Chapter 6

Meet the Pack

"Tsume!"

Nikki was trembling fiercely as the wolf's jaws were right above her; ivory fangs glistened as it snarled. She couldn't move she was so scared. She thought for surely she'd die under the beast. Then, Kiba's voice came to her ears and she felt reassured. "He'll get me out of this. Wont he?" She thought, shaking in fear.

A white blur came from the corner of her eye as Kiba's form slammed into the other wolf's. The two canines tumbled upon the ground, going head-over-paws. Nikki gasped, now afraid Kiba was injured, or about to be. She stood up and ran at the two wolves. They stood, eyeing each other as if they were about to clash. Kiba's ivory plume was now standing on end. His fangs shown brightly from his curled lips as he snapped his jaws in the air. The gray wolf snapped back and growled lowly. Kiba suddenly jumped in front of Nikki and gave the other wolf a ferocious look.

Surprisingly, the silver canine blinked and lowered its lip over its fangs. He was still tensed to spring. However, his face held utter confusion. Then the wolf spoke, a harsh and cold tone that made Nikki shudder. "What the hell are you doing, half-wit!"

Kiba didn't move from Nikki. He snarled sharply, "Tsume, leave the girl alone. You had no right to attack her."

"A… attack me!" Nikki's head spun. The silver wolf was going to kill her? She was now so scared she could've run all the way back home. She had never been attacked by a wild animal before. They had always respected her as she respected them. Why was this wolf so different?

"She deserved it after that bastard sire of hers shot at us!" The silver wolf's words made Nikki flinch. She would take insults about herself but her own father! Now this bruja had gone too far. Nikki was going to defend her kin whether this wolf said so or not.

Nikki's voice made the wolf jump a bit. "You don't have to insult my pa! He was only protecting our livestock!"

Kiba didn't remove his eyes from Tsume. Though his ear flicked and he snorted a bit, showing his displeasure for Nikki's interference. "Now Tsume's really going to have a cow," Kiba thought with a sigh. He couldn't make Nikki take back her words, and she did have a right to defend her father. Tsume was the one who attacked her, it was no wonder she'd be angry with him.

"Your livestock can burn in hell for all I care. Along with you and the rest of those damn humans!"

Now he had gone too far. Even Kiba was upset. The ivory wolf snarled threateningly and lunged at the silver wolf. Caught off guard from the sudden assault, Tsume couldn't react in time and thus was pinned beneath Kiba's heavy mass. Kiba's jaws were inches from the silver brute's throat. "Don't you dare insult her!"

Tsume was now taken aback immensely. Kiba was defending a human? Had he missed something? Tsume wasn't about to let Kiba push him around. He used his hind legs to kick the white wolf off of him. Kiba grunted in surprise and quickly landed upon his feet. He snapped at Tsume and bared his fangs.

"Hey, calm down!"

Another wolf came out of the bushes, making Nikki jump in surprise. She tripped over a rock and fell back. A pair of arms caught her and picked her up. She blinked and suddenly blushed as she felt a hand groping her bottom. With an angry swing Nikki smacked the stranger.

Kiba didn't look away from Tsume as he addressed the perverted wolf. "Hige, put Nikki down before she kicks your ass."

Hige groaned and set her down, rubbing a very red hand mark upon his cheek. Nikki was making her way to Kiba when she ran into another figure. She fell to the ground and shook her head. Opening her eyes she came face-to-face with a reddish-colored wolf. His tail was wagging and he had a friendly smile on his face. He was acting like a pup. "Hi there! I'm Toboe! What's your name?"

Nikki blinked in reply. She couldn't find the strength to move her jaw. Kiba began to back away from Tsume as he came towards Nikki. He shifted back to his human form and held out his hand to her. She grasped it gently and was pulled to her feet. Dusting off her shorts, Nikki glanced around at three new wolves. The silver one's name was Tsume. She understood that much. The one that had groped her was Hige. And the friendly one was named Toboe.

Kiba took a deep breath before saying, "Nikki this is my pack." He pointed to each of the wolves, naming them off and giving descriptions of each one. "The ass over there is Tsume…" Tsume snorted and turned into his human form. He wore very tight leather that exposed his muscular arms and stomach. His hair was white and shaven as if he was in the army. He had the total bad boy look all completed with the scar that shone across his bare chest. "That's Hige, the perv," Kiba continued as he pointed to a shaggy haired man, wearing a bright yellow sweater and baggy jeans. He was a little heavy-set and, despite the letch behavior, he was charming. "And that's Toboe, the youngest and most uh… 'playful' member." Toboe barked loudly and began to laugh as he too turned into his human form. He had long brown hair, wore green pants complete with a pair of boots, and had a soft red shirt on.

Nikki nodded to each of them. Only Tsume didn't respond but merely looked away. Kiba suddenly gasped beside Nikki. He looked around before asking, "Where's Cheza and Blue? Weren't they with you all?"

His question put saddened looks on each of the wolves' faces. Even Tsume's eyes shimmered in pain. Kiba was staring at them, piercing them with interrogating glares. Finally, Tsume spoke up. His voice held the presence of bad news. "Darcia came as soon as we lost you. He scooped up Cheza from the ground and took her away. Blue was shot and collapsed a little while after you disappeared. We turned back to find her after the nobles left but there was no trace of her."

Hige's eyes shimmered with pain. He looked down and let his hair cover the hurt in his eyes. Nikki noticed it and felt bad for the wolf. "Maybe that other wolf was his mate or something. After all, wolves to mate for life…" She thought. She wanted to comfort him but Tsume's snarl made her freeze.

