Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Mutant X.
Author's Note: Originally I thought it would be hard to write with the A/E and J/S pairings since I didn't know much about them, especially after I saw the way that the series was going with B/S, but I'm starting to have fun with it now. That's the main reason why I'm updating so regularly! I'm still undecided which pairings I personally prefer, but I think I'm slowly being converted. So I hope you enjoy it too!
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Chapter 3
Shalimar stood in the shower letting the warm water cascade over her in a soothing stream, melting away the knots in her muscles. She had the feeling that she had overdone the workout at the dojo, but Brennan's bad mood was beginning to get to her and she had to let the stress out somehow. She hoped it had nothing to do with her, because the last thing she wanted was to hurt him, who was so much like a brother to her.
It had all started the day they had both given into their physical attraction and nearly kissed. It was obvious to everyone that Brennan was an attractive man, and initially, she had found him extremely attractive too. Then something had changed, and even she wasn't sure what. It was only when she began spending more time with Jesse that she realised that she had strong feelings for him and not Bren. In a strange way, she had been trying to get a rise out of Jesse by flirting with Brennan.
The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Brennan was good looking, yes, but Jesse was the sensitive, reliable one, and not half bad in the looks department either. Brennan was too much like her for things to work between them, and her feelings for him were far too sisterly for a proper relationship to survive. She realised that she needed someone like Jesse to allow herself to open up completely and fall in love.
Now with hindsight, she realised that using Brennan like that wasn't the best idea, but in her defence, she had thought she was attracted to him at the time. She had explained things to Brennan and he had understood, but now she was wondering whether maybe, things weren't quite sorted out between them.
Her thoughts flitted on to Jesse, and a slow smile spread across her face. She was happier with him than she would ever have been with Bren. She would do anything for him, even pretend that she didn't realise he was watching her work out. Sweet, innocent Jesse,... or not as innocent, as she had recently found out.
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Adam sat at his usual chair in front of the computer and rubbed his eyes roughly. He had to stop thinking of Emma in that way. She was young enough to be his daughter, and there was no way she would be attracted to him. He wished there was something he could take to stop the feelings that tortured him every second of the day. Either he was beating himself up for falling in love with her, or he was experiencing excruciating pangs of jealousy every time Brennan even looked in her direction. Something was bound to break sooner or later, and he was dreading that day.
A noise behind him made him swing round, and his breath caught in his chest when he saw Emma walking towards him. Had she read him? Did she know? He scanned her face anxiously, searching for any signs of repulsion.
"Adam, we have to talk," she said softly.
"Emma, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were there," he spluttered nervously.
She looked at him quizzically. "Are you OK Adam?" she asked, concern etched on her face.
"What was it you wanted to talk about?" he asked, relieved that he wasn't the cause of the problem Emma wanted to discuss.
"It's Brennan. I think he's feeling a little depressed," she explained. "I was wondering whether you could have a word with him? Woman trouble," she explained with a comical face. "Didn't think it was my place to advise him on something like that. More of a man thing, you know, like over a beer or something?"
"Maybe I'm not the best person for that," he said, thinking about his own woman trouble. Plus, he didn't really want to listen to Brennan talk about how he felt about Emma either. "What about Jesse?"
"You're more of an authoritative figure, and he's always looked up to you. I think he needs a father-son talk, not a matey chat," she explained.
Adam shrugged resignedly. "OK Emma. I'll talk to him, find out what's up." After all, maybe this was what he needed to get over Emma. Maybe actually hearing Brennan express his feelings for Emma would help him expel some of his own feelings.
Emma nodded, satisfied that she had done all she could for the teammate who was so much like one of her brothers now.
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She opened her eyes and stretched luxuriously. The moon was out once again, and once again, her cravings had reached a peak. She went out into the street and raised her head to sniff the night air. There was hardly a sound in the streets as she made her way to the town outskirts. There was always something to eat there.
As she came to her favourite spot, her keen hearing picked up the sounds of laughter coming up the road. Perfect timing. She breathed in deeply, inhaling the scents around her. A man and a woman, with a dog. Labrador. Puppy. That would present no problem for her. She crouched behind a rubbish can, waiting for the right moment. As they turned the corner, she leapt as if her legs were on coiled springs. The woman screamed, the dog yapped excitedly. She snarled and her teeth found the woman's throat. The warm, acrid taste of fresh blood coated her mouth. In a second, the screaming ceased. The man had started to run away, leaving behind his young wife and new puppy. She leapt up and in two long strides she was ahead of him. She stood her ground, barring his way and bared her teeth. He started at her in total terror, his mouth open in a silent scream. His hands were raised, as if trying to form an invisible barrier. She leapt at his face, opened her mouth and sank her sharp teeth into his neck. Her claws raked their way down his body as he fell to the ground.
