What was she doing here?
"Ayame." Kouga warned as he placed a hand on Kagome's shoulder and then stepped in front of her. He could smell the acrid scent of guilt and his inner Wolf snarled at the smell of his Mate in pain. What was Ayame doing here? He turned his head and looked accusingly at Hakku and Ginta and they fidgeted nervously.
He had all but forgotten Ayame, in all honesty. Now that he remembered he had the gut feeling that things weren't going to be nearly as easy as he had thought.
"That's enough." Kouga warned Ayame in a low tone.
Ayame actually shifted and looked at him. "Is it, Kouga? When will it be enough? She cost you your position. She took your linage. She even took a pure blood line from you. And now your child will live the same life as Inuyasha—"
"Our child will never know a life without love." Kagome said from behind him, surprising even him. Kouga looked down at the delicate hand that was pressing against his ribcage. Kagome moved out from behind him.
Kagome's heart clenched with every word that Ayame spoke, every mental image that her tone conjured. Their child would be alone, just like Inuyasha had. Never, she swore. She was shocked to see Ayame here and from the animosity in her eyes, any hopes of friendship died. They had never crossed the line to be friends in the first place, but Kagome had always tried. The closest they had ever been was in agreement over Naraku's demise.
Ayame understood Kouga in a way that she never would. Ayame was a wolf—she was Pack in all the ways that it mattered. She understood the rules of their society. So in a way, Kagome understood Ayame's anger. Kagome was the reason that Kouga had lost his position in the back and not even Kagome would deny that about herself.
We're not done discussing that, by the way, buddy.
Kouga had broken laws for her.
But how dare Ayame say their child would grow up unloved? How dare she bring up Inuyasha when he was already hurting enough? How dare she insult Kouga by insulting her?
So much for a happy reunion.
Kagome wasn't even aware of the children being ushered into the hut until they were already gone. Sango wasn't too happy with the sudden tension. Neither was Kagome.
"I know what I cost Kouga." Kagome said then. "And I hate myself for it. If I could go back and change things, I would." Kagome placed a hand on her stomach. "But I wouldn't change this."
Kouga's fingers tightened around her elbow.
"You think you understand us, but you don't."
Ayame despised her. Kagome didn't have to sense it to know it. She almost pitied the female Demon because she was jealous and hurting in her own way. She may pine after Kouga, but she was also hurting for the things that he had lost.
"You're right, I don't. But I'm trying to." She had to because this child was from humanity and Demon society. He would be raised with Kagome's kind nature and Kouga's warrior instincts. "But don't you dare say I could never be faithful to Kouga."
Kouga could feel his inner Wolf give a silent rumble of approval, even as he started to pull Kagome back a step. He nodded his head towards Hakku and Ginta. Kagome shook him off.
"And don't you dare say I was never faithful to Inuyasha."
Ayame gave her a once over, as if daring her to say otherwise when she was obviously pregnant with a wolf cub.
"I don't know much about Wolf Demons, but you don't know much about humans, either." Kagome had given everything to Inuyasha. Even when she knew he couldn't give her what she wanted—what she needed—she had still given him everything. Fucking everything. What had happened between her and Kouga had been before and after, never in between. And she was tired of everyone throwing the blame around.
Everyone was to blame. Her, Inuyasha and Kouga.
"Stop, Kagome." Kouga murmured. He could feel the tension rising between the two females. He didn't want anything past tension to rise.
Kagome shook her head and ignored Kouga's hand. She lifted her chin, her dark eyes meeting Ayame's green ones.
"Don't challenge me, human."
Kouga tensed.
"And if I do?"
"That's enough, Ayame." A heavy male hand dropped to Ayame's shoulder from behind and Kagome looked up to the shadow suddenly hovering over Ayame. Ayame was obediently quiet, even if her eyes said otherwise. Kagome's expression tightened.
Reiko.
Kouga's Alpha.
What the fuck was he doing here?
"What are you doing here?" Kagome bit out before Kouga could stop her.
"He's Pack, Kagome." Kouga muttered and tugged her against his side, not really giving her a choice in the matter this time. He wrapped an arm around her waist before she did something stupid. Like try to attack his Alpha again. He was silently warning her to keep her mouth shut.
