And now we're firmly in the aftermath of the war between the Wolves and Birds. I took a little break from writing to chew through the InuYasha light novel, and boy did I love it. If you can find it and have the chance to read it, I definitely recommend it.

Also, I just got two new pets, who are both adorable, but very time-consuming. Tulio and Miguel are a bundle of laughs but have been distracting me from writing a bit. Please be patient with me while I get them settled in their new home, but for now, go on and read.

Will life go back to the cute domestic bliss I've set up in the den or are there more troubles on the horizon for our wolves? Will domestic bliss be just outside of their reach? Should I have been writing these questions at the end of the last chapter like a true 90's cartoon narrator?

Find out next time on... In The Jaws of the Wolf.

Kidding. Kidding. Off you go, enjoy the chapter

In The Jaws Of The Wolf

Chapter Seventeen

My mouth ran dry as I clung to my mate's hand, trying to process the words that had just been spoken to me - the offer that had just been given to me, and what it could mean.

"I-I appreciate the offer, Kagome."

Genuinely, I really did appreciate it. I'd never really had someone offer to teach me about any part of myself, particularly one like this that quite frankly scared me. The older Wolves had mentioned this power to me, but they'd never be able to teach me about it. They didn't have the power themselves. It was all hearsay to them, and I knew how hearsay could hurt something. These people - Kagome, Miroku, Sango - did have that power. They could teach me about it, about what it was, what it meant, what I could do with it. It was all important information that I could use in the future.

I could learn so much from them.

I could be strong in a way that I needed to be around the Wolves that I lived with. I couldn't hold up to their strengths on my own.

The offer was something that could be amazing for me.

I appreciated it...

"But my place is here."

But that wasn't what I wanted. Especially not with the loss I'd have to deal with, joining these people to learn.

Why did I want to be strong? Strength wouldn't make me happy. I couldn't feel warmth from my own strength. Leaving behind what was really important - my friends, my family - to become strong didn't make any sense to me. If I was to try and get stronger, it would be to protect my family as much as they protected me, and be able to stand amongst them instead of below them in their own league of strength. If I left, I wouldn't be there with them. How could I stand amongst them as an equal if I was away from them?

"My place is here, at the den, with Akari." I squeezed my mate's hand, and he squeezed it back in return. "And Koga, and the Wolves. I want to learn, but I can't give any of them up for that."

Maybe I would always be below them, but I would rather that than have to spend any time away from them.

Kagome looked disappointed at my answer, clutching at the front of her shirt again, but there was a spark of understanding in her eyes, as well. "I understand."

There was a moment of silence between us that mounted into something awkward, before I shifted on my feet, eyes turning back over my shoulder towards the pack filtering away back towards the den. "I have to go. Gotta make sure Koga stays alive long enough for me to kill him." I tilted my head back in the direction the last of the Wolves were disappearing into. "Maybe we'll see each other again someday."

She smiled at that. "I hope we will, too. Goodbye then, Dan, and good luck."

"See you around, Kagome." I led Akari away by the hand, my pace slow, still a little reluctant to give away such a huge chance to learn about myself. even now I had already denied her offer.

My pace ground to a halt, though, when a snort tore its way through the air, followed by a rough voice that grated on every single last one of the frayed nerves I had right now. "Feh. Wouldn't want a stinking wolf with us anyway."

I squeezed Akari's hand tight then let it go. My Wolf kept hold of my hand, trying to hold me back. I shook him off roughly, casting him a glare that had him throwing his hands up in defense and taking a step back silently. Now was not the time to be picking fights with me, and Akari was aware enough of my moods and temper to realise that.

InuYasha hadn't gotten that message.

I was more than happy to deliver it to him personally.

The cocky Dog was stood glaring at me, his hands thrust into the sleeves of his kimono as I strode towards him. By the time I had reached him, he had a smirk on his stupid, smug face. "What?" he mocked, his grin fierce. "Cat got your tongue, wolf?"

