Hi, you lovely folks, you! Here's another, slower-ish chapter. Sorry for those who don't like Victor, he's gonna pop up again. Be brave. To make up for the boring nature of this one and probably the next one or two, I've published another quick one-shot called "Three's Not Company, It's Fun". I hope you might read and review, maybe if people like it, I can sort of incorporate something similar in this story. Or if we hate it, I'll know to avoid anything like that... Whichever, please, let me know!
Jubilee had hit the nail on the head when it came to Logan and his affinity for the outdoors. When he'd fled the kitchen, he'd gone for the woods again, unintentionally ending up at the clearing where he'd come to his senses after that Wolverine episode with Marie. Taking a seat on a fallen log, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, wanting to taste the air of the forest. The cool of moss and deep shade. The fecund scent of vegetation on the fertile ground. He got those, but he got a nosefull of Marie, too. Her rain-and-smoke smell was soaked in the forest's fecund ripeness.
His eyes closed. He'd been too upset, wondering what the Wolverine had done to her to notice the smell. Later, he'd just assumed her arousal was from him inspecting the mark on her throat. But now, he was just sitting here in a pool of her scent, clearly inspired by whatever the Wolverine had done or said to her.
How could she stand to be around him, he marveled. Grown men trained in battle had cowered before the unleashed Wolverine, but his girl had faced him down, had even been turned on by him? That was something that had never happened before… Fuck, he wished he could remember what had happened. What had the Wolverine done that had made his girl so hot? And what was that mark on her neck, the one on his lip? He'd never come across a wound his healing factor couldn't heal. Even her borrowed version of it should have taken care of something so simple in a few seconds.
A snarl worked its way out of his throat. He'd let his girl get hurt on his watch, worse, he'd bene the one to hurt her. Then his power wasn't enough to fix her.
"Damn, Jimmy, you fucked Stripes out here? Thought you were all about cuddling your little frail."
Creed. Just what he fucking needed, that sadistic asshole. A split second after he registered Creed's arrival, he remembered his brother was a feral and could smell the potent female heat that still hung in the air.
The Wolverine in his head leapt and lunged at the end of the chain, snapping and snarling. Feral male, he's going to take the kit before you let us have her. Kill him, take him down and he won't be a danger to her or us ever again. Logan growled and tried to focus on the Wolverine in his head, trying to remind him that Creed was his brother, much as he hated that fact. Doesn't matter, we know what he is and he knows what she is to us. We've made the first mark on her, she's vulnerable. If we don't finish the claiming, he'll take her, rape her, kill her. Kill him and go to her now!
The thought of Marie, broken and bleeding under Creed snapped Logan's tenuous control on the Wolverine. Hazel eyes burned gold as he surged to his feet in a rush of metal and muscle. Claws out, he sprung at Creed. Fueled by fury and fear, he took the bigger man down in a thunderous crash. Creed's claws dug deep into his arms, clinking against the metal bones, but still Logan didn't stop his attack.
The raw power of the unleased Wolverine was enough to overpower the unwary Creed. Logan's claws slid smoothly into Creed's chest, a direct hit to his heart. There was no hesitation in the adamantium blades as they gashed Creed's chest open. Poised to slice out his heart. The Wolverine in Logan's head was roaring, demanding that he drag the claws through the bastard bleeding on the ground.
But Creed wasn't fighting back. Though his claws were still dug down to bone, he wasn't paring muscle from metal. Logan lifted his head and looked his brother. Creed lay on his back, head tipped down; not submissive, but not aggressive. There was no danger in his scent, just something that reeked of condescension and the man pulled back a little; this wasn't how Creed was known to act.
He's lying, he's too dangerous. We have to take him out now, while he's just laying there, then we'll be Alpha and no one will be able to hurt our mate. But even the Wolverine's furious demand was less convincing than before, as if he was just as confused by the non-violentresponse.
Logan yanked back, pulling his claws in as he stood and stumbled away from where Creed lay, chest flayed open, bleeding from multiple punctures.
A tree supported Logan as he tried to catch his breath, as much from exertion as from the emotional upheaval. A choking cough drew his eyes back to Creed, who groaned as he hauled himself painfully to a sitting positon. His clawed fingers poked at the gaping wound in his chest. "Damn, boy, that's one of your better ones. Why didn't you finish it?"
Logan jerked his shoulders. He didn't know why he hadn't finished the killing stroke and ripped out Creed's heart. It was just something in the way Creed hadn't fought back. And maybe it had something to do with what the Wolverine in his head had said… "Alpha."
"What was that?" Creed's eyes narrowed on his little brother.
"I had a flash from…before… You were the Alpha of our Pack."
"Aww, Jimmy, are you going sentimental on me?" Sarcasm dripped from Creed's fangs.
