1840

"Father, please." I begged him, my dress rustling behind me as I chased him down the corridor of the Palace of Versailles. "I want to go."

"A woman does not have adventures and a female will not cross oceans without a mate to care for her." Father replied cooly. "We are in the most beautiful country in the world. Why would you want to go to wild territories?"

"For adventure." I explained. "I want to go and see things that haven't been seen before. It's just the woods, Father. I can handle myself. The colonies are hardly wild."

"But you aren't wanting to go to the colonies. You wish to travel north." Father turned to look at me. "Charlotte, I just want you to be safe. You cannot go alone and I do not have anyone to chaperone you. It must be another time. Come meet your grandfather's guest. I expect you to be a good hostess to Master Howlett."

"Ugh, another stuffy old man who thinks he can mate me." I mumbled. I stomped after my father with my arms crossed over my chest, grumbling about the restrictive customs of our family. Who cared if we were from the French court? I certainly didn't and glared at my brother as he elbowed me in the side when we arrived in the ballroom. Whispering to Christien, I asked, "Who is Master Howlett? Why is he here?"

"Grandfather invited him. He thinks that Master Howlett can tame you." Christien grinned like a cat and I stomped his foot before earning a stern look from Mother.

There were members and Alphas from packs across the known world, all of them wanting to make an alliance with my father and grandfather. What better way than mating with the jewel of Grandfather's eye? I danced with several Alphas before Christien and I sat down to eat.

"What do you think, Lottie?" Grandfather asked while we dined. He had spared no expense for this party. "Any one of these males could do well by you."

"They're frightfully dull," I answered, sipping my wine. "Do I have to meet more?"

"It's your duty, my dear." He took my hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it with a fond smile. "I wouldn't allow them near you if I didn't think they were worthy of you."

"Where is Master Howlett from?" I asked, scanning the room for him. "I've not heard the name before."

"It's an opportunity to join with the Northwest Territories." Grandfather answered. "He has a brother too, but the brother is hardly fit to be anyone's mate."

"What happened to his brother?"

"It seems he got himself sent away from the Territories and sentenced to labor in the desert."

"What did he do?"

"He murdered an entire town." Grandfather shook his head as he spoke. "There was a man who wronged him and he couldn't control his animal. Now, enough talk of these things. May I dance with my diamond?"

"Oui, Grandpere." I smiled at him and we moved to the dance floor, dancing as the music played. I loved my grandfather very much and he doted on me, granting me almost anything I wanted but this was one area he wouldn't relent on.

"I'm going to get some air." I curtsied to my grandfather and he bowed and I escaped to the balcony. I let out a deep breath before I realized I wasn't alone. A man was smoking a cigar and glanced my way with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was here."

"No. I—It's fine." He muttered, puffing on his cigar. "Just needed a break from the-inside."

"Me too." I replied. "This doesn't really seem like your type of event. I'm here because I have to but you seem more like a woodsman."

He acutally chuckled. "I'm here to meet some spoiled brat. Just cause my brother gets shipped off somewhere means I'm in charge of mating the princess of the freaking French pack." He took another puff of his cigar. "What's your name?"

"Charlotte Dubois. Spoiled brat and princess of the freaking French pack at your service." I curtsied and giggled at the awkward look on his face. "You must be Master Howlett. If it makes you feel any better, I didn't want to meet you either."

"Really?" Master Howlett raised a curious eyebrow. "You don't like this whole fancy dance and clothes routine?"

"Not really. I wanted to go on an adventure." I leaned against a marble column. "Father made me come."

"What kind of adventure?" Howlett asked.

"I don't know. Anything except this—being forced into a relationship for an alliance that means nothing to me."

"Let's go have an adventure, then."

"What?"

"You want to have an adventure, then let's go." He laughed at my surprised look. "What?"

"You could be a psycopath. You could kill me." I scoffed.

"You gonna be a pain my ass?"

"No."

"Then I won't kill you." Howlett sat on the edge of the balcony and swung his legs over, letting them dangle over the side.

I shrieked as he jumped, looking over the edge and fully expecting him to be splattered on the grass. He looked up at me expectantly. "You comin'?"

"Are you going to catch me?" I called down to him, my heart pounding.

"Won't know unless you jump."

This was stupid and juvenile but I found myself sitting on the balcony's edge and closing my eyes as I shoved myself off it. I landed in strong arms, the wind knocked out of me and looked up into Howlett's smiling face. "Name's Jimmy."

"Nice to meet you." I held his gaze for a moment before he put me down.

"There's a ship that leaves at midnight. If we hurry, we can catch it."

"Where's it going?"

