Author's Note: Just a precaution that Logan is incredibly angry in this chapter, so his language is a bit colorful. Not overly so, but still a bit.
It was time to put phase two of her plan into motion. She had been diligently working on it for the past month, going over every nuance, making sure that it was foolproof. Failure at this point in the game was not an option. She glanced over to the digital clock on the nightstand, 11:45pm. Perfect, she mused. Silently, she swung her legs onto the floor and crept out of the bed she had just finished having sex with her husband in. She looked down at the prone form of Scott and sighed. She felt a twinge of guilt for what she was about to do, but it was too late to turn back now. She bent to pick up the green silk robe that was strewn on the floor in their haste to get at each other. Throwing it on, she almost moaned at the sensation generated as the material touched her naked flesh. She slipped her feet into a pair of matching house slippers and walked to the bedroom door. Using her mutant abilities, she opened the door, quickly stepping into the hall and closing the door. Another dabble in her abilities lets her know that her prey had just concluded his customary security check of the premises and was within the mansion's walls.
Soundlessly, she crept downstairs, cautious as not to awaken any of the mansion's residents. She listened carefully for Logan's heavy tread. She smiled. He was heading into the recreational room for what she guessed was a nightcap. As she descended, she had to constantly marvel at how she was able to concoct her scheme. God! But she was a beautiful genius. Step one of her plan involved her getting in contact with their old teammate Forge. It wasn't very difficult to do so, as she and the mutant inventor had remain in touch with each other. He wanted to keep tabs on Ororo and she was all too happy to oblige. Jean was more than ecstatic to relay to Forge the falsehood that Ororo was hoping for a reconciliation with him. Forge, in his all too pathetic devotion to the ice queen had jumped at the chance and made it known that he would be joining the team for a sabbatical. Jean had laughed at how easy it was to get the tinkerer to unwittingly be a part of her machinations.
Now, she was about to launch step two, which involved sowing the seeds of doubt in the Wolverine. She knew Logan, contrary to what he may think. She knew that one thing he took to heart and took personally was any perceived threats or challenges to his manhood, his pride. After all that he had went through in his life, the one thing he hated was being made to feel less than a man. And what did a self-doubting Wolverine always did? He took the easy way out and ran. And an AWOL Wolverine, meant that Ororo in all her pain and grief at his desertion will fall into the arms of her former fiancé. She laughed again. This was coming along nicely. She had a momentary pang of unease at her plan to taunt the dangerous feral mutant. She easily shook it off, knowing that she was more than capable of dealing with an enraged Wolverine. She was one of the best, if not the best telepaths there was. She was willing to give Charles his dues as the world's greatest telepath, but her ego encouraged her to believe that she was in the same league as him. But, greatest telepath or not, he, like everyone else, was none the wiser to her elaborate plans. She really was a beautiful genius, she gloated.
Logan glanced at his watch, 11:51pm. His nocturnal habits were the hardest to break. Sleep as usual was evading him tonight, but there was something else more potent at work tonight and has been for the past few weeks. For some inexplicable reason, he felt unstable, like he was coming apart at the seams. He tried to chuck it up to his beast being restless and impatient at the fact that he hadn't marked Ororo as their mate as yet, but deep down, he knew that wasn't it. When his beast was restless, he usually felt caged, as if he was suffocating. But this particular sensation, had him feeling unhinged. It felt as if he was struggling with his mental faculties, struggling to stay sane. So no, it wasn't his beast being restive, but something more disturbing underfoot. He wanted to speak with Ororo about what he was feeling. But how does he tell the woman he is courting, that he, the fearsome Wolverine felt extremely vulnerable and, additionally, he felt as if he was going bonafide nuts. He made a mental note to see Charles before the feelings worsened. He sincerely hoped that the baldheaded telepath would be able to provide some answers. His instincts blared at him to be on guard and he heeded the warning.
He wished Ororo was there with him, but she was still busy calculating the students' midterm grades for her classes. Her presence, he knew, would have calmed him and keep the troubling thoughts and feelings at bay. That's why he was waiting for her and she knew he was waiting for her. He grabbed a beer and popped the cork, taking a lengthy gulp. Propping his feet up on the coffee table, he was using the remote control to channel surf, when he smelled her. Every single strand of hair on his body stood at end. His instincts kicked into high gear and his hyper senses went into overdrive. As she stepped into the room, Logan cursed under his breath. He erected his mental defenses. He was getting mighty tired of doing this every time she was within range of him.
His eyes took in her getup of just the silk robe. He knew she was butt naked under the barely there article of clothing. Her protruding nipples attested to that fact. She reeked with the scents of sex and the Boy Scout. He grimaced as they assaulted his nose. But underlying those scents was a faint hint of heightened pheromones. Great! He already wasn't in the mood to deal with her and her shenanigans, now throw into the mix her horniness and he became even more agitated.
"Hello, Logan," Jean murmured conversationally, as she took a seat next to him on the sofa. She clutched one of the throw pillows to her chest. "You're up late."
