MAIL CALL
Blix Howlett - Jean's little plan is about to be revealed.
Jade - Yes, ma'am.
MEL - A nice friendly embrace? That's a good one. :-)
joeysjellofreak - I'm not sure, probably 18. She's just finishing up high school. Side note: this story will probably keep going for a long time. I already tried to end it twice in Wild Side. LOL.
zeelee - Thank you. I've always liked Maverick and wanted to see more of him.
TheWolf - Thank you. She will...eventually. (Laughs evilly.)
dedredhed - Yes ma'am! ;-)
B Oots - Well, we're finally going to get to that partly.
****************************************
Chapter 14
Logan sat still so as not to wake Jubilee as he finished off the beers Kurt had brought in earlier. He really wished he could just get drunk, especially after his meeting with Betsy.
It was not fair. He knew he sounded like a child, but it wasn't. That murdering son of a bitch, Creed, had found actual love and acceptance. Logan could smell the sincerity on Betsy when she spoke of him. The same smell that had permeated the air when she had driven the psionic knife into his brain, forcing his concious mind down, closer to the feral. The entire world at that moment had smelt of one thing: mates. They were mates.
Sabretooth had finally beat Logan where it counted the most. He had found a mate and what did Logan have? He smiled to himself bitterly. Oh, he knew exactly what he had. Jean had shown that to him. He had a mistress, a leash.
He had drifted in that darkness, alone, not wanting to come back. He had never felt his lonliness, his need, more clearly than when he had smelt the mated pair together. It was all he ever wanted, all he had been denied. First Silver Fox, later Heather Hudson, most recently, Mariko, and, underneath and through it all, Jean Grey.
He smiled in disgust of himself. The mighty Wolverine, the bad ass who didn't need anything, pitying himself because he didn't have a woman. But, damnit, why not? He had tried so hard to tame his wild side for Heather, Mariko, even Jean. Had tried so hard to show them he could be the kind of man they needed. Each time, though, he had lost out. Silver Fox and Mariko were dead. Heather had been married. Jean...Jean had played him.
He had come to that conclucion, had had that illusion ripped away when he had watched that animal Creed and his mate together. Had smelled their phermones, their bond. Had watched and listened as Betsy immediately sided with her mate, accepting him, protecting him, respecting him. He had watched her expect the same thing from Creed and receive it. So, very different from Logan and Jean. So different from Jean and Scott. And he wanted.
He had been kidding himself all these years. Jean didn't want him, not as a mate. Didn't want Scott either. She'd proven that when Logan had tried to wake up.
He could still see her clearly. The bright path back to the world had shown welcomingly and he had stepped on it, if not eagerly, willingly. Then she had stepped onto the road, right in his path. At first, he had been happy. She had come for him but...something was wrong. Her smile was not as gentle as he had remembered it.
"I've come to wake you up, Logan, me, alone."
He had been a bit confused at the words but had ignored them, thinking it unfortunate phrasing. "Thanks for showin' up, darlin'. It'll be nice to have the company 'long the road."
"You don't understand, Logan. I am the road to waking up. Only me."
"What do ya mean? I can hear the others out there."
"Yes, we're all looking forward to you coming back, especially me." She had moved forward to embrace him but he had immediately stepped back.
After seeing a true mated pair, he wasn't sure he could go back to the...game he and Jean had. "That's somethin' we'll talk about later, Red."
"You're rejecting me?" At first he thought she was about to cry but then he had seen her eyes were not sparkling with tears but with anger.
"Nah, but we're gonna need t'talk. We're gonna have ta make some decisions."
Her eyes had narrowed in almost insane rage. "You are rejecting me. What, I'm not pretty enough now that that damn animal scarred me. No, I'm the only person who loves you, Logan, who will put up with you. So, you better get that straight in your head!" The path had disappeared under his feet at that point and she had lashed out at him, hurting him and he had retreated back into the darkness to escape her.
Deep in the nothingness, he had licked his wounds and growled in hatred of her and of himself.
Used to be, he had believed her. He had believed most of his life that his feral side was something to be suppressed, could at best be tolerated. It was never something a woman, a good woman, could accept. It was a shame of his that he had to keep hidden, under control. Then everything he had believed about himself, the women in his life, had been ripped to shreds by Betsy.
He respected Betsy. They were friends and she had proven all his beliefs wrong. Not only did she love Creed, she accepted him, matched him, respected him. She had not demanded he get rid of the animal inside. She embraced it. A good woman and a feral in love, mated. He had thought it an impossibility. He was wrong.
