It was about a week since Yuki was abducted by Kouga and forced to be the demon wolf tribe's 'jewel detector'. Strangely, it wasn't so bad. Kouga kept the boy on a short leash, of course, but Yuki wasn't scared of him or of the rest of the wolf pack anymore. Everyone was treating him with respect now; it probably had something to do with how he nursed the injured wolves back to health when they were attacked by those demonic birds. 'Birds of Paradise' is what Kouga called them. Those three wolves were now up and about because of him, and it kind of made Yuki feel proud of himself. Kouga had been praising him all week because of that.

Speaking of Kouga, the wolf demon was acting… Different. Ever since he helped save those three demons, Kouga has been really kind to him. He brought Yuki food, making sure that it was cooked since Yuki's weak human stomach couldn't handle raw foods like Kouga could, he let Yuki sleep in his private quarters away from the rest of the tribe, and he also allowed Yuki to go out on walk. With another wolf or even Kouga himself accompanying him, of course.

Sometimes Yuki forgot that he was technically a prisoner. A few chances popped up for him to try and escape, but he never took them. The wolves fed him and never hurt him, and he had nowhere else to go. He knew nothing of the world he was in, these wolves were his only protection and he'd be a fool to run off now. But he did worry over his cousin, if she was alright, and if she knew that silver haired dog boy that grabbed her and took off with her like that.

Today, he found himself rinsing off in a nearby stream. He had gotten so sweaty and gross over the course of this week and he never got a chance to try and bathe or anything. His clothes also seriously needed to be washed.

He breached the surface of the water and pushed strawberry blond hair out his eyes. He had been swimming around for what seemed like hours already; his hands and feet were beginning to get pruney, which meant that he needed to get out soon. He made his way to the side of the river and climbed back onto the grassy surface. He picked up a nearby white robe, and wrapped his petite body in it. The robe was given to him by Kouga a few days ago; amongst the other things he'd gotten him to 'assist his human needs'. He tied cloth around his waist to keep it in place before making his way over to a nearby burning fire to check and see if his clothes were dry yet.

"Are you done yet?"

Yuki spun around to face Kouga, who was standing right behind him. He let out a sigh, his cheeks blushing in his half dressed state, "You startled me."

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Kouga apologized, but there's a slight smirk on his lips as he reached forward and gently brushed wet bangs out Yuki's eyes, his clawed fingers left spots of electricity on Yuki's skin, the young boy suppressed a shiver.

Another strange habit that Kouga has picked up towards him was the touching. It was gestures like these that were frequent from him for the past week. He would put his arms around Yuki's shoulders or waist, or take his wrist in his hand. He also developed a habit for standing really close. Like now, for instance, he could smell Kouga's scent, his taller, more muscled body mere inches from him. He swallows thickly, heart thudding loudly.

"It's fine," Yuki replies, gulping lightly and taking a step back, "Anyways, I should be done soon. Why? Is there something you needed?"

"Nah, just checking on you," Kouga replies, watching him with those intense blue eyes. Yuki wasn't sure how to respond to that so he turned to his clothes and began to redress. He could feel Kouga's gaze on him the entire time, and his patience snapped. He wasn't sure why Kouga's hovering so intently, but it's making him nervous.

"What are you staring at?" He eventually asks as he pulls on his shirt, turning back around to face the wolf demon.

Kouga barely blinked, "You, obviously," he said in a blunt tone, "Have you seen yourself?"

Yuki's blush deepened, "You mean to say... You were admiring?"

"Wow, you really are quick witted," Kouga replies with an eye roll and an amused chuckle, one that Yuki returns with an annoyed glare. He had no idea what this meant.

"You... You like men?" he asks, a bit shocked. He took Kouga for many things, but not gay.

"Look, this is pretty new to me as well, I don't know or care to know if I like all men," Kouga says flippantly, waving a hand in the air, "Here's the deal; I've decided to court you. I've never been interested in men, but I'm certainly interested in you."

That took a moment for Yuki to process, and even after he did, he still didn't quite get it. His face is fully red though, he had no idea Kouga looked at him in that way. Somehow he felt... Flattered? He cleared his throat awkwardly, "And by courting you mean…"

"I mean that I intend to make you my mate," Kouga says plainly.

Yuki's face fell; he went from blushing lightly to resembling a tomato. That was the last thing he expected to hear from Kouga. The hot red blush spread from his neck and up to his face, touching the tips of his ears. Kouga found the sight adorable, and he couldn't help but let a smirk curve his lips. He reached forward and cupped the young boy's chin in his palm, his thumb rubbing over Yuki's lower lip gently, "That's right, little human, you are mine. In every aspect, now."

"St—Stop it!" Yuki squeaks, smacking Kouga's hand away and taking another few steps back, "You can't just decide something like that on your own! Quit screwing around! I'm not some maiden you can claim as yours! Why do you even want to mate with another guy anyways?"

"You ask that as if it makes a difference to me. I don't care what gender you are! I love you!" Kouga declared, now advancing on him. Yuki, of course, backed away until his back hit the rock. Kouga's quick to put his hands against the boulder near his head, trapping him. He's stuck between Kouga and the large rock behind him, he gulped nervously once again.

"Aren't there rules against this or something?" Yuki asks nervously as Kouga looms in front of him, so close that he could feel the heat of Kouga's body and his breath on his face.

"The rules of the tribe don't apply to me, little human. I'll mate with whoever I want to," Kouga says, sounding quite proud of himself and that made Yuki's heart involuntarily flutter. Was it that proud attitude that Yuki liked? The teenage boy hasn't been attracted to a man before, then again he hasn't really dated either. He's only dated one girl and it only lasted for a week.

