"Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled, worried about what might have happened to Kagome if he had not been there.
Inuyasha's fangs slid back to their hiding place, as he came out of his hunger induced stupor. Kagome was shaken out of her own coma, blushing a zillion shades of red.
"We've been looking for you two all over," said Miroku, "But it looks like you didn't need to be worried about," the way he said the last par earned him a bonk on the head and slap on the cheek.
"Kagome!" said a concerned Sango. She wrapped her arms around her friend and squeezed the life out of her. "Why are you all wet?" Sango asked.
"I fell out of the canoe when we hit a rock." Kagome left out the part about almost drowning, in fear of worrying her friend more. And the part about Inuyasha being her boyfriend.
Damn! What was I thinking! Inuyasha beat himself a hundred times over. If Miroku had not had not of been there… he probably would have done something he'd regret for the rest of his life…
Later, after the campers had returned to the campsite, they sat around a roaring fire, telling ghost stories.
"… and now he wonders around aimlessly, searching for her, and they say that if he ever finds her he will AHHHHH!" screamed Miroku. Both girls squealed and the boys laughed.
"Works every time Miroku," said Inuyasha.
"Like a charm," answered Miroku, giving Inuyasha a high-five.
"I have a story," said Kagome. "A girl, named Beth, moves from her home and into a small town called Livingstar, in a house by a cliff over the ocean. She falls in love with a boy named Rick, but this is no fairytale." Kagome paused for effect. "One night, it rained hard and the winds were high. There was a hurricane coming. Rick, who feared for Beth, drove to her house from downtown. But, when he got there, she was no where to be found. The lights were on in the house, but Rick kept hearing his name being called, out by the cliff. He followed it, thinking that it was Beth. When he got to the edge of the cliff he called out her name. He kept calling her for an hour and almost thought that she had been lost in the storm.
"Then, he turned back to the house, and saw her. She was standing at the front door. Rick ran to her. But it wasn't Beth.
'Who are you?' he asked.
'The owner of this house. What are you doing here young man? You should be at home preparing for the storm.' she said.
'You must be mistaken. A young woman named Beth lives here. And I can't find her.' He answered
'Young man, I don't know what you are talking about. Beth has been dead for 30 years, ever since the last storm when she was thrown off that cliff. She was my daughter and she used to live here. But now, this is my house, and I have been on vacation for several months.' the lady said." Kagome finished.
"That sucks," said Inuyasha after a moment.
"Ok," said Rin. "Its time for lights out."
Everyone got up from his or her seat and went to their respective tents.
"'Night, Sango," Kagome yawned.
"'Night, Kags," said Sango.
All the campers were asleep when Kagome awoke. It was still night out, and she got up and went out of the tent. She had to go to the bathroom, so she grabbed a roll and walked into the forest. When she was done with her business, she started to walk back to the campsite.
Then she heard a noise. Something had rustled the bushes, and Kagome thought it to be the wind. Then she heard a low growl, and stopped dead in her tracks. What could it be? She thought, A bear, a wolf, coyote?
The bushes rustled again, and Kagome was scared stiff. She froze like a deer, caught in headlights.
It leaped out from nowhere, and landed right behind her. It grasped it's hands around her shoulders and Kagome felt like she was no longer in control of her body. Slowly, a blackness overcame her mind, throwing her into a dark oblivion, and she could feel, two sharp pains on the side of her neck, just before the darkness completely consumed her mind.
Kagome's eyes fluttered open. She saw green blurs and light intermixed with each other. She immediately shut them again and groaned. She had a huge headache and she was stiff, from lying on the ground.
She slowly pulled herself up and stretched. What the hell happened? She questioned her self. I've got to get back to the camp.
"Kagome!" it was Sango's voice.
"Kagome!" shouted Inuyasha.
"I'm here!" Kagome answered their calls.
"Kagome," said a relieved Inuyasha. He threw his arms around her and held tight.
"Jeez, Kags, you scared us to death! What happened?" asked Sango.
"I went to the bathroom, and on my way back… something attacked me!" it all came flooding back into her memory. She was biting back the tears in her eyes. "And it… it… it bit me!" she screamed the last part and completely broke down in Inuyasha's arms.
"Where Kagome?" Sango asked in a very solemn and serious voice. Her face visibly paled.
Kagome put her hand up to her shirt collar and pulled it down. There Inuyasha and Sango saw two scabs, and even though theirs had healed a long time ago, they recognized it right away.
"Oh my gawd," said Sango, the color gone from her face completely.
/---------------------/
"Inuyasha! Why did you drag me in here?" Miroku said.
