A/N: WOW. It has been ages since I uploaded this story. I do apologize for that. A while back my personal life shifted and I became a sole provider for my household, so for the longest time, writing wasn't possible. I do still struggle with writer's block for this story as well. I am gonna try to get back to it though. These next few chapters might be a little off though. I'm struggling with ending the chapters.

Thank you for the support, and those who favorited/followed the story even though I haven't updated it in months.

It had been 17 years since Lea had slept in a normal bed, and while she was initially confused by it, mainly due to her senses not understanding how a solid object could be so plush and squishy after living in the woods for so long, she was able to sleep well. When her body finally told her to wake up, she stirred and groaned, burying her face into something and attempted to go back to sleep; however, she became alert when she realized her cheek wasn't on her hand. Her hand was on the same surface her head was though, something hot and solid. She put some of her weight on her hand as she lifted her head and met a pair of intense gray eyes.

"Morning Kitten," Victor greeted in a whisper, brushing her chestnut waves out of her face. "If it wasn't for your scent, I wouldn't have recognized you last night."

Lea, who was still waking up, only responded with a groan and rolled out of Victor's reach. She tried to sit up, only to fail due to the cushioning on the bed. With a grunt, she gave it a second attempt only to fail again but overcompensating and flung herself forward and landed on her stomach. She felt the mattress dip as Victor shifted and scooted closer to her. His warm breath was on the shell of her ear as his scent embraced her.

"You seem to be having some trouble," he taunted.

"I hate this fucking bed!" she snapped in a muffled tone, since she refused to leave her faceplanted position.

"Ours isn't this bad, Kitten," Victor reassured as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her up. He placed her in a sitting position in front of him, though kept his hand on her to make sure she didn't fall. "Ours is firm, this shit's like a marshmallow."

"We don't have a bed, you have your bed," she corrected, smacking his hand away once she found her footing.

"Still denying it, hm?" he arched a brow at her.

Lea's eyes narrowed at his question. Did he really think she'd be over it all in a day? It wasn't some silly argument that she'd get over so easily. It was something that would change the world she knew, and she never was someone who enjoyed change. She took in a sharp breath, and looked back at him.

"How the hell did you even get in here?" she hostilely asked.

"Window," Victor answered simply, looking over his shoulder.

Following his gaze, Lea noticed that one of her windows was in fact tampered with. There was a perfectly cut hole in it, which looked large enough to fit Victor's massive paws, and the metal appeared bent. Hell, it even looked like there were a few teeth marks in it. This caused Lea's brows to furrow together. How did she not hear him? Was she really that exhausted that her instincts just gave up for a night? She began gritting her teeth as a low growl left her.

"Do you not know how to take a hint?" she queried.

Victor met her eyes when she glared at him, and he responded in a surprisingly aggressive manner. He snatched her wrists in his hands then forced her back onto the mattress. His fangs flashed as he snarled at her. Lea, however, wasn't phased by his actions; or moreso, it didn't create the reaction either was expecting. Lea believed Victor was trying to get a frightened reaction from her, and she was expecting herself to be hostile, instead, it was more of that damned heat pooled between her legs. Lea knew Victor could smell it, that smug smirk gave him away.

"Do you insist on pretending you hate it the whole time?" he taunted.

"Victor…" Lea warned. "If I was pretending, do you really think I would have planned to neuter you when we were on the mountain?"

"Oh? So you do wanna touch it," he smirked and winked at her.

"I hate everything about you," Lea groaned.

Victor only chuckled and shifted so he wasn't crushing her. When he felt her hand on his chest pushing him further, he moved so they were back to sitting side by side. It stayed silent between them, but Lea could hear Victor taking bigger breaths than needed. He was taking in her scent as much as he could, and Lea had to admit she was doing the same. It was already familiar to her, and it actually comforted her. It comforted her to see him, alive and well. It was odd for her to be happy to see the man who was hunting her, but she figured it was better to deal with one mutant rather than a handful like she was currently with the school.

