BlueMoon Goddess: Hey guys, I'm sorry for the long wait. As usual, I've been busy with working and getting AMV's done. But I'm still so happy you guys are loving this story and anxiously wait for more to come. This chapter is decently long and I'll try and get the next one up in two weeks. So as I say, happy reading and enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, its characters, or 'Royal Dragon' which this plot is based on.

Summary: Why did life hate her? Kagome's day couldn't get any worse. First, she gets fired from her crappy job, then, she gets kicked out of her apartment and was homeless. But the cherry on top was getting kidnapped and taken to be hunted by demons so she can mate with one of them. Yea…she probably shouldn't have gotten out of bed that morning.

Inuyasha was so uncomfortable that it was nearly killing him. He was currently leaning his back up against a tree, and it was doing a number on his back. The fire was still burning strong since he continuously added a log whenever the fire dimmed. Even though he told Kagome that the fire was going to die out, it was just a lie. The night only got colder and since her clothes were still wet, he knew she would freeze through the night. He only said that so she would be able to sleep. And speaking of sleep, she was still sleeping soundly next him with her front facing him and her leg touching his outstretched leg. At least she was able to sleep. He unfortunately wasn't able to get a wink of it.

Every so often through the night he would hear soft whimpering noises coming from her. From the noises along with how she kept occasionally brushing against his leg, and moving in her sleep, his groin was starting to act up. Lord help him. From the sounds she kept making and the way she was squirming, his groin was getting it confused thinking it was sexual and not normal sounds one would make in their sleep. Shit. He shouldn't be so wound up. Sure, he found her interesting and her scent was almost near intoxicating, but she wasn't even that cute. He's seen prettier women in his lifetime, and she was just average. Though, from the way he felt when he kissed her was something he never experienced before. Added to how her chest felt pressed up against his. Dammit! This line of thinking wasn't helping his hard-on situation.

He saw Kagome move again and he had to bite back a moan. If she woke up while he was in this state, he would scare her. She wriggled this time, turning away from him so he could get a good look at her derriere. Fuck and damn. He needed to think about other things. Needed to remove his focus from her tantalizing scent or how her chest rose and fell. He really didn't need to notice how the morning sun caught her dark strands of hair. Or how long and thick her lashes were. She wasn't attractive. She wasn't...really.

Kagome turned toward him again and saw her eyelids flickering. Fuck, she was waking up. He needed to get his raging hormones under control. If she turned his way and saw the tent in his pants, he'd be screwed. Already she thought the worst of him, and he didn't want to make it more difficult. However, he couldn't get his member to cooperate. He had to think of something and fast. Let's see…Jaken wearing a grass skirt and doing the hula. Yeah, that worked. Inuyasha sighed in relieve as his erection shrunk and disappeared. Looks like that stupid imp was good for something after all.

Kagome's eyes fluttered and she made a muttering noise. She turned onto her back and let out a yawn and stretched out the kinks in her body. Wow, that sure was a crazy dream she had. Being kidnapped and sent to the demon realm where she had participated in some weird demon hunt where she and another group of girls were being fought over to mate with demons. Not to mention some silver haired dog-eared demon had grabbed her and kissed her, which she didn't want to admit was a pretty hot kiss, and claimed she was his so some other demon couldn't have her.

Yeah, what a horrible dream.

"Morning." Inuyasha said, beside her.

She jostled into an upright position. Oh no, this wasn't a dream. The past seventy-two hours she experienced really did happen. Kagome scooted a bit away from him, taking in her surroundings. That's right, they took refuge in the forest and that's where they currently were.

"Uh, morning." Kagome eventually replied, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "I thought I was dreaming but obviously I wasn't. I can't believe I was able to sleep." She murmured the last sentence.

"You were exhausted." He said, nonchalant. "How're you feeling?"

"Um…" Her cheeks turned a pink color and she tried to stand.

"Don't get up just yet." He gently gripped her shoulder. "Take a minute to wake up first."

Slowly but surely, she relaxed against his hold and sat back down. "So…" She looked away shyly. "How did you sleep?"

"I got a few hours of sleep, so I feel fine." He usually never got a full night's sleep anyway. Plus, he had kept watch, making sure no wildlife or other demons were nearby.

