Pulling her into him he felt her stiffen up as he pulled her closer, the bowls dropped from her hands landing in the fire, the flames beginning to burn through the wood. Consuming them as much as Wolverine’s touch was consuming her, her mind filling with the memories of Katherine of the time he’d taken her in the forest. His hands running all over her body, the desire he’d fed her with every movement of his body against hers. She could feel them watching them both, their eyes unfeeling yet observing everything, she had to control him, lead him, make him trust her, let her take everything he was and that frightened her. She’d seen him lose control, seen the damage he could do as Wolverine seen the look of regret in his eyes afterward, knowing she’d be one of those regrets after this.
Her hands freed she lifted them to his head, a charm whispered under her breath, “Sator, Arepo, Tenet, Opera, Rotas.” The lovers charm, Wayland had given it to her, telling her to use it if she felt fear at what she had to do. As her hands wound into his hair she felt her fear slide away and a hunger rise in it’s place, a need to touch, to be touched to be held and caressed by his hands. To be devoured entirely by him and in turn to devour him utterly. Night was falling and the coldness seeped into the trees, a mist began to form as they touched and explored each other over the clothes that covered them both. Feeling him stiffen against her as she moved across his body, giving him everything she had to give, her lithe figure gripping his own bulky form.
Breathless Anne began to open her clothing, tearing the buttons on her shift so he could touch her skin, her whispers reaching him as she held him to her. “Please, do this for them, for Amber.” At the mention of her name he growled, pulling her into his body hard, the grip on her increasing as she saw his eyes darken further until they were nearly black. His teeth bared as the rumble rose through her, he could sense them watching and it angered him, she needed his attention on her. Dropping her hand to his erection, she squeezed hard, rubbing the entire length with her open palm cupping him tight as she licked his neck.
Losing herself to the fire that was coursing through her blood the longer she held him, understanding what Katherine had meant, that he was a part of nature an animal in all but form. Her mind showing her where to bite, the shared memory allowing her to control him, to get him to respond to her the way she needed him to. Latching onto the sensitive bundle of nerves under his ear she bit, her teeth scraping the skin, feeling his own hands lift her bodily into him, dislodging her hand on him.
They were here, he could feel them all around him, watching them both, anger bubbled upward he wanted to find them, kill them, send them away until they couldn’t hurt anyone. When he felt her hands in his hair and her body writhing against his, own it changed everything, she was keeping his attention on her. She wanted him, needed him, her scent deepened as she moved against him, her mouth whispering something to him, the only part he recognised was ‘Amber’. Amber was his child, the thing he had to keep safe, if they were here with him then she was safe he could get to them here and he felt his anger rising.
That was until Anne touched him, squeezing him hard, bringing his attention back to her, licking his neck and biting his skin, making him buck into her hand with the sensation. She was Katherine, her scent was heady and rich her body constantly moving against his, needing her to be still, to be closer to him. Picking her up bodily, making her wrap her legs around him for support, her open shirt brushing aside her skin glowing in the half light.
Her body still rubbing against his own, her breasts pressing against his clothed chest, with a roar he dropped her to her feet. Tearing at his own clothes, shedding them quickly opening his jeans, freeing his erection to the night and to Anne’s gaze, seeing her fear lodged deep in her eyes but her hunger written across her features as she stripped her own clothes. Stepping out of her long skirts, naked underneath them her young body trembling from the cold, wrapped up suddenly in his heated skin, the sensation of his skin almost driving her wild.
The feel of his body against her own her weakness against his strength, the power he held in every muscle in every fibre of himself. Her own softness wrapping around him, mingling herself within him and around him until there was nothing but them, the forest alive with life, the eyes watching in interest as she shifted around him. Turning her back to him rubbing herself against him, grinding her rear into him her hands reaching behind her to touch his body. Encouraging him to take her, her eyes meeting his over her shoulder and seeing the hunger reflected back at her. The movement was swift and sure lifting her a little then the slide of him as he entered her, holding her hip and breast as he filled her. She wasn’t a virgin, hadn’t been for a couple of years but she felt like one now, the girth of him stretched her, her mind realising on some level that he was part of everything around them just as she was.
Opening her eyes to see figures moving in the mist around them, large figures, weaving through the cool grey. At the first thrust of his hips the words tumbled out of her mouth, a litany she’d been taught to remember by Wayland, the words old before man had made cities. Knowing the figures were listening to her words as Logan pushed deeper into her, taking her breath away with the power of it, losing her mind to the pleasure he was causing inside her on her. Feeling his teeth bite the back of her neck, holding her still while he took her, knowing they must seem like animals to the figures watching and moving around them. His dominance over her, the litany whispered to their ears, telling of their commitment to this land, to the ways of blood and bone.
Her eyes locking onto a figure, one that moved forward into the light, a changed one, stooped low but his back still raised six feet from the forest floor. Standing on the other side of the fire, his own excitement showing on his body, his pink erection weeping clear fluid and the growl that sounded out one of challenge to Wolverine. Wolverine didn’t stop, he let go of her skin and howled, the sound loud and full of rage, gripping her tighter to him, his blades snapping out as he showed his own weaponry. He’d fight for her if he had to but he was in control here, he was inside her and he’d fill her with himself, tying himself to her so no other could take her afterward.
