Instinct

*****
Instinct: Losing Control
*****

The scent was faint at first, but it disturbed Kouga the second it reached his nose. It wasn’t common enough for him to identify easily, and he almost pulled up to sort it out. But he knew Kagome was ahead somewhere, so he didn’t do more than check his stride for a heartbeat before continuing. He had more important things to do this evening, one captivating woman whose scent had pulled him away from his resting pack.

Her rich scent whirled up from the trail he followed to swirl around his miniature tornado. He was racing too fast to risk closing his eyes, but he did tilt back his head to fill his nose with her unique smell. Why was it every human he’d met before her smelled of that revolting, unwashed human stink, but she always smelled so sweet? It couldn’t just be that she bathed far more often than most humans he’d known. There were odors on her skin and hair that he’d never encountered before, and it made him want to sniff her all over until his curiosity was satisfied. The day would come, and soon, when he wouldn’t be limited to chasing the fascinating woman down when he crossed her path. He’d bring her with him, make her his mate in truth, wake up to that smooth, exotic scent. One day soon when Naraku had been dealt with and he didn’t have to leave Kagome with the halfbreed because she couldn’t keep up with his speed. It would be good. He was looking forward to it.

With a guilty pang, he decided not to mention that he was looking forward to it in part because claiming Kagome would mean killing Inuyasha. No matter how truthful an admission it was, he knew better than to break the romance of sweeping his woman away. Kagome had a thing for romance, he’d discovered. He’d been trying lately to learn from the filthy human villages what exactly “courting” was, since she protested his declaration of their engagement so vehemently. Apparently she wanted to be wooed first, which was kind of difficult in the middle of hunting down Naraku and the Shikon shards, but he’d make sure she knew he was coming back for her, not for the final fight with Inuyasha.

Which he was, of course. Honest.

…hell, who was he fooling? Sure he wanted his woman, but he’d had it up to his ponytail with that piece of dogcrap’s attitude. *Grab Kagome, rub it in the pup’s face, kill him; sounds like a great day.*

*What the fuck is that smell? Heck with it, Kagome can wait a few minutes.* The whirlwind dissipated, kicking up a cloud of dust as his heels skidded to a stop. He turned in a circle, sniffing suspiciously at the odd musk. It was a heavy odor, kind of oily, and he felt like he should recognize it. *Huh? That’s…that’s the puppy.* Nostrils flared, he stared in the direction the scent was strongest and scowled. *No…yes. Sort of. Weird how he doesn’t really stink of human like usual. He’s got that musk, though. Wonder how he managed that trick?* He shrugged, answering his own question. *Don’t know, don’t care. A halfbreed’s still only half demon, no matter what he stinks more or less of. More importantly, what the hell’s his scent doing out here? I don’t smell any of the others of his pack.*

His instincts rose and subsided like goosebumps down his forearms, and the unease made him pause. Apparently the change meant more to his subconscious than he cared to admit. *Whatever. It’s just dog crap. Of course I’m worked up! Don’t want to step in it, after all.* Jogging slowly after the scent, he sniffed busily. It was odd that the musk scent was so strong over Inuyasha’s normal reek, but it was stronger overall than he thought was normal.

The trail abruptly split around a tree and rejoined on the other side, and he shook his head. “The hell?” No wonder the scent was so strong; the mutt had tramped along the route a few times, but his scent was so fresh the dog had to have been running. Head lowered, Kouga trotted, eyes seeking--ah, there. A single footprint among the bracken, and he crouched by it. Squinting ahead, he spotted the next and leapt forward.

He glanced back when he landed, judging the distance. *Yup, he was running. Pretty fast for just a hunt, but he’s by himself. Why would he run through here more than once?* The strange musk was clogging his nose, and he snorted it clear. It came back as he jogged in the dog’s footsteps, and it was familiar. But he couldn’t quite place it…

He couldn’t shake the idea that this was somehow more important than visiting Kagome, either. He’d never admit it, but for the most part he approved of Inuyasha’s obsessive protectiveness of the girl. Considering the dangers facing this specific woman, having a guardian that was part demon was better than anything he could provide for her right now. What could have taken the mutt away from her? *Right, so I’ll find out what’s going on with the puppy.* He grinned and cracked his knuckles. *And without Kagome there to protect her precious doggy, he’s fair game.* Eh, he’d find another bodyguard.

His strides lengthened. The scent permeated the trail so strongly he didn’t have to go slowly. Besides, the constant warning buzz from his instincts set him on edge, and that translated into nervous energy and defiance of that anxiety. He didn’t have to be wary of dog crap. Although he should know that odd scent. It had something to do with the scant traces of human in Inuyasha’s trail, and he was sure he had encountered it somewhere before. He just…couldn’t remember.

The wind shifted right then, and Kouga grinned. The reek was heavy enough that the mutt had to be close. Now, should he make his usual whirlwind approach, or ambush the sucker? The wind shifted again, but he was still downwind from where he thought the general location of the pup was. The grin on his face showed his fangs as he slowed, and he chortled quietly to himself. Sneaking it was. He had the wind to his advantage, and it would be a shame to waste it. He could see a glimpse of open sky through the trees up ahead, dimming dark blue as the sun moved into the west, so the dog was probably in a clearing.

