Wolf's Rain is copyright to BONES/ Nobumoto Keiko; Nikki belongs to me.

**side note (so as not to have my readers confused on who's speaking, wolf or human):

'talk' - wolf speech

"talk" - human speech

A Wolf Protects It's Own - Part Two

"Can I ask you something?"

He paused short of exiting another alley to see she had hung back a little, a hand on her arm as it rubbed the limb gingerly, her eyes staring at the alley wall next to her; he cocked his head to the side. "Shoot."

She valiantly ignored the pink staining her cheeks, looking up at him. "Back in Freeze City, the day we left, you told Tsume that you would take me to Paradise… with you, and the boys. Did… did you say that just to aggravate him, or what?" She asked quietly, keeping her stare on his green eyes.

He blinked once at her question before his stare softened.

How sweet, she was showing her belly.

Of course he never imagined she would be vulnerable around him; did she really like him just as much as he did her..?

"If I wanted to piss him off, I coulda just told him you were carrying my pups." He saw her cheeks flare red at his words, feeling his own face burn at his blunt remark.

She shrank back a little behind the wall and huffed, her eyes jerking away. "So you were serious." She mumbled.

He nodded, smiling slightly. "Why did you ask about it in the first place? Or were you that curious?" He asked, tilting his head to one side.

She folded her arms at her chest and leaned into the alley wall. "Partially curious, mostly… well, flattered. Never had another male want to take me to Paradise, let alone try and protect me from a wrinkled old dog like that Zoli bloke." She scratched her cheek meekly, blushing again.

He smirked and drew closer to her. "I meant what I said, that day, about taking you to Paradise. You're the only female I've met that's tough as nails… and drives me crazy." He blushed slightly and allowed the smirk to faintly tug at his lips, seeing her cheeks redden.

Nikki felt her body stiffen at having him so close, subconsciously bristling. "H-how do I drive you crazy?" She stammered.

Good fuck, why was she getting so tongue-tied with him? This was Kiba, for the moon's sake! He wasn't her mate, he was just her friend… Wasn't he?

"Your punches hurt like hell, and I've seen you fight your way out of a situation. You're beautiful, Nikki. And you care, if not about your brother, then about the boys, and me." Kiba hummed quietly, gingerly lifting a hand to brush some hair from her cheek.

She shivered and closed her eyes. "Kiba," she murmured.

He briefly lifted a brow at the expression. "What's wrong? You're not afraid, are you?" He pulled his hand back to look at her with concern.
Did he move too fast? Did she have bad experiences with men…? Was she really afraid, and if she was… was she afraid of him?

"N-no, I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid of anything, or anyone." She blurted out, opening her eyes sharply to look at him stubbornly, blue eyes blazing in response to his challenge.

Kiba inwardly smiled at her expected answer, hesitating to stroke her cheek. "I won't push you if you don't want… y'know, me." He mentally kicked himself; what kind of idiot was he? He had wanted her for what felt like a century! He was a total dumbass to say such a thing…

Nikki squared her shoulders. "I do!" She hesitated, blushing deeply. "I… I do want you. Kiba." She whispered his name, sending a round of chills racing down his spine to his tail.

"Then stay with me." He requested softly, cupping her cheek with a gentle hand and lifting his thumb to trace an invisible circle on the corner of her left cheekbone.

She trembled for another reason entirely. "K-Kiba…" She quieted and looked at his paler hand on her olive-skinned cheek. "Promise you won't leave me. I know it's a lot to ask, especially since you seemed pretty excited about seeing the Flower Maiden…" She lowered her gaze to his sneakers.

Kiba mentally grimaced at hearing her doubt herself, as well as his fidelity. "Wolves mate for life, you know that." He growled softly.

Nikki nodded. "I know." She murmured in the same tone.

He pressed his forehead to hers, closing his eyes with a soft groan. "Don't leave my side, not even if we die before we reach Paradise… Please." He leaned a little onto her body.

