AN: It's time, people. THIS IS NOT A DRILL! Two and a half years (scream 😱) after promising you would one day find out what happened in the bedroom…you will!

As you may or may not recall, I conducted a poll at the time asking whether you thought Touga and Inukimi had done the deed or not. Exactly half of you believed/hoped they did and half swore/hoped they did not. So unless this story has since changed your view on the matter, exactly half of you will be disappointed, haha.

To those who stuck with me these last 2.5 years, thank you for your patience and loyalty. Here is your reward! (And I hope it is, indeed, a reward.)

Chapter 15: Dominance

In your book of broken hearts

You had my name now the story starts

We'll never be the same again I know

I'm a victim of circumstance

I'm the one that got the second chance

One chance...that's all I need, and I won't let go

Now you've got to understand I'm ready

I won't be denied

This lonely heart must be satisfied

You lie waiting far across the sea

Wild horses could never stop me

The highest mountain ain't high enough

I'm coming back, gonna take you prisoner of love

Calling all dreamers, every heartbroken fool

Doing what I can...but, love is cruel

The highest mountain ain't high enough

I won't give up, gonna take you prisoner of love

– "Prisoner of Love" by Foreigner

Reiwa Era, 3rd Year (2021 CE)

Inukimi stared at the moonless sky through the front window of the living room. As much as she enjoyed the soundproofing of her home, the grounds of the Nishikuni estate tonight were too quiet even for her liking. On a normal day, she would have enjoyed the peace, but tonight, it only allowed the memories to fester.

Inuyasha was getting married. As if it weren't humiliating enough that he was tying the knot before his elder brother, what rubbed her most raw was the fact that, out of Touga's two boys, Izayoi's son was marrying first. It was as if the gods were trying to tell Inukimi that those of her bloodline—or she and her son, at least—were not made for marriage.

For even though Sesshoumaru too was now betrothed, Inukimi still had some misgivings. Sesshoumaru wasn't even trying to make this match work. At least when Touga had asked for her hand, she knew what was expected of her and did her duties willingly.

Then again, she couldn't deny that there had been an attraction there from the start—one born of curiosity and a desire to dominate. As far as she knew, no such attraction existed for Sesshoumaru. If Zero harbored any lust for her son, she did not care to find out.

A sense of foreboding had been creeping up on her ever since they made the engagement official. Am I just dooming my son to repeat the same mistakes I did?

But she had given him so much time and opportunity. If he had had another demoness in mind, he had long since lost the ability to speak up.

The rich trill of her cellphone pierced the stillness. Inukimi reached for it without much thought. Was Touga calling to badger her now into attending Inuyasha's wedding? She had been surprised when Sesshoumaru came home earlier to change, claiming Touga had suddenly demanded he attend. She would rather eat socks than go.

But the name that flashed on the screen gave her pause. With only a second's hesitation, she answered. "Hello."

"Do I look like…sssome sssorta joke to you?!"

Inukimi quickly checked the caller ID again. Yes, she had read that correctly. "I beg your pardon. May I ask who's calling?"

"Do you ssseriously not have my number saved, bitch? Your own son's fiancccccée? If I can even call myssself that."

"Zero?"

"Who elssse? Ah, but of courssse. There isss someone else."

Inukimi frowned. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"Did you enjoy laughing at me, Inukimi? Yearsss of watching me pine wasn't…humiliating enough?"

"You humiliated yourself there. Even stooping to petty tricks during my heat did not earn you the demon you desired."

The line was silent for several seconds. "You knew?"

Inukimi looked at her nails. "Not at first. I didn't know you back then, after all. But once I had met you and spoke to you some more, I suspected. …And you just confirmed it."

"Confirmed what?" Kirinmaru's voice cut in, though it was muted by distance. "Zero, what is she talking about?"

"So was thisss revenge then? I had Yotsume plague you with dreamssss of…of infidil…infode…in-fi-del-i-ty," she stressed, "and I sssssicced my brother on you to breed you, so you…you gave me that faithlessss Sesssshoumaru?"

Inukimi's brow furrowed even as Kirinmaru exclaimed, "You what? Wait…is that why you asked me to scout the Dog Demon General's army that day? To purposely put me in her path, knowing—?"

"You needed to get laid anyway!" Zero shouted, making Inukimi wince. "'S not my fault you couldn't manage it. And after I ssserved her up ssssooooo nicely for you. You were soooo weak."

