A/N: This might be my last update for the rest of the month. I wanted to get this up because so many people immediately supported this story. It inspired me like nothing else. I'm not sure how good it is because I'm down with bronchitis, but I am ever hopeful that you will like it. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: Do you even have to ask? NO!

Wolves in Men's Clothing

Chapter 2: The Wild in the Wolf-men

Kiba was getting pants on for the first time when he heard banging on the door. That's when he began to struggle. When he heard Sakura's voice he successfully wrested himself from the older man's surprisingly powerful headlock. Finally when he heard the sounds of a scuffle two seconds later, he flat out ran down the stairs, not bothering with a shirt, and made it to the bottom without tripping over a single one. He was far more graceful than he had ever been but he pushed that to the back of his mind for the moment. After all, Sakura's safety was in jeopardy.

As he ran into the living room, he saw something that made his chest swell with pride. Sakura had laid a long haired naked man flat-out on the ground with a well aimed punch. Wait, it was a naked man. Meaning there was a naked man near Sakura, Kiba's mate. He had known he loved her since he first laid human eyes on her and there was no chance in HELL he would let anyone take her away.

Before Kiba could yell profanities at the naked man and possibly kick him a few times, another naked man let an inhuman growl rip through his chest. Looking as fiery as his hair, he brought his hand down hard on the fallen man's throat and let his loose grip slowly tighten. No one looked particularly inclined to help the fallen man other than Sakura. Wait a minute. What's going on? Kiba wondered why his mate was looking ready to put up a fight for the man she had laid out. Poor Kiba was so confused.

Just because Sakura was mad at who she now knew to be Itachi, didn't mean she was willing to let him die. She loved her wolves no matter what they looked like or what they did. She had to help him.

Sakura had only punched him because he had gotten too close and was naked at the same time, but she was pretty sure Itachi had just been trying to nuzzle her neck. The gesture of affection was one he had been doing since he was a pup. Though this had seemed different somehow, she was suspecting that feeling was just a product of her imagination.

By this time Jiraiya had come down to get Kiba. Then he saw all the men without a shred of clothing near his little girl. There will be hell to pay. He swore internally.

Sakura quickly shuffled over to the redhead and tried to pry his wrist off Itachi. Surprisingly the moment her hand touched his, he simply let go. It happened so fast. Sakura was pulling his hand away from Itachi when he jumped her and hugged her tightly. On top of that, he was as naked as Itachi. This caused all hell to break lose in the form of five other wolf-men, two overprotective fathers, and one reappeared Tsunade armed with a cast-iron frying pan.

The red haired beast-man did not look like he was letting go anytime soon even with the unspoken threats around him. When Sakura leaned back to tell everyone to calm down she noticed the black rings on the redhead's eyes. She stretched her hand out to gently turn his face back towards her. It wasn't necessary though for the passionate man turned to look at her with green eyes she would know anywhere. Sakura tensed, so he leaned down to gently lick her cheek in an act of caring and devotion.

Every action has a reaction and this one wasn't pretty. Sakura was beginning to wonder how many naked men were in this house as another one grabbed the man she now knew to be Gaara and threw him across the room into the gang of rivals, fathers, and frying pan wielding terror.

Sakura knew this had gone on long enough and did the first thing that came naturally in the moment. She howled. Just like that, the males all stopped. Tsunade had disappeared after smelling something burning.

When the younger men in the room turned to look at Sakura she shivered slightly under the intense gazes. Each and every one of them had the wild shining in their eyes. Her howl was like a large, heavy stone thrown into a small pond. She was willing to bet that even Tsunade was feeling the ripples of the feral phenomenon that was Sakura's call to all untamed. Even the older men were not excluded from the sensation though they were never wolves.

"Every naked man in this house needs to go put some clothes on right now! When you come back we'll all listen to Oro-kun's explanation for all this." Sakura gestured to the men she suspected were all wolves at some point.

