A Lifetime

Summary: It was 5 years before the well opened again. Something goes wrong.

Chapter 3:

Strange. Kagome was used to strange. She lived in a shrine with her grandfather, mother and brother. For nearly a year, she traveled around the Feudal Era with a half dog demon, a monk, a demon slayer and a small fox demon child. She helped defeatcountlessdemons
and collect the shards of a jewel that held extreme magical powers, that had laid dormant in her body. She traveled back and forth through a well beneath her house that now closed at will, and had brought her back to the wrongtime. Yes,

Kagome was very familiar with strange.

A soft whimper woke her from a deep sleep. Kagome sat up for just a moment, stretching her tired muscles, feeling for the bruised skin of her throat. Momentarily she was reminded of the large dog demon who had held her life in his hands. And his face,
HIS FACE as he had remembered the young girl she had seen always at his side. Rin.

Kagome gasped, yanking her foot back as she felt something wet and cold touch her. Her eyes adjusted to the sharp blackness of the den and she bit down hard on her lip to suppress a scream. She sat eye to eye with a large gray wolf.

She looked to her left and there was Ginta several feet away, and to her right there was Hakkaku. Both close enough that if the wolf attacked, they would know it in a heartbeat — maybe sooner. They could smell fear and danger, couldn't they? Even ifthey
were asleep. One would hope. She gulped.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she stared downthe wolf in front of her. Her body stiffened and her forehead shone with sweat. Could the wolf sense her fear too? She tried to relax her muscles and tell herself not to be afraid.

With Kouga's men at either side of her, she had no reason to fear. Right?

Her breath caught in her throat as the gray wolf at her feet took slow, padded steps toward her, only to circle once before laying down at her side. She released her breath, placing her hands in her own lap; she dared not to reach out and touchthe
/wolf. No matter how soft their fur looked.

One wolf was quickly followed by another large brown wolf, doing as the other had, so she was flanked by a wolf on each side. Just when she thought that was it, a small wolf cub, black, clambered clumsily over to her, onto her lap and onto herchest
where it looked her eye to eye.

The small wolf on her chest shivered and yipped when she did not move.Is he cold?

She did the only thing she could think to do and cuddled the cub closely. It snuggled against her chest and fell asleep. She released the breath she had been holding.

How wild this was. His wolves, Kouga's wolves were protecting her. Surely it had been one hundred years, but these had to be different wolves. Was it passed along that Kouga had claimed her as pack?

Just as Kagome thought about waking Ginta and Hakkaku, the wolves snuggled closer still. Instead of waking her sleeping companions and protectors, she trusted that they would not eat her and fell asleep.


The second time Kagome woke, it was by a deep, warm chuckle. Someone was laughing. It was almost like a memory, a noise she had heard once. It made her smile as she roused, blinking slowly into wakefulness.

The morning was bright.

Ginta stood before her, holding something wrapped in a large leaf.

"Here, Little Sister. Eat!" he offered, taking a seat beside her. "Careful, it's hot."

He placed it in her waiting hands.

"What is it?" It smelled like...

"It's boar, but cooked." He grinned proudly. "We still remember that you like it cooked."

"Ginta, thank you." Her eyes brimmed with tears. They remembered. She blinked back her watery eyes and looked up at Ginta. "Really."

"Ah it was nothin'!"

"No, it was really thoughtful that you remembered, thank you."

Kagome stood with her leaf of warm meat in her hands and moved to sit with the others outside.

She was about the sit when someone called her name. A female voice. Sucking on her meat soaked finger, she spun around to see a red haired wolf demon.

"Ayame!"

Kagome's body didn't quite know how to react. She was excited to see the red haired demoness but also remembered how territorial she had been with a certain wolf prince.

The red haired girl's face lit up. "Kagome, it is you!"

Surprised by her warm welcome, Kagome smiled back. "How are..."

Without warning, Ayame closed the distance between them and touched Kagome face, peering into her eyes so intently, entranced by her presence.

Wolf demons were not big on personal space. Not at all.

"Peculiar."

"Excuse me?"Kagome giggled nervously. She had expected a hug at most. Definitely not this.

"You - you are - young," Ayame finished, touching the other girl's face, examining her hair and looking into her eyes. "I don't - from what we've seen of humans - they don't - they only - they age much faster and - you haven't!"

The red haired demoness released her to encircle her like a predator seeking prey. Kagome's eyes followed her.

"Not only have you not aged but you are still..." She searched for the right word. "Alive."

Beads of sweat rolled down the back of Kagome's knees. Her throat felt like sandpaper. Suddenly she felt sick to her stomach. Was it the meat? How would she explain this to them? She had hardly explained it to Ginta and Hakkaku.

Ayame blinked her bright green eyes, folding her arms over her chest. "Whatever the reason, Kouga is going to be ecstatic!" She jerked her head toward Ginta. "Anybody notify boss of recent events yet? By the way, where the hellishe?"

Kagome. She was the recent events. Kouga was still their leader.

Her thoughts cleared enough that she could form a sentence, a contribution to conversation to her otherwise silence. A conversation about her.

"You thick headed morons called for him, didn't you?" Ayame said, her hands on her hips.

Kagome had a vision of Ayame standing on a rock, doing the very same thing, except yelling at Kouga. Years ago, roughly one hundred. She blinked slowly.