She blushed darkly before lifting her hands to flatten her palms on the back of his strong shoulders, holding onto him. "I won't leave." She promised.

Kiba nodded and leaned in a little to kiss her, crushing his lips gently against her own, knowing that if he kissed harder he would leave a bruise.

Nikki groaned softly and bunched her fingers in his jacket, kissing back tenderly as her eyes closed and she slackened in his arms that wrapped around her waist.

He knew he'd be howling to the heavens if he could, deepening the kiss, maintaining his gentle onslaught but at an eager pace that she easily caught up to, the breath leaving them as somewhere in the kiss their tongues began to wrestle for dominance.

She backed down first, pulling back to let a moan escape her as she held onto him, her fingers curling in the shaggy locks of brown hair.

He smiled proudly and happily at leaving her breathless, panting a little as he pulled her in for a closer embrace, squeezing the small of her back with both arms as he nuzzled into her neck.

Nikki mewled slightly in response before relaxing in his arms, smiling softly at the happiness that radiated from the stronger wolf, running her fingers through his hair and nosing his cheek.

Before he knew it, Kiba had marked her neck with a small nip, earning a slight squeak from the almighty she-wolf that made him chuckle as he ignored the gentle chest-smack the flustered female delivered, ducking to tend to the mark and make it visible enough for her brother to see, for any male to see that he had marked her.

She was his now, and he was dead-set on taking her to Paradise now more than ever.

:::::::oOo::::::::

"It's not safe for two lovebirds like you to be walkin' around at night." One of the wolves jeered.

The voice of Fat-nose made her bristle on reflex. "Should move with your pack of worthless brats!"

Kiba stopped walking, as did Nikki, the latter holding onto his elbow by her arm looped with his. "What're you guys doing, standing around without a damn-well purpose?" He drawled, shooting a cold glare at the group of five huddled around the burning fire.

Fat-nose stiffened. "What'd you say?" He growled.

Nikki fingered the handle of her switchblade in the left pocket of her jacket, smirking. "Must be goin' deaf AND senile, old dog. A dog without a purpose is beneath a wolf proud of whom he is… Six feet below, actually." She sneered, hackles bristling beneath her human skin as she ached to drop her guise and fight.

The pack of five turned to circle the couple. "Why you smart-mouthed little whore…" Fat-nose snarled softly as the air became electric with dense tension.

Kiba flashed his teeth as Nikki drew to stand at his side loyally, a soft growl humming in the air before one of the five struck with a loud bark.

Splitting up, the white wolf ducked a swing from one wolf, right foot crashing into his attacker and tossing him away as he sucker-punched the face of the second wolf and sent him staggering back until crashing into a trash can, shaking his hand aimlessly.

She snarled as she rammed a knee into the gut of the lankier fat-nosed wolf, sending him flying as she kicked the legs from beneath another wolf, grunting when a hard punch delivered by the fat-nosed instigator sent her staggering back, blood dripping from her broken nose.

Moonlight glinted off the edge of her switchblade as she bared her teeth and stiff-leggedly circled Fat-nose.

Fat-nose thundered a growl and flew at her, aiming a fist at her gut; she rolled out of the way, tripping him with her right ankle and sending him tumbling.

Nikki rammed him into the aluminum wall, her knife jammed into his right shoulder, making him growl in pain; her blue eyes were no longer sky blue but steely silver, feeling Kiba watching from behind. "I'm the head bitch of this pack. If you screw with me again, I'll rip your throat open." She thundered frigidly, twisting the blade into his shoulder before dropping him, letting him slump onto the ground.

Kiba grabbed her hand and sprinted away as Nikki followed until they were running side-by-side into the darkness.

She let loose a howl of victory once they were far enough away from the alcove, grinning like an idiot as he howled with her, launching herself at him in a hug.

He yelped when they fell to the ground, laughing at having her in his arms and managing to escape without much of a scratch, grinning at her.

