Author's Note: Hello everyone, from Waikiki, Hawaii! :) I hope you're all having a lovely weekend so far! Let's get to it!

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Red Flames of Passion, who was the 750th reviewer for YITM! Thank you so much for reading along, Passion, I hope you're enjoying the ride!

Awesome Betas: Penthesileia, Not_Towa_Wakasa

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Chapter 44: The Wolf King

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Kagome

There were a few moments, up until this point, that Kagome really felt she'd done something worthy with her life.

Saving Souta from being run over by a car when he was four.

Standing up to the bullies in middle school when they demanded she also ignore the weird girl that sat in the back.

Giving up her school lunch to the kid in her freshman class who never seemed to have money for his own.

But for the most part, Kagome's life had been filled with her own selfishness. Her looks and her clothes and her friends, the parties she went to and lied to her parents about, the thoughts she had about wanting more than her silly life was able to give her… All of it mattered.

Until it didn't.

And now, as her feet dangled over the edge of the cliff, only an empty chasm of trees and dry river rock below her, her hands clasped onto the arm of the wolf youkai that squeezed its fingers tight around her throat... a calmness overcame her.

Inuyasha's eyes were on her. His body was hollowed into the cliff wall, the force of the strike he'd received cracking the rock around him. Blood dripped from his hairline, soaking into the swollen skin around his eye. His broken arm hung limp at his side.

"Inuyasha-" she called out to him, just as the fingers around her neck loosened.

His eyes mimicked hers, widening in fear.

But Kagome… Kagome was calm.

The wind rushed through her hair, whipping it up into a frenzy and blocking her peripherals as the cliff face began to float away. Her arm reached out, wishing with everything she had inside her that she could touch him one last time. To tell him… to tell him…

Everything would be okay.

Because if this was it, and Kagome's final, worthwhile deed had been to show Inuyasha, even if just a little, even if just a bit, that there was someone out there that cared about him… That there was someone who wanted his freedom… Who knew that he deserved his freedom, just as much as he did…

It was enough. It was worth never seeing her family again, never seeing her friends. Everyone deserved to know they had someone out there who loved them for who they were… Even someone as broken on the inside as Inuyasha.

Her eyes began to close, because soon she'd be gone, and if Kagome was being honest with herself, she didn't want to see her end rushing up to meet her. She'd rather see…

No, her eyes snapped open, I actually see…

It was his face, framed by his beautiful, silver-white hair, as he teetered on the edge of the cliff for just a moment.

And then he was flying towards her, falling faster than she was, his good arm reaching out for her. She called to him, her eyes watering, elation rushing through her. Her words were lost in the wind.

He gripped onto her shoulder and whipped himself around so he was cocooning her body, a protective shield between herself and the ground.

She wanted to tell him, to tell him how much love she felt for him in that moment - how she would fearlessly do anything for him, even jump from a cliff to chase after him, just as he had for her.

But then his lips were pressed against her ear, his breath a warm respite against the cold.

"I've got you," he said, comforting and protective, his arm squeezing her against him, a refusal to let go. "I-"

She felt the impact, through every part of her.

And Inuyasha was gone.

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Was it luck or not, that Kagome had gotten roughed up and left inside the museum that fateful night? That she had, rightfully so, thought she was dreaming when Inuyasha appeared to her, grumpy and wonderfully otherworldly?

Was it luck that her side had been ripped open, the jewel glistening and slick, shattering into a million pieces and scattering? That the woman claiming to be Kagome's past would try over and over again to see her forgotten? To see her dead?

Was it luck that for whatever reason, she had decided to help Inuyasha, in hopes that maybe she could right everything that had gone wrong once more?

After all, Kagome had always considered herself lucky.

So was it luck, then, that he was now standing before her? Eyes blood red, jagged streaks of color ripped across his face, fangs protruded, claws extended, looking as if he would devour her at any moment... Was it luck?

Was she still lucky?

He had just licked her, a few moments ago. Dragged his tongue from her jaw to her cheek, catching the tears she felt soaking her face. It unnerved her, the way he was now, because even though she'd seen him change before, even though she'd seen his face change after she'd freed him from the mirror in the attic and he'd whisked her away from her dying friends, there had still been some of himself in there. He'd been with it enough to know her, to talk to her in his own voice, to… to control himself.

