Sesshomaru knew that his hold on the miko was improper, even if he was her alpha. And yet, the stench of Inuyasha and his female's mating scent on her—in her—brought out a side of him he'd never experienced before.
There was rage, yes, for the fact that his half-wit of a brother took two mates. Silver inus mated once, taking another mate when their partner died was rare. Just as it was rare for a silver inu to mate for a second time when their other mate was still alive.
Their father was a clear example of such a scandalous occurrence. Demons of their breed were known for their faithfulness and loyalty. Sesshomaru would have thought his brother would have learned from their father's mistake, but, clearly, he thought too much of Inuyasha's intelligence.
Then there was the outrage of her changed appearance. She looked different—not just because of her hair color, her claws, or her fangs. It was the look in her eyes. They were less…innocent and hopeful than when he had last seen her.
There was a new strength within her that he approved of, but at what cost had his foolish brother subjected the miko to, for her to gain it?
"Can you let me go?"
Sesshomaru glanced at her over his shoulder. "You fear me. Why now and not before?"
"Before… I saw you, but I didn't see you. I knew you, but I didn't know you and what you could be capable of," the miko said.
"And what are you now capable of?" Sesshomaru asked.
"More than I thought possible," she softly replied.
"Which would be?" However, his question was met with silence. A bit surprising, considering the human girl he remembered used to talk non-stop. Her differences were not the only ones he noticed.
Inuyasha's outward pure-bred appearance was curious, as was the scent of his more dominant demon blood.
Before, his merely being a yard away from the miko would have sent Inuyasha into a rage. Now, however, his brother was calm, controlled…
And having been barred from witnessing to how both his brother and the miko came to be this way greatly annoyed him. He wanted to know everything. Where they went. What they did. Who they saw. Not knowing was unacceptable.
Kagome stared up at Sesshomaru. She could literally see his annoyance, confusion, and rage over… whatever the hell he was thinking in his head. A swirling kaleidoscope of violent colors crashed around him.
Could she only see this? Inuyasha never commented about it, and, although her memories of him were dim, she didn't remember Miroku saying anything about Sesshomaru's wildly clashing aura, either.
She could hear Akinlana and Inuyasha muttering behind her, but knew they weren't going to do anything about Sesshomaru's hold on her.
Inuyasha had willingly submitted to Sesshomaru. Publicly—using Shippo, Akinlana, and her as his witnesses—announcing that Sesshomaru was his alpha when he did nothing to object to Sesshomaru's claim over all of them.
Dumbass.
They knew nothing about the Daiyokai. He was Inuyasha's brother, the lord of the Westernland, and he'd once been their ally, that was all.
Yeah, sure, the fact that he hadn't murdered Inuyasha was a good sign, but by giving up his alpha status, Inuyasha had essentially agreed that Sesshomaru could run all their lives anyway he saw fit.
She would have never agreed to this. Not in a million years. She'd only agreed to meet Sesshomaru for Inuyasha's sake. This just goes to show what happens when she listened to one of Inu's stupid ideas.
Kagome had a bad feeling about all of this. A really bad feeling.