"Oh." She moved further away.

Inuyasha touched her arm. "You scraped yourself." There was also a dark blue bruised area on her knee. He touched that as well, with just the tip of his fingertip. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"I'm fine. A little stiff but okay." She pulled back so that she could look him in the eyes. "I'm worried about my feet though. They're pretty sore. I'm worried I won't be able to walk all the way back."

"I'm going to take a look at your feet. Will you allow to me check?"

She nodded.

Inuyasha moved into a crouching position and picked up one of her feet. Shit, she was hurt pretty badly. He touched a wound. It was already scabbed over and looked like it had been made by a sharp stone, or a stick. When he looked up, she was looking at him funny. She was looking at him like she was only noticing him for the first time. He didn't have time to figure out what she was thinking. His main focus was seeing how badly her injuries were.

He moved her foot so that he could get a better look. He touched her heel and she winced. "You have some scratches and bruising."

"I'm human." She replied. "We're prone to injuries than demons."

"True, but your feet shouldn't be this bad. Weren't you given shoes?"

"Yes, but they were flat, not very supportive. We were walking for almost two hours and they eventually messed up after that."

"Shit." He murmured. "That was an oversight on our part. Demons wear shoes, but some of us don't. We thought the ones that we gave you would be supportive enough to last until the foraging was over. I'm sorry this happened."

'Okay, this is weird.' Kagome thought.

Inuyasha had looked really concerned for her well-being. She told him that her feet were sore and he was inspecting them. It was sweet. Then again, he was probably just upset that they wouldn't be able to make good time back to his residence. Thing was though, he did look really concerned, caring and sweet. This guy was an enigma. She had been chased and hunted down like an animal and now, this. If he was concerned enough to care about her well-being, maybe she should give him a chance? No. She shook the thought from her head. Kagome had still planned to go back to Seattle. Once she her weeks were up, she would make Inuyasha take her back home.

Inuyasha had just finished looking at her other foot, and he put it down. "With your feet this badly injured, you won't be able to walk back to the castle." He then turned around, his back facing her

"What are you doing?"

"Climb on my back. I'll carry you to the castle. Once there, I'll have someone take a look at your injuries."

"No, it's fine, I can make it." She said, standing. When she tried to step forward, she limped as a bit of pain shot up to her foot.

"You can't even stand up without wincing." He told her, turning his head to face her. "Besides, the castle is miles away from this forest and you wouldn't make it. And I'd like to get back there before night falls.

"I can make it. Honestly, I can." Kagome tried to take another step but nearly fell onto her knees.

"Will you stop being so damn stubborn! Either you willingly let me carry you, or I'll haul you over my shoulders. Either way, I'm going to carry you."

She narrowed her eyes at him and climbed onto his back and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Was that so hard?" He stood up and repositioned her so he could get a better handle on her. "This will go smoothly if you just do what you're told instead of arguing every step of the way."

Like hell that was going to happen. She wasn't going to just listen to him. His kind had kidnapped her and others against her will and were forcing them to mate and bare their children. They were horrible creatures and she just had to hold onto that resolve.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"We're almost there." Inuyasha told her, taking a glance at her.

He would've run the whole way, but he didn't want to risk injuring her even more. Luckily, they only had a few miles to go. He had been carrying her up until an hour ago, when Kagome had begged to be put down so she could walk. Tired from hearing her mouth, Inuyasha agreed, dropped her to her feet and let her walk the rest of the way. He kept close to her to make sure she didn't collapse, and surprisingly, she made it this far without complaining or whimpering. She really was a stubborn woman. But her determination was what attracted him in the first place. However, he could easily see her limping and struggling to remain on her feet. If she fell, he'll carry her, no matter how much she wanted to protest.

"What's your definition of almost?" Her breath came out in pants. She was currently limping, the undersides of her feet throbbing. Her muscles ached and her knee was puffy and didn't bend properly. Not to mention, there was a lump on her head from where she'd hit the pavement, but at least her headache was gone.

"Another mile, six at the most."

Kagome allowed herself to fall onto the grass. She sat with her head in her hands. Six miles. That might as well be a hundred miles. She couldn't make it another six miles. Her eyes began to sting with the need to cry but she held back the tears. She wasn't a quitter or a moaner. On a heavy sigh, she started to get back up when Inuyasha put his arms around her and lifted her off the ground, bridal style.