He became rough, brutish as the changer watched across from them both, keeping the fire between them as he pushed to his climax, feeling his body tighten as he began to twitch inside her. Pushing herself back into his hips, knowing it would bring him over, hearing his growl rise, feeling it turn into a roar as he filled her body with himself. The pulse of him and the grip he had on her skin turning it purple under his fingers, tightening herself around him and feeling him grunt with the strength of it. Tying him in place as the changer moved forward, stepping round the fire toward them, taking his bladed hand in her own and raising it. Her voice deep and strong coming from everything around her as she spoke to the interloper, “MINE! You have no claim on me! Your place is not my place, your people not my people, this is MINE, he is MINE, in blood and bone, in fur and feather, in leaf and branch, in man and animal, in woman and bird. You have no rights here!”
The changer stopped in it’s tracks, the gaze turning from aroused to calm as Wolverine still rumbled behind her, his hand still gripping her hip. Slowly it backed away into the mist; the feeling of being watched fading until the darkness held nothing but the animals of the night. Satisfied Wolverine snapped his blades away, moving himself within Anne and feeling her release him a little, sensing the danger was over she released him. His grip on her skin still visible her face filled with relief as she turned to face him, seeing the darkness shifting out of his eyes being replaced by the hazel she’d once fawned over. Seeing him realise and the guilt flood his gaze as he reached for her, she turned away quickly, her heart aching for what she’d made him do. That she’d used the charm to make him do what she’d wanted, dressing quickly she kept herself out of his reach, holding her shift together she tried to get past him but he blocked her way.
“Anne,” she looked everywhere but at him, the sound of his voice was strained and she had to look at him. Tears were standing in his eyes as he held her arm, “Please?” He needed to understand what had happened, why she’d allowed him to hurt her, she knew her place in his affections, that he’d seen her as a kind of daughter. Someone he’d cared for, someone he’d shared things with, someone he’d never wanted to hurt and never like this or in this way.
She allowed him to hold her, feeling her own walls crumble as he held her, his voice whispering to her needing her forgiveness for touching her, for hurting her, for not being strong enough to stop. He didn’t understand the consequences of it all and right now she wasn’t in any state to tell him, she let him rock and hold her close as the stars moved overhead. Knowing they would be back, that it wasn’t over yet, Lupa had to choose and he had to fight alone, fear made her grip Logan, she didn’t want to lose him, not now.
The wind moved over the forest, a mind going with it, seeing everything and noting the changes that it made, seeing the small fire and the pair holding each other. One old one young, one male one female, one human one animal, a bond made a tie to the land reformed the wind carried the little bee away, back to the smith with the news.
Marie looked over the dark forest Logan had been gone all day, his absence even being noticed by the kids; they’d gone for breakfast by the lake. Done several nature rambles and now they were all writing up what they’d found for Ororo’s class when she got home. Feeling the presence of someone near her, she looked and her gaze found Lupa his head bowed and his hands resting on the windowsill. “She wants to talk to you.” Lupa’s voice was quiet and he turned to show her a small braid in his fur, little blue flowers running down his neck. Lupa had gone for a while when they were up at the lake, she knew it had been Katherine now he was telling her Katherine wanted to talk to her.
Looking around the room, she saw Amber playing with several other children lost in a game of jacks, Lupa noticed her gaze and nodded. He’d take care of her until she came back, “She’s outside just past the porch.” As she moved away Lupa grabbed hold of her, arm tightly, his face worried and his voice quavering. “Don’t hate him, he did it to keep you safe. If they hadn’t we’d all be dead by now,” his large head went back to the darkness outside. “I can feel them out there, they’re waiting for me and I have to go. I don’t have a choice, just like they didn’t.”
Marie looked at Lupa, his face was filled with uncertainty they’d talked about what they were going to do last night but the more time Logan had spent away from the cabin had made her more and more nervous. She’d hidden it of course but Lupa had sensed her fear rising as the sun had set, the children had picked up on the mood as well being quiet and calm. Peiter hadn’t moved from his post all day, the bottom of the stairs had him seated drawing the children relaxed as if it was a normal thing. Even Damask was looking a little frazzled, her normally solid self belief that no one or nothing could harm Logan looked a little shaken. Concentrating Marie did the one thing that Logan had asked her not to, she opened her mind to him, opening the link between them both.
Grief, fear, hatred, self-loathing, pain so acute it hurt to breathe, her eyes tearing up rapidly as she felt his mind tearing itself apart. The image of Anne as a child crying in the library, of the things he said to her, her helping to make Amber’s crib, the day she left and the fear he’d felt for her. Underneath it all was the knowledge of what he’d done and she burrowed for it, searching for the thing and finding her way blocked by Wolverine. Snarling and crouched claws drawn he wasn’t going to let her see, not yet. Closing her mind she blinked and looked at Lupa, knowing it had something to do with the situation they were all in. Walking away, she touched Lupa’s shoulder knowing it wasn’t his fault that this was happening, yet she knew he felt the guilt for it anyway.
Passing the children quickly she went outside, the cold wind blowing the leaves all around her as she moved down the porch looking for any sign of Logan coming home. Turning the corner, her eyes met Katherine; she was sat with a deer by her side, resting on the porch her hands stroking the deer’s flanks as if it was a pet. She looked almost human to her, the only strange thing about her was the colour of her, she was green, all of her. Her entire body made from leaves and twigs, dressed in soft moss that covered her like a fabric, slowly she turned her face to Marie, a serious expression settled in her eyes.
The deer wandered away back into the forest leaving a space for Marie to sit with her, taking the hint Marie sat down. She’d never seen her this close before, not since she’d become part of the forest, she’d seen her at a distance seen the memories from Logan but never actually been up close to her till now. Katherine smiled, the moss of her skin moving with the smile as it passed over her face, “He’s coming home Marie but there’s something you need to know, he did something he had to do. Wolverine mated with Anne.” Her breath caught in her throat, Marie’s eyes went wide and her heart froze solid. Anger coursed through her as she thought about the things she’d felt from her husband and why he’d told her not to open the link between them.