The next time he had attempted to come out, he had heard Jubilee crying. Though he was awash in his own self pity, he could not deny her, hurt her. So, he had attempted the climb once again, and once again been met by Jean. This time, she had made it quite clear, either they went back the way it had always been, with her hand on the leash and him coming like some damn puppy any time she called, or there was nothing.
He, in his pride, had rejected her and she had hurt him, badly. His only recourse had been a deeper retreat, running from her in his own mind.
His hand tightened on the beer bottle, breaking it, but he did not feel the shards of glass puncture his skin.
He would have to thank Betsy later for getting him the hell out of that mansion. He could have never woken up there, never gotten past Jean and he sure as well was never going to give into her. Because of that red-haired bitch and his own blindness, he had sacrificed years of his life and, worse, he had hurt Jubilee. He had almost died on her because he had trusted Jean.
His memories of that day Betsy had hit him were becoming clearer and clearer. It was Jean who had started the fight. It was Jean who had called for Logan, ordering, not asking never asking, ordering him to stop Creed. And he, stupid domesticated dog that he had been, had obeyed immediately, without thinking. She had almost gotten him killed and for what? Logan could remember clearly the look of hatred...jealousy in Jean's eyes as she had stared at Betsy and Creed. Fucking whore couldn't stand for another woman to be admired could she. At the time he had not questioned it but now, he wondered, what the hell had Jean been doing out there anyway. Why had she been near Creed. Fuck it. He refused to think about her anymore. It had brought him nothing but pain.
He glanced down at the raven haired girl sleeping on him. Thank god Betsy had sent Jubilee. If he'd been left with that bitch, he would have never come back. Would have died rather than give Jean the satisfaction and he was never going back the mansion.
Now, all he had to do was decide what to do with the rest of his life.
************************************
Sabretooth had been moving through the darkness for several hours. His enhanced senses allowing him to move confidently throught the unlit tunnels. Maverick was close and running out of options. Sabretooth reached up and brought down the tunnel behind him as he had been doing periodically for the last three hours, cutting off his prey's avenues of escape if Maverick doubled back. The sound of the man's movements had slowed down, indicating that he was thinking hard.
Sabretooth stepped up his pursuit, moving silently through the darkness, closing in until...A roar of pain reverberated through the tunnels as Sabretooth retreated quickly, his hands covering his eyes. Fucking asshole, lighting a magnesium flare down here after so long in the dark. It almost felt as if the light had melted Sabretooths eyes.
He forced himself to breath regularly and concentrate, retreating back along his path, trusting in his memory to pull him out of line of the light and the inevitable following gunfire.
The bullets ripped into his arms and chest as his healing factor quickly repaired his vision. That was it, best man or no, he was going to break the merc's leg for this.
A last growl and his hand lashed out at the side of the tunnel, clawing out hunks of rubble then sending the makeshift missiles speeding down the hall. Luck was with him, one of the rocks hit the flare out of Maverick's hand causing it to skid around the corner and blanketing the tunnel in darkness again.
He could hear Maverick moving quickly and assumed the man was either trying for another flare or trying to switch his night vision goggles back on. Too bad, he wouldn't get the chance. Sabretooth launched himself at the sound, trusting in his hearing to ensure his accuracy. He smiled with satisfaction as he ran into someone solid. The smile was short lived as the unseen opponent twisted in his grasp, bringing a foot against the side of Sabretooth's knee and breaking it.
His leg giving out from under him, Sabretooth kept control of the situation long enough to land on Maverick who cursed in German, English, and few other languages as he shoved at the weight pinning him down.
He succeeded in hooking his fingers around the back of Sabretooth's jaw and pulled, dislocating it while Sabretooth pushed Maverick onto the Merc's back, planting his good knee on the guy's chest while trying to get a hold on the man's neck. Several more minutes, one gouged eye, and one dislocated shoulder later and Victor finally got his claws wrapped around Maverick's bare neck.
Thankfully, his jaw had fixed itself so he could talk again. "Cut that shit out! You're fucking caught, now don't make me kill ya 'fore I can ask ya."
"Ask me what before you die, Creed?"
Sabretooth heard the taletell click of a sawed-off, double-barrelled shot gun being cocked and both barrels pressed into his stomach. He grinned. "Good one, specially with one arm out of comission."
"Thank you, now, before you die, why are you trying to kill me this time?"
"Y'know, I doubt the shotgun'd kill me regularly but I'm guessin' ya got some special ammo in there. Don' matter. Like I tried t'tell ya earlier, I'm not tryin' t'kill ya. I just wanna ask a question."
"Then ask."
"Would ya be the best man at my weddin'?"
