Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Marvel characters or any of the X-men. The same can be said of the wonderful world of J.K. Rowling. I am not making any profit, but simply having fun. I did however create Emma Winter.
Epilogue: A few years later.
Emma was walking home with her daughter after playing outside in the snow most of the afternoon. It was a lovely snow-covered winter in Canada and the little family enjoyed their quiet lives in the middle of nowhere.
The witch would never have imagined that she would enjoy living so remotely but over the last years she had finally found peace of mind with Logan by her side and after their daughter was born Emma had never looked back. Her life had been turned upside down the first day she met Logan and she would have it no other way. For the first time in her life, Emma was happy and content.
"Mummy I want hot chocolate," her little daughter said to her as she grabbed Emma's hand for support as they waddled through the snow towards the cottage that Logan had built a few years earlier. The cottage was built with all the love that the mutant had for the witch and their daughter, it was beautifully made and would certainly stand for centuries.
"Of course my sweet, anything for you," Emma said her smile widening at the joy that came over the little face of her daughter that was staring up at her. The young witch had never realized she would love motherhood as much as she had done. It was the perfect life for her, and she was grateful every day for having left Hogwarts to work at Xavier's.
When they came closer to the cottage, Emma felt her magical wards tingle in a warning. Someone had crossed the perimeter close to their home and a little while later the witch saw deep footprints in the snow headed towards the cottage. Emma raised her eyebrows in silent question, no one ever came to their cottage without invitation. It simply wasn't done, especially when one of the occupants was a feral mutant. Emma thought for a moment, Logan wouldn't return until the next day as he had gone to town to buy supplies.
However, curiosity nagged at the back of Emma's mind as to who would dare to come to their home without invitation. Looking around Emma realized that whoever came by was still inside, the lights were off, so they were lurking somewhere in the darkness. She could of course disapparate away and stay away from danger but the curious side of her took over. After all, the little one needed to get into the warmth of the cottage and Emma didn't want to hide from whoever was inside.
Emma patted on the sleeve of her cloak and feeling her wand under her cold fingers. In case of anything the witch knew she perfectly capable of defending herself, Emma was perfectly capable of protecting herself and her daughter from whoever waited inside.
"Come darling, let's go inside before you get cold," Emma said warmly after both kicked the snow off their shoes outside on the large veranda that Logan had built for his wife. Emma opened the door cautiously before raising her wand to light all the candles in the house before she finally stepped carefully inside the cottage with her small daughter.
Her eyes went straight to the kitchen table where a large figure sat. A first glance the man seemed to be a wilder, bigger, and more vicious version of her husband. It had to happen sooner or later that Victor Creed would decide to visit his brother.
The mutant was terrifying, especially with her young child in the cottage. His attention was not on the child, instead, his feline gaze studied the witch intensely. The huge mutant started at Emma calculatingly with a gleam in his eyes as he studied the wand in her hand with curiosity.
Emma tried to disregard Victor and allow her brother-in-law to start the dialogue, after all, he had broken into her home. If Emma had learned anything about ferals it was that now and then one had to wait patiently. It was a lesson that had taken hears years to perfect with Logan.
However her daughter did not care of that rule, the only feral she had ever met was her father and she could wrap the mutant around her little fingers. There was no doubt that Logan adored his little family and would do whatever it took to make the two females in his life happy.
"Mummy, who is this man?" her daughter asked surprised, her little hand pointing towards Victor Creed who looked very interested as the little one waddled closer to him.
The little girl's eyes were filled with curiosity, and her big innocent hazel eyes were studying Victor with unnerving interest that made the mutant feel slightly uncomfortable. Children weren't supposed to be so unafraid of him as the little one seemed to be.
Children hated him.
Everyone hated him.
That's how the world worked. Victor was about to kill the young woman and instead of running away screaming she allowed her toddler to approach him as if he was a friend of the family.
"That my darling is your uncle, he is your daddy's brother," Emma said, her voice warm as to keep the child calm but keeping her wand secure in her hand in case Victor did anything to hurt her child.