She made to stand but Katherine grabbed her arm keeping her sat next to her, the grip firm and strong, “They didn’t have a choice Marie, they had to they had to prove their worth to those who were watching.” Angry Marie set her head, the light of rage burning through her gaze, “You want to know what was watching them? Who was there, what they could have lost?” Seeing Marie’s anger flare Katherine took that as a yes, touching her between the eyes with her left hand she opened her own senses for Marie to see what she had seen.
The forest was filled with bodies, at least twenty large furred forms, all pacing, all walking around the small clearing, their size dwarfing the two naked figures stood next to the fire. The leader stood waiting hidden by the mist until he was ready to make his presence felt, revealing himself to them both. Seeing Wolverine holding Anne in his grip, fucking her as they both faced down the huge creature, seeing the anger boiling in her husbands gaze, the need for him to kill being held in check by Anne. Lifting his clawed hand with her own her words flowing out across the clearing to the others that were listening to every word. Seeing the two changers stood behind the pair, a wicked looking set of blades raised ready to kill them at a moments notice, only when Wolverine came inside her did they drop the weapons down. When the leader left the clearing fading back into the mist he turned to her, his muzzle wrinkling in a snarl as he walked away taking his pack with him. Marie wanted to close her eyes and she tried to move away from Katherine’s touch on her skin, “NO! There’s more for you to see, to understand and forgive.”
Anne moved first, giving her the chance to see her husband’s eyes clear and the realisation of what he’d done hit him. Seeing in that moment the same look, he’d had when he’d found Katherine’s body and brought her back to the mansion. Anne dressed herself quickly and she tried to avoid his touch, knowing he would be hurting so badly that he needed Anne to let him touch her, to tell her his thoughts. She watched as Anne reluctantly let him touch her, hold her to him as he broke apart, the guilt swamping his mind, killing a part of him, wrecking the one relationship he’d had with someone who he’d helped. Knowing he’d take the blame for it all, putting everything on his shoulders, on Wolverine’s shoulders. Seeing him build a wall in his eyes, cutting off the pain until he was ready to feel it, he couldn’t they were still in danger and she saw him close off his features becoming set as he let Anne go.
Turning away from her, he walked down the track his movements stiff and his heart heavy, she knew he’d want to be alone when he got here. Not wanting to show her why he was feeling like this, having to explain why Anne wouldn’t let him go near her again or touch her. Knowing he was hating himself and the things that had made him do it, Katherine showed her Anne, the tears running down her face as she heated water. Adding salt to it by the handful, watching her strip again and wash herself all over, flushing out her body the sting of the salt registering in her eyes. Her own tears flowing as she scrubbed her skin, her voice repeating the same thing over and over, “Please god let her forgive me, let him forgive me, we had no choice, no choice.” Marie watched the young woman who’d become a friend to her and Amber destroy herself as she scrubbed her skin. Finally resting in a heap near the fire, her pain etched over her face re-enforced by every tear she shed in quiet hatred and rage.
Her face set as she looked around her gaze resting on theirs for a second, Anne’s voice reaching out into the forest. “I know your listening Katherine, I did your job they're safe for now, they know he follows his path well. He’ll bring him up well, tell him what he needs to know, to be a killer and to defend what’s his by rights. I hate you, do you hear me I HATE YOU! I don’t want this if I have to hurt those I love, I hurt him you bitch, I could see it in him! She’ll hate me, she’ll stop me from seeing Amber, how can I protect her when she won’t let me near her?” Marie listened to the strain in her young voice, the pain and the anger in it, the self-doubt and loathing. Seeing her walk stiffly into the vardo leaving her pain behind her voice still mumbling as she went inside, “Please god let him forgive me, because I can’t forgive myself.”
Katherine removed her touch from Marie’s forehead shutting down the view in her head, her voice rich and old as she turned away from her. Listening as she got up and took her few steps away from the porch, “They would have killed them both if she hadn’t offered herself to him, remade the link between him and the land. Anne is the land here as I was, she had no choice as I had none, Wolverine belongs here and to claim this place he has to make his mark on it. Anne represents the land here they would have accepted no one else, they would have come for you all. DO you think Hank could have fought all of them and won? They would have killed everyone here and taken Lupa with them, you saw them, how they really are do you think for one moment Logan had a choice? To choose between hurting you for a moment or losing you forever? Which would you have him make?”
Logan chose that moment to walk up the path, his eyes caught the shape of Katherine and his eyes narrowed, standing firm he just waited there not moving any closer or retreating. Marie could feel the hatred burning off him; he wanted to kill Katherine, to rend her into pieces for what he’d been made to do. Marie moved away from her and walked down the path toward him, seeing his blades had fired feeling the air around him seething with hate for the green woman. Touching his face and seeing the darkness retreat for a second as he looked at her, the need to tell her rising in his gaze and she just whispered, “She showed me Logan, she showed me everything.” It was as if his strings had been cut, his face fell and his arms dropped to his sides, the sense of loss filled the chill air as she wrapped herself around him. Her eyes filling with tears that flowed over her skin as she realised how much danger they’d all been in, that the things around them could have killed them all without a thought. He hadn’t known about the ones behind him, the ones that had held knives as long as his arms waiting for the order to kill them both, or the true amount of watchers there had been. He’d seen only one, the leader and they’d both stood their ground, she doubted she could have when she’d been Anne’s age. She’d been still getting over the mess of Jean’s death back then, she’d been a brat and Logan had been patient with her showing her he loved her until she’d finally gotten the clue she’d needed.
