Yet another difficult chapter for me. I hope I pulled it off.


Snikt!

The distinctive sound of metal protruding from Logan's arm reduced Forge to a state of utter paralysis. The sight of the glinting adamantium blades of Logan's free hand before his very eyes went even further and filled his panic-stricken mind with thoughts of a quick painful death. If he was a lesser man, he had no doubts that he would have embarrassed himself by losing control of his bodily functions. He instead trembled nervously and attempted to swallow, but Logan's forearm against his neck prevented any such movement. Logan relaxed the pressure on Forge's windpipe, giving the mechanical man an opportunity to speak.

Forge eyed the unstable man before him and unsuccessfully tried bravado. "You wouldn't dare kill a government employee."

Logan laughed, a guttural sound, but there was no mirth in his blazing eyes. ""Ya wanna try me?" Logan stated roughly. "I've killed bigger and better than you. So, believe me, I have no qualms 'bout killin' ya right here and now fer darin' ta touch what is mines."

Logan was livid. He was on his way back to 'Ro when his nose twitched at the unfamiliar scent of foam resin and sulfur he was picking up as he made his way to the greenhouse. Then came the angry words of a man exclaiming that 'Ro was his. His blood boiled to epic proportions upon hearing that and he had all but ran to the greenhouse, moving stealthily in order to catch his prey off guard. Forge's fatal mistake of invading Ororo's space and railing in her face was his undoing. His bestial half awoke, focused on the other male currently closed off in a room with its mate. As his beast rose closer to the surface, Logan's thinking became more irrational, his only intent was to get to his mate and let it be known, in no uncertain terms, that he was prepared and he would defend what is his. With a fearsome scowl marring his rugged face and the growl sitting in his chest, he fiercely made his presence known.

"Who the hell are you?" Forge squeaked out.

"Ya're 'bout ta find out, bub."

The sound of Logan's voice and the violence practically radiating off his rigid body told Ororo that he was borderline feral and it wouldn't take much for him to fall over the edge. It was enough to snap her out of her daze. She tentatively called out to him. "Logan?"

He growled. She called out to him again.

"Ya ok, darlin'?" His voice was hoarse and harsh.

"I am alright, love," she answered softly, calmly. "Can you please put your toys away?"

"Hn." He grunted and slowly retracted his claws, his eyes never leaving his target. Moving swiftly and with a threatening look, he released the tinkerer and was at Ororo's side. His eyes quickly scanned her, assessing her to make sure she was fine.

Forge slumped to the floor unceremoniously and in obvious relief, gasping for air and holding his neck. Recovering quickly and knowing of the precarious position he now found himself in, he scrambled to put some distance between himself and the maniacal man who fixedly kept him in his sights, ready to pounce. Forge immediately took up a defensive stance, ready to defend himself against the angry animalistic man. Staring into the frantic eyes of the fuming feral, realization dawned. There were no more questions as to who this predator was.

So this was the new man, Forge thought, shooting a disdainful look at the Wolverine. He silently fumed. Couldn't she have done better than this…this animal? She was too elegant, too beautiful and too good for the likes of this uncivilized, unstable animal. This was his competition? He laughed inwardly.

"You damn bastard," Forge said with cocky assurance. He turned to Ororo. "Rory? Are you alright?" Then he made the mistake of moving too close to Ororo. Logan's ferocious roar shook the glass panes of the structure. The sound was so ominous, so deadly, that Forge jumped back. Before he knew it, Logan's fist shot out and buried itself in Forge's stomach with a sickening thud.

The proud mutant maker doubled over at the waist, clutching his stomach. Mercilessly, Logan grabbed him by the collar, jerked him upright and planted another fist squarely in Forge's stomach. Brutally, Logan dragged him a few feet and shoved him to the floor, immediately following him down and straddling his chest.

"Stay the hell away from her. She don't want nothin' ta do wid ya." His face was an inch away from the shaking Forge and his words were gritted through his teeth. "Stay away. Ya got that, bub?"

With a lethal Wolverine bearing down on his chest, the maker was rendered immobile. "Get off of me," Forge said with misplaced courage. "You're damned crazy." He struggled but couldn't budge Logan.

