He could smell she was hurt. He hadn't considered that she might want more than his cub, or that she would want to have another cub with him. Suggesting the lab was the only thing he could think of to solve the problem, he thought it was a good idea, no risk of her getting hurt.
He hadn't slept much, when he did doze off his sleep was wracked with nightmares. Nightmares of being covered in her blood from head to toe, completely naked, her violated and eviscerated body at his feet, his claws at full length, his hands sticky, the copper taste in his mouth, and white splashes of semen dripping from his spent member.
Three years ago it wouldn't have been a nightmare, it would have been a hot erotic dream. But the changes in him, his disgust with Stryker, James abandoning him for good, April leaving him for a God he had no use for, an infant, part of him, so tiny and fragile, being his only reason to keep going. Now Karen, a mutation of unknown strength that could potentially rival his own, and he couldn't figure out how to connect, how to let her know that what he was doing for her, and June, but mostly to protect her.
She would just have to learn. He'd never passed up a free fuck, and here he was, about to swear his life to her, forsaking all others, to give up on one of his most effective means of terror and torture, rape, because it wasn't fair to ask her to give up everything if he didn't as well. He didn't know when the word fair entered into his mind when thinking about her, but he was going to hold himself to the same standards he expected her to strive for.
The cab ride was quiet. She held June, and seemed to concentrate on avoiding his gaze. From the outside she looked like a devoted mother, but he could smell the pain, and the tears she was fighting.
The court house was a jumble of people trying to get papers filed, and on the fifth floor, there was a long line of people trying to get in to see a judge. He took a number from a dispenser, and growled. This was not how he'd planned to spend his day.
"Glad I packed extra bottles." She said quietly. He was glad she'd insisted on the stroller, and a teething ring for June, the hallway was full of squalling cubs, his was quiet. He smiled at her and was surprised by that warm feeling again when she smiled back, revealing her new tooth.
Karen sat quietly on a bench while they waited. He just hoped the ring he'd pulled from the safe this morning would at least make up for some of what she was feeling. He had no idea what kind of ring she'd like, so he just grabbed something he'd bought because it appealed to him.
He wasn't sure why he was even giving a crap, but that damned feeling of guilt was keeping his stomach sour. He knew she was hurting, and angry and disappointed and it was his fault. They sat there quietly for what seemed like hours. Finally he felt he had to break the silence between them.
"I know this isn't exactly what you would have wanted." He said softly. "It's just the best solution I can come up with." It was the closest he could bring himself to apologizing in public.
"I don't want to talk about it." She whispered, and he winced. She really wasn't going to give him a break.
"I'm just trying..."
"Number Fifty Seven." Crap, why'd they have to speed up now? They stood and she pushed the stroller to the clerk's counter.
"Your license was issued yesterday?" The clerk said. "Don't you have a minister or friend who could do this?
"Yes, the person who was going to perform it was called out of town suddenly. We want to get the civil part done before we leave, next week." He said, Karen just nodded.
"Judge Lineman is the only judge on civil duty today. His office is down the hall and to the right. He's got a long line." Victor groaned. More waiting. He had more important shit to do today, like make it to the RFP meeting with Fisk Properties. He was going to have to call and reschedule, and if he lost this contract he wasn't going to be happy.
They followed the directions the clerk gave them and ended up sitting on a bench surrounded by couples, some actually dressed for a wedding. As he looked around he realized these people had one thing in common, they we're happy, nervous, and in one couple's case about to drop a cub on the floor. He really hoped they were next so her mate could get her to a hospital before she delivered. He wanted to laugh at the frail males in their tuxedos and ties.
"Just don't make any vows you won't keep." She whispered. He could smell her tears. What the hell did she mean by that?
"Karen, I'm making the same vows you do. Yeah, I'd planned this on paper, but now I'm having to make promises, and my word is everything. I never go back on it." He growled.
"So it's not on paper anymore?" She was getting angry, something he didn't understand. She was getting what she wanted...no she was getting what he wanted.
"Not if I've got to swear something. That changes things." He knew she wouldn't understand. Frails didn't understand his code, his sense of honor. He'd as soon kill you as look at you, unless he'd made a promise. Then he'd keep to the letter of that promise until it was done. That's why he put up with Toad, Mystique, and even Magneto, hell it was why he'd stayed with Stryker as long as he did. Even after his own blood betrayed him, he'd stayed. Even Jimmy didn't understand it completely. His word was everything.
Karen just turned back to the stroller. He looked at her a minute. The dress she was wearing showed off her figure perfectly. She was elegant and sexy at the same time. The dress was cut low enough that when she bent to pick up the diaper bag he had a really nice view of her assets. He was glad he had one of June's blankets in his lap, or she'd notice his reaction.
