A/N: This update is for all my reviewers. I really wasn't going to update for a month but your reviews made me so HAPPY! Reviews make the updates come faster and this is the proof.

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Chapter 3: Where's the Aspirin

After a great deal of growling, threatening, and punching the former wolves now sat on the couch surrounding Sakura. Gaara sat to her right while Itachi sat to her left. Shikamaru and Neji stood behind her and both of them had one hand on either of her shoulders as they glared at each other. Kiba and Kimimaro sat at her feet. They sat at an angle to be as far from one another as possible while still keeping close to Sakura.

Sakura smiled at all of them. They were stubborn and would never admit it, but they were already beginning to form a pack of sorts. She was concerned over what each of them might do to become the alpha of that pack, but in the end she decided to deal with that when it happened.

Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts by the smell of food and her stomach growled, embarrassing her. She wished she had a silent stomach. As her adoptive parents came out Tsunade laughed.

"Come and get it!" She yelled. Half of the wolves were not willing to leave Sakura even at the prospect of food, but Itachi, Kimimaro, and Kiba all went to take the plates from their elders and present them to Sakura. When none of the other wolves protested, Sakura thought of something that was one of the first things she learned about alpha wolves.

-Flashback-

Tsunade sat in her chair next to Sakura's. She was reading Sakura one of her favorite books on wolves. Sakura was attentive and taking notes.

"This part is important Sakura. You need to feed the pups in a certain order, because it will affect the wolves' thoughts on who is the alpha in the future."

"Why is that Tsunade?" Sakura questioned full of curiosity about the animals she loved.

"The expression of saving the best for last does not apply here. We need to observe the pups carefully and feed the most dominant wolf pup first because the alpha always eats before everyone else."

-End flashback-

That's when she realized that in this makeshift pack of theirs they consider her the alpha wolf. To say she was stunned would be the biggest understatement to ever be uttered. Sakura was freaking out. Remain calm, and play it cool. They can't make you be the alpha, right? Sakura flipped out silently.

However, Gaara and Kiba were always attuned to her emotions and it seems the species alteration did not change that. They looked at her with confusion and concern for her well being. They both did their best to subtly soothe her. Gaara took her delicate hand in both of his and rubbed it gently. Kiba was at her feet again massaging them with a tender touch even though he was looking at her face to see the effect he was having.

Across the room, Orochimaru sat dumbfounded. Of course he had expected them to fall in love but he didn't expect it to happen so suddenly. He also didn't expect them to so openly display their affection right in front of him. This was happening much quicker than he had thought it would. He was starting to worry that this might all be too much at once for Sakura. Orochimaru decided to take a look at Tsunade to gage her reaction. He almost laughed at loud.

There Tsunade stood comparing wedding styles on paper that he had no idea she had. He didn't need to look at Jiraiya to gage his reaction. He could feel the glare, but at the same time he could here Jiraiya taking notes like crazy for the perverted books he writes. In that moment Orochimaru felt that everything would work out just fine.

The moment ended however when there came a great deal of knocking on the door. For the second time that morning Tsunade rushed to get the door. Kiba tensed and stopped kneading Sakura's feet as a vicious growl ripped through his chest. He even surprised the other wolf-men with the animosity pouring off of him along with the savage growls erupting from his throat. That was the moment when everyone realized that no matter how long he spent with humans, labeling Kiba as "tame" or "domesticated" would be an appalling as well as misleading categorization.

Sakura gasped as she remembered who was supposed to come today, but she remembered too late as Pein walked through the entryway. The moment he was in sight, Kiba launched himself at the man he hated even more than the beasts trying to steal his mate. Kiba may be aggressive with the others attempting to get close to Sakura but they were nothing compared to the man who had already wormed his way into her heart.

Kiba was nearly a blur yet Pein managed to sidestep him at the last minute. Though he had nearly been physically assaulted he kept his apathetic expression on as he surveyed the room. Orochimaru and Jiraiya were looking at him in what looked like anticipation, but he ignored them in favor of staring at the woman he loved. He was furious. Five men in addition to the one that attacked him were clinging to her. The last thing he wanted was for Sakura to get a glimpse of his violent side but the guys surrounding her made it very tempting to reveal it anyway.

As Pein turned to Sakura he was able to confirm that something was wrong. She looked like she was pleading for him to hear her out. He decided long ago that he would never take things at face value because there was almost always more to the story. Pein wanted to hear her explanation, but his pride would not let him go to her.

