InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Price of Vengeance ❯ Chapter Twenty-Nine: Alpha ( Chapter 30 )

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Rumiko Takahashi's characters or stories. This story is for private entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: A bit of dark imagery, some language, and lime (sorta) to this chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Nine (Alpha)

Koga had spent his anger on the forest, pummeling his way through with his powerful fists, inwardly ranting about that stupid witch even as his hands smacked down trees and knocked large holes into the ground. The violence relaxed him, and he regarded his abraded knuckles with some satisfaction as he sauntered back toward the caverns.

Night had long since purpled the skies above him, and he growled his way past the outstanding guards he had posted around the perimeter of their lands. No one would dare fall asleep tonight---they knew he was way too keyed up and testy. He had no patience for incompetence when he was in a fairly jovial mood, he definitely wouldn't put up with it when he was still on edge.

He had fought his way to the alpha position of the pack, defeating many wolf-brothers to claim leadership, and WITHOUT the use of Jewel shards! He was strong enough without them, but with them he was unbeatable. He had to thump a few heads together from time to time to remind his pack of that fact, but they were a rough crew who needed shaking up.

Most wolves didn't think much beyond their next meal or where they would put their shaggy heads to sleep, but Koga knew that there was more to living than just beating up the locals and chasing down food. He was made more for action than strategy, but he wasn't one to waste an opportunity.

And that damn bitch of Naraku's might give him the chance to finally track down that elusive foul hanyou and kill him.

And then he would kill her.

The blood-debt of his brothers demanded no less.

He passed by Ginta, miserably guarding the manure trench, and scowled at the grey-haired wolf-brother. One of Ginta's two wolves whined, and rolled over on his belly in submission. The other ducked behind Ginta, tail between its legs. Koga let out a huff of impatience but stopped to allow the two wolves to come forward and lick his hands. He stared at Ginta coldly.

"I'm sorry, Koga." Ginta mumbled miserably, ducking his head.

Koga let out a long, impatient sigh. He hated it when his pack members acted all groveling and whiney, like omega dogs. They were youkai, after all.

"Forgiven." He growled.

A sudden smile broke through Ginta's clouds. "Really? Thanks, Koga! I couldn't just see you hurting poor Lady Yura, you know!"

Koga scowled. He wasn't going to forgive the impetuous whelp THAT much!

Ginta ducked behind his spear, but he still smiled hopefully.

Koga relented, and gave him a good back-slap to show he was forgiven---for now. Ginta nearly fell over from the powerful swing, and his wolves turned their drooling attentions on him, making the young whelp laugh as he avoided their attack.

Koga shook his head at their antics, and walked away.

*Puppy.*

He nodded sharply to the wolf-brothers guarding the entrance to their caverns, and spent a moment with the yipping wolves that always welcomed his arrival back in the caves with excited posturing and ecstatic body shakes. He growled a stop when one bushy tail too many whacked him in the face. The wolves immediately left him alone, knowing which growls meant business.

He stalked further into the caves, nodding sharply to a few sleepy greetings. Most of the torches brought into the caves at night were snuffed out, but a few were still burning to light the way. Not that any wolf youkai needed much help seeing in the dark. But they made the dry caverns seem a bit more civilized. They weren't just a wolf pack hiding in a den. They were youkai.

It was an important difference.

He made straight for his sleeping furs, and scowled at the woman who was already slumbering in a huddled collapse on the far left side. He had his doubts about that stupid witch, but he didn't trust her with anybody else. He gave her white form a look of loathing before turning his back and stretching, making a bone pop in one shoulder. He chose the furthest edge away from the cursed youkai witch and flopped down.

Closing his eyes, he allowed a small smile to curve his lips, thinking of the last woman who had been held captive on his sleeping furs.

*Kagome...*

What a sweet little morsel she was, even if she was a mere human. The girl was beautiful, and strong, and loyal. Loyalty was regarded highly by the wolf demon tribes. Loyalty was what kept their packs together. That, and a few hearty fists to keep the young bloods in line.

Koga raised his arms to cross them behind his head to use as a pillow. His thoughts dwelled on the many charms of his woman. Kagome would see it his way one day. Just as soon as he killed off that annoying baboon and that even more annoying half-dog she kept tagging after, she would be his...