But this Inuyasha… the way he was now… There was no control. The hanyou she'd come to know so well was gone, and something far more sinister had taken his place.

She shivered under him, a reflex against the way his eyes gazed at her, full of possession and anger, against the memory of him gripping her jaw in his hand and forcing a bruising kiss on her lips.

And what she hated more than anything was that her body still responded to him like it always had, since she first laid eyes on him.

Lucky her.

He growled as she tried to inch away.

For all she knew about youkai and their customs, which was basically nothing, she knew a warning growl when she heard one, and she one-hundred percent believed that the rage she saw bubbling inside him had a short, violent circuit.

"Soon, female," he said, and a whimper slipped from her at the sound of his voice, at the way he no longer called her by her name. "After I rid us of these pesky wolves."

She pushed back the question that bubbled up against her lips, about what 'soon' and 'after' implied, because she already knew what he was thinking. Like a dog, he was now easy to read and obvious with intent.

She knew what his eyes were telling her.

But that wasn't important now. She'd already seen him 'rid' himself of the wolves. Watched as he moved effortlessly, his face no longer cloaked in pain, but in utter, unrestrained glee as he tore through the youkai that stood before him, then through the wolves that surrounded him. Each movement mechanical. Each movement deadly.

"You don't know the meaning of cruel," he'd said after she begged him to turn himself into Kikyou for the return of her family. "You have no idea what that bitch makes me do under her control. You have no idea the nightmare-inducing acts I've been forced to commit! Cruel would be taking me back and handing me over!"

Kagome could only shake her head in disbelief. "What does she make you do that's so awful?"

"You don't want to know."

"I do! I want to know what she makes you do that causes you to hate her so much!"

"She fucking makes me hunt down and kill youkai and hanyou. She makes me track down youkai, ones that have done nothing to harm humans, ones that are doing nothing but living their lives peacefully and rip their fucking throats out. Every time I get out of the mirror I murder ten more of my people. And that's not even the worst of it. Don't you fucking talk to me about cruel."

Kagome knew that Inuyasha wanted to use the jewel to become full youkai permanently; he had stated more than once that he would then be able to control his youkai half. And now that he was out from under Kikyou's spell for the time being… now that he was free to move about without her demanding where to go or what to do…

Well, she wasn't making him do it now. And the bloodlust was still there. He was still murdering youkai.

And sure, they'd attacked first. They'd dropped her off a cliff, for fuck's sake. But at least before he'd turned, Inuyasha had been running as much as possible, keeping hidden as much as possible, killing as few as he possibly could.

What was Inuyasha now, if not a monster? What was he now if not what he never wanted to become in the first place?

She couldn't let him do it. If he continued to slaughter the wolves, if he continued to murder them just for fun, and she was able to get him back to himself somehow… if he was able to return to hanyou, he would hate himself.

He would hate himself.

She couldn't let him do it.

"W-we just need the shard, Inuyasha. That's all we need. We don't need to-"

He snarled and gave her a shake. Shit. Okay. Wrong way to go about it. Kagome hated the fact that she was so scared of him, but he was looking at her as if he'd rip her head off if she so much as moved an inch, and she wasn't about to lose her head now. Not after he'd sacrificed who he was to keep her alive in the first place.

She watched as he pushed his nose into the air and took a deep, heavy sniff. The ears atop his head twitched and swiveled towards the cave that rose up behind them. And in the dark, she saw him. Tall and lithe, a large, fluffy tail swishing behind his legs. He snarled, not unlike Inuyasha had earlier.

Her heart stopped. Because she could see him. She could see him!

Three spots of pulsating, lavender light, one radiating from each leg and one from his left arm.

The wolf youkai didn't just have one shard. They had three. And all three were embedded in this one youkai. Stunned, she tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat as others poured out of the cave behind him.

"Mutt," the youkai called over the lip of the protruding rock, "you dare to return?"

Inuyasha turned, and Kagome felt the blissful loosening of his grip in her hair. She breathed deep as he released her and faced the wolf youkai.

"And who might you be?"

For a moment, no one spoke, and Kagome's heart thudded in her chest, filling her ears with thunder.

"I am the Wolf King," the youkai finally said. "And you will call me Kouga."

