Chapter 21
Wolf's War: part 3
Blood thundered in Koga's ears, matching the heavy beat of the King Bird's wings. Sharp eyes locked on the huge form before him as he took in every detail of the monster responsible for his people's suffering.
His estimation didn't disappoint. The King Bird was an abomination; one that would die that day.
"You think you can kill me so easily?" Koga taunted with a cold smirk. "You don't know me at all."
"We don't have to know you…" the right head snapped.
"To kill you…." the left finished.
"Your pitiful tribe will see your demise…."
"And, will be easy pickings to finish off…."
"You won't make it off this mountain," Koga threatened as he pressed Kagome further behind him, against the filthy walls of the cave.
Above all else, he'd make sure she got down alive. His men still in the tunnels would see to that.
"Quite the contrary, wolf….." the right warned.
"We will swoop upon your people…."
"And, devour them whole…."
"But, first…"
"We'll start with you!"
The looming darkness swallowed the fading light from the cave as the King Bird's massive shadow grew ever closer seconds before Koga could snatched up his woman and leap back from the falling rocks and thrashing claws.
The King Bird had to be insane! Either that or he was that desperate. The bastard was trying to eat them and crush them all at the same time.
Zipping deftly from the cave, Koga quickly carried Kagome as far away as he could from the shrieking monster that was a thrashing mix of talons and feathers.
"Koga!"
Rokurou's call had the Alpha ducking into a side tunnel with a huff of relief. Good, they were right where he left them.
"Protect Kagome," he ordered gruffly as he placed her on her feet in front of the small group.
From the swiftly growing crashes behind him, Koga didn't have long.
"Koga, wait!"
His woman's call had the Alpha's breath freezing in his throat. He wasn't sure if he should be worried at how she could affect him so easily but, right now, he didn't care. He was about to go into battle. He needed to have something to cling to, to hope for.
Bright eyes locked with her wide brown ones, enticingly dark in the surrounding shadows. Even the worry in them didn't take from the beauty he saw there. They were his woman's eyes.
"You aren't going back alone, are you?" she asked in an almost accusing tone.
The spirit in her voice had Koga fighting the urge to laugh. She was a fierce little thing.
"I'm the only one strong enough to take him down," he replied proudly.
It was the truth. Besides, the rest of the tribe would have their claws full with the rest of the flock. He owed them this much.
"I can help…." Kagome tried to argue but Koga silenced her swiftly with a firm hand on the back her of neck, tilting her head upwards towards him.
Every instinct in Koga was screaming at him to kiss her, to plunder and take and leave a promise of what was to come that would leave her breathless. But, Koga also knew, to give into that urge was to admit defeat. It would say he was afraid and thought he might not come back.
He couldn't do that to him men. They needed to see him as unbreakable, unwavering, unafraid. So instead of giving into the desire coursing thickly in his veins, Koga did the next best thing.
Leaning close, he grinned at how his woman's eyes widened in startled curiosity.
"When all this is done, I'll celebrate my victory in the best way possible," he whispered low. "And, you will glow with pride, knowing your mate is the best warrior the ookami has ever seen."
The choked gasp from Kagome's lips was lost to the air as Koga suddenly dove back towards the squawking crashes overhead.
It was time to take that monster down!
SSS
He didn't just…..!
Kagome wasn't sure if she should shake her head or punch the arrogant alpha in the nose. He'd just said, in all uncertain terms, that he'd….. And, in front of his men too!
The knowing grins and smirks from the motley crew wasn't helping her irritation any. They all looked like Koga was some kind of hero to them.
Kagome supposed he was in one way or another to them but that didn't give him the right to humiliate her in front of them.
Apparently, Koga hadn't given up the idea of her being his mate.
Still, she had to focus. The fool Alpha was going to get himself killed.
"You're not actually going to just let him go, are you?" she challenged as she glared at the small group of hunters.
One of the bigger ones, a burly male with pale hair, crossed thick arms over the fur and hide armor covering his chest.
"Koga gave his orders," he replied as if that answered everything.
Kagome shook her head in agitation. Really, these males would jump off a cliff if Koga told them to. Of course, being yokai, it probably wouldn't bother them that much.
"So, you'll hide here in the shadows while he takes on the threat by himself," she snapped, a little more harshly than she intended.
The male's dark eyes turned blacker as his mouth set in a grim line.
"Koga's woman or not, I'm not letting you get yourself killed," he growled in warning, eyes shifting towards the rest of the group before focusing on her again.
Kagome knew better than to argue the Koga's woman detail now. If they thought she'd embarrass their alpha, then there was no way she'd make it out in one piece.
But, she couldn't just let Koga face that monstrosity alone!
Quickly turning on her heel, the young priestess was shocked to find herself lifted about her waist by an arm that could have been carved in stone. Kicking and flailing as hard as she could, Kagome fought the hold the male had on her helplessly.
This was beyond pitiful, how easily these males could over-power her.
"Careful, Rokurou," Ginta's soft voice warned. "Koga wants her unharmed."
"He wants her alive too," the bigger male snapped before turning sharply back down the tunnel. "Let's go!"
The wide shoulder repeatedly bumping into her stomach, caused Kagome to swallow the urge to vomit as they raced down turning tunnel after tunnel.
It wasn't till they hopped over an abandoned torch that Kagome realized where they were going.