A small sound disturbed his enjoyable contemplations of the future, and Koga roused out of them with an angry growl. Blue eyes opened, and he glanced sharply to the left, where the sound was repeated.

*What?!*

The stupid witch was twitching in her sleep, and curling into herself.

Koga rolled his eyes and closed them again, deliberately ignoring her.

Another whimper had him growling again.

*What the hell is it now? Can't that damn bitch leave me alone for just one minute?!*

He scowled over at her, but his eyes widened when she jerked into a ball and moaned softly.

*DAMN IT!*

He was on his feet and stalking over to her, angry and scowling over her stupid interruption of his precious Kagome reflections. Hideki was suddenly there beside him, his gnarled features pulled into a frown. Koga glared at the aged healer, who ignored him to kneel by the wind youkai's side.

"Nightmares, again." A calloused hand, claws greened with the plants Hideki was always mashing up into foul concoctions, was placed gently on one shoulder.

"Nooo..." The moan was whisper soft, and both of Koga's thick black brows went up.

"Here, now, girl." Hideki shook her gently. "Wake up, now. It's just another nightmare."

*Nightmare?*

"Stop...please, stop..." The damn witch was actually shying away from the old healer, and shaking like a leaf. Koga watched her with suspicious incredulity.

"Come, girl. Wake up, now." Both hands were now pulling at the youkai, trying to keep her from curling back up into a ball. Black lashes fluttered against pale cheeks drained of color. A dark scar, running across one cheek, gleamed like purple blood. Koga's eyes fastened on that scar with sudden attention.

*Must have been deep.* One part of his mind said idly, even as another scoffed and demanded to know why he should even care. The bitch probably deserved it.

Eyes opened suddenly, and the red pools were full of stark terror before they blinked away the grip of whatever nightmare haunted her. Koga watched her intently, sensing something that might be beyond his current understanding.

"Come, girl. You are all right. You are safe. Don't worry now." Hideki was soothing her like a lost pup.

"I..." The witch was only conscious of Hideki, she didn't acknowledge or was unaware of Koga's presence. "I'm sorry." She said softly.

Was that actually a wet tear in her eye? Nah, must be the flicker of torch-flames.

"No need, girl. No need." Hideki was actually patting her. "Was it the same?"

The wind youkai let out a shuddering breath that seemed to come up from the bottom of her soul. "Y-Yes." She said, and looked down at her clasped hands, the rope tying them tight together. She suddenly shied, and looked up at Koga staring at her.

Nervousness banished, and the red eyes flashed at him.

"Enjoying yourself?" She sneered.

Koga stiffened. His first instinct was to shake that sneer off her face. How dare she...

But then he paused, a thought breaking into his angry reaction. He had already seen how the wind witch could twist her fear into a sneering defense. It was just her way of not wanting to feel helpless. By pressing his buttons, she hoped to invoke his rage and make him leave her alone---like she had done earlier. Somehow she sensed that he wouldn't actually hurt a woman, well...deliberately.

Now that he was on to her rather petty tactics, Koga relaxed and gave her a wolfish grin.

Kagura stared a moment, and then dropped her eyes.

*Ha!*

Hideki made a small noise in the back of his throat, and he actually sent Koga a dark look. Koga just raised his brows again, suddenly filled with a faint sense of smug amusement.

Hideki deliberately turned his back---the old Crack-Tooth---and drew out a very familiar-looking wooden cylinder. The old fart called it his "numbing juice", and the stuff had enough alcohol poisoning in it to lay a strong youkai low for a week...well, maybe for a few hours. Whatever the old wolf used to make up the rest of his vile draught was enough to make that same strong youkai want to retch with the stench of it. Hideki took whatever opportunity he could to press his famous "juice" on whatever wounded party he could, and Koga didn't envy the witch what was in store for her. Hideki never took "no" for an answer.

Although the damn stuff did do its work.

The wind youkai's nose twitched when Hideki uncorked the vile stuff, and even Koga made a face at the distinctive stench that rose to infest his own sharp senses. He wondered idly if the old fart used some of his reeking stinkweed in the potion.