"And look where we find you. In this human dump, with human reek all over you, and with a human whore!"

Nikki gasped, revealing her hurt to what Tsume accused her of. Kiba noticed the noise and began to growl ferociously at Tsume. "Don't you dare call her that, Tsume! And it wasn't my fault I left. I have no idea how I even got here!"

Tsume snarled, "Well excuse me but we could've really used your help!"

Kiba retorted, "It wasn't like I could do anything if I was knocked out!"

"Well because of you Cheza is gone and Blue is probably dead!"

Kiba looked down at his paws. He suddenly felt guilty that he hadn't been there to save the flower maiden and his fellow pack member. He turned back to Nikki and his eyes told her how hurt he was. She seemed to understand and stood between Kiba and the enraged Tsume.

"Who do you think you are accusing Kiba like that? If it had been you, you probably couldn't have done anything about it in the first place!" Tsume was about to defend himself when Nikki stormed closer and glared him right in the eye. "You are nothing but a coward if you ask me! Pinning bad fate on someone who did all he could to prevent it. You are nothing but scum in my eyes."

Tsume's jaw had dropped with her accusations. He was staring at her in disbelief. This girl had guts, and plenty of them to speak to him like that. Tsume's shocked expression turned to a glare as he thought, "I'm not letting this human witch push me around!" He snapped and stared right into her eyes. "I don't give a damn what I am in your worthless eyes. He's a wolf, not a human. He could get back up if he felt like it!"

Nikki's eyes were filling with tears. "Worthless…" She suddenly swung her hand and struck Tsume right across the face. Hige and Toboe winced and gasped at the same time. Kiba's eyes widened in surprise but he made no noise or movement. Tsume was now completely startled. The girl had smacked him!

"Pretty damn hard too," he admitted silently to himself as he rubbed his cheek. For what seemed like an eternity, Nikki and Tsume just stared at one another. Then Nikki turned and walked back to Kiba's side. He looked down at her, spotting the tear crawling down her cheek. He glared at Tsume for hurting her feelings. He had no right to make Nikki cry. He put his hand on her cheek and wiped away her tear. She smiled a bit but then turned back to the playhouse.

Nikki spoke softly as she walked towards the shelter, "You can go, Kiba. Your pack's here now. It would be foolish for you to stay." She vanished into the house without glancing at him.

Kiba stared at the house in shock. Her words had hurt him deeply. He wanted to be with her. He didn't want to leave yet… "She's right, staying here would be foolish. But I… How can I leave her?" He clenched his hands into fists as he shifted into his wolf form. He turned to the others, in this form his eyes revealing nothing of how hurt he was. He spoke strongly, though he was incredibly wounded at the thought of leaving Nikki. "Let's go. There's nothing for us here anymore."

The other wolves nodded as they turned towards the woods to begin their departure. Kiba stopped and looked at the playhouse. His tail hung lowly as his ears pinned down. He didn't want to leave her. "Nikki…" He turned and began to trot away, his white plume bouncing a bit. He stopped when he heard something: the sound of crying. He turned and glanced back at the house. He had made his decision. Nikki was hurting so much, and Kiba was so reluctant to leave, he wasn't going to leave her. He turned back to his pack and said sternly, "Go ahead. There's something I need to take care of."

Without giving the others a second to protest, he was gone. Kiba began to run not towards the playhouse but to the deeper parts of the woods. He sniffed the ground and caught the scent he was looking for. Taking off as fast as his paws would carry him, he came closer and closer to the creature he was tracking.

Meanwhile, Nikki was in the small house. Her eyes filled with tears as she turned over on her side. She began to break down in unstoppable tears. Her face was buried deep into a pillow as she sobbed. "I lost Emily and Kiba. Why am I crying? He's back where he belongs but I… I…" Nikki gasped as she raised her head from the pillow. "Did I… Did I fall in love with him?"

"Fall in love with who?"

Nikki screamed in surprise and spun around to face Kiba standing in the entrance of the house. He had Midnight Sky next to him. "You lost this in the woods." He explained with a smile. It faded when he saw how red and puffy her eyes were. Kiba stepped into the house and kneeled down next to Nikki, his hand wiping away her tears. "What's wrong?"

Nikki was shocked to see Kiba again. She thought he was lost forever. She had only known him for a day but already she felt so linked to him. She didn't ever want to loose Kiba. It hurt her so badly when he had gone. "I'm fine," Nikki lied. She blushed at Kiba's touch on her cheek.

Kiba smiled and slowly rose. "I'm going to stay. The pack isn't ready to travel quite yet."

Nikki's eyes shimmered in glee. "He's not leaving! Oh Kiba, thank you.." She stood up and wiped away her tears as best she could. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Nikki's face lit up as she hugged Kiba tightly. He blushed a bright red before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her back, his head resting upon hers gently. Nikki pulled away from him, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks a bright crimson color. "I'm glad you're not. I have to show you something." Nikki grasped his hand in hers and began to walk out the door, leaving Kiba a little dumbfounded as he followed her to a destination he did not know.

Kiba glanced down at Nikki and blushed as he thought, "Do I… Do I like her?" With that question still in his mind, he followed Nikki to wherever she was taking him.

Author's Note: As promised here's Chapter 6! I know, it's a bit delayed but my family and I went Christmas shopping yesterday so I didn't have a chance to work on it then. I'm happy I kinda met my deadline. In honor of Christmas, I made this chapter a bit more romantic at the end, for all you fangirls (like me) who wish you were Nikki (like me) eat your heart out! Kiba's a babe. I luvers him so I enjoyed writing this chapter. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!