Blue pupils narrowed and dilated with his excitement as he stalked through the underbrush, dry leaves barely crackling under bare feet. He was the hunter, bronzed skin, brown furs, and battered armor blending into the trees and brush. When a bird chirruped, he disappeared just by stopping dead, his swaying tail the only thing that gave him away. This was his element. The trees seemed to part their branches naturally for him, and his nose twitched, bringing him the scent of musk, sweat, dog demon, and fire rat fur. His fangs clicked together, grin tilting into something more vicious. The scent was still, with no noise of motion. Maybe the half demon had tired himself out. It would be fun to surprise the pup from a sound sleep.

He eased forward with practiced silence, muscles shifting a fiber at a time, and one hand lifted to move one last branch out of his way. A clearing was revealed to him, lit by the last glow of the setting sun and full of long grass that rippled gently as the wind blew over it. His sensitive eyes immediately zeroed in on the pile of red half-hidden in the shadows beneath the trees and grass. It didn’t move. Another deep breath brought a grimace to Kouga’s face; the scent of sex filled the clearing, but it was obvious that the mutt was here alone. Was this how Inuyasha handled his lust for Kagome?

The grimace melted into a sheepish smirk. *Okay, so I’m not much better in that respect.* The smirk quirked into an eager snarl. *Well, I’ve got another solution for dog crap’s little “problem.” A permanent solution.*

He stepped into the clearing and caught a pungent whiff of semen and musk. Damn. Whatever that familiar musk was, it was still there. He didn’t even try to disguise his footsteps as he cross the meadow, and he put as much cockiness into his voice as there was in his stride. “Hey, dog crap! You finally learn to leave my woman alone?” The red shadow didn’t move. “I’m talking to you!” he sing-songed arrogantly, then scowled, noticing that the tree itself stank of his rival’s seed. It was distracting as well as annoying, and he sidestepped so he wasn’t directly downwind. That brought his gaze to something previously obscured by leaves.

A wide smile stretched across the wolf’s face. “Hell, this fight might actually be worth the time. Did you finally figure out how much of a moron you look like swinging that sword around?” The taunt didn’t have any effect on the red figure huddled in the grass, and his lips turned down. *I didn’t smell any blood…* He took a cautious step closer, inhaling again. The sword stuck into the tree trunk tempted him to grab it and run--that would provoke a response!--but it also made him suspicious. He’d never seen the dog let it from his grasp before, and somehow he didn’t think that sleeping would make a difference.

It was the smell that confirmed his suspicions, however nebulous they were. There was a tiny scent of blood, but nothing significant. The mystery scent still evaded definition, but when he dug down deeper into Inuyasha’s scent…*Fire rat fur, that’s his clothes…sweat, lots of sweat. He must have really been running flat out…what the fuck? How many times did he jerk off, here?! Tree’s gonna have his kid at this rate…and why the hell can’t I smell anything human?* He leaned in, nose twitching. *No, why can’t I smell..?*

Kouga jumped forward, landing on top of--

“Shit!”

Red clothing. Just clothing. There was no enraged yelling, no fight, no dog demon, halfbreed or otherwise; there was only a small pile of torn fire rat fur and a sword jammed into a tree. He immediately spun around, mentally slapping himself upside the head as blue eyes tried to pierce the gathering night. He’d half-expected Inuyasha to be behind him, snickering over his ploy, but the meadow seemed empty.

*I will thank each of my lucky stars individually and by name if he didn’t see me make an idiot of myself,* he promised, continuing to search the waves of tall grass and shadows under the surrounding trees with his eyes. *I can’t believe I did that.* It was a good trick, a risky trick, but a trick nonetheless. He’d never have guessed Inuyasha would dare set a trap like this for him. Inuyasha had left everything--everything, including his sword!--that Kouga associated with him behind, and the smell was enough to convince anyone brash enough not to check that it was the half-demon sitting there. *Anyone like me. Dammit, Ginta was right. I am overconfident.*

The meadow was dog-free, and he sighed, relaxing a bit. Somewhere out there was a halfbreed laughing at the success of his trick, but as long as he wasn’t here to witness it, Kouga could deal with that. *But I will take his sword for my troubles,* he decided, and reached out to do just that.

A chill raced up his back, and his outstretched hand froze in response. Instinct said not to, so he didn’t. Instinct said to sniff, so he did. And once instinct had his attention, it dug up some memories to shove to the forefront of his mind. Scent was, after all, one of the strongest memories, especially with wolves, and that oily musk in the mutt’s scent had finally rooted out where he remembered it from.

