Colors of orange and pink painted the sky as the blazing sun slowly lowered in the horizon. The tall trees of the forest that scattered for miles seemed almost black in comparison to the bright colors from above.

A broad back faced the complete opposite direction of the beautiful scenery of the setting sun.
His form leaned back against his propped arms as he sat upon the ledge of one of the many mountain cliffs, clawed fingers lightly rubbing against the rocky surface.
Azure eyes scanned the millions of trees in the far off distance underneath darkening sky speckled with the fading color of orange.

I wonder if she is watching the sun descend behind my mountain right now...

Koga sighed heavily with sadness as he thought of the miko who lived miles away.

It has been four days since he brought Kagome back to her village and every night since then he sat upon the highest cliffs of his mountain, his back facing the sunset as he stared off into the direction of where her village was.

And for four days he's been mentally beating himself up; constantly regretting on not accepting her offer for staying the night at her village.

He remembered standing on the hill with the priestess, her hazel eyes dashing around nervously avoiding his gaze as she stuttered her words, "D-do you want to s-stay the n-night, Koga?"

"The night?" He questioned with a smirk. His pointed ears slightly twitched when he heard her heartbeat start to pound excitedly.

Lately her poor little heart sounded like it was running a race all the time and he seemed to be the cause of it.

"Yes," she said, as her eyes looked down at her fingers as they fumbled with the sleeves of her kimono. "You haven't seen Sango and Miroku in years and I figured we all could have dinner together. I could also show you around the village and you could stay the night with me in m-my hut if you wanted."

His first thought was full of curiosity of wanting see how the priestess lived. To walk around the village with her and to see the people she cared for and loved. He wanted to see where she lived and the room she slept in every night.
This was the part of her he didn't know and he so yearned to find out more about her...

At the same time, he knew it was a bad idea.

He crossed a serious boundary the night before with her underneath the stars.
And if he were to sleep in the same room tonight with the miko, he didn't know what he'd do to her at this point.

Sadly, he just didn't trust himself...

Feelings and emotions that he buried within his heart years ago for the human girl were now quickly resurfacing and they needed to stop.

Immediately.

He remembered the night before as she quickly pulled away from him as he lightly brushed his lips against hers. The shock in her eyes as she stared at him, and the horrible feeling of fear he felt at the thought that she could be afraid of him now.

And to make things worse, she was acting some what awkward around him since this morning. She wouldn't look him in the eye and hardly spoke to him as he carried her to her village.

He knew she was trying her best to act normal, especially inviting him to stay the night at her village just now.
But, he knew he crossed the line with her based off her demeanor towards him... and it was quite obviously she didn't feel the same way for him as he did for her.

But, most importantly there was also Ayame...

And because of the auburn haired demoness he knew he needed to try and put distance between the two of them.

He smiled down at the girl, pointy white fangs slightly peeking out. "I appreciate the offer, but I really need to return back to the mountain."

"King duties?" She asked softly, her eyes still looking down at her kimono sleeves.

He picked up at the slight sadness in her voice and didn't like it. "Yeah, I need to take care of some things. But, maybe the next time when I come and visit you I might take you up on your offer."

Hazel eyes peeked up at him under black bangs, "Next time?" She questioned.

"Well yeah Kagome, I did make a promise to you, didn't I?"

She lifted her head up, finally making eye contact with him with eyes sparkling, "Yes, you did." She said happily.

Koga groaned as the memory ended, his head limply falling backwards as he stared up at the darkening sky above him.

He knew it was best to not have accepted her offer, but damn did he regret it now.

He just missed her so damn much...

His mind once again wondered off to the light kiss they shared between the both of them and how incredibly soft her lips felt against his.
He seemed to be blissfully daydreaming nonstop of those plump lips since he touched them.

And as soon as his mind started to think about how amazing it would of felt if he just fully pressed his lips against hers, greedily forcing her mouth open with his tongue so he could taste and explore her...

Ayame would appear.

I'm such a piece of shit... he grudgingly thought.

Koga immediately snapped out of his thoughts as he heard soft foot steps make there way towards him.

"You know, people usually watch the sunset, not face the complete opposite direction of it."

Not bothering to even look at the approaching demoness, Koga simply asked, "What do you want, Tomoe?"

He heard her sigh heavily as she sat down next to him, legs crossed as she faced the sunset, their bodies facing the complete opposite directions. "Ginta and Hakkaku asked me to check up on you."

His eyes glanced at the girl sitting next to him, getting a full view of thick untamed brown curls.
"To check up on me?" He said almost mockingly.

"Yeah, they said you've seemed depressed these last few days."

"I'm not depressed."

"Well you have been acting a bit... off."

"How so?"

She shrugged, "You've seemed distant lately.. Always deep in thought about something. And not to mention you've been coming up here a lot..."

"I like it up here."

"I've known you for hundreds of years as well as Ginta and Hakkaku. And no matter how hard you try to act like a strong King...We. know. you. And we know when something is bothering you. So how about you cut the bulshit and just be honest with me."

Koga sighed heavily, he knew she would pester him nonstop if he didn't give her some sort of answer, "I'm just stressed." He said simply.

"About?"

"About multiple things."

He heard her softly growl next to him, obviously losing her patience with him.

