Mate

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Summary: Only she could end up being married at the age of fifteen and not find out until four years later.

Pairings: Kouga/Kagome

~Scene One~

Kagome stared at her friends, face pale and felt almost faint. There was no way it could be true. They couldn't be serious! She looked at Shippo, hoping that with him being a demon, he would be able to tell them that they were wrong but he shook his head. Her heart jumped in her throat and she wanted so bad to cry.

"There has to be a mistake! I couldn't, I mean I never-" She tried to protest but her words got caught and tumbled over themselves. Her eyes snapped up, wide and teary, to look at Kouga when he stepped closer to her. The miko shook her head frantically and backed away. "Don't; I just-" She didn't get to finish because he had moved, faster than she could defend herself, and was holding her by both arms. His grip tightened when she started to struggle. "Let go!"

"No, not until you listen."

"I don't need to! You guys are just playing some sick joke on me" She didn't notice the way the wolf demon narrowed his eyes, lip curling in anger. "and I get it, okay! Me and Inu-" She stuttered, hear skipping a beat. "the two of us will never be together like that and I've accepted it, alright. Now can you please just tell me you were right and get this over with?"

She became a bit disoriented when he gave her a rough shake.

"This isn't a joke and you know it! If there is one thing demons do not mess around with, it is this!" He growled and shook her one more time for emphasis.

Kagome sobbed and tried to pry his hands off of her but he only dug his fingers in further. She could feel his claws beginning to pierce her skin. "But how? I never even said yes!"

"Actually, you did." Sango spoke as she came to stand beside Kouga. She placed a hand on his arm, her touch light but the look on her face held a warning in it. The demon slayer's shoulders relaxed when he let go albeit reluctantly then turned back to her friend. "When you both first met and he claimed you, you didn't reject or deny him. Since he did it in front of his pack that automatically made you his mate; all that is left now is making it official."

The miko couldn't take it anymore and nearly collapsed but the raven-haired female reached out and held her steady. "But don't I get to refuse it or whatever? It's just the courting part, right?"

The other woman sighed. "That is true but again, when he claimed you as his in front of his entire pack and you didn't refuse him, you accepted it. By doing that, you jumped straight past the courting stage."

Kagome looked back at Kouga, lip trembling when she saw him nod.

The urge to panic and cry hysterically spread through her when her friends walked a certain distance from them for privacy. She knew just from looking that they would ignore her if she cried out for them.

Her gaze snapped back over to the wolf demon when he sighed. Seeing him step forward, she backed away to keep the distance between them. Her heart skipped a beat when his eyes narrowed. She did it again when he tried moving closer one more time. Muscles tensing in terror, she tried to bolt but didn't get very far when she was knocked to the ground. She gasped as a rock dug in her side before she was flipped over and her wrists pinned next to her head.

The miko nearly whimpered when she looked into a pair of pissed blue orbs, the whites tinting pink. He leaned down so that their noses were touching and growled lowly. This time, she did make a small noise in the back of her throat. "Please..." She whispered and sniffed. Her body froze in place when he leaned down and licked at a tear. His grip on her wrists weakened then he pulled back, staring at her with a small frown.

"You should know better than to run from a demon, especially, a canine. Now we are going to talk about this right now and you are going to tell me if you are going to do this willingly or not."

"Y-you'd actually rape me in order to make me your mate!" She gasped, shrinking back as best as she could. The urge to run again when he got up was strong but the warning look he gave her showed that he knew what she was thinking. She looked away. An unceremonious squeak left her when she was picked up and placed in his lap.

"No but it is required of me to mate you by the next new moon both because mating season is coming up and because the elders will outcast me if I do not. If need be, I would have to use an herb and force you into arousal." He explained patiently, running a hand through her hair and wiping away some of the tears still escaping.

"Y-you mean an aphrodisiac?"

At his confused look, she stuttered out a quick reply, "N-never mind." It took a second for his words to click in her mind. "I only have two weeks! Th-that's not enough time! I mean I get that I have to do this... but so quickly?"

"I could have waited until mating season actually started and that would have been just before the new moon. I, myself, was not expecting it when the elders told me yesterday."

The miko made a small distressed noise. "So now I have to give up my virginity, body, and life! As if it wasn't hard enough giving up the last four years!" She stood up, beginning to pace the clearing as she started ranting. "I'm just barely of legal age to even be an adult in my time, I failed high school because of my travels and I don't have any friends anymore-"

"Kagome."

"I've missed out on every single birthday party, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Halloween with my family looking for the shards-" She continued, anger extinguishing her depression as she continued. A small 'meow' told her without looking that the rest of the group had come back.

"Kagome, listen to me."

"No!" She exploded, turning to her friends with narrowed eyes. "I will NOT listen! I care about all of you but did anyone stop to think about what I might want? No, they DIDN'T! And now, barely of legal age to marry I find out that I'm already engaged!" She gasped then, horror clouding her features. "Oh my god; what is okaa-san going to say when she finds out! Oh no!"

"Kagome!" A hand grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. She blinked up at Kouga. "Calm down."

"How can I calm down!" She shrieked then immediately quieted when he flinched but didn't stop. "My okaa-san already sacrificed so much and all the lies she's been telling to everyone so they don't get suspicious!"

Lips slanted across her harshly, swallowing her gasp. She didn't respond, only stood there shocked until he pulled away. She stared at him. "K-Kouga?"

"It was the only way I knew how to get you to be quiet."

She still didn't know what to say.

He rubbed her cheek and pressed his forehead against hers. "If it makes you feel better, I'll go with you to talk to your okaa-san. Besides, it is customary for the male to meet your tou-san either way."

"You can't."

"What." He frowned down at her, disapproval clear as day on his face.

"You can't."

"And why not?"

She bit her lip, squirming uncomfortably. "Me and In-" His name stopped cold in her throat and it took a second before she could speak again. "We are the only ones who can get through the well and he hasn't been able to do it since the rosary beads broke."

"Already taken care of." Before she could say anything, he stepped back and pulled out a necklace from a hidden pocket in his fur. "I talked to Kaede long before she died and she had this made. She said that you just need to pour some of your energy into it and give me a command."

Her mouth opened soundlessly as she stared at him. It snapped shut when he tapped her chin with the tip of one of his claws.

"If it makes you feel better, we can deal with that in the morning when we leave."

She silently agreed… then promptly fainted.

End.