"Inukimi…I'm…so sorry," Kirinmaru said. "I had no idea. I—"

"It is so far in the past, it is not even worth talking about anymore," Inukimi stated. "I am more interested to know why you have called my son faithless."

"Because that fucker shoved his fucking cock into a fucking hu—"

"Sister, that's enough!" Kirinmaru roared. "G-Give me the phone!" Loud rustles and soft grunts on the other end indicated a struggle for the device.

"Zero, let me speak to Kirinmaru. He appears to have a clearer head," Inukimi said.

"My head is clear enough to ssssee your ssson for what he issss: a two-timing bastard, jusssst like his father!"

Inukimi froze.

"The engagement. Is. Over."

"Zero, give…me…the phone!" Kirinmaru grunted. The tones of randomly pushed buttons came through until finally the call hung up.

For the first time in centuries, Inukimi knew the sensation of cold as ice creeped through her veins. Zero should have been delighted that Sesshoumaru showed up to accompany her that night. She would not attempt to call her unless something was extremely amiss.

Infidelity? Her son, whom she was almost positive had never lusted after a demoness in his entire lifetime?

What had her silly Sesshoumaru done now?

Inukimi could no longer concentrate on the news articles on her tablet. She turned out the lights and reclined on her chaise longue, taking deep breaths to try to calm and center herself as she waited for her son to return home. She needed to get this straightened out as soon as possible.

But her thoughts swirled over those seven, potent words of Zero's: two-timing bastard, just like his father. And with them came the memories she had tried not to face tonight by refusing the invitation to Inuyasha's wedding. Memories of her own wedding—a time of hope and potential, infatuation and promise.

And the bittersweet veil that clung to them, knowing how all those dreams would later crumble.

If she had known then how it would turn out, would she still have gone through with it? The better question is, what would I have changed? Those regrets had plagued her for centuries, but she had at least figured out where the problem started.

I should have accepted his offer to mate when he first asked me.

If she could go back in time, she would have done it. But Akuru was picky about who he let travel the realms of space-time and when, and if there was one lesson she had learned, it was that she could not change her path once she had committed to it. There were no do-overs outside of the Rite.

Her eyes had long adjusted to the darkness by the time Sesshoumaru and Touga walked up the drive. Her sense of foreboding deepened. If Touga was visiting her on his other son's wedding night, Sesshoumaru must have done something so boneheaded, he felt the need to shield him from her displeasure.

She did not turn to face them as their footsteps made hardly a tap on the wooden floors—not even when Touga turned on the lamp in the room. She fought back a wince as the light cut into her eyes. But since neither of them made to greet her, she lobbied the first words.

"I received the most…puzzling call from Zero a little while ago. She was so drunk—a feat in itself, I presume—that she could barely string two thoughts together. So much of it was incoherent nonsense, and if I inferred the situation correctly, Kirinmaru was in a constant battle with her to wrest the phone from her hands before he finally terminated the call.

"However, what she did make clear to me were the words, 'The engagement is over.'" She finally turned and pinned Sesshoumaru with a glare. His entire body was on alert, as if he could fight or flee at any moment. But she knew her son would not run. "What have you done, Sesshoumaru?" She glanced over at Touga then. "It must be something of tremendous magnitude if your father has decided to grace us with his presence as well."

"Kimi," Touga started, and the old pet name made her tense. There had once been a time where she enjoyed the intimacy of that endearment. Now, all she could remember was him using that exact same conciliary tone the day he brought Izayoi to their palace. "Please be understanding. He has the most valid of reasons." He looked over at Sesshoumaru, passing the torch of responsibility.

The last words Inukimi ever expected to hear came out of her son's mouth just then.

"You're going to be a grandmother."

She raised a single eyebrow, the sentence not quite registering. "Are you attempting a jest, Sesshoumaru?"

"No, Mother."

Suddenly, Zero's incoherent ramblings were starting to make sense. She frowned. "And Zero is not the mother."

"No."

Keep calm. All is not lost. "Who is?"

"Her name is Rin. She is…human."

Before Inukimi even had time to process that little nugget of information, Touga cleared his throat, adding, "And Kagome's sister, at that."

Inukimi's mind numbed.

It can't be. Sesshoumaru despises humans, and I never persuaded him to do otherwise, even now. But his father on the other hand….

