Disclaimers on everything that I don't own.

By Winterwing3000

-Snippet Three

The Elder's funeral was long, quiet and the tension emitted off mot of the people in the pack. They burned his body in a large fire. The next Elder performed the ceremonies and sang their mournful hymns of death.

Kouga stood among the first row of the packs. The South and the East paid their respects by bringing their packs and their tribal leaders stood to his left. To his right was Ayame. Out of everyone, she seemed to have taken this lost the most. Every time he sneaked a glance at her, she would have tears glimmering in her emerald orbs. A slight sniffled he could heard as she resisted the onslaught of tears.

He wished to share her grief, to offer his condolence but he doesn't know how she would react to his actions. Would she push him aside? Would she lean on his offered shoulder? And why was the Black Wolf Leader standing so closely next to her?

Kouga's sharp ears heard a muffled whimper as sparks few into the air, the strong scent of the Elder rose into the air, drifting further to the valley separating the mountains and the oceans. His quick blue eyes saw her roughened knees and his arms reacted immediately.

The wolf princess fell sideways onto her knees and her arms were limp by her side; the fingers trembling. Half draped over him, Ayame continued to stare at the flaming body. Kouga's strong arms cradled her, uncertainty coming off him in waves. He held her until the fire died out, taking the body's remains and the rest of the large branches.

As soon as the embers disappeared, the silence became tense and small murmurs broke out. Kouga caught most of everyone's conversation. He assumed that Ayame her it as well because she instantly stiffened.

"Who is to be our leader now? Our tribe will be in chaos if there is no one to lead us. What of Ayame-hime? She is next in line, descended directly from the Elder, although, pity that there is no true heir to the clan. But was she not betrothed to Yuujin-sama, the Black Wolf Leader? She was supposed to be mated by the end of the moon's cycle, I heard."

Perplexed, Kouga stared across Ayame to look at the Black Wolf. He hadn't sensed it earlier, but Kouga found Yuujin glowering at him, a hand wrapped tightly around Ayame's petite one. Almost at once, the Brown Wolf Prince disliked him. Even though they were both tribal leaders, Kouga had more authority than he and he felt somewhat challenged.

A black wolf was going to mate with Ayame at the day of the new moon? But why? Didn't she say that something could have been worked out between the clans? Deciding not to jump to conclusions, the raven haired wolf stood up, bringing the red-head up with him, her legs was weak and useless as were her arms. Yuujin still held onto her left hand. The black Lupe growled possessively.

"Hand her to me." he said to Kouga.

When he made no movement to let go of her, the other male persisted. "Give her to me!"

"Why should I?" Kouga challenged, slipping his left underneath the young woman's knees and swept her up, no carrying her bridal style.

"She is my mate! Thus, she does not belong to you." Yuujin stated forcefully, stepping closer to the two.

"Feh, I smell only her scent and she bears no mark of yours. So she is NOT yours." Kouga said calmly, Ayame moaned and curled up in his chest, tears trekking down her cheeks. The prince didn't need to look down to see her tight face. He knes that she needed to leave this area before she totally broke down. "Now, if you'll excuse men, I'll go and put Ayame in her den for her rest. Hakkaku, bring some of the pack to hunt for the feast tonight."

He left with Ayame in his arms and his loyal wolves went directly at his word. The rest of the other wolves just stared in amazement as the prince marched up the mountain.

A pair of eyes continued to follow the two even though the rest of them dispersed, going to the rest of the preparation. Yuujin hands were clenched tightly, hatred and jealousy burnt in his dark eyes.

Upon reaching Ayame's den, Kouga gently deposited her onto the furs and sat a few feet away from her, waiting for her to calm down and regain her right mind of state.

Her face expressed much distress, tears shining on her cheeks; her head was buried in her arms wrapped around her knees. Kouga distinctly recalled how vulnerable she looked as she desperately tried to escape the Paradise's Birds. She looked as if she were just a new born pup without a mother and father. How ironic that sounded, she was born and raised by the Elder himself, her parents were killed in battle. And now… she was a pup without comfort and love… both which she'll have to live without from now on.

He wished to give it to her, but he doesn't know how. His own mother died at his birth and his father was killed along with Ayame's parents in the Great War. But his father treated him with an iron-fist, sparing no love or kindness. But Kouga learnt how to love as he was raised by the Elder as a child.

