Chapter Seventeen
He'd never been one to shy from duty. Kouga took everything straight forward and delivered with the same enthusiasm. He took the good with the bad. He hated to leave Kagome like this, but he needed to do this now, rather than later. He couldn't tell her why, only that he'd be gone for a short while.
The God's forbid he did tell her. She would have found a reason to travel the long distance with him because in her eyes, this was something they needed to do. He didn't see it like that. At all. They could face the world together later, but this was one thing that he wasn't going to allow to stress her.
His expression hardened. He had to leave her to settle things; she needed him, whether she realized it or not.
Who was going to keep the dog away if not him? They would have to make due until he returned.
Wolves howled in the distance, growling in a game of tug of war and reminding him exactly where he was. The frigid air beat against his back while the flames from the camp fire warmed his front. He stood with his legs spread apart, his arms loosely at his sides.
"Welcome back, Kouga. It's been long since you last made yourself known."
Kouga nodded. He usually kept his distance and remained in his own pack, but there was a fine line he had to walk in ruling and the few standing before him made sure all followed that thin line.
He'd requested an audience and they hadn't disappointed.
He wanted to back on his own lands with Kagome.
Funny, how at one time he thought he would never have...
He didn't have it. Not yet. Progress was being made. He was going to be a father.
"I've fathered a pup." He stated evenly. There was no need in skirting around the matter.
"So you've finally taken a Mate." The wolf in the front said with a sudden smile. So sure.
Kouga didn't return the endearment. "No."
The elders grew quiet—a response he'd been expecting. It wasn't uncommon for Demons to rut. But for a Den Leader to father pups without his Luna...
"With Kagome." Kouga said just as tonelessly and fearlessly.
"The Priestess?"
Kagome was well known among the tribes. They all knew how he'd once been enamored with her. All he'd had to do was say her name—they knew who she was. The fact that she had chosen Inuyasha over him was well known among the tribes.
"The Mated Priestess?" The oldest spoke first cautiously.
Kouga paused. Why did everyone say that? She wasn't Mated. She never had been. He could feel his wolf curl up against his insides at the slight insult. "...She's not Mated." Kouga said carefully.
"You Fathered a pup with the Priestess?" One of the Elders asked again.
Kouga nodded, one hand clenching. He wasn't ashamed of his actions. No one would understand them. It was a serious matter, one that required an explanation.
His nod was met with a stone cold silence. Silence, until one of the Elders spoke.
"It's common knowledge that the Priestess chose the dog over you."
You. You. As if he was suddenly just as low as Kagome was on the food chain.They couldn't even say her name. Kouga bit his tongue to keep from making a fool of himself. He'd proven himself a worthy foe time and time again but he didn't doubt that even as old as the Wolf Demons before him were, they could lay him out flat at a moments notice.
He hated being reminded of that fact, as if watching Inuyasha swing her up into his arms hadn't been heart breaking enough. But he was here for a whole different reason, wasn't he?
"Was the Priestess willing?"
Kouga felt his control slip. A single notch. "Do you really think I would do that to her?" He said, his voice low.
"Was the Priestess willing, Kouga of the Eastern Tribe?"
A muscle in his jaw ticked. "Yes."
He could have made this easier. He could have just told them from the beginning of Inuyasha's betrayal. The dog may have not meant it as such, but it was a betrayal none the less. How dare he think he could give himself to Kagome when he'd already given himself to another? He refused to indulge that information. It was a hard matter for Kagome, one that she was struggling to overcome.
Kagome was unique. For all the Elders knew, her unique abilities as a Priestess made Mating different, especially with a half breed. Human Matings were weak and Kagome had always been different...
"Kouga of the Eastern Tribe, you've disgraced yourself, your linage and your Pack." The words came lowly.
Kouga lifted his head, his clawed hands closing.
The words seemed to echo in his ears and every muscle in his body tightened. Anger beat at the edges of his consciousness.
"You are hereby renounced as Leader of the Eastern Tribe."
He didn't move. He didn't even breath as they passed down their judgment with few words and even fewer explanations. This was what he'd come here for—judgment. It was harsh and unforgiving and Kouga nodded. He understood all too well the repercussions. They hadn't requested a trail—just simple judgment.
They turned their backs in silence and left him alone in the rocky clearing, the dying heat from the flames dancing against the back of his knees. His Demon was clawing at his insides. He wanted to rend and tear because he'd just been stripped of his title in a manner of minutes. It was unjust, but at the same time, he knew it was just as deserving.
Their Sentence had been simple and without stipulations. He'd been stripped of his title as Pack Master, but they hadn't banned him.
He turned his back on the cold, harsh lands of the North, his expression hard. He was angry at their Sentence but as he headed back to the East, the thought of seeing Kagome again warmed his insides. He'd been gone long enough.