If she'd been a stripper he'd have tipped her a thousand bucks for that view...and then they'd have found her dead in the alley later after he finished with her. THAT was what he was protecting Karen from. Why couldn't she understand it? She knew what he was, she'd called him, hired him for a hit. She had to know he wasn't a nice person? She had to know his recreation involved blood and other bodily fluids until someone was dead? Didn't she?
He struggled with an impulse to put his arm around her and the cub, who was sitting in Karen's lap at the moment, chewing on Karen's fingers.
"I think she's got another tooth coming in." Karen said. He actually tried to put his finger in her mouth after retracting his claws painfully. The damned cub bit him, but he grinned at her, and he felt the small ridges coming through the gum.
There were several other couples with children and he tried to watch them without being obvious. These males were touching their females, and he could smell the watered down version of his own protective instincts. How did these males keep from hurting them. There had to be a way, but he didn't trust himself, not with Karen, his urges were getting stronger where she was concerned and he knew she'd be dead if he acted on them.
It was driving him mad. He could smell her, not her emotions but the scent that was Karen. She smelled like a field of sunflowers after a heavy rain, like clean air and fresh damp earth, fertile and wholesome. He wanted to have that scent on his bare skin, but he couldn't figure out how, or rather how to keep it there, because once would never be enough, and once would be all he would ever have. She would be dead, or leave him forever.
That was the other thing driving him mad. This was supposed to be about the cub, but the idea of her leaving was like a sharp blade in the center of his chest, and it had nothing to do with June. He didn't want her to leave HIM.
It was insane. He was a monster, not someone that could have a normal life with a mate and cubs, yet those were the dreams that had him waking up in the worst pain he'd ever felt, his pillow damp and salty with tears he'd never admit to shedding. The worst was when he'd woken up this morning, the feeling of her lips on his, the memory of his brief taste haunting him.
"Next." He looked around the hallway and realized people were looking at them
"I guess that's us." He stood up, somehow realizing that his dark shirt and slacks were very casual for the moment, he could have at least worn a suit.
She tucked June into the stroller, and he followed them into the judge's chambers.
"I hope you aren't too picky, I'm late for lunch with my wife." Judge Lineman said as they shut the door. There was a woman sitting in the room.
"Something simple is fine with us." Karen said, surprising Victor, he hadn't expected her to speak up.
"Did you bring witnesses?"
"No." Victor said.
"Okay, we're going to go for the short version then." The judge motioned them to stand in front of him, with Karen on Victor's right. "Do you have your own vows?"
"No." Karen said softly. Shit, somehow Victor had a feeling he was screwing something up, and didn't know what. The judge took the marriage license and read it, and wrote down the names on a post it note, and set the form on his desk.
"We are gathered here in the presence of this witness to join this man and this woman in matrimony. Do you, Victor Thomas Creed take this woman to have and to hold, forsaking all others, to keep, love and cherish her in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, in good times and bad, as long as you both shall live?"
"Uh..." She was glaring at him, and he knew she was getting angry. "Sorry had to think a second. Yes."
"Do you Karen Dolores Green take this man to have and to hold, forsaking all others, to keep, love and cherish him in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, in good times and bad, for as long as you both shall live."
"Uh..." She paused, and then to his shock winked at him. "Yes."
"Is there a ring?"
"Yes." Victor pulled the ring out of his pocket. He was surprised by the tears in her eyes as he slipped it on her finger, it wasn't fancy, not even a diamond, and somehow he knew he'd screwed up again. It was a little big, but sizing wasn't an issue, he knew a dozen jewelers, and if push came to shove, he'd have magnet head do it.
"With this exchange of a ring and by the powers vested in me by the State of New York, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Victor was at a total loss. Kiss the bride? Was that really necessary? She glared at him and he knew somehow this was a deal breaker. He leaned down, to brush his lips across her cheek, but found something softer under his. He felt a ragged moan escape his lips as something inside him that had been suppressed a long time suddenly sprang free. His arms slipped around her, his lips moved over hers, his tongue tracing them until she moaned softly and then began to return his efforts. Her mouth tasted sweet, her soft lips became demanding of his response, and his hands gripped her hips, pressing her against his him, letting her know how she affected him.
It was the judge clearing his throat that made him let her go.
"Congratulations." Karen was blushing, breathless and had that heady musk scent that drove him insane. Victor ushered them out of the office, the blanket dangling in front of him, and to the elevators. Judge Lineman caught them at the elevator.
"You might need this." He handed Victor the signed marriage license. "If you hurry you can file it before the clerk goes to lunch.
"Thank you." Victor said as the door closed.