"Put me down." She wriggled to prove a point. "I can walk on my own."

"Like hell." Inuyasha growled, continuing to walk.

"Put me down." She said, a little bit more harshly. She was quite capable of hobbling the rest of the way on her own. Maybe…hopefully.

Inuyasha put her down and looked at her, irritation showing. "I don't care how you feel. You're injured and won't make it the rest of the way. I'm sure your feet got worse the farther we went. I don't know why you won't let me help you."

Kagome looked to the side, not wanting to look at his face. A part of her knew that he was right. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was pretty badly injured and she really did need his help getting the rest of the way. However, there was another part of her, the stubborn part, that wanted to push through and not accept his help. No matter how worse her injuries would get. The stubborn part was what won when she tried again to take another step but winced.

Inuyasha sucked in a deep breath. So it seemed that she was going to take the stubborn route. He didn't have time for this. He turned and started walking away.

'What is he doing?' Kagome thought. Was he actually leaving her? She couldn't believe this. After everything that happened, he was just going to leave her in the middle of nowhere. Seriously?

"Where do you think you're going?" She shouted after him, not even stopping when he heard her. "Hey! You can't just leave me here."

Inuyasha kept walking and her heart sank. Just as she was about to run, hobble after him, he called after her. "What's wrong? I thought you were able to continue walking? Surely, you can just follow me, right?" From where she was standing, she could see that he was sporting an arrogant grin on his face.

He wasn't planning to leave her. He only pretended like he was just to teach her a lesson. To make a point that she needed him. The bastard!

Inuyasha made his way back to her, the grin still plastered on his face. "I'm glad you fully understand." He told her, his eyes locking with hers. "I'll carry you the remaining way. I don't want you to argue. You can't walk right now so it's up to me to help you."

She groaned in defeat. "Fine, have it your way."

This time when he crouched down, she climbed onto his back without protest. He continued to carry her once again and continued, this time he decided to run the rest of the way. Woah, he sure was fast. Kagome had to close her eyes to stop herself from feeling nauseous. That's how fast the ground passed beneath them.

"I'm glad that you were so upset about me leaving you." His chest rumbled. "You didn't want me to go, did you?"

When he turned to face her, she saw he was smiling. Jerk! "I… um… I didn't want to be left out here all on my own, not with sore feet and a swollen knee. It had nothing to do with you."

"Sure, if you say so." He said, chuckling softly.

Let him believe he got his way. Whatever. She knew it had nothing to do with this arrogant demon. She didn't know him. She didn't trust him and she didn't want anything to do with him.
Kagome planned on seeing her time here as a holiday. A little break from the real world. She'd have food in her belly and a roof over her head. In a couple of weeks, she would have to go back to Seattle and then she'd have to worry about her future. Not right now though. There was no room for a guy in her life. Besides, there was still a lot of things she wanted to do with her life. Places she wanted to visit and explore, and living within demon territory and being shackled to a demon for the rest of her life wasn't something that she didn't want.

"Were here." Inuyasha said, after thirty minutes.

Kagome looked up and her mouth dropped. What she saw before her was nothing like she ever witnessed before. The castle, looked like it was something she'd seen in the history books when she studied Feudal Japan in school. The castle before her was entirely white and it sat on a raised hill. There was a large tower in the center and two others sitting shorter on opposing sides of it. From looking on, it seemed like there were surrounding buildings, maybe eighty-six, that surrounded the three tall towers and were placed on the lower hills surrounding the higher hill.

"That's your castle?" Her voice was filled with amazement. "Wow! It looks like something I've read about in Feudal Japan."

"Demons have been around since the Feudal era of Japan and most of the agriculture and structures of the buildings in our world are taken from it."

"The views must be spectacular." She said, almost to herself. If the outside looked beautiful, she could only imagine how the inside looked.

"I'm going to put you down now." He said, kneeling down so she could get off.

"Okay." Kagome craned her neck to look back up at the tall towers before her. "So which one is where you live in?"

