A/N: Dialogue that is centered, italicized, bold and begins and ends with * indicates a flashback and a direct quote from my other story "The Feral."
'Cause remember folks, this is a sequel! Also, I own nada.
Chapter 20
Yes, Yes He Is
While Creed was busy making clear to Magneto and Mystique the way things were going to be, Lupa was faced with a task she was not entirely looking forward to: speaking to Jimmy about her relationship with his brother. Not that she was ashamed of her mate or their being together, but she was ashamed of having kept it from a man who was effectively her brother-in-law as well as a dear friend. On top of that feeling of shame, the Wolf Girl was nervous about his reaction to the news as well as her own long silence on the matter.
There were so many questions she had, what if he didn't believe her, think she'd been driven mad by years of torture and isolation? If he did believe her, would he be angry at her for keeping it a secret from him? Might he resent her once he learned she was the mate of a man he disliked and had such a complicated, muddled history with? Or he could think she wasn't good enough for his newly discovered brother, her being uneducated and ignorant of so many things...
Lupa was well aware of her own deficiencies and inadequacies. That she was pathetically naïve of the outside world, having been raised essentially in captivity like a zoo animal and then spending decades as a laboratory experiment. True, she could speak more than a few European languages thanks to generations of traveling with the Gypsies. And she was popular with her students, having a talent for storytelling that enthralled the teenagers so much they didn't realize they were actually learning something while listening. But when the Wolf Girl compared that to what she lacked, it made her want to cry sometimes. She didn't know how to drive a car. How to ride a bike. She'd never used a computer or even a telephone. She couldn't read or write in any language. She'd never been to a shopping mall or a restaurant. Never went to school or a baseball game or out on a date. Rogue had had to teach her to use basic household appliances like the microwave, the television, even the shower and bathtub. What a refrigerator was for. The way the Professor's elevator worked. How to tie the laces on her borrowed shoes.
Perhaps, the Lupa acknowledge to herself, she was the one with the most doubts of her own value.
Jimmy and Lupa had been walking from the Brotherhood's campfire to the X-Men's while the female feral had been thinking. They were halfway there, at the darkest part of their journey between the light of the two fires, when she finished her inner monologue. Stopping, she turned to him, "Logan, will you take a short walk with me? I would like to speak to you about something if that is alright with you."
The Wolverine looked down at the petite woman, her silver eyes piercing in the night. "'Course, darlin'. Let's go," he smiled and gently placed his large hand at the small of her back, steering her towards a section of trees to their left.
They kept walking once in the copse, both quiet and just enjoying the clean air and starry sky. Logan was content to remain silent, letting her set the place of their conversation having scented her nervousness. Finally she spoke, "I need to tell you something that I should have told you much earlier. I know I should not have waited and for that, I ask your forgiveness... Some of what I need to tell to you will be difficult for me to speak of, which is part of the reason I have remained quiet for so long, so I ask that you keep silent until I am finished. I want to be able to explain everything properly to you and not, not, muck it up. Will you do this for me, James? Please?"
Logan could almost taste the honesty and anxiety radiating from her, it practically saturated the air around them. She looked so desperately earnest and damned hopeful that the Wolverine doubted anyone would have been able to say 'No' to her right then. "Sure, darlin'. Whatever you need."
"Thank you, Jimmy." Lupa released a deep sigh of relief and gratitude and made her way over to a fallen tree trunk. Sitting down on it, she patted the spot next to her, gesturing for Logan to join her. Once he complied, straddling the log to face her head on, she began her story.
"I know I have already told you of how I met you and your brother, but I did not tell you everything, all the details... I, I had been in captivity for I think perhaps five or six months when one night, too early for it to be the usual security check, my door opened. They were keeping me in a bare room inside wire cage, one made for a dog, though to be fair, a large dog... A cage within a cage... I had my head down when the door opened but I could hear someone enter my cell, a stranger, a New Man. Someone else come to play with me, I thought. I refused to lift my head and look at him, he was another one of Them – the men in white coats, the men with red hands... Then he asked me my name."
* 'What's yer name, frail?' *
"Not a single one of Them had ever asked my name before. I made the New Man tell me his – I had learned not to give without taking first."
* 'What is yours?' *
"When I looked up, saw his face, I knew my life was forever changed. That everything I'd ever known was going to be different now because of this one man. A man I'd never known before, but one that I could feel I was bonded to, like the chain between handcuffs. And I believe...I believe he knew as well."
* 'I don't like other people touchin' what belongs ta me. You belong ta me. Yer my mate. MINE.' *
...
* 'I do not know why, or how it happened, but I do know that I am yours. I can feel it somehow... And you, Victor, you are mine.' *
"He immediately began to plan how to break me out, despite the fact he worked for the same men who held me captive. Men his brother worked for too."
