“What’s the matter Wolverine? Too rich for your blood?”

“Must be.” Azazel was trying to stir up trouble again, and Logan refused to play into his game. He folded his hand and leaned back in his chair, lighting a new cigar.

Azazel had returned earlier in the evening alone, but whatever he had done for Shaw seemed to have gone well. He was radiating smug satisfaction, and his usual tendency toward troublemaking seemed to have intensified. For some reason, he seemed to be focusing his mischief-making on the Wolverine this evening.

“Ah, Melinda! Come sit on my lap, dear.” Azazel’s clawed red hand reached out and grabbed the girl, pulling her roughly onto his lap. Her hip bumped the table, sloshing the drinks as the players cursed and grabbed up their glasses. Azazel shot a challenging look at Logan, who simply raised his beer in a silent toast. Logan couldn’t help feeling a secret pleasure at Azazel’s obviously crestfallen reaction to his disinterest.

“Go get me another drink. There’s a good girl.” Azazel summarily ejected Melinda from his lap, ignoring her pout. “I’m surprised you’re still hanging around, Wolverine. I would have thought you would have been bored to death by now.”

Logan supplied a noncommittal grunt. Azazel’s eerie blue eyes snapped with anger.

“I expected more from the mighty Wolverine.”

Logan puffed on his cigar, blowing smoke casually in Azazel’s face. Look at that, he wouldn’t have thought the man could get any redder, but he managed.

“Right now the mighty Wolverine is mighty sleepy,” he drawled. “‘Night, all.”

Logan gathered up his cash and ambled from the table as the other players murmured their goodnights. He could feel Azazel’s cold eyes pinned to his back. Dammit, the man was a nuisance. One more wild card in this situation was more than he needed. He would have to watch his back more than ever.

He sighed, rolling the tension from his shoulders. He actually was tired. He’d sleep tonight, and in the morning he’d see Rogue again. He couldn’t help the smile that the thought of her brought to his face. Tomorrow night was his weekly call to Chuck, he could make arrangements then for the two of them to get out of this nest of vipers. It couldn’t be soon enough to suit him.

____________________


Rogue placed the saddle pad behind Bonny’s withers, smoothing it down. She hefted up the saddle, settling it on his back, and then patted his neck.

“We’re going to see our friend, my bonny boy,” she whispered. She pressed her forehead against the horse’s neck, hiding her smile against his velvety hide, and he whickered in response.

She pulled the cinch under his belly, starting to buckle it.

“So you’re the tasty morsel who has the Wolverine hieing through the woods at the break of dawn.”

She wheeled around. She knew he was one of Sebastian’s employees, his devilish appearance was unmistakable. His unearthly blue eyes gleamed with malicious intent.

“I want a taste too,” he taunted.

Rogue turned and ran for the stable.

____________________

Logan paced in agitation. She was late. Where was she? Had something happened? Had she changed her mind about trusting him?

He heard the horse’s hoofbeats, and was momentarily relieved. But no -- something was wrong. The horse was coming at a flat-out gallop.

Bonny burst through a cluster of trees, his white-rimmed eyes panicked, the saddle dangling half under his belly. Logan stepped in front of him and he reared back, kicking out with his sharp forefeet.

“Easy, boy. Easy.” Logan managed to soothe the horse enough to grab his bridle, trying to suppress his own panic. He snapped a claw out, cutting the cinch and pulling the saddle free. He rubbed the gray’s neck for a moment, trying to settle him more, feeling every second tick by.

Bonny calmed somewhat, finally standing still, sides blowing. “Easy now.” Logan vaulted onto the horse’s back. He felt the gray stagger a bit, accommodating to what must be five times the usual weight he carried. The horse steadied, though, and surged forward at the press of Logan’s knees.

Logan wheeled him around, giving him his head in the direction of the stable. “That’s a braw laddie. Go find her.”

____________________


Logan leaped from the back of the exhausted horse, looping the reins around the stable gate. The stableyard was deserted, but that enticing scent of Rogue hung in the air, tinged with her fear, and another familiar scent -- Azazel.

Logan felt the growl rising in his chest, claws springing free as he sprinted for the open stable door. He skidded to a stop, almost tripping over Azazel’s prone form as his eyes adjusted to the dimmer light. He tilted Azazel’s head up with his claw, not caring that he cut into the skin. He was breathing, but out cold. Four deep scratches ran down his left cheek.

He heard her unsteady breathing before his eyes found her, huddled in the far corner of the stable. “Rogue!”

