Logan opened his eyes, surprised to find himself lying in a medical bay – without restraints. He kept his breathing even as he looked around, frowning as he spotted a blonde woman curled up in a chair at the foot of his hospital bed. She appeared to be asleep. He quickly sat up and jumped off the bed, placing it between him and the rest of the room as he surveyed his surroundings. He took a deep breath, his chest tightening at her familiar scent.
He watched as she shifted her position in the chair, pulling the blanket that covered her closer to her chin. Her eyes suddenly popped open and she looked back at him, staying very still. Logan went into a slight crouch, watching the woman as she slowly uncoiled from the chair. He let out a low, throaty growl and backed up a step.
"Logan." The woman's voice was thick with sleep.
He trembled slightly, now hyper aware of the affect that the combination of her scent and voice were having on him. Damn, she smelled good.
Still, first priority was food. Escape. Food. Sleep, then rut. His body needed fuel if he was going to be able to continue moving around. Base needs had to be taken care of first.
The woman stood up and he took another step back, his hands at his sides.
She frowned at him, cocking her head to the side. "Logan?"
There was only one exit and he tensed, wanting simply to be free and fed.
***
Shit – he's gone feral.
Max took a long, slow breath. At least his claws hadn't popped yet. She held a hand out to him, hoping that he would take it as a sign to ease down.
~ I've told the residents to stay in their rooms. Get him outside, if you can. ~
Max almost jumped at the sound of Xavier's voice in her thoughts. While it was sometimes handy to have the intervention of a powerful telepath, the 'head talk' thing still tweaked her. She'd notified the team beforehand that he would likely wake up unaware of himself due to the amount of damage he'd sustained.
Just provide us with a straight path out, and it should be okay, she'd explained, wondering at the time how bad it would actually be when he regained consciousness.
"Food?" she asked softly, making her tone and body language as passive as possible. Any remotely dominant moves would be taken as an act of outright aggression at this point and her best bet was to maintain as submissive a posture as she was able.
Logan came out of the crouch and slowly stood up, his expression still wary.
"Follow?" she murmured, taking a tentative step forward.
It was better to stick to single word communication. Nice and simple.
Logan watched her, his posture tight and tense.
Max couldn't blame him, after what he'd gone through. Having a vague idea had been bad enough, but seeing the actual aftermath of what they had done to him – it still made her shudder.
She lowered her eyes and slowly walked past him, shivering when she felt him turn and begin to follow her. So far, so good.
Until he ate, he'd be difficult to reason with at best. Turnskin Alphas tended to get very aggressive and temperamental after healing massive amounts of damage unless they consumed an almost obscene amount of food shortly afterward. She was guessing he was pretty much the same. It was probably a safe bet.
The trip up through the mansion to the ground floor was thankfully uneventful. Max kept expecting somebody to pop their head out from around a corner, which would have set him off faster than anything else, and would likely have gotten her and the interloper killed. He was probably bewildered at the mixture of unfamiliar scents surrounding him already.
She kept her pace measured and slow, letting him take his time in following. From time to time she would look behind to see him prowling behind her, his eyes sharp and focused. They made their way into the sitting room and Max headed over to the double doors leading to the outside.
***
Spotting a way out that led to grass and trees beyond, Logan quickly shot past her and out onto the patio. He took one brief glance up at the stars from the patio, then crouched down, scenting the night air.
At the sound of a footfall behind him, he whirled to see the blond. She stood stock still, keeping her distance.
Again, he had that strange feeling of strong familiarity, then a scent on the night wind caught his attention.
He darted off into the woods at a full run now, letting his senses take him where they wanted.
***
Max let out a sigh, then stripped down and shifted, racing to keep up with him. She shook her head, chuffing to herself as she ran past the hospital gown he'd been wearing. What, did the man just have a thing about running around naked? He led her on a brief run through the woods as he chased his quarry, a group of hinds. To assist, she circled around to drive them back towards him and he caught one, quickly leaping on it and snapping its neck with a savage twist. Max watched from a respectable distance as he tore into the animal with those long, steel claws of his. The innards of the animal spilled out onto his feet with a slithering sound, blood spattering his upper legs and hips. The wolf gave a nod of respect, realizing that he hadn't torn any of them in the process. He could be almost surgical with the fucking things.
Logan didn't bother simply slicing sections off this time. Instead, he immediately fell to the task of eating, burying his nose deep in fur and blood. The wolf smiled, wanting to join him, but keeping her distance. He was still very dangerous at this point.
Is one going to be enough? Max thought to herself as Logan made quick work of the animal. He growled and grunted, consuming the meat as quickly as possible. The man looked like he was damn near inhaling it.
Max kept an eye out for anything that looked as if it wanted to intrude upon his meal. Until he gorged himself, he would likely kill anything that interrupted him.
