It was night, and the rain fell; and falling, it was rain, but, having fallen, it was blood. Edgar Allan Poe

It was still dark when I woke the next morning, but I was feeling very edgy. I needed to get some air, so I carefully climbed out of bed, trying not to wake Logan.
Quietly putting on some clothes, I picked up my shoes and headed out. All I needed was a short walk through the trees, just so I wouldn't feel as cooped up.
I followed the trail through the forest, listening to the sounds of animals waking for the day. After a few minutes, I came to a small clearing. It was beautiful and calm, with a small creek running through it.
I sat in the grass, watching the water flow. Being there was helping more than I expected, and I nearly nodded off for a moment. The sound of a stick snapping jerked me back to reality though, and I leapt up off the ground.
"Who's there?" I called, looking around.
The sound happened again, this time from behind me, and I turned to find a man standing there. He looked just enough like Logan for me to realise that it was Victor.
"You're much prettier than his last girl." He leaned back against a tree. "Why would you come out here alone? You knew I was coming, I made sure of that."
"Killing my aunt was unnecessary. But I'm not going to stay cooped up in that school waiting for you to come after me." I crossed my arms, watching him. "And I'm definitely not going to let you use me as a way to get back at Logan."
"You're beautiful, but not smart. There's no choice here. I'm going to do what I want to you, and then I'm going to leave your body where he'll find it."
Suddenly he lunged at me. I whipped my hand out, holding him in place. He was strong, his body already fighting against me, but I pushed back.
"You've been at this for what, a hundred years or so?" I asked. "What are you trying to prove?"
He managed to take a step forward, but I held firm, forcing him back. It was getting harder to hold him there, but I didn't have another plan yet, because doing anything else would mean letting him go.
"How long do you think you can keep this up?" He gave me a smug grin. "I'm guessing not much longer."
I was so focused on holding him still that I didn't hear the footsteps running towards us, until someone knocked him down. The pressure against my hands released, and I stumbled forward, falling to my knees.
Picking myself up off the ground, I looked up to find Logan kneeling on his brother's chest.
"I told you to back the fuck off." He growled, sliding his claws out. "You've destroyed enough."
Victor gave him that smug grin, his eyes flicking over to me then back to his brother. "Why would I want to do that? You deserve everything I've done to you." He kicked him off, sending him flying across the clearing.
"Logan!" I ran over to him, making sure he wasn't hurt.
"I'm fine." He pulled a stick out of his arm.
Before I could say anything, I was grabbed and pulled back against Victor. His hand was around my throat, and he dug his claws into my neck.
"Victor, stop!" Logan shouted, standing up.
I felt a small trail of blood roll down my skin. I should have been afraid, but I wasn't. Instead, I was angry. Angrier than I'd ever been. I looked Logan in the eye and mouthed trust me. He nodded, almost imperceptibly.
Taking a deep breath, I took hold of Victor's arm, yanking it sideways. His claws ripped into my skin, causing blood to pour from my throat.
"What the hell?" He dropped me.
I hit the ground hard, getting a little dizzy as blood continued to spray from me. Once I was sure I had enough, I healed myself and stood up.
"You should have done your research." I breathed, turning to face him.
Pulling the blood from my clothes and the grass, I blasted him with it, hitting him square in the chest and throwing him backwards. Then I formed it into a rope, which I wrapped around his neck and a nearby tree to hold him in place.
He scratched at it, but every time he broke through, it immediately fixed itself. Every part of me wanted to kill him, and as I pulled the rope tighter, I realised what was happening. I needed to get out, so that I could fix this.
"If you ever come after us again, I will leave you in a world of pain. Understand?"
Victor nodded, and I let him go. He stood up, rubbing his neck.
"She's tougher than Silver Fox." He said, quietly. "This isn't over."
"Yes, it is." Logan walked over to him, grabbing his shirt. "Get out of here, or I will kill you myself."
Victor took off, speeding into the trees. I took a shaky breath, stumbling backwards a little as the dizziness got worse. Logan caught me before I fell, wrapping his arms around me.
"Careful, Red." He held me close. "You lost a lot of blood."
"I need..." I leaned against him, closing my eyes. "There's something I need to…"
"Shh, just rest." He picked me up, carrying me back to the school. I was asleep before we even left the forest.

