Logan knew he’d been dismissed by Mama for a reason; the old bat was probably warning Marie off him about now, but he didn’t care because he and Jack had a few things to discuss. There was a sort of unwritten code the other man had broken and that code demanded that Logan defend it.
Stalking through the busy kitchen, Logan side-stepped a smallish man carting dishes and rounded the corner into the grill line. Jack was there shouting at one of the line cooks as the man tossed another slab of beef onto the hissing, flame of the grill.
“Pete,” the big bear of a man growled. “I’ve told you to watch the meat; done is before it can use for shoe leather. You wanna keep this job keep your fuckin’ eyes on the grill and don’t fuckin’ cremate the beef!”
“Sorry, Jack!”
Jack nodded and then turned toward Logan, surprise in his eyes, which had crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his hip against a stainless steel prep-table. It amused Logan, in a dark sort of way that he’d actually snuck up on the old grizzly in his den. “Jack,” he growled. “We need to talk.”
“Yeah,” the older man sighed, suddenly looking every day of his sixty-eight years. “I figured you’d be around sooner or later when I heard about that bastard kickin’ it. Chalmers take the line and keep an eye on Pete.”
“Sure,” a laughing man with a portly belly and blood stained apron moved into Jack’s spot and Jack removed his own soiled apron and tossed it in a bin as he gestured for Logan to follow him. Pushing away from the table Logan trailed after Jack and found him climbing stairs into an office that over-looked the dining room.
Walking over to the wall of glass Logan gazed down at Marie, she was staring at Mama with an eerie intensity that Logan recognized; it was that of a predator watching its prey, looking for weakness. It was a look Logan never wanted to see on Marie’s sweet face, but looking at her now he could see that it looked good on her. The animal inside her seemed to call to that part of him that struggled for freedom; one day soon they would have to explore that nature.
“Silver Bear,” Logan grumbled not taking his eyes of Rogue.
“I don’t know what to say,” the older man sighed as he also watched the table below. “I knew it was wrong; my Silverfox came to me in dreams over the years and each time she did I went to that prick and every time he would convince me it was for the best.”
“How could me knowing I had a life,” Logan growled, his voice filled to cracking with emotion. “How could not knowing I had been something other than a damned experiment be for the best, Silver Bear?”
“He told me about the girls,” Jack murmured. “He spoke of the part my Silverfox played in what was done to-,”
“What I let them do,” Logan cut the other man off. “I read the file you don’t have to candy-coat her memory.”
“I guess not,” the old Indian acknowledged, “But maybe that file doesn’t say it all.”
“It said enough.”
“It didn’t say what my girl felt,” Jack moved to his desk and pulling out a leather-bound journal as he spoke. “She left this for you; Emma went to the cabin in the Canadian Rockies after Kayla’s funeral, my Silverfox did what she had to do for her sister but she did care for you.”
Logan released his claws, metal now, and lifted them to the other man’s gaze as he growled, “Yeah, I can see that.”
“Logan,” the man sighed heavily as he placed the book in Logan’s clawed hands. Logan stared at the oddly familiar book and his claws sheathed themselves of their own accord. “For what it is worth I’m sorry for what was done to you and I know Silverfox regretted the decisions she made, but we can’t change the past and Mama and I are glad you know everything now.” The mention of Mama brought Logan’s eyes back to the table in time to see Marie grasp a steak knife and rake it across her palm.
Immediately, Logan was out the door, down the stairs and stalking across the dining room. He could smell the rage and see the tension in every line of Marie’s body, “What the fuck is going on here,” he growled. She was trembling so hard that the ice in their drinks was tinkling against the glass and when her eyes met his Logan knew he needed to get her out of there and quick. Stuffing the journal into his jacket pocket Logan plucked the knife from her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her from the booth.
“Logan,” she gasped, wide-eyed as she grasped hand at her waist with one of hers and clutched at his jacket with the other.
“Shhh…Baby,” he pressed his lips to her ear a he spoke, “just breathe, Darlin’, deep breaths.” Logan turned away from the parking lot and toward the woods behind the restaurant half carrying and half dragging
Marie as he went.
When he felt they were deep enough into the forest he released his hold on Marie and tossed his jacket to the loamy floor. His shirts soon followed the jacket until he was wearing only his jeans and wife beater.
It looked like they would be exploring the that animal nature a little sooner than expected; Logan knew that it was Marie that had allowed him to bring her away from the restaurant, but he could feel the rage, hunger and tension building in her slight frame. The animal was taking control of her and Logan could feel himself answering the call as Wolverine growled, “You better run.”
