Hey everybody! Well, this chapter was originally supposed to be mostly girl talk between Kristi and her little band of friends, but I figured that she and Logan hadn't really spent much time together since the whole story started, so I ended up extending their scene! One thing led to another, and the girlie talk will now take place in the next chapter!

Anyway, sincere apologies for the later than normal update. Due to us being extremely short staffed at work, I've had to do a lot of extra hours, which didn't leave much time for writing. Also, tomorrow I set off on my hols, so this will be my last update until I get back in a week's time. However, I am going to take my writing with me, so I should have the next two chapters ready for uploading by the time we get home!

My little band of reviewers have been busy with the button at the bottom of the page again! Thanks to Sabrielle-X, nileena, wolfbane17, Sagas. pen, 12kirby12, FrozenVoices and Laudine!

Onward! Our story awaits ...... !

ooXoo

11. Moods

Not wanting anyone to see him leaving Kristi's room, Logan cautiously checked the hallway before slipping through the door and closing it softly behind him. As he made his way to the stairs, he found himself whistling and he almost came to a halt, surprised at his own uncharacteristic good humour. Reaching inward, he found himself more at peace than he had felt in a long while. Kristi's presence pulsed reassuringly in his mind and he smiled, realising that he owed much of the unfamiliar calm to his bondmate. He had totally surprised himself by opening up to her that morning and revealing his feelings for Mariko, but the obvious hurt in her eyes had compelled him to speak and, now that he had shared his heart with her, he felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his mind. The problem hadn't vanished with the telling, but at least Kristi now knew she wasn't the cause of it. That she understood and was willing to support him while he came to terms with his new relationship was heartening.

At least he now understood the nature of the pain he had been experiencing of late, in fact had even suspected it was so. When he had turned away from Kristi that morning, the pain had immediately begun to build behind his eyes, yet had faded away the instant he turned back to her. Both times he had been knocked unconscious, he had either fled from her or avoided her company. The conclusion was obvious. The bond was punishing him for, as it thought, rejecting his mate. But Logan had no intention of rejecting her. The bond wouldn't know that, of course – it wasn't, after all, sentient. But the mere act of turning aside from her company had been enough to set off the bond's natural defence system – an unconscious reaction in his own mind to keep the two of them together. As long as he tried to avoid her company, his side of the bond would punish him for it. But things would be different now surely. With Kristi now aware of the situation, they could work together and resolve this. With any luck, he would have no further reason to try avoiding her.

But, considering the morning's new developments, he wondered why the hell he had ever wanted to. He grinned to himself as he stepped into the elevator, remembering the feel of Kristi's hands roaming his body and her hot breath in his ear. God, but he had bonded a little minx, that was for certain! She had always seemed so shy and unsure but, given the chance to get her hands on him, she had soon changed her colours. But then, they always said the quiet ones were the ones to watch out for. Not that he was complaining, mind you. He'd never been one to refuse the offer of sex, and he had no doubt in his mind that their passionate embrace would have led to just that. He wasn't sure how that made him feel. Kristi was only twenty-one and still a virgin, yet it was she who had taken control of the kiss, using all the feminine weapons at her disposal to ensnare him completely, wrapping him around her little finger. Hell, he had even bared his throat for her, and that was a first. It hadn't taken enhanced senses for him to realise she had been fully aroused and prepared to seduce him. She had wanted him, no question about that. And he had wanted her right back. Bad enough to mark her. And here Logan experienced his only pang of regret. At least he hadn't been in a full feral state when it occurred. Marking her was bad enough at this early stage in their relationship – to do so under the influence of the beast would have been unforgivable.

