He could smell the pack, they were excited and on the chase.  It sent a joy coursing his viens he rarely felt these days.  While he wouldn't join them, he followed and watched from afar.  Now and then a lower ranking scruff would trail behind enough to playfully nipp at his heels.

Slowing, he mounted and perched a hill to gaze down at the sleeping herd and the pack closing in from three sides. 

His nose could tell him nothing from this afar, and it was his scent being carried to the opposite side.  But his sharp eyes caught the movement and he stared for more movement in the fading light.  A wolf?  Perhaps one of the lower ranks, or an injured one off to lick it's wounds...

She had been following this herd as well.  And although she knew of the wolf pack and they of her, she was not with them.  Occasionally they had teamed together for a hunt and shared companionship.  But because of her differences, she walked her own trail and kept a separate lair for the most part. 

Still, Jess had been happy when the pack had shown up, preparing to cull the herd as they and their ancestors had always done.  But the strange scent that wafted to her from over the distance following her pack had made her do a double take.  Not quite human, but close enough to make her fur bristle.  Was someone following this pack to see if they would lead them to her?  Or a hunter perhaps wanting to rid the forrest of 'vermin?'

Jess bellied forward in the tall grass, brow knitted in concentration as she stared for the source of the odd scent.  And was surprised to see a human with a similar tattoo as the one that was covered by the shaggy fur by her right ear.  Only hers had the number 71 on it.  Not sure what to think, but not one to hide in what she considered her territory, she stood up on all fours, letting herself be seen.

A different wolf.  She didn't act like she belonged to the pack, nor like a lower rank.  Her actions were deliberately challenging towards him, in all appearances human, very unlike a natural wolf.  Her shaggy fur wasn't like a wolf he had seen around here for most parts, though he knew the appearance from across a field may be playing tricks on his eyes.

Not worried about scaring the herd, they had other things on their minds now other than a man in their midst, Logan took a step forward in his crouch and stood.   He openly stared unblinkingly at the new wolf, a challenge of his own in another step forward and slightly down the lip of the hill.

The hunters had their prey, as the aged doe went down he struck his chest out, arms back, and howled.  It wasn't human, it wasn't wolf, but it was feral and it was hungry for a confrontation.

Keeping his eyes on the figure across the way he boldly walked down the hill into the frightened and dwindling herd, dodging right as the last few strays bucked and ran.  His eyes never left the strange wolf as he began mounting the opposite hill, back in a low crouch and claws fully extended from the back of his hands.

Jess had stared back unblinkingly.  From his actions, this human was clearly not run of a mill hunter, but still, he was a trespasser in her territory.  Although not like any human she had encountered before.

At first, she assumed he was carrying some sort of odd three bladed weapon in each hand.  And then her keen eyesight revealed that they were part of him.  Jess's ears flicked back in surprise and a growl rumbled low in her throat.  They didn't gleam quite like silver, but she couldn't be sure unless one actually cut her.  And if they were, it would be too late for her.

Her own fangs bared in a snarl, Jess decided to show this stranger that she wasn't quite what she appeared to be either.  She reared up on her hind legs, balancing and then straightening higher.  Her legs and arms extended as her forepaws became more hand like, claws lengthening.  Standing almost seven feet tall and her black fur bristling, Jess was a formidable sight  But she didn't move forward, refusing to cede the high ground to him.   Logan haulted, dropping to three as he craned his neck to look up at his foe, baby blues wide.  A mutant?  He answered her snarl by baring his upper teeth.  "Whoa, I ain't after a fight, jus some answers."  It was partially a lie, he hadn't EXPECTED a fight when he went after a wolf, most would just walk away if they were normal.  This wolf wasn't normal, clearly part human in some way.  If she wanted a fight though, he'd welcome it.

He kept his voice calm, guessing her reaction was the wolf instinct within her to protect whatever was hers.  "Who are you?"  But his fighting stance he kept, not knowing what to expect from a beast at least 2 feet taller than him and who knew how much stronger.  He could clearly smell her now: not quite animal, not completley human, and similar to Volk, another werewolf from his past.

Her ears were swept back, eyes narrowed in a glare as her lip curled even more.  Her forepaws flexed with the urge to strike out.  Jess didn't believe him when the stranger said he wasn't after a fight.  Why else would he be displaying his weapons?

