One Week Later

Sesshoumaru stood at the door of his sister's room, watching as she squirmed about, listening as she whimpered to herself. It was both sad and pathetic, but mostly sad simply because there was nothing that could be done about it. It started five days ago and has only gotten worse. It wasn't unexpected, but that didn't mean it was wanted.

Their father warned what might happen once they returned home and Kagome was taken from Kouga, but Sesshoumaru was fully unprepared for the extent of the separation anxiety that plagued his little sister.

Feeling the presence of his father behind him, Sesshoumaru kept his voice low so as to not disturb the light sleep Kagome had finally been able to obtain. "Not to sound unkind or unsympathetic to her plight, Father, but if you think for a moment I will take a mate and then force my lady to endure this when I leave her side, you are further out of your mind than many think."

Touga glared at his son from the corner of his eye, but said nothing in return. Instead, he simply looked in on his daughter, a frown on his face. He knew there were going to be issues with separating the pups, but he didn't know the full extent of them. If he had, he would have been a little more inclined to stay at the wolf den, or at least have allowed Kagome to do so, in order to avoid this.

Over the last three days, she had eaten very little, and what she had was all but forced down her throat. She hadn't slept more than an hour at a time, and not the deep, restful, sleep she needed. The most troubling thing thus far was she was losing mastered control over her shadow nature as she continued to grow weaker due to lack of food and sleep. He had also been informed by her chamber maid that, while brushing Kagome's hair, it was coming out by the fistful due to the stress the young puppy was under.

Something had to give, and soon, or he wasn't sure his pup would survive long enough for the mating to be finished.

There was a throat cleared behind them, calling both male's attention to the tiny green imp that was Sesshoumaru's retainer. Jaken bowed in reverence to them before speaking in low tones. "There is an Eastern Messenger at the door, Milord. He says it's most urgent."

With a cocked brow, Touga nodded and, with a short word to Sesshoumaru to stay with the puppy, he was off.

Sesshoumaru watched after his father for a moment before he let out a sigh and finally entered his sister's room, his footfalls silent as he walked across her floor to her bedside. Taking a seat next to her, he gently ran his claws through her hair, frowning at the amount that was in his hand when he pulled away. This was no way for a pup to live. Never mind who the pup was, no one should be under so much stress their hair falls out.

A small downturn of his lips formed and Sesshoumaru let out another quiet sigh before he pulled the blanket from her body and gently lifted her from her place on her bed. He had often held her as an infant when she had trouble sleeping, and he hoped that, even under the circumstances, he could calm her into a restful sleep as he had before. Sure, she was bigger than she used to be, but she was still small enough for him to hold.

Laying her on the side with his MokoMoko, Sesshoumaru then grabbed her blanket and draped it around her and stood. She squirmed a bit, but soon settled into his hold and, with a quiet sigh of her own, slipped into something closer to sleep. Once her breathing leveled out, Sesshoumaru couldn't fight his curiosity any longer, and with Kagome in his arms, left her room to see what was going on down stairs.

He kept his steps even and unjaring so as to not wake the pup in his arms, but moved with purpose to the balcony overlooking the Great Hall. There was a quiet whine in his ear, and he dipped his head to shush the pup, but something caught his eye down below. There wasn't just a messenger from the East, but the prince as well. When Kagome tensed in her sleep, Sesshoumaru pressed his lips together, before clearing his throat, calling the attention of everyone in the Hall to him, but he only had eyes for the other present heir.

Sesshoumaru simply jerked his head, clearly telling the wolf to come up the steps. When Touga glared up at him, Sesshoumaru challenged. "Have you a better idea, Father?" Knowing he didn't, Sesshoumaru returned his eyes to the wolf prince. "Come here, Wolf."

Bulking at the tone, Kouga growled slightly in his chest, but did as he was told. He wasn't exactly in the position to say no, as it was. Over the last week, he had been twitchy, short tempered, and more than once picked unnecessary fights with others in the clan because of what the pup's emotional state was like, and he knew it was his job to settle her, but nothing he said to his father got him to agree to allow Kouga to go her. He knew she was suffering in his absence, but his father always said the same thing...

She must learn to handle these separation emotions on her own. You cannot interfere.

Yeah, cause she was perfectly capable of doing so. There are females three times her age that still do not handle the separation with their mates well and everything he was able to dig up over the course of the week shored up what everyone thought. Kagome was the youngest known mated demoness, and because of that, would need to be handled with kid gloves, not forced to endure maddening emotions because of the 'incident', as Eastern Lord had taken to calling it. Incident, accident, whatever you wanted to call it, it happened and ignoring it wouldn't make it go away.

In an attempt to not appear as eager as he felt, Kouga took his time getting to them, something Sesshoumaru didn't feel the need to show. The moment the wolf was on the same level as he was, he closed the distance and shifted how he was holding his sister and gently laid her in the wolf's arms. However, he didn't pull back, and instead lowered his voice so only Kouga could hear him, his tone scathing.

