Life with Koga

Chapter 13

By Alicia Maxwell

"Take this message to Lady Rem, Ginta," Koga handed Ginta a scroll.

"Um… but Koga… I don't know what Lady Rem looks like or where I should look," Ginta objected.

"I don't care! I told you to take it to her! You figure out how to find her!" Koga barked.

"You shouldn't be so mean to Ginta-chan, Koga. I can tell you're stressed out but that doesn't excuse you lashing out at him like that," I said softly. I then turned to Ginta. "Ginta-chan, this is a photograph of Lady Rem. A photograph is basically a very detailed portrait," I handed him a picture of Rem. I then laid out a map and order Ginta to sit down with me. "Now, here is where we are. You need to travel across our mountains toward the Western Dens and then head north. Here's where you'll find Lady Rem. Take the map with you and don't get lost."

"You're to escort Lady Rem here once you've given her the letter to read," Koga told him.

"Yes Koga. I'll be back in six days," Ginta assured. Then he began running at top speed.

"Be sure to get proper amounts of sleep while on your journey Ginta!" I called out as I waved goodbye.

"Don't you sound like an experienced worry-wart - 'get proper amounts of sleep!'" he mocked.

"And don't you sound like a proper authority figure - 'You are to escort Lady Rem here'," I teased in return.

"Come," Koga said, "We're meeting with Taka and Hakkaku."

"Meeting with them? Why?" I asked.

"Arranging a marriage," Koga smirked.

"Arranging a marriage!?! You must be kidding me!" I yelled.

"Oh yeah and when Ginta gets back, we're going to be arranging a marriage with him and Ichi."

"But, Koga, our sons are too young to marry. They haven't even gone through puberty yet."

"Yeah well it's best to get these things out of the way as far in advance as possible. Come on, let's get going. Hakkaku and Taka expected us to be there ten minutes ago," he began to walk off.

"Wait up."

"Hey guys," Koga smiled as he waved to Hakkaku and Taka. "Sorry we're late."

"I'm going to guess you picked the meeting spot today," I said, looking at where we were. "This is the same cliff where I first suggested that we become mates."

"Yeah well… thing is… I figured since this place was where I started of the best days of my life, it would be a good place to arrange for what I hope will be the best days of Heroki's life," Koga said and then he kissed me.

"You're so sweet Koga," I smirked.

"Yo! Lovebirds! Hurry up and get your asses up here!" Hakkaku shouted down from the top of the cliff.

"How dare you speak to your leaders like that!" I tried to sound serious but I began laughing in the middle of the sentence.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know you're trying to maintain a dictatorial image, Alicia. Now hurry up and get up here so we can arrange this marriage," Taka insisted.

I laughed. Taka always had a plan for lightening the mood, even in the grimmest of times. She never spoke out of line either. Well, the way she spoke to us would have been considered out of line by most authorities, but we just wanted everyone to speak to us as if we were just ordinary. So when I say she never spoke out of line, I mean she never said anything to intentionally hurt someone's feelings. Taka had good looks to complement her affable nature and good sense of humor. She was a slender, tall, white-furred wolf. She had gleaming green eyes and long brown hair with blond highlights. On top of her good looks, sense of humor, and personality, Taka was also fairly intelligent. She might not have been a genius but she certainly had enough brains to make up for her mate's lack thereof.

"Come on Alicia," Koga held out his hand for mine. "We don't want to keep them waiting, do we?"

"Right," I grabbed hold of his hand and allowed him to take me up the mountainside.