"No." Kagome stared at Reiko. She had to wonder, what was he still doing here?
Her dislike of him was obvious and Sango's blatant, "The front door is that way." instead of offering him a chair at their dining table should have been proof enough. Breakfast? She hoped the bastard would starve.
Why was he here again?
Oh yes, because he was Kouga's Alpha. But that didn't answer the question though, did it?
"No." Kagome said again, and this time looked at Kouga, as if daring him to say otherwise.
"We really don't have a choice in this matter, Kagome." Kouga finally said. He put it like it was. He didn't have a choice. Kagome didn't have a choice. They didn't have a choice. The Elders were calling on Kagome this time. He couldn't even begin to understand how their minds worked and while he didn't agree with how they forego things of their nature, he respected them. Regardless of human blood, Kagome was still carrying a very powerful bloodline that bordered between spiritual and Demon.
He'd promised Kagome that he wasn't leaving her side again and he wouldn't.
"I have a choice, and the answer is no." Kagome said.
Shit. Kouga grunted.
He was joking. There was no other reason for this stupid discussion. Was Kouga missing the whole point? She didn't like Reiko. She liked his Elders even less. His Elders weren't her Elders. They were a bunch of old wrinkled up wolves with sticks up their asses. As for Reiko, he would never, ever be her Alpha. The only Alpha she would ever answer to was her Mate. He was the rightful leader of this pack. Why didn't he just take it back like the Wolf he was?
You know it too, don't you, little wolf? She thought when she felt the small flutter in her stomach.
"I have nothing to say to those pompous dicks—"
Kouga cupped his hand over her mouth and circled her waste with his other arm. "Please don't finish that sentence, Kagome." As if he was giving her a choice. May the Gods help him, but she was difficult. "Just go with me on this, please?"
Reiko snorted at the 'please' and Kouga shot him a glare.
"It's about Pack mentality, Kagome. Our pup has both the blood of a powerful priestess and Wolf Demon. That's never happened." He'd known getting her to go was going to be difficult. Kagome's world was so small compared to his and she had no idea just how much bigger hers was about to get. How did one explain this to a human? "They must integrate you into the Pack through ritual. You're already part of the Pack, but the Elders just want things done their way."
Kagome stiffened. "Ritual? Ritual?"
Wrong choice of words. FUCK. "You know that's not what I meant, Kagome."
The hell she didn't. She circled his wrist with her fingers and tugged his hand down. "Then what did you mean? Because we are not—"
Kouga leaned down and kissed her. That seemed to be the only capable way of shutting her up. As a pup he had imagined that his Mate would be shy, willing and heed him at his every order, but still be a warrior. Kagome challenged him with the very air she breathed. "They're not going to touch you or harm our pup. They're not going to take him from us. I promise, Kagome." He hunched down so that their faces were level.
"I promise."
Kagome gripped the back of the Wolfs neck and then climbed over his broad back slowly before sitting up fully. She slung her pack of arrows over one shoulder and then her bow over her torso. She couldn't walk the entire way, and she couldn't keep up with the rest of the Pack on her own. She certainly wasn't going to let Kouga carry her the entire way.
He'd offered.
A few hours in and she was tired. Her thighs hurt from riding. A day in and she was exhausted.
Those bastards had taken what Kouga had fought for his entire life. Alpha. And he still wanted her to do this? Oh, she was going to do it alright. She was going to give them a piece of her mind and if they didn't like it, she prayed they jumped. She fucking hoped they did. The fact that she even cursed spoke volumes. She wasn't happy. At all.
"You don't look so happy, human." Reiko said, jarring her from her thoughts as he came to a jogging pace beside her.
"Don't talk to me." Kagome didn't bother to hide the ire in her voice.
"It'll be over before ya' know it. We've all been where you're going." He made it sound like a walk in the park. Among other things. She knew without a doubt that he was enjoying himself at her disklike. Why did he do that?
"I said don't talk to me." Kagome refused to look at him as she edged the wolf into a faster jog. She could see a few of the others far off in the distance, dust kicking up in their trails. A few of the larger wolves hung back with her, as did three other Pack members, a few pups and wolf cubs. She didn't mind the company. But she did mind Reiko. "Do you want me to shoot you with my arrows?"
