O.K, this chapter turned out a lot differently than I planned, but hopefully you will all like it. Touga may be having a change of heart in this chapter. Read and review and enjoy.

Chapter 25 – Pack mate.

It wasn't that she was comfortable with what was happening to her. When she was in a compromising lying position on a bed, with the demon Lord hovering over her like that – it really wasn't the case. No, it was the opposite; think about it, having a beast dog caging you on a mattress with his body is not the most assuring of positions. When said demon has you labelled as 'his' and does not ever listen to you or do what you ask of him for any reason, does not make the situation any better at all.

It was not that she was particularly comfortable of confident when around him. She was not vain enough to think that she could subdue him with ease all the time, she was not that spectacular. However, based on recent past experiences, she could not honest say that she was particularly scared of him either. He had yet to hurt her in this state, and had even gone as far as to clean and heal her injuries while she was in his room trying to subdue him the first time and got lacerated by flying pieces of broken glass.

She had her arms pinned to her sides and her back pinned to the sheets below. He was not actually touching her; he was just in a position that meant that escape was impossible. She held her breath for a few minutes first of course, waiting for him to collapse. If he relaxed his muscles and lay down on top of her, she would be crushed. Yet he didn't, and he just stayed poised over her, snarling, that too was nothing new.

No, nothing about this scene was new at all. That muscled and lithe body was as familiar as her own, or Inuyasha's. She knew that waist length silver hair anywhere, he was one of the few people, his sons included of course that managed to make the unusual hair colour of white not only work, but look really good. In her time – the far future – not the feudal era, even though that was her time too, he would probably be a model or something. Actually, all of the guys here would make it into the 'supermodel' level.

Not only was he handsome, but both of his sons with those amber eyes, that hair and the muscles and the skill – they could all easily be celebrities. Why was she choosing this time to have this internal discussion anyway? It had to be thought about though – he was a good looking guy – but then again once more, so was Naraku when you got down to the bare, bare bones of the point. Yes, if he wasn't such a psychotic sadist then Naraku could make it into the model industry. A fit of shudders hit her as her mind bombarded her with a strangely hot and disturbing image of Naraku modelling black jeans.

It was not just the demons that could make it – Miroku was handsome too, and Sango and Kikyou were beautiful in their ways too. Kagome suddenly felt very inadequate, well there was a certain demon Lord who appreciated her, but still. He settled down beside her and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her close – something about this scene was familiar – oh yeah, she'd been here before last night.

Even those red eyes were nothing new, and that was why it happened.

She did not trust him, was not comfortable sharing a bed with him even if he was admittedly a good looking guy, and his personality could be worse. No really, that wasn't it, it just so happened that it was early in the morning she had not had the best of nights before – not to mention the day before had been crazy.

She just happened to be really tired so she did the only thing to do in that position – she dealt with the problem – she fell asleep. It seemed to be a very reasonable reaction indeed; she could only hope there would be no repercussions. She'd spent more than her fair share of time locked in his arms, surely if she was not safe there then something would have happened by now. What is more, she may not like the arrogant Inu that much, but there were worst people she could be stuck with, like Naraku. Yep she could easily be optimistic, there was that possibility, but, there really was not that much of an excuse.

Beast's thoughts

When he woke up to find his miko was gone, he was determined to create havoc. Nobody deserted him, and if she had been taken, he would level Japan to get her back.

That scent... it was intoxicating- it was hers, easy to track.

She was close. Just follow the sakura and apples.

Find her.

She was safe, he could smell that much.

Bring her back – should not have left.

No one compared.

Her.

His miko. His.

That name too...

Addictive.

Everything new, everything intoxicating, everything irresistible, everything different.

Kagome...

Kagome...

Kagome...

Her falling asleep was not part of the plan. She was meant to stay awake while he scolded her with a snarl for leaving him. At least she was responding in the right way, lying still for once, she struggled entirely too much sometimes. For once she was not eliciting fear of him, which too was good, he was her protector, and so she had nothing to fear. If she ever felt the compulsive need to run, it should be to him, not from him.

Memories of her tending to him start to flood the brain.

Soft fingers on his skin... through his hair... his mokomoko.

Touching him.

Stroking him.

Caring.

Kindness and compassion like never seen before.

Loving.

She was loving.

And her beauty... oh her beauty.

Her radiance shines, even through his blood hued eyes it is so clear.

Different yes, but different does not cut it.

Such a soothing sensation.

He was lucky indeed to have such an ethereal being be the one to bring him such bliss. It was still not known why such a mundane action brought him and all of his species such calm and pleasure like not known before.

She looked after him, fed him, tended to him, like a pup, like hers. But it was she that was his, and he who should look after her. He would too, for always, he would look after her, he would never stop looking over her.