"Hello," the little one said when she stood next to the large mutant. When Victor didn't respond, the little girl stared at him fearless before finally poking him with a chubby little finger to get his attention.
"I said hello," the little one said with an attitude that made Victor smirk. The child was courageous, she was blood. The green tint in the child's hazel eyes made Victor's heart melt. That was Logan's cub all right, too courageous for her good and unwilling to back down. How the little girl reminded Victor of his brother. Nothing but curiosity mixed with attitude.
The child was family.
"Hello," Victor sullenly trying to hide the emotions that were ripping at his ribcage. He never expected to meet a new family member. His intel had only given him information that Logan had been living there for a few years. Nothing had mentioned the dark-haired woman with the sharp eyes that was starting a fire with her wand. Nothing had mentioned Logan having a woman or a child in the cottage and nothing could have prepared Victor for the shock when the two females entered the cottage.
The young woman was beautiful and not human. Whatever she was, Victor had never seen before in his long life. Humans knew better, their instinct automatically told them to run when Victor Creed came knocking but the woman in front of him chose to face him. That meant she was the bravest creature he had ever met beside Jimmy. The woman was even brave enough to bring her child in with her as if she had known that Victor was hiding inside. After seeing the woman it dawned on Victor that the woman had known he was hiding in there, and still she had decided to come inside with her daughter.
The kid was the biggest surprise and she confused Victor. She had the same dark hair like her mother, but she certainly had Logan's expressive eyes. However, the child looked very similar to her mother in the intense curiosity and Victor almost chuckled seeing the same inquisitiveness from the woman and the child.
The child's dark ringlets were certainly inherited from the woman that had now started to make hot chocolate in a large pot while pretending to ignore the large mutant. Victor knew better, the woman was keeping a close eye on him as she should have.
"What's your name?" the cub asked again, inching closer to the burly man until her little hand rested on his knee. Victor's eyebrows went up in shock. When had anyone willingly touched him? It had probably been Logan decades before their relationship went to hell.
"Victor," the mutant growled, not sure how to continue the conversation with the child. He was not used to small chat and certainly not to little squirts that didn't even have the good sense to be afraid of him.
"Like me," the little one said, her joyous laugher echoing through the room. Victor's eyebrows rose in question as he looked towards her mother that seemed adamant about ignoring him.
"Your name is Victor?" the mutant asked, a teasing grin on his lips making his canines even more visible to the child who didn't seem to care one bit that he looked a little odd.
"No silly," the little one dared to slap Victor on his leg with a tiny arm and a shocked chuckle rose in Victor's throat. The kid had some serious courage to touch Victor in such a way, anyone else would have been dead within a second. However, the little one was quickly burying herself into his heart because she reminded Victor of his long-lost brother whom he had missed dearly through the decades.
"What's your name then?" the mutant asked gruffly, his eyes looking down at the small girl that seemed so interested in him.
"Victoria. Mummy said she named me after a good man. Are you a good man?"
Victor's heart skipped a beat. Had Logan allowed his woman to name their child after him? Why on earth would she do that and why the hell would Logan have allowed that?
"I don't think I'm good kid," Victor mumbled while feeling startling wetness in his eyes. That little kid was named by the same woman that was studying him intently, her dark eyes drilling into his in a warning. The message was clear; if Victor would harm the kid, then the woman would kill him.
She needn't worry, Victor knew he wouldn't touch a hair on either of them.
Family.
"Mummy says everyone has something good in them, even Snape," little Victoria whispered in a conspiracy tone to Victor as if he was her confidant. The mutant heard the woman giggle under her breath as she furiously stirred the chocolate in an attempt to distract herself. Nevertheless, Victor could see that the woman was entertained in the way her shoulders shook as she silently laughed.
"Who's Snape?" Victor asked, trying to understand the strangeness he had fallen into by coming to Logan's cottage.