Logan slowly eased a clawed fist closer to Forge's face. "Ya wanna find out just how crazy I can get?" Logan taunted.

Forge laughed nervously. "What the hell is your problem?"

Logan shrugged negligently. "I could gut ya right now fer all the hurt ya've ever caused her."

"Get the hell up off of me," Forge persisted, though his voice wavered and he began perspiring profusely. "You wouldn't dare."

"Don't test me, pretty boy," Logan drawled, lowering his clawed fist to Forge's face.

"Call him off Ororo!" Forge screamed as Logan pricked his skin with the tip of a claw.

"Logan!" Ororo cried, incredibly fearful that he would deliver on his threat to kill her ex-fiancé. "Please!"

With the slightest movement, Logan moved his clawed hand and rammed it into the floor, mere inches away from Forge's face. The blood drained from his face as the metal gleamed.

"Ya will lose ev'ry time ya bet wid me." With derision, Logan retracted his claws, stood up and stepped over the whimpering, inert man. He went back to Ororo's side, casually draping a possessive arm around the top of the recliner.

Ororo looked up at him, a well-groomed brow lifting. "You know I could have handled him myself."

Logan snorted. "Yeah, well, why should ya when ya got me? Besides, I had ta let him know, 'Ro."

She rolled her eyes at his macho tripe. He saw her exasperation with him and knew he had cross the line with the extra show of testosterone. Dammit to hell, when he had seen Forge's close proximity to her, something inside of him had snapped and every single hurt that the inventor had inflicted on her had bum rushed him, clouding his mind with nothing but sweet revenge. It was as if he could see every tear his mate had ever shed at the hands of Forge and he wanted, no needed to make the maker cry. It was his way, the only way he knew. No one hurt a member of his pack without paying the price. He had a right to seek retribution on behalf of his mate.

When Forge's words staking a claim on her had pierced his hearing, he knew that all bets were off and he had to let the mutant maker know that he was infringing on the Wolverine's territory. Ororo was his. Hell, he had been alone and unhappy for too long and Ororo was his first chance at real happiness in what seemed an eternity. She belonged to him. The struggles he had to overcome to make her his and admit his love to her was testament to that, so he'll be damned if he allowed someone like Forge to slither in and take that away from him.

Forge was ignorant of the fact that he had committed two grave offenses against the Wolverine. First, he had hurt the Wolverine's mate, and second, he had trespassed on the Wolverine's territory. For those crimes against him, his beast was bloodthirsty.

Ororo saw the murderous, yet pensive look on his face. She could all but see his thoughts running across his forehead. She gave him a small smile, letting him know that although Forge had hurt her greatly, there was no need to inflict bodily harm on him as retribution. Besides, beating up Forge wouldn't change anything because at the end of the day, she will still belong only to the Wolverine and nothing would ever change that.

Forge stood up, his smirking eyes never leaving the feral. He dusted his pants off before looking at Ororo warily.

"Ororo, thank you."

She leveled him with heated eyes. "What are you thanking me for?"

"For calling off that animal," he said, gesturing towards Logan.

Logan growled, his fists clenched at his sides to keep from smashing them into Forge's smirking face. "Ya're on thin ice, bub."

"There is no need for you to thank me, Forge. As a matter of fact, you should be thanking him for showing you mercy," Ororo replied tersely.

Logan grunted, pleased at his mate's words.

Forge winced. Again, he was reminded that this was not the Ororo he left all those years ago. "So, I guess all of your newfound confidence is due to this…" he looked at Logan distastefully, "man," he finished lamely.

Logan's lips curled into a sneer and his knuckles continue to itch. "Ya're beggin' fer it, bub," he muttered.

Forge glared at Logan, his mouth set grimly as he chewed over the knowledge of the relationship between these two. "You know Ororo, you do have other options."

"Like you?" Logan snarled.

"I know what you want from her," Forge hissed. "I don't have any delusions about that. What you give her isn't what she needs. A woman like Ororo needs commitment, stability and longevity in a relationship."

"Like ya're the poster child fer commitment?" Logan barked sardonically.

"Do you think you have a claim on her?" Forge asked. He tossed a smirk Logan's way and then turned to address Ororo. "Do you honestly think that this man will give you that lifelong commitment you want?"