She was his, yes that much was obvious, he could see the mark, smell the mark, and sense it. That mark was his, that mark which showed that she was his. But it here that lay the dilemma; she was his yes, but his what? That he did not know, there was a time, a time not all that long ago when he was sure, but not anymore.

He knew his other half, the rational half of him thought of her as a pet. He had thought of her like that when he sank his fangs into her neck to mark her. He had thought of her that way when he saved her, protected her, and, with a wince, he thought, attacked her. But he was not Inutaisho, he was, first and foremost a beast, a pure Inu beast, and titles and honour meant less and less to him, allowing him to see things for what they were.

She was his in every sense of the word, but his what? He saw her in a different light, a light that his other half's title had prevented him to see. A Taiyoukai does not accept a mere human as pack, dishonour, unheard of – does not happen. It was that thought that kept him from seeing what he must. That girl was different, a powerful miko from the future, she was not a mere anything, she was a pack mate.

He sat up and gathered the sleeping girl into his arms, she was not to be alone, and he had to hold her to ensure no harm come to her. He was not sure how long he sat there on the bed with the girl asleep in his arms but he growled in displeasure with his time alone with her being interrupted when the door opened.

It was his son and heir, not someone to take her away from him, it was safe. He nodded, allowing him to come closer if he so desired. He did so and sat beside them, meeting his eyes, speaking in the language of the Inu.

One sniff is all that was needed from the boy. "You have claimed her as pack," he said surprised, eyes widened at the news.

"She always was." Yes, that was true, she was always going to become pack, and she was too special and kind hearted to have the low status she previously held. This new discovery about her selflessness only hurried along the process of him coming to the decision about it. She was always going to join him though.

"Will I... will I have a mother soon?" The question was hesitant, but not fearful. He loved the girl; he wanted to always have her around. He wanted her to be pack, he was happy with the news, that was good, it meant there would be less chance of mutiny in the pack. If the majority of the pack did not want a specific member as one of them, it would be his duty as alpha to comply to their wishes so they would be happy to follow him. He was glad, he wanted her accepted, he wanted to keep her with him forever.

"I do not know this yet my son," that too was truth. He had to clear it with her first, and that meant he could not answer his son. Usually he would be able to, if it was any other girl, if he wanted her as a mate than he would find a way to make her accept him even if she was hesitant, but no, not this girl. Kagome was different from all other females, human or youkai and that meant that his usual successful manipulation would not serve him.

For a girl such as Kagome, agreement was what he needed. He was not going to leave the matter alone of course, because he knew that he wanted her, at least a little. He was not going to force her of course, that would be dishonourable, and he would make sure she knew that the final decision would be up to her, and no one else. This did not mean he was not going influence her decision of course, he was going to try to make things turn out in his favour, but no one was going to be hurt by his manipulation.

He was only leaving her free from complete manipulation because there was no point to it. The girl was immune to his attempts, so he would have to do things the old fashioned way. He would court her with her consent once he was well again. He could not do things while in this state; he had to ask her with both halves of himself wanting her. It would not do at all to have a mate that only loved you with half of his being. A being as pure and as kind as her deserved – would have – a mate that was devoted to her with the whole of his heart, mind, body and soul. He would make sure though that the lucky male was none other than him.

He was not sure what his beast thought of her. He was sure the feeling was intense, but was of possession more than love. Love was not something that happened fast, it developed over time, starting small and developing into something strong, real and true. Yes, he would be able to manipulate himself a lot easier than the girl. All his other half needed was a little push here and there in the right direction. He would make the girl dominate his thoughts and eventually he would be whimpering for her.

"When she wakes make sure she eats all of this," his son said, motioning to a tray of food, there was an awful lot there for one human girl. He knew from past experience of eating with the woman that she did not eat such large portions.

"She will not eat so much."

"She may. She has not eaten since yesterday morning."

He snarled at this news, that was over 30 hours ago, it was not good enough. Humans needed to be nourished every few hours, not less than once a day. He did not ask why though, he knew the answer and it sickened him. It was his fault, she had not eaten because she had been tending to him, and then she had been trapped within his arms because he had been reluctant to let go. So now he was to blame for her starvation now too.

All in all if he was to be truthful to himself, he was doing a lousy job as her protector and alpha. It was his duty to keep her safe, feed her, clothe her, make sure she was well rested, and keep her healthy and happy. He was not only restricting her sleep and freedom, but was the reason for her hunger too.

He was brought out of his musings when the girl started to stirring ferociously his arms. She started to whimper and thrash and he knew what was happening. She was having a nightmare, he whimpered at her distress. His instincts called for him to comfort her, but something told him that he should not wake her.

He cradled her closer and rocked her in his lap in the most comforting way he could without jerking her awake; although he knew she slept deeply. It was only a dream and she was not in danger, but he wanted to protect her, and his inability to help her wounded him and his pride. All he could do was wish for her pain to be over.