Chapter 7

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ONWARD

"No."

"Laura…"

"I mean it. No. It's like you don't even know me!"

Koga groans, visibly frustrated as he pinches his fingers at the bridge of his nose. His beautiful blue eyes are screwed shut, and his jaw tight. In the background I can hear the metallic ring of blades striking one and other, and the sound goes straight down my spine each time. We had been continuing with the endurance and hand to hand combat training for the past few weeks. Over all, I had honestly shown significant improvement, though I had yet to best Koga in any match. He had been a slightly more patient teacher since my unfortunate outburst, and I had honestly really come to enjoy our training sessions alone together. So far I had, had no reason not to trust Koga's judgement with my training.

Until today.

Koga's hand drops from the bridge of his nose with a huff, his electric blue eyes snapping open to gaze at me almost darkly. I feel rooted in the spot under that look, a deep-seated thrill rushing through me remembering the last time he had looked at me like that.

Though, last time, he had, had me pinned between his body and a rock wall.

'Caught between a rock and a hard place,' My inner thoughts giggle perversely at me, and I can't stop the warm flush that tops my cheeks.

"I don't understand the issue, Laura. Having a weapon you can use effectively could mean the difference between life or death out there," Koga reiterates his point from before. As soon as we had crested the hill to the training grounds, I had easily put one and two together watching his comrades practicing with their various sharp weapons below.

"I know we haven't known each other too long, Koga, but I really figured you would understand that anything pointy and sharp is hazardous to me, not just those around me," I reply lowly, frowning as my insecurity washes over me anew. "I've had enough trouble with the training we've done up to this point. What makes you think you can trust me with a weapon of all things?"

"We just need to figure out one that you're most comfortable with," Koga sighs, placing his hands on his hips and looking around. I look around too, frowning all the more when all I see is metal glinting under the afternoon sun.

Thunk.

My back straights as I hear another sound above the clanging of blades.

Thunk. Thunk.

I frown, turning towards the direction I was sure the sound was coming from. There, off to the side, I see three wolf-demons standing in a line, a bow in each of their hands. Inexplicably I find myself drawn to them, to the smooth movement of notching and drawing each arrow back, before they let them fly in sync this time. All three arrows meet their targets, landing directly in the center of the ring etched into three of the large trees at the outskirts of the clearing. I take notice that one of the archers is Ginta, and I find myself slightly hopeful that maybe he could even teach me. The wolf-demon had been nothing but kind to me since we had officially met all those weeks ago, always acknowledging me when he saw me around the Den or outside of it.

"Bow and arrows?" I jump as Koga's warm breath washes against my sensitive ear, his head now leaning closer to my own. I don't dare to turn my head towards him, afraid that with the proximity I would do something very embarrassing, intentional or not. Swallowing thickly, hands clenching tight into fists at my sides as my stomach does flip after flip, I nod slowly.

"I mean," My voice shakes as I begin, "that seems like the safest route for me." Koga hums, finally leaning back and making it so I can breath again. I look over to him now, watching as he frowns and crosses his powerful arms over his chest, his blue eyes trained on the archers before us.

"The bow is a great weapon for attacking an enemy at a distance, but it won't help with close encounters," Koga replies, sounding unsure. I sigh resignedly, chewing on my lower lip before figuring I wasn't going to get away from what he wanted me to be trained on in the first place.

"A dagger," I mutter lowly, turning my gaze towards where many of the wolf demons were still training with blades. "If you let me be trained with the bow, I'll learn how to use a dagger," Truth be told, the idea of having to kill anyone, anything, made me uneasy. I would much rather, if I have to, do it at a distance rather than up close and personal. It was cowardly, or that's what I'm sure Koga would say if he knew my real reason why I didn't want a close combat weapon.

I also, however, didn't want to ever tap into that unknown power again.

I feel a chill rush down my spine at that thought, remembering the helplessness and fear I had felt as the aura from the shard nearly consumed me whole. "Deal," Koga's gruff answer pulls me out from my thoughts, and he holds his large hand out to me. I take it, looking at first in wonder at how his warm, calloused hand absolutely engulfs my own, before looking up into his beautiful blue eyes. My heart begins to race once more, thoughts now shifting to that night.