Logan’s large head dropped to her shoulder his face hidden in her hair as he breathed out into her, “Marie I’m…” she stopped him dead. Her head shook from side to side as she moved them back toward the cabin, “No Logan, there’s nothing to apologise for, you were looking after us all, doing what you had to do, nothing more nothing less. If it had been me instead of Anne I doubt I could have done it, I wasn’t as grown up as she is now.” Logan met her gaze and his eyes told her of the pain he felt for hurting Anne, his friend, his surrogate daughter. “She needs to talk to you tomorrow Logan, she feels as bad as you do, if not worse.” The words landed heavily on him and she saw him falter in his steps before they reached the cabin, “Logan, come on. You need to eat, sleep, Lupa’s fine, so’s Amber. Bring her here tomorrow Logan, I want to talk to her, woman talk.” Logan felt his face pale as she said it and Marie couldn’t help but smile at it, “No, I just want to talk to her, set a few things straight for her that’s all.”
What had happened did hurt her, it cut her deeply but she knew it wouldn’t have happened unless it had been necessary. The look of hunger on the wolf-like faces of the changers had made her fear them, the wilderness in their eyes. The excitement they had felt at the sight of the two naked bodies mating at their need to rend their soft flesh until it was in tatters and filling their stomachs. Knowing that they would have come to the cabin, ripped open the door and killed everything in sight, the thought of Amber listening to the screams as everyone died around her. Seeing Lupa fall injured and having to fight with Amber in her arms knowing Logan was dead or dying in the forest all alone knowing he’d failed them.
It made the act pale into insignificance compared to what would have happened if they hadn’t done what they’d done, an act of love instead of violence. Pulling Logan along she got him inside where Amber jumped on him immediately, wrapping her arms around her father and not realising the grip he had on her was one that would have bruised anyone else. Lupa was sat near the fire, his head lowered and the look of guilt lodged in his gaze; he looked up once and met Logan’s own stare. Lupa was the first to look away; tears visible in the firelight, the look that covered Logan’s own face one of regret as he wrestled with Amber. They’d need time to talk and there wasn’t much time left for them to do it.
Marie took Amber into bed with her, the rest of the kids were sleeping a little fitfully and Jubilee was padding around. The sudden need to see her friend filled her entire being and she called out as she heard her light footfalls pass her door. “Jubes, that you?” the door opened and her dark haired head wound around the doorframe.
“Yeah Rogue?” Marie held her hand out to her friend knowing she’d see the gesture and understand it without asking her why. Jubilee’s small frame entered the room and sat next to her on the bed, Jubilee’s hand losing itself in her streaks. The comfort from having her hand touching her breaking open her own shell of fear and pity, tears falling she whispered in the semi-darkness to her oldest friend.
“Jube’s I don’t know if we’ll get out of this. I’m so sorry for risking everything, the kids, the school…” Jubilee just shushed her with a touch on her lips, wiping away the tears that were still on her cheeks.
“Hey girl, it’s not as if it doesn’t happen at least once a year you know? There’s always someone or something wanting to get rid of us, it’s like with the kids, we tell them it’s better to run and hide than fight. When they’re old enough they can use their powers to defend themselves but not unless it’s really necessary.”
Marie looked at her friend and saw the wisdom in her eyes and in her smile, she was older than she seemed, the task of looking after the younger members of the school had given her an insight into life. One where the joys of life were often stark against the pain of realisation that they were hated for being different, for being born strange when the rest of the world was ‘normal’. Jubilee had learned the hard way how to handle the tantrums and emotional pain caused by words and thoughtless deeds. “We’ll get by Rogue, I mean we have the world’s most powerful mutants living here, there’s not much that can hurt us, except one of our own.”
Jubes looked at Marie and at the small child wrapped up in her arms. “He’d die for all of us Rogue, but for you he’d come back and kick ass until the metal on his bones rusted to nothing and for Amber, hell I don’t know what it’d take to keep him down!” Jubilee’s smile was real and her touch on Amber’s hair light as she sat on the end of the bed. “Hank’s doing okay, he’s sleeping with the kids down the hall, it looks like a pile of toys to be honest. When he came downstairs earlier, I thought Pete was going to have a fit, he looked so ready to fight him until Hank spoke to him. I don’t understand everything that’s going on here Rogue but I know this, if it wasn’t important it wouldn’t be happening and we certainly wouldn’t be here. Hell when we had the loony last year Logan made sure all of us were locked up in the dorms while he dealt with him.” Marie felt herself relax a little into the touch of her friend, nodding as she listened to the sense inside her words.
“When did you get so practical?” Jube’s smiled and winked at her.
“When I got to be everyone’s mom, play friend and confessor.” Laughing a little they both hugged each other pulling apart Jube’s looked at the empty space next to Marie. “Where’s dad?” Marie looked at the shuttered window her gaze being followed by Jubilee.
“He’s talking to Lupa,” the words sounded like lead in the air and clattered to the floor, their meaning not lost on Jubilee. Her friend touched Marie’s hair again and pulled herself into the bed letting her rest on her thin frame.
“It’ll be okay Rogue, I know it will.” For once Marie relied on her friends sense of ‘rightness’ and her belief that the world was best left to work things out for itself. Feeling herself slowly sinking into sleep, wrapped up in her friends embrace, her own arms filled with Amber’s warmth, her mind settling and calling out to her husband just before she drifted into oblivion.
