Chapter Nineteen

They had mated twice more, once just as hard and fast-paced as before and the last time had been loving and caring, before finally bathing fully without undoing everything they had done. He made a mental note that once he found them a home he would have to make sure that it had a bathing chamber large enough for the both of them. Grinning, much like a preening peacock, he couldn't help but to toss Kagome love filled glances every few seconds.

She sat upon the furs that would serve as their bedding while in his fathers territory, she was dressed in some of his old furs, ones he had left behind when he had gone out on his own to carve his own path. While they were simple, merely the furs of a boar, their dark black color made her semi tan skin stand out.

Sadly it also made every bump, bruise, and scrape that much more noticeable.

Kagome bit back a smile, she could practically hear his thoughts, finishing the loose braid that had put her hair in for the night she tied it off with a thin piece of leather cord, turning her sparkling blue eyes to meet his. "I'm fine Parker, a few bruises and cuts won't kill me." She gave a light laugh as he stalked up to her, on his hands and knees, her heartbeat picking up a bit as her core gave a throb wishing to be filled once more.

As much as she wanted another round she didn't think her body could handle it.

Parker grinned, scenting the light change in her scent, yet forced his twitching member to stop filling with blood. He could see she was tired, and honestly so was he. What was supposed to be a simple bath had turned into hours of mating and while he loved every second of it he was still going on less than a day or two of sleep in the past week.

He just wanted to curl up with his female and sleep.

So as he laid down behind her he pulled her into his arms, loving the way she curled into him, turning so that she laid on her stomach, her head on his chest as he gazed up at the ceiling before allowing his eyes to slide shut.

A comfortable silence fell over them, a sense of peace and belonging that neither had felt in the last week.

Kagome while tired still had a few questions floating about in her mind and diced to voice them now without prying eyes and ears.

"Hey, Parker." She paused waiting for him to acknowledge her. He gave a low hum, his eyes still closed as he fiddled with the end of her braid. Licking her lips she glanced around the meager room they were in and decided to try to get her assumptions confirmed before interacting with the lord and lady of the castle. She really didn't want to offend them, even more than having sex with their son in their bathing area. She flushed red at that, she knew they were probably overheard and that the scent of their mating would linger in the air for days to come.

Not exactly the first impression she wanted to give her 'in-laws' but it wasn't like she was thinking clearly at the time. Shoving the memories away she forced herself to stay on track, the faster she had her answer the faster they would get some sleep.

"So, if your father is the leopard king doesn't that make you the prince and therefore his heir?" There was no hidden agenda or meaning in her words, just pure curiosity.

Parker cracked an eye open to gaze at his small mate, his fingers still playing with her hair. He mused that being a human might mean that she had a different way of viewing how titles and such were passed down and he was curious as to what she thought was normal.

"Mmhm, I have other brothers but at the moment I'm my father's favorite son." Kagome blinked, if he was the favorite then shouldn't his room be grander? Not that she wasn't grateful to have a roof over her head, hell she was used to roughing it, but she was still curious. "So, does that mean that he's going to pass down the title of king to you, or is that something you have to earn?"

With humans, it was easy what the father had was passed down to the child, the shrine had been passed from father to son all the way up until her own father was head priest but once he had died in an accident the title had been picked up once again by her grandfather and was more then likely to be handed down to Souta, seeing as she no longer existed in that world anymore.

And while the thought hurt, it didn't hurt as bad because she knew that while she no longer had a place in that world or the feudal era she had one here, with her mate.

As for demons, it really was dependent on the species and ranking, higher demons, ones in the court, passed down titles and lands father to son, unless they lost a challenge to another male in which case they would lose all titles and lands to the winner and more often than not be killed and their family left to fend for themselves. Lower ranking youkai often fought for power and followed whomever had the most of it, lineage and pedigree be damned.

So she wondered how it worked here, in this world of beasts.

Parker opened both eyes, his gaze on the cracks of the ceiling. "As a male, my father only had to ensure I made it past a certain age. After that, I was on my own. Males have to find their own territory and gain power by themselves. What's his is his and what's mine is mine. He has no obligation to do or give me anything."

Kagome blinked. "But he helped you find me, didn't he? He's letting us stay here right?" Parker could feel the worry in her words and he was quick to soothe it.

"Yes, mostly because my mother asked it of him. As you know the female is the heart of every family, they are the head of the house, what they say goes and mother is very fond of me as I am her youngest. Beyond that and the fact that father views me as his favorite at the moment I doubt he would have helped us. I don't want you to fret my mate, we can return to our home whenever you wish it. I will go anywhere you want to, my home is with you."

The line while corny made her cheeks flush as she buried her face in his chest to hide it, now that they were officially mates she had no reason to hide her feelings and reactions, he was going to see a whole new expressive side of her and she hoped he was ready for it.

"I see...so it really is like the animal kingdom, as soon as the male is able to hunt on his own he's outed by the alpha male and left to find his own place or die trying." Her words were low and murmured, mostly speaking her thoughts out loud yet Parker merely nodded.

"Yes," Parker paused, "we raise them until they can transform and hunt...we'll do the same with our own cubs if that's okay with you. I don't know much about 'humans'. Can you tell me?" He was always curious about her, her past, her linage, everything.

Kagome nodded, explaining how human families were structured, and the close ties they kept even after reaching 'adulthood'. She could tell it was a baffling and confusing thing for him to process let alone grasp yet he still took her words in stride.

"So, you would want to keep our cubs around even after they are able to hunt?" His words were just that, words, a question. No hidden malice or judgment in them.

Kagome nodded, "I would, at least until they feel ready enough to venture off. I know it might be considered coddling them but they would be my, no, our...cubs, I would want to know they are safe and that I did everything I could to prepare them for the world. Obviously, I would defer to you on certain aspects since I have no idea about certain things when it comes to life as a male beast." She paused, a smile on her face as he stared at her, his eyes filled with love, "Though I really do hope they'll have your cute ears and tail!"

He laughed as he pulled her close, moving so she was fully laying on top of him. "Oh they will, all males are born in beast form. Females are born in human form and aren't capable of taking on beast form, which is why us males are so protective of them." Kagome nodded, a bit shocked to find out that should she one day give birth to their cubs they would be in beast form. She filed it away for now, because as much as she enjoyed the idea of cute fluffy cubs one day, that was a day that was far away from the here and now.

Instead, she gave a large yawn, her eyes burning as she struggled to keep them open. Finally, the adrenaline that had kept her going for the past week or so was fading. All she was left with was the want to curl up and sleep until her body was satisfied.

Parker smiled as he let a low rumbling growl seep from his chest into his small mate, he could tell she was tired, and truth be told so was he, and he honestly didn't know when the next time they would be able to fully let their guards down and rest would come so he was going to take full advantage of it while in his father's territory.

"Sleep my mate, we can talk more when we wake up." His voice fell on deaf ears as Kagome had already given into temptation, her breathing evening out as she drifted deeper into her sleep, dreams of leopard cubs with cute little cat ears and bright blue eyes dancing in her head.