Nikki smiled fondly at the happy expression on his face, leaning down a little to press her lips to his.

Giddy with fading adrenaline and his instincts screaming at him to claim her, Kiba eagerly kissed back.

After having been officially made his, she felt as if she was walking on Cloud 9.
She only hoped this feeling would never end…

The sight before them seemed to completely erase that giddy feeling from her mind; she blanched slightly.

A pack of sled dogs –no, these weren't dogs, they were wolves!—had stopped pulling a sleigh carrying goods and supplies to the train, most of them semi-circled around the collapsed form of that old wolf from the graveyard.

"Gramps," she breathed softly.

Angered at this outrageous scene, her companion spirited ahead of her towards the humans that were whipping at the old wolf.

"KIBA!" She shouted, widening her eyes when Zoli dropped on him and wrestled him to the ground, snapping at his throat and trying to force him into submission; her fists shook at her sides.

With a deafening snarl she hurtled into the older leader, latching her teeth into his mane and scrambling onto his back, claws raking into his fur as she rode him with her tail in the air and loud snarls erupting from her throat.

Something sharp and quick lashed out at her from the side, briefly steering her attention away from forcing the older wolf to back down, the same feeling hitting her again, only harder this time.

With a growl she realized the humans had turned their attention to her.

Kiba flew at the one with the whip, fangs snapping the wrist bone effortlessly and forcing the man to cry out and drop the whip, pulling away from the angered wolf.

Zoli rammed his back into a wall, making the she-wolf on his back cry out in pain before she released his pelt of her claws and fangs, limply dropping to the floor.

Nikki growled defiantly, glowering into his gold eyes before a streak of white crashed into him, diverting his attention away from his mate.

"Nikki!" She shook her head softly at hearing the bark, seeing her brother having dropped down from the bridge overhead to land nimbly infront of her; a soft whine escaped her as she felt his calloused hand run its fingers through her black fur, lowering her ears.

Tsume huffed softly and lifted her into his arms, carrying the slightly-pained female away and back to the boys.

:::::::oOo:::::::

He stood against the mausoleum doorway with his arms folded over his chest. "How're you holding up?" He asked.

She winced slightly at the bandages wrapped around her middle, shrugging her tank top back on and feeling inwardly relieved that she had maintained keeping a bra all these years. "I've had worse." She replied.

Her mate rubbed the scratched cheek gingerly. "Ditto." He muttered.

He sent him a scowl; Hige and Toboe had gone to look for food, leaving the trio behind with Tsume as the babysitter. "You know this is your fault." He growled.

"Tsume, please," she began.

"No, listen. If the both of you hadn't pulled that stunt, we'd be long gone from here by now! It's because of you that my baby sister got hurt by that old fuck, and she's got the fucking bandages to prove it…!"

"Don't you think I know that already!?" Kiba snarled, glaring at him. "I know it's because of me she got hurt, and I hate myself for it! I don't need your smart-ass mouth reminding me about it, Tsume." He narrowed his eyes.

Tsume bared his fangs. "Is that a threat?" He snarled frostily, stepping away from his post.

Nikki scrambled to skid to a halt between them, putting her arms out and slightly surprising both males.

"Nikki," Kiba began softly behind her.

"Enough, both of you! Whoever is at fault, it doesn't matter right now, does it? We're still alive, and not being used as some human's work dog. So give it a rest, already! Please." She pleaded, scowling up at her brother and feeling her mate's eyes on her back.

Tsume gritted his teeth and looked away. "Fuck, you're such an idiot…" He growled.

Nikki quieted and smiled softly, lifting a hand to pat his right cheek. "I get it from you, remember?" She half-joked.

Kiba smiled slightly at the tension that evaporated when the mighty gray wolf practically melted at her plea, sitting back against the wall.

He tousled her hair, pulling her left cheek reproachfully. "You're still not off the hook." He reminded.

She pouted at him. "Now what?" She demanded.