Lupa was sat a few feet away from him, his eyes hidden from him but his scent was strong, showing his fear and upset. Logan had taken him outside, upto the small lake to talk, but they’d been here an hour already and hadn’t said a word to each other. The cold made his breath fog and he sighed heavily, the pain he’d caused today would haunt him for the rest of his life. The look in Anne’s eyes as she’d seen him come back to himself, the hurt and the regret had speared him through but he’d known there had been no way around it. If he hadn’t he’d be dead by now and Lupa would be somewhere far to the north. As if reading his mind Lupa turned to him his muzzle dripping tears into the lake, “I’m sorry.”
Loathing filled him and he could sense the pain in him, it was crippling them both and he needed to be strong to face what he was about to tomorrow. He’d seen one of them up close, Lupa would be in front of all of them at once and he’d have to fight them, if he was weakened by this, he could die. Pushing off the log he was sat on Logan sat next to the large frame of his adopted son, he loved him, when he’d found out about him he’d done everything in his power to get to him as soon as possible. Jumped through hoops for the adoption board, when they’d heard of his links to Xavier they were more than happy to approve him. It didn’t matter to him that he wasn’t his own child, what mattered was that he was related to him, he was his *family*.
Resting his hand on the back of Lupa’s head Logan stroked the fur under his hand, feeling Lupa bending into the touch. Listening to the intake of breath telling him, he was about to speak when he interrupted his flow. “Lupa I love you and whatever is happening isn’t your fault. You didn’t make them come here; they came here to find you, to ask you to go with them. They’re your relations just as much as I am, just as much as Amber and Marie are.” Lupa’s gaze found his and there was a piece of steel in it.
“No they’re not.” Logan was about to answer when Lupa continued, “They weren’t there when I needed them. You were, you all were.” Lupa looked out over the lake his tears drying, “Even Hank.” Logan knew how much it pained Lupa to be around Hank but both of them had worked hard at the relationship because of Amber who adored the two of them. She’d often want the two of them with her at the same time if she could, feeling safe and settled between them both. Over the last month Lupa had spoken to Hank, asking questions, finding out how he’d become what he was, what his work had been, and how he’d ended up at Xaviers. Lupa still held a few reservations about him but he never let them show outside his own thoughts. If Logan trusted him then he could too.
Lupa pulled himself upright, his muscles stretching in the cold, holding his nose to the wind he could smell them all around him. The strange scent made his hackles rise and a rumble echo through his body, Logan was up and next to him in a heartbeat looking for the danger, claws drawn eyes scanning the lakeshore. “They’re not here, I can feel them though. They want this place, take it over, kill you all and live here themselves.” His eyes dropped back down to Logan and Lupa saw the anger banked just under the surface of his skin, the thought of them living here made him feel sick to his stomach. They’d kill everyone they met, every child, every person, every stranger, the woods would become a place of fear and death, even in daylight they would hunt and kill. He knew that as much as he knew how to shift his form from one to the other, he had to face them, show them this was *his* home and he’d defend it.
Seeing Logan finally relax enough to pull his blades back he looked at his surrogate father, Logan loved him enough to die for him. What Katherine had shown him, what he’d done with Anne and the ones who’d been watching, the risk he’d taken without knowing, the sight of the others behind him knowing their eagerness to kill them both had been so strong. Only the risk of upsetting the alpha had kept them from killing them both, he knew what they’d wanted, he’d seen it written all over their faces, in their movements and eyes.
They’d wanted Logan to fail, to be human. Thing was he wasn’t, he was a half-breed, a mutant, while he himself was a different species altogether, he was like them and that was what was upsetting him. That he could be like them, could act like them, to be consumed by their own powers to be unheeding of the needs of those around him. He’d been hurt, abused, kicked, tortured and made a scapegoat but so had many other children here, they still held out their hands to him. Pain was everywhere here, in children in adults but they cared still and in his first weeks, here he’d made a promise to himself that he would let go of the past and concentrate on now.
Hank had told him a little about what Logan had been through and he’d asked Marie, she’d told him a little more about it but she’d asked him to ask Logan about it himself. It was important to Logan, a part of him that fed the animal inside him, the rage he let free the thing that made Wolverine. Looking at Logan as he stared out over the lake Lupa decided he would ask him now he needed to know how he’d come back to himself. Why it had happened to him, had it been on purpose, had he been picked out because of his abilities? Lupa took one of Logan’s hands and turned it in the starlight, the memory of his mothers own clawed hands rising in his mind. Logan’s own gaze was dark and he was wondering what was happening.
“My mother had bone claws, why are yours metal?” Logan’s hand tensed and Lupa knew he wanted to pull his hand away but he didn’t, instead he let the claws slide out so they could be seen shining.
“I didn’t have a choice about it. They were covered with metal just like the rest of my skeleton.” The words were filled with pain, the suffering deep and the anger still hot behind the words.
“Do you hate them? For doing this to you?” Lupa met Logan’s gaze and held it, even as his eyes darkened turning almost to black.
“Yes.” The one word bitten off with venom Logan turned his face away as he tried to calm the anger he felt, to put the rage away.
“Is it wrong to feel angry?” The words snapped Logan’s head round to look Lupa directly in the eye, the younger mans face was filled with confusion and pain as he worked something out for himself. “They were my family but they left me to die, they let my mother die defending me. They were there but they didn’t come for me, I know it as sure as I know one of them will die tomorrow when they face me. I want to kill them! They left me behind, left me for years to be hurt, abused and lost, not caring if I was alive or dead until now. Now I’m safe, now I’m secure they want that as well, they want to take everything and make it theirs, like you don’t matter to them just like I didn’t.” Lupa turned away for a moment, swallowing his rage down, “So is it wrong? Is it wrong to hate them for leaving me, for wanting everything I have just because they’re my ‘real’ family?”