Reiko stared down at the two or more importantly, Kagome. His eyes dropped down to her abdomen. He grinned. He had seen her once, though fleetingly; given he had knocked Kouga across the field he hadn't really paid too much attention to Kagome.
Kagome bristled at the canine baring grin and Kouga took her hand, squeezing it in warning.
"You smell like him." Reiko felt the need to point out.
Why did he feel the need to point that out?
"I would." Kagome bit out. Oh, she knew what he meant. It had nothing to do with the baby. What he meant was that she smelled like Kouga. Her body still carried his scent after a night spent together.
"I didn't know he was gonna be here, Kagome." Kouga muttered. Really, he hadn't. He didn't have to be here. He was here for the sole purpose of being a pain in the ass.
"If I didn't know better, I would say you were challenging one of my Wolves." Reiko said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"And if you know what's good for you—" Kagome never even finished her sentence. Kouga clamped his palm over her mouth. Kagome's eyes narrowed when Reiko burst out laughing.
"You ARE Pack." Reiko squeezed out. "I respect your woman, Kouga. She's challenging me."
If looks could kill, Reiko would be dead. She curled her fingers over Kouga's and then tugged Kouga's hand down to where his arm hung limply around her neck. She was done.
"I loved Inuyasha." Kagome said and felt Kouga tense behind her. "But he was never my mate." Inuyasha had been her first love and she didn't think that the Wolf Demon's would quiet understand that sentiment. "Human's don't mate like Demons. And Inuyasha is half human. No, I don't understand the concept of Wolves mate for life, but I do get it." Inuyasha was her first love. There was no escaping that. She forgave herself and she forgave him. It wasn't their fault. She wasn't going to humiliate Inuyasha by giving away his darkest, heart wrenching secret. But she would give this. "Human's fall apart—and we fell apart."
It hurt to say that, but it also felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She would cherish Inuyasha's friendship forever, but that childish love was gone. She believed that everyone had a soulmate. Inuyasha just wasn't hers. But she was beginning to wonder...or realize...
"Wolves Mate for life. Do you know what that means?" Kouga's Alpha asked thoughtfully.
"I just said I didn't."
Reiko's lips twitched. Was he trying to piss her off even more? "It means...there's no going back with Kouga if you do Mate. You're obviously not Mated, even if you smell like it."
Kagome's face turned pink and Kouga growled.
"Wolves don't fall apart. It's forever or nothing." The bastard continued as if he hadn't ever stopped. "You're his whether you want to be or not, if you make that decision." He paused. "We take what we want. You learn to accept it. You may be human, or whatever you are..."
"Reiko." Kouga growled out. 'Whatever you are', Kouga thought. Keep on insulting her. I'm going to knock you on your ass.
"...you may be human, but you would live for as long as Kouga did."
"I know." Kagome bit out.
"You do, huh? And do you love the Wolf that is waiting to tear into me right now, little girl? Because he's looking blood thirsty right now."
Kagome swore all eyes wore on them. But she couldn't answer him. She felt a little flabbergasted at that question. All Reiko was doing was pissing her off. But Kagome was realizing that maybe she did lo...
"I thought so." Reiko said when she didn't answer. Let the others make of that answer what they would. "And the thing that I think you're not understanding is, there's a difference between love and Mating." Reiko drawled for all the world to hear, it seemed. "Mating is for life, little girl. There's fascination and obsession, there's want and need...but then there's Mating. It's not hard to confuse them. But when you realize..." Reiko leaned in close and tapped his own nose. "We know our Mate by scent alone."
"You reek." Kagome taunted and Kouga nearly groaned.
"Tell that to Ayame." Reiko said as he straightened.
Kouga jerked his gaze up to the bastard, his eyebrows snapping down. What?
Ayame suddenly looked twice as pissed.
Reiko grinned again. "She's just angry that I kept her up all night."
Kouga jerked his gaze to Ayame. Hell no she wouldn't. Reiko was an asshole. But Kouga sniffed the air, searching through each scent until he found hers. She smelled like herself. But different. He smelled her. He smelled Reiko. He smelled their combined scents and something new altogether that only the two of them carried in unison. It was unique to only the two of them. Both she and Reiko shared the same scent.
Kouga's mouth dropped open, dumb founded. Reiko and Ayame were Mated. Which made Ayame his Luna. Kouga groaned and dropped his forehead against the back of Kagome's head. What the fuck?
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