They were heading towards the lower cave.
"You won't make it," she warned breathlessly. "There's no way out."
"How do you think we got in here?" the male, Rokurou, snarled as they came to a screeching halt in the wide cave.
Shifting herself to take a deep breath, Kagome blinked about the eerily silent room. Everything was exactly as she remember it. From the crudely painted markings on the floor to the abandoned cracked torch that she'd dropped in her despair.
However, the single shaft of daylight was bigger, widened to light the den in a pale glow that grew about the chamber.
A few rocky outcroppings and shelves made a make-shift climbing stair towards the skylight, still too far apart for her to climb but easy enough for a grown ookami.
Without warning, the group started leaping from rock to rock, till they all thrust themselves through the opening, into blinding sunlight.
Blinking back the burn to her eyes, Kagome felt her world tilt again when the big male set her abruptly to her feet on the rocky mountainside.
"We have to help him," Kagome argued weakly, trying to shade her still adjusting eyes to the change in light.
Rokurou merely snorted in near disgust.
"You have no faith in him," he accused.
"Rokurou!" Ginta's soft voice scolded before he turned to her. "I know you're worried about him, sister. But, Koga knows what he's doing. He wouldn't want you to be in danger while he's fighting this important battle."
"It'll only distract him," added another of the group with a sheepish sort of grimace.
Kagome knew they meant well. She also knew they were most-likely right. However, that didn't change the fact that Koga needed help. However, right when she was about to open her mouth to tell them such, a bone-chilling screech rang through the air.
All gazes jerked upward to see a small flock of Birds of Paradise diving towards them.
"I thought the others took care of the flock!" Ginta yelled in horror.
"Some must have gotten lose!" another hunter snapped as he brought his curved spear in front of him.
"Get ready!" Rokurou bellowed, claws extending from their beds.
Kagome swallowed as the familiar burn of her reiki warmed her palms. Koga's help would have to wait. She just hoped he could stay alive long-enough.
Don't die before I can get there!
SSS
Without the distraction of his woman, Koga found the fight almost unfair as he used his superior reflexes and speed to his advantage against the hulking form of the King Bird.
Birds of Paradise were only a threat if they were in the air and as long as Koga could keep the big bastard grounded, he could pick off the deformed brothers piece by hideous piece. The fool had been so determined to dig him out of the nest, he'd nearly wedged himself into the rocky frame the crumbling opening of the cave created.
However, the beast was strong. Already it had taken several swipes of Koga's claws but had yet to give up and die. Koga would almost respect the monster if it hadn't already feasted on more of his people than he could count.
"You can't win, wolf…." One of the heads taunted.
"Your claws will only cut so deep…." the other added.
Koga ignored both as he lunged to take a wing. If he could cripple the beast, it would be easy to take down.
However, his claws met only the sickening squelch of grimy filth as they slid over the King Bird's body.
Gaaa! Didn't this thing ever bathe?
"You can't pierce my armor…."
"But, we can yours!"
A huge talon swiped to Koga's left, a curved nail hooking into the side of his chest-plate and flinging him across the opposite wall. The alpha hit hard, with a sickening smack, before he clawed swiftly at the hand holding him.
The swift surge of blood and an infuriated shriek rang through the air as the disgusting limb landed on the floor with a wet clacking sound.
"You can't move, you blood-thirsty parakeet," Koga taunted as he sucked in a breath between sore ribs.
The King Bird was stronger than expected.
"Neither can you, pup," one of the heads returned.
"We're both stuck together…."
"A fitting end, considering….."
"Our flock reduced your pack to nothing…."
Koga growled in barely contained rage. It was baiting him, trying to make him do something stupid and die. But, he would act first.
"We will take you out with our last breath….."
"And, the rest of our flock will pick your pretty mate's bones dry…."
Koga didn't have time to think. He just reacted. Red filled his vision as he lunged towards the murderer of his people.
With one powerful swipe of his claws, far more than he ever thought himself possible, he aimed high for one of the cackling heads glaring at him, splitting the powerful beast straight down between the two.
For the first time, fear showed on both the brothers as two sets of taloned hands reached for him. A swift kick snapped the neck of one, while the same claws flayed the other bulbous belly, black blood and intestines spilling before the King Birds lower eyes and fanged mouth.
"Impossible!" shrieked the only remaining head as it started to crawl towards Koga, the smear of blood staining the floor as the torso heaved in pained agony.
Black blood dripped from his claws as Koga gripped the King Bird's skull in his palm.
"Your terror is over," he growled in surety. "You will be burned with the rest of your monstrous flock. Your kind isn't even worth to be eaten."
With one strong squeeze, Koga felt the skull of the King Bird crack in his grasp before the whole dome caved in on itself. The slight squishing between his clawed fingers caused the male to sneer in disgust before he dropped it to the ground.
Looking about, Koga wasn't sure if he felt relief or disappointment. It was over. The threat to his people was gone. Koga had killed the King Bird.
Grabbing hold of the two twisted torsos, the alpha stomped to the nest opening, wind whipping sharply at his bound hair. In one swift motion, he tossed them both over the edge with a howl of victory.
The answering calls of his men told the young Alpha he was truly victorious. He'd defeated his enemy and his people were alive. He'd done it! Koga had saved his tribe from the Birds of Paradise!
The War was over!