"Come now, girl. You need this stuff to take your mind off the nightmares. You need your rest---uninterrupted rest." A dark glance sent his way had Koga stiffen again, and he scowled.

The witch made a face that would have been comical if Koga was in any mood to laugh, but she allowed Hideki to pour her a liberal amount in a mug he retrieved from his furry robes. That youkai could hide more crap in his furs than should have been physically possible.

The face got worse as the woman drank the stuff, but she obediently swallowed the whole draft. Hideki gave her some approving noises like a mother wolf encouraging its pups, and patted her shoulder again.

"You should be asleep in no time." Hideki said, standing up. Old bones creaked, and Koga's returning amusement was met with a black-eyed glare. The old wolf stooped down to pat the wind youkai's shoulder once more, and adjusted her to lie down, this time facing not the wall, but toward the center of the furs. Red eyes closed, although her body remained stiffly tensed, and she brought her tied wrists up to lay beside her white face with its purple scar.

Hideki paused beside Koga, and glared. "You could at least untie her hands. She's not going anywhere soon, and she's suffered enough." His hoarse whisper grated on Koga's nerves.

"Has she?" He asked just for the hell of it.

Hideki gave him a dark scowl. "It's easy to be brave when your prey is all trussed up and helpless, isn't it."

Koga growled, his light blue eyes narrowing at the old wolf's nerve. Hideki just gave him an old fart's shrug and limped away. Koga fumed, but stalked over to the wind youkai and knelt down on his haunches.

Red eyes opened. "What do you want?" She hissed at him.

Koga scowled, but didn't answer. He merely grabbed her wrists, ignored her feeble attempt to jerk her hands out of his, and used his razor-sharp claws to cut through the rope. Her hands spasmed as the blood rushed to the fingers, and he dropped them with indifference. She was still his enemy.

Her eyes had widened as he cut the rope, and she shied away from him, her hands quivering with returning feeling.

"Why?" She whispered hoarsely. Her red eyes were already clouding from Hideki's powerful potion, and she would soon be fading away under its influence.

Koga sneered, he didn't have to explain himself to anyone, least of all HER.

She blinked, fighting the pull of Hideki's "numbing juice". The flash of her futile struggle was almost comical, and he gave her a wolfish grin.

"Do you plan to use me now, while I lay helpless?" She spat at him, eyes blinking back the glaze.

*WHAT?!*

Koga stiffened in outrage. Faint streaks of red stained his own light blue eyes, and he growled fiercely. "What the hell do you take me for! What kind of sick bastard do you think I am!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook his frustration and rage out on her limp frame.

"Stupid witch! Do you think your charms are so great that I would take you---or any woman---unwilling!" He shouted right in her face, rage suffusing him.

She blinked once in surprise, and then slumped in his steeled grip.

Koga jerked as she sagged away from him.

The juice had finally won the battle.

Growling, he carefully laid her back down on the sleeping furs. Standing up, one powerful fist struck the palm of his other hand, staring at her with broiling rage.

*What kind of sick freak does she take me for! She's twisted!*

Or been twisted...

Snarling, he turned away, his stomping steps quickening into a run as he hit the entrance. Wolves whined at him, and one of the brothers barked a question, but Koga ignored them. The damn witch had succeeded in sending him over the edge, and he needed to run off his anger, and NOW.

Without a backward glance, he sped from the caverns, his Jewel-enhanced legs picking up speed until the dust whirled furiously behind him.

*~*~*~*~*

He sniffed the air, suddenly tensing. The rain magnified the smells around him, and he detected the hint of something more.

Blood...

He sprang to the top of the purple demon's dead shoulder. Crouching, he scanned the destruction around him. Thunder rumbled, and his own blood surged with it. He desired more...much more. And the smell of it...fresh...untainted...was close.

Very close.

Lightening flashed again, and his glowing eyes focused on them.

Goshinki's hand---the first one he had severed---was lying to one side, a body clutched in the claws. Kneeling beside the body was a dark form. Even in the blinding white light, the slight form appeared black as night. Black hair on black armor.

Something tugged at his mind...he knew her...

The blood call rose up and swallowed the faint wisp of recognition.