"What happened on the mountain?" she asked after a moment, realizing she never found out.

"The runt got in the way," Victor growled.

Lea could smell his anger and frowned. She didn't even know who "the runt" was. Everyone she saw so far wasn't exactly scrawny, and she knew he wouldn't have called Roxanne that. She merely nodded along and sighed. Without thinking, she reached out and patted his shoulder before leaning on it.

"How can someone get in the way if nothing will ever keep us apart?" she pondered, though there was a mocking undertone to her question, one Victor refused to acknowledge.

"You're learning," Victor chuckled, moving so his arm was free to wrap around Lea.

They sat there for what seemed like forever before it actually clicked in Lea's head that she was allowing them this intimate moment. Somehow she felt vulnerable in it, she felt too relaxed and daydreamy. She hated the feeling, which caused her to pull away from Victor in a sudden manner and she got off the bed, holding her hands up.

"No! No no no! Nooope!" she said, taking a few steps away from him.

"What?!" Victor barked, acknowledging that her "no's" were referring to their cuddling.

"We. Are. Not. Mates. Okay?" she spoke slowly but firmly. "I'm not dealing with this bullshit."

"It isn't fucking bullshit, you stubborn ass woman!" Victor grabbed her by her arm and yanked her towards him as he got to his feet. "Why is it whenever you let your damn guard down around me, you immediately put it back up?! I thought I was gonna be the one to fuck this up, but looks like you're doing it for the both of us!"

His words hurt Lea a lot. A lot more than either of them had probably expected, because there was instant regret on Victor's face when he noticed Lea's icy hues became more glossy, as if she was going to cry, and the faint quiver of her bottom lip and Lea could feel the water rise in her eyes. She didn't think he'd ever get under her skin the way he just had, and she didn't know how to respond to it. She couldn't. Her voice was suddenly nowhere to be found.

"Kitten, I-"

"VICTOR!"

Logan's booming voice interrupted Victor, who Lea believed was about to apologize. She and Victor both turned to see Logan standing in the door frame of her room with those metal blades sticking out of his knuckles again and Roxanne behind him, with panic-stricken eyes. Lea felt Victor reach for her, most likely planning on putting her behind him, though he didn't have the chance as Logan charged him and tackled him.

The two brothers were constantly growling and snarling at one another as they exchanged blows. Lea watched in horror as Victor was impaled then thrown through the bathroom door. She took a step towards the shattered door, the need to check on Victor rising in her. She froze when she saw Logan walking towards her quickly. This caused her instincts to kick in as an alpha man was approaching her in a hostile manner, and she let out a low growl in warning. Her fangs grew and she bared them to let him know she was standing her ground. Just as Logan was about to grab her, he was thrown into the dresser, and Victor grabbed Lea. He jerked her behind him and he slipped into a defensive stance in front of her.

"You're okay…" Lea heard herself say as she sighed in relief.

"Back off, Jimmy" Victor warned.

"I'm tryin to protect her!" Logan snapped.

"Enough gentlemen. Might I remind you that this is infact a school and we do have people here who are actually trying to educate themselves?" Professor Xavier scolded as he rolled into Lea's now destroyed room. "Logan. Victor. You two will follow me to my office so this can be worked out. Lea, you may go to our kitchen and have something to eat."

The five walked, or rolled, in an uncomfortable silence. Victor was holding Lea to his side as they walked, which also had him kicking her heels with his feet. She kept trying to elbow him away and wiggled out of his grasp, which he was making very difficult. Logan kept glancing back at them as he heard her soft growls of warning. Roxanne paid no mind to it, as did Professor X. Roxanne worked out helping him down the stairs, and when Lea went to follow suit, Victor stopped her.