A blurry memory of his father sitting in their lair, staring fixedly at the she-demon across the fire from him. She turned to smile down at him, Kouga, the child. He felt baby fangs peep over his bottom lip as he smiled back at his mother, but a possessive growl rumbled through the air, and his smile disappeared into confusion. Her smile took on a resigned tint. His tiny nose lifted curiously, trying to figure out what had changed in the air, and when it was found--*I hid. I hid beneath my furs like a mouse cowering in its hole when a predator walks by. Even if I wasn’t a threat to Father’s claim, he was too far gone to care.*

Back in the present, he dropped to one knee, grabbing a scrap of red and holding it under his nose. Even without the flesh of its owner underneath, it still smelled of demon and, “Rut.” The fire rat fur drifted to the grass again, forgotten by the wolf as he stood as abruptly as he’d dropped. “The mutt’s rutting. Bloody hell.”

Absurdly, the first thing that popped into his head was to wonder how old Inuyasha was. He wasn’t due to rut for another 25-30 years, when his body finished his last, slow growth spurt and settled into the form he’d have for the next several centuries. Kouga was heading into his prime, but if Inuyasha had already gone into rut, then his body was fully mature. Maybe it was his human ancestry that made him rut or mature earlier, or maybe the puppy really was that much older than him. *And I always thought of him as a puppy…he better not call me “pup,” or I’ll knock the age right out of him.*

It was only after that he thought of Kagome. *Oh, shit!* His nose twitched again, more urgently this time. The dog’s scent was smeared all over the clearing, but he sought one specific trail. He jogged around the perimeter of the meadow, head lowered as he looked for the trail leading away. If Inuyasha was rutting, he’d seek his mate, and as far as the wolf could tell, the only one even close to that position was Kagome. Maybe the demon huntress, but that wasn’t likely.

*Wait…* He returned to the marked tree he’d started at and circled it, thinking hard. *He’s a dog, not a wolf. Does that make a difference? Dogs don’t mate for life like wolves, do they?* There didn’t seem to be a scent trail heading out of the clearing, which raised the question of where exactly the dog had gone after tearing off his clothes. *But if he’s not looking for a mate, then he’s just looking for sex. Hell, Kagome’s in even more danger!* Bad enough if Inuyasha chose her as his lifemate, but to be used for animal instinct alone, no commitment…he had to catch the mutt before that happened. And since the scent didn’t leave the clearing…

His lip pulled up in an angry sneer, and he glared at the tree as if it were at fault. “Come out, mutt.”

The last of the sunlight melted away, leaving the grass gilded by the near-perfect orb of the rising moon. For a long, silent moment it was only the waning moon and the wolf, waiting together. Then the waves of grass parted near the center of the field, revealing a snowy fall of hair turned silver by moonlight, heavy bangs hiding Inuyasha’s face from Kouga’s scornful gaze. The dog paused, partially unseen amidst the rippling sea of grass and his own long hair, and his ears unhurriedly perked up like they mirrored his emergence from concealment.

His voice was huskier than normal, the words slower. “I wondered if you’d ever notice I was here.”

Kouga didn’t turn to face him, choosing instead to look over his shoulder and eye him sidelong. “Very funny, dog crap.”

“Heh.” Inuyasha rose fully, long, flat planes of muscle exposed to the wolf’s sight.

…uninterrupted by such social niceties as clothing. Blue eyes widened. He’d never have guessed the halfbreed had such a sculpted body under all that bulky fire rat clothing. Without thinking, he swept the length of his rival with a critical eye, only to stall right above where pale thighs disappeared into the grass. *Well, he’s, uh, definitely in rut.*

He pulled his eyes up, a faint blush spreading across his cheekbones. He wasn’t used to fighting unclothed opponents, much less one sporting a raging erection. He’d never had to face down any of the males in his clan when they’d gone into rut; as soon as a mate was chosen, the female secluded herself to keep her male away from the rest of the clan. It prevented jealous attacks from the irrational, rutting male, and in return, the male would do the same for his mate when she went into heat. It kept the wolves civil, and it had worked for them so far. There hadn’t been a death over mating rights since the beginning of his father’s rule. Unfortunately, Kouga didn’t have that option here. He was dealing with a rutting demon who was threatening to take away his woman.

*Demon,* he realized, glaring at the shadows where Inuyasha’s face lay. *I still only smell demon. Where’s the human half?* His head tilted, but he was upwind of the dog, now. “What the hell’s wrong with you, mutt?”

“Wrong?” White fangs suddenly showed under white hair; Inuyasha smiled. “There’s nothing wrong with me. In fact, I’d say something’s right.”

Kouga stared outright as the half-demon stepped forward, the motion parting the heavy sweep of hair that had been blocking his view of Inuyasha’s face. Bright, jagged stripes scarred the dog’s cheeks, one per side, and the savage smile showcased elongated fangs. What riveted his attention, however, was the glowing red eyes with their aqua irises. A chill ran down Kouga’s spin even as he took a defensive stance. *What the hell?! Can halfbreeds do that?* Inuyasha had obviously transformed to a full demon form, scent and visual proof too overwhelming to doubt. *He’s still just a dog.*

He reached for boredom and half-lidded his eyes. “What’s the occasion?” he asked in an indifferent voice. “Too bad you didn’t purge yourself of your reeking dog half instead.”

That disturbing smile widened, and the naked demon didn’t halt his leisurely stroll across the meadow, hands trailing in the long grass. “Can’t you smell, wolf? You know what I need.”

