Instinct

* * * * *
Instinct: Anticipation
* * * * *

They ran easily, with the endless stride of wild canines that run every day. He led. He’d earned that right by combat and, at least according to the complete confidence of the demon blood coursing through his veins, by birth. Alphas were princes and chieftains because they knew the blood in their bodies was inherently superior to any others’. He knew this, although a large part of him seethed with feelings that blocked the natural flow of such thoughts. He led the pack, but most of him just didn’t care about it. He cared about his half-hard cock and--

Inuyasha checked his stride and dodged into the undergrowth, leaving the wolf at his heels to stop short. Alphas didn’t naturally leave their packs floundering in confusion, but the slight crackle of dried leaves off to the side called his bloodlust out of control, and the white dog pursued what he heard without thought. Something small, something furry and with four feet that flailed on the forest floor as it picked up the sleek, gleeful rage slipping through the trees on its trail. The stupid animal turned and fled into the wind, and Inuyasha howled happily in pursuit.

The wind blew in his face, up over the tongue unfurling out of his mouth until he could nearly taste the rat’s terror. He slowed to draw out the chase, letting the small animal think it had a chance as it raced for its burrow. A hint of cornered anger added spice to the terror when the rat dove into hiding and turned to defend itself. Red-eyed and wild, the white dog demon danced to a halt before his tiny prey’s home, a simple hole under gnarled tree roots, and burst out laughing. *This? It thinks this will save its life? How pathetic!* The vermin hissed back. Inuyasha bent down, fangs already bared to the gums in a manic smile, and growled directly into the entrance, right in the rat’s whiskered face.

The rank smell of rat urine abruptly rose from the burrow. Terror overrode the anger, acrid and mindless, and he could hear the animal scrabbling desperately at the wood and dirt at the back of the shallow hole. White hair tossed as he threw back his head and laughed again at its helplessness. *Go ahead and dig! It won’t save you!*

A twig broke behind him, but even against the wind he’d already smelled the water-fresh scent of the wolf following him. Between his legs, his shaft stirred as lust pumped his heart faster. They weren’t half an hour from the river, and he needed to take the darker demon again? His hands flexed, and one nail pierced his palm. The pinprick of pain shot up his arm.

Bloodlust, demon bloodlust, flared his eyes bright crimson, fighting the instinct rising with half-conscious thought from the edges of his madness. *He’s fast, faster than this insignificant animal trying to hide. He won’t hide. He’ll run and run and then fight when I bring him down. Yes, bring him down with my claws through his chest, or maybe I could hamstring him and cripple the windstorm. Let him go to savor the hope in his eyes when he thinks I’m releasing him. Give him a headstart to limp for a new place to stand and fight, then force him out and cut the tendons behind his heels.* Half-turned to look over his shoulder at the wolf, Inuyasha had no idea that his aqua-colored pupils had dilated wide, almost as wide as the insane grin spread over his face. His tongue snaked out to run over his lips, anticipating the blood. *He wouldn’t give up, no, not him. He’d crawl if he couldn’t run, fight on his knees if he couldn’t stand. Yeah…pin him down and drink his fear while he screams and screams and screams--*

Inuyasha’s nose didn’t pick up the smell of a rabid animal because it came from his own skin, but the two other living creatures within striking distance were paralyzed by the sudden, sick flood of scent pouring off him. Kouga stood frozen against the tree he’d just jogged around, petrified like the small prey shivering under the mad dog’s feet. Being in the presence of a blood-crazed demon was frightening enough by scent and obvious intention, but the look on Inuyasha’s face reflected absolute joy. It was utterly wrong. Even the stripes on his cheeks seemed lit up with happiness that such entertainment had walked into his claws.

Kouga looked straight into his eyes and swallowed so hard his whole torso flinched. The wolf immediately dropped his gaze and head, and Inuyasha smirked, standing tall and triumphant above him. A subtle nagging started at the base of his mind, and the white dog’s smirk faltered.

Little more than a feeling, it whispered, *Mine.*

He shook his head, dog ears flattened into his hair. Of course the wolf was his. His prey, his wolf; his, to chase and bring down, struggling to strike back among slippery viscera as his fangs opened the soft stomach from navel to spine. A tender feast of entrails for the hunter..hunter? No, no, a killer, a force of nature, not a common hunter. Hunting was too tame a word for what his demon blood commanded. His hands clenched tighter. Blood trickled down his palm around his claws in trails of bright red and dripped from the knuckles.