His claws itched with the urge to gut Azazel where he lay, but she didn’t need to see that right now. He moved toward her slowly, trying to keep his posture nonthreatening.

“Rogue...darlin’...you okay? Look at me, baby. Please.”

She kept her head down, arms wrapped around herself, the curtain of her hair hiding her face. He could see her shirt was torn at the shoulder, and the rush of rage blinded him for a moment. He tamped down on it hard, moving slowly closer to her. She had one glove off, her fingernails bloody.

“Rogue...honey, look at me. Did he hurt you?” He reached out slowly, touching her hair, pushing the auburn and white locks back so he could see her face. She made a whimpering noise, but finally raised her eyes to his. Even in the dim light, he could see her eyes looked strange -- cloudy somehow, instead of the clear deep brown they usually were.

“Logan?” she said, her voice unsteady.

“Yeah darlin’, I’m here.”

“I don’t feel good.” An odd thwucking sound, a puff of acrid gray smoke that burned his eyes and nose, and suddenly she was gone.

“ROGUE!!,” he roared. He scrabbled forward, frantically reaching for he didn’t know what, finding only weathered floorboards and scattered hay where she had been.

Another thwucking sound from behind him, and he turned around. Rogue was huddled against the far wall, arms still wrapped around herself, shaking.

Her eyes were huge in her pale face as she raised them to his. “Logan...help me...”

He scrambled toward her. “Fuck, holy fuck, hold on darlin’...” He leaped over Azazel to get to her, and suddenly put it together.

“It’s okay...it’s okay darlin’...it’s what Azazel does.” Her eyes were dazed as he gathered her up into his lap, holding her tight, rocking her gently. “That guy -- that bastard over there -- he’s a...”

This time he didn’t even hear the sound, just a dizzying moment of nothingness and he was back in the corner of the stable, Rogue still in his arms, the smoke hazing his vision and singeing his nasal passages.

Jesus, Rogue.” His stomach churned. If he never did that again it would be too soon. He wove his hand through her hair, the only way he could safely touch her, tilting her head up to his. “Look at me darlin’. Look in my eyes. That guy, you touched him right?” She nodded, but she still looked dazed.

He shook her a little. “Rogue, listen to me! Are you listening?” Her eyes cleared a little bit, and she nodded again. “That guy, he’s a teleporter. And now you’re teleporting. You’re controlling it, darlin’. So just...just focus, okay? I’ve got you. Just stay with me, okay? Concentrate on staying here with me.”

“Stay with you,” she repeated woodenly.

“That’s right, darlin’.”

She lifted a hand toward his face, and he saw her eyes widen in shock at her bare hand and bloody fingernails. “I touched him...” she said, with dawning horror, yanking her hand back.

The air around her seemed to shimmer a little, and he shook her again. “Rogue, no! Focus. Look at me. Look in my eyes. Stay here with me.” He grabbed her other hand, the one that was still gloved, and pulled it up to his face, pressing it hard to his cheek. “Stay with me.”

Her palm twitched against his cheek, and then her thumb moved, stroking up his cheekbone. “Logan,” she said, her voice steadier. Her eyes seemed clearer now, locked on his. She took a deep, shuddering breath.

“That’s right,” he said. “Just breathe. Breathe with me. Focus on...being solid.”

Her mouth quirked. He huffed out loud in relief, squeezing her tight.

“Okay, bad advice, I know. I don’t know what I’m talking about.”

She shook her head, taking another deep breath. “No, it’s good advice. I think...I think I can do that. Focus on being solid. On staying here with you.”

“Good,” he said. “Good.”

She lowered her head to his chest, and he concentrated on trying to keep his breaths deep and even as she tried to match her breathing to his. He rubbed her back, holding her tightly, smoothing her hair. Slowly she seemed to settle. He felt her heart rate slow, the trembling easing.

“Did he hurt you, Rogue?”

She shook her head against his chest. “He scared me, and grabbed me, and I fought him, and then...I felt my skin start, and then it got really confusing after that. Except...”

“Except?...”

“It’s hard to explain. It felt like...I could see him there, unconscious, but he was still yelling at me. But in my head. Like he got in my head somehow. Until you told me to focus, and then it seemed like he went away.”

Logan’s brow furrowed in thought. “And you got his mutation. Did you know you could do that? Take someone else’s mutation?”

She shook her head again. “The only other person I remember touching is Sebastian, for the treatments. But I don’t think I get his mutation. And I don’t hear him in my head after. What do you think it means?”

