropped on him from overhead. As one the wolves looked up to see Koga, Ginta, and Hakkaku looking down on them.

"I told you I'd kill anyone who touched her!" Koga snarled down at the group of his pack members that had surrounded the priestess.

Ginta pointed excitedly to the flying kit and needlessly said, "Look, Koga, the little guys flying."

Koga couldn't help but smile slightly as he took in the scene. The woman had risked her life to save the kit and made sure he made it to safety. That spoke of loyalty, perhaps the woman was salvageable after all. Jumping down he landed in front of the guarded woman and looked her over. Something had changed within her in the time he'd been away. Smiling wickedly Koga leaned in and said with surety, "I'm gonna make you my woman!"

More than one of the man's pack members shot him the same incredulous look Kagome was, and Kagome was sure that if she were an outsider watching the seen it would have left her in hysteric's. However, this wasn't some random show on television, this was surprisingly real life, and as strange as it was a man had actually said he was going to make her his woman and seemed very serious about his declaration. Ginta was the one brave enough to approach the alpha out of the entire group and looked a little stressed out about what had fallen from his alpha's lips. Putting a hand out toward the man before him but not touching him, Ginta spoke up.

"Boss I thought you would eat the girl or set her free once she had helped us out not marry her! Why would you want to marry a human anyway?"

Koga had a feeling the woman was someone he could easily fall in love with and was someone who would bring much happiness to his life and that of his packs, but to say something like that would be suicide. An alpha could have no weakness after all. No wolf could show any type of weakness without it being exploited and used against them. That was why they had to chase so many other demons out of their territory. According to their history the one time they'd let another type of demon into their land it had ended in a bloodbath that had killed more of their tribe than Naraku had during his massacre.

"Idiots, this woman can see jewel shards. Think about after the birds are defeated. Having her as a pack member would mean the gathering of more and more jewel shards. Soon we would have enough for us to face that bastard Naraku and take him out for what he did to our pack." Koga explained in a smug tone as if her ability for sensing shards was the only reason he wanted the woman before him.

Awe spread on all of his packs faces and Ginta was quick to exclaim, "We would be unstoppable! With that kind of power, nothing like what had happened at Naraku's hand would ever happen to any of our pack again."

Koga was pleased to hear happy exclamations sounding from his pack. "Can you now see why I have chosen her as a mate over some female demon?" Not waiting for them to respond Koga walked forward and put a hand on the small of the females back and pulled her close letting his emotions slide onto his face and into his eyes. "Your Kagome right? Your mine now, and wolves mate for life which means I will be far more faithful than any other human or demon for that matter. It also comes with the added benefit of not having past lovers interfering with our relationship at any point."

Kagome pushed off his chest to get away from the males possessive hold and shouted, "I don't belong to anyone!" A hand was raised to slap the offending demon but her hand was grabbed before it could make contact.

Having heard women say this often throughout his life Koga had come up with the perfect answer to such an explanation. "Kagome, it's not about ownership. When you are in a relationship where your intent is to spend the rest of your life with whichever partner you choose, belonging to someone is fidelity and it works both ways. By claiming you as my own I am telling you that I belong to you as well and it's a promise that I will be faithful to you for as long as you and I are both alive. I am telling you that I am putting you first in my life when I claim you as my own."

Kagome was shocked speechless at his declaration, she had never looked at it like that before. Such a declaration wasn't offensive once it was put into terms like that. Too caught up in her shock and thoughts, Kagome didn't realize Koga had pulled her close once more and was directing her away from the cliffs edge. Too late did she realize she was very flattered by what Koga had said and hadn't protested any further which sealed her fate, though the realization was some ways off still.

Once back in the cave Kagome was quickly directed back to the flat circular area she'd been taken to upon arrival. However, the woman was too caught up in her thoughts to notice much around her and missed Koga leaving to grab something. Today had changed so much already for the young woman and Kagome was still reeling from everything. Her worldview had been thrown into a whirlpool and mixed around until it was unrecognizable.