I didn't bother with words - I was too mad for that - but I was happy enough to get that hit in that I'd prayed for early. I took a step backward, reared my arm back and lurched forwards with my weight in my punch. My breathing was heavy, and my fury was sharp as I glared up at him, all but ignoring the bright pink emanating from my clenched fist.

The way my knuckles cracked against his cheek was the most satisfying feeling I had ever felt.

Seeing the way his skin burned under my fist as spiritual energy reacted with his demonic energy was so darkly satisfying, I could feel the sick pleasure bubbling up inside me, though my expression stayed stern and sharp.

He cried out as he fell back, the force pushing him backwards onto his ass.

I panted, staring down at him as my fist dropped to my side. I could already feel the burn of pain starting in my hand, but I tried to brush it aside for now. Demons had harder heads than humans, and my hand was going to suffer for that, but that hit was everything I needed right now.

InuYasha looked incensed, his lips drawn back from his teeth as he growled up at me. His mouth opened wide to start to shout, but I beat him to the punch with quiet words of my own. "I should kill you for what you did to my family. Next time you kill one of mine, I won't stop at just your cheek, you bastard."

I could feel traitorous tears prickling in my eyes, grief overtaking the adrenaline and anger that had been coursing through my body.

To keep him from seeing me break apart totally, I whirled around, taking off in a jog towards home, clutching my broken hand to my chest.

A broken cheekbone and burnt flesh wasn't nearly enough revenge for what he had done - for the lives of my family he had taken - but it was all I could do without taking family from someone else. Kagome had spoken so much about the bond she shared with the people she traveled with. It was clear they were her family as much as the Wolves were mine, even that bastard InuYasha. As much as I wanted to feel his blood on my hands to pay for the lives he had taken, I couldn't take family away from someone like Kagome.

Tears streaked down my cheeks as my name was called from behind me.

I got around the closest rock formation before someone caught up to me. A large, hot hand grabbed at my upper arm and yanked me back.

Akari's arms wrapped around me tightly, holding me to his cold, armoured chest as I cracked, breaking apart in front of him as the grief of loss - of the wolves Inuyasha had killed, the friends we had lost to the Birds, and opportunities I couldn't take - all came crashing down on top of me. Akari held me tighter, gripping hard to my shaking body and shushing me quietly as I let it all out.

It was over an hour before I was ready to face the den and all that was in it, and worse, how empty it would feel with so many lost.

Ginta was the first to notice Akari and I as we pushed through the waterfall back into the den, Akari's arm around my shoulders to hold me close. I'd calmed down enough over the past hour that I was sure no one would notice that I had been crying. With some assurances for Akari that no one would be able to tell, I'd felt confident enough to head home.

"Hey, where were you two?" the silver-haired Wolf asked, clambering around a couple of lounging wolves to get to us. "We were looking for you."

Akari, thankfully, gave an answer for us. "We needed some time alone."

Ginta's expression twisted into sad understanding. He gave a little nod, then grunted when he was knocked to the side. "Hey!" The spark of anger dissipated quickly when he realised just who had knocked him aside. He took a few steps away from Nao as the large black wolf brushed against my legs, pressing himself close to me.

I dropped my hand onto his head and scratched an ear gently. "I missed you, too."

I was glad to see the cantankerous old bastard after the day I'd had. Despite the wary looks Akari and Ginta both were shooting at him, it was nice to have the familiar warmth of him against me. Stroking not enough, I dropped down to one knee and wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his coarse fur and squeezing him tight. He let out a little snort, nose bumping against the side of my head.

After the long moment I needed, I tilted my head back a bit and rested my chin atop Nao's head, looking up at Ginta. "Where's Koga? How is he?"

The face Ginta pulled told me that whatever I was about to hear was not going to be good news.

"Well?" I prompted flatly. Better to find out fast what the bad news was.

Ginta let out a little whine. "Well, he uh... Didn't take the loss well." There was a surprise - Koga's ego was hurt. I didn't think a day went by that someone didn't hurt that humungous, fragile thing. The Wolf winced, and let out the next bit at a pace so quick, my head reeled as I tried to make sense of what he had said.