"What'dya want, Red? I ain't in no mood ta be socializin'," Logan snarled.
"I can keep your company, tonight. I'm not really sleepy." She said with a smile.
Logan emptied the brew left in the bottle, and leaned down to place the empty bottle at the foot of the sofa. He knew fakeness when he saw it and that smile she had just given him was as phony as they come. Just what was she up to now?
He continued flicking through the channels until he saw one of his all-time favorite movies, The Big Boss, starring none other than Bruce Lee. He settled into the cushions more comfortably, folding his hands behind his head, effectively ignoring her.
Jean knew what he was doing. Not thrilled about being ignored, she reached across and gently caressed his bicep.
Logan's low growl was a warning for her to leave him alone, but she was either crazy or stupid, as she disregarded his warning and slithered closer to him. She had one intention and no amount of his grunting and growling was going to dissuade her.
"You're restless tonight, aren't you, Wolverine?"
His sigh of annoyance echoed in the room.
"Maybe we can help each other out," she cooed.
"I told ya before and I'm tired 'o repeatin' myself. I ain't interested in what ya're sellin'," he said, trying to get up from his position on the sofa. She was too fast for him, grabbing his arm and stilling his movement. She parted her robe with her free hand and bravely, or rather stupidly, she took his hand and pressed it to her breast.
Logan wrenched his hand away and pushed her back against the cushions. He was beyond repulsed. Apparently she didn't learn from her last failed attempt to seduce him.
"Not too long ago, you would have jumped at the chance," she purred, crossing one leg over the other. "I see now that you've effectively been house trained. Oh! How the mighty Wolverine has fallen." She continued, purposefully using his code name to goad him. She wanted to render him powerless, challenge his manhood and deprive him of his humanity.
Was this bitch for real? Was she really sitting there challenging him, challenging his worthiness? Logan's eyes squinted, the gray pools already beginning to fade to black. His breathing was heavy, as he struggled to remain in control. The oversexed bitch knew exactly what she was doing, sitting there yanking his chain. That he had no doubts about. However, he seriously doubted that she truly knew the level of danger she was freely walking into provoking him like she was. If she did, she wouldn't be here testing him to see how far his level of control went.
"Ya need ta get yer ass away from me right now, Red," he barked. "Trust me, I ain't the one ya want ta mess wid tonight."
Jean smiled sweetly. "You know what I think, Wolverine? I think you're too chicken to take me right now. You're scared you'll love it so much that you'll never want to go back to a common, insignificant woman." She leaned forward, rising slightly too fully remove the robe, exposing her nakedness to him. Sitting back on the sofa, she eyed him as she fondled herself, wishing it was his hands touching her instead.
Logan growled ferociously and turned away from her. He was teetering on the edge, even more so now with the need to maim the redheaded bitch for daring to insult Ororo. He quickly brought up a vision of Ororo in his mind and did a mental countdown, anything to keep him from going completely over the edge and going berserk on Jean.
Jean laughed inwardly. Her plan was working. Cruelly taunting him was the way to go if she wanted him to run away like he always did. She had always watched him closely since he arrived at the mansion to join the team. The chink in his armor was always him questioning his humanity, always thinking that he was unworthy to be human. When it got too much for him, when he thought that he couldn't cope, he would run on his sojourns to find himself. Now, she was busy turning that chink into a full blown dent, planting the seeds of doubt that would make him run, make him abandon any ill-conceived feelings he may have for the weather witch, eventually dumping the white-haired mutant.
"What's the matter, Wolverine? She's turned you into her little whipping boy already? She's house trained the animal? I thought you did what you want whenever you wanted," she panted, spreading her legs wide for him to see where she desperately needed him.
"You bitch!" He spat. "You sick bitch!"
Jean made a tsking sound. "I'm offering myself to you, Wolverine. Now is your opportunity to have me, to get me out of your system." She slid her hands lower to cup herself. "Show me what you and I both know. Show me that Scott isn't much of a man."
He roared. It was so loud, so fierce and so guttural, that the windows actually shook.
"I guess you're just full of big talk, Wolverine. No action to back it up," she taunted relentlessly.
He was breathing uncontrollably now. He was fighting and losing the battle to remain in control. However, he refused to give into her, refuse to give her the satisfaction. He was better than the animal inside him. Ororo was teaching him that and he wasn't about to let her lessons be in vain. Right now, this telepathic strumpet was the devil and there was no way he was selling his soul to the devil. He wasn't about to relent and succumb to the likes of Jean, which would ultimately destroy the one thing in his life that he had recently found out meant more to him than anything. More than his long sought after memories and past, more than his own life. His relationship with Ororo. He loved Ororo too damn much to inflict any type of pain on her. He loved her so damn much that he'll gladly die a thousand deaths just for a glimpse of her. He had met his match in his 'Ro and it was a forgone conclusion that he would claim her as his.