"Does it matter?"

We started running, barely making it to the harbor before the ship was ready to leave. The captain recognized me and let us board. I watched France disappear into the horizon with Jimmy standing next to me, a fluttering in my stomach. I was going to have an adventure.

-0-

The ship we had boarded wasn't one of the steamships and I enjoyed the way the ship dove and rose with the waves. Jimmy and I spent the days together but my favorite part of the day was when the sun went down and we sat on the deck to stare at the stars.

"You're not what I expected. I thought you'd be uptight and irritating." Jimmy admitted a few days into our journey. I had my head resting on his shoulder, drifting towards sleep when I felt him put a finger under his chin and pull my face up to look at him. His lips pressed against mine and my mind burst awake as he pulled away, the kiss over as abruptly as it started.

"What am I like?" I said softly, glancing at his lips then back to his eyes. I thought he was going to kiss me again but he opted to brush my hair away from my neck and placed a kiss on my shoulder.

"Beautiful." He moved a few inches and kissed the spot where my neck and shoulder joined. "Smart." Another kiss on my neck. "Brave." His lips pressed against my jawline. "Adventrous." Jimmy hovered his lips over mine, like he was waiting for permission then cleared his throat and moved away. "You should go to your cabin."

I was confused but nodded and stood, making my way to my cabin and closing the door once I entered. I really thought he liked me. One of the sailors had lent me a comb and I used it to de tangle my hair, combing through the long locks while I wondered why Jimmy stopped. I tried to unfasten my dress but my shaking hands made it difficult as I replayed where his lips touched my skin. My heart jumped when I heard the door open and Jimmy stepped through it. We stared at each other for a long few minutes before I said, "Could you help me? I can't get my dress unfastened."

He nodded and closed the door, stepping closer to me. I turned around and pulled my hair over my shoulder so he could undo the buttons. His fingers trembled as they pushed the small buttons through the holes. The off the shoulder sleeves kept the dress up when it was unfastened but I held it up as I turned around to thank him. Instead I asked, "Why'd you stop?"

"Because if I didn't stop there, I wouldn't have." Jimmy answered with a husky voice. I got goosebumps at his words and he spoke again. "Tell me to leave."

I shook my head slowly. "I can't."

"Why?" Jimmy asked.

"I don't want you to."

That was enough of an invitation for him and he put a hand on the back of my head, pulling me in for a kiss. This kiss was different than the one on deck; it was hungry, it was bruising, and it was demanding. I slid my fingers up his chest and wove my fingers in his hair, tugging on the dark strands and causing Jimmy to growl. The sound sent a shiver to my core and Jimmy pushed my dress off my shoulders, letting it fall to the ground. His palms were calloused but the difference in textures made me groan. He stopped kissing me long enough to pick me up bridal style and lay me on the small bed, stepping back to look at my body. Jimmy pulled his loose shirt over his head and then settled himself on top of me, using his forearms to keep from crushing me. "Kiss me."

I did.

We spent every night together for the remainder of the voyage and after we landed, Jimmy found a hotel for us. We didn't have any money but he found a labor job and soon we managed to buy a small cabin. It had only one room, a small mattress in the corner with a stove on the other side. We bought a dresser to house the clothes we purchased and a little kitchen table. It was a little cramped but it was ours and I loved it. Falling for Jimmy was quick and enveloping. Waking up to him every morning and falling next to him every night was the best thing in the world and definitely worth leaving the luxury I had lived in all my life. I loved him and I hoped that nothing would ever change.

-0-

Several months after we obtained our little slice of heaven, there was a knock at the door. We had just finished making love and I was wearing his shirt. Jimmy pulled on his pants and went to go answer it.

"Hello, Jimmy." A voice sent shivers down my spine.

"What are you doing here, Victor?" Jimmy got right to the point.

"Can't a guy check on his little brother?" Victor chuckled, pushing his way in the cabin. He noticed me in the bed and smiled at me. "Am I interrupting?"

"No."

Victor's eyes glittered. "We got a job, Jimmy. Get her out and let's go."

"I have a name." I finally spoke.

"What would that be, sweetheart?"

"Charlotte."

"I'm not kicking her out." Jimmy said, moving to block me from Victor's view. "She lives here."

"Then bring her." Victor shrugged. "She gets killed, it's her own fault."

-0-

Lynx was screaming at me to just lean a few centimeters into our mate, to inhale his scent deeply and never let him go. I'm not proud that I turned to face him and started to lean forward, my lips parting to whisper a name. "Jimmy."

"What?" Victor snarled.

"He's here." The scent had finally registered in my mind. "Why didn't you tell me when you saw him?"

