**Damsel in Distress, and A Hero's Reward**

"Why did I have to open my big mouth!" Koga yelled, slapping his forehead with his palm.

"I wouldn't worry so much, Koga." Shippo said. "At least you apologized already; when Inuyasha ever made her mad, he would never apologize, and she still forgave him." Koga looked down at the fox kit who was trying to console him.

"Is that right?" He asked. Shippo nodded.

"That's right. She'll be back soon, and she'll be fine." Shippo assured him. Shigoru watched them both as they talked, deciding they could easily be father and son in time, once his and Shippo's individual parents mated. As they sat there, Ginta and Hakkaku entered the clearing, laughing about something or other, and approached their Alpha where he sat with the pups an the kit.

"Hey Koga, Ginta and I are about to hunt down dinner, wanna come wi-Koga, are you alright?" Hakkaku started lightly, but once he caught the look on Koga's face, he sobered immediately. Koga shrugged and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, I'll go with you guys, and I'll tell you what happened on the hunt." Koga said, getting to his feet. "Pups, go find Moyakari and stay with her until we get back." Koga said, and the pups agreed, following Koga's example and standing.

"What about me, Koga?" Shippo said. Koga smiled down at him.

"You're Kagome's son, right?" Koga asked, and Shippo nodded happily. "Well, Kagome is pack now, especially since I'm courting her, making you pack too. So when I say pups, I mean you too." Koga explained with a fanged grin. Shippo returned it, his small heart swelling with joy. He could easily see why Shigoru looked on Koga as a father.

If Kagome does end up mating him, he'll be my father, too…and Shigoru will be my brother. He thought, turning to the wolf pup. Shigoru glanced at Shippo once he noticed his eyes on him, and smiled at the fox. Shippo returned it, and decided that Shigoru was nice and fun to be around, and having him as a brother wouldn't be bad at all. But before they could be brothers, their parents had to mate.

As Koga, Ginta, and Hakkaku headed for the trees, Shippo cleared his throat at Shigoru as they and the other pups started up the path to the caves.

"I'll help you, Shigoru. We'll get our parents to mate, and then we'll be brothers." Shippo stated with a smirk. Shigoru beamed at him.

"Great! Once we have some time alone, we'll start working out our plan." Shigoru replied, and the two walked side by side, each thinking of ways to push their parents closer together.

As the five younglings walked up the path, they spotted Kagome sitting calmly outside of Moyakari's cave. She smiled at them and got to her feet as they approached.

"Hey, guys…where did the adults go?" She asked. Shigoru answered first.

"They went to hunt dinner, and sent us to Moyakari so we would be supervised. Kagome, are you still mad at Alpha Koga?" He added, turning his best puppy eyes up at her.

Kagome giggled a bit at the boy who so clearly cared about Koga, and shook her head.

"I'm not that mad, but your Alpha Koga needs to think before he speaks." She said with an attempt at being stern, but the boy's cheerful nature was far too infectious. Shippo grinned up at her.

"At least he's not as bad as Inuyasha! Inuyasha never apologized to you." Shippo said.

Kagome's face fell, and Shippo regretted his words at once. Apparently, no one could so much as mention the hanyou to her without her getting upset.

"Sorry, Mama…" Shippo said quietly, rubbing his arm.

"Don't worry, Shippo, it's not that, it's just…you're right. Inuyasha would never apologize right off the bat when he messed up, and getting him to apologize at all was like pulling teeth." Kagome said thoughtfully.

"A male should always make his woman happy." Shigoru said in simple defense of his Alpha.

Kagome considered his words a moment. She had always hated how dismissive and often cruel Inuyasha could be to her, and Koga was exactly the opposite. He was always attentive, considerate, observant and caring. She smiled to herself; no wonder she liked him.

At least I have good reason to like him, and not just 'he likes me, so I should like him'. She thought. She had been a bit worried that she was only starting to like Koga as a sort of "replacement" for Inuyasha. This helped her see that she was starting to like him for who he was, and not because she was missing someone else.

With that, everyone came inside the cave to sit and at Kagome's persuasion, take a nap from the strain of the long morning.

**Moon Heart**

Koga, Ginta and Hakkau slipped throught the trees, searching for enough prey to sedate the entire pack of wolf demons, and as they walked, Koga confided in his friends about his most vulgar mistake.

