Ok, this is going to be a very short chapter, but I promised to write more tonight and I plan on keeping my word! I do have a lot to do though, and I am REALLY tired, so don't expect much. I just thought that I would at least give you all a little closure, since that last chapter was kind of a cliff hanger.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer- Again- I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

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Kagome awoke with a start. 'Where am I?' She wondered as last night's events slowly flooded back to her. Her head throbbed with pain, and she could still feel the sharp sting of the wounds that Inuyasha had inflicted upon her. Her hand unconsciously went to the wound on her shoulder blade, and she noticed that it had been bandaged. Not only that, but someone had replaced her missing shirt with another, more furry shirt. She also couldn't help but notice that she was lying on a bed. It was nothing fancy, just a pile of straw, with a large fur thrown over the top. 'Kouga was the one that saved me… does that mean that I am at his den?' She asked herself. 'Was he really able to defeat Inuyasha in his full demon form?' She shifted her gaze to the corner, where she could barely make out Kouga's sleeping form. It was still early, and the sun wouldn't rise for another hour or so. 'So I guess that means he is okay.'

She attempted to get up and check on him- she knew that he had sustained some heavy injuries in the fight- but her own wounds restricted her range of motion. As she sat up, she felt one of the wounds in her side begin to re-open, and a trail of fresh blood trickled down the side of her hip. A small whimper of pain escaped her lips as she lay back down on the furs, abandoning her mission.

"Kagome?" Kouga questioned, after hearing her whimper. "Are you awake?" Immediately he was at her side. Having smelled the blood, he was overcome with worry.

"How are your wounds?"

She looked up at him, taking notice of the worry evident in his eyes. "They're healing." She replied softly. "How are you holding up?"

He smiled at the question. "You don't have to worry about me Kagome. Just focus on getting better." Silence fell upon them, and Kouga stayed by Kagome's side, watching her stare blankly at the ceiling above them.

"Kouga?" Kagome asked after a few moments had passed. "Thanks. For everything. And… I'm sorry." She added quietly.

"Sorry for what? Kagome, you have nothing to be sorry for." Kouga responded.

"I'm sorry that you had to get involved in all this. I'm sorry that you got hurt because of me… and… I'm sorry that I let this happen."

"Kagome, I would never let anything happen to you. There's no need to apologize for my injuries- I did what I had to do. And it's not your fault that that damn mutt doesn't know how to respect boundaries. It's his fault Kagome, not yours." He replied sternly. "If anything, I should be apologizing to you."

She looked into his eyes, genuinely confused. "For what?"

"If I had gotten there earlier, he never would have hurt you in the first place. I said hat I would always protect you, and I let you down." He was looking at the floor now, ashamed of himself.

Kagome's hand reached out for his, since she was still unable to sit up enough to actually hug him. "Kouga, you didn't let me down. How can you say that? You saved me. I'm just glad that you came at all. His prayer beads were gone… if you hadn't showed up, I don't think I could have stopped him." Her voice grew softer as she finished her statement. Images of her being attacked and violated by her former companion seeped back into her memory. Tears pricked the corner of her eyes, threatening to spill onto her rosy cheeks. 'I can't cry.' She thought to herself. 'I don't want Kouga to think that I am even more stupid and weak than he already does. I can't even defend myself.' She thought sadly. A lone tear managed to escape from one of her sapphire orbs, and she hastily brushed it off with the back of her hand. Kouga was quick to take notice of the action however, and intertwined his fingers with hers, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sorry for what he did to you. I swear on my very life that I will never let him hurt you again." He vowed.

"Thanks Kouga, that really means a lot to me." She said, blinking away any of the remaining teardrops.

It was silent for a brief moment, and all that could be heard was the shifting of clothing as Kagome re-adjusted her new fur garb. It was a strange fit, and the stitches rubbed against her wounds, irritating them in an almost painful way.

"I'm sorry about the wardrobe. We don't exactly keep a lot of women's clothing around here… I just had one of the wolves quickly put something together for you when we arrived. I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do for now." Kouga voiced.

"No, it's great- really." She assured him, looking down at the garment. She gave a soft giggle when she noticed that it looked more like a lopsided poncho than an actual shirt. He chuckled at her response, easily seeing through the false kindness in her forged compliment.