"Shhhhhh!" Inuyasha put a finger to his lips. They were in their tent. "Kagome has been bitten." He said solemnly.
"What?" asked Miroku, confused. But one look in Inuyasha's eyes, and everything clicked into place.
"How are we going to break the news?" said Miroku.
"I don't know." Inuyasha replied.
/-----------------------/
Kagome sat in her tent, unconsciously rubbing the place where she had been bitten, deep in thought. The counselors said that they had never seen or heard of any animal that would bite people's necks. She felt fine, not sick at all. But she was very frightened of what had happened last night.
I just can't understand it, she thought to herself. The counselors had also given her the day off. So she had a lot of time to reflect on what had happened that night.
Suddenly, her upper arm started to burn. Her face contorted and she gripped at the epicenter of the pain. Her eyes were shut tight.
Then all at once, the pain was gone. Kagome opened her eyes, and she found that she was no longer in her tent. She looked around her. She saw that she was in some kind of temple, with tall marble pillars that connected with a ceiling. The ceiling, at first sight, didn't look like one. It looked like the night sky, but much clearer than the one that Kagome was used to. It looked like it never been touched by pollution. In the center of it all, was a full moon. Kagome had never seen such a moon. It was the purest white that she had ever seen.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" the woman's voice made Kagome jump.
"Who are you?" Kagome asked, confused and startled.
"My name is Jewlene, and I am the ex-Queen of the Werewolves," Jewlene answered. "And yours?" she asked.
"Kagome," Jewlene was dressed in a deep burgundy wine velvet robes. They went past the floor, and trailed behind her. It was trimmed in an even darker green polyester that sparkled, and she had a black corset on, that pushed her breasts up. Her long red hair was down and she wore a tiara atop her head. It was gold, with emeralds and garnets that shimmered in the moonlight. Kagome felt that she should bow to this woman, so she did.
"What are you doing, child?" Jewlene giggled. "I am not the queen anymore, you are." Kagome froze, and her eyes widened.
"I am?" she asked incredulously. The ex-queen shook her head up and down. "Don't you think I am kind of young?" asked Kagome.
"Why, no. I was your age when I was chosen," said Jewlene.
"But I'm not a werewolf." said Kagome.
"Yes you are, dear. Who did you think it was who bit you? Some animal?" she laughed.
"But how do you know that I am the one you bit?" asked a wary Kagome.
"The mark on your arm." she pointed.
Kagome looked down at the arm that had burned a while ago. It now had been tattooed a strange symbol with a diamond around it.
"That is the mark of the Werewolf Queen." she answered Kagome's unsaid question. "I have one on my arm too. The reason I have brought you here.."
"Where is here?" asked Kagome.
"This is the scared temple of the Werewolf Queens. Only the royal werewolves come here. Now the reason I brought you here is because I need to tell you about the traditions of the werewolf and it's ancestry. The first tradition is that after the queen's term is served, she finds a person she deems worthy of the position. Once that person is found, she teaches her the way of the werewolf. Do you understand so far?" she said.
"I think so, but why me?" said Kagome
"Because of your kindness and your wisdom. You have all the qualities that every Queen needs, except for the experience. But I will teach you a lot by giving you my memories," said Jewlene.
"Your memories?" asked Kagome.
"Yes, another tradition. You will be able to see into my past as well as your own. It will show you my experiences, so, hopefully, you will not make the same mistakes." she put her hands to her temples and closed her eyes. Then, a small blue ball of light appeared in front of her. Jewlene wrapped her hands around it and said, "Hold out your hands, Kagome, and except my gift,"
Kagome did as she said. Jewlene placed it in her hands. It was warm and icy at the same time, but comforting.
"Now push it into your chest." Kagome took the blue ball and guided it to her chest, and pushed. It glowed brighter as it entered her body, and once it did; Kagome took in a sharp breath.
All at once it froze and burned her. Kagome felt pain, joy, fear, confidence, and sorrow, run through her like a shock wave. These feeling intertwined each other in her heart and mind, pulsing like a second heartbeat that brought her to her knees, clutching her chest in a grimace. Her breathing was harsh, and she felt like she had run 100 miles in an instant.
"You now possess the knowledge and memories from thousands of generations. It will take a while for your mind to except the new information, so you need to rest. I will return you to your 'camp' now, but if you ever need guidance, you can summon yourself here, and I will be here." Jewlene's voice faded into the shadows, and Kagome fell through a dark oblivion, but when she opened her eyes, she was back in her tent.