And yet …… Logan frowned to himself as he stepped out of the elevator and started down the shiny metal corridor. Kristi hadn't shown any fear of him. Exactly the opposite, if her annoyance in his reluctance to open up to her had been anything to go by. And she had said she had wanted the mark – in fact, was willing for him to do it again. It was a sobering thought for the man who had always figured himself for a loner. Maybe there was no reason for him to fear slipping into his feral state with Kristi after all. Perhaps, lurking under that quiet and unassuming exterior, there was a saucy hellcat waiting to emerge? One that, thanks to the bond, would know exactly which buttons to push in order to satisfy his needs. It had been a long time since he had known a woman with enough sass to handle a full-blooded level five feral and, despite telling Kristi that he needed time to adjust, he sincerely hoped he had finally found that woman in his bondmate. The initial signs were encouraging. Plus, he suspected he would get much enjoyment out of helping that saucy hellcat to emerge ……

The locker room was empty, but several uniforms were missing, evidence that at least some of his class were already waiting for him. He suited up quickly, now able to don his uniform in record time thanks to years of practise. His black T-shirt, however, was missing and he clicked his tongue in annoyance as he remembered dropping it into the laundry after his last defence class. But rather than trail all the way back upstairs for a clean one, he decided to go without and shrugged his jacket on over his bare torso, leaving it undone. He grinned smugly to himself. The girls would get a kick out of that ……

His good mood lasted throughout the entire training session, which was a rarity, as a group of kids gathered together invariably managed to do something to annoy him. But he didn't bat an eye when Psyche turned up late as usual, merely waving her into line with the other trainees when she gave the usual feeble excuse for her tardiness. And when Firefly pulsed brightly right in Wolfsbane's face, temporarily blinding her, he calmly helped the young lupine to her feet and organised Husk to accompany her to the med-lab so that Henry could check her over and make sure there were no lasting effects. The trainees by now were getting nervous. So when Cannonball overshot his mark not more than ten minutes later and barrelled into Wolverine with all the force of a runaway express train, hurling him across the Danger Room to collide painfully with the opposite wall, they fully expected some form of outburst. Wolverine, however, staggered to his feet, dusted himself off while waiting for his head to stop ringing, and then calmly told a startled Cannonball to watch where he was going next time. Behind his back, the trainees exchanged incredulous glances. This was behaviour totally unheard of from the feral X-Man and they were understandably disconcerted.

Totally unaware of the fact that he was completely freaking out his defence class, Logan put them into pairs and set them to sparring with each other, utilising moves he had designed specifically for the trainees with a mind for honing their fighting abilities, should they ever find themselves powerless and seemingly at their enemy's mercy. He wandered among them, offering advice here and there, and occasionally stepping in to correct a stance or refresh someone's memory on a particular move. His tone was light and easy, so unlike the gruff no-nonsense way he usually taught the trainees and there was much scratching of heads and exchanged glances as there was learning.

Two hours later, he brought the session to a close and sent the trainees for a 'light' run around the mansion grounds to cool off, amidst much groaning and pleas for leniency from his charges who had grown to like the new and improved Wolverine and were loathe to lose him. His good nature, however, didn't stretch so far as to stint on basic training and their pleas fell on deaf ears, as he ushered them out of the Danger Room and sent them on their way. Alone now, he headed back upstairs, his growling stomach reminding him he had skipped breakfast and sending him to the kitchen in search of food.

He picked up the delicate scent of freesia as he stepped out of the elevator and he inhaled deeply, knowing instantly who had recently walked down the hallway ahead of him. The trail was going in his direction, so he was content to follow it, taking a deep breath every few steps as if to remind himself of the face that belonged to the scent, though he needed no such reminders. The wearer's identity was forever etched on his psyche – he knew her face as well as he knew his own.

It was no surprise, therefore, to see Jean standing at the coffee maker as he pushed open the kitchen door. She looked up as he entered, her face breaking into a welcoming smile.

"Oh, hey Logan."

"Hey yerself, Jeannie."

"Been giving the girls palpitations again, eh?" She indicated the bare chest beneath his jacket with a nod of her head.

Logan looked down at himself and shrugged. "Don't hurt none," he grunted. "Makes 'em sharp. Forces 'em ta concentrate." He stalked to the refrigerator and opened the door, searching the contents for something edible.