Lea opened her mouth, fully ready to snap at Victor for getting in her way, but stopped when she was greeted with the same thing as him. A new scent wafted over to her. It was similar to that of a feral's, as it had that evergreen tone to it, but the earthiness really overtook it more than the pine scent. There was a moldiness there too. Almost like it was a wet dog. Canine. It made her nose wrinkle, and she looked to see who the unappealing scent belonged to.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs was a woman with thin, shoulder-length dirty blonde hair. Her skin was fair, almost tan, and her nose was large, pointed. She wore baggy sweat pants with a loose white tank top. Her olive eyes fixated on Lea immediately, and her face lit up with a smile. It made Lea's brows furrow in confusion. What the hell was she smiling at her for? Victor got possessive at this strange woman smiling at his mate, so he pulled Lea closer to him.

"Shannon?" the woman asked.

While Lea would normally attack anyone who addressed her by her birth name, she felt a rush of comfort at hearing it. This woman knew her, and it finally clicked for Lea. The similarities in a girl Lea once more pieced together. Lea pushed Victor away and she slowly walked down the stairs, her eyes narrowing.

"Lizzie?" she asked back in a cautious tone.

With the woman nodding to confirm, the two screamed in delight. Lea's eyes light up, and she jumped at the girl. They hugged tightly, squealing and laughing as they hopped around in circles. The sound of them sniffing one another after they finally calmed, helping to recognize the other's scent was heard before Lizzie spoke.

"I thought you had died! You just disappeared!"

"I never thought I'd see you again!" Lea said, hugging her again.

"Me too! You look great, Shannon!" Lizzie praised.

"You too! Oh! And it's Lea now, not Shannon," Lea informed.

"Lea huh?" Lizzie murmured, pulling away from Lea and giving her a good look. Her face lit up, that bright smile appearing again. "I like it! It suits you! So it's your mutant name?"

"No!" Lea laughed. "It's my name name! What the hell is a mutant name and why is everyone asking what mine is?"

"It's our codename! It's incredibly important for mutants to have!" Lizzie explained. "Mine is Lupo."

Before Lea could respond, she felt that familiar steel arm yanking her back. She looked over her shoulder to see Victor glaring at Lizzie. She frowned at him, and looked back to Lizzie, who had an amused glint in her eye. Lea didn't really see what was so funny, as she struggled out of Victor's grip.

"Those codenames are stupid. You merely accept those names so you feel you fit in more," Victor growled.

"Yet you have one, Sabretooth," Lea snapped at him, feeling the need to defend her childhood friend.

"I didn't pick mine, Kitten," he spat back.

Lea's jaw set at his reply, her lip curling as she growled at him. Lizzie, who was watching the interaction between the two, was grinning ear to ear. Lea noticed it through the corner of her eye and turned to question her. She didn't get the chance as Professor X spoke up, keeping the situation from escalating further.

"Victor, you and Logan will follow me to my office. We will be discussing this. Lizzie, would you take Lea into the kitchen so she can eat?"

"Sure, come on. It'll give us a chance to catch up," Lizzie tried to encourage, noticing Lea was about to argue.

A soft growl left her as she noticed she was being strayed away. She could feel Lizzie tugging at her arm, attempting to steer her out of the room. Victor seemed reluctant to leave her as well, due to his eyes boring into her. He reached out for Lea, taking her free hand into his. Lea instinctively enclosed her hand around his, but she looked indifferent towards him.

"Yeah, you're right," Lea agreed with Lizzie, letting go of Victor and moving to Lizzie.

Victor didn't let go of her however, which caused Logan to growl at Victor and Lizzie to be more protective of Lea. This resulted in Victor only tightening his hold, while Lea glared at Lizzie. Although Lea was happy to see her childhood friend, her instincts caused her to be offended by Lizzie and Logan's actions that were meant to reassure her that she was safe.

"I don't need you idiots to fucking protect me from him," Lea spat.

"Victor, come. You will see Lea after," Professor X tried to defuse the hostility.

"Don't leave the kitchen, Kitten," Victor instructed before letting go of her hand and following Logan into the office.