She ignored his questions for the moment.  If he had been sent after her, then he knew who she was and the question was only meant to put her off his guard.  Human speech was difficult in this form, but still doable compared to her pure wolf form.  "Why are you following those wolves?"  Although not part of the pack, she was still strongly protective of the wolves in what she considered her territory.   Logan didn't take his eyes off of her, not wanting to taken if he happen to glance away, but his peripheral vision was scanning for some piece of ground to give him more height on her.

"They're family," he shifted a few steps up and to the right.  "We hunt."  Another few steps.  Though not much higher he was now at an angle beneath her instead of directly beneath her.

Holding his crouch he held out his claws and sheathed them.  "I told ya I ain't after a fight, lady.  You're a different face, consider me spooked," though not exactly a lie, he was rarely spooked.

Her head turned, maintaining eye contact with him the whole time.  His claws being sheathed didn't reassure her one bit.  And she didn't believe his story.  "Then why haven't I see you around here before?"  She may be relatively new in the area, but she would have come across his scent before if the wolves were 'family' as he put it

The claws on Jess' hind paws. dug into the ground, gaining traction and ready to spring.  She was just waiting for an excuse, anything that would even vaguely provoke her into an attack.

"I come and I go, duties keep me away most of the year..." He took another few sideways steps up the hill and backed further from her.  He glanced down at her legs, muscles bunched and tense like a coil. 

"We're more alike than ya know, wolf."  He had to call her something, and 'lady' seemed condescending.  'Wolf' at least fit her a bit more appearance wise. 

"I bet ya like these woods ta get in touch with this side of ya.  The freedom and space.  Pure instinct and rarely an interference from anything man-made."  Though he could never escape HIS man-made hauntings, he glanced down at the back of his hands with a snarl- where the metal lay hidden and trapped with him.

He wouldn't have known, it, but calling her wolf was a bad move.   She was having a hard time accepting what she was now, what had been done to her, and being called wolf just made her feel like she was nothing more than an animal.

Maybe it was because it was two days before the full moon.  Maybe it was because there had been a minor skirmish with the pack the other day and her pride was still smarting.  Or maybe it was because she was just in a bad, bad mood.  The animal in her reacted when he looked away from her.  Reacting to that pure instinct he had just mentioned, Jess leapt forward, leading with her claws, aiming a vicious swipe at his face.     The moment Logan had said it he had wondered, and then knew, it was a bad choice.  He tumbled with the blow to his face, felt the claws pierce and drag and gourge his flesh wide from his right temple to his the left corner of his jaw.  Immediatley he felt the warm blood flow, and the tickling pulling sensation of his healing factor setting itself to work.

He tumbled with her, felt his shoulders hit and sent his bare feet into her abdomen, sending her over his head as he went with the momentum and flipped to his feet and faced her.

"I don't want this," he growled and backed a pace, claws still sheathed and teeth barely kept from showing as his lip twitched.  "I don't want ta fight ya."  The corners of his temple-to-jaw cuts began moving, sewing together though they left the blood painted on his face.

With a grunt Jess rolled clear, regaining her feet almost instantly.  She grudgingly admired his agility, but her teeth still remained bare in a snarl.  He may not have wanted that, but he had gotten it.  Growling low, she dropped to all fours and started to circle around to her left.   Jess watched in fascination as the deep gouges healed, much as the ones on her body would. 

Good, she thought.  It would give her more of a chance to take out her frustrations.

Rearing up again, she charged forward, this time changing tactics slightly.  Instead of trying to slash, Jess moved to try to grapple him so she could bring her teeth to bear on his shoulders and neck.

Snarling as she came at him again the sound quickley changed as he felt her teeth sink into his neck and shoulder.  That was enough, claws SNIKTed out as one hand grabbed at her shaggy shoulder and the other along her jugular to push her head and teeth off of him.  The blood flowed freely and he could feel his healing factor fighting something other than the wound itself.

As he pushed against her throat his other hand released her to slash at her shoulder.  She was 2 feet taller than him, no matter where he stood he knew he'd be at a disadvantage.  Grabbing at her shoulder again he attempted to swing himself up onto her back.