"Kouga…" Inuyasha said his name as if a passing thought. "Kouga… The name is familiar, but you'll have to forgive me. It's been many years since I've stepped foot inside your filthy cavity."

The wolf youkai stood, arms folded across his chest. His hair was deep black and long, tied away from his face with a band of some kind, possibly fur. It wrapped tightly around his forehead, and matched the parts of his armor also covered in fur, at his shoulders, arms and legs.

"You dare come into my territory, kill those of my pack, kill my people, and then insult my home?" he said. "You will show me respect, mongrel."

"And you will call me by my name."

The Wolf King spat at the ground in response. "I will call you as I see fit. Mutt."

"I'm no mutt, cur."

His eyes narrowed. "I know exactly who you are. You come to us as full youkai, but you are nothing but a mutt, nothing but a halfbreed at heart. And still," he continued, "as full youkai, it will not be enough."

He leapt.

He landed right where Inuyasha stood, his fist driving deep into the level, mesa rock. The light from his wrist pulsated, the force of the blow sending Kagome tumbling. Her back slammed into the ground and she rolled, over and over until she came to a stop, adding more bruised skin to her already bruised body. God, she was sick of falling. She lifted herself up onto her forearms, looking for Inuyasha.

He was off to her right, having leapt out of the way. His arms covered his face, bits of rock and debris tumbling harmlessly off his torn firerat coat.

She reached for her bow, an unconscious, automatic movement, before remembering how the youkai ripped it from her arms and tossed her over the edge cliff. Before remembering that she could no longer draw on her powers.

...In fact, she hadn't been able to draw her power from within since the attack from the Naraku youkai. Since it slithered it's tentacle around her neck and squeezed.

She hadn't spoken of it out loud, partly because she didn't want to believe it herself, but also because she'd been fucking pissed at Inuyasha, and she didn't want to talk to him more than she had to.

She was hoping it would just come back.

...Dammit. How could she help him if she had no weapons? If her spiritual powers had completely abandoned her? It wasn't like she was fairly matched to youkai in speed and strength.

...So what was left? Maybe if she could sneak up on the Wolf King somehow with something sharp… could she get at least one jewel shard from him?

She watched Inuyasha lower his arms. His grin was wide and manic, his eyes sparkling, elated. "I will give it to you, wolf, you are stronger than your ancestors."

"I am the Wolf King. Did you think this would be easy?" He leapt again, this time a straight shot towards Inuyasha's mid-section.

Inuyasha turned, just slightly, just enough for the Wolf King to pass him by, but he was quick, almost too quick for Kagome to see. His legs dug at the rock underneath him and he shot back, his arm connecting to Inuyasha's jaw.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed. His face, his normal, beaten, destroyed face flashed across her mind, how he'd looked at the bottom of the craven, dead, she was certain. Dead.

The blow sent him flying, and the Wolf King didn't let up, lunging after him, legs ablaze with pulsating lavender. Inuyasha raised his arm to block the punch, and it reflected harmlessly to the side. His arm shot forward, swinging in an uppercut. The impact was solid. Kagome heard it connect, but as the force drove the Wolf King up into the air, his leg swept up and he flipped, the ball of his foot connecting to Inuyasha's jaw.

Inuyasha's head snapped back, his claws swiping at thin air even as he reeled back from the blow. The Wolf King was on him again, his recovery speed too fast. His movements too fast. Kagome watched as they brawled, as every strike Inuyasha dealt, three more landed to him, each blow a resounding 'crack' in Kagome's ears.

She grit her teeth. She couldn't just stand there. Desperate to do something, anything, she glanced around. There were no trees on the mesa, just rock. Flat, broken… shredded… rock. At her feet, the scattered debris piled around, the sharp, jagged edges of splintered rock of all sizes were all she had to work with.

She would make it work, dammit.

Kagome bent down and picked up a piece of rock. It was particularly sharp and felt clunky and rough in her hand. A bit painful too, the sides dug into the palm of her hand. Still, she squeezed it. If she could get close… maybe if the Wolf King was distracted enough…?

She crept forward, step by step as the two youkai battled it out, trying to pull from within her the same warmth she'd grown accustomed to handling. She kept her eyes trained on them as best she could, the light from the jewel shards in the Wolf King's legs a beacon for their location.