Instead he held out his hand for her to take. He admits that he was testing her to see if she really would come to him, but it was the best he could do under the circumstances. He smiled softly at her when she stood to come to him without the slightest hesitation, but it turned into a dark scowl when one of the men grabbed her hand in a plea for her to stay.

Sakura looked at Neji when he tried to prevent her from going and almost cried at the desperation in his gorgeous eyes that held a touch of purple. She was nearly swayed to stay when she thought of running with her wolves, but the image of Kiba attacking Pein was still fresh in her mind. She pulled away from him and before he or the others made a grab for her she ran to Pein and hugged him.

Pein grinned as he was nearly knocked down by Sakura jumping into his arms. Any doubts he may have held flew out the window as she attempted to burrow even further into his possessive embrace, resting her head in the crook of his neck. Besides that Sakura couldn't lie to save her life. If at any time in their relationship she tried to lie her face would turn the same shade as a ripe tomato and on top of that she would stutter with an audibly wavering voice. One of many reasons he loved her is that she had absolutely no guile.

In other words, if these men had been around for long he would have heard about it. They must have entered the picture since he saw her three days ago. He didn't know how they came to care for Sakura in that time; they were probably stalkers or something. Sakura was too honest to ever cheat in a relationship especially since she knew how it felt to be cheated on.

Sakura's arms tightened around his neck. Pein was once again reminded of how much he loved her. It made his assignment all the harder. He knew he had to tell her everything, because even if she hated him it would make his assignment successful and, more importantly, it would make it easier to keep her safe.

"Are you ready for out date, Sakura?" Pein asked quietly. Though he knew it wasn't a good sign, he relished the feeling of her breath on his neck when she sighed. He turned his head slightly to press a kiss into her hair. "What's wrong blossom?"

Pein realized he should have kept a better hold on Sakura when she was ripped from his grasp by a white haired male. When he looked up to find the male and get Sakura back he was met with six pairs of angry, feral, and glowing blue eyes.

All of the former wolves were extremely upset that Sakura had chosen this freak over them, but they were blaming Kiba for that one. When the creep was all smiley while hugging her they decided enough was enough. They had to get Sakura away from him so they could beat him into submission. Shikamaru came up with a plan and Itachi directed them. Sakura and Pein were so lost in their own thoughts that neither saw it coming. It was as easy as it gets.

Sakura looked at her wolves and saw their eyes glowing blue. Instinct told her that this was not good. She reached out to pet Kimimaro in the same way she had earlier so that she could get his attention. He stopped her hand before it could reach him but looked at her anyway. Sakura almost flinched under the look he was giving her. His eyes were wild, angry, and hurt. He looked at her like she betrayed him yet despite that look he was still holding her like she was his most precious treasure and he wouldn't ever let her go.

Sakura looked around to see her other wolves slowly advancing on Pein who looked like he wanted to kill something or someone. She wasn't even sure whether the advancing pack was more intimidating or Pein who looked ready to take on a hundred men. She decided her best bet was to plead with Kimimaro.

"Please Kimimaro," She began with tears in her eyes. "You have to let me stop this. I'm truly sorry if I hurt you all, but it doesn't mean you can go ballistic on my boyfriend!" Sakura exclaimed her face turning into a pout so irresistible that Kimimaro had to look away before he became prostrate at her feet.

Poor Kimimaro didn't stand a chance against this woman. He released her with nothing more than a sigh and a leftover blush from seeing that adorable face. It was probably best that she remain unaware of this power she had over them. If she didn't and she asked for the world on a string then, by god, they would give it to her.

Kimimaro was snapped out of his thoughts by smacking sounds. Sakura had somehow acquired a rolled up newspaper and had proceeded to beat the other five wolf-men into submission with it. After the beating was over Sakura went to Orochimaru and made her demand.

"When I return, you will explain everything." Sakura left no room for argument. The men in the room couldn't help but take pride in the way she commanded the snake man. Tsunade merely placed a hand on a stunned Orochimaru's shoulder.

"Where are you going, Sakura?" Kiba whined as the lost little puppy once more. Everyone in the room now knew that he was tame only for Sakura.

"I'm going to look for some aspirin." She replied climbing up the stairs.

As she swept out of the room Orochimaru recovered from his shock only to come to a crippling realization. "Sakura-chan is mad at me!" He cried as he threw himself to the floor and burst into tears simultaneously.