Hakku choked on the other side of her.
"Ayame would be mad as hell if I let myself get killed. If I let myself get shot by one of those arrows, Ayame would bring me back just to kill me all over again. She's a feisty Mate."
"I didn't ask."
Where was Kouga? She was not having a conversation with this man.
The hair on the back of her neck rose and her senses pricked. "Demon." She sat up fully, gripping the wolves' fur with one hand to slow him.
"What?"
"I sense a Demon." Kagome looked around, ignoring Reiko when he lifted his hand and closed it into a fist, signaling a stop.
She wasn't familiar with the area, so she wasn't familiar with the range of Demons. She reached over her shoulder and pulled her bow, notching an arrow.
"What's wrong?" Kouga said from his sudden appearance at her side.
If he left her alone with Reiko one more time, she was going to shoot him with one of her arrows. "I sense a Demon."
"There's Demons everywhere in this forest, Kagome. I don't think any of them would be stupid enough to attack us."
Kouga had a point. There was a substantial amount of his Pack traveling with them.
She didn't care. "The Birds of Paradise attacked your Pack. You remember that?"
Kouga stiffened. "I remember."
That was uncalled for. Kagome realized that when she looked at his face. He hid it well, but she saw the reminder of sorrow and regret that flashed through his eyes. Why did she say that? "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"
Kouga whipped her off the wolf in a blur of speed and wind, his hands beneath her arms, efficiently cutting her off. Something heavy snapped, wood and underbrush, and then the Wolf she had been riding went careening to the side of the path in a tangle of black and brown fur. Bone crunched and then the Wolf gave a pained cry before hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
"Bear Demon." Kagome gasped. It had torn through the Wolfs side like razor blades, shredding through sinew and tissue clear to the bone. She'd been the target. She knew that instantly. She was the weak link. A pregnant female.
She'd show it weak. She drew bow and arrow. That was one of her Wolves.
"You're carrying my pup." Kouga snapped out and took the bow from her hands. "Let the others handle it."
"Listen to him, Kagome." Reiko wasn't going to argue. Kouga was right.
She'd had enough of Reiko. She was done with that Pack stealing bastard. He needed to mind his own business. He needed to go back to whatever pitiful Pack he'd come from. Kouga stopped her before she'd even turned her head. He gripped her chin between thumb and forefinger, keeping her face turned to his. "It has the rot, Kagome. It's decaying from the inside out. It spreads like a disease. Let. The. Others. Handle. It."
"Give me my bow back." Her brows snapped down.
"No. Let the others handle it." The few Pack members they had with could handle a Bear Demon. They'd been caught by surprise and the Rot would make things difficult, but they could handle one Bear Demon.
The most horrible, pitiful sound reached Kagome's ears. She jerked her chin out of his fingers as one of the wolf pups cried out, howling painfully. She watched the Bear Demon sling the small wolf between its jaws like a rag doll. It was a sickening sound.
The only thing that crossed her mind was that it was a child between those massive jaws. It was a child that had cried out. It didn't matter that all she saw was blood and fur slinging around wildly. It was still a pup.
A CHILD.
Dirt hissed up around them as Kouga was hit from the side, his back hitting the ground hard. Kouga brought his hands up, catching the Bear Demon with both hands around the snapping jaws. That and that alone was the only reason it didn't sink those sharp teeth into Kouga's jugular. It wasn't hard to miss the struggle. That was three-hundred pounds of Bear Demon that was furiously trying to chomp down on Kouga. Each growling snap twisted against Kouga's palms, drool rolling, trying to draw blood.
"Kouga!" Kagome reached behind her out of instinct, but came up empty, forgetting that he had taken the bow and arrows from her. Was that the same— No, she realized. There was no decay on the massive body.
He'd just attacked her Mate!
She drew her hands back and spiritual energy flared at her fingertips. Bow and arrow formed, bright pink light lines forming as she drew the arrow back. Before she could release the energy, she was skyward in a pair of male arms, the spiritual energy sparking out into nothing as trees blurred around her. Up. They were moving up.
"Let me go." Her skin crawled, nausea and heat hitting her all over. She pressed her hands against Reiko's chest, squirming in his arms. Her skin hurt where his arm was beneath her knees. It was a horrible feeling. Just like before.