Logan watched his son reason through the anger the pain he was feeling, the way he was torn between the two of them. Lupa wanted to know them but he knew they’d left him to suffer, yet the first words Logan had properly spoken to him had been to tell him he was part of his family. That he’d done everything he could to get to him and get him away from the place he was in, that he’d even given him a chance to touch his one and only child Amber. When Lupa had been uncertain of his place in their family he’d been given more than anyone had ever given him, a place of his own, his own thoughts, his own opinions. Logan had given him the world wrapped up in an embrace that told him he’d never be alone again, no matter where he went or what happened to him. Logan would be there, as would Marie, as would Amber and Hank.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why are you angry at them?” Lupa turned toward him, his hand letting go of his own, his muzzle showing fresh tear trails as he buried his large head in Logan’s chest his voice echoing through him as he knelt in front of him.
“Because they wouldn’t do this if they could.” His large arms wrapped around Logan and hugged him for all he was worth; understanding at last Logan held him.
Knowing where Lupa stood, with him, with Amber, with Marie, all for touch, for the contact that was given every single day. For the thought that went into the countless small things, for the smile Amber gave him every morning, for the touch of his hand on his shoulder when they went hunting. For the love, Marie gave him without price and the acceptance he found in the hearts of everyone at the school.
“Lupa…”
“No! I don’t want to hear it. They’re not me; I’m like you a half-breed, not one or the other. I couldn’t kill like they do, I don’t want to and I won’t be like that. Please tell me I won’t be like that…” The sobs were breaking his heart and his eyes filled quickly as he held Lupa to him, throwing his head back and sighing hard into the uncaring sky. Listening to the howl rising around them, knowing tomorrow it would end one way or another. Dropping his head Logan saw Katherine watching them both, her arms wrapped around herself, her own tears falling as dew on her cheeks. Seeing her gaze all steel as it hit him making him hope that things would work out in their favour. Lupa needed to hear the words even if he couldn’t promise them.
“You don’t have to be anything you don’t want to be.” The words let the floodgates open and Lupa collapsed clutching his legs to his face, a child still in so many ways Logan helped him up looking him deep in the eye. “You’re my family Lupa, nothing is ever going to change that. Not them not anyone, I’ll be there tomorrow you might not see me but I’ll be there, I won’t let them hurt you.” Lupa nodded and he felt the weight of someone watching them, searching for the spy, he saw her, smiling at the lake edge, fading away into the darkness. Smiling himself as he remembered what she’d said to him, that she would be there too, he wouldn’t be alone when he faced them, they couldn’t interfere but he wouldn’t be alone. That thought was enough to give him hope.
Reckoning
The morning was clear, mist was still wreathed around several trees’ around the edges of the natural amphitheatre but Lupa wasn’t watching it, he was watching the cautious approach of his family. They were human in shape but he knew they were the beasts that Katherine had shown him last night, a mixture of people, of colours and sizes. A rag tag band of around twenty who positioned themselves around the lip of the amphitheatre, a man with salt and pepper hair dropped into the bottom of the bowl and walked over to him. Dressed in dirty clothes and unwashed Lupa could smell the wildness in him, his eyes meeting the human shape in front of him with barely disguised disdain. “So you’re the lost one?” The lithe man walked around Lupa’s form assessing his strength and power in every gaze that crawled over his body, a smirk was covering his face as he moved round him. “You’re the one everyone’s been talking about,” he turned to the crowd on the lip of the bowl a smile accompanying his words. “Personally I can’t see what all the fuss is about.” With a smile the small man whipped out a small wicked looking knife and slashed him across the back of his legs, the blade bit deep and Lupa snarled at the pain as it bloomed through him. Lashing out without thinking, he tore the chest of the small man open, sending him into the wall of the bowl, the crack of bone sounding loud in the stillness of the morning. Every eye was watching Lupa as the wound healed the sparkle of the blade meeting his eye as it lay in the grass at his feet. Picking up the blade he could scent the man’s own stink all over it, checking for poison on the blade he found none, running his finger over the small silver surface. A few breaths were held as he touched the blade itself, the silver shining dully in the dappled light of the day, breaking the blade easily he threw it toward the now cooling corpse.
His eyes met the ring of people above him, locking onto a pair of grey eyes, knowing without being told that this was the Alpha, straightening himself to face the large man as he climbed down into the bowl. Lupa kept his eyes on him entirely as he went over and checked on the body that had once been one of their comrades. The grey eyed face set hard as he realised the man was dead, he wasn’t healing as he should, the silver knife he avoided with every step as the life blood trickled out of the body and fed the ground. The soft rustle of leaves grew as the Alpha stepped away from the corpse, the ground began to heave as the small white rootlets fought upward into the cooling body, seeking the rich food that was pooling under the cooling meat.
His gaze went upto the ring of others who were now beginning to shift forms, the sound not unlike the ground that was slowly digesting their fallen comrade. They were filling the spaces between the trees with their bulk, leaving no escape route for him, their gaze all steel. Several were growling at him directly and he understood their need to fight him for the transgression he’d made, the man in front of him just rumbled deep in his chest. His gaze locking onto the main aggressors, showing his teeth as he did so, watching as each one stopped their own noise until there was nothing but his own breathing clouding the still air.