"Wow…"

"It really happened…"

"I just can't believe it…"

"Kagome-neesan actually asked you to court her!"

"It's unbelievable!"

Ginta and Hakkaku exchanged their sentences as they spoke, and Koga snarled as he walked up to the nearest tree and bashed his forehead against it.

"You idiots! Is that really what you're concerned with? It doesn't matter if she agreed, after I made that stupid comment, she wont want to court me anymore!" Koga roared. The other two wolves glanced at each other as it dawned on them what he was talking about.

"Oh…" Ginta mumbled.

"Uh…maybe she'll forgive you?" Hakkaku said haltingly. Koga sighed heavily.

"Maybe she will…" Koga said softly. "Well, let's get back to the hunt." He shook himself a bit and led his friends out to where the boars grazed.

**Moon Heart**

Shigoru and Shippo awoke from their nap before the others and decided sleeping was a waste of a day perfect they could use for planning. They slipped from the cave and down to the clearing laughing and chasing each other. They tumbled down the hill and landed by the stream in a jumbled heap of giggling child. As they untangled themselves, Shippo spotted a field of flowers in pretty blues, purples, and reds over on the other side of the stream.

"Hey, Shigoru, we should pick Kagome flowers and tell her they came from Koga!" Shippo suggested with a snicker. Shigoru's face brightened.

"Yeah!"

The two boys crossed the stream, splashing each other and laughing the whole way and made it over to the flowers on the other side.

High above them in the cave they had just left, Kagome stirred and searched with bleary eyes for the five young demons in her care. She bolted upright with a gasp as she realized two of them were missing; her son and Shigoru.

She got to her feet and rushed out of the cave just in time to see the two tumbling down the hill and out of sight towards the stream. She raced after them, cursing the energy and disobediance of young boys.

Shippo and Shigoru had gathered large bouquets of flowers and were about to head back up the hill with their spoils when a deep growl sounded from behind them. They turned on the spot and yelled out in fear at the sigh of a massive bear demon snarling down upon them.

"RUN!" Shirogu cried.

Shippo obeyed at once and as Shigoru tried to follow him, he stumbled and hit the ground with a grunt of pain. The bear demon's huge paw jolted forward and grasped Shigoru's leg and lifted him in front of his snout. Shigoru yelled out and the sound alerted Shippo to his adoptive brother's peril. Shippo raced back towards the bear and with a mighty leap, landed on the bead demon's hand as it held Shigoru up.

"Fox Fire!" He yelled, and sent a swirl of blue-green flames right into the bear demon's face. It gave a furious roar, dropped the wolf pup and threw the fox kit. The two landed hard in the grass and at once started to scramble away as fast as they could.

As Kagome made it to the top of the hill, she heard the screams of Shigoru and Shippo, and the terrible sound of something large and nasty. Her heart raced in terror as she ran down the hill towards them, screaming out their names. The two looked up at her as they tried to get up the hill towards her.

"Mama!" They cried simultaneously. Kagome was running so completely on fear and adrenaline that didn't even register what they both had called her right away. Shippo managed to jump into her arms, and Shigoru ran to her side.

"Stay behind me boys!" She yelled, putting Shippo on the ground and pushing them behind her back.

"Mama, you don't have a bow!" Shippo wailed. Kagome swallowed her heartbeat; she knew she was as helpless as they were. It didn't matter to her, though…they were her boys, and she was going to save them...somehow. The bear snarled down on them all, and Kagome knew it had a shard of the jewel. She had seen enough demons tainted with its power to know what it looked like. Her heart sank as she was faced with proof that her powers were really gone. She saw no telltail glow, felt no pull…she had no proof that it had a shard at all. It stomped forward thrashing its heavy head with wild cries and Kagome started to back up, pushing the children back with her.

Koga, help!

**Moon Heart**

The trio of adult wolf demons had just killed a few giant boars when they heard the noise. It sounded like a bear, but there was something different about the cry it made. Koga narrowed his eyes and raised his nose, testing the air. Luckily, the wind changed and blew the scent of the bear right at him. He could smell an intense power he had come to associate with a jewel shard, and his heart dropped out of his chest as he caught the other scents.

