My Happy Ending

Chapter Eight: Second Chances

Ayame slowly opened her eyes, turning her head to look at the dark haired male sitting beside her. Where was she? She remembered going on a hunt with the village men and Inuyasha. They’d arrived back victorious having caught enough meat to last through the winter. She’d run into the hanyou and his mate’s hut, excitably talking about their accomplishment. Then…then she wasn’t quite sure. Something had upset her. She’d seen someone. Someone she hadn’t wanted to see ever again. Who was it?

Suddenly, ice blue eyes flashed through her mind, and everything came back with a bang. Kouga. She’d seen Kouga, his striking eyes following her every move. She’d stopped short with her narrative when her eyes had fallen upon his achingly familiar form. She didn’t need this right now. She was just starting to come to terms with the way her life would precede. Sure, she would never be with another male again, but she could live with that. But now she was looking temptation in the eye, literally. It was too much. She could feel the floor fall from beneath her feet, the edges of her vision becoming blurry and being swallowed by darkness. Then she couldn’t remember anything at all.

Groaning in mortification at the realization that she had fainted in front of the bastard after swearing to herself to never show weakness again, she gingerly began to sit up. A pair of familiar hands helped her to steady herself. Looking up, she met the same ice blue eyes that had haunted since her flight from their den. Worry clouded their depths, along with something she couldn’t quite identify. She didn’t need this right now. Why was he here? His hands lingered after she was safely situated. She almost didn’t want to breathe, afraid that she was dreaming, yet equally afraid she wasn’t.
“Kouga,” she whispered, her voice filled with equal parts sadness and disbelief. She realized how much she had missed him. No matter what he had done, she still loved him. What was she going to do?

“Ayame,” he murmured, his eyes boring into her own. Suddenly, anger began to cloud her mind. How dare he come here? Wasn’t it enough that he had someone so close to his precious Kagome? Did he have to try and humiliate her as well? She had the intense urge to claw those eyes she had thought captivating only moments before out. She wanted to yell and throw things, attack him with all the fury she possessed.

“What in the hell are you doing here,” she hissed, baring her fangs and yanking herself away from his hold. She nimbly jumped to her feet, backing as far away from the male in front of her as possible in the small room she called her own. Kouga rose as well, wearily taking a step toward her, stopping when she growled in warning. Like hell she was going to let him touch her after all he’d done.

“Please Ayame,” he began plaintively, reaching a hand toward the fuming red-head. Emerald orbs of fire glared at the offending appendage before meeting a pair of beseeching eyes.

“Don’t touch me you bastard. What right do you have to come here? Didn’t I give up enough already? What more to you want,” she yelled, angry tears beginning to fill her eyes. Like hell she was going to let him see her cry though. She refused to show any weakness. He’d taken enough from her as it was. She wasn’t going to let him have anymore.

“I’m sorry,” came the quiet reply, briefly stunning the angry female. Kouga took her moment of distraction to swiftly pull her into his arms, crushing her small frame against his bigger one, breathing in her delicious sent of jasmine. How he had missed her.

“I should have listened to you. Kira was everything you said. Please forgive me. I want us to be together again,” he pleaded, burying his nose in her silky hair. He could feel the tension lacing her petite frame, and rubbed her back soothingly in the hopes of getting her to relax. He knew he was going to have a hard time convincing her of his sincerity, not to mention getting her to come back with him, but he was going to try his damndest.

“Sorry isn’t enough this time, Kouga,” she said, roughly pushing him away. She swiftly turned her back to him, the tears she had fought so hard against finally winning, making their way down her face to splash against the wooden floor. Quickly wiping the moisture from her face, she straightened and turned to face the male.

“Ayame, what do I have to do to convince you I’m sorry,” he asked roughly, moisture filling his own eyes. He had known it was going to be difficult convincing her to come back to him, but now he was afraid that it was a lost cause. Only the slightly speared tear tracks marking her face gave him any hope.

“You can’t just come waltzing back into my life after what you did and expect me to just forgive you. You’re going to have to earn my trust back, Kouga, and I’m not entirely sure you can do that,” she murmured. A small spark of hope flared to life at her admission. So there was still a chance. He would do whatever it took to gain her trust back. Come hell or high water, he was going to show Ayame how sorry he was and how much he loved her. He was disgusted that it had taken him as long as it had to discover his feelings, and he had a lot of ground to make up.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back. I’m not leaving you until I’ve proven myself in your eyes,” he said. He watched the brief flash of hope enter her emerald orbs. He knew that it was a sign that he was already on his way to having his mate back. He saw her red head bob gently in acknowledgement of his declaration.

“I’ll give you another chance. But you are going to have to work for it,” she stated. Nodding his dark head in agreement, Kouga let out a breath he hadn’t know he was holding. So the biggest hurdle had been jumped. He had been able to get Ayame to agree to let him have a second chance at gaining her trust and love back. He only hoped that he would be able to prove to her that all he wanted was for her to come back to him. He knew he had his work cut out for him. Silently, he sent a prayer to the heavens for help. He wouldn’t give up until he and Ayame were together again.

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoy this latest installment. And as always, remember to READ and REVIEW! It helps tons with writer's block.

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