The demon saw a trophy, broken and bleeding in his hands, but slowly, from deep within the demon, the dog seeped upward. *Mine.*

“Inuyasha?” his wolf murmured, and he noticed Kouga watching him from the corner of blue eyes. Not head-on in a challenge but in that oddly familiar way that he didn’t really recognize but did all the same. Blue demon eyes, blue wolf eyes that cautiously assessed him. Animal action met demon need, and the older, perhaps wiser instinct molded softly around Inuyasha like the bars of an ancient cage as the sable-haired demon tipped his head to one side, exposing one of the large veins in his throat.

The nagging whisper gained strength and purred, *Mine.* Demon blood burned, but not like this. This coiled down his spine as his hair shifted and shocked nerves stroked raw. Sensual and sensitive, it pulled at his lower belly softly and looped a collar around the transformed half-demon by drawing his attention to the erection now passing half-mast.

The collar tightened, but he resisted it, looking between the rat hole at his feet and the wolf standing so temptingly close. One slash…*He doesn’t need to be alive to satisfy me. Mmm. Actually, the blood would feel nice.* The smirk returned, glittering lazily in the sunlight piercing the leaves overhead. Kouga shifted nervously, and the scent of his wolf’s wariness filled his nose.

Another noose settled around him. The cage locked quietly shut as the scent of his beta triggered another instinct: the instinct of an alpha. *Protect.* Almost involuntarily, concern wriggled into the midst of his bloodlust, and he took a quick glance around. Nothing but trees and undergrowth met his eyes; for a moment, he wondered what could have upset the darker demon. How could he protect against what he couldn’t see?

The white demon snorted, abruptly amused at himself. Inuyasha wasn’t stupid, merely conflicted. The scene snapped into focus around him, and the layers of conscious and subconscious aligned and steadied once more.

*He’s Kouga, the wolf prince, an annoyance that I could easily take care of, and enjoy it. But I won’t for now, because--*

*He was the alpha, a rival male thrown down, and he’s to be protected and guided because he’s pack. Except he’s not, but I need him because--*

*He’s pliant under my hands, or pliant enough, and I want him, because--*

Because hidden in his heart laid the vague picture of a girl with black hair and wistful eyes, and underneath all his thoughts ran a constant stream of warning. *Stay away from Kagome. Keep her safe. Stay away.*

Focus returned to the transformed half-demon as it had to every generation of his kind, leashing demonic energies to a more…productive venue. The scent of a mad animal became overlaid with a familiar, oily musk. The clenched hands relaxed enough to bring claws out of flesh, and tensed muscles took on a different kind of tension.

Inuyasha eyed his wolf’s bared throat and looked down at the burrow at his feet. One long-clawed hand shot out, and Kouga controlled a wince when the tree splintered and crashed to the ground. Inuyasha leapt with elegant ease out of the way as the root system tore out from under his feet, and the rat squealed as its burrow was destroyed. The stupid vermin darted off into the nearest bush, and there was a surge in the bloodlust smell. The darker demon shifted his weight from foot to foot but stood his ground, and the source of the mixed scents smiled almost calmly at his courage.

Or maybe it was foolishness. A smarter man might have run from being an arm’s length from a red-eyed demon who stared at him so hungrily.

Then again, men weren’t wolves to trust their instincts.

Cruel claws reached out and caressed the exposed length of Kouga’s neck. They didn’t leave a single mark. The tanned demon’s eyes half-lidded as acceptance and resignation mingled on his face. “…Inuyasha?” he breathed.

He’d have preferred if the wolf hadn’t spoken. It called for words from him as well, and words were hard to find in his mind at the moment. If he could have thought about it rationally, Inuyasha would have known it was harder to speak today than it had been the day before, just as the musk swirling in a cloud of scent of his skin was denser today. The rut had peaked.

Bloodstained claws paused and wound a lock of damp, black hair around one finger, noting the tangles that dragged several other locks of hair forward, too. Inuyasha leaned close and inhaled deeply, his nose next to one pointed ear. His lungs filled with the smell of smoke and lightening, and an indefinable, stinging sweetness like the breeze before a summer storm. *Mine.*

One furry ear turned on his head, tracking the tiny bit of prey running frantically away. Anticipation made his mouth water. Sometimes, the wait made the end result all the better. Extending the chase added to the excitement.