He shook his head. “Fuck if I know. But I wonder if Shaw does.”

They sat there for a little while longer before she spoke.

“What should we do now?”

“I don’t suppose you’d let me gut that bastard...”

She lifted her head in alarm. “Logan, no! Who knows what kind of trouble that would cause. Nobody else knows you were here, and that’s how it should stay. I doubt he’s going to go running to Sebastian telling him what I did.”

He couldn’t suppress the growl that rumbled in his chest. “I’ll let him go for now, but once we’re both out of here, I can’t make any guarantees.”

They sat for awhile longer, and then she raised her head again. “Bonny...”

“He’s fine. I found him, and brought him back. I’ll go get him, if you’re okay here.”

She nodded. He didn’t want to let her go, but he forced himself to loosen his arms, and she took one more deep shuddering breath and got shakily to her feet. By the time he brought Bonny back to his stall and started rubbing him down she joined him. She had found her other glove and pulled it on, the normalcy of the routine seeming to calm her further.

They drove back to the house mostly in silence, Logan taking the wheel by unspoken agreement. He pulled over out of sight of the house. He looked her over. A shadow of a bruise was darkening on her cheekbone. He marked her. He marked what’s mine. Another rush of rage and possessiveness blindsided him for a moment, and she jumped a little at the growl he couldn’t entirely suppress.

He sucked in a deep breath through his nose, forcing his instincts down again. The bloody mayhem the Wolverine wanted to create wouldn’t get them out of this alive. He needed to be smart. His gaze sharpened on the sleeve of her shirt. Four bloody fingerprints stood out clear against the white fabric where she had hugged herself after scratching Azazel.

“Can I take that?,” he asked. Confusion crossed her face briefly, and then she nodded.

“You think you can find out who I am?”

“Can’t hurt.” He snicked one claw out and carefully cut around the sleeve above the elbow. He felt a shiver go through her as the blunt edge of his claw brushed her arm, but there was no fear in her scent. In fact, it was deeper, richer, even more enticing...

Fuck. Focus.

“I’d better do the other one.” He heard the roughness in his own voice. He cut off the other sleeve, and he felt her hold her breath as he rolled them both up to hide the raw edge.

“Please...be careful,” she said and he watched his fingers carefully, fighting the urge to brush them against her milky-white skin, even just to see if he could make her shiver again...

As soon as he had finished she pulled back, running her gloved hands over her forearms, obviously nervous with the amount of skin that was exposed.

He looked her over one more time, smoothing her hair a little, making sure she could make it into the house without attracting attention. “You’ll pass muster. Think you’ll be okay from here?”

“Yeah.” Her eyes met his again, dark and unreadable. “Logan...thank you. For everything. I don’t know what would have happened...”

“Hey,” he interrupted. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad...I’m just glad you’re okay.”

He couldn’t help himself. He reached out a hand, the veil of her hair protecting him from the skin of her cheek. She made a choked noise, nuzzling up into his touch. The sudden scent of her longing and arousal was his undoing.

“Rogue...” he muttered, and before he knew it he was kissing her, swallowing her gasp of surprise as he tasted her, warm and sweet and welcoming. Her mouth opened beneath his, delicious and slick as he kissed her deeper, his hand roving up from her waist to cradle her ribcage as she arched up into his touch. He groaned into her mouth and she echoed him with a wordless sound of wanting. His head spun and suddenly she pushed him away.

“Logan! Are you okay?” Her voice was a little muffled, as if from a distance.

He blinked for a minute, shaking his head to clear it.

“I’m fine, darlin’.”

She pressed a hand to her lips. “You -- you kissed me.”

He couldn’t help smiling at the wonder in her voice.

“Yeah. I guess I did.”

“Wha...why...” she stuttered.

“Listen, Rogue. I probably shouldn’ta done that, after all you’ve been through today. But I’m not sorry for doing it.”

Her eyes were still wide, but he saw a dawning awareness in them. Damn, she was beautiful. “Logan...”

He grabbed her hand, stopping her from saying more. “Tonight I talk to that guy I told you about, the telepath. We’re going to come up with a plan to get us both out of here, and then we’re going to get you free of Shaw -- help you find out what really happened. And then...”

He traced the line of her white streak, drinking in how her eyes fluttered shut and her scent spiked with arousal again as he leaned in, breathing the words into her ear. “And then I’m gonna kiss you some more.”
Chapter End Notes:
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