Defense shifted to offense, uneasy instincts or not, and Kouga assumed a more aggressive stance, baring his own fangs in open threat. “Stay away from my woman, mutt!”

That earned an irritated frown, but the expression smoothed back into a smile. “She’s not your woman, wimp.”

That smile had Kouga’s instincts screaming at him flee, but he stubbornly stood his ground. No way was he going to run from dog crap! “Like I’d let you put your filthy hands on her? Ha!”

The dog demon’s step faltered, red eyes blinking rapidly. “No, I…I can’t go near her. Not…like this.” He came to a full stop for a moment, shaking his head like a fly had buzzed in his ear. As Kouga watched in wary confusion, he looked up at the moon and grinned at it. “But that’s where you’re going to help me, Kouga,” he crooned, voice somewhere between dreamy and growling. The words seemed slow to Kouga, like the dog was having trouble pushing them out of his mouth, but he didn’t have time to think about it as the dog’s crimson eyes turned back to him. His brief hesitation was forgotten, and Inuyasha resumed stalking the wolf standing beneath the trees at the edge of the meadow. “You’re going to give me what I need, since Kagome isn’t here.”

*What the hell is he talking about?* Inuyasha’s behavior had him easing into another defensive stance without conscious thought. The dog demon wasn’t acting right, even for a rutting male. “You’re crazy, mutt!” He sidestepped, making sure he had room to maneuver without the tree at his back. The white dog didn’t answer, too busy stalking the wolf to continue their conversation.

Kouga froze for a fraction of a second, eyes widening as he finally took note of what exactly the dog was doing. * Stalking me. He’s--he’s treating me like prey!* It was true. The white demon’s behavior said it all. Instead of approaching Kouga as a rival, a fellow predator, Inuyasha was sliding through the tall grass like a dog cornering a deer. He didn’t like that comparison. Wolves were not in any way on the same level as deer. Maybe the dog was cornering him like a particularly nasty deer with a bad attitude, but all the same, it was insulting.

And alarming, as the pieces snapped into place in his mind. *Crap.* He leapt back, instincts screaming.

A rush of wind blasted in front of him, and he dodged again with a surprised, “Whup!” Dirt sprayed up to sift into his furs, but he was too busy spinning away to do more than snarl. His snarl was met by Inuyasha’s gleeful howl, a fierce, laughing sound that filled the air. The dog demon touched down lightly, crouching with a beatific grin. Kouga stared incredulously, only shaking himself out of his gaping when Inuyasha raised one clawed hand and gave it a delicate lick. He could see something dark on the ends of the pale nails.

He found his voice and sneered, “What, you like the taste of dirt, dog shit? That’s all you ever get when you try to hit me!”

The grin widened, and the dog studied his lengthy claws, voice low and husky. “Oh, really? Check again, wimpy wolf.”

“What are you tryin’ to pull? You couldn’t hit me if I stood still!” That red-eyed, amused gaze was unnerving, but Kouga didn’t drop his eyes. He was the alpha wolf, and he didn’t back down from any challenger, much less a halfbreed dog demon, no matter what he had transformed into. The wolf knew what was going on, now, even if he didn’t know why it had happened. He’d seen how some demons couldn’t control themselves, raging out of control and killing anything they could find until someone put them down. Inuyasha was caught between that bloodlust and the lust of a male in rut. The rut was driving him to claim Kagome, but even in his need, the dog was trying to stay away from the vulnerable girl. But he still needed, however…and Kouga was apparently the answer. If lust couldn’t be fulfilled, then bloodlust would do.

*Well, I’m happy to oblige.* He braced himself and smiled grimly. He’d been surprised before, but now he was ready. This transformed Inuyasha might be a little faster. Big deal. He still couldn’t lay a hand…on…when had his side started hurting like that? Keeping one eye on the now-laughing dog demon, Kouga took a look at his left side.

His mouth dropped open.

Bright red blood dripped from the fractured black armor, and he realized that the white bits in the mess were his own ribs. *Holy shit. He didn’t miss after all.* He forced his eyes to blink, knowing he looked stupid with them rounded, and he bared his fangs. Now that the pain had hit, there was the lethargy of bloodloss and shock to combat, but he’d done it before. Anger did the job quite well. “Alright, so you got a lucky hit. I can still take you down!”

He charged forward before the pain completely broke through his adrenaline rush. Inuyasha watched him come, deigning to move at the last second when a fist centered on his chest. It missed, and he idly took a swipe of his own as Kouga blew past. The wolf’s misaimed strike had already put him off balance, and the building whirlwind around his feet dissipated as he staggered and grunted under the dog’s blow. More blood to the white demon, and red eyes glinted with bloodlust madness.

*Dammit!* Kouga forced his leg straight, ignoring the five scored lines dripping down his thigh. With the wound on his left side and now these cuts on his right leg, his speed advantage had just been crippled. The only thing that could have been worse was if the mutt had gotten one of the Shikon shards in his calves, but he was bleeding out rapidly. *I’ve got to take him down this time, or I won’t have the strength!* He sprinted forward once again, faster than a normal demon even with the pain burning into his side and leg.