He growled low enough that the wolf probably felt more than heard him, and Kouga’s hands rose hesitantly to press against his chest. The hands were calloused, with shorter claws than his own, and had no strength behind them. The darker demon’s wariness made him smirk again and nip at a twitching ear. *How far can I push you before you try to escape?* He leaned in against the hands that didn’t dare actively push him away and licked the wolf’s temple. The pulse beating under thin skin jumped, and he made a pleased, guttural sound and leaned a little heavier on Kouga’s hands. This was his right. He had fought and won the privileges of a prince. Testing the power he held lit a spark of mischief in him, and he aimed another nip at the wolf’s pointed ear.

A voice kicked him *Kagome, Kagome* somewhere beneath the surface and reined in his inclination to tease. Crimson eyes narrowed, and Inuyasha grimaced, drawing back quicker than he’d leaned in. He took a step away, then another. He wanted to tackle Kouga to the leaf-strewn forest floor and take him, so the pale demon blinked and looked off in the direction the rat had gone.

Images sped through his mind, and he found it hard to pin words on them. “Go back to the clearing,” he ordered hoarsely. His voice sounded like he’d forgotten how to use it, or like a true dog was attempting to speak.

He caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye, and the thick growl struggling in his voice became clearly audible. It spoke clearer than words, and he could hear the wolf stiffen, feel his gaze shift downward to the thick shaft begging him to pin the darker demon down and take him right now. ‘Possessive’ couldn’t begin to describe the feeling buzzing behind his forehead and under his claws. The spark of mischief flared in aqua eyes as it burned hotter into jealousy. He glared at the trees as if to guard his companion from them. The rut sizzled in his blood and came out his pores in oily sweat covering his skin in a bright sheen. His growl deepened as he bared fangs at the empty trees. The wolf was his, his prey, his mate, and he would take him.

Just…not yet. “Go back,” Inuyasha repeated. He forced his eyes closed, forced his hands to clench at his sides, because otherwise he would reach for the demon standing too near for his strained will. “Don’t run,” *If he tries to get away, I’ll gut him.* “but…run. Go.” The tendons of his neck stood out in stark relief as he took a breath and inhaled the lightening storm scent that jolted need from nose to cock. The eyes he opened were glazed with lust. “Now, wimp,” he ordered, already coiling to spring, and the cautious look on Kouga’s face melted into an astonished ‘oh’ of understanding.

The next second, the wolf demon vanished in a sudden crackle of dry leaves. One white-furred ear flipped forward to listen, but it seemed that the mangy cur had listened; while the footsteps fading into the distance were quick, the unnatural tornado of speed didn’t accompany them. Some of the tension left Inuyasha’s shoulders at that. His wolf wasn’t running away. He was returning to the den. Inuyasha could catch him easily.

*And I will.* If he’d been a cat demon, Inuyasha would have purred like he’d fallen into a vat of cream. He gulped a lungful of air and held it, closing his eyes and concentrating on the taste and smell trapped inside him, allowing it to summon memories. Blood pounded in his head as his lung ached for new air. White skin flushed crimson and slowly purpled. Blood vessels burst behind closed eyelids, but he smiled with gritted teeth because the throbbing felt so perfect when it reached his cock. His hips moved, thrusting blindly into nothing.

For a moment, the forest was silent. No wind. No breath. Not even a falling leaf. The oxygen-starved beating of his heart thundered inside his eardrums, but on the outside, all remained still. Bloodshot eyes, scarlet threaded through red, drifted gradually open and stared blindly at a frozen world. He held onto control with lust-weakened fingers and waited, breathless, to let go.

Off in the distance, a fleeing animal broke a twig.

Breath broke free in a wild howling as the dog demon picked up the chase.


* * * * *
End Part 15
* * * * *


This part was originally going to be longer, but A., I started to get bored, which might have resulted in delaying in posting anything for a few more months. Not a good choice, yeah? And B., writing from Inuyasha-the-demon’s thoughts is a little hard, too, so I may end up switching back to a different narration standpoint. Hmmm. C’mon, this part gave you two naked guys running through the woods. What more could you want?

Alright, so feedback (dementedangel@hotmail.com or reviews) keeps me interested in working on this story. I’m serious; they do. I get distracted very easily. I’m still looking for places to host this fic and related fanart, since DeviantArt banned two of the more graphic pictures directly from this story.