Logan erupted in laughter. This poor sucker just didn't know how things worked in his world. But he wasn't surprised, like everyone else, Forge underestimated and failed to understand the primal side of his nature. And that primal side was just about fed up with the maker.

Ororo leaned her head to one side and meticulously studied her ex. Again, it hit her how far and long she had come from the naïve girl who thought she was in love to the confident woman who knew she was in love. It was way pass time for her to put the man who was desperately trying to recapture something that never existed in his place.

Her silence spurred Forge on. "You're too good for this animal. He's not even worthy enough to kiss the ground you walk on."

The sound of metal releasing was grating. "Sonofabitch!"

"Logan," Ororo hissed. "Please." Her plea didn't go over well with his beast. He wanted to maim the jackass before him, who had the audacity to disrespect him and his relationship. However, the hardened glint in her eyes appeased him somewhat. He stepped back and let his mate handle her business.

Ororo turned to Forge, her eyes fiery. "Forge, I would like for you to listen carefully to what I am about to say to you."

She then turned to Logan, her eyes softening, begging him to trust her. "Logan? Would you please leave Forge and I alone?"

Logan's body tensed, his beast rising to the surface. Was she nuts? He wasn't about to leave her alone with this threatening male, especially when she was injured and vulnerable.

She continued to stare at him, refusing to back down from her request. His body radiated the tension he was feeling and she saw the uncertainty reflected in his eyes. She raised a brow, silently repeating her question.

"'Ro…" he began. "Ya can't expect me ta do that."

"I expect you to let me handle this matter." Her voice was calm, reassuring and he found himself weakening. Christ! Would he be able to deny her anything?

"Fine," he grumbled. "But any change in the weather and I'll be back ta filet machine man, here." He leaned down and pecked her lips softly, his eyes relaying the message that he wasn't going too far.

She smiled encouragingly at him. "Maybe you should go and get me another ice pack? I do not think my conversation with Forge is going to last very long."

"Yeah yeah." Logan stood to his full height and cast Forge a hostile glare. For added effect, he unsheathed the middle claw of his right hand in an obscene gesture.

Forge waited until the coast was clear before turning to Ororo. "Is he always so charming?"

Ororo, despite herself, laughed lightly.

The maker flashed her a bright smile. "Now, we can have a productive conversation."

"No. Now we can have our final conversation. I do not plan on repeating myself and I do not want any misunderstandings after this."

Forge's eyes widened in surprise, but he recovered his composure quickly. "How serious is it?" He asked.

She looked at him in confusion for a few moments before what he was asking sunk in. "That is none of your business."

"Apparently not that serious. I don't see a ring, so I can only assume that it's not that serious," he replied haughtily.

Ooro lifted her head slightly. "You assume a lot, Forge," she spat. "Not because there is no ring does not mean that there is no commitment."

"Commitment?" Forge scoffed. "Do you expect me to believe that an animal like him can commit himself to something much less someone?"

Ororo tilted her head to the side and assessed her ex-fiancé's demeanor. Typical Forge. Always casting judgment and thinking that he was above everyone else. Ororo laughed inwardly. If he only knew just how committed Logan was to her, his head would more than likely spin attempting to understand something that was beyond his comprehension. Like everyone else and even herself, Forge seriously misjudged Logan. They all thought that he was an animal, with no feelings, other than those of rage and pain. But they didn't understand that just as keenly as Logan felt rage and pain, he felt love. Logan had a soft heart, deeply buried beneath his gruff and tough exterior. Years of having pain inflicted on him and being abused had buried that unlimited capacity to love she knew he had. Forge and the others didn't and couldn't see past his exterior, so their reactions and judgments were always the same when it came to the man she loved.

'Ro sighed. It was time to finish the absurd conversation before she lost whatever patience she had left. "I do not owe you any justifications for my relationship with Logan."

"You cannot possibly love the savage," Forge grated.

"Oh but I do love him," Ororo replied with unmitigated intensity and conviction.

Forge looked at her for a few moments before dissolving in mirthless laughter. "What does he have to offer you?" He asked pretentiously. "Absolutely nothing but a few rounds in bed.

