Sesshoumaru glared north, his claws biting into his palms as he tightened his grip on Ah-Un’s reins. He had entertained the girl’s ridiculous whims long enough. It was time to end this foolishness. He would find the wolf and strike him down this very day–as he had proposed from the start. As his seething blood

He came upon her from behind. As usual, the girl was irritatingly oblivious to her surroundings. Sighing, she bent down, reaching for another stick when his hand seized her by the shoulder, the branches in her arms clattering to the ground as he slammed her back against a tree. Wide blue eyes stared up at

Kagome stirred, something hard poking her uncomfortably in the spine. Her first groggy thought was predictably dirty—then, she recognized the voice to which that prodding hardness was attached. “Up, wench!” Blue eyes flew open, alert with anger, a growl tearing from her lips as she turned, ripping the offending staff from Jakken’s pesky green hands and

As morning faded into noon, the mountain home of the northern wolf demon tribe finally appeared on the horizon. Much taller than their southern counterparts, the white-capped peaks soared high into the clouds, their flinty, jagged slopes rimed treacherously with ice and snow. This was a harsh, unwelcoming land–forbidding, even without the dark, ominous presence

Fangs bared, Kouga glared up at Sesshoumaru from a tense, bristling crouch. “Who the hell are you?” Even without her miko senses, the murderous intent radiating from the dog demon lord would have been pretty hard to miss. Slipping out from behind him, Kagome eased her way cautiously between him and Kouga, standing a little

“First off,” Kagome said, raising a terse finger. “I’m not a ‘homewrecker’. Second off, congratulations on your engagement, Ayame-san.” The wolf demoness blinked, promptly deflating. “Huh?” Green eyes turned to Kouga in confusion. “Did she just congratulate us…?” “Nothing to congratulate,” Kouga barked, crossing his arms stubbornly over his chest. “I never agreed to marry

“YOU,” Ayame seethed in accusation, the pure murder in her voice making Kagome flinch, “slept with MY fiancé?!” “No!” the miko cried, looking desperately between her and Sesshoumaru as if trying to determine who was the frying pan and who was the fire. “Never! Absolutely not!” Blood boiling, she glared at the wolf prince. “Kouga!

Face bloody and back against a tree, Kouga snarled raggedly, his claws biting into Sesshoumaru’s stony arm as the inu daiyoukai trapped him close–rendering his super-powered legs effectively useless. “What the fuck,” Kouga seethed, “is your problem?” As Sesshoumaru’s claws dug deeper, tingeing venom-green, Ginta, Hakakku and Ayame ran forward, one fierce growl from the