Surprisingly enough, I was wrong about Harumi. Granted she ignored me whenever she saw me and I avoided her to a hilarious extent, but things were rather peaceful in my new home.

Kouga rescheduled the welcoming ceremony for tonight and needless to say, I'm completely petrified. He ordered a female wolf to help me get ready for tonight and I have to say that I'm very pleased with his decision.

Miyaki is one of the friendliest wolf demons that I've ever met. Her long golden-brown hair showed her kind nature and her gorgeous chocolate-brown eyes sparkled with mischief. She had a great sense of humor that only I seemed to understand.

"Kagome? It's time to get dressed for the ceremony. The kimono that Kouga chose for you is waiting on your bed." Miyaki gently took my arm and led me to my room.

"I know that you're probably nervous about tonight, but there is really nothing to worry about." She smiled at me in a reassuring way. I tried to smile back, but it came out as a nervous grimace.

Miyaki and I walked into my new room that Kouga had prepared for me and I looked over to the bed.

On the bed lied an expensive formal kimono. The cream and light pink looked absolutely delicious together. Sakura blossoms were scattered all over the outer kimono and on the collar of the inner kimono.

"Oh Miyaki! It's perfect." I gasped, gently picking the kimono up for a better inspection. "I'm almost too afraid to wear it."

Miyaji smiled at me knowingly, "Kouga wanted you to be the prettiest woman at the ceremony, the center of attention." She paused, "Here, let me help you." She said as she watched me struggle into the inner kimono.

"Now Kouga will be your escort tonight and the wolf clans elder will be doing the ceremony. Someone will volunteer to bind you to the clan. Normally, that would be Kouga's job since he is the Lord of this clan, but since he is going to be with you for the evening someone will be taking his place."

Miyaki kept explaining the ceremony to me as she finished helping me into the kimono and quickly pulled my hair into an elegant knot.

Miyaki stepped back to look at her work. "I think you're done." She said with a sigh, "You look wonderful."

I slowly stood up and moved over to the nearby mirror to see Miyaki's creation. I gasped. I could hardly recognize myself.

Kouga poked his head through the door. "Is she ready?" he asked Miyaki.

Kouga looked over at me and froze. Slowly he walked into the room, over to me, and took my hands into his.

"Kagome, you look stunning. I knew you would be a vision in pink."

I felt my face heat up and shyly looked away. No man had ever made me feel this way before, like I was beautiful. It was surprisingly nice to have this type of attention.

Kouga grinned and hooked my arm into his.

"Let's get this ceremony over with so we can get to the feast, hmm?" he asked.

"Is that all you can think of Kouga-kun?" I teased, "Food?"

He grinned, "Of course not Kagome. I'm looking forward to dancing with the most beautiful woman in the den." He winked at me when he saw my blush and whisked me out of the room towards the main den.

"I can feel your nerves Kagome. Tell me what's wrong." He said.

I stopped walking and looked up at him. "Miyaki told me what would happen tonight, but I'm still nervous and anxious. What if the elder doesn't think I'm worthy enough to join the clan? What if someone doesn't want me here and challenges me? I'm not a very good fighter Kouga-kun." By this time my eyes were filled with tears. I just wanted to belong somewhere, but everyone died because of me. Because I didn't know how to fight and here I am again facing the possibility of having to fight someone for the right to join the clan.

Kouga smiled down at me and started to explain away my worries all in four little words, "You won't be alone."

---Author's note---

As you have probably notice this update is a week late. My home computer has a virus and it wont let me on the internet, so it has to be fixed. I don't know when it will be fixed (my dad has to fix it) , but in the mean time I will write on paper so I have the work done.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I have joined the U.S.A.F. (United States Air Force) and I'm going to be leaving for bootcamp soon. I'm not sure when, but it can be at anytime. I am not stopping this story, but bootcamp is 2 months long, not to mention that I will have to get a laptop. So I will not be posting for awhile, but I promise I will continue the story someday.

SHOUT OUTS:

People to put me on their story alerts: Kouga's older woman, Someone-Hidden-In-The-Dark, chichiri's angel

People to put me on their favorite story list: opera Dreamer, Someone-Hidden-In-The-Dark

People to put me on their favorite author list: Someone-Hidden-In-The-Dark