But he knew as soon as his first step landed that he couldn’t do it. Bloodloss and pain had taken their toll; Inuyasha was too feral, had too much of an advantage while he was transformed. Kouga’s instincts yanked him to a skidding stop, digging up a mound of dirt with his heels. He bared his fangs at the white demon in a frustrated snarl. “If Kagome didn’t want you alive…” he threatened. *No need for him to know I can’t finish him.*

A low growl answered him, and the dense hairs on his arms stood up. Crimson eyes glared, and Kouga bristled despite the warm fluid seeping down his skin. *Something’s wrong. He didn’t threaten me back.* Inuyasha’s lips slowly peeled back, no longer an amused smirk. His fangs, Kouga noted uneasily, were longer than his own. This naked, full-demon version of the mutt was more dangerous than a halfbreed with fire rat fur and a sword. And the demon had lost his amusement.

There was a surge in the musk scent as Inuyasha rose lithely from his crouch, and the wolf raised his nose to catch it. *I think I’ve just been reclassified from “prey” to “rival male.” He’s not toying with me anymore.* As much as he hated to admit it, he was outclassed by this white-haired demon. Inuyasha could have finished him off with a few serious blows, but instead he’d been playing, enjoying the bloodsport. Now that red gaze had lost its glee. *I said her name. Huh. Apparently the rut is stronger than bloodlust.* It would have been interesting if he wasn’t suddenly dealing with a sexually active male demon--who happened to have the power to slice him into tiny pieces out of jealous rage. *Well, crap.*

“Inuyasha.” There. How often did Kouga use the mutt’s actual name? *That should snap him out of it.* The low rumble gained volume, however, and he blinked. “Inuyasha?”

He barely dodged the dog’s claws in time, whirling in mid-air to kick at his pursuer but only hitting air. His hands reached the ground first, and he sprang to the side a mere fingerlength ahead of sharp death. “Snap outta it, dogbreath!” he yelled, throwing himself backward and behind a tree despite the screaming from his wounds. The wood cracked into toothpicks, and the white dog leapt through the falling shower of splinters in pursuit.

Kouga was already halfway across the clearing, teeth gritting against the pain. The mutt was completely feral, conscious mind buried under the bestial instincts. He’d seen it before, although he’d never encountered the strange shifts between the rut-lust and demonic bloodlust. Hopefully what worked on his packmates would work with the dog. Wolf demons were naturally closer to their animal counterparts than many of the animal-based demons, and when he needed to remind members of his pack of their demon heritage--*Dammit, mutt, this had better work!*

He turned on his good leg at the far edge of the meadow, and metal rasped. The moon-gilded demon pelting toward him hesitated, startled by the sword held in his hands. Kouga used the tiny respite to hurriedly rearrange his grip. He didn’t use his sword very often, preferring his fists over any stick of metal, but the point was to present a fight outside the context of a barehanded brawl. It jarred instinct, made demons think like demons instead of beasts.

It apparently just made Inuyasha angrier.

Still, Kouga was glad he’d drawn the sword. It would have been his head the dog flung across the meadow, otherwise.

“Shit!” He ducked desperately, grass catching on his broken armor as he rolled away and came up running. *Crippled or not, I can still outrun--damn!* A flash of white skin and whiter hair, and Kouga lurched to the side, a cold wind slashing across the back of his neck. His heart pounded as he sprinted back the way he’d come, and he felt a small trickle of something too warm to be sweat run down between his shoulder blades. *Fuck me! He’s--* White on white out of the corner of his eye, and he swerved away from the tree line and back into the tall grass. *--herding me!* He grunted as a claw tore through one of his fur shoulderguards to graze down his arm. He was forced away from the trees again, viciously bared fangs and crimson eyes a scant step behind--and gaining. The Shikon shards in his legs were useless with one thigh ripped open, and even if he wasn’t injured, he couldn’t take more than two running steps before those terrible claws slashed out of nowhere. He didn’t have a chance to escape, much less retaliate.

He stumbled inevitably, a yelp coming from him as he tripped over himself, his speed flinging him head-over-heels until he slammed to a halt on his back. Breathless, he opened his eyes.

Moonlight gleamed off of descending claws.

He reacted before his mind recovered from the fall.

*My instincts are never wrong,* he thought somewhat wildly a long minute later, daring to crack an eye open. Hot air was rhythmically panting against his vulnerable throat, but at least he still had a throat. Inuyasha’s face was blurred by proximity and Kouga’s eyelashes, and the wolf squeezed his eye shut again. *I should know better than to ignore them. They’ve been screeching at me to get out of here since I caught scent of his rut, and I swear by my pack I’ll never ignore them again.* Panting smoothed into a furious growl, and he tensed further, body stiff among the crushed meadow grass. It stung his pride, but he hitched his chin up another notch, submitting.