Shigoru and Shippo!

"Hold this!" Koga yelled, tossing his catch at his friends and vanishing in a whirlwind of grass and dirt clods. As he approached, another scent found him and he ran if possible even faster. Kagome was with them, and she was as afraid as the boys were. He broke the tree line to see the wide back of the beast, its head snapping from side to side as it charged across the river. As it did, he heard the frightened cries of Shippo, his intended, and his pup.

With a wild roar, Koga leapt at the bear and sank his fangs into the beast's throat, his clawed hands tearing into its wide shoulders. The bear roared in pain and threw himself backwards to the ground in an attempt to crush Koga, but he escaped just in time, landing at its side.

"Koga!" Came Kagome's excited cry, and at the same time, the cries of two terrified boys.

"Papa!"

Koga whipped around to look at the two of them for a split second, his eyes wide.

Did they just…?

Before he could finish the thought however, the bear rolled to all four of his paws. Koga finished the beast off by snapping its neck. He dropped it and without abandon, rushed across the water and straight to Kagome. He grasped her face in his hands, his forehead leaning against hers, and drew in her scent to calm his erratic heartbeat.

"Are you alright?" He breathed.

"Yes, yes we're all fine…thank you, Koga…" Kagome gasped, also trying to calm down from the event. With that, he knelt before the two gasping boys. Once he was on his knee, Shigoru threw his arms around his neck, crying heavily.

"Papa, I was so scared!" He sobbed. Koga tightened his grip on the pup with one arm, and remembering what Shippo had said, held out his other arm to the kit. Shippo raced into the wolf demon's arms and he held them both against him, his eyes shut tight against the thoughts of what could have happened had he not made it in time.

Kagome stood over them all, her heart still acting up, this time from Koga's tenderness. He had never looked more in love with her than he had as he held her face so close to his own moments ago. It was at this moment when everything she had heard fell into place.

I wanted Koga to rescue us…usually I think of…and both of the boys called me Mama…and both of them called Koga Papa! She raised a hand to her lips. She hadn't expected Shippo to take to the wolf so soon. If Shippo saw Koga as a father, what would happen if she decided she couldn't mate him? The thought brought back the look Koga had in his eyes a minute ago, the feel of his hands on her face, how she had taken so much comfort in his closeness in that moment. She blushed again as she realized she liked Koga more than she thought, especially after his daring rescue.

Koga pulled back from the boys, looking first at Shigoru, then at Shippo.

"You two called me…Papa." He said carefully. The boys exchanged a worried glance.

"D-did you not w-want us to?" Shigoru asked, fighting his sniffles. Koga shook his head.

"No no, that's not it at all! I just didn't think you saw me that way…but I'll be your Papa if you want me to. You too, Shippo." Koga replied, grinning, causing a round of cheers and much more hugging. Kagome smiled brightly at the sight, her heart swelling with joy knowing her once orphaned son now had both a mother and a father. It was a long moment before another important matter brought her from her pleasant musings.

"I hate to break up the forming family down there, but I have a question for the small ones." She said in a commanding tone that told the boys they were in a large amount of trouble. They at once bowed their heads in submission. Koga looked at them with confusion, then up at Kagome.

"What is it, my love?" He asked. Kagome blushed again at the nickname, but shook it off. She had disciplining to do.

"All the pups of the pack and I were napping in Moyakari's cave, she was asleep too, and when I woke up these two were gone." Kagome explained. "I took off after them, and when I got to the hill, they were running from the bear." Koga at once turned angry eyes to the boys.

"You two snuck out on your own?" He growled.

"We're sorry, Papa."

"We'll never do it again, we promise!"

Koga and Kagome shared a glance and a deep smile before Koga stood.

"You're damn right you won't! Now you two know what can happen when you're all alone, right?" Koga asked, getting to his feet.

"Yes, Papa." They replied. Koga beamed at them, his heart warming as they adapted to being a family. Koga glanced over at Kagome, who met his eyes with no resistance.

"Kagome…I'm sorry about…" He began, but she interrupted him with a smile and a wave of her hand.

"You're forgiven…an incredible rescue can do wonders." She teased. Koga grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in close. She responded shyly by placing her hands on his waist, looking down with a deep blush in her cheeks. Koga grinned; it was a great start.