"The one in the center." Inuyasha pointed to the tallest tower in the center. "The surrounding buildings are mostly storage, and other corridors are for the soldiers and staff within the castle."

"How long will it take us to get there?" Kagome asked him.

"Well, walking to the main tower, would take someone a few hours to get there."

"What!"

"This castle was built to prevent intruders from invading us. It's surrounded by a giant labyrinth and the walkway alone is complex to confuse intruders. Even visitors get lost making their way to the main gate."

"Isn't there a shorter way to get there?" She barely made it here. Her feet wouldn't be able to make it even for a few more hours. However, she didn't want to have him carry her any more.

"Don't worry. Once we make it to the main gate." He pointed toward the left. "There's a tunnel that'll take us directly to the entrance of the center tower. Now that I think about it, you were already here."

"I was?" Kagome asked him. She would remember leaving a place like this.

"Yea, you were up in the second tower yesterday. One of the dragon demons took you from this castle to the drop-off point. You didn't know?" Inuyasha questioned.

"Oh…I didn't realize. The room we were in was dark up until two days ago. And when it was time to leave, we were blindfolded. Orrin had basically treated us like prisoners. The other demon, Vitallia, was nice though."

"I'm sorry." He said, genuinely. "I'll certainly make sure Orrin will pay for the way he treated you. It's no wonder you women were scared and why you took such risks with your lives. You're safe with me and no one will harm you."

Kagome nodded once. "Okay then." Could she trust him? She shouldn't. But at the moment, what choice did she have?

Inuyasha picked her back up. "Once we get to the main castle, I'll lead you through the grand hall, as its tradition. There'll be many male demons, so you need to stay close. I might be challenged."

"Why would someone challenge you?"

He looked solemn. "Most of the demons who participated in the foraging obviously didn't get themselves a woman. There were hundreds of us and only ten of you. Some will be angry and jealous. They might try and take you for themselves."

Kagome gulped. Oh shit! Her heart skipped a beat or two before racing. "I thought you said I was safe. I don't want some monster taking me from you." Someone who wouldn't be as considerate. Maybe some other guy wouldn't have any reservations about forcing her.

"Some wouldn't dare try to challenge me. I'm very strong and have proved myself countless times. But I assure you, there are others who have honor and won't try and take you." Inuyasha didn't look worried. He also looked eager and as arrogant as ever. "You carry my scent. Not as much as I would've liked but it should be enough to keep them away."

"Should be?" Kagome didn't like the sound of that. "That makes me nervous. How do we get more scent on me?"

"Having sex. It's the best way for you to carry my scent." He stated, matter-of-factly.

Kagome choked on her saliva.

"Though touching, kissing, and other types of contact, will be fine too." He gave a one shouldered shrug. Like it was nothing.

She sucked in a deep breath. "Oh…" A squeak. "Well, you've been carrying me along the way here. Hopefully that'll be enough."

"I'm sure it will be." He shrugged, like it didn't matter to him. It should matter.

"I don't want someone else taking me. I've only just gotten used to you. I've only just started…" She wanted to say to trust him, but couldn't bring herself to do it.

He raised his brows. "You trust me?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you were going to and I'm glad. Gives me an indication that you'll give this a good shot." His voice deepened, turning serious. "Stay very close. If someone makes the mistake of challenging me, I'll fight them. You'll need to move away if a fight breaks out. I don't want you accidentally getting injured or worse." Kagome knew what that worse was. "I'll try to end the fight quickly so you won't be along for long. I'll make a good enough example so that there won't be any more fights that follow."

Kagome nodded. Then realized that he couldn't see her since she was behind him on his back. "Sure thing." She replied back. "I'll stay close and if anyone tries anything you'll finish them quickly."

"Then you move away but only just until I'm done." He reaffirmed.

"Okay."

"Good." He then set forward. "I'm going to be running a bit faster than I was before, so hold on tight." He then sprinted off into a run and Kagome quickly put her arms around his neck to make sure she didn't fall off. He sure wasn't kidding when he said he was going to be running fast. This was faster from the speed he was going earlier on the way here.

It took about thirty minutes until Inuyasha came to a stop and they reached the main gate. He knelt down so she could climb off his back, and Kagome was able to take a good look at her surroundings. From the top of the gate, she saw that it was embedded with intricate gold patterns and the white of the building looked like it was either wood or brick. The bottom layers had stone edges around it, along with the pathway she saw when she looked behind her.