Some of the wolf-men looked a little defiant. They wanted to know what was going on, but all of them were also alpha males. They did not take kindly to being ordered around. In the end however Sakura came out on top with an adorable pout that had all the former wolves blushing and scurrying to please her.

Jiraiya handed Kiba a black button up shirt and led the rest of the males up to his room to get them dressed. Confused by the fabric fur coat, Kiba had to ask Sakura for help. Orochimaru let a deadly hiss escape his lips.

"Back off. You weren't one of the alphas. You're nothing more than a domesticated pet, no different from a dog. You are not worthy of my daughter." Orochimaru whispered just loud enough for Kiba to hear. In addition to human form the switch from beast to man also gave the subject enhanced strength, agility, grace, reflexes, and senses sharper than anything a normal human could ever hope to have. In addition they kept the best qualities of their animal side such as Orochimaru's venom. Kiba retained his wolf hearing so he knew every word Orochimaru had said.

Though he let anger at Orochimaru flare in his eyes for a moment, he laughed instead of starting a fight. He laughed to Orochimaru's face. Though Sakura looked at him like he was a lunatic he couldn't help but laugh at the idea of this reptile even attempting to control Sakura when she had just bent five alphas to her will. If an alpha wolf couldn't command Sakura, no one could.

"What the hell is so funny?" Orochimaru hissed. He had never liked Kiba.

Kiba smirked. "What makes you think that you could overpower Sakura in a battle of wills? I know this woman. She's not some ordinary meek little human girl. She may have been born human but she's got the spirit of an alpha wolf. No one will command her and I will personally destroy anyone who tries to break her. That is what mates do after all." Kiba declared his smirk turning into a grin when his eyes landed on Sakura.

Sakura choked on air. Did Kiba just call her his mate? Oh hell no.

"Kiba what do you mean by mate?" She questioned. If tones could kill Kiba would be dead. He either did not catch on or chose to ignore it.

"Come on Sakura. You know what a mate is. It's a relationship forged through love, trust, and devotion. It's a bond that is so powerful among wolves that it can't be broken. Wolves mate for life. I love and trust you more than anyone or anything in the world. There is no one I am more devoted to. It's only natural that we become mates now that we're both human." Kiba murmured with a voice so soft and sincere it made Sakura's heart ache. He was looking at her like she was his everything and he would live and die for her.

A picture of Pein smiling tenderly at her flashed through her mind. She tried to push Kiba away, but he wouldn't budge. He wasn't even looking at her anymore. In fact he seemed to be snarling at the staircase.

"So should I kill you now and rid myself of the competition, or should I relish the opportunity to steal Sakura away from you right under your nose?" The tension in Kiba only heightened as the unfamiliar voice approached. Kiba set Sakura to the side and stood protectively in front of her ready for anything.

"Leave us alone Shikamaru!" Kiba bellowed as he crouched into a defensive stance.

Shikamaru was now dressed in a forest green shirt with faded jeans. He was ignoring Kiba and focusing on Sakura. He suddenly jumped over Kiba's head tucking in his knees so he could avoid the snarling male who was reaching up to attempt to grab at his ankle. While she was shaking off her shock he gingerly took her hand in his and raised it to his lips.

"Jiraiya gave us a lesson on human behaviors. He said that human's kiss each other by pressing their lips together. He also taught us about kissing the hand of a woman we respect. He apparently wants us to act as human as we can so what happened won't be discovered." Shikamaru explained.

"Shika, you probably should not take lessons on women from Jiraiya unless you want to get smacked by a girl." Sakura advised unconsciously using her nickname for him.

Shikamaru smiled at his nickname. He could tell it had just slipped out, but she wouldn't have done it without thought unless she regularly called him that. She must have only said his name like that when he wasn't around so he wouldn't get confused over what his name was. However, as a human he was much smarter than he had ever been before and he'd been very clever as a wolf. He was clever enough to not get seriously injured by Neji in their little tussles when Neji was the better fighter.