"Oh, Koga!" Kagome yelled suddenly, starting everyone. "I think there's a jewel shard in the bear! I can't see it, but I know what a demon with a shard looks like." She said.

Koga nodded and turned to search the corpse. About the time he found the shard in the bear's shoulder, Ginta and Hakkaku came panting into view, dragging along four boars. Koga apologized to his friends and took a boar from them, then they all started back up the hill to the clearing. As they walked, Kagome deliberately fell behind, Shippo noticing and doing so with her.

"What's wrong, Mama?" Shippo asked in an undertone. Kagome opened her arms to him and he took the invitation. Once she had him in her hold, she whispered into his small pointed ear.

"So you wanted Koga for a papa, huh?" She asked. Shippo flushed.

"Well, you're my mama, and you're courting him…I guess I thought it was right." He said.

Kagome smiled at him and resumed her thoughts. Everyone was sure acting like she and Koga were going to be mates. She was only courting him…there was still the possibility that she would decide that she didn't want to be with him.

Is there? Don't be silly, Kagome, of course there is…nothing is set in stone. She told herself.

**Moon Heart**

It wasn't long after when the pack was gathered in the clearing, half of the killed boar meat had been roasted and the rest left as it was. Everyone settled down, and Koga helped himself to some of the roasted meat, handing half of what he had taken to Kagome. She smiled and took it, but she still would not eat unless everyone else was. Koga took this opportunity to clear his throat to get everyone's attention.

"I have great news, everyone. Kagome has agreed to let me court her!" He announced much to Kagome's embarrassment. The pack clapped and cheered at the news that Koga's dark mood of late was to be lifted. Not only was he pursuing her again, she was actually allowing it. It was a huge step forward in Koga's two year long endeavor.

After the announcement, Koga told everyone that in celebration, they could eat when they pleased tonight. They took the invitation gratefully, and the whole pack began dinner at once. Kagome smiled at him as she tore off part of her meat.

"That was nice of you, Koga." She said. Koga beamed at her.

"I occasionally can be that way, Kagome." He teased, scooting closer to her until their legs were flush as they sat side by side. Kagome smiled at the contact.

This is what he must have meant by touching me whenever he wanted. She thought, and continued to eat.

Dinner was a quick affair that evening, and Kagome slipped down the hill to wash her hands in the stream as the rest of the pack dispersed and returned to their individual activities. She had just cleaned up and was walking back up the hill when the wolf Hagetsu cam strolling down towards her. She suppressed a shiver at the sight of the creep, but smiled politely at him as they got a few feet apart.

"Hagetsu." She greeted. He stopped in front of her, much to her consternation.

"Kagome." He said. "I'm not sure how I feel about you courting Koga." He told her. She bristled.

"I'm my own person, as you yourself so elegantly put it earlier." She stated blandly and tried to walk around him. He grasped her shoulders once he saw the movement and a slight sneer marred his face.

"I was under the impression that you did not want Koga, and I was also under the impression that I told you how I felt about you. Would you so quickly and easily refuse me like this?" He asked coldy.

"I changed my mind about Koga, and if this is how you treat a lady, I certainly don't want you!" Kagome snapped and tried to struggle from Hagetsu's iron hold on her shoulders. Th male wolf snarled and Kagome yelled out rather loudly, trying to alert Koga to her newest peril.

"Let go of me!"

Atop the hill, Koga heard the cry and was at her side in seconds, tearing Hagetsu from her with a roar as vicious as the roar he gave when attacking the bear. He wrapped Kagome up in his strong protective embrace as he growled at the other wolf, his ivory fangs flashing in the fading sunlight. Hagetsu narrowed his eyes at the pair, and turned to leave.

"Touch what's mine again and I'll gut you like a fish, Hagetsu!" Koga barked after him and tightened his grip on Kagome. Normally, Kagome would have resented such a remark, but the touch of the other wolf made her skin crawl, and Koga's arms were providing such comfort that she decided to let it slide. She'd already been mad at him today, and after two swift and heroic rescues, she was quite ready to keep him close to her.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Koga asked her, nuzzling his nose into her hair. Kagome shook her head.

"No, I'm ok…thanks for another great rescue." She said with a giggle. Koga laughed and started to walk them up the hill, one arm still around her.