A necklace being placed around her neck had Kagome jared from her thoughts. It was a leather cord that had a white fang tied to the middle of the cord. While simple Kagome couldn't help but smile remembering a time when she'd admired a shark fang necklace almost identical to the one around her neck currently when she had visited an aquarium with her mother and late father. Not being educated in the ways of demon courting Kagome had no idea she'd accidentally just accepted a courting gift from the alpha wolf demon before her. The gift would tell all other demons that she was already taken and was under his protection.

Koga knew the female had no idea he'd tricked her into accepting his proposal from earlier, but all was fair in love and war. Keeping the smirk that wanted to slide onto his face at bay Koga turned from his intended and called a pack meeting. Once everyone was standing before him Koga spent the next hour detailing his plan. Kagome watched on as Koga led his pack and was taken aback by the strategic mind he possessed. When everyone knew their part Koga turned to Kagome who was staring at him avidly and smirked at having her full attention.

Kagome was quick to turn away with a blush that quickly turned her face a deep pink color and Koga couldn't help chuckling. His instincts were right the woman he'd captured was someone to cherish. With every new aspect he learned about the female, the more attached he'd become to her. Now he just needed to thoroughly woo her to the point where life without him would be unbearable for her, perhaps he would eventually feel the same about her in return.

Soon the cave was full of his pack preparing to march into battle. Eyeing the females scanty attire that did little to protect her Koga went to the part of the cave where the female armor was kept. As so few women remained, Koga had made sure they had enough armor to cover them all, after all, keeping the females of his pack away from battle was next to impossible. They would fight to the death alongside the men. Picking up several pieces of armor Koga made his way back to his intended and handed them over to her. When the woman didn't begin putting them on Koga shot her an annoyed look.

Seeing the look Kagome raised her hands and said, "I am sorry, but I don't know how to wear armor like this."

Koga hummed softly and picked up the chest piece and began to help his female put the armor on, there was no way he was taking his woman into battle with him unprotected. Only once the armor was securely fastened to her body did Koga begin rounding up his pack. Today, whether they lived or died, they would end the war being waged with those damn birds. An hour later, with the sun sinking into the sky faster than Koga would have liked, the pack was positioned at the base of the mountain where the birds of paradise were nesting.

As Koga and his men scouted the area and prepared themselves mentally for the battle ahead, Koga kept being distracted by the questions Kagome had asked him on the journey from the cave to their current vantage point. Koga could admit to being hurt that his female still thought he and his men to be the type of people who slaughtered the villagers in the surrounding area. It took everything in him not to snarl at her when she had brought up the villages and his packs part in their ruin in an assuming tone. However, once the air was cleared Koga could see that the topic had weighed heavily on the woman's mind for some time, and he let the resentment of such assumptions go when she apologized for the crimes she had laid on he and his packs shoulders.

Faster than Koga liked the birds caught on to his pack gathered out in the open so close to their nest. Shouting at his pack to take care of the grunts that would attack them Koga gathered Kagome up in his arms and jump upwards where she would hopefully find the jewel. He had quite forgotten how loudly the woman could scream as they ascended up the mountainside, however, with each scream he was reminded over and over. Hoping to end the screams Kagome kept letting loose Koga paused briefly after knocking a bird out of the air and demanded, "Mate, tell me where the jewel shard is."

Not catching the endearment Kagome answered, "I can't focus while you are-" she started but paused and looked up sharply right toward the next ledge. Koga had jumped before she said, "The jewel shard is up there!"

They hadn't even landed on the ledge she had pointed to when the mountain burst open as a head forced its way out of the earth quickly followed by a massive set of wings tearing apart the mountaintop around them so that they could take off in flight. The force of the exit pushed Koga and Kagome by default into the air and back down the cliffs of the mountain. Koga quickly found a cliff edge and stopped their fall but was stopped dead in his tracks as he caught sight of the massive bird nearly three sizes bigger than all the others. A shudder passed through both Koga and Kagome's frames at the sight of the monstrous bird, and its eyes pinned them briefly to the cliff on which they clung to avoid debris falling from the bird dislodging itself through the earth of the mountain.

As the massive monstrous bird with two green half human bodies sticking from the body of the bird turned their attention to Koga and Kagome they began gloating about having three jewel shards so close and ripe for the taking. While they were gloating as if they had already won, Koga leaned down and pressed his lips to Kagome's ears and asked, "Mate, where is the jewel shard?"