"He's a wizard, mummy says he looks like a vampire," the little one whispered, her eyes turning large like saucers while she told her uncle the story of the scariest wizard at Hogwarts.
The woman was a witch. Victor's eyes were large in surprise, of course. Only a witch would dare to come so close to him. He had heard whispers of magical folk but had never gotten close to one as they were cunning and blessed with incredible powers.
Why hadn't he understood that earlier?
"Now my darling, don't talk your poor uncle to death. You two drink your chocolate and then you go for your nap," Emma said warmly before placing a little cup in front of her daughter with a small dab of whipped cream in it. The little one drank hers greedily and was finished before Emma managed to bring cups to the table for herself and Victor.
"Go to the big bed and nap there my darling, I will see you later," the woman said and the little one nodded before wrapping her chubby arms around her mother's neck and kissing her cheek.
"I love you mummy," the little one said before giving her mother a final squeeze before waving at Victor. The mutant surprised himself by waving back at the little girl who smiled at him and headed off for her nap.
Emma poured hot chocolate for Victor and then pushed the whipped cream towards the mutant who looked at the witch in surprise. In his long life, no one had ever given him hot chocolate before.
The feral put a large spoon of cream into the chocolate and took a sip. It tasted divine. Victor in fascination as the witch poured in endless amounts of sugar into her cup as if it could never get sweet enough for her. To top it all off the witch put in much more cream than Victor thought was humanly possible to digest.
Emma stirred her cup deep in thought while watching Victor with wary eyes. It was impossible to forget that he was Logan's brother. They didn't exactly look alike, but the wildness was there which made them both unpredictable.
From what Emma had seen from Logan's mind, Victor was one of the most dangerous mutants in the world. He certainly didn't look that dangerous when he had been talking to her daughter, or when he was licking cream off his spoon with a smile on his face. The witch knew better, she had seen in Logan's mind just how dangerous Victor Creed could be. There was no question that her brother in law was lethal.
Victors' sharp eyes were sizing her up and the witch knew that he was studying her as if he was waiting for Emma to do something that he wouldn't like so he would have an excuse to go after her.
"Friend or foe?" Emma finally asked. Her voice calm but Victor could see her eyes roam towards the room where her daughter was sleeping.
"Both," Victor finally said honestly, it was true after all. Victor Creed was everyone's worst nightmare.
"Will you harm us?" the woman's dark eyes looked into his and the cinnamon the air intensified and Victor could feel the hairs on his arms rise as if an electric current was running through the little cottage. It was with a bit of a shock that Victor Creed realized that the young woman that sat in front of him would kill him without a second thought if he would be likely to harm herself or her child.
She was no damsel in distress, Logan had picked the right woman, a strong woman for his cubs. A strong enough woman to stand up to ferals when needed. For some reason it made Victor accept the witch into his family pack. The woman was no weakling, no frail. The witch was lethal, and Victor liked to feel that she was completely capable to stand against him and likely win.
Victor understood why Jimmy had picked her as his mate. Not only was the witch easy on the eyes but she was smart as a whip and courageous. She was pack along with Jimmy and Victoria.
"No. I won't harm you," Victor finally admitted aloud. It was difficult to admit that a monster like him had a soft spot, let alone three soft spots. In his world, it was dangerous to have weak spots as they meant certain death at some point.
Emma kept his gaze feeling somewhat relieved by his words. She knew that Victor was more cunning and manipulative than Logan but somehow his words felt true.
"Why are you here?"
"Some people are looking for Jimmy. Want him for tests," Victor said quietly feeling slightly embarrassed at admitting it to the witch, to a member of his own family. The dark eyes of the witch widened in horror at his words. She knew what Victor was referring to and she was not impressed.
"No!" the witch hissed, her voice cold as ice, "never, I will protect him with my life. Never again Victor!"
The woman's words warmed Victor's old murderous heart. The witch had brass balls to stand in front of someone like him, who she knew to be a monster, and declare that she would protect the runt with her life.
"Don't worry. The plans changed," Victor said finally admitting to himself defeat. For the first time in centuries, his heart had won over his cruelty.
