It seemed like I didn't get any sleep at all before my mind was dropped into a nightmare. Well, it was more of a memory rather than a nightmare. My mind was replaying the final battle, but it was happening so fast, almost like I pressed fast forward on a hidden remote. I watched all my friends die a second horrible death, but something was not right. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it seemed like none of Naraku's minions were perishing.

"That's not right." I whispered, "They are supposed to be dropping like flies." As soon as my voice sounded everything shattered into a thousand pieces and I was left in darkness.

"You will die by my hand when I return."

I spun around expecting to see an unknown male standing behind me, but all I saw was the pitch black atmosphere. I frowned. I knew I heard someone speak behind me, speaking right into my ear so I would hear them clearly.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Who are you?" the voice said mockingly in return. "You know who I am miko." He sneered, "You are the one who destroyed my body, but not my soul. No, not my soul. I will haunt your dreams, miko, as repayment for your deeds."

His voice sounded so eerily familiar that it sent shivers down my spine. His voice sounded in my ear on again, the blackness seeming to suffocate me, "Watch your back wench because no matter where you are, I will be with you."

With a startled breath I wrenched awake, my body shaking in fear. Slowly I started to recognize my surroundings, but I couldn't seem to calm down enough to stop my shaking. Wrapping my arms around myself, I slid out of bed and gingerly made my way to the doorway, careful not to put a lot of pressure on my foot.

Pushing away the heavy furs was a task that was surprisingly difficult. It seemed as if my nightmare completely drained me of energy. When I accomplished my task, I poked my head outside. I knew that Amaya said that I would need some assistance moving around, but I knew that if I was careful that I could handle it on my own.

I crept out of the room and started exploring the den. It was slow going, painfully slow, but I enjoyed myself. I worked my way around until the final area I entered was the main cave. At this time I was completely lost, not knowing where Kouga's den was, but I wasn't worried. I made my way into the main cave and noticed a couple of familiar faces sitting around.

The men were sitting in small groups, each doing a task. Everything was organized. For each task there was a specific place to do it. In the corner closest to me, men were sitting down and eating their evening meal while they talked of today's hunt. In another corner, fortunately the one farthest away, was where all the game was skinned and hung so the women could then use the skin to make clothing.

I finally looked towards the middle of the room and saw Kouga with, I'm guessing, his 'higher ups'. Instead of walking up to meet Kouga, I stayed in the doorway and watched him, waiting for him to look up and notice me. Kouga seemed to be very engrossed in a, what seemed to be, important conversation.

Several of the men were already staring at me, but I paid them no mind. I continued waiting until finally, one of Kouga's companions looked up and noticed me. He shoved his elbow into Kouga's ribs to get his attention and then pointed over at me. I plastered a smile on my face quickly, before Kouga looked up.

"Kagome!" he exclaimed, "What are you doing out of bed?"

Then den when quiet as all the men watched for Kouga's reaction to a female in the main cave. Kouga quickly strolled over to me and put his arm around my waist to gently guide me out of the room. He took most of my weight onto himself as he led me into the other main den, which I somehow missed on my exploration.

"Kagome, with you being here, there are several things that you will have to learn. One of the most important ones is it stay out of the male's main den. Females are not allowed in that room."

I started to protest, but Kouga interrupted, "I know that you like to do what you want, and that is fine, but to keep peace and safety in my clan, there are certain rules that even I must follow." He gently set me down next to a group of female wolves, "This is the den that anyone can come into."

I scowled at him, "I was trying to find you!" Which wasn't exactly a lie; it was only a half-lie.

He smiled down at me before he took a seat next to me. "If you can't find me or I'm in the main den, ask any passing male to come get me and they will. They know that you are going to be their sister soon, so they should have no problem helping you out."

The groups of women scattered around the room were quietly listening in on what was being said, it almost unnerved me to know that everyone knew what was being said…not that it was important. "What do you mean that I will be their sister soon?"

"You will be everyone's sister soon. I'm holding a celebration of sorts to welcome you into our pack. It won't happen until your ankle is better, but it is a rather simple ceremony."

As I listened to Kouga, my eyes started to tear up. He was making sure that no matter where I went that I always have a place to come home to. I turned my head to the side to hide my tears, though I knew that everyone in the den could smell my tears.

"Thank you." I whispered,"That means more than anything right now."

"There is nothing to thank." He gestured to the woman next to him, "This is Harumi and she is the next highest female under the Lady of the pack."

He turned his attention on Harumi, "I want you to show Kagome around, so she is comfortable around the den and I want you to introduce her to the other females."

Looking at Harumi I noticed how well she fit her name. She was indeed a 'spring beauty'. Pale blond hair rippled down her back in waves, framing a smooth face. Her eyes were a startling forest green. The only thing that marred her perfect features was the scowl she shot at me.

"You can't expect me to show her around like some lost puppy, Lord Kouga. Just because she is your pet does not mean she has to be ours too. She can look after herself." Harumi huffed and turned her back at me.

Anger started swelling in my body and my aura reacted defensively to the insult. Distantly, I heard Kouga start up a low menacing growl, but before he tried to defend me, I sent out my power to electrify her. I gave he enough of a charge for it to hurt for a while, but not too much to where it would show damage.

Harumi let out a sharp yelp of pain and glared at me.

"Kagome is to be part of this pack Harumi and you will treat her as such." I quickly glanced over at Kouga and saw his face contorted into a dark mask. "You will watch how you talk to her."

I knew right then, from that instant, that I would have problems with Harumi and that they would not stop until I showed her that I was not something to mess with.

---Author's Note---

So we are at the end of my second chapter. I'm relieved to find out that the more I write the easier it gets.

I just want to give a shout out to swimmer14 and lil-wolf-gurrl for adding me to their favorites list and to tigerangel for adding my story to their story alerts!