Logan watched the group assemble around the edge of the pit, he was above the main part of it high up in an oak. The face of Katherine next to his shoulder as she watched from the leaves of the tree, her gaze locked onto the Alpha, the scent of the forest hiding him from their sensitive senses. Both of them twitching when Lupa was injured by the scruffy man, listening to the thump of his body against the rock wall. The snap of his neck and the scent of his blood filling their senses, the confusion running through the assembly as they realised he wasn’t healing, that Lupa had killed him. Logan had looked to Katherine for an answer but she had none for him, she was just as confused, as he was, it was something no one had expected not even her.
Looking down at the two of them Logan hoped Lupa would be able to cope with whatever they were going to do to him, watching the effortless change that swept around the bowl of the forest he understood the mechanics of the thing. The flow from one form to another almost fluid watching the various forms shifting and twisting into their natural shapes until the entire edge was filled with furred bodies. Their eyes locked onto Lupa making him seem small and alone, he almost jumped down when he heard the growling start up. Katherine’s voice echoing through his skull, telling him to stay still; it was the hardest thing he’d ever done, having to watch the look of anger pass along the rim. Understanding their language, seeing the rage burning just beneath their skin, seeing his own animalistic rage mirrored in front of him. The turn of the head that spoke thousands of threats, the gaze that stopped the blood flowing to the heart, the growl that he’d heard come from his own mouth too often when fighting. These were his people too and looking at them he understood the rage that came from Wolverine a little better, the need to be free, to be the thing he was meant to be, a killer.
Katherine interrupted his train of thought, “You’re different to them Logan, you’re half human, they aren’t. They’d kill you in a heartbeat and think nothing of it; they were created as Her vengeance, her right arm. Lupa’s coming has been waited for; there’s not many of them alive anymore, no more than a few thousand across the world. Any lost child is important to them but Lupa more so.” Logan turned his head to look at Katherine but her form had gone from the branch he was on, she was across from him in a sycamore, her body fully formed, her moss skin shining in the morning light. A dark smile on her face that didn’t reach her eyes, sending a bolt of memory into the forefront of his mind.
Sabretooth, the day he died here, she’d had the same smile on her face, the same look in her eye. Quickly he scanned the edge of the pit, using his knowledge of the forest; ivy was everywhere they were standing in it, resting their hands and claws in it, feet buried deep in the tangled folds. Snapping his head upward to her gaze again he saw her melting away into the leaves her voice sending chills through him, reminding him of what she had become. “Now you see why I asked you to climb Logan, less chance of you remaining here if things don’t turn out the way we want them to.” With that she faded from his view but the conversation on the pit floor was getting his attention and he turned his senses below him.
After the growling had ceased Lupa found his own form being assessed by the older man in front of him, the sharp grey gaze cutting through his courage making him shiver almost making him turn tail and run. The crying face of Amber stopped the thought dead, knowing they would look for him and kill anyone they found including her. The more he thought about Marie and Amber the stronger his resolve became, he wouldn’t let this creature kill his loved ones, he’d lost his family once, he wasn’t about to lose them again. As the grey eyed man stepped closer Lupa let out a small warning growl of his own, seeing the man raise an eyebrow at the sound reminiscent of Logan at that moment, making Lupa hope he was somewhere close by.
“So you're our saviour,” the words entered the silence and filled every last nook and cranny with the rich timbre of the Alpha’s voice. His grey eyes locked onto Lupa’s own as he moved toward him, a hand coming up to touch his fur, Lupa snapped at the air just in front of the hand. The grey gaze intensified and he dropped the pre-offered hand, the air cooling between them as he did so. “Your ours and you’ll be coming with us tonight when we leave here.” Every word was solid, a truth, spoken in a voice that could command such violence that tore the world apart when it wanted to.
Every moment of pain, every wish he’d ever held about being found by his family came back to Lupa as he stood there listening to the words as they flowed through his mind. The relief he’d felt when Logan had picked him up, watching Logan’s movements for any sign of anger when he’d done something wrong and finding nothing but love and tolerance in his steady gaze. The man in front of him expected obedience without question and he knew that as much as he knew if he left with them everyone left would be killed. Moving backward from the Alpha Lupa lifted his head to look at the ring of family above him, “No.”
The word made Logan’s heart soar, he could scent the fear and excitement coming from all around him, the whisper of Katherine in his head telling him to stay still where it was safe. He could see the small tendrils tightening around every foot and hand watching the scene below, their attention riveted to the creature that had said no to their alpha. A grim smile etched on Logan’s face as he watched his son below, if he needed him he was there but he knew he had to leave Lupa to deal with them alone before he made any move.
The blow that came from the Alpha was swift and rocked him backward with the force of it; the man quickly got out of arms reach as Lupa shuddered with the blow. His voice wound around Lupa as he moved around him, “You’re OUR’S! You have no choice!” Lupa spread his feet wide on the springy turf of the bowl, his body bulking as he shifted into his largest form, anger quickly replacing fear in his blood. Lupa pulled his gaze to the Alpha’s own and saw the shine of his own change coming. If he waited he’d lose, Lupa felt his conscious mind drop away, the animal half of him surged forward as he pulled his razor filled hand around. The air hissing with the sound as his claws raked up and across the face of his tormentor, bright red colouring the air as the older man pulled away from him. A deep growl issuing out of Lupa as he swung, his other hand going low across the soft midsection of his human body, the wet tearing sound of his claws separating flesh that was too slow to move away. On the rim, a keening howl was heard to start but the sound was cut off by a frustrated growl, without looking upward, Lupa knew who was helping him, Katherine.