A hysterical laugh bubbled out of her. "Oh, say it isn't so," she chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye as she collapsed against the back of the chaise. "First my husband runs off with some human floozy—"

"Kimi," Touga growled.

"—And now my son, the precious boy I bred to detest humans, has gone and knocked one up? Is that what you're saying? Pray tell, when did this happen?"

"Last fall," Sesshoumaru answered through gritted teeth.

Inukimi took a deep breath, fanning the tears out of her eyes. "Is that what your 'impromptu vacation' was about? I must say, Sesshoumaru, I did not think you were the type. But you are your father's son, I suppose, so perhaps it is in your blood to want to mess around with human girls. Would that you had been more careful though!"

"Kimi, that's enough," Touga warned again.

"No, Touga, that is not enough. Tell me, at least, that you did not do something as insipid as falling in love with her and that this was just some unfortunate, random fling, Sesshoumaru."

"She was not a fling, Mother. She will be coming to live here."

"Oh, my foolish son." Inukimi stood up and took a deep breath to regain her calm as she walked towards them. Now was not the time to panic. This could still be fixed. "I want you to understand, Sesshoumaru: this does not change your situation. Whether or not you come to an…understanding with Zero about keeping this girl as your…mistress, shall we say—a practice that is sorely outdated, I must point out, since that seems so important to you as of late—you are going to take Zero for your wife, regardless. And if Zero does not agree, you will abide by her wishes and cast this human out of your life. Keep the bastard child here if you must—it will expose us otherwise—but once this girl has given birth, her role in this family is done."

"Children."

"Pardon me?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at his mother. "Rin and I are having twins, Mother."

Inukimi scoffed, turning away from him. "Oh, this just keeps getting better and better. Next you'll tell me that you made her your mate." When Sesshoumaru said nothing, Inukimi turned around slowly, leveling a wary gaze at him. "Tell me you didn't, Sesshoumaru."

"I did, Mother."

The tethers of her long-frayed patience suddenly snapped, dropping their load into the sea of her emotions and sending up a veritable tsunami of wrath and frustration that crashed against her very soul. Centuries of waiting, decades of planning and years of worry about the fate of their family and race—all ruined in an instant, because of her son's impulsive, human behavior!

Inukimi lashed out at a side table, sweeping the porcelain lamp off it and sending it smashing to the floor. "How dare you, Sesshoumaru! How could you sit here and make fools of all of us? You've known all this time that you mated this woman, and yet you said nothing as we went through the engagement process! How are you going to explain this to Kirinmaru and Zero?"

"I already have, and I will handle the fallout on my own."

"You most certainly will, because I will say nothing on your behalf, Sesshoumaru." She put a hand to her head, only half-surprised to feel a headache coming on. "Are you going through some sort of late rebellious period? Are you purposely trying to drive me mad? As if you haven't just embarrassed our entire family, now you've gone and added the shame of half-breeds to our line, and there's no hope of redemption! Our pure lineage is finished because of you, Sesshoumaru. Finished! Do you understand what you've done? You've led to our downfall!"

"Inukimi, that is enough!" Touga roared, stepping in front of her. "Why can't you just be happy for our son? He's found the woman he wants to be with for life. He's waited fourteen hundred years, Kimi. And whether you like it or not, demonkind is on the decline. Perhaps comingling is nature's way of ensuring our species survives in some way instead of going extinct."

Comingling with humans? Is that how he defends Sesshoumaru? Defends himself?

Inukimi's blood boiled, her vision flaring red. "Don't you dare preach to me about happiness, you backstabbing, cheating bastard!" she screeched, lunging for his throat. Touga's eyes bled red in response, and he grabbed her wrists, preventing her from reaching him. He could hold her back all he wanted, but he could not hold back the words she had been nursing for over half a millennium. "This is all your fault! You've poisoned our son's mind with your soft-hearted, human-fucking tendencies! He was this family's last hope!"

Touga growled, "Inukimi, if you don't calm down right now, I swear I—"

"Your swears and promises are worthless, Touga! I learned that centuries ago—and now our son is the same sort of faithless creature!" As she tore her arms out of his grip, she slashed at Touga's face, leaving three bloody scratches across his cheek. Touga froze in shock, lifting a hand to the wounds and pulling it away to see the blood smeared on his otherwise pristine, white glove.

Inukimi whirled away and stormed off, heading to her bedroom. Behind her, Touga's growl echoed low and menacing—an alpha with wounded pride.