"I'm just stressed, Tomoe." He began defeatedly, "Being King and dealing with all the responsibilities coming with the title and power I acquired. Yesterday I had a meeting with the Seven council members of the East and Yuriko. Their all concerned about how the Southern King has been quite these last few months."

"Why would they be concerned over that? Things are finally peaceful for once."

"It's has never been the Southern Kings style to be dormant for this long. I reconquered every single piece of land and mountain that he'd overtaken over the years. I killed his men that were residing here in the East and sent back their decapitated heads as a warning to him and his people... I honestly was expecting war between the two territories and I made sure that every wolf of the East was ready for it... and still nothing has happened. I even have spies posted in the Southern territory who tell me that the Southern King has no intention at this time to retaliate... I just can't believe it. Why kill and take land to expand your territory over the years, and not do anything when it gets retaken back. It just doesn't make sense. "

"I guess when you put it that way I can see why they are concerned. Also I'm sure the Southern King is probably well aware of your betrothal to Ayame and has full knowledge of all the Northern lands and warriors you'll be acquiring with mating of her.. I'm sure he's probably a bit unhappy with all the power you are going to be yielding in the future."

"Don't get me started on the North..."

"Oh? What happened now?" Tomoe asked with curiousity.

Koga rolled his eyes as a exaggerated sigh left his lips. "Of course all the council members and Yuriko are up my ass about mating Ayame as soon as possible."

"Well why haven't you? Why do you keep putting it off?" Tomoe asked. She felt like she knew the answer already, but just wanted to hear him confirm her suspicions.

Koga looked off into the distance as his thoughts were clouded with images of the demoness that smelled of irises. He remembered the softness of her auburn hair as he ran his clawed fingers through it the last time he saw her. How smooth her skin felt under his touch when he embraced her, his eyes always scanning over the beautiful freckles that covered her pale body; reminding him of the clusters of stars in the sky.
The way she tasted when he left his betrothal mark upon her collarbone was extraordinary and the lustful moans that left her pink lips sent chills down his spine.
He remembered when he pulled away from her bruised flesh and peered up into her sparkling emerald eyes; they were so full of love and desire for him.

"Honestly, I don't know..." he admitted to Tomoe. He's been using his King duties as an excuse to keep pushing back the mating ceremony with her. But, now that the East was fully under his rule and at peace for the moment... he really didn't have an excuse anymore.

"Do you love her?"

"I... I deeply care for her. I'd gladly give my life up for her if she was in danger."

"I asked if you loved her." Tomoe asked again.

He was silent for a while trying to find the best response to the question that often hovered in his own mind. "I'm trying to love her..."

Tomoe leaned forward, her one arm resting upon her thigh as her head lazily plopped into her hand. Dark amber eyes stared off into the distance of the disappearing sun. "You don't have to mate her you know."

"What?" Koga quirked a eyebrow at her statement.

"I know you were pressured by the council members and Yuriko into agreeing to the betrothal to her."

"I wasn't."

Amber eyes slightly squinted with annoyance, "Don't lie to me, you know I hate liars."

He sighed heavily.

There was no point in arguing with her...
He decided to change the subject about him and his future mate to more important pressing matters concerning the North.

"I'm going to have to prepare to travel to the North soon."

"Oh? Why?"

"I was supposed to visit the North two weeks ago remember? That obviously was canceled when the two pups went missing."

"You sent a messenger in your place to notify Aoki and Ayame on why you couldn't visit. Along with gifts and plans you have for trade between the two territories. That wasn't good enough?"

"You know how Aoki is, he won't be satisfied with that. And I also need to place Ayames betrothal mark upon her again..."

Every so many weeks he had to visit the North to discuss tribal matters with Aoki, the current Leader of the Northern tribe who was also Ayames cousin.
But, most importantly he had to leave the betrothal mark upon Ayame; a sign to other wolf demons she belonged to him and he had chosen her as his future mate.
Unlike the mating mark that left a permanent scar on a demons flesh, the betrothal mark was only temporary; lasting a few weeks till it completely healed and he would once again have to reapply the intimate mark.

Her mark is probably gone by now...

"What about Sister Kagome?"

Koga felt his cheeks start to heat up at the mention of the mikos name. "What about her?"

"She said you promised you'd visit her." Tomoe said with a sly grin on her lips.

"S-s-she said what?" He stuttered, azure eyes wide as his tail swished back and forth nervously.

Tomoe chuckled at his reaction. "I asked her when she would come and visit the mountain again. She said hopefully soon..." Tomoe shrugged, her mischievous grin getting wider, "But, she also said that you promised you'd visit her at her human village."

He sighed, his bronzed skin radiating a red hue, "Yeah, I promised I'd come visit her." He admitted.

"When are you planning to go?"

"Does it matter?"

"Of course! You don't want to wait to long."

Koga rolled his eyes, "It's not that serious... I don't think she'll care anyways."

"I think she would."

Kogas ears perked in interest, his back slightly leaning backwards so he could get a better view of his friends face. "What do you mean? What else did she tell you?"

"Nothing really... just that she looked forward to your visits in the future."

"She said that?"

"Yeah, but you don't seem to serious on keeping your promise to her. So I guess it doesn't matter."

Azure eyes glanced away from the demoness as the blush upon his cheeks deepened.

Why did I make such a promise?

"...I guess I could visit her tomorrow."