Jean pushed back her hair with elegantly manicured fingers. "Y'know, Logan, when you've finished setting the girls' hearts all a-flutter, I usually have them for the next class. No wonder I can't teach them anything when they're all fantasising about your chest."

Logan ducked out from behind the fridge door, waggled an eyebrow at her and then disappeared back into the assorted goodies on offer.

"You're incorrigible, did you know that?" Jean leaned against the counter top and folded her arms, stifling a smile. Even without trying, she could sense Logan's good humour and she felt heartened by that. Hopefully, this meant he had taken her advice and spoken to Kristi.

"You know me, Jeannie, I aim ta please." Logan came out of the fridge with a covered bowl containing leftover pasta from the previous night's meal. He closed the door, snagged a fork from the cutlery drawer and began scarfing his prey as though famished. "Missed breakfast," he grunted past a mouthful of food, in reply to Jean's raised eyebrow.

"Obviously." Jean fixed herself a mug of coffee and then gestured to an empty mug. "Want one?"

"If ya don't mind." Logan leaned back against the counter top with a nod. "Black. No sugar."

Jean deftly poured another mug and pushed it across the counter top towards him. Logan nodded his thanks and pulled it nearer, wrinkling his nose as the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee drifted around him.

Footsteps sounded out in the hallway as one class finished and the students headed for the next. Jean turned towards the door as if she could see the activity beyond, knowing that it was almost time for her own class but needing to talk to Logan about something close to his heart before she left. When she turned back, he was watching her with a steady eye and she blushed under his scrutiny, painfully aware that she was still not immune to his feral charm. Not many females were. Which brought her neatly back to the subject at hand ……

She coughed softly and cleared her throat before speaking. "I was wondering, Logan. Is Kristi okay? I haven't seen her all morning."

Logan shrugged, poking around in the bowl of pasta with his fork. "She was okay when I left her room this – um – when I saw her last. Why? Is something wrong?"

Jean shook her head quickly, her red hair tumbling about her shoulders. Logan hadn't been quick enough to cover his slip and she smiled to herself, inwardly. So he'd spent the night with Kristi, had he? Well, things were certainly looking up! "I'm sure it's nothing to be worried about, Logan. She's probably just slept in after a sleepless night." Logan's eyebrow twitched at this and Jean bit her tongue. Stop it! Naughty girl! "It's just that she didn't turn up this morning for her shielding session."

"She didn't?" Logan reached inward, 'feeling' for Kristi tentatively. Everything seemed normal enough, but then he hadn't realised she was picking up the effects of the alcohol the night before either. The bonding was so new to both of them that neither of them really knew how to read the signals it was giving them. It was like the blind leading the blind.

He covered his hesitation by shovelling in another forkful of pasta, aware that Jean was watching him with an interested expression. He clamped down hard on his shields. The last thing he needed was the telepath picking up a stray thought and learning about the bond. "Ya want me ta check on her, Jeannie? Make sure she's okay?"

"I'd appreciate it, Logan. I'd have checked myself, but if there's something wrong I'm sure she'd rather see you than me." She smiled encouragingly as Logan huffed. "For now, though, I've got a class to teach and I'm already running late." She took a last gulp of her coffee and put the mug on the drainer. "Catch you later, Logan."

"Sure." Logan watched her go, thoughtfully, still staring at the door long after it had swung closed behind the leggy redhead. Slowly, he finished off the pasta and placed the bowl on the drainer beside Jean's mug, all the while questing for Kristi and receiving absolutely nothing in return. With a disgruntled sigh, he left his coffee still steaming on the counter and went to find out what was so important as to make his mate forget an important shielding lesson.

oooOOOooo

"Kristi?"

There was no answer to his cautious knock, so Logan cracked open the door, peering into the darkened room beyond. The curtains were still closed and everything was still pretty much as he had left it. A Kristi-sized lump in the bed groaned weakly at his inquiry.

"This is hardly the time fer a lie-in, darlin'." Logan closed the door and stalked over to the bed, just in time to catch the evil eye that glared at him from the pillow. "Ya missed yer session with Jean."

