Chapter Five- Mated

Yukina had a feeling of déjà vu as she headed to the forest; only this time she was the one leading the way and she would be teaching in some small way. She sniffed the air before choosing a route that was far from Red's domain. She had no desire to encounter the older wolf and give him a reason to attack.

Kuwabara followed her, trusting her nose to alert them to Red's presence as well as her wolf form to deter others from attacking them. He was eager to become a wolf. He had had dreams where he was a simple wolf. He recalled speaking like a wolf, hunting, and howling at the moon. Soon, I'll be doing all that for real.

Yukina came across an open clearing that smelled faintly of Red and deduced that he merely crossed it as she could hear the roar of a distant waterfall. "This would be a good place for us to claim as our territory," she said.

"Yeah?" Kuwabara said.

She nodded. "You can't hear it yet, but there's a waterfall somewhere over there." She pointed in one direction.

Kuwabara was about to comment on her sense of hearing when a throbbing pulse went through him. He doubled over and his arms went around his stomach. He groaned and then whined as his nose and jaws had formed a muzzle while his teeth sharpened and new one appeared. He felt his ears burning and stretching and saw the clearing become brighter, leading him to believe that he now had wolf eyes.

His arms unwrapped from his stomach as they stiffened into forelegs, his fingers shrinking away, and his nails becoming claws. Another whine escaped as his spine curved and brought him to his knees and paws. His torso altered and the bones in his legs popped and crunched into hind legs and as his feet became paws. A tail sprouted behind him and a wave of strength washed over him before he gave a howl to signal the end of his change.

He then exhaled slowly. "That did hurt," he said softly, eyes closed..

"As two sides join in one body, pain is expected," Yukina said as she changed and then nuzzled Kuwabara's cheek. A soft growl came out of his mouth. "Like that?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes, very much." His eyes opened to gaze softly at Yukina despite the intensity of his eyes.

"You're a handsome wolf," Yukina commented. "Very well-built." Her eyes admired his muscled body.

"Thanks." His nose flared as he breathed deeply. "So many smells," he said. "I can identify them easily."

Yukina copied him and then nodded. "Yes, there are a lot of scents…including a monster."

"Good. I'm feeling hungry."

"Me too. Changing forms burns a lot of energy and calories like I've said." She bared a wolf's grin at him. "Do you need me to teach you to hunt?"

"No," he said gently. "I can feel my instincts tell me how to hunt."

"That monster is quite big," she said, sniffing the air. "I suggest we work together to bring it down.'

Kuwabara nodded, a strategy coming to him. "You take it from the front and I'll come up from behind."

"Agreed." Yukina took the lead, her claws out and kneading the ground as she moved. Kuwabara followed suite with his body low to the ground as he was a little bigger than his companion. The monster's scent filled his nose and he crept toward it as he followed Yukina. Feelings of tension and excitement filled him. This is part of the hunt, he thought. We're stalking our target, our approach is practically silent.

Yukina came to a halt and he came up beside her to see their target. He was big as Yukina had said and he marveled at how she was able to determine size by smell. She changed last night and has learned a lot so quickly. Must be instinct; something I will be able to do myself eventually. He looked at her and she jerked a paw to their right and then their left. Her gestures were clear to him. He was to go right to get behind the monster while she went left to face it. He nodded before stalking off to take his position.

Yukina eyed the monster as she headed left. She could see no higher intelligence like she saw in human and high class demons. A monster that acts on instinct alone; most likely has sharp senses of its own. The monster turned in her direction and its nose sniffed the air. Just as I thought. Sharp senses and it smells me. She crept out of hiding and growled at it, her teeth bared. The monster backed up, looking a bit afraid at her act of intimidation.

It then let out a roar and toppled forward, a strong gray wolf on its back. His claws raked over the back but left no marks. Kuwabara was surprised for a moment before he latched his jaws onto the back of the neck.

The monster roared again and got to its feet, arms raised with the intention of prying the wolf off its neck. Yukina then leaped up and slashed her claws at its throat and then ran them down its chest before burying them in the stomach and ripping it open as she went down from her leap. The monster fell forward again and died, its breath rattling in its throat.

Kuwabara had leaped clear when the monster started falling forward and he now assisted Yukina in turning it over. "That was exciting," he said as their claws tore open the chest and widened the cuts in the stomach.

"My first kill was a bit more intense," Yukian said. "Still, killing your own food is a thrill."

"No doubt about it." Kuwabara chewed some skin and meat and felt it settle in his stomach. He also felt more of his wolf instincts awaken and fill his head. One such instinct was more of a desire: He wanted to be Yukina's mate and claim her as his mate as well.

Yukina mentioned feeling a desire to claim me and for me to claim her earlier today. I was uneasy and not really sure about doing all that. Now, I have no issues about it. I'm a wolf now and feel ready to take a mate and be claimed as well.

Yukina hungrily ate and felt energized from it. She further felt she would need all the energy she could get as she planned to stay awake most of the night. She was interested in racing and playing with Kuwabara.

I also hope he's changed his mind about mating. I still want us to claim each other; this desire grew stronger when I took wolf form. Perhaps Kazuma's change to wolf will fuel a desire to claim me.

"Yukina?"

"Hmm?" She turned her head to look at Kuwabara.

He shuffled a paw before saying, "I…changed my mind about us being mates. I mean, I'm a wolf now and it just makes sense like you said."

"I had hoped that you would change your mind but I didn't want to pressure you."

"I appreciate that." He faced Yukina, put his right paw on her left shoulder blade, barked, and yipped as instinct prompted, and then drew his claws back, leaving three scratches that wouldn't heal. It was a permanent mark that told all that she had been claimed.

Yukina had yelped at the pain before performing the same procedure on Kuwabara. He also yelped but then howled in joy as Yukina had howled after leaving her mark. Their howls echoed and carried through the forest announcing to all that they were now mates.