Inuyasha was an annoyance most of the time, a halfbreed that yapped and bounced around at Kagome’s heels. He swung a big sword around and never really did much as far as Kouga knew or cared. He didn’t know if it was the transformation to full demon or the rut that had changed all that. He had to keep Inuyasha away from Kagome during the rut, but the dog was suddenly powerful. Very powerful. If he’d had the full use of his shard-enhanced legs…*No, be honest. He’d never give me a chance to get up to speed.* This version of Inuyasha could kill him easily. He would have killed him easily, except that demon or not, a male in rut was essentially an animal. Kouga’s instincts had saved him once again.

Alpha wolf pride could wait until things were back to normal; for now he’d submit and live to see another day. *But like hell will I forgive him this.* He opened his eyes and glared to the side, careful not to renew the challenge by meeting Inuyasha’s gaze. The mutt was not a foot away, long fangs still threatening the soft flesh exposed in surrender. Kouga had lost; he’d saved his life by admitting it and flashing his throat in submission. It was a signal that appealed straight to instinct, and the dog had pulled his blow, burying his fingers to the second knuckle in the ground instead of Kouga’s face. That had landed him in a crouch practically on top of the prone wolf, and his teeth had clicked together close enough for Kouga to feel the brush of displaced air against the thin skin under his jaw.

Without looking directly at Inuyasha, he could see that the mutt was slowly letting his lips cover his fangs. There was a surprisingly thoughtful look replacing the anger on his face, and crimson eyes studied the wolf. Kouga had put himself at his mercy and was therefore no longer a rival male. Kagome was by rights his, then…but he wasn’t supposed to claim her. No. No, it would hurt her. But he needed, and if he didn’t have a fight, then he had to act on that need. But he wouldn’t. But…

The white dog had relaxed enough that Kouga breathed a sigh of relief, so he didn’t know what to think when Inuyasha abruptly jumped away to stand trembling, nose turned to the wind. *Great. I’ll bet he smells Kagome.* He pushed himself into a sitting position, scowling in a combination of depression and helpless anger. *And I can’t do shit all to stop him from going after her.*

His experience with submission was from when his father led the pack; as a young adolescent, Kouga had begun to push his boundaries, the beginnings of an alpha’s pride making him chafe at his father’s authority, and his father had put him in his place many times. By the time Kouga would have been anything of a challenge to the adult leader of the pack, though, his father had already fallen to the Birds of Paradise. It brought back an odd feeling of nostalgia when Kouga paused to remember how he was supposed to act in this situation. He kept his head down, unthreatening, and moved with exaggerated, deliberate gestures, making sure he was seen as defeated. Rising slowly, he limped toward the shelter of the trees. He’d run as soon as he was out of sight, and the moment he healed, he’d come back for his sword…and to check on Kagome.

*And to kick dog shit’s ass all the way to--ow!*

His thoughts were cut off when a hard cuff to his ear sent him tumbling over the grass, shocked both by the blow itself and how much pain it caused. Wolf ears were sensitive. It wasn’t until he’d sat up and rubbed at the stinging shell that he happened to wonder why he’d been hit in the first place. A quick look up revealed the source of the blow.

Inuyasha crouched before him, erection unfazed by his equally-obvious rage. Red eyes gleamed in the shadows under white bangs, and his lips had drawn back again to expose glittering fangs. He exuded danger coiling to spring, and Kouga’s instincts shrieked. The wolf quietly eased down onto the ground. His leg and side protested, but he lay silent on his stomach, head below Inuyasha’s. The dog demon lunged forward, stopping at the last second and withdrawing again. Kouga stayed very still through the mock attack, only the tip of his tail ticking to show his nervousness. The bloodlust wanted the wolf to run like prey, but the rutting animal in Inuyasha accepted his submission. By hormones alone, the rut was keeping the demon in check. Feeling torn and uneasy about Kouga without knowing why, Inuyasha leapt away to pace the perimeter of the meadow, eyes locked on the prone form in the grass.

Kouga had trouble tracking the white-on-white demon from his position below the level of the grass, but the few glimpses he caught convinced him to stay down. Sighing, he folded his arms and rested his chin on them. *So. He doesn’t want me out of his sight. Crap.* He turned his head and licked at the scratch scabbing over on his upper arm. It wasn’t deep enough to bother him, but the dried blood on the back of his neck did. Not only was it uncomfortably itchy, but it was a reminder of exactly how close he’d been to getting his head ripped off. He tensed as the dog glided through the grass beside him and disappeared across the clearing again. The feeling of glaring eyes didn’t leave when the other demon was out of sight, however, and he lifted his chin enough to free a hand to smooth down the hairs on the back of his neck. *He’s an excuse away from shredding me. Guess I’m stuck here until he loses interest.*

Of course, that would happen when he took off after Kagome. Maybe it was for the best Inuyasha was being paranoid; it kept him from Kagome. Kouga was vaguely surprised the dog hadn’t run off yet. *He’s trying to restrain himself, but he can’t last, not against this. He’s gotta have either sex of violence, and I’m out of the picture, now. I can’t fight him like this.* He grimaced before he remembered to keep his fangs covered. *Dammit, I’m alpha! That drooling fleabag’s gonna pay for this!*

A faint rustle made him glance over his shoulder, guardedly meeting crimson eyes. “Can you even understand me, dog crap?” he asked in a conversational voice that belied his anger. “Or are you lost in your instincts?” He waited a heartbeat and dropped his eyes in disgust when Inuyasha began to tense up. “How pathetic. I’ll be there to pick her up, you know, and I’ll kill you for touching her. I may not be able to do much now, but you won’t get such a cheap shot in next time.” At least his side was starting to knit together. It would probably crack and bleed once he got up, but wasn’t losing anymore blood. By the time the dog left, he’d only need a day’s rest to get back into top shape. “You don’t have long,” he finished quietly, and turned his head away to stare into the tall grass.

