Goddamn it! She had been so careful over the years, she had such control and just like that, she lost it.
She stepped out of the shower and dried herself quickly. Pulling on a cream colored linen skirt with matching blouse, she brushed her hair tightly into a bun and applied her makeup sparingly but expertly, taking comfort in the mindless routine. Slipping on a pair of high heeled sandals, she made her way out of the small cottage, her composure restored.
She found the two of them out by the pool, showered and changed into fresh clothes themselves, the mid afternoon sun blasting down all around them. They were quiet, their blue jeans rolled up to above their knees, their lower legs swinging slowly back and forth in the water. They didn’t look up as she approached them. Anna plucked off her shoes and sat down beside Laura, sticking her legs into the pool as well.
“I’m sorry, Laura. I didn’t mean to absorb your mutation.” Anna looked intently at the young girl, concerned because Laura was back to being tense around her. Laura didn’t look at her. Sighing, now that she understood how the child processed information, Anna regarded their feet, the shapes distorted by the water. Logan looked over Laura’s head at Marie, his corners of his mouth turning down when she didn’t acknowledge him.
“Outside of you two and Professor Xavier, no one is aware of my feral mutation. As for what happened in the training room,” Anna sighed. “I don’t know. I haven’t lost control of my skin like that in a very long time.”
Logan remained silent, keeping his eyes on her. Laura asked, “You can’t control your power?”
“I can. Usually.” She refused to look at Logan and instead, focused on Laura. “I lost my concentration and it was my fault. I should have been better prepared.”
Laura ears pushed back. “So now you have my mutation, and I’m inside your head?” Something changed in Laura’s scent. The young girl pulled her feet out of the pool and turned to face Anna, her head tilted, eyes blank of expression.
“In a way,” Anna replied. “You’re safely tucked away in your very own box within my mind.”
“So you know everything.” Laura’s eyes became sharp.
Anna‘s instincts told her to be alert. “I could, if I examine your memories in detail, which I haven’t.” Anna’s voice became gentle. “What is a trigger scent, Laura?”
Laura stared at her. Logan broke his silence, confused. “Trigger scent?”
“The Facility developed a trigger scent that would immediately place Laura into a mindless berserker state, unable to control herself, killing anyone within her vicinity.” Anna’s eyes stayed on the young girl between them. “Part of being feral is the ability to throw up psychic defenses, Laura. I know that you aren’t able to recall the times when you’ve been exposed to your trigger scent, but you have to know, I don’t require that same psychic protection.” Anna waited until she saw understanding dawn in the young girl’s eyes. Seeing it, she told her, “I have your berserker memories, Laura, although I haven’t accessed them. I can find out what happened to your mother, and to the others. It’s up to you.”
Laura jumped up, growling.
“Stand down, Laura.” Wolverine got up slowly, making no sudden moves but his entire body was sprung tight, eyes fastened on the young feral. Anna remained where she was, deceptively still. She kept her eyes on Laura.
One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three heartbe…
Logan lunged for the young girl just as her foot kicked out towards Anna’s skull, the single adamantium blade cleanly slicing apart the flesh on Anna’s cheek the same instant Anna dove into the water to avoid the death blow. Logan wrapped his arms around Laura, swearing loudly as a thick ribbon of blood trailed behind Anna in the water as she swam to the other side of the pool. When she hauled herself out of the water, he could see she was bleeding profusely, her exposed cheek bone as white as the streak in her hair. The sight of her mutilated face enraged him.
“God damn it kid! She’s on your side!” Sharp relief flooded through him when the horrible gash on Anna’s face began to close. She dove back into the water, quickly making her way back to them.
“You should leave,” Logan grunted as Laura fought with renewed strength at the sight of her resurfacing near them. “She won’t be calming down anytime soon.”
Saddened by the rage Laura was feeling towards her, Anna lightly caressed the girl’s cheek. Laura’s eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out, limp in Logan’s arms. Anna closed her eyes and grimaced as she placed the screeching girl back into her box within her mind. She felt a hand on her face and her eyes flew open.
“You alright, Marie?” Logan’s fingers traced her still closing wound, his gaze a mixture of concern and tenderness.
She nodded quickly and tore her eyes away from him to rest on the child who looked much younger in her forced sleep. Logan picked Laura up easily, her head rolling back against his chest, looking very small in his powerful arms. Anna turned to walk back to the manor and he followed her, back down into the lower levels to the med-bay.
He laid Laura down on one of the empty beds and Anna covered her with a blanket, pushing back the hair that fell across the young girl’s face. She carefully combed Laura’s long black hair as best she could with her fingers before trapping it into a braid; pulling impatiently at her own wet hair to unwind it from its tight bun to access the elastic there.
“She’ll be out cold for a couple of hours,” she told the taciturn man beside her, twisting the hair band around the bottom of the braid she had made, “I made sure to not take more energy from her than was necessary.” Anna began to shake her hair out, intending to put it into a braid as well, but Logan’s hands stopped her.