Not only am I a werewolf, but the Queen of the werewolves? This has to be a dream, thought Kagome. She pinched herself. Nope, no dream. Man, my head hurts.
She then crawled into her sleeping bag, and fell asleep, wondering all the while, Why would Jewlene pick me?
/------------------------------/
The rest of Kagome's gang was walking back to the campsite from riding the rapids. They had had fun, but their worry for Kagome kept biting at the back of their minds. It was the vampires in the group that worried the most for her safety though, because they worried that the supposed 'vampire' would come back for more. How wrong they were.
"How far is the camp now, Ms. Rin?" asked Sango.
"About a five minutes walk," she answered.
"Hey, Miroku, I'll race you," said Inuyasha.
"You're on," he answered, and the race began.
Inuyasha won by a long shot. Since he had been vampire longer, he was stronger than Miroku. He put his backpack in the tent, and (guess where he went.) headed straight for the girls' tent. There, he found Sango already at Kagome's side. The girls were chatting about the river rapids.
"Hey Inuyasha," said Kagome.
"Hey, how are you?" asked Inuyasha, trying to sound indifferent.
"I'm better, so how did you like the rapids Inuyasha?" she asked, though her mind seemed to be elsewhere.
"They were nothing like the ones on Fear Factor, but they were fun to ride." he answered. "You feeling better?"
"Much. I wish I could have gone with you guys, the rapids sound fun. What are we doing tomorrow?" Kagome said.
"I think that we are rock climbing," said Sango.
" I hope they let me go, it gets lonely here, without being able to watch Sango beat on Miroku," she giggled.
That made steam come from Sango's ears and the other two were trying to stifle their laughter, unsuccessfully.
/-------------------------------------------/
Kagome's foot slipped on yet another rock as she was attempting to pull herself up the cliff. It was quickly getting annoying, as she was the last one on the rocky cliff, everyone had finished well before her. Don't look down, she told herself.
She hated heights, ever since she had fallen out of the tree in her back yard when she was five.
"Oi, would you hurry up down there, the counselors won't let us eat until you get up here." Inuyasha called down to her.
"Is that all you think about, food!" Kagome yelled back.
"Yes, hurry up," he answered.
Kagome let out an exasperated sigh as she pulled herself over the side the cliff.
"Happy now?" Kagome tugged off her harness. But there came no reply. She turned and saw that Inuyasha was already inhaling a hamburger (do they eat those at camp?).
Kagome shook her head solemnly. She sat down and grabbed an over cooked hamburger and ate it anyway. She was too tired to care.
/---------------------------------/
"So what are we doing tomorrow?" Kagome asked, barley retaining her balance as she tripped over yet another root.
"I think that we are hiking back to camp, and the dance is after that." Inuyasha chuckled, watching Kagome trip again. She was one of the clumsiest girls he had ever met. They had gone for a walk after the fire had started. The moon had yet to grace the couples presence as they walked (and tripped) through the forest atop the cliff.
Even though Inuyasha had fed enough the night before, it was still proving to be a difficult task to ignore the singing of Kagome's pulse. He was still kicking himself for excepting her invitation on a moonlight walk. The night was the predator's time to hunt, especially prey so easily attained.
Kagome finally caught up to him, and held his hand. This was making it all the more easier to hear the blood pulsing in her veins, and the feel of her hand was almost enough to make Inuyasha go over the edge. He was losing his control of the beast inside.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Kagome said.
"Yeah," Inuyasha replied, straining to concentrate on Kagome, and not the wonderful, beating, nectar of her blood.
Kagome was gazing at the darkening blue of the sky. Then on the horizon, there peaked a shinning yellow crescent that rose over the distant hills. Somehow, it was like seeing a full moon for the first time. As it rose higher and higher in the sky, Kagome felt an awkward awe fill her senses, that sent her mind swirling in its feeling. She then clutched her stomach in pain, squeezing her eyes shut, willing the agony to leave her body.
Inuyasha looked back to find Kagome doubled over, her breathing harsh. She suddenly released her middle and arched her back. There was a sickening crack, and Kagome opened her eyes. The orbs had turned the color of the moon, before transforming into an icy, silver-blue. The whites had gone, and turned to a complete black.
She opened her mouth and howled, long and sad, as if she were a wolf in pain. It barred her teeth, that grown extensive knines, and the jaws were grown into a dog-like snout and ears atop her head. Fur had covered where normally the skin would be, and Kagome tore off her clothes and the transformation was complete.
Inuyasha's eyes were bulged to the size of plates. He had heard of werewolves before, but had only seen one once, but to see the transformation was a completely different experience. It was beautiful and horrifing at the same