* 'I'm gonna to get ya out, frail. Gotta do it right though. Gotta have a plan first. Think ya can stay alive fer a bit longer?' *
"There was another man, a mutant by the name of Dukes. He had been part of the team that first captured me in the Russian wilds. For some reason, he took it upon himself to take care of me in his own way. He snuck me food and water, asked me about my life like I were a real person. Told to me about his romantic troubles and begged for love advice, as if I knew anything about that..." Lupa smiled fondly at old memories, her eyes staring past Logan's shoulder. She wondered where Fred was now...
"By some quirk of fate, it turned out that the very night the New Man came into my cell, Dukes decided to ask the New Man's brother for help in my escape. The two of them came to my cell not long after the stranger and I began speaking."
* 'What're ya doin' here, Runt?' *
* 'Is she as bad off as Dukes says, Vic?' *
"The New Man introduced me to his brother and said that he and Dukes would aide us in my escape."
* 'Jimmy's my little brother. He'll help us. Won'tcha Runt?' *
"The next night, once the white coats locked me back up after a particularly...difficult session in the lab, the brothers and Dukes met up in my cell and spent hours going over ways for me to get out," again Lupa smiled, this time with a distant look on her face. She was completely lost in the past. "Arguing in my cell over their different ideas like spoiled school children... I had fallen asleep in the corner and something woke me. It was you. You were laying your coat over me, while Victor and Dukes continued to bicker."
* 'Better?' *
* 'Yes, thank you, Jimmy. I have been feeling the cold much, recently.' *
"I think you were trying to make up for Victor, that he had not thought of it first," Lupa looked into Logan's eyes and saw the silent question: why should Creed have thought of covering her up before he did?
"You were always doing such things for him, and, and he for you. Looking out for one another. Making up for each others mistakes or shortcomings."
* 'Jimmy Runt, where – where is Victor?' *
* 'He's uh, not here. He's gone – working on keepin' Stryker offa our trail. 'M sorry he didn't tell ya... But when he's sure you're safe, we're all gonna meet up again. He'll be back, darlin', promise.' *
"Little things, duties, I think you felt were his responsibility...as my mate."
"Your mate?" Logan sputtered out, shocked into numbness.
"Yes, my mate. I am sorry for not telling you sooner, but I, I did not know how. When you first came to the mansion, you recognized me, yet you did not know me or remember anything...I was afraid. I was afraid that if I told you or even Xavier, neither of you would not believe me, that you would think I had run mad. That you and he would not understand how I could be connected to a man I had known so briefly. Need a man I had not seen for over 25 years."
She paused and nearly whispered her next words, "Then later, I was afraid that you would not think I was worthy of Victor, this wonderful man I had been telling you about. That you might think I was trying to take him away from you before you had even found him – met him – again. When I saw that you knew of him, that you had met before and...did not suit, I worried you would not care for me anymore as I was tied to a man you despised."
It was quiet now, only the sound of wind rustling through leaves could be heard. Lupa could not take the silence anymore, she was desperate to get a reaction – any reaction – from Logan.
"I am so sorry, Jimmy, so sorry for keeping this from you. I know I should have told you right away. I was a coward. Are you, are you very angry with me?" The Wolf Girl's silver eyes were somehow simultaneously heavy with guilt and filled with hope as the words burst from her lips.
But Logan did not hear her question, his mind was racing with several of his own. "What – what the hell does that even mean that he's your mate? And how the hell could you not tell me 'bout this sooner? He's my goddamn brother!"
He jumped up from the log and began pacing the forest floor in front of Lupa. Lost in anger and disappointment, he was not paying attention to what he was saying or how she was reacting. Conveniently, he'd also forgotten the meeting just days ago when Charles had informed everyone it seemed very likely Victor and Lupa were in fact feral mates. Her verbal confirmation was still a shock nonetheless, and this righteous anger felt oh so good.
"How could you keep this from me? How could you be with him? Don't you know what he's done? What he is? He's a monster, a fuckin' animal! He's as likely to kill you as he is ta say hello! You can't possibly love him fer god's sake! … Did he threaten you? Hurt you? 'Cause Chuck an' I, we could help you if he did. Get you away from him-"
"NO!" Lupa cried out fiercely. "Stop it, Jimmy! Just stop it! He has not threatened me or hurt me. He is not a monster and yes, he has told me of his past – all of it. I am his mate and he is mine. I love him. There is nothing else to say."
Logan scoffed, "He's not capable of love. Yer foolin' yourself. I thought you were smarter than that, Lupa."
He had to look away from her face then, he couldn't watch the tears fall from her watery eyes. He knew he was causing her pain with his words, but they seemed to jump out of his mouth like men off a burning boat, eager and desperate. Wolverine's sadness and bruised ego over his perceived rejection could only manifest in embarrassed anger and he lashed out at the only person in range. The person who had unknowingly and inadvertently hurt him: Lupa.