By the time Logan finally finished, there wasn't much left of the deer but bones with a light covering of flesh. He'd almost completely cleaned the carcass off, leaving some of the less choice internal organs spilled out along its side in a wet, twisted mess.
He sat back in a crouch, looking up from the messy remains of his dinner. He looked like he was breathing a little easier now as he wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand.
Max let out a soft sigh and shifted to skin, relieved that he seemed to be coming back to himself.
***
Logan caught the familiar scent again, turning slowly to see the blonde from the medical bay walking slowly towards him. Her complete lack of clothing wasn't lost on him, and his libido grabbed him by the back of the neck, savagely forcing him to his feet. She smelled so damned good it was driving his synapses crazy. Now that food had been covered, something else much more pressing and insistent had slammed it aside, shaking through him.
Max stopped as soon as she saw his eyes glaze over. One base need had now completely been subsumed by another, and she took a hesitating step back, letting out a small cry of startlement as he growled and leapt at her, knocking her to the ground. He was immediately on her, his hands seemingly everywhere at once.
Shit! He's in full rut!
Logan's fingers gripped her hard enough to leave dark purple bruises that quickly faded behind his roughly roving fingers. Her body wasn't ready for him and there was a fair amount of pain as he slammed into her in one swift thrust, gripping her shoulder and damn near pulling it out of the socket as he sank his teeth deep into the soft flesh of her breast. Her collarbone was going to snap if he kept this up.
Max winced and bared her teeth at him, growling. At this point, if he wasn't going to be an even mildly considerate lover, then she would beat the holy hell out of him until he came to his senses.
Granted, he'd been gone for about six months, and had obviously been tortured – but that was no excuse to start behaving like a selfish, abusive prick.
Max cuffed him sharply on the ear and Logan shook his head, momentarily disoriented.
She pushed him away from her, then kicked out at him and watched as he flew across the clearing, colliding with a tree. There was a resounding crack as he hit.
Max quickly got to her feet in time to see those deadly metal claws slide out of his knuckles.
"Hey ASSHOLE!" She yelled, angry now. "I am not a goddamned chew toy!"
Blood dripped down her chest from the ragged teethmarks he'd left behind.
Logan leapt at her and she quickly evaded, snarling and shifting into dire form.
"Logan, dammit!" she growled, the words sounding gravelly and deep through a long muzzle of sharp teeth.
He slashed at her, nicking her along a hip, and she roared, tapping deep into her reserves to quickly blur behind him. She picked him up and tossed him at another tree with a larger trunk. He hit with a sickening, meaty thud and dropped.
"BEHAVE, dickhead." She growled, taking a step towards him. "You don't want to recover from any more injuries than you have to."
The claws slid back into his knuckles and Max shifted back to skin, frowning. The furrows on her hip were quickly closing up as crimson trails snaked down her thigh.
"Logan..are you in there?" she murmured, walking over to him. She really didn't want to put him back into the infirmary, and she was more than willing to help him out with the rut – as long as he didn't try to pull her apart again while in its throes.
***
Logan slowly got to his feet, shaking his head. She'd only shaken him up a little – no real damage had been done. Damn, she was a feisty one. He glared back at her as she moved closer.
God, she still smelled so amazing.
He leapt towards her, pinning her up against a tree, his cock pressed tightly against her abdomen. The need was becoming overwhelming and his body shook as she looked back at him, her eyes sharp.
"You gonna try to dislocate something again?" she growled in warning.
Logan leaned in and pressed his nose up against her neck, just under her ear. If he didn't fuck her soon, he was going to tear the entire damned forest apart in frustration. He shivered as he waited until she showed her compliance by sliding her arms around his neck with a soft sigh.
The feel of her tongue as she began licking blood off his shoulder made him groan. Logan shifted and pulled her into a rough kiss, dipping his fingers inside her, now finding her slick and ready. He growled and slid inside her again, shuddering at the sensation. All the pent up frustration he'd been harboring shattered his fragile control. After several quick strokes, a quicksilver fire shot through him, damn near stopping his heart as he crashed over the edge, gripping her shoulders tightly and roaring.
He poured himself into her until he was sure that there was nothing left.
***
Max winced at the scratchiness of the bark against her back as Logan slumped in her arms. As they crumpled to the forest floor, she held him tightly, letting out a small 'oof' as they hit.
It wasn't exactly the kind of reunion she had envisioned, but then again – few things were ever as she thought they would be with him.
Logan let out a shaky sigh as he murmured, "Max."
Good. He was lucid. She smiled and chuckled. Rough quickie or not, it was the sweetest feeling in the world, holding him.
"'m I dreamin' again?" he croaked.