"Bugger off, Logan. I hate you!"

"That's not what ya implied this morning'." Logan quirked an eyebrow at his bondmate as she pulled the comforter up to cover her head. "All those lovin' caresses, the passionate kiss …… a guy could be fooled inta thinkin' ya loved him."

"Well, I don't." Kristi's voice issued from under the comforter, somewhat muffled. "Go away."

The vehemence in her voice actually shocked him and he rocked back slightly as a spike of anger assaulted him through the bond. Puzzled, he sat on the edge of the bed, trying to pry the comforter from his mate's vice-like grip. "Kristi? This isn't like you, Kris. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Kristi pushed back the comforter to glare up at him with steely eyes. "I've got the headache from hell, is what's wrong! And it's all your fault!"

"My fault? How the hell could a headache be my fault? I don't …… oh." Understanding suddenly dawned on him and he looked down at her, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "Ya've got my hangover?"

"It would appear so." Kristi tried to pull the comforter back up, but Logan held on to it tightly, denying her the opportunity to hide away from him again. She snorted, crossly. "I'm glad you think it's funny, 'cause from where I'm sitting it's not so amusing."

"But ya were okay when I left this mornin'." Logan frowned, trying to make sense of this new development.

Kristi snorted. "Yes. I was. At least until I tried to get out of bed and then a bomb went off in my brain. I wish you could have felt it, Logan, it was a singularly unique experience." She tugged angrily at the comforter, wincing as the sharp movement caused a wave of pain to blossom behind her eyes. It started small and radiated outwards, as though a tiny man with a pickaxe was desperately trying to dig through her skull. She closed her eyes, groaning as she tried to ride out the assault.

"Aw, babe, I'm sorry." Logan tried to pull her to him, but she fought him off, weakly.

"Go away. Leave me alone." Her voice was small and pitiful.

"I'm not leavin' ya alone. Yer hurtin'. An' yer right, it is my fault, in a roundabout way. I shoulda known what the bond would do."

"How could you have known? It's not as though there's a manual for this blasted bond, after all." Kristi sighed and allowed Logan to pull her close, propping her head on his shoulder. He brought his feet up onto the bed and leaned back against the headboard, crossing his legs at the ankles and wrapping his arms around her. Kristi snuggled close, desiring comfort, despite her earlier words to the contrary, and delighting in the feel of his strong arms around her, protecting her. Keeping a tight hold of the comforter lest it should slip – she was still wearing nothing but panties after all – she allowed Logan to rock her gently, stroking her hair and twining his big fingers in her curls.

Gradually, she began to relax, soothed by the motion of Logan's breathing. Her eyes fluttered closed and she had begun to drift away into a light doze when she felt Logan's body shift slightly as he looked down at her.

"Headache any better?" he asked, softly.

Kristi remembered just in time not to shake her head. "Not much. I've never had one like this before. It feels like my head's bursting."

"Can I try something?"

Kristi tilted her head gently to look up at him in suspicion. "Such as?"

She felt Logan shrug. "I'm not sure. But I think I can help. Drop yer shields."

Kristi hesitated a moment, then did as she was told, feeling the now familiar surge of Logan's presence in her mind as her mate also lowered his. Nothing happened for a second or two, but then something seemed to clamp around the ball of pain in her head, squeezing it as though attempting to throttle it into submission and sending a wave of cold radiating outwards from that single point, like water being dumped on a forest fire. It was a strange sensation and she shivered, feeling her mate's arms tighten around her, protectively. Logan, eyes closed and head tilted back against the headboard, grunted once and then flinched slightly as though gut punched, before letting out a ragged sigh. Kristi gasped and sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest, the pain miraculously gone.

"What did you do?" she asked, incredulously.

Logan shrugged, opening his eyes and gazing at her, earnestly. "I don't know," he admitted. "I think I pulled the pain inta me an' …… smothered it. It seemed the right thing ta do."

Kristi sighed and snuggled back into his chest, resting her head over his heart. The beat was strong and strangely soothing. Logan wrapped his arms around her once more, nuzzling into her hair as she lay against him.