Come after me. I dare you, Touga.

"Father, wait." Sesshoumaru's voice carried down the hall. "Let her calm down first."

"Do not tell me what to do, Sesshoumaru! I have known your mother far longer than you have. I can handle her just. Fine."

Is that what you think? Inukimi tore open the door to her room. Just as she went to slam it shut, Touga was there to catch it. They had a standoff, the door groaning as each applied demonic strength to its opposing sides.

But Touga had always been physically stronger than she was.

He finally forced it open, causing Inukimi to jump back before the door whacked her in the face. Then he slammed it shut and locked it.

That should have been her first clue that he was too angry to be thinking straight—a trait he had passed down to both his children, apparently. Had he ever realized that?

"Get out!" she snapped, crouching and flexing her claws in a stance of aggression.

His hackles raised, and he held her stare, gold to gold. "No."

"You're the last person I want to see right now," she hissed, not blinking. "You've corrupted him—my precious pup!"

"Our precious pup," Touga rebuked. "I have failed that boy more than I realized, but if I played any part in making him accept humans more, I will gladly claim that, because that is the way of the future, Kimi—"

"Call me that one more time, and I won't stop at scratching your face!" Inukimi shouted.

A levelheaded Touga would have backed off over such a small request, she knew. But a Touga with his demon riled up would contend with her every demand. "Why?"

"I hate it."

His eyes gleamed at this newfound information—a predatory look she had not seen directed at her in centuries. Those were the eyes of the demon who found joy in baiting her.

Those were the eyes of the demon she had agreed to marry.

"Is that so?" he asked in a low voice. "You didn't used to. In fact, you used to beg me to cry out that name when—"

"Argh!" In a fit of temper and embarrassment, the strangled yelled erupted out of Inukimi's throat, and she flew across the room, swiping her claws towards his unarmored chest. Unlike the last time, he was prepared and blocked her attack, but she kept trying to strike anyway. He never raised a hand against her—only fending off her strikes and pushing her away from the door. This only enraged her more: he was playing with her, damn it.

"Should I be happy you're finally showing some emotion?" he asked.

"Fight me!" she snarled.

"No," he repeated, his voice deadly calm, even though his eyes were still an angry red.

"I'm not your pathetic human mistress, you cock-less bastard," she hissed. "Fight me like you used to, because I won't stop!"

His eyes flashed, and he growled, whipping his hand out to slap her across the room. She dodged it, leaping back behind her bed, but now she was grinning, his retaliation igniting the joy of battle in her blood.

He sailed over the bed to slice her, and she dodged, but then he brought his leg up in a roundhouse kick, and though she blocked it, it sent her crashing into her dresser. Wood splintered as she crushed the doors of the armoire, but he didn't let up and came after her, his hand held out like a dagger to stab her. She threw herself out of the way, and he tore through the clothing inside before brushing the piece of furniture away like it weighed no more than a shogi door.

Inukimi grabbed the lamp off her nightstand and threw it at his face; he held up his arm, and the porcelain shattered into dust as it met his unforgiving muscle and bone.

"Are you done with this tantrum?" he asked.

"Tantrum?" she screamed. "This will be the longest fucking tantrum you've ever seen!"

He bared his teeth. "Then I will put an end to it."

In a flash, he was behind her. She threw her head back, catching him in the chin, and he grunted in pain, stepping away. Her kimono kept her from kicking easily, so instead she rammed her elbow into his gut, sending him flying into her desk. As he smashed through it, he hit the wall, cracking the plaster. She flew at him while he was down and seized his throat, pinning him.

He snarled, the blood from his cheek dripping onto her hand, and she fixated on it, watching each drop slip across his smooth, tanned skin to land on her ghostly pale fingers. Just as quickly as her anger surfaced, it abated, quite spent, and yet his blood triggered a new eruption of long-dormant desires.

She leaned in, keeping the pressure against his muscled neck, and licked the blood off his cheek. An involuntary moan escaped her. She had almost forgotten the taste of his blood—a robust bouquet of metals underscored by an earthy flavor, not unlike the char on grilled meats. It was that sizzle of power that ran through his blood—something more than just ordinary demonic power. Something that could level mountains if it was let out, as it had been in the crafting of Tessaiga from just his fang. Something she had always hoped would be passed down to their son and his children…though that dream was now dead.