My eyes widen in shock as I feel him pushing me backwards, Koga not uttering a single word as I remain frozen under his gaze. Mindlessly I let him move me, jumping and gasping when suddenly my back hits the rock wall of the cave. Heart racing, I look up at him, lips slightly parted still in my shock as his powerful frame loomed over me.

"You…have been trying my patience, woman," Koga growls low in his chest, his face leaning towards mine, our noses brushing. My heart skips a beat.

'Woman? That's new,' I muse to myself, trying to keep my fluttering stomach under control. I could feel my knees growing weak, glad now that the rock wall was behind me to lean on.

"Listen, I told you I didn't mean to call on the shard this afternoon, it just happened," I defend myself once again, though this time I couldn't keep the shake out of my voice as I spoke.

I wasn't scared, however. Quite the opposite, actually.

'I'm a sexually repressed thirty year old woman. I should have known that would come to bite me in the ass at some point,' The warm throb of arousal was worming it's way from my stomach down between my legs, the tingle working it's way over other sensitive parts of my body in the process. The closeness of his body to my own was quickly overwhelming me, especially when I felt his breath washing warmly over my face as his own got closer.

"I'm not talking about that," Koga nearly growls out, his face tilting slightly so his cheek brushed against my own as he by-passed his mouth to my ear. "You're trying my patience in other areas," His lips brush against my ear as he speaks into it, causing my whole body to shudder with tingles from head to toe. I feel his grip on my arm loosen, his hand slowly ghosting down past my elbow to my wrist, grabbing it instead. I can't hold in the gasp as he pulls my wrist upwards, pinning it by my head against the rock wall. Mind racing, I tried to make sense of this situation, of what he was trying to accomplish here.

I mean, this wasn't what it looked like, right? He wasn't pining after me like I was him, and now he's ready to just ravish me against this wall?

'Only in your hidden erotica books would that happen,' I grumbled to myself, heart feeling like it was about to beat out of my chest as I felt his nose move along my jaw line. Koga's whole body shifted as he took a deep breath, and I was stunned to find that he was clearly taking in my scent, like he had done before.

'I'm so spastic,' I think to myself, concentrating on controlling my breathing. 'Can't keep my thoughts straight around him,' When Koga stopped the shaking of our hands, I go to move mine out of his, but am shocked when instead of letting me go he holds on even tighter. A rush of air leaves me, startled as he tugs at my hand firmly, causing me to stumble forward and into him. Our bodies collide gently, and I can feel my face warming as his head ducks down smoothly, his nose running along the line of my neck. 'What is he doing?' I inwardly freak out, but I'm too stunned to move a muscle, his hand still gripping my own tightly. His other arm wraps like a steel band around my waist, holding me flush against him, and for a split second I was sure I could feel his body shift, like he was rubbing up against me.

Then, just as suddenly as he had made the move, it was over, and he was gently pushing me away and turning me back towards the archery fields.

"Ginta!" Koga barks out from behind me, still invading my space as I feel his armor plated chest brushing against my back. Ginta's back snaps straight, turning and running towards us without question. His gaze is curious still, however, as he looks between Koga and I with interest.

"Yes, Koga?"

"I want you to train our little half-breed here with the bow," Koga orders, his voice taking on that tone that had my toes curling. The commanding, I'm the dominate figure here, tone.

I would be lying if that very voice hadn't been in my late night fantasies recently.

"Do not let anyone else tou-train her," Koga goes on lowly as he steps around me and nearly towers over one of his second-in-commands. "Do you understand?" He asks, emphasizing the last bit. Ginta's eyes widen a little, before his nose curiously turns upwards and he appears to smell the air. I knowing look passes over his face in that moment as he turns his nose back downwards, and nods.

"Right. You can trust me with her, Koga," Ginta replies evenly, Koga nodding stiffly, before turning back towards me.

"Once you are finished here with Ginta, he will escort you back to the Den," Koga states as he looks down at me. "Do not overdo it on your first day, or else you'll be too sore for dagger training tomorrow," He cautions, before turning and leaving in a whirl of wind. I have to close my eyes, bringing my hand up to brace myself against the wind that swirls around both Ginta and I. Once it's settled I lower my hand, looking towards Ginta and blinking slightly in curiosity.

"What was that all about?" I can't help asking the familiar wolf-demon, Ginta simply shrugging his shoulders instead of answering.

"Let's get you started," He states instead, re-directing me towards the archery grounds.

Koga's POV

Running along the borderline of our territory, one thought echoes in my head as I replay what I had just done to Laura.