"You're fucking kidding me," I growled, shooting to my feet and stalking past the cowering man.

He's refusing to let anyone help him.

What a fucking idiot.

"Move," I snarled at the Wolves packed around the alcove Koga usually occupied.

A few of them eyed me warily, but after a moment of glares and grunts, they parted for me, giving me a clear view of the idiot I was more than ready to tear into. Koga was sat up in his alcove, alone and given a wide berth by Wolves and wolves alike. He was glaring to the side, his injured arm perched on one bent knee. No one dared move towards him, but me.

I plucked up the bowl of water and cloth someone had hold of and stepped up onto the furred bed Koga called his own.

He growled at me as I approached, a threatening rumble deep in his chest.

"Keep growling and I'll upend this onto your head," I threatened back, my voice just as coarse and angry as his as I dropped to my knees next to him. "Give me your arm."

Predictably he didn't.

So I came to him, dunking the cloth into the bowl of water and running it over the open wound, ignoring his hisses and growls. "It's deep. I know enough about stitching wounds, but I dont think I can with my hand like this."

It was swollen, and just the act of holding the cloth in it was painful. I was sure at least one knuckle was broken.

"Leave it," he grunted, still not looking in my direction. "It'll be fine in a few days. Get yourself wrapped up. Hakkaku knows his fair share about healing."

Hakkaku? That surprised me. Of the people I'd gotten to know in the tribe. Hakkaku was one of the rougher ones. I'd have pegged him more as a fighter, not a healer. If I'd guess anyone to be a healer, it would probably have been the more gentle Ginta.

"I'll have him look at it when I'm done here." I wanted to clean out his wound, at least, before I looked after myself. Who knew what kind of dirt he got into it during the fight?

A silence came between us while I washed the blood and dirt from his skin and raw flesh, wincing when his jaw clenched and he gave particularly pained grunts.

Koga was the one to break the silence. "How'd you break your hand? I didn't see you in any close combat during the fight."

"Were you watching me?"

One shoulder shrugged half-heartedly, clattering his armour quietly. "You were the weakest on the field. I had to keep an eye on you."

"You should have been keeping an eye on the damn Bird of Paradise." Maybe if he had, he wouldn't have gotten injured like this. If I'd kept a better eye on him, he could have escaped injury too. Should I have gone with him and Kagome? I might have been able to save him from getting hurt.

"Looks like you should have been too." His eyebrows were twitching, that deep furrow starting to appear in his brows again. He was getting annoyed. Good. I didn't like the passive expression he had been wearing a moment ago.

My lips twitched up into an amused little smirk.

That was something that just had his brows furrowing harder. "What are you grinning about?!"

He'd love this. "I broke my hand on InuYasha's face."

His expression lit up with surprise, his brows shooting up and his mouth opening dropping open. That expression only lasted for a second before a loud, bellowing laugh escaped him.

Yeah, I thought he'd like that.

I was glad he did. Seeing him so despondent made me just as worried as it did angry. Seeing him laugh was so much better. It gave me more hope that things could get better after the loss we'd just been dealt.

If we could laugh after that, then we could heal.

Review Corner

orangeporqupine - Of course she'll stay with the Wolves. They're her family. Can't live without family

Blu3b3rryT3a - I don't think that situation's gonna go down quite the way you'll expect it to. We're a few chapters away from that anyhow. But yeah, you're totally right. There will be Koga beating in the future. I'm not sure she can beat him senseless - can you beat the sense out of someone without sense? - but she'll definitely get a few good licks in.

That first scene was a difficult one to write. There was a lot of emotion Dan needed to get out, and she's not good at doing that. This wasn't the fun bickering fight people wanted with InuYasha, but I just couldn't see Dan bickering with InuYasha after he'd killed her family.

Dan's exhausted and feeling fragile, but the Wolves will heal.

I hope to see you all next time for the next chapter of ITJOTW!