Angrily he watched the pathetic redhead before him. She was only a concupiscent slut, willing to hurt the people who cared about her without as much as a thought to the pain she would be inflicting on them. She was only a whore in heat who dared to mock him, the formidable Wolverine, into proving his worthiness as a man. He wondered, for what had to be the millionth time, what the hell he had ever saw in her. She was not Ororo and she would never be, not even on her best day. She would get no gratification this night or at no other time.
He was about to toss the horny telepath out on her ass, when he sensed her. Ororo. His soothing balm, the love of his life. Another scent floated by him to tickle his nostrils. Scooter. By their hurried footsteps, he knew they were heading to the room to see what all the commotion was about. Grinning ferally, he decided what was good for the goose, was good for the gander. The tables were about to be turned on Jean. It was long overdue that Scooter got a wakeup call about the little Miss Perfect he thought he had married. And, additionally, Jean would finally be exposed for the lying manipulative bitch she was.
He waited until he knew they were within earshot before saying, "So, ya'll toss yer marriage down the drain just ta have me screw ya?"
Jean grinned, turned on by his crude words. "Only one way to find out. Are you man enough to give me what I want, Wolverine?"
The stench of her increased pheromones made him want to wretch. "Ya're willin' ta hurt yer friend and yer husband, just ta feel the Wolverine between yer legs?" He demanded incredulously.
Jean scoffed. "There is no need for them to know, Logan. We can have each other for tonight. No one has to know."
Logan's wide frame had blocked Jean from seeing the doors. The telepath had no idea that the perfect life she had carved for herself was about to be ripped out from right under her.
"Logan!" Storm gasped.
She was inside her office calculating her students' midterm grades, when the anguished sound tore through her. Right away, she knew it was Logan. Was he being attacked? Was he in the throes of another hellish nightmare? Ororo tossed the pen she held in her hands down, not caring where it landed and immediately made a beeline for the recreational room. She knew he was there. He had told her he would be there waiting for her.
On her way, she saw Scott a few steps ahead of her. He turned to her signaling for her to be silent. Rolling her eyes, she capitulated, knowing he was in full leader mode. Just outside the door, she heard the questions Logan posed to Jean. No doubts that he knew that she and Scott were within hearing range. Knowing that Jean was in there more than likely attempting to seduce Logan again boiled her blood. However, her anger soon turned to revulsion and dismay when she heard Jean's responses.
Jean's antics since Ororo and Logan had gotten together had taught Ororo to expect the unexpected when it came to the redhead. But nothing, absolutely nothing, could have prepared her for what she heard spewed out of Jean's mouth. She was stunned beyond belief and saddened. The look of utter devastation on Scott's face only added to her sorrow. When he looked at her, she knew he was seeking some kind of confirmation that this was more than likely a bad dream and not reality. But she couldn't give him what he so desperately sought.
She didn't want him to find out about Jean this way. He didn't deserve what was being dished out to him now. Scott was a lot of things, but one thing she was sure of was that he was a man who was completely and head over heels in love with Jean. He was devoted to her and was willing to do anything for her, anything to make her happy. To say he deserved a betrayal like this was beyond ridiculous.
Scott awakened suddenly. Reflexively, he reached across the bed to feel for his wife, but caressed the cold bedding instead. Apparently, she hadn't been next to him for a while. He would have thought that she would be tuckered out, giving that they went at it like animals not too long ago. He temporarily wondered where she was at this hour. Probably in the kitchen getting a late night snack, he thought. He shook his head, attempting to clear it of the fogginess of sleep. He swung his legs to the floor and stood, making his way to their adjoining bathroom to heed his bladder's call for release.
His stomach rumbled viciously. "Might as well get something to eat while I'm up," he muttered.
He was halfway down the stairs when he heard an animalistic roar. Immediately, he shifted into leader mode, poised for retaliation if they were being attacked. As he crept down the stairs on his guard, his ears perked in the direction of muffled voices. Whomever or whatever had unleashed that sound was in the recreational room. Carefully and quietly, he crept to the room.
Scott saw Ororo coming up a few steps behind him. He turned with his index finger on his lips, indicating to her to be quiet. Now outside the door, he suddenly had a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. That feeling multiplied tenfold when he heard Logan's voice, then his wife's. Everything inside of him shattered when he heard Jean's responses to Logan's vulgar questions. He stood there shell-shocked. This couldn't be Jean breaking his heart in this manner, could it? Instantly, a score of excuses for Jean's behavior flashed through his mind. He attempted to convince himself that Logan was chasing behind her again and influencing her to utter such callous words. But as soon as the excuses popped into his head, he knew undoubtedly that Jean had decided to take matters into her own hands and do something about her displeasure at Logan's and Ororo's relationship. He knew she wasn't happy that the two were together, but it sure as hell wasn't any reason for her to hurt him this way. He looked at Ororo for approval, anything that would prove that this was not happening. Ororo's gloomy expression and silence spoke volumes. Suddenly filled with a need for answers, he turned the door knob and stepped in to offer a response to Jean's cruel statement.
"I'll know."