The white dog tilted his head in irritation at Kouga’s continued defiance, but the emotion drained into a more thoughtful study of the other demon. If Inuyasha was a pale reflection of the moon, then Kouga was a rough-edged piece of the earth. Where the dog was white and silver-gilded by the fleeting lights in the night sky, the wolf was sable and bronze. They were a study in opposites, and it caught Inuyasha’s attention. It was hard to think with his blood ablaze in his veins, his hands itching to tear and rend while his groin throbbed with an even more powerful need. Coherent thought pushed its way through a morass of primal instinct, and he dropped into a crouch. Grass feathered over his cock and balls, and he hissed at the torment. Kouga craned his neck again to look back at him, and then returned to resting his chin on his arms.

Inuyasha sniffed; the wolf smelled of blood and fur, anger and resentment. It was practically a red flag for his bloodlust, but the wolf was on his belly. There was no challenge to the demon in killing a surrendered opponent, and his roused instincts gave him an aversion to slaughtering lesser males. He may not have accepted the wolf into his pack, but Kouga had submitted correctly and appeased the beast in Inuyasha. Instead of succumbing to the urge to gut him, Inuyasha only crept forward and lowered his head to scent along the wolf’s leg, one ear perked to make sure the darker demon didn’t try anything. There was an odd thought trying to form in his muddled mind, and he couldn’t quite fit it together with the smell of blood, dirt, sweat, and, overall, male.

Kouga went rigid, keeping still with an effort of will. He couldn’t control his tail, however, and it switched.

--and hit Inuyasha right in the face. He snapped at it out of pure reflex and got a mouthful of fur. Kouga yelped in surprise and tried to roll away only to come up short when the dog demon refused to let go.

“Ow! Let me go, you insolent mutt!” His uninjured leg drew up, and Kouga twisted, trying to get the right angle to kick his captor somewhere vital. The pull on his tail vanished as his foot connected with something solid, and he grinned triumphantly. *That must have hurt…good!* He pushed up onto his arms, but before he could roll over, a heavy weight slammed him back down, driving the air from his lungs and nearly making him black out as his side screamed with reopened pain. There was a roaring in his ears and a horrible pressure on either side of the back of his neck where four points pierced the thin skin, two on each side. If he hadn’t lost all his breath, it would have come out in a howl!

Instinct seized him as hard as the grip on his neck, and he went limp. Utterly limp. If he could have, he would have rolled to expose belly and throat in a last-ditch appeal for mercy, but he could only cower on his face in the dirt. For a brief second the pressure increased, squeezing. The pain was blinding, made worse by the sharp points jabbing into muscle.

*Those are his fangs,* Kouga realized, and his stomach sank down to his knees. With a sickening lurch in his perspective, the roaring noise resolved into loud snarling distorted by his ears’ proximity to Inuyasha’s throat. The mutt had him by the back of the neck, teeth clamped around his spinal cord; if he wanted to, Inuyasha could strangle the wolf by pulling back to tighten the skin over his windpipe, or even break his neck by simply shaking him hard enough. *Or bite through my neck at this rate!*

It seemed to register with Inuyasha that he’d stopped struggling, and his snarling calmed to a enraged growl. The temptation to jerk his head and end the wolf’s life was overwhelming, especially with a rapid heartbeat against his gums and blood seeping over his tongue. His mind churned, and his hands closed around Kouga’s upper arms, pushing the wolf into the ground while digging his claws deep into wiry muscle.

Kouga didn’t resist. He winced, but he was helpless. If he resisted, the dog could easily kill him. This was not how he wanted to die, neck broken by a sex-crazed rival; he had a purpose to fulfill, his kin to avenge. “Don’t,” he whispered, the sound little more than a shallow breath, his chest constricted by the sheer agony from his neck. “Not like this.” Even though they fought, this wasn’t how he though the lighter demon wanted to win any more than he wanted to lose.

Crimson eyes narrowed, thoughts suddenly snapping into place behind them with a lucidity helped by the submissive pliancy of the wolf under him. Killing would only sate him for a short time, and he would go after Kagome. Kagome would hate him for hurting her, but he needed sex with a obsession bordering on insanity. There was a solution, if he was desperate enough for it, and he decided in that brief moment of clarity that he was. The wolf’s life was his by law of the pack, and it was his right to do what he wanted with it, anyway. Better Kouga’s hatred than Kagome’s.