She hesitated for a moment but the loud snikt of his claws releasing made her jump and he saw her own claws slide out as she took off deeper into the woods. Inhaling deeply Logan retracted his claws as he paced back and forth giving her a bit of a head start; she needed the exertion it would help to reign in the primal nature that wanted to take over.
After a few minutes Logan growled and took off after her and he was oddly pleased when he had to turn and zigzag to follow her scent. Most people tended to run in a straight line when the fled it made them easy targets, but Marie was smart.
She was lighter than he was and in good physical shape; with the head start she’d gotten a pretty far distance before he caught up with her. Growling to let her know she’d been found he circled around in front of her and tackled her to the ground as she passed by his location.
Her claws raked his chest eliciting a snarl from his throat as the tangled on the ground. He let her get a few good swipes in before he grasped her wrists and forcefully slammed them into the ground over her head. He easily subdued her flailing legs with his own but Marie never ceased to move as she fought his control over her movements.
Both glared fiercely at each other and growls rumbled from two throats as the struggled; Logan lost track of how long Wolverine held the struggling girl immobile before she slowly relaxed under him and retracted her claws. He was happy to see Marie shining from the brown eyes and not simply the primal part of her.
Loosening his grip on her arms he shifted his hips to the side and rested his weight on the ground beside her. Wolverine noticed the conflicting scents of innocence and desire mingled with the sweat, fear and adrenaline that permeated the air around them, but Logan noticed the way the moonlight shone on her pale exposed skin and the way her hair fanned out over the forest floor.
Wolverine growled, but Logan murmured, “Feeling better, Darlin’?”
Marie took a shuddering breath and nodded, “Yeah.”
“Good,” he smiled down at her. “You did good holding it in back there.”
“I ain’t ever been so- so-,” she shook her head and frowned when she noticed his slashed and bloody t-shirt. “I did that,” she questioned at his nod she looked away.
“Its nothin’ Darlin’,” he assured her, gently cupping her cheek he urged her gaze back to his. “You needed to relieve the tension.”
“I ain’t ever been so out of control,” she murmured.
“It’s all the rage,” Logan muttered as he lifted one of her hands and studied the blood stained and sweat skin; it was completely healed not even a scar. Leaning down, Wolverine let his tongue slip across the smooth skin taking in her taste as well as soothing the hurt away. Marie inhaled sharply and he watched as her eyes dilated with awareness.
“It builds up, the uh- the animal instincts are less complex than the human.” Logan rolled away from her onto his back staring up at the moon through the trees. “We have two natures Marie,” He sighed. “The more instinctual and animalistic side can’t reason it reacts. The human side has to keep a tight leash on that part of us or we’ll act out.”
“Why did you tell me to run,” she asked and the shifting beside him told Logan she’d turned to look at him.
“I’ve found three things that help keep my animal nature in check,” he told her, “Physical exertion and fighting. I gave your animal what it needed to release the rage.”
“Oh,” she murmured turning to look at the sky. They lay like that for some time both lost in their own thoughts.
“Come on,” Logan said as he rolled to his feet, reaching down he hauled her up. “Your stomach is growling again.”
Logan led the way back to the spot where he’d left his jacket and shirts. Stripping the bloody t-shirt off him, he wiped the sweat from his chest before tossing it to the ground. Logan was pulling on one of the shirts when Marie’s voice stopped him, “Logan?”
“Yeah,” he answered as he buttoned the shirt, looking up he found her eyes glued to the sliver of bare chest not yet covered.
“You said three things,” her brown eyes lifted to capture his. “What’s the third thing that helps control the animal?”
Logan stood completely still, he didn’t even breathe for a moment, and it was the question he had hoped she wouldn’t think to ask. Her eyes said she already knew the answer, but they also said he wasn’t going to get out of voicing the whole truth.
“Sex,” Logan growled and he let his eyes run over Marie from her tousled pine needle strewn hair to her grass stained jeans and rucked up t-shirt. Letting his eyes lazily meet hers again he elaborated, “No holds-barred, hard and fast fucking is almost as good as beating the shit out of someone.”
Logan wasn’t surprised by the blush that seeped into her cheeks and mentally he laughed at the wide-eyed deer-like look on her face, but he was surprised when she took a shuttering breath and let her eyes roam over his body.
In fact, when she licked her lips and let her eyes linger below his belt buckle Logan had to control the spasm of shock that streaked down his spine. “Maybe we can try that next time, Sugah,” she murmured as her eyes lifted to his playfully.
As he watched her make her way back to the restaurant Logan groaned at her parting words, but Wolverine, he just purred.
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