Once Victor was out of sight, Lea allowed her friend to steer her into the kitchen. They sat by the counter, and Lea watched as Lizzie hauled over armsful of food to them. In the pile were crunchy cheetos, oreos, pizza rolls, and popcorn chicken. Lea immediately reached for the cheetos and began stuffing her face as Lizzie sat across from her with water. Lizzie's face was mindful as she watched Lea before taking the oreos and opening them.

"You and Victor seem close," she said nonchalantly.

"Hm," Lea hummed through a mouthful of cheetos. She took a swish of water before talking, "We aren't. I don't really know him."

"Really? You should know everything about each other," Lizzie sounded surprised.

"Why the hell would I know anything about him!?" Lea snapped.

"Because you're mates, Lea. Hasn't he marked you?"

"Oh my God… You believe in that shit, Liz?" Lea rolled her eyes.

"Well, yeah. I've experienced it, Lea," Lizzie's brows furrowed together. "Plus I grew up with Dr. McCoy teaching me about our kind, while helping him with his research."

After that there was a long silence. Lea was taking in what Lizzie told her, and wondering what her life would have been like if she had grown up in this environment. It seemed like she'd lack a spine, which made her grunt. She looked back at Lizzie, taking in the familiarities that had matured since she last saw her.

"Who is he?" she asked finally.

"It's Logan…" Lizzie said after a moment.

At that, Lea's face scrunched in disapproval, but she said nothing. The relief on Lizzie's face was evident of it too when she realized that her friend held her tongue. Lea racked her brain on how to approach this. How could she do this without being rude? Before she got the chance, those heavy footsteps thundered into the kitchen. Logan kissed the top of Lizzie's head as he walked by to grab a beer from the kitchen, and Victor stopped at Lea's side.

"Liz, tomorrow you're gonna take Lea shopping for clothes, is that all right?" Logan asked.

"Uh-"

"Love how I don't get a fucking say in any of this still," Lea interrupted with a growl.

"Exactly why I hate this fucking place," Victor grunted, pulling up a chair beside Lea and throwing his arm around her.

Logan shot Victor a dirty glare over the rim of his beer before drinking it. Victor just returned the glare before playing with the ends of Lea's hair. She felt more relaxed with him beside her, but the strangeness outweighed the familiar at the moment. She looked to Lizzie who pursed her lips at the intimacy and ease of Victor's touch towards Lea, and the smug glint made Lea growl again.

"And who's going to be paying for all this damn clothes anyways?" Lea continued on, though she had nodded in agreement with Victor's statement.

"I am," Victor announced as he tossed a sleek black card onto the counter. "I'll give you the pin tonight."

"I'm not-"

"Yes, you are. Have fun with the mutt before we leave."

"She's not a mutt, Victor. Be fucking respectful," Lea spat before snatching the card from the counter. "Lizzie, don't drag me around all day."

"Don't worry, just gonna get you some lingerie!" Lizzie grinned wickedly.

Two very different reactions resulted in Lizzie's statement. A deep, rumbling sound that couldn't quite be classified as a growl or moan from Victor, and a disapproving, warning hiss from Lea. Victor's grip noticeably tightened on Lea's arm, which caused Lea to elbow him. When she looked to see his face, she noticed how dark his eyes became. She shifted in his grasp, clearing her throat.
"Victor… easy," Logan warned.

"I'm fine," Victor snapped, peeling his eyes away from Lea to glare at Logan.

Lea and Lizzie gave each other a look before Lea brushed Victor off and got to her feet. She felt Victor grab at her arm in an attempt to stop her, only to have her arch her brow at him. Their eyes met and Lea understood why he grabbed her. There was a short nod then she looked towards the doorway.

Roxanne walked gracefully into the room, her yellow eyes glowing with excitement. This caused Lea to frown. She knew something was going to happen that would annoy her, but she was already fairly annoyed today so why not add more to it. Through the corner of her eye, she noticed Victor's jaw set. Whether it was because of her irritation or because of Roxanne, she didn't know.

"Lea, can you come with me?" Roxanne asked.

"Fine," Lea nodded, walking after Roxanne.