Her powers still failed her.

She was poised to attack when hands grabbed at her arms, claws digging into her skin.

Shit, she'd forgotten about the others up by the cave! She yelped and spun, her hand coming up to strike with the rock she held. Too slow. Fingers gripped her wrist and forced her arm back, back, back until she couldn't stand the strain against her wrist and elbow. She dropped her weapon.

"Here we are, I've got the bitch now," said the youkai. It was the same one. The one that ran from Inuyasha in the clearing. What had his friend called him? Hokuto? She could see him better in the light of the jewel shards, deep shadows flicking across his face as the Wolf King moved in frantic bursts behind them. His rust-color hair was sweaty and tangled, the fur on his shoulders making him seem bigger than he actually was.

"This is the one that survived the fall?" Another asked to her right.

"She's the one. The hanyou protected her. She is special to him."

"His woman then?"

"Must be. Although," said leaning in and sniffing deep at her scalp, "she's unclaimed."

"Not his woman then. Why does he care?"

The one called Hokuto shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

"She's human. She's worthless."

"Oi, fuck you!" Kagome spat, kicking out and landing her toes right between Hokuto's legs, where his balls were. It didn't go without notice that she was sounding more and more like Inuyasha.

"Fuck!" he roared, his grip loosening. He flung her towards his companion. "Hold the bitch, and watch her legs, dammit!" he said as he dropped to his knees and cupped the tender area.

"Let go of me! Let go!" Kagome struggled against the second pair of arms. She was sick of everyone around her being so much stronger than she was. She slammed her head back, hoping to catch his nose, but only managed to snap her head to her shoulders.

"Tch, stay still, human." He gave her a shake.

"Goddammit, stop shaking me! Inuyasha!" she screamed, because even the way he was now, she'd rather take her chances with him than with the bastard holding onto her.

"Shut up!" he snapped, slapping her across the face and giving her another shake. "Don't think I won't eat you right here."

Kagome lifted up her leg again, attempting to catch him like she had Hokuto, but he maneuvered away from her kick.

"Fucking bitch, I warned you." His fingers wrapped around the side of her head, and she strained helplessly against him as he pushed her head to the side, exposing her neck. "I'll silence you forever. See how well your dog behaves then!"

She opened her mouth to scream his name.

A gust of wind and the crack of bone on bone. Her head was free. Her arms were free. She took a step and turned to see Inuyasha. His hand shot to her arm and he pushed her back.

"You have touched what is mine," he spat, eyes pinned, "You will die for it."

"She is unclaimed!" shouted the wolf youkai.

"She will be claimed by the time the night is over. You, however, will be dead." He lifted the youkai up by his armor.

"Inuyasha wait!" Kagome reached up and grabbed at his firerat coat, an attempt to get him to look her way. "Wait, the Wolf King, he-"

"Female, you will stand back and shut up," he said, brushing her off.

"No, but he-"

He didn't give her a second thought, bringing the struggling youkai in his hand down onto the ground with all his might. Head connected to rock and he was gone.

"Mutt, you dare run from me?" shouted the Wolf King.

Inuyasha spun, whipping Kagome around so she was behind him, and brought his arms up to block the kick. His feet dug into the ground, taking most of the impact himself. Still, he pushed back into Kagome, knocking her over.

She glanced to her right. The light was gone from the eyes of the unfortunate youkai who'd tried to eat her only moments ago. He lay still, as still as he ever would, from now until forever. Inuyasha grunted above, and Kagome scooted back as the Wolf King pushed him towards her, attack after attack connecting more than not.

She refused to let it end here. She refused to give up and sit back while Inuyasha fought for his life. They had survived, time after time, only for it to come to this?

"Inuyasha!" she screamed, hoping he'd be able to focus on her words. "Shards! He has Jewel shards in his legs!"

Mistake. It was a mistake. Inuyasha froze, just as a kick, whipping around in an arch, connected to the side of his face. It blew him sideways and into the cliff wall, the force causing bits of the naturally formed balcony at the lip of the cave to fall down around him.

"No!" Kagome cried.

All was silent.

She could hear her heart thudding in her chest.

"You."

She glanced up, eyes wide. The Wolf King stood over her. His ears were sharp and pointed, as was his nose. His yellow, slitted pupils bore into her, searching, as if able to read her thoughts.