"You're mine." Inuyasha's voice cut her into her thoughts.

Mine. Wait just a minute, what was up with him trying to stake a claim on her? She was about to say something when he cleared his throat. "If anyone asks, you're mine. Don't dispute it or you'll be fair game to others."

Oh… shit! "Okay, I'm yours." It felt weird saying it. It had been a long time since she belonged to anyone. Since her family died, she felt like she didn't belong anywhere. And when Kaede passed, it became worse. She was alone. Until now that is. When Inuyasha vocally said it, it was horrible and oddly comforting all at once.

Inuyasha squeezed her side. "Don't let go of me unless I—"

"Unless you have to fight someone, I know." Her heart was pounding. She could hear the roar of the blood as it rushed through her veins.

He sniffed and then gave a chuckle. "You like the idea of me fighting."

"Um, no." She said, half-heartedly.

He smiled at her. "You may not want to admit it, but you're enjoying this. You like the idea of me fighting for you. You're a strange woman, Kagome." The way he said her name, it gave her butterflies. It shouldn't give her butterflies. He leaned in. "You say you don't want me, that you didn't like that I called you mine…" He paused. "But I felt you tense when I said it. Yet, you want me to fight for you."

She shrugged. "I've always enjoyed watching wrestling and those cage fighting matches."

Inuyasha shook his head. "Whatever you say, Kagome. Whatever you say."

"Hey, are you going to hang here all day?" A tall, silver-haired guy with a broad smile said, leaning against the side of the entranceway. He had the most beautiful blue eyes and was good looking in a preppy kind of way.

His shoulders were broad, and he was wearing a skin-tight jump suit, with black armor, and arm and shin guards. He also had a light-blue obi sash around his waist and wearing boots that reached his calves. He also had pointy ears, so Kagome wondered what kind of demon he was.

Inuyasha growled low in his throat. It sounded like a warning. "Atlas."

"Relax, Inuyasha." Atlas stepped closer to the pair, his smile not faltering. "I gained a female. Her name's Aero."

She felt Inuyasha relax. Thank goodness! She certainly didn't want a fight breaking out already, especially since she doubted she would be able to move away in time.

Atlas patted Inuyasha on the back. "I would never try to take what's yours." He looked at her for the first time. "I'm Atlas." He extended a hand and Inuyasha growled. He sounded like a pissed off dog. Well, considering he was one.

She elbowed Inuyasha. "Stop it!"

"Ignore him." Atlas winked at her. "He's going to be very possessive of you until he claims you fully."

Kagome swallowed hard. What did that mean? Forget it, she didn't want to know. She took Atlas' hand and shook it. "I'm Kagome." She smiled and Inuyasha growled louder. She elbowed him again but it was like knocking her arm against a slab of stone. Pointless.

Inuyasha sniffed loudly. He chuckled. "You're looking relaxed and happy. Where's your woman?"

Atlas smiled some more, his cheeks reddened. "She's sleeping in my quarters. I think I wore her out."

"You claimed her already?" Inuyasha sounded shocked.

Atlas nodded. "What can I say? I'm a handsome son of a bitch. I know my way around a human. Aero's…" He huffed out a breath. "Beautiful, sweet, and I'm so lucky to have her. I can't wait for her belly to swell with our child."

"I thought you guys weren't allowed to use force?"

"What's she talking about?" Atlas looked at Inuyasha.

"First off, I'm not his woman."

Inuyasha snarled. "I told you to be very careful about what you say. Do you want to be fair game? I won't be able to fight them all off and someone else will take you from me. You're mine, Kagome. Mine. I won you."

"This is so fucked up!" Kagome yelled. "I'm nobody's. Not yours or anyone else's, am I clear?"

Inuyasha took ahold of her wrist. "You're on demon territory—"

"I'm sick of hearing that. It's not by choice." She snatched her hand away. "This son of a bitch raped one of the women, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

"Atlas is a good man, he may have slept with his woman, but that doesn't mean that he raped her." Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "Stop and think for a moment. Maybe she wanted him. She might've been the one to initiate it."