I'm losing it.

I was the creepy, jealous old man rubbing up on women now. That's what she has reduced me to.

I say old because I know for a fact that I am decades older than she is. Her scent gave away how young she really was, the overwhelming smell her virginity plain to distinguish under her other natural scents. Nobody, and I mean nobody, gets to be as old as I am, and still a virgin.

'As if it wasn't getting tough enough to resist throwing her down knowing she's my mate. Mine to claim,' I feel irritation mixing with the sexual frustration, legs pumping faster as I ran along the outskirts of our territory. 'Adding that sweet scent of her's into the mix is downright torture.'

She wasn't ready, I knew she wasn't.

'And who could really blame her?' I frown, skidding to a stop at the edge of a point on the ridge I was following. The sun was just rising up to it's mid-point in the sky, beaming down warmly against the back of my neck. Thanks to the jewel shards I barely broke out a sweat when running, my breathing still even. 'After everything that she's been through she'll high-tail it in the other direction if I sprung the whole 'you belong to me forever' bit on her. It would be too much, too fast.'

Not to mention the mysterious onyx like jewel that is, apparently, threatening to swallow her whole. The same jewel that Naraku now wants to get his dirty paws on.

A low rumble begins in my chest, unconsciously growling at the thought of that asshole getting anywhere near Laura.

'But this is getting almost painful to ignore,' I think to myself, turning my gaze downwards towards the fur pelt wrapped around my hips. It was only slight at the moment, most of my arousal being worked off during the run, but anyone looking for it could see I was still worked up from having her body up against my own.

If I hadn't have turned and ran when I did, however, the evidence of Laura's effect on me would have been all too clear.

'She's so self conscious, though, she'd probably never believe that my physical reaction to her is this strong,' I sigh, shaking my head and moving to sit down, my right leg hanging over the ledge, the left bent at the knee so I could rest my arm on it. That had been one of the many things I had observed about Laura. She always made sure she was as covered up as possible. I would catch her wiggling her fur skirt around so that the slit wasn't open against her thighs. She would pull at her top to try and hide the bulges around her middle, and for the life of me I couldn't understand why that stuff even mattered to her. I knew that human women especially were concerned with their figures because it was a means to attract a mate, a husband. Having been around long enough to witness these social customs, I had also grown disgusted with them.

There were far more important qualities to consider when taking a mate, strength and loyalty being among them.

'Humans think demons are uncivilized and boorish,' I can't help snorting in amusement, shaking my head to myself. Laura might not have the slim, curvy figure that human men seemed to covet, but she wasn't unattractive because of it either. Or, at least, not in my eyes.

Admittedly, I'm a little biased.

Taking another deep breathe of fresh mountain air, my body continues to cool down, and I finally feel my control seeping back.

Traveling alone with her, being alone with her period until I could claim her, was going to be hell.

Laura's POV

Handling a bow and arrow was like nothing I had ever done before in my entire life.

Because I was naturally good at it.

"I can't believe this," I mutter to myself more so than to the wolf-demon standing beside me, looking on and openly impressed. We were both staring at my fourth attempt, the arrow sticking out from just beside the most inner circle of the target etched into the tree in front of us. "I swear Ginta, I've never even held a bow before," I insist, looking over towards him with wide eyes. The other three arrows from my first attempts were scattered around the fourth, one just inside of the target, but the others way above and below. All the same, Ginta had been shocked I had even managed to hit the tree at all with my first two tries.

"Most new archers can't even get the arrow to go the distance your's have, let alone hit the tree, or remotely within the target," Ginta comments, voice filled with confusion and wonder. "I think you're lying to me," His tone is light, almost joking, causing me to let out derisive snort as I shake my head.

"I promise I'm not lying," I reply firmly, looking down at the bow still clasped in my left hand with wonder. "Ginta…I'm never just good at things. I always have to work at it, always. This is the first time that I've ever had something come to me easily," Tucking my lower lip between my teeth, I chew on it slightly, excited butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. "I want to go again."