She was quiet only for moment before speaking again, this time in a steadier, harder voice. "Yes. Yes, he is. He loves you. He has loved you since the day you were born. He took care of you when you both were orphaned and alone. He raised you and protected you and stayed by your side throughout all the decades and all the wars. He is capable, James. He can love."
"And does he love you?" Logan snapped harshly in frustration, still not able to let go of his own pain. Wanting to strike out at someone, anyone, for being foolish enough to hope he could have a chance with this woman, with any woman really. He told himself that to dream about a future when you couldn't remember your past was goddamn stupid.
"I do not pretend to know the answer that question. He has never said it, if that is what you are asking."
"He's usin' you an' you're letting him! He'll throw you away like a piece of trash when he's gotten what he wants." Wolverine was nearly shouting now, his face ugly in his bitterness. He wasn't thinking clearly either, just letting out his pain. With each word he stalked closer and closer to the Wolf Girl, not hearing himself or seeing the hurt he was causing Lupa, "He'll fuck you like jus' another one of his whores an' then-"
Wolverine's stream of vicious words was interrupted when he was tackled from the side, knocking the wind from him and scattering his wits. Before he could collect himself, his attacker began punching him with powerful, heavy fists. When Logan's ears stopped ringing and he could breathe again, he picked up his attacker's voice snarling at him. It was Victor.
"Mother fuckin' runt bastard! Should kill ya right now! Never leavin' ya alone with her again! If ya touched her I'll rip yer balls off an' give 'em ta her fer earrings!" Every proclamation was followed by another blow to Logan's face, snapping his head back and forth like a rag doll.
Absent mindedly, Logan could also hear another voice nearby. Lupa, it was Lupa.
"Victor, stop! Please stop! He didn't hurt me, I promise! Please, prietene,* stop!"
Eventually it seemed her pleas broke through Sabertooth's primal rage. He landed one last solid hit to Wolverine's smashed face and looked up at his panicked and crying mate. For a moment, Creed was at a loss, what the fuck was he going to do now? He wasn't sure if she would be angry with him or scared of him after that territorial display. But honestly, the feline feral hadn't been able to help himself. With his enhanced hearing, he'd heard his brother's raised voice on his walk back to the X-Men's campfire after his chat with Erik and Raven. Victor hadn't been too worried at first, the Runt's voice just sounded surprised. But seconds later his tone turned darker, accusing, angry. Sabertooth hadn't wasted any time and followed the scent trail to the cluster of trees Jimmy and his Lupa were in.
He spotted them just as the Runt was approaching her where she sat on a fallen log, cruel words spilling from his mouth as tears spilled from her eyes. Creed did not like the aggressive posture of the Wolverine, it was almost threatening as he stepped ever closer to Lupa. Despite the fact a little voice in the back of Victor's head said that Logan wasn't exactly calling Lupa a whore, the appearance of that word nonetheless struck a vengeful chord inside the man. No one would say such things to her. Not to his mate, his Lupa. She was not a whore and he'd beat the living shit out of anyone who said that word in her presence, let alone say it to her face.
That's when he'd tackled his younger brother and he hadn't stopped hitting Jimmy until his girl's sweet voice broke through his rage.
Finally Victor stood and moved away from his nearly unconscious brother who remained sprawled on the ground, perhaps 20 feet from where he'd been standing seconds ago. Halting within a few strides of where Lupa stood in front of a fallen tree, he stared down at her. Shit, sometimes he forgot how fuckin' small she was. Barely came up to his shoulder... He wondered what she'd do now... Just as this thought slipped into his mind, the Wolf Girl stumbled backwards and practically collapsed onto the log.
"I'm so sorry, Victor. I'm so sorry," she mumbled, folding up into herself. Feeling sick with guilt she could only stare at the ground shaking her head back and forth slowly, long glorious curls hiding her face.
Sabertooth wasn't happy. His mate was upset – near cryin' – and now for some fucked up reason she was apologizing, as if she'd done something wrong! Determined to find the cause of her distress, he approached her slowly and went down on one knee in front of her, they were nearly the same height now. Using one clawed finger to lift her chin, he saw she'd shut her eyes, a very childlike gesture which, strangely, warmed the beast within him. "Look at me, angel," Victor purred.
After a moment, Lupa opened her starry eyes, misery in her gaze. "Why're ya sorry?" He asked.
"I've ruined everything. I've come between you and your brother, I've made you both fight-"
"We always fight," he countered.
"Not like this."
"Worse."
She suddenly dropped to her knees before him and pressed herself against his muscular chest. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck while in surprise he caught her by the waist with clawed hands. "But he hates me now," Lupa whispered against his throat.