"What did you just say?" he asked, his tone rasped and harsh.

"I…" was all she managed before her voice trailed off.

"How did you know, human?" He took a step towards her. "How did you know of my jewel shards?"

She scooted back, but she couldn't move much further. Only a foot or so away lay the edge of the mesa - where a drop would certainly mean her death this time. "I didn't… I mean, I don't…"

"I heard you loud as day, woman. You can detect the jewel shards."

It wasn't a question. Kagome wracked her brain for the right words. What was the right thing to say? Which would allow her to survive, and which would cause her death? She opened her mouth to speak, hoping she was choosing correctly.

Laughter floated across the mesa, an empty, mechanical sound. Louder and louder the laughter grew, and as the dust cleared, Inuyasha stepped down onto the rock,

His left cheek was swollen, a consequence of taking the kick head-on. But his smile overtook his face. No pain showed in his red eyes.

"So, Wolf, your secret is out."

"It's no secret, Dog."

"Oh, but it is. Because once I take them back - and I will take them back - you will be nothing. Just another bastard, just another weakling. Just another fool."

"Do not take my use of the jewels as a sign of weakness," he warned, and reached down, quicker than Kagome could react, to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder. "But let's talk about your secret, Mutt. The one you've kept hidden in your human."

"You will let what-is-mine go."

"You mean your shard detector."

"Keh. The female is useless. She spoke a lucky guess. I only mean to take her as mine until I am done with her."

His words hit her in the chest and sunk deep inside. She tried to tell herself, no. No, he is not himself. He doesn't know what he's saying.

...But it was him. Even though he was different, it was still a part of him - still who he was inside. And the knowledge that her usefulness is what kept her close to him, that it was the reason he kept her around…

"You'll have to wait your turn then, dog. She is unclaimed. She is now mine."

"Goddammit, I don't belong to anyone! I belong to myself!" She kicked at his front and slammed her fists into the armor at his back. She tried to grab his tail and pull it, but she couldn't reach down far enough. "Put me down, you idiot!"

"She's got spirit," the Wolf King remarked.

"You will let her go."

"I will not," he said, and then they were running. He leapt, and the weightlessness of the jump caught the scream in Kagome's throat, her stomach flipping over as they fell back to the ground. He landed, and they were in the cave, running down twisting tunnels.

She struggled against his steel hold, but he only squeezed tighter.

"Stay still, woman," the Wolf King chided. "Only a few moments more."

Well, what the hell did that mean? A few minutes more until what? Before she could figure his words out, he dumped her onto the floor. Kagome sat up and glanced around, taking stock of her surroundings.

Pulsating lavender lit up the small chamber. It was empty and hollow, with large chains attached to the walls about halfway back, hanging limp and pooled at the cave floor.

Oh shit no. Was he going to chain her up? Was he going to fucking chain her up? She scrambled back, pressing herself into the wall, her arms up, ready to fight him until she died, because no way in hell was he going to fucking chain her to the goddamn walls in this cave with no sunlight.

"Just relax, it'll be over in a moment," he muttered.

"What will be over? What the hell are you planning to do with me?"

His chuckle was boyish. It was boyish and it caught her off guard. "Wait and see, detector."

Oh, great. Another name given to her, in replace of her own.

She heard it then, his tearing and snarling. It was Inuyasha coming for her.

Hope rose anew in her chest. He would get her out. He would get her out and she would figure out some way to get him back to his hanyou self, and they would get the hell out of Wolf Territory, because fuck this place! Fuck the shards, Kagome just wanted out. She wanted out.

She wanted out!

And then he was there, in the entrance to the hallowed space, filling it up with his shoulders. "Give. Her. Back," he growled.

Elation rushed through her. Kagome glanced up at the Wolf King's face, expecting to see grim determination. But something else was there. Something… Something

No.

"No, Inuyasha wait!" she shouted. Because it wasn't to trap Kagome. Kagome hadn't been brought to this cave to be held here.

No, it was a trap for Inuyasha, and she was the bait.

He ignored her warning, growling as he lunged forward. The Wolf King dodged and spun out of the way, and Inuyasha turned again to face him, now between Kagome and the enemy.

"Stop dodging and face me!" he roared, and took a step forward.