Touga stiffened. "What are you doing?"

He's gone astray for too long, her demon purred. Make sure he knows to whom he really belongs.

All of her finely-crafted plans for seducing him that had been decades in the making were blown from her mind. She hadn't felt this exhilarated in…she couldn't even remember how many centuries.

He was here, he was beneath her, and she was going to have him, no matter the cost.

"I'm claiming my rights," Inukimi announced.

Suddenly, she smashed their lips together. Touga tried to push away, accidentally biting her lip and drawing blood. She smeared it across his mouth, and he froze.

Inukimi dared pause her advances, pulling back and opening her eyes. His own were still an impassioned red, but now a different sort of lust was reflected in them. She had purposely reminded him of the taste of blood—a taste that their kind desired on the most basic of levels, as much as he tried to suppress it.

And there was always something intoxicating about tasting the blood of your lover.

He brought his fingers to his lips in a daze, his talons grazing them. "I…forgot how spicy you taste."

Inukimi smirked, relaxing her grip and brushing his Adam's apple with her thumb. "All those toxins, yes? I missed the spark in yours…."

She kissed him again, shoving her tongue between his lips. She almost went limp as his tongue touched hers in a hesitant dance, two old partners trying to remember the steps of a tango. He sucked on her lip, drawing out more of her blood and swiping his tongue across it, a soft rumble issuing from his chest.

She tore open his suit and shirt, sending the buttons—and, oddly enough, a kappa's foot—flying. She wanted to feel that hard chest beneath her hands again. As she bared his pecs, forked by jagged stripes of blue lightning, she dug her talons into his skin and dragged them down his front, just enough to bring blood welling to the surface but not enough to drip.

He hissed in pleasure-pain and yanked her head back by one of her pigtails, baring her neck in a submissive gesture. He ran his tongue over her throat, kissing and nipping it, leaving red marks all across her.

Yes, brand me again as yours, Inukimi thought. I always have been. Always will be.

He tugged the ribbons out of her hair, letting it fall in a silky curtain across her back, then ran his hands over her fur boa, making sure his talons dragged through it. Inukimi shuddered in his arms, each stroke across her fur wetting her loins. If only he were wearing his fur cape, so that she might do the same to arouse him.

But there was an equally easy way to pique his interest. She reached down between his legs and palmed his crotch. When she gripped him, he stiffened.

"Kimi," he growled in a warning tone.

This time, she didn't mind the endearment. But was he warning her not to go further? Or warning her of what would happen if she did?

She had lived too long to let any more chances at happiness slip past her.

She slid her talons along his growing tent, trailing them up to his belt, which she deftly unbuckled. Popping the snap of his pants and drawing down the zipper, she slipped her hand inside the fly of his boxers. Touga hissed when she wrapped her hand around his hot length. As she pulled it out, she murmured in his ear, "Your wife demands your cock."

Suddenly, he shot to his feet, yanking her up with him. His dress pants fell into a puddle around his ankles. He twisted her around, holding her arm behind her. For a moment, she thought he would shove her away in disgust. Could she endure that humiliation and rejection again?

But when he kicked off his pants and shoved her forward, he followed until he had her bent over the edge of the bed and completely caged by his body.

"You dare make demands of your alpha after attacking me this evening?" he growled, nipping her ear so hard he drew blood, which he promptly lapped up.

Inukimi struggled a bit to test the bounds of his grip. No, this is good. If he's calling himself alpha, he's already given into his demon. Instinct will win the day.

She pushed her hips back, grinding against his erection. He jerked back but stiffened as he realized he could only move so far before weakening his hold on her.

"Inukimi."

"Touga, please," she murmured, pushing out the words she had long held in her heart. She met his gaze out of the corner of her eye "I…I want you."

He leaned back against her, staring into her eye as if trying to find something there.

And then he smirked.

"Is it me you want, or…?"

All of a sudden, he humped his bare erection over her backside as he kept her pinned, nosing the back of her neck. When he spoke, she felt every low growl emanate from his chest into her back.

"Is this what you really want?" he asked, rubbing himself against her. She mewled in agreement. "I see. You've deprived yourself, haven't you?" he murmured. "And now you want me to fulfill my husbandly duty to you, is that it?"

"Yes," she hissed.