Kouga leaned very close to his face, his hands resting on Yuki's hips, "Wolves mate for life so you're mine now, got it?"

Yuki blushed an even darker red, completely stunned, "K—Kouga!"

"Hey Kouga!"

Thank god for Ginta's unintentional interruption. Yuki managed to wiggle free and flee a safe distance away from the wolf, a heavy blush on his cheeks as Ginta appeared from over the cliff near the waterfall.

"What?" Kouga snapped, the irritation clear in his voice as he spun to face his friend.

"A thief has made off with one of the sacred shikon jewel shards!"

This grabs Yuki's attention as the young lad turns back around to look up at Ginta, "How long ago?"

The wolf demon looks at him, "Not long! Maybe about an hour ago?"

Yuki nodded and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. He was getting better at sensing where the jewel shards are, now he was able to tell if one was nearby or not. He felt a twinge and looked in the direction of west, "He hasn't gotten too far; we can catch up to him if we move now."

Kouga drew extremely close to him yet again, his face mere inches from his, making Yuki's body flush, "I'll gather up some wolves to come with us."

Yuki blushed at the close proximity but nodded his head, "Al—Alright."

By the time they set out, the jewel had gotten quite a distance away. But with Kouga's speed, they caught up easily. Yuki rode on his back, clinging to his neck as he shouted which way to go. Eventually, they caught up to him in a small village, where the thief tried to hide himself. He tried to escape through a river, but even in the river the wolves jumped on his back and dragged him to the surface. Yuki tried not to watch as some wolves attacked villagers that were milling around.

The thief was dragged to Kouga's feet; Kouga bent down and demanded the jewel shard back. Seeing that he had no other option, the man handed it back over without any fuss.

Yuki has never seen Kouga so… Intense before.

"Thank you letting me live," the thief babbled, still on his knees.

Kouga smirked, but it wasn't a smirk that Yuki was familiar with. It was a sinister one, an evil one. Suddenly Kouga turned around… And tore out the man's throat.

"Fool," he sneered and flapped his blood soaked hand in the air, getting the blood off his claws, "I would've forgotten."

Yuki shuddered.

"Alright, I got what I want," he put his clean hand on Yuki's forearm and began to drag him away, still addressing his wolves as he walked away with Yuki in tow, "We're heading back. You stay in the village and feed to your heart's content, then catch up to us when you're done."

Yuki's heart dropped, hoping that he'd heard wrong, "What? K—Kouga you can't just—"

Yuki's protest is cut off as Kouga picked him up bridal style and took off with him in his arms. Yuki could hear the villagers screaming in terror as the wolves began to devour everybody in sight.

"Kouga!" Yuki snapped as they headed back towards the wolf demon den. They were halfway there when Yuki shoved harshly against his chest, managing to wiggle free and land on his butt. Kouga finally stopped running.

"What's your problem, Yuki?" Kouga snapped, irritated that they'd stopped.

"My problem is you! How could you tell your wolves to slaughter an entire village?!" Yuki yelled right back at him, pushing himself to his feet and dusting himself off.

Kouga looked genuinely confused, "What do you mean, 'why'? They gotta eat too."

"Then have them hunt animals!" Yuki insisted, his eyes getting teary, "Those villagers are innocent! They've done nothing to hurt you! I understand why you killed the thief… But you didn't need to have your wolves hunt those humans too!"

"They're just humans! What's the big deal?"

"I'm a human too, jackass!" Yuki snapped back, his voice rose a pitch in his anger, his hands balled into fists at his sides, "Would you have your wolves kill me too if I wasn't valuable to you?"

Kouga narrowed his blue eyes at him, his tone evening out, "It's not the same—"

"It is!"

Before Kouga could retort, the sound of howls echoing from far away interrupted them. Kouga's keen ears could pick up the sounds easily, but Yuki had to strain to hear it. The young boy was silent for a moment before, noticing Kouga's tense body language, asked, "What is it?"

"Something's happened. Back at the village; I'm being called for help," Kouga explained tersely. He sighed and looked at Yuki, "You head back to the den by yourself. Don't you dare try to run away; you know I will find you."

Yuki blinked in confusion, "Where are you going?"

"Back to the village to see what's happened; they need my help," the wolf demon says before he takes off, that hurricane like smoke surrounding him as he raced away, calling over his shoulder as he went, "Don't dawdle! Get back to the den!"

"You're not the wolf tribe leader of me," Yuki grumbled. He focused his senses on the jewel shards in Kouga's legs, before he took off in a much slower jog after the wolf demon.

It took Yuki a good 10 minutes to catch up to Kouga. It was a good thing that the village wasn't that far from where Kouga left him. The young boy stopped at a tree and leaned against it, taking a moment to catch his breath before he passed by the trees and entered the village. From this distance, he could see Kouga facing a group of people. He couldn't quite make out their faces though.

One of the wolves barked at him as he approached, and it caught Kouga's attention. The wolf demon spun around to see Yuki standing a few yards away, "Moron, I told you to go back to the den!"

Yuki rolled his eyes, he's still panting as he called back, "Quit ordering me around!" even though he was breathless and shaking with fatigue. He was never going to run that kind of distance again. He kept panting to catch his breath, approaching Kouga slowly and trying to see who he was facing. He couldn't see very well through the dust that was kicked up during their scrape.

Then, a much softer and familiar voice called out, "Yuki?"

Yuki looked to the group of people that faced Kouga and his eyes widened as soon as he locked eyes with her, he instantly recognized the dark haired beauty that stood among the group or strangers, "Kagome?"

A/N: thank you to everyone who have favorited and followed, I'm a bit sad that this hasn't gotten any reviews yet. Pls feel free to leave your thoughts if you're enjoying this story, it would encourage and motivate me.