Kiba was furious. Sure Sakura talked about the wolves on the preserve a lot and some of the wolves had nicknames, but that was nothing to get cocky about. Kiba was the one who had been with Sakura every day for three years. He had been there through tears of sorrow and joy. He had cuddled with her to both give and take comfort. Most of all he had chosen her over the wild. He decided long ago that he didn't need a pack or a territory or even a mate as long as he had Sakura. Sakura was all he had and he would not let her be taken from him … not ever.

Neji narrowed his full-moon eyes at what he was seeing. Now dressed in a dark blue shirt and gray pants he had wondered how he would now look to Sakura. He noticed that his rival disappeared and had decided to see what Shikamaru was so eager about. It was obvious now that he had wanted to shamelessly flirt with Sakura. He looks at Sakura as a potential mate as well. Neji brooded trying to calm himself with cool logic about the situation. He tried to detach himself emotionally, but honestly, what chance does any guy stand of that happening while Sakura is around.

As he was looking for an opening to attack Shikamaru without hurting Sakura, the proverbial light bulb flashed over his head. He could deal a harsh blow to "Shika's" pride by getting Sakura to completely ignore him. If he could sweep her off her feet in the process it would be all the better.

After all, Neji had been old enough to mate for a while now. He'd never shown it, but he longed for a family of his own. The only reason he couldn't find a mate was because he had been searching for a wolf that was just like Sakura.

At the thought of starting a family with Sakura, a blissful sigh escaped his lips. Finally he could picture the face of his mate. All his dreams of young pups turned to dreams of tiny humans scurrying around his and Sakura's feet. He could see them now, so full of vitality and spunk just like her. It didn't matter if they were boys or girls (though he would like many of each) so long as they had her spirit and fire; he knew he wouldn't have to worry.

While Neji was off in his fantasy land, Kimimaro stalked straight down the stairs. He was not happy. He wanted to blame Orochimaru for transforming him in the first place, but he couldn't bring himself to hate the man who saved a sickly wolf pup from the clutches of death. Besides it was himself he was mad at. He had submitted so easily to Sakura even though he was the alpha of his pack. No, I used to be the alpha, but now I'm human. At the thought of never taking command of his pack again Kimimaro almost broke down.

Kimimaro looked at Sakura and for a moment their eyes met before he looked away. He couldn't blame her either because he loved her. Even just looking at her gave him peace. He knew she had run with all the wolf packs, but he also knew he held a special place in her heart for being one of the first wolves she helped to raise and for becoming an alpha despite being sick as a pup.

His whole heart was hers now that he was human. He remembered when he was a puppy, he was always cold. Sakura was always the one to share her body heat with him. She would hold him to her belly, cuddle, and pet him till he warmed up. He had been bonded to her ever since then. He had lived in the preserve because he knew that was what she had wanted for him.

"Kimimaro, are you alright?" Sakura inquired blushing slightly because DAMN he made one hot human. Don't get her wrong she knew the others were all sexy in their own individual way. That's why she had avoided looking at them. However in addition to looking amazing in his dark purple long-sleeve, button-up shirt and dark blue jeans he had a slightly tortured look on his handsome face. Sakura wanted to take away that pained look in his green eyes.

She was tentative as she lifted her hand towards his hair which she noticed was tied in sections. Kimimaro's attention was completely focused on that hand, but he did nothing to avoid it as she let it softly fall to his head and stroke his hair. He was stunned. Not because she was petting him, (though it was a pleasant surprise) but because it was the first time she had initiated nonaggressive contact with the transformed wolves.

Just like when he was a wolf a deep rumble sounded in his chest. Unlike when he was a wolf it had managed to escape his chest and come out as a soft moan of pure rapture. The bad news is that it alerted the other males to what was happening. The worse news is that Gaara and Itachi had just come down and saw their Sakura petting someone else. Let the games begin.