Ororo grew rigid, ready to lambaste Forge for his posturing. She shifted on the recliner, attempting to ease the dull ache in her lower back and then gave Forge her full attention. "Believe what you want Forge because I am not going to give you the satisfaction of countering your insinuations. Suffice it to say, I am content with what I have with Logan. In regards to you and I, that ship has sailed and sunk. You need to get over yourself and get over it, as I did. There is and will never be any going back for you and I. Please accept that and stop pestering me."

Her words said with an air of finality, brought Forge up short. Truth be told, they stunned him. Up until then, he had firmly believed that she was going to be back with him and nothing or no one was going to get in his way of reclaiming her. He was of the mindset that her new man be damned. Up until then, he had held out some hope for a reunion with her. Her body language and tone simply vanquished that hope. He studied her with sad eyes. He studied her with sad eyes. He saw and felt the atmosphere surrounding her charged with that same something that he had realized when he had first arrived. Immediately he was able to confirm that she did indeed radiated a huge amount of confidence and happiness. She exuded them to an extent that they were incredibly palpable and he felt it being in her presence. Truly gone was the reserved, inexperienced Ororo and in its place was the sophisticated, poised beauty sitting before him. It was official. He had completely lost her.

Great spirits! He didn't think that he could survive the knowledge that she was with someone other than him. His shoulders slumped in dejection. "So that's it, wind rider? This is how it ends?"

"It ended over eight years ago when you walked out on me proclaiming that you regretted our relationship."

"That was a mistake."

Ororo cocked a brow. "Your words, not mine."

An uncomfortable silence settled between them as they stared each other down. The only sounds audible were the sounds of nature outside the greenhouse.

"I'm sorry, Ororo," Forge said croakily, his eyes revealing the misery that was crushing his soul. "I loved you and I never meant to hurt you. I hope you believe that."

Ororo felt her heart softening a bit at his overall sad bearing. "That is all I have ever wanted from you Forge…an apology."

"Does that mean I'm forgiven?" He asked in a hopeful voice.

"I forgave you a long time ago, Forge. I had to in order to move on with my life," she answered simply.

"I want to wish you the best, but I would be lying if I actually do, especially after seeing the man you have chosen," he retorted.

"I can sit here for the remainder of the day and outline the finer qualities of Logan, but it would only fly over your head."

A sad smile graced his face. He was amazed that she had granted him forgiveness. He shook his head as his stupidity of all those years ago took its toll on him. As always, the events of his long ago screw up pained him. "You know, I came back hoping and believing that you have been waiting for me after all this time. I was ready to be the man you deserve this time around. I refused to believe that there was a possibility that you had moved on. But now I see that all that was in vain. I wish that I had the foresight to see then what I see now. If I can go back and change things between us, I will do things different and much better."

She uttered not a word and he studied her, gauging her reaction to his declaration. Seeing none, he said, "I hope he tells you how beautiful you are and cherish the rare treasure you are."

Forge sighed. He knew when he was beaten. The only thing left for him to do now was sulk off and lick his wounds. He tossed another sad smile at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but promptly closed it. Saying good luck was too trite, so he opted to walk away from her in silence, salvaging what was left of his pride.

Ororo heaved a sigh of relief after she was sure he had left the greenhouse. She was grateful that he chose to leave in silence and knew that she was seeing him for perhaps the last time. Just as well, because she didn't think that she was up to the task of keeping him and Logan out of each other's way. For the first time in Goddess knows how long, her heart felt light and she felt as if the last hurdle to her finally laying her experience with him to rest was finally cleared.

One hurdle cleared and one more remaining. She knew that the Jean saga still loomed over them all and sooner rather than later, they would have to face the music and confront that elephant in the room. It was a task she wasn't looking forward too for so many reasons.

Logan's gravelly voice brought her out of her disheartening musings. No doubt he was waiting restlessly for Forge to hightail it so he could get back to her. She smiled at the thought and couldn't help but think back to the confrontation that proved to be the turning point in their relationship. They had both came a long way in such a short time. She most certainly didn't think that showdown would have led to her being mated to the Wolverine and experiencing the best thing that could have happened to her. The brilliant grin she greeted him with told him in no uncertain terms that Forge was no longer an issue and in fact, was already a distant memory.