With a snarl, he tore her obi away—actually ripped the fabric in two—and yanked Inukimi's kimono off her until half her body was exposed and the bottom was hiked up around her hips. He gripped her neck with his talons, digging into her skin as he pressed her into the mattress. His other hand slid beneath her and grabbed her breast, squeezing it, making her cry out in shock and pleasure. His cock grew harder against her bare leg as he continued to rub against her. "Is this what you want, bitch?"

"Your bitch wants her alpha's cock inside her," she groaned into the comforter, shifting her legs so his phallus would slide through her ass and not over her leg.

"I don't think this bitch deserves her alpha's cock," Touga said in a low voice. "This bitch not only fought her alpha; she degraded her son and grandchildren."

Inukimi bristled. Being submissive had never been her strong suit. But if it would get him to rut her….

"Your bitch has been naughty," Inukimi gasped, affecting a tone she knew would appease his alpha demon. "She deserves a rough, rough punishment."

Touga slapped her ass so hard, he left a red welt, and his claws nicked her. She grunted, and he rubbed her cheeks briefly before slapping her again.

It wasn't what she'd had in mind, but she wasn't going to complain. She loved it when he was like this. She squeezed her legs together after he hit her a third time, her core tingling and her thighs slick. Gods, just put it in me already! She wanted to beg, but she knew if she did, he'd just withhold it from her. That had always been their dynamic—at least until he was lodged inside her.

He paused, and though half her face was smashed against the comforter, even she could smell her own arousal—like wet earth and smoke.

"One isn't supposed to enjoy a punishment," Touga growled, his fingers slipping down her backside and tangling in the silver curls at the crux of her legs. Inukimi fought a whimper as he slid a sharp talon into the bottom of her seam, stroking it softly. Any harder and he would tear through the thin flesh. But that was what made it all so exciting.

Then he bit down on the back of her neck, and she groaned at the feel of his teeth grasping some of her most sensitive skin. She was completely subdued beneath his body.

Suddenly, he pushed his finger further inside her, and Inukimi couldn't help the cry that escaped her as he wiggled it around. Another finger reached up to flick her clit as he stroked, and Inukimi writhed against the bed, the sensations like new once more after so many centuries.

"So close," she gasped as her core twisted tighter and tighter. "So…so close!"

Suddenly, he let go of her neck and yanked his finger out.

"No!" she screamed.

"To leave you wanting—that is your punishment," Touga said.

Tears of frustration prickled at her eyes. She couldn't let them fall. "You've left me wanting for centuries, Touga," she whined. "This is no more a punishment than what you've already subjected me to."

Liar, she told herself. It's worse. Because this time…you gave me hope. And then you took it away.

Touga bent back over her, the tip of his hard cock poking against her leg, and hissed, "You think you were the only one left wanting? I waited hundreds of years for you to tell me three little words, and you couldn't even bring yourself to do that."

Inukimi's heart lurched. This was it. The moment she had been waiting for. The moment she could redeem herself. And yet why did it still feel like the words were stuck in her throat? She looked at him from over her shoulder.

"I love you," she whispered.

Touga froze, his grip on her loosening. "What?"

"I love you," she repeated. It was easier the second time. She raised herself and turned around, his hands falling away from her as his limbs and features slackened. It was easy to push him back so that he sat on the ground. She then straddled his lap, the underside of his cock brushing against the rim of her folds. She reached up and cradled his jaw, looking into his eyes. "Those were the three words, weren't they? I. Love. You."

And then she kissed him. She poured seven hundred years of yearning and love into that kiss, slanting her lips over his, plundering his mouth, taking control.

He made no move to reciprocate. Insecurity sank its icy claws into her, and she pulled back, looking into his eyes. They looked back at her, questioning. Her hands slid down his ravaged chest, his heart pounding beneath her hand and drumming in her ears.

Was he…as nervous as she was?

"Say it again," he commanded.

She blinked in surprise. "I love you."

His hands slid up to cradle her jaw this time, and he brought their faces closer, staring at her so intently with his blood-red eyes that she couldn't look away. "Say. It. Again," he growled.

"I love you, Touga," she answered in her strongest voice yet.

Something in him seemed to snap just then, and he attacked her mouth with his. She gasped, and he sucked her breath down. He pushed her against the side of the bed, pinning her in place as he nipped his way down her shoulder.

Each bite made her jerk her hips, pounding against his cock, and dear gods, she needed it inside her. While he distracted himself with kissing her, she steadied herself with one arm around his shoulder and reached between them with the other.

