The wolf flew through the sky with the miko between his jaws and did not look back, even as cursed arrows rained down around them. More than a century of imprisonment had taken its toll on him, forced him so deep into the spirt of his beast that he did not remember he was even capable of human form.

His paws carried him through the sky faster than a shooting star. There was no one to protect, no one to sacrifice himself for this time—only himself, and the miko between his fangs. The miko whose blood sang to him. That song kept her alive, even if every instinct demanded he devour her and be done with it.

He soared over the land and did not stop, even when soil turned to open ocean and night sky slowly turned to dawn.

Only when he reached the island did he rest, crashing into the beach with a muffled thud. He rolled through the sand with the speed of his momentum and the miko went flying from his mouth to land face down several feet away. He did not have the energy to be concerned as exertion forced his eyes closed now that they had reached safety.

o.O.o

When Kagome woke, it was to find herself curled up by a fire under a make-shift lean-to on a beach in the middle of nowhere. Her clothes were dirty but dry, and her arm sang with pain but clean bandages extended from her bicep to her forearm and it was tucked securely to her chest in a sling made out of some kind of plant woven together.

Kouga, she thought, but paused at the sight of the giant wolf still on its side in the sand with its back to her. He wouldn't have had the dexterity to do any of this in that form, and the Kouga she remembered would not have left her to lay by a fire by herself. He'd have been right next to her, waiting for her to wake-up.

Clearing her throat, she put that puzzle aside for later and stood. "Kouga?" she called, taking a few steps towards him. "Are you ok?"

When he didn't answer, she walked the rest of the way to his side and swallowed. Had he been so massive the night before when she'd hoisted her way up his side and between his jaws? She couldn't remember. "You sure grew up," she murmured when she reached his head. Her leg brushed against an ear as she passed, but she ignored the silk softness of it to keep going. Was he injured? Shouldn't he be awake by now? "Kouga?" she said again and carefully reached out to drape her uninjured hand on his snout.

She was so distracted by how thick and soft the brown fur was that she almost didn't notice the red eyes as they glared up at her. Kagome froze, remembering a conversation she'd had with Sesshoumaru a very long time ago.

Don't run, don't run, don't run. She made it a mantra as his started to growl, as his lips peeled back from those wicked, wicked fangs. "I'm Kagome," she breathed, and dropped to her knees by his snout. Make yourself small, she remembered. Show submission. Remind him who you are. "I…I'm Kagome," she said again, and licking her lips, carefully bared her neck to him. "I promised to wait for you. Do you…remember?"

She heard him move, heard that fur rustle as he stood—but she did not dare meet him in the eyes as he let loose a full growl. She did not dare move as that snout, almost as big as her whole body, came nearer to her bared throat. She did not dare breathe as that cold, wet nose bumped against her and held steady against her as he sniffed in one, big breath and then another, like he was gulping down her scent.

And when he leaned back and howled, she fell flat on her bottom into the sand and stared up at him open-mouthed and wide-eyed. "You remember me?" she asked, not daring to hope as his howls made her ears ring.

A flash of blue light and suddenly she was in his arms, being swung around in a circle as he crushed her to his chest as he laughed. "I would never forget you, Kagome."

Kagome squeaked, there was no other word for it, as he hoisted her up and spun her around and hugged her all in the space of a single breath. The warmth of his hands on her back sank deep and she couldn't help but to cling. As her emotions slowly started to settle and calm inside of her, tears bubbled over.

"Hey, hey," he soothed, and carefully set her down. "Talk to me, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" she cried, voice rising over each syllable. "Everyone is alive and I was kidnapped and a bunch of crazy mikos started a murderous, genocidal cult in my name and you didn't come find me and I found you by accident and now we're free and you're naked and we're on some kind of magical island that knows how to bandage injuries!"

Kouga tried very hard not to laugh. These were all of course very serious situations, but it was hard to be serious when the female you'd been pining over for centuries was finally in your arms. He couldn't help but to grin at her, which slowly devolved into a laugh the harder he tried to stop it.

She froze, eyes going even wider as she sniffled and swiped at tears with her unbandaged arm. "Are you…are you laughing at me?" she demanded, ire spiking in indignation.

His only answer was to crouch down and hold his stomach as laughter fully exploded out of him. "I'm sorry!" he gasped between laughs, "It's just-

"Oh you are insufferable!" she shouted, and avoiding his reaching hands, strode past him, tears forgotten.

Despite his laughter, she barely made it three full steps before he was up and grabbing her around the waist to toss over his shoulder. "Oh no you don't, you don't get to run away from me again," he laughed as he moved them towards the slowly waves lapping gently against the sandy beach.

Indignation, hot and wild and masking the embarrassment at having cried in front of him, roiled up inside of her like a sleeping behemoth. "You put me down this instant Kouga, or so help me I'll—"

"Just enjoy the view for a second Kagome," he laughed, and patted her bottom.

She reared up on a shriek, fully intent on shouting at him, when he grabbed her by the hips, held her away from him, and took a running jump to submerge them both under the water. She had just enough warning to close her mouth before he dragged her under with him, but that was all.

When she tried to pull away from him, he found his laughing eyes pinned on her under the water before he tightened his grip on her hips and propelled them both back up to the surface.

Rage thoroughly inflamed, she gulped in air the moment their heads broke the surface—and found her temper thoroughly banked when he said "Gods I've missed you, Kagome."

She scowled and spun around in his arms, all she could manage when his fingers were still holding so tight to her. "You have a funny way of showing it."

He tugged her back against his chest and carted her far enough out of the water that it was only waist deep when he sat and pulled her into his lap. "Trust me," he said as he snugged his arms around her waist, "If I hadn't put us both in this cold water, I'd have you under me in the sand screaming my name in pleasure."