One concern of hers was put to rest.  The blade that cut into her didn't have the burning sting of silver, although the slice in her shoulder still .  Gagging at the hand on her throat as his weight shifted, Jess tottered, hind claws digging into the ground trying to stabilize her sense of balance.

But the shifting weight on her back, combined with the angle of the incline, didn't give her that chance.  She fell forward onto her stomach with a grunt, sliding a few feet down the hill.    Snarling, she tried to gather her legs under her body to  flip over onto her back, pinning her attacker.

Grunting as the whole of her weight was pinned atop him Logan then grinned, a short laugh as he wrapped both arms and both legs around his opponent.  "I don't give up easy, puppy," he growled into her right ear.  A brief flash of a tattoo caught his eye.  Though he didn't think much of it, and his hands were too busy holding onto her to help him get a better view.

"Grinding me inta the earth won't do ya much good," he squeezed her tighter, gripping hand fulls of fur about her shoulder and collar bone area.

She let out a snarl at the word puppy, her anger flaring hotter.  But the still rational part of her mind whispered not to give in completely to instinct.  He was right.  With his grip on her thick fur, she couldn't break free.  And he was too heavy for her to regain her feet.  So she did the next best thing to break his grip.

She removed what he was holding onto.

It took a moment's concentration, not something easy to gather as she struggled in his grip.  But she managed to gather it and Changed, fur melting away.  With his hands now scratching at bare skin, she sat up, pulling away from him.  Scampering a few feet away, she turned to face him, waiting to see what his next move would be as she tried to catch her breath.

Logan's eyes widened as he lay still sprawled on the ground, a look  of complete confusion and shock as he stared at Jess.  "I... you  are..." She was nude.  And much smaller now.  And nude.

Again that stubborness set in.  He couldn't fight her.  She wasn't  experienced and wasn't... clothed.  Then the tattoo he had glimpsed  earlier now shone like a spot light.

Only other fighters, or the hopeless, wore that calling card.  Fight  Club.  She wanted this fight, his own calling card had been clear as  day to her.

Leaping up with a grunt, though he didn't snarl this time, he had no  reason to, he launched himself at her.  Kicking at her calves from  the side as he landed in a crouch.

Jess rolled with the kick, trying to diffuse some of the impact.  Showing some of the grace she had while canine, she did manage to land upright.  But there was a new problem.  She had been able to shapeshift into her human form, but she couldn't gather the focus needed to shift back to a werewolf shape.  And she knew she couldn't win any fight in this shape.  And if she let him win and claim his prize...

No, that alternative wasn't acceptable to her. 

He seemed to be surprised that she had shapeshifted, and Jess decided to capitalize on it as much as she could.  Breathing heavily, she grabbed up a handful of the dark dirt and tossed it at his eyes.  If she could just get a little time and could concentrate, she could put them both back on equal footing.

The dirt, moist from rain and grass wasn't like sand.  It didn't completely distract him as fine sand would have by getting in his eyes and sticking.  The chunks of moist dirt did stick to eye lashes and cause discomfort but not enough to pause him in another attack.

Leaping from his crouch Logan vaulted at her, arms ready to grapple and pin her down, claws out and ready to still any attempts of wriggling free.

He was a lot heavier than he looked.  Jess grunted as he knocked her over.  This time she landed flat on her back.  Pinned, she rapidly assessed her few options, trying to figure out a way to get her out of this mess.

Biting him with blunt teeth would only annoy him.  Ditto for her fingernails, lacking the points of her claws.  And Changing was out of the question - she was too distracted.  All she could do was squirm, and that would get her nowhere fast.  So she went limp.  Her voice was quiet, a defeated tone as she said the words she never wanted to say.

"I give."   Logan quickly sat up and stood off of her.  He didn't like her tone, nor her limp, seemingly sudden change of mood.  It didn't bring him pleasure, only concern.  For such a firey youngster she shouldn't have that much of a give-in attitude.  It made him wonder of her situation and history.

"What's yer name?"  He didn't offer a hand, knowing she wouldn't take it. 

She sat up, curling her legs up to shield her minimally.  She had some clothes stashed nearby in the place where she slept, but she wasn't eager to reveal her lair to him.