Max ran her fingers gently through his hair. "I'm here Logan. It's not a dream."
He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her so tightly she thought she heard several bones creak.
"What the fuck happened?"
Max gently pulled away and smiled back at him, her torso spattered with crimson smears.
"We got you out." she replied simply.
"We?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Scott and Jean flew me out there – to the location they were holding you. We all went in after you. If it wasn't for them, I don't think I could've done it."
***
Logan frowned, then looked down and winced at the realization that they both looked as if they'd been fingerpainting with a bucket of blood.
"Christ, what a mess." he grumbled.
Max laughed and leaned in to kiss him.
"Honey, you could be covered in damn near anything, and I'd still want you." she murmured softly.
His heart skipped a beat at her words. Holy shit. He was out? Really out? This was real?
"If you leave again, I'll cut your fucking heart out myself." Max growled.
Logan heard the seriousness in her tone, but she kissed him softly, like she'd truly missed him. She touched him as if he were something precious to her.
He couldn't remember anybody ever feeling that way about him and it damn near broke him down.
He paused a few beats before asking, "Where are we?"
Max kissed his chin, grinning as she replied, "Back at the mansion, about two hundred yards from the front door."
He felt his body recover as she sat up, straddling him and looking down at him with a light in her eyes that he never expected to see from anybody.
"I missed you." she murmured, placing her hands on his chest and cocking her head back at him.
"You threw me into a tree." he grumbled, gripping her hips lightly.
"You were being a shit." she explained, sliding back against his length and capturing his undivided attention.
He had the good sense to look chagrined. He had known exactly what he was doing at the time – he just couldn't stop it. He hadn't slipped entirely into the depths of the darkness, but he'd been getting close, otherwise the claws wouldn't have popped.
"Yeah." he replied, his tone contrite. "Sorry about that."
Max smiled and moved against him, nice and slow. Her smile grew broad as he groaned and pressed his hips against her, loving the feeling of her slickness against him.
"Then shut up and make it up to me."
He laughed – actually fucking laughed then, and it was liberating.
"Christ, you're demanding." he growled playfully.
She opened her mouth to say something, but he skillfully diverted her train of thought with a well placed hand.
"Better." she purred, rocking into his touch.
"Thought so."
***
Logan snapped awake, frowning as he sat up. He looked up and saw spots of stars through the dark canopy of trees above. They'd fallen asleep in a pile of leaves, some of which were now sticking to his side. He heard Max let out a soft moan as she reached for him.
"Whua..?" she murmured.
He briefly scanned the area, pulling some of the leaves from the sticky patches on his skin.
"S'nothin'."
He leaned down to nuzzle her cheek, his voice a soft rumble as he kissed her and said, "G'back to sleep."
She smiled as he leaned down to pick her up, laughing softly as he grumbled, "Why is it that one of us always ends up carryin' the other?"
"Think we can sneak back in like this?" she asked, letting her head gently rest on his shoulder.
"I doubt it." The voice echoed out off to the right, startling them both.
Logan caught a whiff of a familiar scent and muttered, "Really tired of people gettin' the drop on me."
Max chuckled as Scott walked into view. He was holding a pair of large black robes.
"Thought you guys might want these for the long walk back in." he explained, holding them out.
Logan let out a wry chuckle and replied, "Ain't no shame in walkin' 'round in what'cher born with."
"I'm fairly certain that the kids don't really need quite so vivid an anatomy lesson, Logan." Scott cocked a hip, still holding the robes out.
Logan nodded, not wanting to ride the kid too hard. After all, the boy had risked his life coming to help Max bust Logan outta that Canadian hellhole.
"Thanks, Summers." Logan murmured, not entirely comfortable with being indebted to people he barely knew.
Scott gave him a quick nod as Logan took the robes. He then turned to walk quickly back to the house. Logan let Max hop down and pull one of them on, smiling as she tied the fuzzy belt around her waist. He took a deep breath, then slid the other one on. Max moved to tie it, then wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I wasn't kidding, you know." She purred.
Logan pulled her close and asked, "'bout cuttin' my heart out?"
Max nodded and he held her tighter. "Oh yeah."
He swept her into his arms again and looked back at her. Even as filthy as she was from the extended romps in the woods, she took his breath away.
He pressed his forehead to her temple and quietly replied, "I know."
"Good."
***
Max couldn't remember the last time when a shower had felt so wonderful. They were liberally covered in dried blood, dirt and leaves, and it took a while for all of it to come off.
Logan was so tender and gentle now as he touched her that she almost started to wonder if he was the same person she had gotten sexually tossed around by earlier.
With the amount of trauma he had endured – and god only knew the breadth and depth of what he'd actually gone through – she would have expected almost anybody to be a useless quivering pile of meat for a good long time. It made her wonder if he'd been put through worse in the past.