She stared as his fingers worked into her hair, running them gently through to the ends, his movements gentle. He arranged the wet tresses so they fell past her shoulders, its dark waves cascading to her waist, curling the white strands behind the curve of her ear. Her wet clothes clung to her, her lace underwear visible through the now transparent, thin material. His eyes made their way down the entire length of her body, slowly and deliberately, before latching onto her eyes, his own darkening. Anna’s heart began to beat erratically, heat rushing through her, her skin electric and she forced herself to take in air, her breasts straining against her soaked clothing from the ragged movement. A moan escaped him, a desperate, guttural sound and he stepped closer, causing her to back up against the wall, alarmed.
“Just a touch,” he told her roughly, close to pleading.
His fingers brushed along her forehead, tracing the arch of her eyebrows before caressing her cheeks, lingering where the gash had once been. His thumbs rubbed against her bottom lip, his breath hitching and she shivered, catching it. His hands continued their path down her throat, gliding across her shoulders to where they lowered slowly down her arms, taking hold of her hands. He raised them to his lips, kissing the palm of each one, each fingertip, his struggle showing on his face.
Anna watched him, unable, unwilling, to move away. His mouth hovered above hers, his intense eyes transfixed on her lips. With a visible effort, he lowered her hands back to her sides, releasing them.
“You need to get away from me, Marie.” He closed his eyes, and his entire body shaking with restraint. “Right now.”
She felt frozen in place, her breathing shallow and light. Logan radiated power, his tall frame vibrating from his repressed desire for her. Anna wanted to let go, to feed her hunger for him, it had been torture for far too long, denying that she wanted this. That she wanted him.
Anna placed her hands on his chest and his eyes shot open. Hope, want, and something else, shined there in his eyes, almost desperate in how they searched hers. Her face softened, understanding how he felt, her bright green eyes glittering with emotion and she looked at his lips, her own parting invitingly.
“Logan?” The disembodied voice rang out around them, abrupt and loud. Logan growled, the sound ferocious with frustration, and he looked up to see Bobby in the observatory. From his location directly above, he couldn’t see Anna leaning against the wall.
Chest heaving, Logan pressed his forehead against hers, giving her a haunted, starved look. Then he pivoted on his heel and strode out of the room.
Anna’s body strummed with need. After a few moments, over the sound of her frantically beating heart, she could hear Bobby and Logan leave the observatory; both now out in the hallway and making their way away from the med bay to the training room.
Anna ran. She ran and ran and ran.
Laura was surprised to find the woman she had tried to kill sitting on the bed next to her when she woke up. With a gentle smile, Anna placed a tray of food across Laura’s lap and waited as the young girl ate, informing her that she decided to teach Laura how to ride a horse that day, as though what had transpired hours ago was inconsequential.
Laura was mute as she listened to Anna’s instructions and kept her eyes downcast to the ground when they entered the stable. She didn’t acknowledge Anna’s encouraging words when she first attempted to mount the horse that had been chosen for her, the tension so thick between the two females that it cloyed in both their lungs. After a few false starts, Laura managed to stay upright and her eyes flashed proudly. Catching Anna’s smile, Laura frowned and turned away, unwilling to share the moment.
They rode in silence towards the estate’s southern border. Both powerful horses galloped leisurely towards the beach, prancing excitedly when they reached the retreating waves. Without warning, Anna kicked her horse’s flanks with her legs and yelled out, leaning into the animal’s mane before it tore off like shot down the shoreline. Laura stared after her, pulling back hard on her reins when the horse beneath her bucked impatiently. Fear curled in her belly, unfamiliar and unwelcome, a scowl appearing on her face when she saw that Anna had no intention of returning to her. Before she could think twice about it, Laura mimicked what Anna had done, and held on tight as her own horse tore after its stable mate.
Nothing could have prepared Laura for the exhilarating euphoria she felt as she raced along the crashing shore of the beach.
Anna reined in her horse a few miles away, and looked back at Laura. The joy on the child’s face as the wind blew back her long black hair was spectacular. When Laura pulled up beside her, Anna was fascinated by the wide smile on the young girl's face. And Laura’s smile didn’t disappear this time. She reached out her hand to the older woman.
“Thank you.” Her enormous green eyes were filled with grateful tears.
Anna felt like her face would crack from the size of her reciprocating smile. She squeezed Laura’s hand understandingly with her own and with a wink, she yelled again. Both horses raced against the surf, their riders laughing as water sprayed up over them, hooves tearing up the sand behind them.
Logan watched the couple as they walked hand and hand along the back garden’s cobblestoned path. He could hear the man’s whispers, telling the woman how beautiful she was. He watched as he took her into his arms, pausing to look down into her lovely face before kissing her, and watched when she returned the kiss, curling her fingers into his hair.
Logan remained in the shadows, watching as their kiss deepened. He watched as the man pressed the woman against him, his hands sliding from her waist to the small of her back, holding her closer. He heard him tell her how much he loved her, how happy she made him, how grateful he was that she belonged to him. He watched him kiss her bare shoulders, his hands caressing her back and he watched as she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, giving access. Submissive, receptive.
A night breeze swirled around him. The delicate wind made its way to the embracing couple and Anna pulled away from Scott, startled. She looked up to the balcony outside of Logan’s room, but saw no one there.