"Name's Jess," she said, a bit cautiously.  "And you are?"  It felt a little weird to be now exchanging pleasantries, as if they had met on the street instead of having been doing battle a few seconds ago.  But she didn't know what exactly to do next.

"Logan," he introduced himself.  Reaching out slightly he pointed at her ear tattoo.  "When ya join?  A girl like you in a club like that... no offense but ya could use some formal traaning."

She bristled, looking insulted.  "Haven't lost yet.  Or at least until now."

"You could have beat me and you didn't," he stated frankly.  "With your gift you should have had me."  Tilting his head he regarded her for a moment before: "Go get your clothes, I'll wait 5 minutes.  If your not back in 5 I'm sniffing you out."

"Huh?"  Jess regarded him with a tilted head.  That wasn't a request she had heard before.  Not what she had expected at all.  "I knew the rules getting into this.  You won.  I lost.  So let's just get it over with."

"I won, we go by my terms.  Get yer clothes or shape shift fer now.  Yer unwilling now, I won't take ya without conscent of yer mind and body..." though he had taken plenty of men that way he was unwilling to take a girl that way.  Especially one whome he wanted to know... was curious over, was sure they shared more than a membership to FC.

She blinked agian, clearly surprised.  "Okay.  Five minutes then."  She stood up and started toward the treeline.

Logan turned and crouched in the grass, listening as she made her way until her sounds were lost upon him.  He stayed crouching, like a statue, until she returned.

Two minutes to the hollow tree that she kept her clothes neatly bundled in.  A minute to pull on a black t-shirt and faded black jeans.  And two minutes to walk back.  All the time puzzling over this mystery man that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

Logan stood as she came within hearing range again, glanced her way as she came within view.  "Good," he nodded once.  She'd be more comfortable dressed.  For now.  "Let's walk."  He began walking back to the pack that was finishing it's meal, haulting half way down the hill to stand and watch.  He watched Jess out of the corner of his eye.  She was attractive, that he already knew.  "How long ya been livin' here?"

She fell in step next to him.  "Couple months now.  Long enough to have claimed a territory, but not long enough for the local pack to really trust me.  And obviously not long enough to run into you before," she added with a wry expression.  She gestured to the alpha pair, which were eyeing her with a mingled distrust and respect.  "You know them well?"

"We've hunted for many years... the female replaced her higher ranking sister two years ago after a life time of being the omego princess."  He looked away towards the u-shape end of the valley.  "Quite the story of survival."  He looked back at her, baby blues searching her eyes.  "Whats yer story?  Why'd ya come here?"

She looked at him a bit suspiciously.  "You really want to know?  It's a long one."  Jess looked him up and down, considering.  So far he had proved to be a decent enough man.  Something about that made her open up a bit more than she had for a long time.  "I was part of an experiment.   I was just a run of the mill normal college freshman four years ago, until I volunteered for a genetic study. Big mistake," she added bitterly.

Have you ever heard of Project Bisclavret?"  She paused a moment before continuing, trying to figure out the best way to explain it.  "You've seen K-9 units?  Police dogs?  Search and rescue teams?  Bomb sniffers?  They can be trained to do wonderful stuff, those animals."

"But what if it they take it a step further?  What if they were able to send the police dog into an alley and have it report back where the suspect was hiding?  Or how many live people are trapped in collapsed building?  Or tell you if the bomb is C4 or TNT or a dummy just by sniffing?  All without risking life and limb?"

Jess couldn't look at Logan and stared sightlessly at a spot on the horizon.  "That was the goal of Project Bisclarvet.  I don't know if it started out military or a private outfit, but it quickly became military.  They started breeding for a new kind of 'smart dog' but it quickly became clear that just adapting canine DNA wasn't enough.  Although smarter than average, it became clear a human intelligence was needed for what they wanted."

Now that she was talking, the words were coming easier, even though she was reaching the more personal part of the story.  "But by that time, the parameters of the experiment had changed.  An assassin was wanted, one with a good disguise, and the ferocity of an animal.  Something more feral than the domestic dog, yet retaining that sense of loyalty.  And so they took 'volunteers.'  Some of them probably knew what they were getting into.  But some of them were lied to." 