Kagome felt a shiver unlike any she'd ever experience travel down her spine to her navel dazing her for a brief moment. Focusing on the task at hand and not the term he'd used or the shiver he'd just evoked Kagome looked at the beast of a bird in the air before them. Quickly spotting the jewel Kagome quietly told the wolf behind her where it was located. However, she was not quite enough as the beast sneered, "Well, you can get a glimpse of it as we devour you. How could we pass up such a tasty meal of human and wolf?"

Almost too fast to fathom Koga was jumping out of the way of the bird of paradise shark fanged mouth as it tried to swallow the pair down. Kagome couldn't help but cling to the male as they descended down to one of the wider cliffs covered in the bodies of both the birds and wolves alike. Blood had washed over the earth and had stained it a crimson red. Koga stopped them gently and handed her to Ginta and Hakkaku with a firm command to protect her.

Before he could run off and face the monster above them Kagome reached out and touched his arm. "Wait, you aren't going to fight that beast on your own are you?"

"With three jewel shards, I am the strongest in the pack. What type of alpha would I be if I didn't do everything in my power to keep everyone in my pack safe? This war can't go on Kagome, this has to end today. I will die if it means that these birds are defeated once and for all. My honor will allow nothing less." Koga brushed Kagome's hand from his arm and took off in pursuit once more leaving a shaken Kagome behind.

"Worry not sister, your mate is strong and he will make it out alive to see many more days. He wouldn't be our alpha otherwise." Hakkaku said in a gentle tone.

Kagome latched onto the sister part first, "Sister?"

"Yeah, being Koga's woman makes you pack, which means you'll be treated as a pack female," Ginta explained.

Before Kagome could let out a denial of being Koga's woman of all things one of the birds came at them and caught Ginta up in one of its strong claws. "We've got to save him!" Kagome screamed as she looked around. On the ground nearby was a bow with three arrows and Kagome was quick to snatch them up and take aim. Sending out a prayer that her arrow would hit the mark Kagome let the arrow fly.

A beautiful pink light the color of the jewel of four souls enveloped the arrow and left a bright streak in its wake as it flew through the air. The arrow struck true and took out the right side of the beast body killing the bird instantly. It quickly fell to the ground freeing the captured wolf demon from the tight grip of its claws unharmed. A shaken Ginta took a moment to get to his feet once more and said with great relief, "Thanks, Sis."

Several of the pack ran up to them having beaten all the birds that had attacked them and focused now on regrouping. However, peace was short-lived as three more of the birds flew overhead and the wolves tensed ready to battle them from the skies like their brethren before them. A figure in red calling Kagome's name came out of the air alongside the birds and was quick to cut them down, their dead bodies crashing into the ground with great thuds while the half-demon lightly landed with hardly a sound. When Kagome saw the said half-demon she was shocked to realize she hadn't once thought of him in the last several hours. Upon seeing him Kagome began to feel awkward, as her feelings were currently knotted up in a way that left her confused. Kagome was no longer sure of anything at the moment, one wolf had completely scrambled her world into a right mess.

Sango, Miroku, and Shippo landing near Inuyasha on the back of the fire-cat Kirara distracted her for a moment and she greeted them all with great relief. However, halfway across the distance to the small group that had so easily become family, Inuyasha stopped her dead in her tracks. "Oy wench, what is that around your neck?" The Half demon asked angrily.

Before Kagome could answer Sango asked, "Forget that, Kagome what is going on here?"

Finding her answer much easier to answer Kagome ignored Inuyasha's outraged question. "We are warring against these birds that have been terrorizing Koga's pack. They keep attacking and eating anyone they can get their hands on. A great big one, nearly three sizes larger than the rest, leads them and he has a jewel shard in his mouth. Koga ran off not to long ago to face the monster."

Miroku immediately went into battle mode and told everyone to stand back as he let his wind tunnel free from its holy binding and sucked nearly twenty of the birds into the abyss within his hand giving everyone time to breathe. His actions impressed all of the wolf demons who witnessed Miroku putting his wind tunnel to good use. Kagome had a feeling he'd just made quite a few friends amongst the wolves. However, before the wolves could converge on their new friend Koga spoke up from above their heads.