I walked down the road, hugging my books to my chest. It was late and I just wanted to get home. As I rounded a corner, I found myself right in the path of a group of men. My eyes went wide, and I turned to walk away.
"Hey look. It's the mutant witch!" One of them shouted.
I dropped my books and ran, but they were faster than me. One of them grabbed my backpack, yanking me back. As he held me in place, the others punched, kicked and scratched me, tearing at my clothes.
I screamed and cried, but no one came. Then they dragged me into an alley. I realised what they were going to do, and panicked, pulling inward and closing my eyes.
One of the men shouted and I felt blood spray on me. I was dropped to the concrete, hitting my shoulder hard. Looking up, I saw them running, leaving a trail of blood behind them. I had no idea what I'd even done, I'd never had to use my powers like that before.
I pulled my knees to my chest, closing my eyes again and burying my face in my hands. I didn't know what to do, so I just sat there. Then I heard footsteps, and I found a tall, strong man walking towards me.
"Stay away from me!" I shouted, shuffling backwards.
"It's alright, Annabel. I don't want to hurt you." He knelt down in front of me. "I'm a mutant too, and I'm here to take you somewhere safe." He held his hand out. "I'm Logan."
I didn't move for a moment. "I… I didn't mean to hurt them."
"I know. If you come with me, I can get you checked out and you'll be safe."
I nodded, taking his hand and following him to his car. He sat me down in the passenger seat, turning to walk to the driver's side, but I stopped him.
"Are you sure I'll be safe?" I asked, clinging to his arm.
He crouched down in front of me, wiping some of the blood off my face. "I promise I'll watch over you and keep you safe."

I could feel someone softly running their fingers through my hair, which was nice, considering the pounding headache that had woken me up. I opened my eyes, finding Logan standing over me. We were in one of the medical rooms, so I figured I must have been worse off than I'd thought.
"Hey beautiful." He rested his hand on the side of my neck, softly brushing my jaw with his thumb. "Welcome back."
I sat up, swaying a little as another wave of dizziness washed over me. "I feel awful. Like my head is in a vice."
"You lost a lot of blood." Hank walked into the room carrying a glass of water and some pills. "Just losing blood wouldn't normally be an issue for you, but since you need to be conscious to heal, you went into hypovolemic shock. I gave you a transfusion, but you're probably going to feel a little drowsy and sore for a day or two. I don't think it's something you'll be able to heal, so take these. Try and rest for a while."
I did as I was told, leaning my hands on the edge of the bed. "Can I go back to my room?"
He nodded. "As long as Logan keeps an eye on you in case anything changes."
"Will do, Doc." Logan replied.
I watched as Hank left the room again, then I turned to Logan. He took hold of my face, softly kissing me.
"Come on, let's get you back upstairs." He helped me off the bed, making sure I was steady.
We headed to the bedroom, where I curled up on the armchair. He crouched down in front of me, squeezing my hand.
"Why did you go out there alone?" He asked.
I bit my lip, hesitating. "I was just… feeling cooped up. I needed some air. It was stupid, I know."
"It was, but you're safe, and that's what matters." He picked me up, carrying me to the bed and sitting down.
"How did you know where I was?" I climbed into his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. "You turned up right when I needed you."
"When I woke up and you weren't here, I was worried. So I followed your scent out there. Then I heard his voice, so I ran to you." He pressed a kiss to my collarbone, flinching a little then pushing me off.
I hesitated, wrapping my arms around myself. "You can smell him on me, can't you?"
He nodded, avoiding my gaze.
"I… I'll go shower." I fled to my bedroom, trying not to cry.
Stripping off my clothes, I sat under the warm water. It wasn't just that Logan could smell his brother's scent on me. I could still feel Victor's hand around my throat, his chest against my back. I scrubbed at my skin, trying to get the memory of him off.
Twenty minutes later, I was still sitting in the shower, crying. I was scared that I wouldn't be able to get the smell of him off me, and that Logan would never want to touch me again.
I was trying to decide what I was going to do, when my bedroom door flew open and Logan came running in. He turned off the water, wrapping a towel around my shoulders.
"I can still feel his hands on me." I whispered, wiping my eyes. "I probably still smell like him too."
"No." He shook his head. "You smell like you again. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you away like that."
"Will he ever leave us alone?"
He sighed, running his fingers through my wet hair. "I don't know, Red. I really don't. If you can't deal with this, I can leave. He won't bother you anymore."
"I didn't say I couldn't deal with it." I rested my arms on the side of the bath, leaning over with my chin on them, "I just wanted to know if you've ever managed to stop him before. I want to know that we can have something as normal as possible someday."
"I'll tell you more, but you need to rest." He helped me out of the bath.
I pulled on some clothes, climbing into bed. He held me close, his arms wrapped around me protectively as I fell asleep.