Chapter 6 An Unexpected Discussion

Koga shivered in Inuyasha's arms, opening his eyes as the warm water of the pool he had found revived him a little, smiling up at him dreamily.

Inuyasha smiled back, kissing him on the lips gently as he spun slowly in a circle through the water, letting go of Koga's feet so that he could stand up, pulling him into his arms and holding him close when he did so.

Koga snuggled deeper into his arms, resting his head on his shoulder for a moment, then pulling away reluctantly, grinning at him as he started to wash himself clean of the smell of sex.

Inuyasha smiled back, and, after a moment's hesitation, started to do the same quickly.

Then they both climbed out of the water and dried off, putting their clothes back on carefully, not wanting to be disheveled-looking and draw unwanted attention to their new relationship in front of Koga's Tribe.

They linked their hands together as they walked the several miles back to the cave slowly, wanting to prolong being alone just a while longer, smiling at each other through the darkness as the walked.

They paused for a moment just outside the entrance, Inuyasha pulling him back into the shadows and kissing him briefly, knowing that they couldn't touch each other again until they were inside Koga's small cave alone, Koga smiling against his lips, content to just be held and kissed like this forever.

"Inuyasha?"

"Yes?"

"When we go inside, can you go to my cave without me for a few minutes?"

"Well, yes, but, why?"

"Because my Tribe will undoubtedly sense the difference in my scent now that I have taken a Mate. They'll want to congratulate me and ask questions. They won't know that it's you though, because we have not fully-mated yet."

"We haven't?" Inuyasha asked in confusion.

"No," Koga answered, blushing as he looked away. "I have accepted you inside me, but you haven't accepted me yet."

"You don't have to," he continued quickly, warily, seeing Inuyasha's expression.

"It's not really necessary, more like optional. Most Matings are between a male and a female, and, obviously, they can't do what we can. If you did accept me, it would make the bond stronger, but I would never try to make you do something that you did not want to do…"

"I know you wouldn't, Ko. If… If I accept you… Will they know? Will they make you leave? Choose a new Leader to take your place?"

"I don't know. It depends on whether or not they want me to remain Leader enough to accept my… Romantic inclinations… There have been some exceptions made in the past for this sort of thing, but not many. Most were… Cast out of the Tribe to wander on their own with their Mate until both of their deaths… I know it seems harsh… But wolves are all about family, and, well… We can't have any children… We are taught from birth to see what we have together as a weakness, and as being wrong…"

Inuyasha sighed softly, pulling Koga into a gentle-embrace, wrapping his arms around him tenderly.

"How can love in any form be wrong? Love is beautiful… And family is not always about babies… Many lovers never have them, either because they physically cannot for some reason, or because they don't want them. Children are a lot of responsibility…"

'Yes, they are, but they can be fun sometimes as well…"


Ginta and Hokaku looked up as Koga came into the cave with Inuyasha, standing up together and walking over to him quickly.

"Koga, we need to talk to you," Ginta said quietly.

"Yes, we-" Hokaku began, his words cut off as he stiffened at the hint of sweetness that he smelled in Koga's scent.

That has not been there this morning.

"Koga, you've-"

"I'll be right back," their Leader replied, striding past them, disappearing into his cave with Inuyasha.

Inuyasha followed Koga into his cave, shivering slightly in reaction as the wolf-demon kissed him gently, slipping his arms around him for a moment, and then releasing him reluctantly.

"I shouldn't be long."

"I'll be waiting."

Koga smiled at that, his blue eyes soft with emotion as he kissed him again briefly, nodding as he left quickly.


The Tribe watched with curious eyes as Koga came back out of his cave, walking over to Ginta and Hokaku confidentially.

He appeared to be more settled then usual, and more at peace with himself then he had in a long time.

They had all been really worried about his mental and physical health for a while, but now, well, he seemed almost back to normal.

And now this.

Something that they weren't sure would ever happen considering his past slightly arrogant behavior.

"Koga, you have chosen a Mate," Hokaku said in surprise.

"Yes, I know that, oddly enough. I was there, after all," he said, forcing amusement into his voice.

"But, we never thought that you actually would," Ginta said bluntly.