"I'll get the arrows," Ginta nods, jogging past me towards the tree and prying them out of the bark. One of them he tosses to the side, the shaft looking like it was bent near the arrow head. "Also going to have to teach you how to repair arrows," He adds lightly as he walks back up to me, tossing the other two arrows on the ground beside my feet and handing me one. "Now, remember what I said before. You were tense the first couple of times," I nod, moving to the stance that Ginta had demonstrated for me at the beginning, left foot pointed towards my target, and right foot planted behind me, toe pointing slightly outwards to keep my balance. I notch the arrow, using my right index and ring finger to pull the string back, my middle finger and thumb squeezing against the shaft to keep it steady. "Bend your left elbow slightly, so that the string won't hit your forearm when you release."

I wince at the memory of that happening the first time; it had hurt like a bitch.

Wordlessly doing as he says, I point my left finger outwards, directing it like a sight to aim. I tilt my head so that it barely brushes against the right thumb holding my arrow in place, getting eye level with my target.

"When you release the arrow, don't let the string roll off of your fingers. That messes with your aim. Let it go like you're dropping it completely," Ginta goes on, his voice a little more hushed now that he knew I was concentrating. "Take a deep breath in, and when you release it, shoot," I close my eyes for a moment, and though I will later think it was absolutely cheesy what I did, I allowed myself to feel my surroundings. The light breeze, the strands of hair that had escaped my ponytail brushing against my face, the smell of fresh grass and the sound of the river gurgling nearby.

For a moment, I kid you not, I felt absolutely serene.

Taking a deep breath in, I slowly open my eyes to gaze at the target once more, before releasing my breath slowly between my slightly parted lips. My heart almost seems to stop the moment I decide to let the arrow go.

It hits the center of the target, dead on.

I laugh in disbelief, jaw dropping in shock as I lower my bow arm and relax, taking in the impossible accomplishment. Quickly bending over to grab the next arrow, I go through the same process, but faster.

I hit the center of the target right beside my other arrow once more.

Then again for the third time.

It shouldn't be like this. Normal people took months, years of practice to consistently hit their targets. There was no way I should have been able to accomplish such a skill in a matter of an hour.

"Again," I state breathlessly, high on the feeling of success.

The first real success I had, had since coming here.

"You overdid it," Koga sighs as he sits down beside me, watching as I rub at my right upper arm. "I told you not to, half-breed," I refrain from rolling my eyes, knowing that coming off as snarky wasn't going to help my case with him.

"I'm sorry. I just…Koga I'm good at it. Like, really good," 'Impossibly good,' I add to myself, thinking about the fact that not once, not once, did I miss the tree at the archery field. My aim hadn't always been perfect, I did have a few times where I made a mistake and my arrow hadn't landed near the target, but it always landed on the tree. Looking up to him then, I offer a weak smile. "It was hard to stop," I admit sheepishly. "Not because I wanted to ignore your advice, but because it felt amazing to actually be good at something," I explain, the corner of Koga's lips lifting upwards slightly from the frown that had been there.

My stomach did somersaults.

"I asked Ginta about your afternoon in the archery fields," Koga admits as he leans his back against the smooth rock wall behind him. I flush a little, feeling embarrassingly giddy that Koga had even thought to ask about me. "He said you were very impressive out there," I could feel myself full-out blushing now with the praise, eyes searching for Ginta in the crowd of wolf-demons gathered in the main part of the cave. I seem him talking adamantly with his comrades, all of them laughing and clearly enjoying themselves.

"He's a good teacher," I compliment genuinely, smiling a little wider as I watch Ginta a moment longer before turning my attention back to the handsome blue eyed wolf-demon beside me. "He is very patient and supportive," I make sure to point out, giving Koga a look as I do. Koga give me a handsome smirk at that, raising one of his eyebrows in amusement.

"Is he really?"

"You would do well to take some pointers from him," I tease lightly, unable to help myself. Koga seemed like he was in a good mood, and I felt like I was on cloud nine. He lets out a bark of a laugh at that, turning his gaze forwards and leaning his head back against the wall as well.

"We'll see about that."

He did not take those pointers.

In fact, I doubted very much that he even considered the idea of being patient let alone supportive.

"Get off your ass, woman!" Koga barks from above me, flipping the dagger that had been in my hand only moments before casually in his right one. "Your enemy won't stop because you've fallen, not like I am now," He lectures, and I can't help groaning in exasperation.

"Is this you being patient and supportive?" I grumble irritably, getting to my feet. Koga narrows his eyes at me, clearly not in the mood this morning for the same kind of jokes as last night. Then again, I should have known what kind of day it was going to be when he got me up at the ass-crack of dawn.