Creed snorted but turned a little, twisting her body with his to look over his shoulder at his felled brother. "You don't hate her, now do ya, Runt?"
Logan grunted and moaned a bit. Victor swung back around and smirked in satisfaction. "See? Jimmy don't hate ya. He's jus' bein' an asshole as per fuckin' usual – ya get used ta it." He leaned down and gave Lupa a fierce kiss, nipping her neck with his fangs before reluctantly drawing back. "You an' me are gonna take a walk inna minute an' yer gonna tell me exactly jus' what happened before I showed up. Gotta talk ta the Runt first, though."
Reluctantly releasing his grip around Lupa's waist, Sabertooth stood. A flash of mischief in his lake blue eyes was her only warning before he smacked her on the ass once before walking back over to Wolverine. Lupa stayed where she was, unsure of her feelings toward Jimmy at the moment. The taller feral squatted next to his brother's head. The younger was still flat on his back, healing, looked to be regrowing some teeth right now. His eyes were swollen nearly shut but had healed enough for him to see Victor's lips move as the larger feral spoke. "Once yer healed, go back ta the campsite an' keep watch. We'll be back soon an' I'll relieve ya halfway through the night. This little incident is gonna stay between you, me an' my girl. Ya understand?"
Logan nodded once. He knew he'd been totally fucking out of line. Shame and guilt and regret were already flooding his system.
"Good. We both know ya deserved that... Now listen good, little brother, 'cause this here's the important part. Never speak to my mate like that again, an' never get in her face like that again. Never, Jimmy Runt. Never."
As Victor led Lupa away, deeper into the forest, not one of the three ferals stopped to consider exactly how Logan knew his brother used to fuck whores...
oOo
*Prietene = Mate
A/N: OK, sorry if it's not exactly a plot enhancing chapter, but the three of them did need to hash this shit out. Next chapter will contain a LEMON involving Victor and Lupa, just as a heads up for everyone. The poll was unanimously in favor of a sex scene, so get ready. Also, weird question, but how, um, detailed do you want me to be with it?
oOo
Also, check out my friend Porcelain Destiny's wonderful story "SheWolf." It's a Wolverine/OC story and actually has a brief (very cool) mention of Lupa! *Squee!* Lupa's crossed over! XD
SHEWOLF: www (dot) fanfiction (dot) net/s/6244874/1/
oOo
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! Any comments, suggestions, advice or ideas (which you'll be credited for if I use) are welcome!
Chapter 19 Thank Yous:
Vaughn Tyler – Why thank you! XD
bananafreak97 – Would you like a banana cupcake this time? I'll pull some strings for you, but don't tell anyone else, OK? Thanks. ;-)
booksmartblonde333 – I know, I get all smiley and swoony and sighy when he's like that too. And hell, everyone should have a healthy fantasy life, right? ;-)
HP – Yay! I liked the nursery rhyme bit a lot, I'm glad someone else did too. Thanks for reviewing again, I appreciate it!
GhostAuthor – *Gasp!* Forgotten? Forgotten you? Never! I may be late, but I'll get it out eventually. Thanks for reviewing again, love hearing from you!
chrissyissy – OMG, I'm such a Rogan fan! Did you vote in my profile poll for them to get together? Right now it's 4 to 5 that they stay just friends. But I do have an idea if the Rogan voters win... Thanks for another sweet review, babe!
shorty-2721 – Such a great review, it made me laugh, thank you! I'm glad you liked the description of Vic's eyes, I liked it too, myself. ;-) You're wonderful, short stuff!
moony – I know, I get all swoony when he gets protective...*Sigh*... Thanks for the review!
QuirkyCullen – Aw, man, you write such sweet reviews! I always read them and get all smiley after! XD I've actually reedited the first 10 or so chapters of "The Feral," and plan on finishing the rest when I have time. Clean it up some more. Anyhoo, you're an absolute love, love!
My Beautiful Ending – LOL, I love reading your reviews, they're so awesome and always make me smile! So thanks for that (and the gushing which is doing wonders for my ego). I was a little worried people wouldn't like Victor rescuing Rogue so thanks again, doll face!
wolviegurl – Whew! I was concerned that some people wouldn't like how nice Victor is being to Rogue, but I figure if she's important to Lupa then she'd be important to him too. Plus I just love Rogue, she rocks. You rock for reviewing though, so thanks! ;-)
Porcelain Destiny – I'm glad you liked the not too detailed recounting of some of the scenes from X2, I hoped I wasn't being too brief with them. Loved the latest chapter of yours, by the way, really great job! Thanks for reviewing, I love reading them!
ROGUEFURY – So glad you liked the last chapter, I was pretty pleased with it which is unusual for me. I'm so happy that you like the combination of X2 canon and my own plot line, I was worried it wouldn't go over well. Thanks for another wonderful review, darlin'!