"Why?" Koga asked with genuine-puzzlement.

"So I'm a little wild-natured. That just means that it took someone very special to finally tame me. As much as I can be tamed, that is. I'll probably always be a little feisty no matter how old I become. It's just who I am."

"Is it Kagome? "How did you get around Inuyasha?"

"I didn't have to get around him," he answered, wanting to be as truthful as possible with them. "Because it's not Kagome."

Koga grinned to himself mentally. He didn't have to get around Inuyasha in the way that they were thinking, but he had gotten around the man anyway… And it had been spectacular. He couldn't wait to do it again.

"Then who is it?"

"I'd rather not say just yet. It's not completely certain."

"You mean," Ginta asked in concern. "That she hasn't accepted your mark?, your dominance yet?"

"No, but it's only a matter of time."

"You seem pretty confident of that fact," Hokaku commented, dismay in his eyes for the position that his Leader and friend had been placed in because of this situation, knowing how venerable male wolf-demons became while they were trying to pay court to a female.

"I am."

"What if she doesn't submit to you?"

Koga faked a shudder reluctantly, pretending to flinch at the question, wanting to end this conversation now as quickly as possible so that he could go and be with Inuyasha again.

He realized that he might have overdone it when he saw the concern in their eyes deepen into pure-worry at his actions.

"I-I don't know what will happen. I think I might be okay, but…" he shivered, trailing off purposefully. "I-I can't talk about this anymore… I'm tired…"

Ginta and Hokaku nodded.

"Maybe you should sleep tonight instead of staying up and talking with Inuyasha," Ginta suggested.

Koga blinked at that, narrowing his eyes at them.

"Just what do you mean by that? Are you telling me what to do?"

"No," Hokaku gasped, looking shocked at his Leader's words. "We only worry for you Koga. You're our friend."

"What else are we supposed to think that you were doing? Inuyasha never left last night."

"Meet me outside the cave," Koga said, forcing icy-coldness into the tones of his voice. "Both of you."

"But, Koga, we just-"

"Are you arguing with me?"

"No, but-"

He lowered his voice even more, despising himself for the hint of desperation in his tone.

"If you are truly my friends, then you will meet me outside the cave. Please, don't draw anymore attention to me then you already have."

They glanced at each other in shock, but they nodded.

"Alright, we'll go outside."

Koga nodded curtly, barely keeping himself together as he strode away, his previously peaceful expression replaced with a fierce look that dared anyone to approach him without a real need.

He slipped outside, moving far enough away from the cave's entrance that they wouldn't be overheard, waiting for Ginta and Hokaku to join him.

He heard them come up behind him, but he didn't react other then by swishing his tail back and forth through the air briefly, telling them with his body-language that they could speak before their Leader did without expecting chastisement.

"Koga? Whatever's wrong, whatever's bothering you, you can trust us."

"There is no woman."

"What?" Ginta asked in confusion.

"There is no woman."

"You don't have a Mate? But, your scent?…"

"Yes, I have a Mate, but… He's not a woman, and he's not the submissive- partner in our relationship, I am. I spent last night sleeping in Inuyasha's arms..."

He expected to feel their disgust at his confession to weigh heavily in the air around him, so he was extremely-shocked to scent a brief hint of arousal on the air from both of them.

"You're a submissive? But, how?"

"Yeah, there can't be many demons out there stronger then you are."

"No, there aren't many. Inuyasha is one of them."

"You approached him about it?" Ginta asked in disbelief.

"No, he approached me, but I'm still the submissive. How do you two know so much about this anyway? Both of you have normal mates. You have had them for years."

"Yes, we have," Hokaku agreed. "But not normal mates. Each other. Ginta is my Mate."

"Hokaku," Ginta gasped in protest. "Why did you tell him? Now we'll lose our place in the Tribe."

Koga turned to face them finally, his blue eyes serious but amused as well.

"The only way that will happen is if I lose my place as the Tribe's Leader.

I don't want to, but, at the same time, I do. It would be so much easier if all that I had to worry about was making Inuyasha happy. I'd better go back inside now. He'll be waiting for me. But we'll talk later, alright?"

"Of course, Koga. We can talk to you whenever you want us to."