"Making jokes now, are you?" Koga asks, his voice low and almost sounding like it was drawing out ever syllable. He sounded dangerous, and it certainly caught my attention. Looking up at him wide-eyed, stopping in the middle of dusting myself off, I figured I probably looked like a deer caught in headlights. His blue eyes are sharp and brighter than ever, and I feel absolutely frozen on the spot.

Maybe it was more like being the prey caught in the wolf's path?

"Well, I don't find the fact that you can't defend yourself funny, half-breed. In fact, I find it rather pathetic," His scowl deepens, and I try not to feel hurt at it words.

Because I know he's right.

In this world I had to be able to defend myself, to survive. Without those skills I wasn't only useless to myself, but I was worthless to those around me. It was something that Koga had been drilling into my head from day one. The Tribe was only as strong as it's weakest link.

And the weakest link was me at this point.

Shame burns at the back of my neck as I feel the muscles in my face tense, glaring at the head-strong warrior in front of me. Koga tilts his head, observing me, the tip of one of his fangs poking out from under his upper lip and glinting in the early morning sun. He walks up to me slowly, flipping the dagger one last time and offering the leather-bound handle to me. Eyes flickering from the dagger to his face, I try to determine if this is another one of his tricks. Reaching out slowly, I quickly find out that I was unfortunately right to be suspicious.

"Too slow!" Koga shouts out, his left hand reaching out to grab my right wrist, snatching it up in a flash and twisting my body around his own until I fell to the ground on my back with a grunt. I don't even have enough awareness to feel him replace his hand on my wrist with his knee, the left hand now going to my hair and tugging it firmly back, forcing my chin to tilt upwards and expose my neck fully to him. In a fluid motion that demonstrated practiced ease, he throws his right leg over my body, planting his foot near my hip.

I feel the cool blade of the dagger pressing to the skin of my throat, his right hand gripping it so tightly I could feel it shaking.

"Dead," He comments gruffly, his chest heavily as he stares down at me intensely. I force myself not to swallow, afraid the motion would cause the blade to bite into my neck. Looking back up at him, still wide-eyed with shock and trying to catch up to what the fuck just happened, I simply nod. I was unable to form words, thoughts, but it wasn't because I was scared.

No.

It was because he was fucking straddling me.

'I mean, it's not like he's all pressed up against me and in my business,' I inwardly think, his body hovering over mine from where he knelt. The only places he was even touching me was with his knee of my left wrist and his hand tugging at my hair.

Which sent totally inappropriate tingles straight to my core.

'I hate my hormones. I hate them,' I chant to myself, feeling so embarrassed for the way my body was reacting to him. It was absolutely humiliating!

"What is with you today? You're more distracted than normal," Koga comments, frowning deeply as he stares down at my wide-eyed expression. For a brief moment I think his gaze even flickers down to my heaving chest, but I'm sure it's a trick of the light.

"I-I don't know, but could you please get the blade off of my neck? It's making me rather nervous now," I request weakly, struggling to keep my neck as still as possible even as I talked. Koga frowns at that, pulling the dagger away and sliding his knee from my wrist. He scoots back, now hovering over my knees instead as he slides his right leg down to rest on it's knee as well. I frown, shifting to sit up and sliding myself out from under him completely, my body begging me to stay closer to the warmth he gave off, rather than shy away from it like I am.

I can't even look him in the face.

"I can smell it, you know," Koga suddenly speaks up after a long and awkward silence. I had moved to sit with my legs bent at the knees and pushed together, arms wrapped around them, like I was protecting myself. I suppose, maybe unconsciously I was. Koga hadn't moved from his spot kneeling not a foot away from me, so when I look towards him in confusion, he's much closer than I was prepared for him to be. To the point I could see the darker flecks of blue, and even some flecks of gold, in his eyes.

"Smell what?" I ask, and there is no doubt in my mind this time that I indeed see his gaze flickering to my lap.

Oh sweet mother of god.

"Can we not talk about it?" I beg him, horrified as his eyes move back up to meet my own.

"Listen, it's perfectly normal, healthy even-"

"NO!" I shout out, cutting him off completely, face flaming hot. I bring my hands up, burying my face in them to hide. "No, no, no, no! We are not have this conversation!"