"I was a college student, biology major.  I was told if I volunteered for this study, I'd get college credit, in addition to board.  Like any starving student, I jumped at the chance.  Signed NDAs and a whole bunch of other paperwork that probably gave them the right to do whatever the hell they wanted to do with me." 

Her story was so familiar.  He understood, though she hadn't voiced much of her dread and anger it was all there in her story.  His eyes had grown dark as the story progressed, his hands fisted and brows knotted.  There was nothing for him to take it out on though, so it remained checked.

He didn't answer right away, thinking, mulling it over before:  "Ya couldn't have known.  Those people didn't take it in account the finished products would still have their brains... did they expect them to hang around with smiles an' thanks?"

He took a deep breath.  "We have more in common than ya know."  Popping his claws he put them on display for her, holding his knuckles before him and then promptly resheathing them.  "They did this ta me, an' took my memories... the memories I DO have were implanted, false, an' made ta protect THEM."

He looked at her, eyes softening.  "I'm sorry ya had ta go through that."

"You don't know the half of it," Jess said, no sting in her words.  And she wasn't ready to talk about what she had to do to get out of that laboratory.  Or what she had to do to stay free.  Maybe in time she would be able to tell him about it, but she wasn't ready to yet.

Reaching out, Jess lightly ran a finger over his knuckles, almost expecting the claws to unsheathe.  In some ways it seemed worse than what had been done to her.  And he was right.  They did have something in common.  "So someone did that to you?" she asked in a quiet voice.   "It's a long story," he said just as softly as he watched her hesitent touch.  He didn't want to relate the story, not now, maybe ever.  It only reminded him of why he would eventually leave her, protect her.

He started, blinking fast at his own thoughts.  Was he already seeing himself with her?  He looked up from her finger to her face as if afraid she knew his thoughts. 

"I've tried to leave it behind," he covered for his start.  "It's not easy."  No, never easy to leave everything you love each time you start to have those feelings.  He wanted to run away, right there.  Leave her questioning.

But they were so alike...

"Tell me about it," Jess said, wrapping her arms tighly about herself as if cold.  "Every time I think I might have this under control, the full moon comes around, something happens or my control slips..."  She shook her head.

"That's why I've lived out here away from everyone.  So if I do lose control, there's less of a chance of anyone getting hurt.  So I wouldn't accidentally--" Jess's eyes widened in horror.  "Oh my God!  I *bit* you!" No more than they could breed out her weakness to silver could they supress what transmitted lycanthropy in her bite.

A bit confused at her shock Logan looked down at his body, each bite and scratch already healed over.  He couldn't even remember where she had lain her teeth.  "It's the one part of my abilities that wasn't forced on me..." he felt his neck, still searching for something that would cause her dismay. 

"I don't keep wounds."  He gave up his search as it occured to him.  "Ya think I may have it now?  I'm a wolf?"  Though sure now that's what he felt his body fighting harder than usual to rid itself of he did wonder if he was changed.

"I don't know," Jess said with a furrowed brow.  "My bite does Change people.  Make them into werewolves I mean," she said half-distractedly. She was trying to think, trying to recall anything she had overheard the scientists discussing.

And she let out a little hiss as nothing useful came to mind.  "I don't think we'll know for certain one way or another until the next full moon, two days from now."  Jess sighed, her shoulders slumping.  "This is exactly why I live out here away from people."  She knew that there was a high danger of her attacking people as the moon grew.  She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes.  "I'm sorry."   Without hesitating Logan laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.  "Ya couldn't have controled the instinct ta bite, don't you dare be sorry."  She reminded him so much of so many others he knew, mutants who thought they were a curse instead of a gift to humanity.  Perhaps they were, but what was the use in living thinking like that?

Turning her to face him her leaned in to catch her eyes and drive his words home, hands holding her shoulders firmly.  "Don't be sorry for anything.  Ya don't need ta live away from people because of being different.  There's a place for you, there's a place for all of us."  He mentally winced, he was beginning to sound like Chuck.

He was drawn to her, had been from the first glance across the meadow.  Before he gave pause he leaned in the extra distance and kissed her lips, a gentle brushing.