"I'm sorry." Reiko bit out with an apology, but his hold on her didn't loosen. His thighs bunched and tightened, his knees bending before they jumped to another high thick branch. Again. Higher. The next tree.
"I can't—let me go. It hurts." Each jostling movement jerked her in his arms, her arm, her leg, the back of her knee, her cheek. Every touch was nauseating recoil. Reiko didn't answer, just grunted, looking down, running so fast along the branches that it was almost a blur. She realized why when she glanced down and saw black fur following, thick claws breaking through bark. Through the nauseating pain she realized that the Demon was chasing them through the tree line. She wouldn't be alive now if Reiko hadn't moved with such swiftness. She swallowed against the rising bile. Goosebumps rose on her skin.
Reiko muttered something beneath his breath, jumping skyward again and then they were jerked downward. The wind rushed up to meet them from the downward pull, her hair flying up around them. She looked down, saw them crashing through the tree line. The Demon had its hand wrapped around Reiko's ankle.
"Let go, mother fucker." Reiko grunted out and Kagome panicked when he moved his arm from around her knees. That was a long way down. Especially for a human. She slid, her body sliding straight but the arm around her back didn't move. He held her against him, reaching blindly over his head as each branch whipped across their skin like a stinging brand. He grabbed blindly. Something, anything to stop that fall into gaping jaws. He kicked at the Demons mouth repeatedly when one of the overhead branches held their weight—finally. "Get the fuck off me—"
Wood cracked and splintered and then snapped. Kagome's stomach jumped, seeing the ground approaching far too fast. Reiko slammed the heel of his foot in the Demons eye with a squelching sound, freeing them from the downward spiral. Just like that, his arm was beneath her knees again and then they were landing on the ground. Thank God, Kagome thought—
Reiko jumped backward with her in his arms, narrowly missing a wide swept swing of claws.
"It wants me." She was going to be sick, a mixture of both fear, anxiety and the nauseating disgust of being touched by anyone but Kouga. It wanted her. It wanted to rip the baby from her womb, and it was damn persistent in its want of a meal.
"No shit. Too bad." Panting sarcasm. She knew Reiko was at a disadvantage and it was because of her. The Demon had already charged them, and it had kept them cornered and moving the entire time. He couldn't fight without putting her down and she couldn't move fast enough on her own. If he would put her down she could shoot the bastard between the eyes –
Her eyes glanced off the ribs peeking through its side. Its bones were exposed and twisted, the exposed flesh black and molded. The saliva that poured from its mouth was gray. Rot. Decay. The other one had Kouga, then. Kouga.
"We have to go back. Kouga –" Kagome squirmed in his arms. THEY HAD TO.
Reik jumped to the side and backwards again. "-can handle himself." Rough bark came up against his back and he cursed beneath his breath as it gave slightly. It gave beneath his weight, and he stumbled backward into the partially hollowed interior. Dim light filtered through the opening, and he shuffled back as far as he could. There was nowhere else to go. Fuck. FUCK.
Kagome stumbled from his arms when he loosened his hold on her, instant relief filling her. He grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked her beside him. Bloodied claws swept through the air in the spot where she had been standing. They both turned their heads in unison to the side when the bear swept again, those claws coming dangerously close to skin. Another swipe. The Demon couldn't fit through the slim opening, but the bark was slowly chipping.
"Don't let it touch you." He snapped out, lashing out with a heavy kick to knock the Demons hand backward.
Fear was a tangible thing and Kagome flattened herself against the interior of the tree. There wasn't enough room to form a bow without putting her arms in distance of those claws. Another swipe had Reiko sucking in his breath to avoid being gutted.
They had nowhere to go, Kagome realized. They were both going to die here.
She was never going to hold her baby in her arms.
The Demon went flying backward. One moment he was there and the next, he simply wasn't. Her heart leapt in her throat at the sound of blood spewing and impaled flesh. She knew that sound. And just as suddenly, it all stopped.
"Kagome?" Kouga's rough voice called out.
"Kouga – " The ground opened up beneath hers and Reiko's feet, the soil and rotted wood giving beneath them. They both fell into the dark hole that opened.