The truth of his statement was clear and present against her backside, forcing a blush as she froze in his lap. "Kouga!"

A bark of laughter and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Just say the word Kagome, and I'll make sweet, slow love to you right here on this beach." He kissed the side of her neck and chuckled. "Or we can just stay in the water until my body is calm again."

Color spread like a fan from her cheeks down her neck to her chest. "The water is good," she muttered, and resolutely focused on the small waves lapping around them even as a tingle of heat coiled inside of her.

He chuckled and breathed in deep that sweet, subtle hint of her arousal. "Good."

Desperate to focus on something, anything else, she changed the topic. "You haven't changed at all," she mumbled.

His arm tightened around her waist and he sighed, content to be surrounded by her scent again for the first time in 500 years. "Sure I have. I'm just masking it behind outrageous flirting to help you calm down."

"Oh."

Another chuckle. "Your tears are havoc on my control, Kagome. I'd do just about anything to make you smile or shout instead."

Embarrassed, she replayed the encounter and realized he was right. She'd gone from panicked and overwhelmed to outraged and indignant in almost the same breath. "A normal person might have just hugged me and let me cry," she mumbled.

"I get a pass. I've been sleeping for more than a hundred years and my instincts were screaming at me to make you stop crying any way I could."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Well you got me there. I don't remember the last time I was furious enough to shout at someone."

Kouga's nose twitched as her scent tinged with sorrow and her shoulders slumped. "Sounds like we got a lot to catch up on then." He let go of her long enough to turn her around so she was straddling his lap. He tapped her nose lightly and then nudged her chin up with his knuckles.

"First things first. You are not responsible for the Order of the Diviners, Kagome. They bastardized everything you stood for and anyone who knew you then knows that. The order of Diviners might be founded in your name, but they don't do the work you did to help others without question. They hunt and terrorize innocent youkai and any human who tries to protect them. They're an abomination and there isn't anyone alive today who knows you who thinks you would support their cause."

"People think—"

Her eyes were starting to water again, and because he knew how serious this was to her, he simply ran a handle gently up and down her spine. "Those who know you don't care, and those who care don't matter. You told me that once." And when she cried this time, the tears were less manic and more relief as she slumped against him and sobbed.

Later, when she'd calmed, he moved on to her next point. "I can't believe you got kidnapped again."

Sniffling, she leaned back to glare at him. "It's not like a just went about and asked for someone to come steal me away," she exclaimed.

Grunting, he grabbed one of her wrists and held it up as if she were going to flex her bicep. He pursed his lips. "How are you thinner now than you were then? You're supposed to fill out as you grow up. Doesn't look like you could put up much fight right now anyway."

She flushed and tried to tug her arm free, but found his grip, while gentle, was impossible to get free of. Even a sharp yank did not free her. She dropped her gaze, unable to meet his eyes. "I wasn't…I wasn't in a good place after the well closed. It's only recently that I started to feel more like…like me again."

He didn't know what to make of this new shyness of hers. The girl he remembered had been almost violently expressive, her face a warm, open book he'd always looked forward to laying eyes on. He set her wrist down in their laps again and then cupped her jaw and forced her chin up again—but she closed her eyes and that wilting, day old rain scent of her sorrow made his gut clench. "Look at me, Kagome."

Her shoulders bunched up and he could feel that spine of hers clench as she lifted her lids to follow his order.

It could have been the light, but he couldn't help but to sigh as he saw the ghosts in her eyes and all the words left unsaid. The sorrow that etched its way into every inch of her heart. "Hell, Kagome," he murmured, and stroked a thumb over her cheekbone.

More tears threatened and Kagome groaned, finally tilting her head back up to the sun and wiping messily at her face with her good arm. "I thought I'd gotten past everything. It's been three years since…everything changed."

He sighed and dropped his hands down to her shoulders, running his palms soothingly up and down her arms. "It took me twenty years to stop having nightmares about Naraku and the war and all the things we experienced. Three years is nothing. When you're ready to talk about it, I'll be here."

Kagome wiped her eyes one more time and then finally looked back at him, nodding slowly. "I'm probably going to hold you to that."

He grinned down at her and leaned back on his palms as waves continued to lap around them. "I hope it's not the only promise you're going to hold on to."

Color flamed over her cheeks and she looked down again, fidgeting in his lap. "Are you sure you even still want me? I'm not the same girl I was then." His scoff brought her eyes up, but before she could say anything he covered her mouth with his palm.

"I've got just one question for you. Are you still in love with mutt-face? Or anyone else, for that matter?"

She narrowed her eyes but shook her head.

"I've only ever wanted a chance to prove myself to you, Kagome." He let his hand drop only to tug lightly on a dangling strand of loose, damp hair. "There isn't any part of you that is unworthy of love to me. The bright, cheerful girl you were then. The lonely, sorrow filled girl you were after the well. And the woman you are now, tempered by all of that. Every part of you calls to me. Even after 500 years that hasn't changed." Letting go of her hair, he held a hand out for hers. "So, are you gonna keep your promise and give me a chance?"

Kagome swallowed as he held her gaze and made his declaration. It was the second offer of courtship she'd been given in the past two nights, and his words stirred something inside of her Sesshoumaru's had not. So she could not help but to reach out and take the offered hand. "I promise."

o.O.o

Word count – 2525

a/n – thank you guys for waiting so patiently for the next installment of this fic. This chapter felt a little slower to me, but Kouga isn't a character I'm used to writing frequently. I hope you guys can bear with me as I hit my groove with him. As always, read and review. Your reviews really brighten up my day, every time.