Wolf-Woman
Chapter
12
New Packmate
Kag's P.O.V.
That afternoon while Sesshomaru sleeps, I visit the wolves. Shippou and Yula welcome me with toothy grins and frenzied wagging tails, bowling me over with their unrestrained delight. Then they realize that I have brought a bag of fish for them, and they race off with it, yelping and snapping at one another over the prize.
Ayame is more dignified, mouthing my hands and sniffing at the fish smells, then rising with her huge paws on my shoulders to lick my face. Miroku is reserved: he has a long gash down his side - from a boar's tusk, most likely - and needs rest to heal. I am glad I have brought fish for the cubs, for in fighting over them they keep away from Miroku.
Kouga simply looks at me. Our empathy is unbroken by our time apart.
I go with the wolves to a clearing not far from our harvest-field. I see the smoke from the village, and the wind carries to me the voices of women and children. The men are absent, and the women are sitting outside grinding the last of the old grain between stones.
The wolves are relaxed. I sit in the sun with them, and watch as Kouga and Ayame and the cubs chase harvest-mice in the grasses. They race, twisting and turning in the dust, snapping at the mice as they pounce on them. They catch them, too, and swallow them whole. It is a strange hunt. Afterwards they seem satisfied with their feed, and lie down to rest. I lie with my head on Ayame's side, and the gurglings of mouse-meals within her.
"Mighty Hunter," I say, and she growls softly, as if she knows I tease her.
Suddenly she grows tense. I see that Kouga is already standing, his head towards the trees nearby. Miroku too is alert. The cubs, sensing their disquiet, sit up and growl.
I rise to my knees, and see a she-wolf standing in the shadows under the trees. She runs towards us a little way, and is stopped by Kouga. He springs at her, his hackles raised. It is a brief but savage fight, and dust and fur fly. When they part she cringes low before him, her eyes averted, her ears laid back against her head. She snarls, not wholly submissive to him. Neither will she run away. She needs his clan, perhaps, needs protection, and a family. I understand this very well.
Kouga bares his teeth, threatening another attack. Still she will not flee. She sinks lower to the dirt, and finally lies on her side and moves back her head until her throat is exposed. It is the ultimate yielding. Kouga can kill her now, if he wishes.
He does not kill. He straddles her awhile, and his teeth just above her offered throat. Then he walks away, stiffly, his tail erect. She is accepted. She rises to her feet and walks quietly while Ayame and Miroku sniff her. Ayame is brief, but Miroku mouths the newcomer's snout, pleasuring her. His tail wags. I think that perhaps he has found a mate.
The new she-wolf stays with us all day. Miroku plays with her, and they fight mock battles and tumble together in the yellow dust, until she hurts his wounded side and he snarls at her. Then they lie together to rest, and she licks his wound and grooms him, fondly. The cubs try to join in, but Miroku bares his teeth at them. They taunt their mother instead, and when she growls they go off to hunt for mice again.
We all play in the sun. The wolves let me wrestle with them, and I roll on the ground with them and sometimes bite them gently; but though their jaws enclose my arms and hands, and sometimes my face, they never hurt me, not do their teeth leave a single imprint on my skin. Only Kouga does not let me play in the dirt with him.
Evening comes, and the wind brings smells of boat roasting over the village fires. The wolves are restless again, eager to hunt for more mice, and in my heart I want to go with them. But I am hungry, and the smell of roasting meat is tempting. Kouga comes and licks my face, and I press my brow to his and look straight into his eyes. He knows that I am torn inside, and I ache for things I do not understand. He licks me again, and takes my hand in his mouth. His bite is gentle, but not so soft that I can safely pull away. He holds me there beside him in the forest as the day turns into night, and gives me time to choose.
When he and his wolf-clan run into the darkening world beyond the forest, I am with them.