Blix Howlett - Jean's little plan is about to be revealed.
Jade - Yes, ma'am.
MEL - A nice friendly embrace? That's a good one. :-)
joeysjellofreak - I'm not sure, probably 18. She's just finishing up high school. Side note: this story will probably keep going for a long time. I already tried to end it twice in Wild Side. LOL.
zeelee - Thank you. I've always liked Maverick and wanted to see more of him.
TheWolf - Thank you. She will...eventually. (Laughs evilly.)
dedredhed - Yes ma'am! ;-)
B Oots - Well, we're finally going to get to that partly.
****************************************
Chapter 14
Logan sat still so as not to wake Jubilee as he finished off the beers Kurt had brought in earlier. He really wished he could just get drunk, especially after his meeting with Betsy.
It was not fair. He knew he sounded like a child, but it wasn't. That murdering son of a bitch, Creed, had found actual love and acceptance. Logan could smell the sincerity on Betsy when she spoke of him. The same smell that had permeated the air when she had driven the psionic knife into his brain, forcing his concious mind down, closer to the feral. The entire world at that moment had smelt of one thing: mates. They were mates.
Sabretooth had finally beat Logan where it counted the most. He had found a mate and what did Logan have? He smiled to himself bitterly. Oh, he knew exactly what he had. Jean had shown that to him. He had a mistress, a leash.
He had drifted in that darkness, alone, not wanting to come back. He had never felt his lonliness, his need, more clearly than when he had smelt the mated pair together. It was all he ever wanted, all he had been denied. First Silver Fox, later Heather Hudson, most recently, Mariko, and, underneath and through it all, Jean Grey.
He smiled in disgust of himself. The mighty Wolverine, the bad ass who didn't need anything, pitying himself because he didn't have a woman. But, damnit, why not? He had tried so hard to tame his wild side for Heather, Mariko, even Jean. Had tried so hard to show them he could be the kind of man they needed. Each time, though, he had lost out. Silver Fox and Mariko were dead. Heather had been married. Jean...Jean had played him.
He had come to that conclucion, had had that illusion ripped away when he had watched that animal Creed and his mate together. Had smelled their phermones, their bond. Had watched and listened as Betsy immediately sided with her mate, accepting him, protecting him, respecting him. He had watched her expect the same thing from Creed and receive it. So, very different from Logan and Jean. So different from Jean and Scott. And he wanted.
He had been kidding himself all these years. Jean didn't want him, not as a mate. Didn't want Scott either. She'd proven that when Logan had tried to wake up.
He could still see her clearly. The bright path back to the world had shown welcomingly and he had stepped on it, if not eagerly, willingly. Then she had stepped onto the road, right in his path. At first, he had been happy. She had come for him but...something was wrong. Her smile was not as gentle as he had remembered it.
"I've come to wake you up, Logan, me, alone."
He had been a bit confused at the words but had ignored them, thinking it unfortunate phrasing. "Thanks for showin' up, darlin'. It'll be nice to have the company 'long the road."
"You don't understand, Logan. I am the road to waking up. Only me."
"What do ya mean? I can hear the others out there."
"Yes, we're all looking forward to you coming back, especially me." She had moved forward to embrace him but he had immediately stepped back.
After seeing a true mated pair, he wasn't sure he could go back to the...game he and Jean had. "That's somethin' we'll talk about later, Red."
"You're rejecting me?" At first he thought she was about to cry but then he had seen her eyes were not sparkling with tears but with anger.
"Nah, but we're gonna need t'talk. We're gonna have ta make some decisions."
Her eyes had narrowed in almost insane rage. "You are rejecting me. What, I'm not pretty enough now that that damn animal scarred me. No, I'm the only person who loves you, Logan, who will put up with you. So, you better get that straight in your head!" The path had disappeared under his feet at that point and she had lashed out at him, hurting him and he had retreated back into the darkness to escape her.
Deep in the nothingness, he had licked his wounds and growled in hatred of her and of himself.
Used to be, he had believed her. He had believed most of his life that his feral side was something to be suppressed, could at best be tolerated. It was never something a woman, a good woman, could accept. It was a shame of his that he had to keep hidden, under control. Then everything he had believed about himself, the women in his life, had been ripped to shreds by Betsy.
He respected Betsy. They were friends and she had proven all his beliefs wrong. Not only did she love Creed, she accepted him, matched him, respected him. She had not demanded he get rid of the animal inside. She embraced it. A good woman and a feral in love, mated. He had thought it an impossibility. He was wrong.