The second she had hold of his cock, his head shot up, and he pulled back. But in one fluid movement, she pulled herself forward and seated herself on him.

"Ah!" she cried out as her husband filled her womb for the first time in seven hundred years. She felt like a virgin again, being split in two by his massive cock.

"Kimi, wait—" Touga said, grabbing her hips as if to pull her off, but she suddenly gripped his throat, forcing him to look at her.

"I want you, and you want me. You are mine, Touga, and tonight, I will remind you of that." With a shove, she forced his back to the floor, making the room shudder, and applied more pressure to his throat. Touga grimaced, his hands coming up to her arm and trying to pull it off.

But this was a game she remembered playing with him. And so when she rolled her hips over his crotch, squeezing his manhood at just the right moment, he stilled, except for one, shaky breath.

But that was only the opening act. Keeping a hand on his throat, she pulled herself almost all the way off of him before dropping down like a lead weight. Touga groaned, and she increased her speed up to the point where she was pounding into him with the force of a jackhammer. Every thrust seated him so deep within her, she was surprised he didn't burst out the other side of her belly. Her pubic lips throbbed, and blood trickled down her thighs from the roughness after so long without sex, leaving streaks on his cock every time it showed.

The sight of it made his eyes and nostrils flare, and he reached out to still her hips, swiping a finger along the seam of her folds against his cock. He brought the blood to his lips and sucked on his finger, closing his eyes and groaning in such ecstasy, his dick jumped inside of her.

She removed her hand from his neck, freeing him, but he didn't get up as she rolled against him again, shifting herself into a better position so his blunt head would hit the epicenter of her quakes. Oh, oh…there! Guttural gasps escaped her throat as she rocked, her core aching in sweet agony as she claimed his cock.

But she was an alpha showing her alpha husband who was boss.

His shaft swelled within her, and oh how she missed the days when they coupled in their true forms and his bulbous knot kept them fused together. But she would take what she could get.

She crested then, throwing her head back with a cry and dragging her nails down Touga's chest. He sucked in a breath, bucking her, and suddenly, his warm seed spilled within her womb.

A primal urge to bite him, mark him flooded her veins. Do it, her demon hissed. Make him yours!

Yes. She had been ready for so long. And even though he had mated another…technically, his body was still unclaimed.

And clearly, he still had feelings for her.

She bent over him, clutching one side of his neck while kissing the other, up from his collarbone to just under his ear.

Then she murmured, "Is this what love is, Touga? I conquered you, but it feels as if you are the one who conquered me."

"Kimi…."

She opened her mouth wide as her fangs elongated, moving down to the crook of his shoulder. With a whisper, she said, "You're mine, Touga."

Her teeth had barely scraped the surface of his tawny skin—not even enough to let the poison out—when Touga's whole body stiffened, and he shoved her off him so hard, she rolled over and crashed into the wall.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Touga demanded, sitting up and covering his neck as if she were a deranged, thirsty vampire and he her prey. All the red had drained from his eyes, leaving behind shimmering gold that wavered in something like fear.

Inukimi sat up, a gush of semen squeezing out from her. In that moment, she felt so dirty. Just seconds ago, she had relished it—had wondered if he might even clean her up with his tongue, like he had once loved to do so.

But the harshness of his tone struck her like a blow, and for once, Inukimi could not control the muscles of her face. As the tide of rejection threatened to wash over her, her eyes burned and her lips twitched. "I told you," she bit out. "I'm claiming my rights as your wife. A-As your mate."

"I have a mate."

"A mate that will never complete you!" she snapped.

"And if you do this, you'll have a mate that can never complete you either!" he roared back. He brought his hands down, looking at them—and his limp cock below them—in growing horror and disbelief. "What have I done? W-What did you make me do?"

"I made you do nothing," Inukimi hissed back, pulling the tatters of her kimono over her breasts and hugging them there. "Everything you did, you did on your own, because deep down, you wanted it."

"I didn't!"

"You did. Admit it, Touga—you've missed this!" she spat, gesturing around the destroyed room. "You missed us. You…you missed me." She swallowed, her throat growing unfamiliarly thick. "I missed you. I told you: I love you."

He shook his head, not even looking at her. "No," he murmured, as if talking to himself. "No, you made your feelings very clear to me. Whatever this was, it wasn't brought on by love. This was manipulation, pure and simple. You've always been a master at that."

