A/N: Thank you for being so patient and I hope you like the chapter!

Disclaimer: Do you even have to ask? NO!

Chapter 6: The Beast Women

-The wolf preserve-

Kimimaro and Shikamaru knew they had to be cautious. There was at least one more enemy who had collapsed a part of the house on top of Neji when they were distracted by the bombs. On top of that, Itachi had gotten burned covering for his heavily bleeding pack member. The two were forced to fall back when Neji lost consciousness.

It was only after that did they realize Itachi was moving slow enough to be followed and the enemy had not missed the opportunity. Kimimaro was about to run after them to prevent their more stealthy opponent from getting to Sakura when Shikamaru yelled at him to help take down the bomber first. After several attempts to corner him they finally captured the rather feminine male who turned out to be an animal made human just like them.

The anticlimactic ending was that the other adversary reappeared and told everybody that he and his partner were now allies with the Sakura obsessed wolves. Now Shikamaru and Kimimaro didn't believe a word of it and bashed both men over the head and tied them up with Tsunade's secret stash of duct tape. It was only when the object of their (stalker-like) affections returned unharmed and scolded them for their deed did they realize the creepers were telling the truth. The two once proud alphas sulked in their own separate corners of woe, not wanting to believe that Sakura had actually been angry with them.

-In the house one hour later-

Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Kiba, and Gaara were all interrogating the new comers and Pein in the basement because it gave off more of a good cop/bad cop feel. While this was going on Itachi was sleeping on Sakura's bed despite everyone thinking he was sleeping in the guest bedroom. He would have stayed there except it didn't smell anything like her. He was certain she wouldn't mind, since she would soon recognize him as her lifelong mate. Neji was in the master bedroom with the emergency IV set up to help him rehydrate. This left Sakura to deal with her two brooding wolf-men who were still in their corners.

"Guys, how long are you going to stay in those corners?" Sakura inquired with exasperation. Kimimaro just sulked even more while Shikamaru remained silent. Sakura quietly looked them over noticing how beat up they were. Dirt and blood covered their clothes and she couldn't help but worry about how they wouldn't even let her put ointment on the multiple lacerations covering them. Sakura's eyes filled with determination. She was not going to let this go on any longer.

With those thoughts in mind she made her way over to Kimimaro and placed her hand on his back. He didn't shrug her off, but he didn't look at her either. Sakura realized it would take more than that to bring him out of this tantrum, so she did something that always made him feel better when he'd been a sick pup. Ever careful of his cuts, she wrapped her arms around Kimimaro and pulled him into a gentle hug. He resisted at first, but as soon as her body heat seeped into his skin he melted against her. In his eyes she was the epitome of irresistible. Her power over him was absolute and quite likely everlasting.

"I'm sorry Kimimaro. I shouldn't have yelled at you when you and everyone else did so much to protect our home. I overreacted because of all the blood and panic throughout the day. That's no excuse for taking it out on you though." Sakura murmured sounding quite sullen due to the fact she hated to admit being wrong. She cut through the thoughts of the silver haired beast man like a knife through warm butter. As for those thoughts there was only one correction to make. Her power over him was irrevocably everlasting.

When Sakura decided she'd apologized enough she moved to stand and make her way to Shikamaru. At least, that was what was supposed to happen. What really occurred was Kimimaro grabbing her wrist and pulling her on top of him. This made Sakura panic slightly. She was about to yell at him, but the look in his eye made her lose her voice. His eyes glowed with a blue light and looked at her with such passion and lust that it made her blush 50 shades of red in under a minute, but there was something else behind that gaze that made her catch her breath. He looked like a frightened little boy who could be crushed at just the idea of rejection from a loved one.

Kimimaro reversed their positions and pressed every plane of his body against Sakura's while being careful not to crush her beneath his weight. He trailed a line of kisses from her collar up to her ear and just breathed deeply for a few moments. He felt her begin to shiver and he caught the scent of fear. The last thing he wanted was to scare her, but he only had two options at the moment: indulge a little and scare her a bit or completely give into the emotions, desires, and instincts that sought everything he so desperately yearned for, her love, her submission, her heart and future tightly bound to his, and terrify her beyond all reason. The small indulgence seemed the lesser of two evils. Kissing, licking, and nibbling his way back to her neck he couldn't resist a little love bite at the juncture of her neck and collarbone.

"Don't!" Sakura shouted. Shikamaru across the room immediately sprinted from his corner and all out tackled Kimimaro. As they beat the crap out of each other Sakura couldn't help but wonder what took the brunette so long. She got her answer when Shikamaru got the upper hand in the scuffle and began to yell at Kimimaro.