Once he finished rinsing the soap off her, she tended to him, taking note of his shaking sigh as she cleaned him off. She pushed him back against the tile wall, smiling as he kept his hands at his sides, letting her take control. He shivered as her hands slid down his stomach, gently scrubbing.
"You're a really messy eater." she purred.
***
Logan chuckled and closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation. It was odd to have somebody taking care of him like this. Odd, but good.
Max lathered him up, then moved to rinse him off under the hot spray of water. He peeked out at her from behind inky black trails of hair, his eyes sharply focused on her.
Max cocked her head back at him, her brow furrowing. "What is it?"
Logan pulled her into a kiss, feeling something inside him shift as his lips met hers. Now that he realized he was well and truly gone on her, he didn't mind as much as he thought he would. No matter what else happened now, he wasn't walking away from her again. Max seemed to sense the change in him and was suddenly overcome with emotion.
All the tears she'd been holding back to be strong came forth in a wave and Logan caught her, picking her up as she began to weep. He moved to shut the water off, then slowly slid them both down to the floor, just holding and rocking her as she cried.
***
Later, as they lay across from one another amongst rumpled sheets, Logan gently traced her lips with a finger and murmured, "Thank you for gettin' me out."
Max let out a light laugh, her eyes still a little red as she replied, "Are you kidding? You're lucky I don't hand your ass to you for getting caught."
Logan sobered for a moment, his thoughts drifting off in an extremely uncomfortable direction. What if she had been with him – and they'd both gotten tagged? What would they have done to her?
"Your head's going somewhere nasty again, isn't it?" She asked, reaching out and brushing her knuckles along his cheek.
"Yeah." He looked away from her.
"Don't. You're here now. Be here." Max tapped his cheek.
He met her gaze and rumbled, "They fuckin' nailed me good, but I don't even want to think about what those cocksuckers would'a done to you if you'd been with me."
"Then don't. It hasn't happened. No sense in dwelling on it." Her tone softened as she pulled him closer, wrapping a leg around his waist.
"Max.." he sounded aggrieved.
"Logan, who's to say that they would've been able to take both of us down?"
Logan let out a halfhearted laugh. "They tagged my ass while I was scoutin'. I never saw it comin'. Next thing I knew, I was in that fuckin' pen."
Max took laced her fingers with his as she asked, "How long ago did they get you?"
Logan frowned, trying to remember. The drugs had fucked his perception, so he had no real idea how long he'd been down there.
"A month, I think."
"Does the word 'Wolverine' mean anything to you?"
Logan went utterly still, his tone a hushed whisper as he asked, "Where'd you hear that?"
Max pulled the metal tag out from under her pillow, holding it out to him by the chain.
"I found this hanging outside the cage they were keeping you in."
He took it from her, his eyes narrowing to slits as he stared at it. He vaguely remembered the muddled jeers from the guards who had taken shifts watching him and keeping him dosed. There had been a variety of truly unpleasant activities that his captors had engaged in with him while he was doped up and he was grateful that he only barely remembered it all through a foggy haze. He had wondered why they kept calling him that. Perhaps it had been a pet name for whatever it was that they were trying to turn him into. He ran a thumb across the engraved letters, then his hand tightened into a fist around the tag.
"Why'd you keep it?" he asked, his voice deadly serious.
"I thought it might help trigger your memory."
He rolled over onto his back, his mouth set in a grim line.
"There anything left of the place?"
Max shook her head and growled, "They blew the facility. Jean kept us from getting too banged up as we raced to get out."
"And the men?" he asked. He had to know.
"The wolf tore everything in her path to pieces when we realized where you were."
Logan looked over at her, frowning.
"No shit?"
Max nodded, her expression pinched. "That's what Scott and Jean tell me. Apparently it got pretty rough."
"You remember any of it?" he asked, recalling what she'd told him about her first fight.
"No."
Damn. That had to be frustrating. He hoped she had missed a few, actually. He had a personal score to settle with some of the more creative pricks that had decided to take out their frustrations on him. Good god, the things they'd done to him. He let out a subvocal growl. It would have been so much worse if Max had been captured as well. They'd probably have had a grand old time, testing her durability and cutting her up once the eggheads had finished running her through test after grueling test. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, not wanting to give it any more prime time front brainspace than it had already gotten.
Wolverine.
The word bounced around in his head, distracting him.
Max softly asked, "Want me to leave you alone for a little while?"
Logan turned to her, his eyes blazing.
"No. Stay." His features softened as he added, "Please."
Max nodded and slid up against him, her head on his shoulder.
"Okay."
MARVEL owns the copyright on their own characters, but I've fussed with and taken liberties with canon, and Max is my own creation.