Easy pickings. She dragged the bodies into a side alley and feasted until the blood ran down her chin and onto her chest. Finally she sat back and surveyed the scene. A small part of her brain felt sickened and disgusted, felt like vomiting, but it was suffocated by the satiated animal side. The two bodies lay a short distance apart, bloody and mutilated. The puppy hadn't bothered her, so she had left it alone. It was now sitting by the woman's head, licking the droplets of blood from her face.
She licked her lips, tried to get some of the blood off her own body, but she was too tired. She yawned widely, stood up and padded her way back to her room. Two in one night was quite a treat. She wasn't going to get that lucky again any time soon.
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"Nothing around here Adam," Jesse said into his comring.
"Jesse, Shalimar," Emma shouted out, bringing them running to her and Brennan. They all stopped dead as they took in the sight.
The labrador puppy ambled up to Emma and tried to lick her hand eagerly. Blood from its muzzle smeared onto her arm as she jerked away in horror. Brennan tried to shield Emma from the sight as Shalimar growled softly under her breath.
"Two victims. How could a feral do this?" she whispered in horror. Jesse put an arm around her shoulder.
"We'll get him, Shal."
"Then leave me alone with him for five minutes. That's all I ask. He certainly won't do this again in a hurry."
Emma disengaged herself from Bren and started trying to clean up the puppy. "We can't leave him here, Bren," she whispered as the puppy licked her hand enthusiastically, ecstatic from all the attention he was getting.
"Get a sample, Brennan," came Adam's disembodied voice. "Hopefully, we'll be able to identify the mutant responsible from any DNA he may have left on the victims."
As Brennan stooped to collect samples from the bodies, a pair of amber eyes surveyed the scene from a short distance away, taking in every detail. She was too full and tired to attack, *but next time,* she thought, *next time it'll be a meal of four.*
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Has anyone got any suggestions for the next chapter? Anything I should expand on, or include?
Author's Note: Originally I thought it would be hard to write with the A/E and J/S pairings since I didn't know much about them, especially after I saw the way that the series was going with B/S, but I'm starting to have fun with it now. That's the main reason why I'm updating so regularly! I'm still undecided which pairings I personally prefer, but I think I'm slowly being converted. So I hope you enjoy it too!
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Chapter 3
Shalimar stood in the shower letting the warm water cascade over her in a soothing stream, melting away the knots in her muscles. She had the feeling that she had overdone the workout at the dojo, but Brennan's bad mood was beginning to get to her and she had to let the stress out somehow. She hoped it had nothing to do with her, because the last thing she wanted was to hurt him, who was so much like a brother to her.
It had all started the day they had both given into their physical attraction and nearly kissed. It was obvious to everyone that Brennan was an attractive man, and initially, she had found him extremely attractive too. Then something had changed, and even she wasn't sure what. It was only when she began spending more time with Jesse that she realised that she had strong feelings for him and not Bren. In a strange way, she had been trying to get a rise out of Jesse by flirting with Brennan.
The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Brennan was good looking, yes, but Jesse was the sensitive, reliable one, and not half bad in the looks department either. Brennan was too much like her for things to work between them, and her feelings for him were far too sisterly for a proper relationship to survive. She realised that she needed someone like Jesse to allow herself to open up completely and fall in love.
Now with hindsight, she realised that using Brennan like that wasn't the best idea, but in her defence, she had thought she was attracted to him at the time. She had explained things to Brennan and he had understood, but now she was wondering whether maybe, things weren't quite sorted out between them.
Her thoughts flitted on to Jesse, and a slow smile spread across her face. She was happier with him than she would ever have been with Bren. She would do anything for him, even pretend that she didn't realise he was watching her work out. Sweet, innocent Jesse,... or not as innocent, as she had recently found out.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Adam sat at his usual chair in front of the computer and rubbed his eyes roughly. He had to stop thinking of Emma in that way. She was young enough to be his daughter, and there was no way she would be attracted to him. He wished there was something he could take to stop the feelings that tortured him every second of the day. Either he was beating himself up for falling in love with her, or he was experiencing excruciating pangs of jealousy every time Brennan even looked in her direction. Something was bound to break sooner or later, and he was dreading that day.