"Go away mutt, I don't have time to housebreak you today. Leave now and you can live to see another day, now get out of my face." Koga snarled down at the red-clad half-demon.

"Keep dreaming you bastard, I'll make you pay for kidnapping Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled back forgetting, much to Kagome's relief, about the necklace around her neck.

Koga seemed to pause for a moment and turned his body and attention fully to the half-demon below. "This is your last chance to run away mutt. Ginta, Hakkaku, make sure the mutt keeps his paws off my woman. Don't let such filth touch her!" Then he was once again in hot pursuit of the bird with the jewel shard in its mouth. Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha all looked toward Kagome as Ginta and Hakkaku took up residence beside Kagome looking like the opposing bodyguards they were.

Miroku spoke up first, "Lady Kagome, is there any foundation for the wolf demon claiming you as his woman?"

Kagome didn't have time to answer as Ginta took that privilege away from her. "Of course there is a foundation for his claim! Boss would never claim a woman without her consent. In fact, he claimed her in front of the pack earlier today just after the little one escaped, and she didn't deny his claim once he explained the significance of such a claim on her." Both he and Hakkaku looked scandalized that Miroku even asked such a question.

Kagome found herself squirming under all five of their hard stares. Inuyasha looked particularly displeased but any lingering romantic attachment Kagome held for the halfling was squashed after he opened his mouth and said, "Don't know why the bastard would want someone like you for a mate. I just hope he doesn't ever run into Kikyo, he'd realize exactly what he was missing just by looking at her."

Kagome wanted to sit him with all her might but knew that would be petty of her. Just because Inuyasha was a hurtful bastard didn't mean she had to sink to his level. Still, the sting of his words must have shown on her face because Hakkaku pulled her closer to his side and glared at the half-demon before him. Ginta let out a low growl of anger at his words and glared at the offensive half-demon.

Then one of the wolves behind them asked, "Is that trash talking about that foul smelling mockery of a woman that made Koga and several other men of our pack vomit the moment they caught a whiff of her? I could have sworn the foul thing was addressed as Kikyo the woman who was brought back to life by unnatural means? If that is whom you speak of your senses must be very dull indeed if you are able to stand to be around her for even a moment's time."

Kagome would have kissed the man in thanks were she a lesser woman, but instead took great pleasure in the scowl Inuyasha flashed the man. However, when Kagome felt the shard again overhead she called up to Koga who had been steadily killing bird after bird while the rest of the group on the ground were cheerfully talking away. Feeling guilty Kagome called up, "Koga, the shard is fifty feet above you!"

Ignoring the others for a moment Kagome fixed her gaze upon Koga as the large bird approached. When the beast grabbed a hold of Koga's arm Kagome felt herself notching an arrow without a thought. Only when the arrow had been let loose and flew at great speeds toward the bird who had Koga's arm within its sharp fangs did Kagome realize she had fired the bow. When the pink-tinged arrow struck the monster it went through the bird-like butter and the two clean halves of its winged body fell away before the beast knew what had happened. Once it landed Kagome removed the two shards the bird had before turning her attention to the injured Koga.

Koga had landed hard and was wincing at the deep gash in his arm. Inuyasha quick to find the man weakened at a disadvantage drew his sword and approached the man. However, Kagome reached him before Inuyasha and pulled the alpha wolf close and picked up his injured arm gently. The need to heal the wolf demon in her arms surged within Kagome and without her noticing her hands began to glow. However, she noticed the skin of the man's arms knitting back together and healing and didn't have time to dwell on her hands glowing her focus on keeping whatever she was doing going until the alpha in her arms was healed.

Once Koga's arm was healed and he could focus again he looked up and caught Kagome's beautiful brown eyes, the worry in them endearing. "Mate, you truly are a wonder. Such power you hold within you to be able to take down such a foe and then to use that same power to heal me. I got careless and for that, I apologize. I promise to become stronger so that I may protect you always, however, it pleases me to know you are able to take care of yourself to such a degree."