"I'm courting you, my love, I have to protect you or I might never have a mate!" He said lightly. He and Kagome shared a laugh as they made it to the clearing. Kagome covered her mouth as she yawned widely.

"Today has been long and way too eventful…I think I'll go to bed early tonight, Koga." She said. Koga nodded.

"I'll walk you up to the caves so you aren't assaulted again." He said, causing the pair to laugh heartily again. The two made their way up the path and shortly after, to the cave Moyakari, and currently Kagome and Shippo lived in. It was empty at the moment as the lively pups didn't want to go to bed yet, and Moyakari was sure to be energized after her nap and a good meal. Kagome leaned against the cave entrance and sighed.

"Sleep well, dear." Koga said with a smile, and made to leave.

"Koga," Kagome said, and he turned back to her. "Why don't…you stay and chat with me awhile." Kagome suggested, sitting down against the rock opening. Koga obliged and sat opposite her, his hands on his knees.

"About what?" He asked. Kagome shrugged.

"Well…tell me about your family. I've known you two years, and still don't know about your parents, if you have brothers or sisters, anything." Kagome said.

Koga smiled deeply at her and began to talk about his family to her. Kagome replied with the barest facts about hers;leaving out the whole being-from-the-future part as she usually did when speaking to people in this era. She figured if she ended up mating him that she would probably have to tell him one day, but for now it was better left unsaid. The two sat and talked of nothing and everything in particular until the sun had fully set and the sky was alight with stars, but it was the night of the new moon, so it was nowhere to be seen. Kagome looked into the stars, knowing Inuyasha was out there somewhere, human and without her on this night for the first time since they had met.

Koga sensed the end of their talk for the night, and stood, holding out a hand to the human girl.

"It's getting late; you should probably get to bed soon." He said as she took his hand and he pulled her to her feet.

"Yeah…thanks for the talk, it was a lot of fun." She said with a grin. Koga nodded in agreement.

"It was." He said.

He looked down at her. The starlight danced in her raven locks, giving it shining white streaks and her chocolate eyes were shimmering with her delight at being near him and talking with him. He was struck by her beauty yet again and he felt her hand still resting in his. He released it and slipped both his arms behind her back, pulling her tightly to his chest, his eyes never leaving hers.

Kagome stared up into his eyes, eyes that shone with light from the night and love from within. He pulled her into a hug, and her heart skipped a beat as their bodies touched again. Time and space froze as they gazed into each other's eyes, each feeling the urge to bridge the distance between them and kiss the other. They didn't notice, but they were slowly inching closer and closer as they fell further and further into the eyes of the other in their arms. Before they knew it, their noses were a hair's width apart, and two hearts beat with yet unmatched intensity.

"Kagome…" Koga whispered through their trance.

"Koga." She replied just as softly. His eyes darted to her lips, slightly parted and tempting him with promises of the best kiss he'd ever know in his lifetime. He swallowed and decided he would make the first move, and if she denied him, he knew he would have to take things even more slowly than he already was.

Kagome saw his eyes break their gaze from hers and move slightly lower on her face, and she knew what he was thinking. He was going to kiss her. She saw him moving slowly towards her, she knew it was coming and had all the time in the world to stop it if she so chose. She didn't.

Koga gently pressed his lips to hers for the first time and felt their soft smoothness under his own. He added more pressure to it and claimed her mouth with his. Kagome reciprocated, her small wet tongue darting out to brush Koga's lower lip as her kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him and held him to her as their tongues teased each other hesitantly. Koga pulled back an inch for breath, his lungs drained of air.

"Wow…" He gasped. Kagome could do nothing but giggle in response. "You need rest." He whispered and back slowly from her. She let him go, her muscles not working as well as usual. Koga took a few steps back, flashed his fangs at her and turned to float alone to his own cave, high above the others. Kagome drifted to the straw and fur bedding and collapsed onto it with a contented sigh. The kiss she had just experienced was the best feeling she had every known in her short life.

I think I can keep courting him for now. She decided, and rolled over onto her side, slipping promptly into the realm of her dreams.

**Such a fluffy chapter! XD I hope you guys enjoyed this one, it'll only get better from here (or so I hope). See you next time!**