Dropping hard into the seat at his desk, Kouga leaned his head back on the rest and closed his eyes. Yeah, he can put on a show for his mate, but in reality, he already had a migraine over the situation. What she didn't know was there was a ton of shit that needed to be done, and a lot of that shit she was going to have to do. He made a mental list of what he had to do to get the proverbial ball rolling, and cringed when he came to the part where he had to inform the other three lords of his discovered mating.

That was going to be fun.

While most remaining demons had long since gotten over the prejudice they carried for humans, it was still only really a tolerance, and mostly because humans outnumbered demons by thousands to one. You either dealt with them, or you lived in a cave away from them like some did.

As for the demon lords, they didn't really have an opinion of humans one way or another, and instead mostly took advantage of them. Out of the four of them, Kouga was the only one that wasn't a blowout, typical business man that wore a suit and ruled over a boardroom. he very much enjoyed the lifestyle he had, though he wouldn't say he was on par with the others. Sure, he had a hefty bank account and a larger than necessary house, but he didn't flaunt it like the other three.

The only one he was really concerned about was Sesshoumaru, and that was mostly because of Kagome herself. She knew him, at least somewhat, and he hadn't changed nearly at all over the centuries. He still only barely tolerated humanity, and truly still thought they were beneath him. However, Kagome wasn't just a regular human. She was a miko, and from what he felt, a very powerful one. True Mikos really did no longer exist in the world, and he was mated to one. That was going to go over like a lead fucking balloon.

Still, the two of them had known each other basically since birth, so Kouga knew how to play that dog like a well tuned fiddle. With both of them coming from ruling families, and being the heir of said families, they had crossed paths a lot when they were younger, and even more now that they had banded together to save what little demon population was left.

So, knowing he didn't have a choice and knowing he had to get it over with, he picked up the office phone and dialed. Grabbing a pen to start the inventory list for the next order, he spoke into the receiver when he heard the standard greeting.

"You are never gonna believe this shit."

*X*

Kagome was having a blast on the dance floor, but it didn't escape her notice that she was clearly the center of a few other's attention. She could feel the eyes on her and she was pretty sure it had to do with the mark Kouga told her she was wearing. She wasn't sure if they were doing it because she had somehow become a sideshow attraction or if they were following Kouga's orders to watch her, but it was nearly starting to become a problem for her. She was also not able to find out exactly who it was that was watching her either, because every time she looked around, no one was looking at her. Kouga said any demon within twenty feet of her would know, but she didn't think that gave them liberty to stare.

Reaching the point she couldn't take the tingled that kept dancing up her spine, Kagome excused herself from her friends and made her way up to the bar. She was already pretty drunk, but at least there there was a security guard she could clearly see.

When she finally picked her way through the tables and guests, she saw an empty stool and took it before anyone else could. Settling herself on it, she looked for the bartender and smiled when she saw him making his way over to her. Ordering a drink when he asked what she wanted, she shuddered again at the feeling of being stared at.

Lance, the bartender, clearly saw her discomfort and stayed in front of her when he gave her the ordered drink. "You alright?"

Looking up at him, Kagome frowned slightly and shrugged. "I'm fine. Just... a little creeped out. I feel like everyone is staring at me."

Lance didn't miss a beat. "That's because they are." Seeing the look on the girl's face, he leaned towards her, lowered his voice, and explained. "You're their boss's mate, My Lady. They're gonna keep an eye on you while you're alone. It's now part of the job." Winking at her at he stood back up, Lance wandered away and let that tidbit sink in as he then went back to serving the other customers.

Kagome watched after him, her jaw nearly on the bar top. The fuck? How in the hell did he know that? Taking the bartender in, she couldn't figure out if he was a demon or just a human 'in the know'. Seriously, screw those damn charms that covered demonic auras. Giving her head a shake, she picked up her glass and decided she was too sober for this crap and ending up sucking it down like it was water. Yeah, she was gonna hate her life tomorrow, but at least she wouldn't go completely crazy tonight.

For the next near hour she stayed at the bar and continued to be served and also engaged the bartender in a small broken up conversation, during which, she learned he was a leopard youkai, which was how he knew what she was to Kouga. He wouldn't tell her what his charm was, or what all it concealed, but he did tell her that maybe other day he would take it off so long as there were no other humans around.

Also, to her great surprise, Hakkaku had moved to sit next to her when that stool became available. She was, even in her drunken state, careful about what all she said because she really didn't want to get back into the story she already told once. When she was asked about the mating and when it happened, all she did was smile wide and tell him it was none of his fucking business.

That was also the point in time Kouga returned. He had found her at the bar and when he saw who she was talking to, he walked up behind her stool and wrapped an arm around her waist and smacked Hakkaku in the back of the head with the other. Being as drunk as she now was, Kagome had snorted hard at the assault, but looked away when all eyes fell on her.

Kouga rolled his eyes, but chuckled despite the situation. Instead, he looked at Hakkaku and leveled him with a look, to which Hakkaku gulped and nodded with no more questions. Turning and leaning against the bar between the two stools, Kouga then smiled at Kagome. "Thought you were going back to your friends."

Kagome looked at him and shrugged. "I did. Was having a lot of fun too until I kept getting stared at. It got really uncomfortable and I couldn't take it anymore. The other girls wanted to stay on the floor and I didn't want to go into the lounge by myself, so I came and sat down."