His blue eyes continued to stare at the slim she-wolf. Never did he noticed her in a way a man would notice a woman, but now his eyes didn't deny him such pleasures. Her body filled out generously after the two years he didn't see her. Her hair was sleek and no longer bushy. Her hips were widened, a very good sign of bearing strong pups. Her breasts were fitted perfectly within her chest plate, her silver cape laid over her curved shoulders, setting a very fine hourglass figure. She was also taller than before, nearly as tall as he.

When he had finally caught up with the directions of his thoughts, his cheeks turned pink.

"Kouga…," came the soft whisper of Ayame, who peeked through her look burgundy hair. "Thank you… for coming. But why did you come? Were you not out to kill this Naraku demon?"

Fighting off the blush, Kouga cleared his throat and sighed. "He was finally defeated. We managed to kill all of his underlings as well. Kagome and Inukuro with the others defeated them. And I killed that wind witch, which caused the other packs to loose their men, as revenge for the kin. And I was planning talk with the Elder about some negotiations."

"Ah… well, I guess that you'll have to be talking to me about these negotiations until the Alpha male of the Black Clan takes me as his mate." She said sadly, an impassive line drawn on her lips. "Jii-sama handed me the responsibility of the clan until the new moon and the new Elder was there to witness this. As well was Yuujin."

Inquiry flashed through is azure eyes. "Mate? Did the peace offerings not pacify the restless clans? I thought that you were going to discuss some ideas with the Elder to see if anything else could be done."

"Sadly no. It lasted only a season and battles broke out among the tribes again. So in order to settle it once and for all, Jii-sama offered me into a political marriage. The strongest of all packs shall be my mate and take control of the White Wolves. And in the end, Yuujin of the Black Wolves defeated all challengers and has won my hand in matrimony. It is the only way after all… Our numbers has decreased dramatically and if this were the only way to regain control and establish an agreement with the other clans, then I'll have to live with it." Ayame dried her tears on her wrist bands. "So no more tears… Jii-sama wouldn't want me to be crying so pathetically like this anyway. Heh… I'm weak as always, aren't I, Kouga?"

Kouga looked away, hesitant in answering. "I guess you haven't changed as much. Must you always listen to what others tell you? Rather than doing what you want? However… I guess I can't really say since I haven't known you as well. Anyway… when was your mating ritual decided?"

"Um… three weeks ago. Jii-sama decided that it would be best to mate during the new moon, where our bonds with other are the strongest. Yuujin's not too bad… he's pretty protective and powerful. Hopefully, he'll be a good leader. I haven't known him for a very long time. But from the strength and teamwork of his pack, I suppose that he is." Suddenly, her eyes started blurring again with tears. The painful memories of her grandfather's last moments pounded mercilessly at her. "Kouga…?"

"Hn…?" he looked straight into her wet emeralds. His mind was fuddled with the thoughts of Yuujin and his arrangement with Ayame.

"I probably shouldn't be asking you this… but could you just hold me for a moment? Please?" she mumbled, resisting the sobs in her throat. Even though her Jii-sama died peacefully, she couldn't help but hate the truth that he died.

No one could be there to listen to her, to comfort her or to look after her now. She was so dependent on the Elder and her survival instincts most of her life and now… she was thrown into reality with a heavy responsibility of leader.

Kouga looked at her, standing over her. He lightly inhaled her scent of valley water and irises. Jumbles of emotions mixed into her scent. She was afraid, nervous and depressed. She wasn't suitable for the role of clan leader. Somehow, that gave him an urge to undertake the task for her. She was inexperienced, naïve and innocent. To be so harshly thrown into the world…

Lost in thought, he didn't realize what he was doing until he felt great warmth hurled against his torso. In some way, Ayame buried herself into his chest, leaving him in an awkward position with his clawed arms sticking out. Unsurely, his arms crept around her waist, pulling her snuggly to him and allowed her to cry out all her pent up sorrows until the moon rose.

AN: Whoosh! I've got chapter 3 done and four more to go! Next one would probably be up rather quickly since I've got most of how it should go planned out in my head. Thanks for reading it so far! D

Thank you for the supportive reviews Wolfcries, RealisticFemale, ShadowVixen!