'She's always so kind hearted, even in these circumstances.' He thought to himself.

"Well, it's certainly better than nothing." She added.

'I don't know about that…' Kouga thought as he remembered how she looked in her lacy black bra. He shook his head, clearing those thoughts from his mind. 'I can't be thinking like that- she's already been through so much.' Her sweet scent was still tempting him, but he pushed the thought of it aside, remembering to focus on the bigger issue. He loved her more than he could say, and he wanted to do what was best for her, and make sure that she was happy. He couldn't be thinking dirty thoughts while she was in pain.

"Hey Kouga… If you don't mind me asking…" Kagome ventured "What exactly happened after I passed out? I mean, between you and Inuyasha?"

Kouga sighed. He knew this question was coming, but he was still a bit unprepared. He wanted to do this gently, without upsetting her.

"Well, the mutt is alive, but he was injured pretty badly in the fight. He didn't want to back down, but I had to stop him. I needed to get you out of the danger. I had to take a few more hits, but I managed to knock him unconscious after a while." He paused letting her absorb the information, then continued. "He's taking some time to lick his wounds, but he'll be back." He warned. "Kagome... do you know what happened to him? How did Inuyasha turn full demon?"

"His demon blood takes over when his life is in danger. He will kill until the threat is eliminated. It can only happen when he doesn't have his tetsusaiga. I'm not sure when he lost it, or what caused him to turn full demon. He left when I was sleeping. When he came back, he was fully transformed and his prayer beads were missing." She informed him. Kouga let this information sink in, fully absorbing everything. Kagome yawned, stretching and letting out a strangled cry as the wound on her shoulder began to re-open as well.

"Kagome! You should be more careful. Your wounds are still healing." He said as he carefully brushed her bangs from her forehead. He let his fingertips linger on her jaw line, tracing the soft contours of her face. "You need to rest now. You've barely slept since we've been here."

She didn't protest, and sleep soon claimed her. As her eyelids fluttered closed, Kouga leaned over and gently kissed her forehead before moving back to his spot in the corner. He wanted to keep watch over her while she rested, at least until the others awoke.

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Inuyasha picked him self off of the forest floor, feeling like he had been hit by a ton of bricks. 'Just what the hell happened last night?' He tried to remember something- anything that would give him a clue as to why he was beaten and bloody on the forest floor, but he came up with nothing. 'The last thing I can remember is talking to Kikyo. I was going to leave. I told her that I had to get back to Kagome…'

'Wait a minute…' "Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, forgetting that he had left her at the camp last night. He dashed back to the campsite as fast as his battered body would allow him, but all he found was an abandoned sleeping bag and a smoldering campfire. "Kagome!" He yelled again, driven by desperation. Again, his ears were met with silence, telling him that she was no where to be found. A strong gust of wind swept through the clearing, bringing Kagome's scent to his nose. He began to panic when he noticed that her usual scent was mixed with fear and blood. He followed the scent, winding through the forest until he came upon the spot where he had unknowingly assaulted her.

Fear gripped his heart as he spotted her bloody, torn shirt discarded on the ground. He frantically resumed his search, sniffing around for another scent that would tell him who could have done this. He followed Kagome's scent trail, which revealed that she had run from her attacker even deeper into the forest. The next scent he picked up was… Kouga's.

'I'll kill that scrawny wolf.' He told himself as he growled low in his throat. His wounds weren't healed, but he didn't care. He ran in the direction of the wolf den, thinking that Kouga had harmed and kidnapped Kagome.

'I'm coming Kagome.'

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Finished! Ok- I know it was short. Give me a break! It's 2 am and I am wrecked! I have to wake up at 5 am, so I am hoping to get just a little bit of rest. This chapter was mostly fluff, but I just wanted to be able to bring the first chapter to a close. Come on, that was a lot of action for one short chapter!

Speaking of which, I might go back and add more detail when this story is completed. I realized how sparsely I used detail, and how I hurried the plot along a bit too quickly… But that will have to wait for another day!

Anyways, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! PLEASE review, and I'll make sure to keep those new chapters coming!