Kouga nodded and gave the room a once over, seeing there were quite a few of the security guards looking her way. Turning back to her, he spoke a little louder than necessary. "Tell them to knock it the fuck off and quit fucking staring." Shifting his eyes again, smirking when everyone looked away, he looked back at his mate. "You'll get used to it. You're their boss' mate, and there are other demons present. They're just keeping an eye on you. If you don't like it and tell them to stop, they should." Seeing more than hearing the huff, Kouga leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I told you, you have no idea what you're in for. You're the human mate of the Regional Demon Lord. Security is going to be up your ass like you wouldn't believe."

Rearing back, Kagome blinked. "That is not, at all, what I thought you meant."

Kouga cocked a brow. "You really need to stop assuming you know what I mean when I say something. If you're confused, you need to start asking for clarification. A lot of crap will be avoided in the future if we're on the same page." Giving her a pointed look, "No more huge surprises for me, and less discomfort for you."

When Kagome opened her mouth to argue, she shut it just as quickly and nodded her agreement. It was her making an assumption that got them into this mess, and it was another that left her with a huge case of the heeby jeebies. So, instead, she changed the subject. "Did you finish what you needed to?"

Ever the smart ass, Kouga grinned. "Why? Didja miss me?"

Alcohol taking away her verbal filter, Kagome quipped back. "Not in the slightest. I was just curious if you were going to be going away again so I can continue to deplete your inventory without fear of you taking it away again."

Raising an arm, Kouga pointed a finger at her. "I took away one drink, that wasn't even a fucking drink. It was a trip to the hospital for you, and the loss of my liquor licence. Sorry, not gonna let you drink a massive amount of vodka in that short amount of time. I let you have the first one, if you recall. You can get as drunk as you want, I don't care. I do care about you dyi..."

Kagome picked up her glass and shoved the straw to it in Kouga's mouth midword. "Too serious. Shut up and drink, Grumpy Pants."

Lance snorted and Hakkaku choked on his own drink. No one, literally no one, would have gotten away with doing something like that to Kouga but Kagome. Hell, the other two demons were pretty sure he would have done it even if the girl wasn't his mate because it was just so damn cute.

Kagome then turned her drunk eyes on Lance when the glass was empty. "Some asshole drank my drink. I need another one, please."

Lance barked out a laugh and looked at Kagome. "I like you." Grinning wider at Kouga when he growled at him, Lance went about making another vodka and cranberry, but going light on the alcohol. Truthfully, he had started to make them weaker and weaker as she began to get really drunk, but she watched him like a hawk, so he couldn't get away with omitting it completely. He would be cutting her off after this, though, birthday or not, until she had at least three glasses of water and some food.

Completely ignoring the glass that was placed in front of her, Kagome perked up and grabbed Kouga's arm with both hands. "Dance with me."

Kouga looked into her bright eyes, but shook his head. "I don't dance. But you go have fun."

Face taking on a full on pout, Kagome bounced in her seat. "Pleeeeease? One dance. I'll even let you get close enough to Ginta to stomp on his foot."

Chuckling, Kouga clicked his tongue. "As tempting as that sounds, I still don't dance."

Letting go of his arm and crossing hers, she huffed and dropped back in her seat. "You're no fun. I bet Lance would dance with me."

Glaring over his shoulder at the 'hell yeah I would', Kouga snapped his teeth at the leopard demon. "Lance has to work."

A spark entered Kagome's eyes as she hopped off her stool and moved to stand in front of Kouga. "You know what? You're right. Lance is working. But you know what else?" Reaching over, she then grabbed Hakkaku's arm and yanked him off his stool. "Hakkaku doesn't." Giving him a sassy smirk, she whirled around and pulled a very stunned and clearly terrified wolf demon behind her, calling back to Kouga it was his loss.

Making a face, Kouga watched after them, turning his head slightly when Lance started taking in his ear. "Ya know, if I just found out a girl like that was my mate, I don't think I'd be so gracious as to let another man dance with her. Pretty sure I'd deal with just one dance."

Looking back over his shoulder, Kouga narrowed his eyes. "You really need to stop eavesdropping into other people's conversations, asshole."

Lance just shrugged and leaned on his forearms on the bar. "I can't help it, and you know it. Just because my ears are hidden doesn't mean my hearing has diminished. But, that's beside the point. The point is, you just found out you have a mate, and a pretty awesome one as far as humans go. Are you really just going to stand there and watch a member of your clan make her happy? It's one dance. It won't actually kill you."

Kouga raised a brow. "Are you sure? All I've wanted to do for the last four hours is fuck the girl senseless and have been walking around with a cock as hard as stone."

Lance cocked a brow back. "She would probably let you. Your girl is wasted."

Kouga shook his head and returned his attention to the dance floor where Kagome was laughing with her friends and Hakkaku was looking all kinds of uncomfortable. "Not tonight. Trashed or not, she's a Lady now, and will be treated like one."

Lance chuckled. "Well, look at you, all chivalrous and shit. I thought you liked 'em drunk."

Growling deep low in his throat, Kouga slowly turned back to look at the cat, who clearly knew he just crossed the line. "Watch your tongue, Kitten, or I will remove it. She's not a drunken whore and I won't treat her like one. Do you understand me?"

Lance cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah, sorry, Boss."

Growling again, Kouga turned away after telling Lance to get back to work. He watched from the bar as his mate smiled and laughed, but he could clearly see her heart wasn't in it. He saw her continually glance his way and sighed. He could feel her upset, but he really didn't dance. He hated it. It was all but having sex with clothes on anymore and he told her they would take it as slow as they could. He was positive he would go back on that if he felt her pressing up against him like that. She was so drunk at that point, he would honestly feel like he would be taking advantage of her and that was something he absolutely refused to do. Maybe three or four drinks ago he would have answered differently, but as of now, it was best if there was no full body contact.