"Can't a guy take a freaking nap without his mate being fucking attacked?" As Shikamaru's tirade became more and more graphic of how he would maim Kimimaro the other men folk charged in wondering what the hell was happening. They were not happy. Sakura's clothes and hair were disheveled and there on her neck was a trail of little hickeys leading up to one very faint bite mark. Sakura had never seen her dads so enraged. Orochimaru had turned a very violent shade of red while Jiraiya was practically purple in the face. Gaara, Pein, Itachi, (who smelled an awful lot like Sakura's room) and Kiba were all trying to get a piece of Kimimaro while the dads were punching at any male that moved.

Sasori tried to make his way over to Sakura to see if she was alright, but Tsunade beat him to it and began to pull Sakura away. Sasori turned to his partner (who looked very confused by all this chaos) and dragged him to follow the women in secret. They followed the women into the very basement they had just escaped from with Deidara protesting quietly the whole way. That didn't sit well with Sasori, seeing as how the idiot blonde was never quiet. They stopped halfway down the stairs and used their superior hearing to listen in.

-With Sakura and Tsunade-

"Sakura you and I have known each other since you were born. I think it's beyond time for me to tell you of our origins. To get to your story, we must first get through mine. Since the men are going to be otherwise occupied for a while I felt that now is as good a time as any. Are you ready for this?" Tsunade asked her pupil and daughter.

"Even if I'm not I still want to know. Please tell me." Sakura pleaded in return. She needed to know why the wolf-men were so attached to her or she wouldn't be able to look them in the eye. She had known for some time now that their attraction came on far too fast to be natural.

"My story starts with the man who first created the medication that turns animals into humans. His name was Hashirama Senju. The first animals he tested the medicine on were two bears, a male and a female. Once they were human they spent a few years with Hashirama and learned about human society." Tsunade paused for a moment. "During that time the two bear-humans fell in love, and not too long after they had a child. They named her… they named me Tsunade."

Tsunade waited for that to sink in before continuing. Sakura eventually nodded for her to continue. "For seven years we were all very happy living with Hashirama. Unfortunately due to the imperfect medicine, my parents' hearts gave out long before a healthy human heart would have. Old man Senju adopted me out of equal parts guilt and familial affection. I took over his research and discovered the problem that caused my parents to die. The transformation from animal to human begins in the blood. The heart is put under a great deal of strain in an effort to complete the transformation as quickly as possible. The one being transformed has to take in a great deal of oxygen which is both helpful and harmful. It makes the transformation relatively painless, but…"

"Oxygen can break down your body if you don't get enough antioxidants, and that was what happened to your parents." Sakura concluded. After a long pause Sakura asked the question driving her insane. "What will happen to my wolves, Tsunade?"

"Oh, don't worry. Just look at Orochimaru and Jiraiya. Those two are as healthy as men can be and they've lasted many years longer than my parents did. The revised medication can turn animals to humans and humans to animals and actually does a lot to prevent physical damage as well as illness. As a matter of fact the transformation process can actually cure most diseases, but now we're way off track so let's back up. You know my story now it's time for me to tell yours."

"Were my parents born as animals too?" Sakura teased only to have realization hit her when Tsunade stayed serious.

"Your parents were once wolves on this very preserve. After my parents died I realized there was no one even remotely similar to me left. When Hashirama died, there wasn't even anyone who knew about me. I decided to make a few people who I could relate to. First I turned Jiraiya and Orochimaru. When they started screaming "mate, mate" I decided to turn a wolf and his mate into humans so I could have a makeshift family of people like me. Those two wolves were your parents. Your mother and father were younger siblings to me. I was overjoyed to find out your mother was pregnant as I had found out I was incapable of having children." Tsunade explained.

"You can't have kids, Tsunade? What spurred you to get tested?" Sakura inquired. Tsunade gave her a comical shocked look.

"I honestly can't believe you're asking that after Neji and now Kimimaro attacked you. I had Jiraiya to deal with you know." The blonde laughed.

"You make a good point." Sakura chuckled along. She decided to ask one more question before they returned to their guys. "How do I explain all this to the guys?"

"I suggest you tell them all at once. It will be more entertaining that way." Tsunade said with a wink. They had a good laugh before they went back to their men.

-Sasori and Deidara-

That was close. Sasori thought to himself as he and Deidara had silently sprinted up the stairs the second they realized Sakura and her surrogate mother were coming back up. Sasori looked at his best friend and was startled by the contemplative look on his face. Deidara could actually contemplate something? Who knew?

"Hey snake bait, yeah,"

"What bird brain?" Sasori snapped.

"That conversation just now, is that why I feel really embarrassed when that Sakura girl looks at me, yeah?" Deidara asked flushing slightly at his own admission. Sasori contemplated punching his best friend for a moment before he sighed. If he had started seeing Deidara as a threat then he was either not thinking or letting his emotions override his logic. Neither was acceptable.

"That's probably the case." Sasori confirmed before going to find Sakura.

I wonder if she likes flowers. Deidara considered before he went outside in hopes of finding some that she would like.