Kagome shook her head. "We were all afraid. We ran for half the day." Was it possible? She didn't even know Aero. She was one of the women who came two days before the foraging began. However, from the story she told the group, she doubted the eighteen year old would've agreed to let this demon touch her. It wasn't unlikely.

Atlas looked a little shell shocked. "I didn't force Aero. I would never"—He turned to face Inuyasha— "ever do such a thing. I don't wish to discuss it because its private. My woman is fine. She—"

"I want to see her." Kagome blurted. "We were kidnapped. Kept in a room with a demon who fed us a whole lot of bullshit and then we were hunted like animals by demons. You'll forgive me if I'm a little touchy and if I lack trust." Trust was hard for her on the best of days.

Inuyasha stepped towards her, right into her personal space. She wanted to step back to put some space between them, but stood her ground even though he looked scary. "I've painstakingly explained things to you. I thought that we were at least coming to an understanding. That I was gaining your trust. I'm sorry to hear that this isn't the case. You'll stay close. If you renounce being my woman, I won't hesitate to claim you in front of every male in there. Don't test me. If need be, I'll kill to keep you… do I make myself clear?"

Kagome was stunned. She didn't know what to say. Part of her felt angry and another felt guilty because she seemed to have really hurt his feelings. Well, tough luck! Claim her? What did he mean? "What does it mean to claim me?" She put her hands on her hips.

"Back to the forcing argument. I wouldn't have sex with you if that's what you're asking. To think we had made some progress." He shook his head. "Guess I was wrong. I would need to show ownership but without claiming you fully."

Guilt overtook the anger and she huffed out a breath, letting her shoulders slump.

"Answer me." Inuyasha growled, his eyes on her. "I need you to understand that your actions will have ramifications. For now, you're a sheep amongst the wolves."

"What does that mean?" She managed to get out over the lump in her throat.

"Not now." Inuyasha growled. "Do you understand what I just told you?"

"You can't say something like that without explaining. I'm not a sheep. You also don't own me. I'm my own person."

Inuyasha sighed loudly and rubbed his eyes.

Atlas laughed.

"This isn't fucking funny." Inuyasha said, under his breath.

"I beg to differ, Inu."

"Don't fucking call me that." He then turned his stare onto Kagome. "I said that I would explain it, just not now. Do I have your agreement? You're mine. You can't say anything different."

"Do you agree to take me to see Aero?"

"Later."

"Right now." She grits her teeth. "I need to be sure that she's okay. I want to see all the women, for that matter."

Atlas choked out a laugh.

Inuyasha made a noise of frustration. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You can see the women within this castle and the surrounding lands."

"What does that mean?" She growled.

Atlas stepped forward. "We're currently within the Western lands. However, there are certain territories within the region that are controlled with their own rulers. We're the rulers of all the regions within the Western lands. Ten of you females were brought here from the human world. Some of the demons within this castle were able to win four of you, including yourself. The other six are no longer here, but in the other regions. I assure you that they're fine."

"Then prove it."

"If Atlas says that they're fine then they're fine." Inuyasha said.

Kagome shook her head. "No. You need to prove it."

He was silent for a good long time. He finally huffed out a breath. "Fine." He said between clenched teeth.

Atlas laughed even louder. "You have your hands full, Inu."

"Don't fucking call me Inu." He grits out between clenched teeth. "And I'll rip you to shreds, you pencil dick."

"Aero certainly didn't think this dick of mine was remotely close to a pencil from the way I made her feel last night…and this morning." Atlas smirked.

"You damn―"

"Anyway, when I last left her, she was sleeping. You'll find her in my quarters." He glanced at Kagome and then back at Inuyasha before chuckling some more. He walked back in through the gate. It was loud inside. A whole lot of voices. All male. Her heart fluttered. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

Inuyasha turned to face her. Shit! He didn't look happy. "Ready?" His voice was rough and short.

"And if I say no?"

He didn't answer, he hooked an arm around her. "No isn't an option. Your mine, so get used to it." He growled.

A shiver raced up her spine. Her hands felt damp, and her legs felt like jello. The thing was, she wasn't sure if she was more afraid of what was waiting inside or the man that was beside her.

She sucked in a deep breath and nodded anyway.