"Now!" the Wolf King called.

The chains snapped up, whipping around Inuyasha's arms and legs and pulling them taught, so his toes scraped the floor.

Kagome screamed as Inuyasha struggled, shouting profanities and grappling with the chains holding him in place. She watched as a grin spread across the Wolf King's face, his fangs gleaming in the light of the jewel shards. Other wolf youkai stepped out of the shadows to gather around him, gawking at Inuyasha as he thrust himself violently around, trying to break free.

Behind him, Kagome shook. What was happening? How had it come to this? Was she also trapped here, stuck behind him? If she moved forward, would she also be chained?

As if reading her thoughts, the Wolf King called out to her. "Detector!" he said, "you may come out. Be sure to give the mutt wide berth!"

Slowly, Kagome stood, her back scraping across the rock. She narrowed her eyes. She couldn't trust him to tell the truth, obviously.

"Woman, you're safe from him now," the Wolf King continued, "no harm will befall you."

She felt the maniacal laughter bubbling up from her chest, falling through her lips. "Oh, okay," she laughed, "okay, I'll just be right there, then."

She saw him frown through the gap between the cave wall and Inuyasha's side. The youkai next to him spoke up. "I think it's sarcasm, Kouga," he said. "Humans are known to be very sarcastic."

He nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "Woman, you can sense the jewel shards. I will promise you that the wolves will do you no harm."

"We're not going to eat her?" another one asked.

"Listen here," the Wolf King said, stepping forward and turning his back to Inuyasha to face his pack, "anyone who touches the human shard detector will die by my hands. You will see that no harm comes to her. Is that understood?"

Sharp, confirmation replies echoed through the small cavern, and he turned back around, pleased with himself going by the smile on his face. "Do you see? Now come out of there, I can't come in to fetch you."

"W-why not?" Kagome asked, hoping she sounded braver than she felt.

"Because the spell only works on youkai. If I pass the spell wall, I too will be chained."

Spell. Spell.

"You… You spelled him?" she exclaimed.

"Yes."

"You can use magic?"

The Wolf King huffed, his nose wrinkling. "Of course not! Magic is not real, stupid woman. The spell is binded exorcism. We've been waiting for him for a very long time now."

"Who… Who did the spell for you?" she asked, closing her eyes and praying he did not say her name.

"It was a wandering Monk, many moons ago. We asked him for a spell, and he gave it to us."

He was using the term 'spell', but it seemed more like what her grandfather did, and not the magical spelling that Kikyou and her monk performed.

No way was it the same monk they'd fought off in the attic.

So what was her next step, then? To sit here? Until she starved? She couldn't help Inuyasha from here, with no weapons and no way out, surrounded by wolves and youkai watching her every move.

She had to be stronger than she felt. Even without her powers, she had to be brave. Just like she'd told Shippou he was. She had to be brave like Shippou.

"Brave like Shippou," she whispered to herself, "brave like Shippou."

Slowly, she moved towards Inuyasha, keeping her back pressed against the wall. "You won't hurt me?" she called out.

"You have my word, as the Wolf King."

She carefully stepped over the lower chains, ducking so as not to touch the ones above. She glanced at Inuyasha's face. It was unchanged, his eyes red, the streaks still on his face, his fangs still protruding past his lips. He was panting, his lids heavy and half-closed.

"Is he… in pain?" she asked, pausing in her steps.

"It is… uncomfortable… for him," the Wolf King admitted.

"I don't want him to be in pain," she said.

"For now, it cannot be helped, but it is something we will talk over, once you are bathed and fed."

Oh god, the magic words. A bath. Food. She wanted to fall down and cry right then and there. But still, she hesitated, glancing at all the faces peering at her from behind the Wolf King.

He must have sensed her hesitation, because he turned again to his pack. "Everyone get back to your duties. Gather and clean the dead. We will have a burial ceremony at daybreak."

Slowly the youkai shuffled away, until it was only her and him and Inuyasha behind them.

He coughed, glanced up at her and held out his hand. "Come," he said, "you must be very tired."

With Inuyasha's eyes on her back, Kagome slowly reached out and took the Wolf King's hand.

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Thanks again, everyone! Again, I love hearing what you have to say about the story so far! Hope to hear from you!

~SugarRos