Kouga choked for a split second when Inuyasha shifted to straddle his back, pulling up enough to close his windpipe as he moved, but the wolf was more concerned with the pain than the lack of air. Skin and muscle tore, and he clenched his teeth against a whimper as something hot and slick lapped at the rips in his flesh. *He’s licking my blood! Fuck. He’s going to kill me, one bite at a time. I’m going to die. Shit, shit, shit--* The fangs withdrew a tiny fraction as Inuyasha’s jaw gradually relaxed, and Kouga shivered. Blood pulsed in the gashes with a strange sort of ebbing pain that was spiked by continued flicks of the dog demon’s tongue.

They stayed like that, chest to back, one on top of the other, until the wolf’s heart began to slow. It was uncomfortable, but the grip on the back of his neck had become little more than a firm hold. The tips of Inuyasha’s fangs were still buried in his skin, but it was a warning to stay down, not a punishment. His demon healing was taking care of the puncture wounds, helped by the saliva cleaning and sealing them. The dog stretched out, letting the rest of his body settle onto Kouga without letting go of his neck. It felt weirdly comforting to be held this way, covered neck to knee by the pale demon as if assured that once he’d surrendered, he’d been forgiven. It brought back memories of similar submissions to his father, although the hard rod poking against his leg was new.

Then Inuyasha’s hands started moving. His left hand brushed over the shredded shoulderguard and settled where neck met collarbone, while his right drifted downward. Kouga frowned into the ground, wondering what the mutt was doing. Even through the crushed grass his nose rested in he could smell the oily musk intensifying. It didn’t make sense to him. Was it just a natural phase of the rut? Claws scraped down his back armor and, without hesitating, stroked down his fur kilt to slip under the bottom edge.

“What the--?!” Kouga started, trying to jerk away without thinking only to be painfully reminded not to move by the teeth in his neck. He froze, but the trespassing hand sliding up his thigh continued to push the fur up. His tail beat at the invader, but he knew he was helpless to resist otherwise. “Tell me you’re not doing what I think you’re doing,” he demanded, not bothering to keep his voice meek. That earned him a flash of pain as Inuyasha growled threateningly. “Goddammit, no!” He would not allow this! “I’m no bitch, you stinking cur! Get off!” he shouted. His hands balled into fists and pushed against the ground. “Get offa me!”

Fangs bit deep, and Kouga changed a scream into a defiant snarl, never stopping his struggles. It didn’t do him any good, however, because even without the hold on his neck the dog had him pinned. His tail couldn’t fend off that hand. It had pushed his kilt up past his waist, roughly catching his tail. Now the hard presence against his leg was moving--

“Let me go!” He flushed with shame and fury at how panicked he sounded, yet he could hardly believe this was happening at all. “No--!” The rest of the sentence remained unfinished, trapped inside his chest when the skin across his windpipe tightened. Kouga’s mouth gaped, fangs snapping uselessly, and his body began to respond sluggishly to his frantic mind. The clamor from his instincts became a white-noise din, but he would not submit to this! He had too much alpha pride. He would not give up control to this extent, would not simply lay down and allow himself to be taken!

Although as his vision began to dim, he realized that he wasn’t going to get a choice. He thrashed once, limbs tangled and trapped by the demon on top of him. The effort cost him the last of his energy, and his resistance became increasingly feeble. Soon he grew still, blue eyes wide but dim. His skin reddened to an alarming purple color before paling toward blue as his blood lost oxygen.

He could taste the difference in the blood on his tongue, and for a critical instant demon fought animal, bloodlust versus sheer lust. Crimson eyes lit hellishly, but Inuyasha reluctantly let the pressure off. Kouga gasped, choked, and coughed, pupils flaring with renewed light as he greedily filled starved lungs. The dog squeezed a clear warning before resuming his interrupted activity, pushing the fur kilt out of the way.

*No. This can’t be happening…* Instinct said stay still and quiet, and Kouga fairly quivered with tension inside that guideline. *He’s going to use me like a bitch, and it’ll be my corpse he rapes if I try to fight him. Dammit, if I wasn’t wounded…ah, hell, why don’t I wish for Naraku to give me the Shikon jewel while I’m wishing.* A knee tried to nudge its way between his thighs, and even with his fuzzed mind he resisted. It shouldn’t be this way, it shouldn’t be him…but the only one he could see in his place right now was Kagome, and the very thought of her being held like this made his gorge rise. She was special, she was different than any other female he’d ever met, and there was no way he’d allow her to be hurt by this out-of-control animal.

*Aw, shit. He’s trying to stay away.* He closed his eyes, blocking off his watery vision since it was making his stomach turn on top of how sick he already felt. The knee was becoming more insistent, creating bruises, and crushing pressure was gradually building up again on his neck. *He’s using me to keep from hunting her down.* Deep inside, he knew the dog demon would rather die than hurt Kagome.

The question was, would he?

He could fight, but a corpse wouldn’t keep a rutting male’s interest. If he was to keep the dog demon away from Kagome, he’d have to suffer this humiliation. It wasn’t death, but with what he knew was about to happen, it almost seemed worse.

*Kagome…Kagome would do it for me.*

And so, fangs biting into his lip, Kouga allowed Inuyasha to spread his legs.


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End Part Two


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