"I can smell that idiot's stink on you, Nik." He deadpanned, seeing her cheeks flare red as said male coughed awkwardly behind her.

Nikki huffed and hooked her thumbs in the pockets of her jeans. "So what? Kiba's mine, just as much as I'm his. Get used to it, nii-san." She rebutted coolly.

Tsume stuck his tongue out. "Excuse me while I go puke," he grumbled, ignoring the chuckle from his sister.

"Is your back better?" He asked behind her, perking her ears.

She turned to smile at him, crouching to stroke his scratched cheek, seeing him valiant fight a wince; she smiled again. "Softie." She teased quietly.

Kiba smirked and ran a hand through her hair. "Don't patronize me." He pouted, seeing her laugh softly.

Tsume turned a glance at the couple and felt himself smile at noting that his sister looked happy, especially now that she had finally found someone to make her happy.

The trio blinked simultaneously when a blur of brown dove into the mausoleum, skidding to a halt short of the gray wolf's front.

"Toboe?" Kiba blinked.

The brown pup gripped his knees from running so far and fast, panting slightly. "B-boy, I'm glad you guys are still here!" He rasped.

She went to grab her jacket, shrugging it on; she paused in pulling on the right sleeve as she vaguely had the sense that something was off.
Why did Toboe come back alone? Didn't Hige go with him…?

Both males exchanged a brief look once noting the pudgy wolf wasn't present. "Where's Porky?" The gray wolf asked.

"That's the problem; he got caught in a trap!" Toboe answered as she finished pulling her jacket back on.

The three older wolves perked their ears.

"He can get himself out of it by fooling the idiots that set the trap, can't he?" Nikki wondered, turning to look at the pup; a slight hitch in her chest formed at seeing the worried expression on his young face, making her bite her lower lip.

"But he can't, he was knocked out by the wolves, the ones that live here!" He flailed.

Kiba's brow furrowed as Tsume and Nikki swore in unison; he looked at his mate. "Can you run?" He asked.

She nodded once. "Let's go."

The pack of four hurried out of the mausoleum and into town.

Even though this place stunk to high heaven, she was glad to be leaving.

"You're not coming with us, then." He guessed of the older wolf, earning a brief look from her.

He stared forward into the darkened tunnel. "Nah, but I like to think that, in the end, there're those that can make it to Paradise, and there're others that can't. I'm convinced of that: and it's time for you to find out if there is a Paradise at the end of this road."

She nodded a little. It only seemed fair…

"Now that I think on it, you don't act much like a wolf." Her brother mused aloud.

"Tsume," their leader reproached as she cocked a brow at his words.

He scowled slightly at him. "A wolf protects its own; it's not normal for another wolf to care for a pack that isn't his."

Zoli huffed wryly. "Well maybe I have fallen." He mused.

Nikki elbowed her brother gently, looking at him and smiling faintly. "Even if you're not, you did a kind thing by helping us get Hige back. Thank you." She nodded her head down a bit out of courtesy.

Kiba blinked in slight surprise.

"You put up a hell of a fight earlier at the station. Good to know there are still some tough alpha females around." He returned the nod, smirking slightly.

She huffed and smirked back. "See you around," she mused, taking off down the tunnel with a cheeky bounce in her step, tail bobbing in the air like a flag as she took the lead, the four males of her pack following shortly until she was once again between her brother and her mate.

and there's the end of that arc. now it's time for the main event! chapter seven is in the works, my dear readers, so sit tight! until then, feel free to review~. ;D

**answer to reviews (i'm gonna make sure i do my best to keep this up for future chapters, just to let you know):

to evewolf123 - lol Tsume is an ass but he's a good egg deep down.. y'know, once the pole is removed from his ass. xDD and i know, i hate cliffhangers too. always leaving you in suspense.. but they're also good to use if making a part in your fic a two-parter. ^^'

and to Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 - thanks, more to come so look forward to it! ^^