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about," Koga goes on, as if completely ignoring my slightly immature breakdown. "It's natural," He insists once more, sighing heavily in annoyance when I wouldn't look at him. "Get your face out of your hands, little half-breed," He barks it like it's an order, and I feel a spark rush down my spine.

Before doing exactly as he said.

I barely have time to freak out, to wonder why in the name of all that is holy that I actually did as he said, when he shocks me even further.

"It's not like I'm unaffected."

Say what now?

I blink in shock at that, mind reeling. 'Does he mean what I think he means?' I ask myself, feeling light-headed all of a sudden. Without thinking, my gaze drops to his own lap, before snapping back up towards his face when I realize I'm trying to look.

How much of a pervert was I?

Koga clearly finds it amusing, because he lets out the first bark of a laugh I had heard so far this morning, and his whole body just seems to relax.

"How can you be so…casual about it?" I can't help asking, disbelief clear in my tone of voice. Koga shrugs his shoulders easily, looking around before looking back to me once more.

"Like I said, it's normal. Instinctual, even," He replies, brushing his hands against his powerful thighs as he sits back on his heels now. "Laura…demons are very sexual creatures. It's something you're going to have to come to terms with, and stop being embarrassed about. All this touching we're doing during training? It affects me as much as it does you because it's simple nature," I blink at that, a coldness washing over me as I realize what he is saying.

He wasn't turned on by me.

He was turned on by being touched.

'So…in reality he could be getting this way with anyone,' I realize, feeling a odd sense of disappointment creeping up from my stomach and into my chest. "H-What happens when you're really fighting?" I ask curiously. Surely he couldn't be getting an erection when fighting for his life, could he?

"Other instincts kick in that overtake the arousal," Koga answers easily, tilting his head ever so slightly as he regards me with a calculating gaze. "But when the fight is over…" He trails off, the implications clear.

I find I'm unable to keep his gaze at that, looking down at my knees instead.

'So what he's saying is that when he returned from that battle with the centipedes, he was horny as all get-out,' I think to myself, chewing on my lower lip. 'Maybe that's why he's so grumpy all the time? No way to release the urge?'

Other than there was a way to release the urge by yourself.

'Oh fuck…do not go there! Do not go to the place of imagining him jerking off at night just meters away from you,' But there they were, the images rushing through my mind of him oh so deliciously naked in his bed.

His sweaty muscles bunching and releasing as he jutted his hips upwards towards his hand.

Mouth parted as he pants, moans slipping out the closer he gets to his release.

I squeeze my legs together tighter, and I can't even find it in myself to feel mortified that he no doubt noticed.

'Like he said, this is all just natural, so hopefully he believes that my arousal isn't because of him either,' I think to myself, trying to talk myself down. It was working. Slightly.

"Now, do you think you can get over yourself enough to continue training?" Koga asks, his voice suddenly filled with the commanding bite from before. I look up from my knees in shock as he stands in front of me, offering his large hand out to help me up.

His large hand that I had just imagined wrapped around his-

'STOP!'

"Yeah, I think so," I admit, voice shaking despite my best efforts. I take the hand that he offers, and as soon as I am up he lets it go, replacing his hand with the dagger.

"Good," He mutters, voice gruff. "Now, remember, when you strike with the dagger use an upwards motion. Not only does it cut into your opponent easier, but you do a lot more damage along the way."

And so continued our day.

Unknown POV

In the room stood two individuals, one bathed in shadow and sitting near the wall, out of the circle of light that the many candles provided. The other figure stood in clear view, his flaming red hair that fell to his lower back shining under the flicker of the candlelight. Though he could be clearly seen, his face was hidden behind a mask, shaped much like that of a dog's skull.

"The onyx stone and the opal stone have shown themselves," The man bathed in shadow comments lowly.

"Indeed," The red-headed man who stands opposite to him nods. "We cannot allow both jewels to fall into the wrong hands. It wouldn't bode well for either of us in our enterprises."

"I need them both for my plan to work," The man in shadow agrees. "Can I trust that our pact remains sound?"

"As long as you understand the status quo," The red headed man answers, his green eye that was visible from under his mask flashing in open threat. The man in shadow simple chuckles, before responding in a placating manner.

"I understand my place in it's entirety, Lord Kirinmaru. I am your humble servant."

Soooooo, what do ya think? I am really looking forward to reading some reactions and thoughts about this chapter!

I hope everyone is safe and healthy!

Until next time

T.O.T.