A noise behind him made him swing round, and his breath caught in his chest when he saw Emma walking towards him. Had she read him? Did she know? He scanned her face anxiously, searching for any signs of repulsion.
"Adam, we have to talk," she said softly.
"Emma, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were there," he spluttered nervously.
She looked at him quizzically. "Are you OK Adam?" she asked, concern etched on her face.
"What was it you wanted to talk about?" he asked, relieved that he wasn't the cause of the problem Emma wanted to discuss.
"It's Brennan. I think he's feeling a little depressed," she explained. "I was wondering whether you could have a word with him? Woman trouble," she explained with a comical face. "Didn't think it was my place to advise him on something like that. More of a man thing, you know, like over a beer or something?"
"Maybe I'm not the best person for that," he said, thinking about his own woman trouble. Plus, he didn't really want to listen to Brennan talk about how he felt about Emma either. "What about Jesse?"
"You're more of an authoritative figure, and he's always looked up to you. I think he needs a father-son talk, not a matey chat," she explained.
Adam shrugged resignedly. "OK Emma. I'll talk to him, find out what's up." After all, maybe this was what he needed to get over Emma. Maybe actually hearing Brennan express his feelings for Emma would help him expel some of his own feelings.
Emma nodded, satisfied that she had done all she could for the teammate who was so much like one of her brothers now.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
She opened her eyes and stretched luxuriously. The moon was out once again, and once again, her cravings had reached a peak. She went out into the street and raised her head to sniff the night air. There was hardly a sound in the streets as she made her way to the town outskirts. There was always something to eat there.
As she came to her favourite spot, her keen hearing picked up the sounds of laughter coming up the road. Perfect timing. She breathed in deeply, inhaling the scents around her. A man and a woman, with a dog. Labrador. Puppy. That would present no problem for her. She crouched behind a rubbish can, waiting for the right moment. As they turned the corner, she leapt as if her legs were on coiled springs. The woman screamed, the dog yapped excitedly. She snarled and her teeth found the woman's throat. The warm, acrid taste of fresh blood coated her mouth. In a second, the screaming ceased. The man had started to run away, leaving behind his young wife and new puppy. She leapt up and in two long strides she was ahead of him. She stood her ground, barring his way and bared her teeth. He started at her in total terror, his mouth open in a silent scream. His hands were raised, as if trying to form an invisible barrier. She leapt at his face, opened her mouth and sank her sharp teeth into his neck. Her claws raked their way down his body as he fell to the ground.
Easy pickings. She dragged the bodies into a side alley and feasted until the blood ran down her chin and onto her chest. Finally she sat back and surveyed the scene. A small part of her brain felt sickened and disgusted, felt like vomiting, but it was suffocated by the satiated animal side. The two bodies lay a short distance apart, bloody and mutilated. The puppy hadn't bothered her, so she had left it alone. It was now sitting by the woman's head, licking the droplets of blood from her face.
She licked her lips, tried to get some of the blood off her own body, but she was too tired. She yawned widely, stood up and padded her way back to her room. Two in one night was quite a treat. She wasn't going to get that lucky again any time soon.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
"Nothing around here Adam," Jesse said into his comring.
"Jesse, Shalimar," Emma shouted out, bringing them running to her and Brennan. They all stopped dead as they took in the sight.
The labrador puppy ambled up to Emma and tried to lick her hand eagerly. Blood from its muzzle smeared onto her arm as she jerked away in horror. Brennan tried to shield Emma from the sight as Shalimar growled softly under her breath.
"Two victims. How could a feral do this?" she whispered in horror. Jesse put an arm around her shoulder.
"We'll get him, Shal."
"Then leave me alone with him for five minutes. That's all I ask. He certainly won't do this again in a hurry."
Emma disengaged herself from Bren and started trying to clean up the puppy. "We can't leave him here, Bren," she whispered as the puppy licked her hand enthusiastically, ecstatic from all the attention he was getting.
"Get a sample, Brennan," came Adam's disembodied voice. "Hopefully, we'll be able to identify the mutant responsible from any DNA he may have left on the victims."
As Brennan stooped to collect samples from the bodies, a pair of amber eyes surveyed the scene from a short distance away, taking in every detail. She was too full and tired to attack, *but next time,* she thought, *next time it'll be a meal of four.*
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Has anyone got any suggestions for the next chapter? Anything I should expand on, or include?