His legs pistoned forward into the shifting man ahead of him, seeing the steel grey fur begin to cover his skin, knowing without being told where to strike. A foot laden with razors pinned the thigh of the changing Alpha to the ground, rage filled his blood, his hands grabbed flesh half-furred and ripped it apart. The howls that sounded out across the forest were filled with rage, hatred and pain, the body under his hands was healing wounds as fast as he could give them. Still only half formed because of his onslaught Lupa felt his body slip again, feeling his tendons tear as he grew again, feeling his teeth elongate muzzle deepen and widen. His chest burned as he shifted again, looking into the eyes of the Alpha and seeing fear rise in them for the first time, rumbling his pleasure at the sight, Lupa lifted his head to lock his gaze on every single creature on the rim.
They were tied in place by thick roots and tendrils of ivy, several were trying to get down to help their leader yet when Lupa’s gaze met theirs he could feel their fear enter his mind. Keeping the Alpha down with one strong leg and hand Lupa found their loyalty had shifted, he was in charge here, he’d proved himself without ever having to worry about them. The Alpha under his grip stirred, snapping his attention back to the form under him, the eyes were wide with fear but the strength he had was beginning to make itself known. A deep rumble echoed through the forest as the Alpha threw Lupa off him; unsteady Lupa got his ground again, his eyes locking onto the alpha’s own. He scented fear rolling off the older man in waves as he moved closer to him shoulders dropped and hands spread wide. Their sizes weren’t that dissimilar but Lupa seemed to burn with something inside him, he could hear the voice of Katherine in his head, telling him to strike, to take the Alpha’s throat in his mouth and bite down hard. His blood fizzing with energy, feeling Logan above him watching from a branch knowing he was ready to drop down and help if he needed him. Just knowing he was there gave Lupa courage as he dived into the Alpha, claws drawn, mouth agape, mind lost to rage, blood singing as he fought for his life, not just his own but all those he cared for.
Logan watched from above as Lupa attacked the Alpha, the same one he’d seen with Anne, the large frame of the older man being covered by Lupa’s own. He didn’t let up his attack, tearing into the furred body with a ferocity that had never been seen before, Lupa was taking injuries too but he healed them faster somehow. The rest of the pack were struggling to be free from the binding roots at their feet and hands, Logan had shifted his attention for a second when his eyes caught the shine of something being thrown into the pit. A blade made of bone was falling toward them both; Katherine’s voice screamed into his mind “STOP IT! Lupa won’t be able to heal the wounds from it!” Logan let go of the branch he was on and dropped straight down into the pit. Racing to the bone blade snatching it out of the reach of the Alpha, the weight of it reassuring in his hand. Seeing the pain filled gaze of the Alpha as he saw Logan holding the blade in his hand, an arm snaked out toward him, filled with razor claws. It never met him Lupa bit down hard at the elbow, severing the limb with a snap of his jaws; the arm fell to the floor twitching. Logan stabbed down, following the instructions whispered to him from Katherine, using the blade to pin the limb down through the bones of the forearm, twisting the blade to break both of them.
When he looked up again at Lupa he had the Alpha down by the throat, his foot planted in his open stomach. His spare hand raised to the sky, claws ready to drop, ready to decapitate him, the cries of the pack around him silent. Chest heaving Lupa waited for the Alpha to acquiesce, finally his head dropped back, showing him his throat; the mournful howl that rose over the forest filled Logan with pride. Lupa dropped his hand and stepped away from the dying Alpha, his own wounds still healing, raising his head to pierce every single member of the pack. Watching them as each one gave him obedience, dropping their gaze or exposing their throat to him as he looked around the lip of the pit. As each one obeyed the ivy released them until all of them were free, the only sound was the rustling of the ivy in the pit as it covered the dying Alpha. The form of it flowing and shuddering as Katherine formed over the dying werewolf, her voice carrying over the silence filling the forest. “Listen well children of earth, if you return here you will feed your mother like Grey Flank. Know this, his spirit is part of this place now, he is not lost to you, he will advise your saviour, as was his destiny. Leave in peace or your mother will turn against you, casting you into the dark places where no life remains. Go.”
Slowly, silently they drifted away from the edge of the pit Lupa watching the body at his feet being digested by the ivy, the rootlets entering every orifice and opening they could find. Filling themselves with blood and fluid as they grew, seeing Katherine’s form grow with colour from the cooling corpse at his feet, a feeling of regret filled him as he turned away from the sight. He walked straight into Logan’s embrace, shifting his form downward until he was himself again, crying into his fathers shoulder, his choice made. He’d killed; lost himself to the power within him, let it flow through his body, destroying everything it came into contact with, pulling out of the embrace of Logan Lupa saw the look of pride in Logan’s eyes. It soothed the pain a little, knowing he’d saved his family but it had been at a price, one he wasn’t willing to pay again. He didn’t want to become like them, uncaring an animal playing at being human, he was human first, then an animal, he would make sure his mind was in charge of the beast within him like Logan was.
As if sensing his sons upset Logan pulled him back into his embrace his words reaching into his heart and soothing the pain there, “It’s over, they won’t be back. Not now. I love you Lupa, I’m proud of you, you gave him a choice and he took it, there’s nothing to be ashamed of, you are what you are. We both are.” Lupa gripped Logan tightly at that, knowing he’d always be here for him, whenever things became too much for him to handle he’d be there showing him a way of coping of getting through it. Thankful for the strong arms that held him, for the love that surrounded him, for the acceptance he’d been given without question. He was family that’s what mattered and he’d never be alone again.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Logan steps up to the plate and Lupa meets the family that left him behind, choices are made and things change not all for the better but things that have to be done.