"You didn't ask." To say Victor was pissed was a massive understatement. In an intimate moment I had said his brother's name and not his.

"Why hasn't Jimmy said anything?"

"He don't remember a damn thing unless it's from the past fifteen years, kitten." Victor said. "He doesn't even remember I'm his brother."

I'd have to ask Xavier about that later. "I thought he was dead! I thought you both were!"

"Why the hell would you think that?" Victor was honestly confused.

"Because that's what Stryker told me! He said you were gone!" I ran a hand through my hair, moving away from Victor. "When you showed up at the bar, why didn't you tell me? Or when we were with my pack? You knew I loved him!"

"It wasn't any of your business what he's up to. He's not your mate. I am."

I did the dumbest thing in the world. I slapped Victor as hard as I could. A handprint was already forming on his face when I growled, "Don't you dare make decisions for me."

Storming out of the room, I was furious. I loved Victor because I had to but I had loved Jimmy because I wanted to and Victor knew there was a difference. I headed for the elevator, gasping softly when the door opened and Jimmy was there with a stack of clothes in his hands. "Hey, these are for- what the hell?"

I had thrown my arms around his shoulders, burying my face in his neck and breathing in his scent. He was confused like nobody's business but I held tightly to him, letting tears fall against his skin. "I thought you were dead, James."

An involuntary shiver coursed through him and I knew why. I only called him by his given name in the most intimate moments of our relationship, something that he loved—or had loved. I felt his arms wrap around my waist reluctantly and I melted into him. "You wanna tell me what's going on?"

"I thought I'd lost you." I whispered.

He finally pulled me away from him so he could look into my eyes and used his thumb to wipe away a stray tear. Remember how I said that slapping Victor was the dumbest thing I could have done? I was wrong. What I said next was the dumbest thing I could have done. "Kiss me."

He did.

-0-

Logan was bringing clothes up to the asshat that had been brought here when he saw Charlie by the elevator, a flash of relief and something else on her face before she threw herself in his arms. She smelled good, a cinnamon scent that sent blood rushing below his belt. He felt her tears wet his skin and her body quivered as she breathed shakily.

"I thought you were dead, James." He couldn't help the rush of adrenaline down my spine when she said the name. It sounded familiar and foreign at the same time. Her breath was warm against his neck. He put my arms around her waist and she relaxed against him. He held back the satisfied rumbling that wanted to let her know he was pleased. He didn't even know why she was pleased.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?" He asked gently, not wanting to cause any trouble. Charlie pulled back from him and he frowned at the tear trails that were falling down her cheeks. He lifted his palm to her face, using his thumb to wipe the tears away.

"Kiss me." The words were barely a whisper. If he hadn't been a feral, he wouldn't have heard them. His eyes drifted to the scars that tattooed her lips. He had been wanting to taste them since she first arrived. Something about her was warm and familiar and when he leaned down to kiss her, it felt as though he had done it a thousand times before. Her lips were soft with slight indentations where she was marked and her tongue moved with his perfectly but it was the soft mewling sounds that were coming from her mouth that did him in. He hadn't kissed anyone since Jean died.

When the redheaded telepath crossed his mind, he pulled away from Charlie, ignoring the slight blush on her cheeks and the puffy deliciousness of her lips. The elevator had taken them to the lower levels and he remained on the contraption while she exited. It wasn't until the doors closed that he allowed to let out a breath he had been holding. He shook his head to clear it and collected the clothes that were previously folded but were now scattered on the elevator floor. All he had to do was deliver them to Sabretooth without killing him.

A/N: Gasp! Scandal! :) Jimmy and Charlie's relationship, along with the progression to Victor and Charlie's relationship and the resolution between the three's past relationship will span over several chapters. It was too much to put in one. What do you guys think of Charlie and Jimmy so far? Leave a review and let me know what you think! I meant to have this up hours ago but today has been a complete disaster and I'm going to comic con (whoohoo) so I'm too excited to sleep.

Thanks to my reviewers and those of you who have read/followed/favorited.

Jinx: Your wish is my command, dearie. The flashbacks will be shown and I hope you like them. They're dedicated to you. :)

brigid: Unfortunately, their first meeting wasn't romantic but I think it was so very Victor. :) I'm glad you liked him falling in love with his daughter immediately. It's hard not to when you see little chubby cheeks. :)

OptimusPrimegirl: mwah! Hope you enjoyed this chapter dahling!

Samwilde: You have no idea how much this review made me smile. I'm glad you read it all in one sitting and I hope it continues to be satisfactory for you. I took your advice and I hope you liked what I did with it. :)

I love all my readers!