"Shut the hell up. Just 'cause you're Alpha won't stop me from ripping your throat out."
Laughing, Creed sat up and snagged a handful of damp leaves to scrub at the blood on his now-healed chest. "You can try. What crawled up your ass, anyway? That I can smell you fucked your little bitch out here?"
Logan snarled and stepped forward, claws popping again. Creed just waved him back. "Don't try it, I'm not going to let you take me down again. You need to be taught who's leader of our Pack again, I'd be happy to show you. You want to challenge me, I'll take you on."
Subsiding with a quiet growl, Logan sat on a tree stump, watching as his brother used damp moss to wipe most of the blood off. "I didn't fuck – Jesus! I didn't take her out here. Things just got a little…out of hand."
Creed took a deep breath. " Out of claw, you mean, don't you, Jimmy? No, maybe you didn't fuck her. But you let your animal out to play with her, hmm? And it felt good, huh, Jimmy? Bet you would have been happy to let him take her here in the woods, on the soft ground. Mud on her skin, bark and leaves in her hair. Bet she looks fucking hot with her ass in the air, her face pressed down into the dirt, whimpering and begging… " He trailed off, laughing as Logan's growl sounded again. "Down, pup, I'm not going to take her from you."
He smelled sincere, Logan thought. Reeked of cave musk and old blood, but no stink of lie to his words. "Shut the hell up, you psycho bastard, Marie ain't something you can just take."
An ugly sneer met his words. "Of course she is, Jimmy, she's just a little frail with a leech's power and a tight little tail. But I won't. Because whether you remember or not, whether you believe me or not, we're Pack, so I don't touch her. You hear me, Jimmy? You're my fucking Pack, and she's yours, so she's my Pack. So, I ain't gonna kill your frail, and I won't fuck her… Not unless she asks for it. After all, as Alpha, I have to make sure the needs of my Pack are met." The sneer was now a wickedly cheerful leer and Logan did not appreciate the sentiment behind it.
But he could still smell the truth on Creed's little speech, much as he wanted to think the bastard was lying. Even that little snipe about fucking Marie if she asked for it. Just the thought made him want to slice off Creed's cock so there'd be no chance of that. But the damn healing factor would probably just regrow it. Might be fucking worth if he brings that up again, he mused.
"What am I supposed to say, thank you for taking Marie off your to-rape-and-kill list?"
"Jesus, Jimmy, is that all you think I do? I've been with you X-geeks for almost a year, have I done any killing that you didn't want to be part of? You don't have any room to talk about killing people. As for raping, well, fun as it might be, I've grown accustomed to the less work in just picking up some barfly frail. More likely to get your dick sucked if you don't beat them bloody first, anyway."
Creed's little comment surprised a snort out of Logan. "Yeah, bet they don't like that much."
Creed made a feline sound of disgust. "Sure, the screaming is fun for a while but they just don't shut up and it grates. Makes it tough to stay hard. Like I said, easier to just get one drunk and take her out in an alley."
Logan shook his head, thinking of all the times he'd had his own alley interludes after a night in the cage. But those thoughts lead to the last night he'd gone into a cage before his new life started, the night a scared kid whose spring rain smell washed his battered spirt clean shouted at him to look out. The night he'd changed his mind on a snowy road and took a chance on his new life with the kid.
"Creed… Marie, she's…"
"Fuck, stop, Jimmy, I know. No feely, chick shit, alright? Pack." He spread his hands and shook his head. "That's all that needs to be said. But don't go expecting me to be all nice and chirpy with her. I wanted a little sister even less than I wanted to be saddled with a little brother."
Logan still didn't completely understand, but he got that Creed would leave Marie alone. Or at least not instigate any attack. He couldn't guarantee that Marie wouldn't attack Creed. The kid was a hellcat when she was on a rampage, though she got along well enough with Creed in general.
"I need a beer." Logan looked over at Creed, who absently scratched his healed chest. "Come on, Jimmy, you tried to kill me last, you buy the first round."
There was a moment of silence, then Logan nodded shortly. "What the hell." Still shook up over the thing with Marie, he thought, at least Creed seemed to get the feral part that was still begging the human portion to go find Marie and finish what they'd started in the woods. As they walked, with a sizable distance between them, Logan could hear the Wolverine in his head.
Maybe Alpha won't hurt our Mate, but she's not safe. Much too vulnerable now, she'd be safer if we go finish it now. No one can take her from us if we finish claiming her the way we're supposed to.
So, we saw Victor again. Now the boys are going to go drink themselves stupid and Jubilee and Rogue are going to go have some retail therapy... Before they go drink themselves stupid, too. What's sauce for the goose and all that! Let me know what you're thinking, you guys are awesome! But seriously, if there's something you wanna see, let me know!