His words shredded her newly-thawed heart, and she couldn't help the tears that finally broke through, sliding down her cheeks. Touga sniffed and looked up, his eyes widening in startlement.

Inukimi hurriedly wiped the tears away, embarrassment eating away at her. "You think I could…could fake this?" she gasped. "After seven hundred years of waiting?"

He reached towards her but hesitated, then retracted his hand. In a quiet voice, he said, "But…you didn't even flinch when I brought Izayoi home."

Just like that, her rage took hold of her again, fueled by her shame. Two more hot, angry tears pulsed out of her. "You dense bastard! Do you really think any woman would simply accept another taking her place? I was ready to mate you—even ready to give you another child!—but then you brought her home. Did you think I would just let that slide?"

Touga looked as if she had just thrust a sword into his gut. "What?"

"But it was so long ago, what does it matter now?" she sniffed, standing up and turning away from him, trying to put herself to rights, useless as it was. She just needed something else to focus on—something besides him.

But Touga stood up and walked around her until they were facing each other again. Distress lined his features. "Kimi, why didn't you tell me? I thought…." She waited for him to finish, but when he didn't, she gritted her fangs and glared at him.

"I was going to tell you. I was so worried about you, wondering where you were and if you were even alive, that I promised myself as soon as you came home safe and sound, I would mate you right then." She clutched the robes so tightly between her fingers, her already white knuckles paled even further. "But of course, fate makes a mockery of us all. No sooner had I finally realized my feelings than you brought her home. And that ended any dreams I might have had for our family."

And I've been living a hellish half-life ever since.

Touga shook his head, as if he couldn't believe it. "You should have told me. Damn it, Kimi, you should have swallowed your pride and told me!"

"What good would that have done?" she snapped back, glaring at him. "You finally had your precious mate. Anything I said would have sounded like a ploy to get you back!"

Touga nodded. "And what about now? Can you honestly say that this," he said, gesturing to their disheveled states, "was not at all a ploy to get me back?"

Inukimi gritted her teeth and stared hard at him. "Can you honestly say you weren't tempted to take me back?" Touga stiffened, straightening as if trying to intimidate her. Inukimi grabbed hold of that streak of cruelty that always lay in easy reach and smirked at him. "Face it, Touga. You enjoyed fucking me, despite the fact that you have your 'perfect mate.'"

But her smile slowly slid away as she beheld the change in her husband's face.

Pure devastation. It was the only way she could describe that look. And she had inflicted it upon him.

Her heart wrenched as if she had inflicted that very wound upon herself.

Suddenly, Touga raced over to his pants, yanking them on and buttoning his suit jacket since she had torn his shirt apart. Without another word, he was out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Just then, Inukimi smelled Sesshoumaru coming. She looked down at herself. With her breasts practically hanging out of her torn kimono, she looked as if she had been degraded. Used.

Thrown away.

Tears rose to her eyes again as she realized that was exactly what she had been.

She quickly locked the door and backed away, collapsing onto the edge of the bed just as a knock sounded.

"Mother?"

"L-Leave me be, Sesshoumaru!" she called back, her voice hitching. She winced, hating how broken she sounded just from that one syllable.

She waited for her son to say something—to call her out. But after a tense moment, he walked away. She shifted, her sticky thighs rubbing together, and then the enormity of what had just happened finally hit her.

What have I done?

She had had a plan. She had meant to rekindle his feelings—not simply seduce him. But even if she had only managed a one-time seduction, she had squandered her opportunity. At least seducing him in her heat would have given her the chance at conceiving a child. Then she would have had another chance at keeping their pureblooded race from dying out as well as ensuring Touga stayed by her side, for dog demons were notoriously possessive about their pregnant bitches. She would have used that time to make sure he truly came back to her and that he wouldn't leave once the pup was born.

But she wasn't in heat, and she wouldn't be for years.

For once, she lamented being a dog demon. Were she a snake demon, she could have held onto his precious essence for years—until she was ready to bear a child again. But now...would she ever get that chance? Or had she made Touga hate her and lost what part of his heart she still had for good?

Inukimi sank down onto the edge of her bed and wept. For her loss. For her love. For her centuries of regrets.

For the fact that no matter how hard she tried to fix her mistakes, she always seemed to fail.

AN: Did it go how you thought it would or not? Let me know!