During the speech, Koga had taken his newly healed arm and cupped Kagome's cheek with his outstretched hand making the young woman blush that deep red shade she'd turned earlier. The moment was ruined when Inuyasha yelled, "What the hell wench? Have you so easily forgotten the bastard kidnapped you this morning? Don't tell me you like that sort of behavior."

Kagome stood abruptly and scowled while shouting in Koga's defense, "Shut up, Koga has taken very good care of me while I've been in his care, and he doesn't deserve the derision you are sending his way."

"Yeah, well what about the fact that he calls you his woman? Are you claiming you don't have a problem with being his property like he claims?" Inuyasha shot back at her.

"Kagome isn't my property she is my mate, the woman I love mutt! Her belonging to me doesn't make her my property!" Koga firmly stated, inserting himself into their argument. Wolf whistles and encouragement sounded from all directions as the wolf pack gathered around their leader free at last from the tyranny of the birds of paradise. Inuyasha scowled as more than one of the wolves yelled, "You tell him, boss," alongside cries of, "That's right, educate the mutt in the ways of romance perhaps he might acquire a mate as well." However, he outright scowled when Miroku said offhandedly to Sango, "After being on the receiving end of such advances I can see why Lady Kagome has yet to protest against such advances."

"Perhaps you would have preferred if I didn't come after you, eh Kagome!? After all, you've been swayed over by a few sweet words. If that's all it takes to keep you happy perhaps I should have left you and continued to hunt the rest of the jewel down on my own, after all, who wants such an easy bitch so easily swayed?" Inuyasha jeered sharply.

"Don't tell me the fact that Koga declared love for me bugs you! What right have you to be jealous that a man has noticed me when you have repeatedly told me how inferior I am to your previous love! As you have said on numerous occasions I will never live up to the wonder that was Kikyo, so why should I try? Why try to catch your attention when it is so fixed on someone else? I have every right to enjoy another man's attention and even encourage it if I please. You have no claim on my person as I am unworthy of such a thing according to you." Kagome growled out having lost her patience with the hurtful halfling before her.

Inuyasha's ears were pinned to his head and it looked like Kagome's words had pained him greatly. Koga took Kagome's hand in his own. "Mate leave this mutt's side and stand by my own. He is not worth your loyalty. Stay with me and my pack and leave such a hurtful unworthy person behind. If he cannot see your value he doesn't deserve you!"

Kagome looked torn at what to do her feelings for Inuyasha and the wolf at her side a jumbled mess. However, upon searching Koga's eyes Kagome could see the depth of emotion in his eyes and could picture a wonderful future with him. Kagome found herself warming to such a future. It was not one she would have imagined for herself but all the better for it being outside what she had dreamed for herself. Inuyasha would never love her the way she had once hoped and after his words earlier Kagome was glad she had realized that truth. Koga, on the other hand, was more than capable of loving her in the way she had always craved, and Kagome hoped he was worth the chance she was going to give him.

The pulsing jewel shards in her hand and in Koga's legs drew her attention and Kagome knew that such a future would have to wait. "Koga, I have a duty to collect the jewel shards. I was born with the jewel inside my body and I was also the one who shattered it with a badly aimed arrow. It is my duty to collect the shards and complete the jewel once more. As a leader Koga you aren't able to go off searching the country for jewel shards with me. Until I complete my duty I cannot stay with you."

Koga leaned in and pressed his forehead against her own. "I understand Mate." Pulling back Koga turned and faced Inuyasha. "Mutt, I expect you to protect my mate with your life while she travels with you."

Inuyasha scoffed and muttered, "Whatever," and turned away with a scowl.

As it was well into the night hours Kagome and the rest of her group were invited to stay in the caves with the pack until the following morning. Inuyasha had tried to protest but he was overruled by the rest of their small group. Soon everyone was dropping to whatever available space they could find on the smooth areas of the cave's floor. Koga had pulled Kagome back to the circular area she was now intimately familiar with and helped her take off her armor. Once she was free from the weight of the armor Kagome quickly lay down in exhaustion. Koga smiled slightly before laying down beside his female, pulling her close. With the smell of the female invading his senses Koga drifted off into a deep peaceful sleep he hadn't experience in some time.