My little Darcy's, i'll give you a warning ahead of time: this chapter may be lackluster. I'm sick and heartbroken besides. I promise though I give it my all. As usual, anything you wanna see, put it in the reviews!

Chapter 10: Once upon a time

"Lola? Lola, honey it's Marie. Come on out, ah'm alone sweetie." She smiled reassuringly as the girl slowly climbed down from her little hideout. Victor had been on edge for a couple days now, Logan coming home banged up more than once. It had taken just as long to get a reason for the aggressive behavior. Marie wasn't stupid, Lola was acting just as oddly and had taken to spending her time hidden among the groves near the school. Clearly there had been an upset in the pack.

"Did Victor send you?" She asked, feet finally on the ground.

"No."

"Oh."

"Yah smell disappointed. Wanna tell meh why?"

Lola hugged herself and shook her head.

"Why not?"

"It's… it's embarrassing."

Marie took a seat on the grass, patting a space beside her.

"I.. I appreciate you coming out here and all but.. but it's really.. um.."

"Then yah can come sit and listen to a story."

Begrudgingly, Lola did as told. Once stretched out comfortably she looked up expectantly at her sister mate.

"A long time ago, there was a girl, named Anna. She was young. She was naive. And she had the great honor of havin' a very difficult love affair. Yah see the man she fell in love with, he was different. And ah don't mean, different backgrounds difficult. Not different social classes difficult. We are talkin' worlds away."

Lola frowned, interested in spite of herself.

"What was so different about him?"

Marie stretched out beside the girl, watching the clouds drift by above them.

"He came from a time when yah took yah wife young. When a man worked on a railroad, or in the coal mines. When ladies had parasols and their little girl's wore bonnets. He's not from this time and yet here is this girl, who has got him wrapped around her finger and doesn't even know it."

The frown on the little feral's face deepened even further.

"The man, he loved Anna anyway?"

"He did. So much. And Anna, she loved him with just as much heart."

"So what was wrong? She loved him and he loved her."

Marie sighed.

"The thing about love is, yah have to work at it. Every day. Sometimes, one of the people in it have to stand up and fight for that love. Cause others, they won't understand. And sometimes, Anna and James (that was his name, James) even they didn't understand it."

"But you still haven't told me what the problem was."

Marie was quiet for a minute while Lola waited.

"Anna was young when she met James. Practically a child. And James, he was.. oh ages old ah guess. But James swore he would wait for her. No matter how long, no matter what it took, one day they would be togetha. Yah wanna know who caused the problems? They did it tah themselves."

Lola's hazel eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"What happened to them?"

"Yah see, Anna didn't know much about things of a.. ah guess yah could call it things of an intimate nature. She knew she liked holdin his hand. She knew that when James kissed her, she got this funny feelin deep in her stomach, like she was on a train pickin up speed. And of course as the years went on, they started doin' more than kissin. The kissin, it led to touchin. And the touchin, that led to a whole 'nother world of feelings and thoughts and need. But James, he was ashamed. Not of them.." Here Marie smiled briefly. "Nevah of them. But he was ashamed of himself. Felt as though he were robbing her of her innocence, that he was a dirty old man who had no business touchin and feelin Anna the way he did. And he loved her so much, that he let the shame get in the way of what was fact and what was just feelings. One day, after they had spent some time doin' things of "an intimate nature" Anna woke up and found herself alone."

"James.. James left?"

"He did."

Lola's eyes filled and suddenly she was sobbing against her big sister's chest.

"He thought she was a slut didn't he?! Just like me! I'm a slut Marie! Victor will never come near me again!"

"Shhhh. Shhh. Yah just go on an tell big sister what happened baby." She cuddled the little feral, rubbing her back and purring softly.

"We- I went to his room, I wanted to- and he SAID it was okay buh- but- but then- and it felt so good and he turned us ov-over and then I wanted to- and he said it felt good and he made noises, if you make the noises then it's good right?! But then I was- and he went to the bathroom and just left me there and I acted so SLUTTY Marie and I hate myself!"

Crying brokenly, she remained curled up and incoherent for another twenty minutes or so, finally taking an offered tissue from Marie's pocket.

"So let meh see if ah understood yah correctly. Yah decided tah go on and try some of the things we talked about, yeah?"

Lola sniffed and nodded.

"And the two of yah had a real nice time?"

"I.. I thought so. But then he just left me there on the couch!"

Marie nodded, her smile returned.

"Sweet girl, doesn't matter how many years they have on us, sometimes we're gonna be a whole lot smarter than our mates. This is one of those times."

"But how come he left?"

"Ah think yah need tah go and ask him sweetie."

Lola blew her nose one final time and stood up, admittedly a bit shaky but with new found determination.

"I will!" She started to run off but stopped for one last question.

"Um.. Marie?"
"Yeah?"
"Did James ever come back? To Anna I mean."

"He did."

"Did.. did they work out okay?"

Marie smiled.

"They did."

Lola grinned back and took off. As soon as she was out of sight, Logan stepped out from the trees and sprawled beside Marie, wrapping his arm around her and and pulling his mate close.

"And how'd operation get the two fools back together go Anna-Marie?"

She giggled and gave him a kiss.

"I think it was a success Logan James."

He chuckled and gave her a kiss back.

"God I love you."

Lola had no idea what she was going to say to Victor when she found him, but she loved him too much not to at least try. Mind still whirling with anxiety and planned conversation beginnings, she ran smack into the man in question.

Literally.

"Ow! God Victor are you made of bricks or something?!" He took her by the hand and had Lola on her feet in one smooth pull.

"I happen to be very fit, you have to watch where you're walking."

"I know you're fit, you just also happen to be very hard!"

"I'm always hard around you girl so you better keep your guard up."

She squinted up at him, rubbing the soreness from her backside.

"That was dirty wasn't it?"

"Me, dirty? Never."

Lola started to glare before noticing the cup in his hand.

"What's that?"

"A peace offering."

He put it in her hands and waited for her to take a sip before also offering the box tucked under his arm.

"Victor… this is real belgian dark chocolate!"

"Some of them have centers or nuts."

"You got me a caramel frappe and chocolates? But-"

He shrugged.

"Told you. A peace offering."

"Victor-"

"I'm in love with you."

She nearly choked on her frappe and had to cough for a minute before she could take a clear breath. He patted her back while she set the things down to avoid dropping them. Lola knew he loved her. He'd said it, every now and then; "Love you" or "that's why I love you." But in typical Victor fashion, he'd usually said so in passing. It was fact, Victor Creed had chosen her to be his mate. But now..

"You don't have to-"

"Just let me say my piece, then I'll shut up. I'm in love with you. What happened the other day.. baby-girl I'm so sorry. I scared you, I took advantage.. you trusted me. To give you what you need and want. And I took us- I took us so far off track-"

"Stop that."

"But-"

This time she was the one to shut him up with a kiss. He was still confused even as his arms encircled his young mate's waist.

"I was so scared that I had disgusted you. That maybe you didn't love me anymore because of what we had done. I.. I thought I had acted like a slut and that's why you left. So I didn't talk to you. And I'm sorry too. Will you still be my mate? Please?"

Victor let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and hugged her tightly.

"Absolutely. Will.. Will you please still be mine?"

"I don't ever wanna be anyone else's."