"What changed your mind," the witch asked, a little suspicion in her voice but the cinnamon scent died down a little.
"You. Her," Victor said, his head moving toward the bedroom where the little one was sleeping soundly. Her steady breathing telling the feral mutant that the little one had been so relaxed around her uncle that she had fallen asleep right away.
"Why?"
Victor sighed dramatically. With smartness came questions, and the witch seemed to have a head full of them. Of course, he expected nothing less from Logan's mate.
"We are pack now; the pack needs to be protected," Victor said looking the witch in the eye to see if she understood. A twinkle in her eyes affirmed it, the witch was a smart cookie and Victor found himself reluctantly liking her.
"So we are under your protection as well? A family?" the witch asked in a much warmer tone as if she truly understood his peace offering. As if she truly understood the feral instinct that Logan and Victor had struggled with all their lives.
"Family," Victor affirmed feeling that lump back in his throat. The witch seemed to know how to deal with people like him and Logan. Words they could understand. The witch gave him a teary smile as if his words had touched her.
A while was spent in comfortable silence between the two before Victor simply had to ask, "why the name?"
"We are family. Family is faulty by nature but the three of you are blood, you need to protect each other," the witch said with a firm tone. She needed to know that he understood that Victoria would have him as an ally if something were to happen.
Victor understood. By the vulnerable look the mutant gave the witch, he seemed to understand in a profound way what she meant. No one had ever been under his protection besides Logan. Victor had often fucked that up, he wouldn't do the same mistakes again, not when it came to the females that relied on the ferals for protection.
"Four," Victor said in a raspy tone and was shocked how the two females had in an hour completely changed his life.
"Pardon?" the witch asked confused.
"We are not three, we are four. You are part of the pack," Victor said defensively. It felt awkward to invite someone into such a dysfunctional family but if anyone would understand it would be Logan's mate.
"Thank you Victor," the witch said warmly before reaching across the table and giving his giant hand a warm squeeze. Victor was speechless, no one had ever touched him willingly as the two little females had done. Even more surprising was that the witch seemed comfortable around him even though she seemed to understand just how dangerous Victor was.
"What's your name witch?" Victor asked gruffly as the witch retracted her hand from his.
"Emma, my name is Emma."
"I should go before the runt comes home. He won't be happy to find me here," Victor said was surprised to feel that in all honesty, he didn't want to leave his pack, not yet.
"Logan certainly won't be impressed, he will need a lot of persuasion to get on board with this," Emma agreed knowing full well that Logan would be livid. Understandably so, but the witch hoped that with time the brothers would be able to have a cordial relationship for Victoria's sake and their own.
"Then I better go, I don't want any trouble for you two," Victor said standing up to his full height. Emma's eyes widened; Victor Creed was huge. The feral was even taller than his brother and seemed even larger in the little cottage.
Victor's ears could feel Emma's heartbeat go up when she was sizing him up. No wonder, he was intimidating to all that met him. The sound of her heartbeat awoke the beast and Victor bent down until his nose almost touched hers, "what's the matter frail. Do I scare you now?"
Emma took a while to respond while her dark eyes studied him for any kind of danger. Victor was dangerous, but from what she could sense the mutant was not dangerous to her or Victoria.
"You are huge, I didn't realize how big you are," Emma finally said warmly giving him a timid smile. Seeing Victor Creed in Logan's memories hadn't prepared the witch for how massive the feral was. It was shocking that she had remained so calm finding him inside her home, especially when she saw just how long his claws were.
Victor whiffed the air in surprise and realised that the witch was telling the truth, every word she had said since they met had been genuine.
"Don't leave yet Victor. It's cold and dark outside. Stay for dinner with us and sleep on the sofa. It would be our pleasure to have you," Emma said in a reassuring tone as if she was soothing a wild beast and perhaps, she was.
Victor silently nodded in agreement. He could do with some warm food and company. It would feel good to be surrounded by his pack, even if just for one evening.