Ginta only stared at the fiery haired demoness, which only made her scoff impatiently. "Do I have to do everything around here?"

"W-wait, where is he again and why isn't he back yet?" Kagome asked, wiping her forehead of sweat.

Ayame's eyes grew like saucers. "You mean you idiots haven't told her! Are you kidding me?!"

Hastily Hakkaku reached out to soothe Ayame, his hand over her arm. "She only just returned. We wanted to give her a good nights sleep before I told her. She was exhausted for heavens sake!"

"Tell me? Tell me what?" Nothing made any sense. What weren't they telling her?

"Oh nothing, just how Kouga hasn't -"

Hakkaku's hand grasped Ayame's arm roughly. "Gods Ayame, cram it! You have no tact, ya know!" Then he added, "I'll take care of it."

The red haired female only ripped her arm out of Hakkaku's roughly, looking angrily up and down at at the wolf demon. "Kami, the girl deserves to know what you've brought her back to."

"Brought me back to? To what?" Kagome finally asked. Hakkaku took her gently by the elbow and guided her to a secluded area, knowing full well the others were within earshot. This was more for Kagome's sake.

"Hakkaku, where is Kouga? What aren't you telling me?" she demanded.

Hakkaku took a deep breath before he began pacing back and forth.

"Kouga is fine. He is meeting in the northern lands with their pack. He was scheduled to return in a few more nights. We were trying to think about a way to talk to you first."

Kagome spun toward him. "What did Ayame mean about 'calling for him'?"

Hakkaku sighed, rubbing his hand over his hair. "We can call for him, by howling. Like wolves. Kouga has impeccable hearing." He looked at her and then back at the mountains in the distance. "Ayame was right. We should have let him know you were

here the moment you arrived."

Kagome shrugged. She supposed it wasn't so bad. They waited, so what?

Hakkaku looked at her gravely.

"Sis, you remember we are wolves, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, of course."

He wasn't sure how to tell her this other than telling her.

"I remember when he made his claim to you that you were going to be his wife."

Kagome giggled slightly, remembering it fondly. "He was so cocky then, so sure. And... sweet, really." She thought about the time he brought her flowers, the times he rescued her from danger, and made sure she was alright. It was so unnecessary.

Hakkaku watched her eyes take on an almost glassy look.

"If he made that claim to you so publicly, I know that he must have told you."

"Told me..."

A memory appeared in her mind's eye. Of Kouga standing before her telling her something and tugging her to his side.

"Wolves mate for life." It was spoken together, both the wolf demon and Kagome.

Shock turned to dread. She had a feeling she knew where this was going. For a moment, she remembered the look on Sesshomaru's face when he told her it had been a hundred years. And then what Ayame had said so brashly before.

"I — I don't..."

"He is still holding onto that claim. From years - a hundred years ago," she announced, understanding. For her it had only been a few years, but for him...

Nausea engulfed her in waves. "He can't... I was gone... And he didn't... Hakkaku, what if I hadn't come back? What if I never came back?"

Hakkaku shrugged. "I suppose he might have died alone. Claiming is instinct, Sis. Deeper rooted than any other basic instinct. Before food or rest or protecting the pack."

"But I was... There was... I told him...Inuyasha..."

From what little she was able to get out, Hakkaku pieced the two together. "You loved the hanyou, which doesn't normally happen. That our intended loves another. So Kouga made himself content with making sure you were safe, checking up on you."

"But he never... He never... All this time..." She felt faint.

"He never took another mate."

Kagome blinked. How awful a life to live. Alone without your intended.

"Why?"

Hakkaku looked at her squarely, placing a clawed hand on her shoulder. "I know you don't understand instinct but he loves you in a way that goes beyond compare to human love. If it came down to it, he would die for you. He would sooner step over my dead
/body to get to

is no other."

Kagome couldn't understand. Hakkaku spoke all of this in present tense. Like Kouga was still crazy in love with her. It just wasn't possible.

Hakkaku kicked at the dirt and sighed audibly. "He doesn't speak of you as often. Doesn't want us to worry." He smirked. "But I still hear him say your name in his sleep."

"Oh Kouga." Her heart ached. How he had loved her and carried on loving her for one hundred years through another male and her disappearance... How did one survive such a thing.

She was unsure of what to do with his feelings or with what she felt. Would it be so bad if she tried to learn more? Was there a reason she was stuck in this era again?

A howl was heard in the distance. A wolf. Ginta perhaps. Hakkaku explained, "They're calling him to come back."

Could he really hear that far away? Hakkaku said his hearing wasimpeccable.

Kagome moved to stop the others but Hakkaku put his hand out in front of her. "But what if he's in the midst of something important? They shouldn't - I have to!"

She needed more time. To think.

Hakkaku chuckled warmly. "Nothing could be more important than this. Trust me, he will want to know about this."

"When do you think he will he be back?"

"Maybe a day. He always runs the fastest for you."

Kagome didn't pretend to know anything about wolves, but she knew a little. First thing, scent and touch were important. They sort of went together. She thought about all the small touches Ginta and Hakkaku had given her. Nothing romantic at all,

just small geatures of care, little touches here and there. Handing her food or water, waking her, protecting her. For God's sake, Hakkaku had carried her back here.

"Hakkaku, where can I take a bath?"

His ears reddened at her request. "You want to bathe?" He waved a hand at her to follow him, his cheeks pink. "I'll show you."