"Do you think we'll ever get it all figured out, Logan?" Kristi asked him, softly, slipping a hand beneath his jacket and calmly exploring the broad expanse of chest she found there. Her mate shivered at her touch and she felt an answering surge of arousal run through her own body. Realising their shields were still down, resulting in each touch and emotion being heightened to its fullest, Kristi stilled her hand, shocked and yet strangely delighted at the response she could provoke in the tough and seemingly unmovable feral.

Logan took a moment to collect his thoughts before answering. "Get what figured out, Kris?"

"The bond." Kristi tugged the comforter higher, as the weight of Logan's arms dragged it down – not altogether an accident, she figured. "We haven't a clue what we're doing half the time, Logan. Doesn't it scare you? That one of us will do something wrong and hurt the other?"

"I don't think it works that way, Kris." Logan surreptitiously exerted a little more pressure on the comforter, stopping only when the upper swell of his mate's breasts came into view. It was an intoxicating sight. Kristi huffed and tugged the comforter up once more. "I don't think the bond will allow us ta hurt each other."

"But there could be other side effects that we don't even know about," argued Kristi. "Like the drinking thing. I don't want to be staggering about like a loon every time you have a night on the town. What if the Professor had seen me? Bad enough that we ran into Jean and Scott."

"You did?" Logan shrugged. "Jean didn't mention that." He gave Kristi a squeeze, unintentionally inching the comforter lower again. "Look, whatever comes along, Kris, we'll deal with it, okay? I'm not the only feral ever to bond a mate. They managed. So will we."

Kristi nodded, her hair rustling against his leather jacket. "We'll manage," she agreed, easily. "But I warn you, Logan, if you ever get me falling down drunk again, believe me, I will starbolt you so hard it'll take you a week to walk back to the mansion! It wasn't funny!"

Logan, however, thought otherwise. "I wish I'd been there. I only caught the tail-end of it, but yer cute when yer drunk."

Kristi punched him in the ribs and Logan grunted, catching her hand and pressing a kiss to her fingers. "Look, Kris, I'd love ta lie in bed with ya all day, but I gotta go. I promised Kitty I'd give her a simulated lesson in the Black Bird this afternoon. She's due to take her first real flight soon an' she needs more practise hours."

"I thought you didn't like flying?" questioned Kristi, as Logan shifted off the bed, leaving her to snuggle under the covers.

"This isn't flyin', it's the simulator," responded Logan, guardedly, then figured What the hell? "It's not so much the Black Bird I don't like, it's Scott flyin' the Black Bird." He snorted. "The guy gets delusions o' grandeur the minute he gets behind the stick. Kitty'll be a natural, as soon as she can figure out how ta stop Lockheed from chasin' all the flashin' lights an' flickin' switches."

Kristi peered at him, curiously. "Who's Lockheed?"

"Her dragon."

"Her …… what? A dragon? Kitty's got a dragon?" Kristi sat up, forgetting about the comforter and letting it fall slightly, giving Logan a tantalising view of pleasures to come. "Why the hell didn't anyone tell me?"

Logan scratched his head, distractedly. "Well, things have been kinda intense lately. An' Kitty's been away fer a while. Guess we all forgot." He shrugged. "Don't worry, you'll meet Lockheed soon enough. He's probably been sussin' ya out from afar, knowin' him. He'll introduce himself when he's sure ya ain't a threat."

"He will?" Kristi looked around her room warily, as if expecting a dragon to appear at any moment. "Logan …… ?"

"I gotta go, darlin'." Logan strode to the door, raising his shields and feeling Kristi do the same. "I'll catch ya later." He opened the door, preparing to leave for the second time that day, then hesitated as a thought occurred to him. "Kristi, the drinkin' thing …..? If you get drunk when I drink, d'ya think …… ?"

He scooted quickly out into the hallway as Kristi's pillow rebounded off the rapidly closing door behind him ……

NEXT: Girl talk and chocolate ice cream!