There was blood on her, fresh blood, new blood. Still flowing.

Blood...

Enemy?

No...

Prey.

He growled, the desire for blood singing along his senses.

HER.

His claws extended, and he grabbed her up as leapt past, his hands gripping her struggling body close. She let out a raging scream that made his ears flatten, and he growled. A white face glanced over her shoulder, back up at him, and she relaxed.

"InuYasha..."

The name was breathed back to him, and he growled in answer. That name meant little to him. His eyes glowed red, he could smell the pulse of life running through her, the hint of fresh sorrow warring with the scent of her womanhood.

Her own eyes, black in the whiteness of her face, widened as she took in his altered countenance, and she tensed.

"You're not him!" She cried at him.

His growl deepened.

"No!" She struggled, and his claws dug. His leap was taking them further into the forest.

"Let me go!" She cried, and twisted. He heard a small ripping sound, of fabric tearing, and then something sharp sliced along his arm. He let go with a surprised roar of pain.

Blood...

HIS blood...

The girl was twisting in his other claw, trying to win free. His hold tightened, and he snarled at her. His body curved around hers, and they plummeted back down to the earth. Somehow, deep down, he sensed her frailty, and used his own body to cover hers as they landed awkwardly, his balance shifting until they were rolling over. His wounded arm, where she had cut him, was forgotten in the blood lust, and he grabbed her other shoulder, sharpened claws digging but not piercing through her armor.

With a tumble of legs and arms, they rolled to a stop in the churned mud, the rain falling harder around them. He ignored it, the fever in his blood filling his mind.

"InuYasha! No!" The girl was writhing under him. He curled around her, growling, his red eyes seeking.

Blood...

He used the weight of his body to hold her still. She bucked under him, but her strength was no match for his. One clawed hand slid down her right arm, grasping her wounded wrist.

Blood...

The girl stiffened as he brought the wrist up to his mouth, his nose sniffing for the opened wound. He turned her hand over, so that the palm, wrapped in black and pink cloth, faced him. With a snarl of impatience, he used his fangs to rip the fabric away.

The girl let out a soft cry as his fangs scraped her skin, and then she jerked when he found the wound and licked it.

Blood!

It sang to him...desire heated along his senses...

He sensed that she was weak...she would die easily...he was careful, taking only a little, although he wanted more...much more.

The girl struggled, and he felt something pierce his side. Snarling, he tore himself away from her intoxicating wrist, and used his other hand to claw away the hidden blade she had released earlier from her other arm. He threw the knife away, heedless of the bleeding wounds it left on his palm as he wrenched it away from her.

He held her flat against the ground, a growl heating him. Dark eyes flashed, and she heaved. He could feel her deep breaths, and her strong heart...the beat called him...the blood singing...he could smell fear on her, but fear that was far less than even Goshinki's...

She should fear him...

Her lips parted, and she clenched her weak, fang-less teeth. She hissed defiance at him as she struggled.

Defiance...

Intolerable. He was youkai. Inu.

Alpha.

The urge filled him...to subdue...dominate...overcome...defeat...

His glowing eyes riveted to her bitten lips, where a fleck of blood beaded in a dark drop as lightening flashed again, highlighting her pale face.

Blood...

His head bent, his tongue snaking over his fangs as the call surged in him...

He froze, attention suddenly caught.

Danger.

His head turned, eyes glowing coals.

THERE.

He was up and away, somersaulting away from her to face his new enemy with an angry snarl.

Taiyoukai!

************

A/N: A cliffie! Bra-ha-ha-ha! The next chappie is being written now, so don't worry too much! A few notes to divert the attention: Thanks go to Wicca and Akuma for some awesome idea-threads you jump-started for me. Fyyrrose, I want my InuYasha and Naraku back! MINE! (Although I can quite accommodate myself with Sessy...hentai grin). There have been a few problems with my mailing list, and some of the email addresses are coming back un-sent. I will only put down the first names, but please email me with new/correct addresses if I have the wrong spelling down at Inufanasha@aol.com Reviews, comments, flames, ideas, or just ha-ha's can be sent to that address as well, and I will respond to all! If any other people want to be added to the mailing list for updates, let me know!

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