"To be clear, Cub. You are not good enough for her, and I have no hope in me you will ever be. It is only because I know what would happen to her that you still breathe. It is my mission, if not my pleasure, to ensure you become everything my sister deserves in a mate, if I have to literally beat it into your skull. She has suffered more than you will ever know, and I promised her I would not allow it to ever happen again. Consider this your only warning, Wolf. You, are nothing. She, is everything."

Kouga's eyes sparked and he took a step closer to the Western Heir, his own voice taking on a hint of malice. "And let this be your warning, Dog. She's mine, and nothing you say, or do, will change that. Make your threats, as pointless as they are, if they make you feel better for not being there for her when you should have. Don't forget if not for me she wouldn't be here, same as I if not for her. The Kami deemed me worthy, so I don't need your approval. Because of that, your opinion means shit, if it even means that much. Take it down a notch, Pup. I ain't afraid of you. You wanna fight? Bring it on, mother fucker. I'll kick your ass anytime, anywhere."

Sesshoumaru growled and Kouga answered the same way. It wasn't until there was a whine from the pup in Kouga's arms the standoff was ended and Kouga grinned at his newest adversary. "Now, why don't you be a good doggy and tell me where I can put my woman here to bed."

Sesshoumaru glared. "I'm going to kill you."

Kouga's grin turned into a smirk. "I'm sure you'll try." Then there was another whine on the air, pulling Kouga's attention from Sesshoumaru to Kagome, who was now awake and looking up at him with a worn expression and overly tired eyes morphing his smirk into a tender smile. "Hey there, Little One. You look tired."

Kagome shifted in his arms, and licked her lips. "I don't feel well."

Kouga frowned deep. "Well, that's no good."

Both he and Sesshoumaru heard her stomach roll, and knew what was about to happen.

For Kagome, the world tilted on his axis, and next she knew, she was on her hands and knees, finally expelling Kouga's blood she drank and didn't absorb. Kouga was kneeling next to her, holding her off the ground with one hand and holding her hair back with the other as she threw up all over the blanket she had been covered with.

Sesshoumaru had also tried to lend a hand, but was held off by his father. Touga wanted to see how Kouga handled his responsibilities when it came to Kagome, and the only way to see that was to allow the wolf prince free reign to do so without interference. To his pleasant surprise, there wasn't even a reaction from the cub when Kagome got sick, or when her claws sliced into his forearm. She had even gotten sick on him, and there was no outward sign of even noticing, though Touga was positive he knew there was blood and bile all over his legs.

All Kouga did was growl a low thrum in his chest and rub Kagome's belly as she continued to get sick. When she was down to gags and dry heaves, Kouga dipped his head, trying to catch his mate's eyes, smiling softly at her when she shifted her eyes to his. "Better?"

Kagome breathed hard and deep, knowing she wasn't done. Her eyes were full of tears and her lips trembled. Slowly, she shook her head, not trusting her voice or her ability to not get sick again if she changed her breathing patterns.

Humming in his throat, Kouga licked his lips before leaning closer to her and whispering in her ear. "Get it out, Mate." With that, he pushed hard against her belly, the pressure too much against her already unstable gut, and forcing her to expel the rest of the blood in her stomach.

This time, Kagome didn't stop vomiting until she went lax in Kouga's hold, completely wore out. Kouga kept his hand on her belly, waiting to see if he could feel it roll against his palm, but when all he felt was the softness of an empty stomach, he shifted his position from next to her to behind her, pulling her back to lean against his chest. He look in her profile and saw sweat beading on her face and neck, her eyes were closed, and her breathing was ragged. This time when he asked her if she felt better, she slowly nodded, causing him to smile slightly.

Before he could say anything to her, Touga cleared his throat, drawing Kouga's attention from his mate to her father. When the wolf was looking at him, Touga crossed his arms. "Kagome's room is at the end of the hall, second to the last door on the right. Once she's in bed, I'll have something sent for you to put on so your attire can be cleaned."

Kouga cocked a brow, but didn't say anything, just nodded before he slowly gathered his mate into his arms and stood. Before he turned, he looked at Touga. "Father doesn't know I'm here."

Touga just smirked. "So I had assumed from the reaction of the messenger when you popped up. You take care of my daughter, and I will deal with your father."

Though the statement sent a tremor down Kouga's spine, he nodded and, with Kagome already passed out in his arms, he turned and strolled down the hall to the room he was pointed to.

Once the wolf prince was out of earshot, Sesshoumaru turned to his father and tilted his head. "You're up to something."

Touga just looked at his son, a gleam in his eye. "Me? Never. Remember, My Pup, you're only up to something if you attempt to hide it."