The next time he had attempted to come out, he had heard Jubilee crying. Though he was awash in his own self pity, he could not deny her, hurt her. So, he had attempted the climb once again, and once again been met by Jean. This time, she had made it quite clear, either they went back the way it had always been, with her hand on the leash and him coming like some damn puppy any time she called, or there was nothing.
He, in his pride, had rejected her and she had hurt him, badly. His only recourse had been a deeper retreat, running from her in his own mind.
His hand tightened on the beer bottle, breaking it, but he did not feel the shards of glass puncture his skin.
He would have to thank Betsy later for getting him the hell out of that mansion. He could have never woken up there, never gotten past Jean and he sure as well was never going to give into her. Because of that red-haired bitch and his own blindness, he had sacrificed years of his life and, worse, he had hurt Jubilee. He had almost died on her because he had trusted Jean.
His memories of that day Betsy had hit him were becoming clearer and clearer. It was Jean who had started the fight. It was Jean who had called for Logan, ordering, not asking never asking, ordering him to stop Creed. And he, stupid domesticated dog that he had been, had obeyed immediately, without thinking. She had almost gotten him killed and for what? Logan could remember clearly the look of hatred...jealousy in Jean's eyes as she had stared at Betsy and Creed. Fucking whore couldn't stand for another woman to be admired could she. At the time he had not questioned it but now, he wondered, what the hell had Jean been doing out there anyway. Why had she been near Creed. Fuck it. He refused to think about her anymore. It had brought him nothing but pain.
He glanced down at the raven haired girl sleeping on him. Thank god Betsy had sent Jubilee. If he'd been left with that bitch, he would have never come back. Would have died rather than give Jean the satisfaction and he was never going back the mansion.
Now, all he had to do was decide what to do with the rest of his life.
************************************
Sabretooth had been moving through the darkness for several hours. His enhanced senses allowing him to move confidently throught the unlit tunnels. Maverick was close and running out of options. Sabretooth reached up and brought down the tunnel behind him as he had been doing periodically for the last three hours, cutting off his prey's avenues of escape if Maverick doubled back. The sound of the man's movements had slowed down, indicating that he was thinking hard.
Sabretooth stepped up his pursuit, moving silently through the darkness, closing in until...A roar of pain reverberated through the tunnels as Sabretooth retreated quickly, his hands covering his eyes. Fucking asshole, lighting a magnesium flare down here after so long in the dark. It almost felt as if the light had melted Sabretooths eyes.
He forced himself to breath regularly and concentrate, retreating back along his path, trusting in his memory to pull him out of line of the light and the inevitable following gunfire.
The bullets ripped into his arms and chest as his healing factor quickly repaired his vision. That was it, best man or no, he was going to break the merc's leg for this.
A last growl and his hand lashed out at the side of the tunnel, clawing out hunks of rubble then sending the makeshift missiles speeding down the hall. Luck was with him, one of the rocks hit the flare out of Maverick's hand causing it to skid around the corner and blanketing the tunnel in darkness again.
He could hear Maverick moving quickly and assumed the man was either trying for another flare or trying to switch his night vision goggles back on. Too bad, he wouldn't get the chance. Sabretooth launched himself at the sound, trusting in his hearing to ensure his accuracy. He smiled with satisfaction as he ran into someone solid. The smile was short lived as the unseen opponent twisted in his grasp, bringing a foot against the side of Sabretooth's knee and breaking it.
His leg giving out from under him, Sabretooth kept control of the situation long enough to land on Maverick who cursed in German, English, and few other languages as he shoved at the weight pinning him down.
He succeeded in hooking his fingers around the back of Sabretooth's jaw and pulled, dislocating it while Sabretooth pushed Maverick onto the Merc's back, planting his good knee on the guy's chest while trying to get a hold on the man's neck. Several more minutes, one gouged eye, and one dislocated shoulder later and Victor finally got his claws wrapped around Maverick's bare neck.
Thankfully, his jaw had fixed itself so he could talk again. "Cut that shit out! You're fucking caught, now don't make me kill ya 'fore I can ask ya."
"Ask me what before you die, Creed?"
Sabretooth heard the taletell click of a sawed-off, double-barrelled shot gun being cocked and both barrels pressed into his stomach. He grinned. "Good one, specially with one arm out of comission."
"Thank you, now, before you die, why are you trying to kill me this time?"
"Y'know, I doubt the shotgun'd kill me regularly but I'm guessin' ya got some special ammo in there. Don' matter. Like I tried t'tell ya earlier, I'm not tryin' t'kill ya. I just wanna ask a question."
"Then ask."
"Would ya be the best man at my weddin'?"