A shudder went through her at the brush of his hand on his shoulder, even though it was through a layer of fabric.  She had forgotten how wonderful just simple touching could be - the joys of human contact.  But Jess stared up at him, not daring to believe his words - both of forgiveness and acceptance.  No matter how badly she wanted to be a part of something again, to have some semblance of a normal life.  "Where?" she whsipered, her gazed locked with his.  But unlike earlier, this wasn't a test for dominance.  There was a hunger in it and the spark of a long dead hope.

Jess froze as he leaned in closer, breath catching.  Now he was going to claim his prize for winning their fight.  But the gentleness of the kiss caught her off guard.  Her eyes drifted shut as her hands came up to rest on his shoulder, pulling closer to him.  Jess' head tilted slightly, pressing her lips more firmly against his.  Maybe submitting to him wouldn't be so bad.

She responded to him as he had dared to hope.  He couldn't turn away  now... could this time be different? 

As she pulled closer Logan laid a firm hand on her hip, the other  staying on her shoulder.  He kissed her, deep but slow, and felt a  familiar yearning for companionship he hadn't felt for a while.   Sexual, yes, but to wake up and not be alone... to have a friend  where there were none...

Breaking the kiss he searched her eyes, felt her heart beat, heard  her breathing so close to him. 

"With me," his voice low, an answer to her question of 'where'.  He  paused before adding: "With the others like us.  Ya don't have ta be  alone..."

Her heart was pounding in his chest as she looked up at Logan.  He was offering her everything she had wanted -  a safe place to stay, acceptance, companionship, and maybe something more.  It was so tempting to melt against him and just blindly accept what he offered without thinking about it.

She had done that once before, and look what happened to her then.

Jess pushed back, her eyes suddenly suspicious.  "Why?  What's in it for you?"  There was always a condition, a catch, or something she'd have to do.  Or maybe someone in this case. 

"Nothin'," Logan's hands fell as did his hope.  Perhaps it was  better, for them both.  "I don't do this for me, I work at the school  under the founder's ambitions to unite humans and mutants... and give  us a safe home in the process." 

He backed a place, resisting the urge to get her back in his  arms.  "Come if ya want to see it, you're under no obligation and can  leave if it don't suite you."  He turned and began walking away,  gritting his teeth.

If he had stayed near her and argued with her, it would have been the wrong thing.  It would have cemented in her mind that he was just working an angle to take advantage of her.  But by walking away from her without demanding anything else, she knew he had meant what he was saying.

"Logan, wait," Jess said.  She licked her lips nervously, distracted by how they still tingled from his kiss.  "Tell me more about this school."

Logan turned after a brief pause, partly greatful partly dreadful as  he smirked at her.  He motioned her to do the same as he took a sit  along a tree trunk, bare back leaning against the rough bark as he  folded his hands behind his head.

He related to her the classes, like any other school.  And the  training, to learn from her powers and how to control them or at  least divert them.  The students, the teachers and the team called X- Men; not all of the students who graduated joined the X-Men.  In fact  very few did.

The stables, pool, the grounds, the dorms...

"Anything I might-a forgot?"  He perked a brow after finishing his  oral tour of the school.

"You tell me," Jess said, resting her chin on her hands.  It had sounded like a dream come true to her.  Some place she had hoped did exist, but never thought would.  And if everyone else had unusual abilities, maybe, just maybe there was a chance she could be accepted for what she was.  And even not fully, it would be a better place than living out here in the woods.

She swallowed, and sat up a bit straighter.  Her voice was quiet, but the trepidation and fear of rejection were clear in her eyes.  "Would you take me there?"

Logan regarded her for a moment.  He would take her there, teach her,  see her every day he was on the grounds... he wondered if he'd run  from these feelings and start spending more time in the Canadian  woods, or if he'd confront them and see where they lead. 

Getting to his feet he stood over her, held out his hand for  her.  "I'll take ya there, Jess."  Though rock steady on the shell he  was feeling chaotic within.  Few other women had this affect on him,  and most ended up dead, after his blood, or married.

"Thank you," she said, taking his hand as she stood up.  Jess tried to ignore the the tingles that shot through her at that simple contact of skin against skin.  The same tingles that she had felt when they had kissed earlier.  The same feeling she was going to have to fight every time she saw him.

Although she wondered why she was so bent on fighting them.  Jess had learned to listen and trust her instinct in other matters.  But that had been in life and death situations.  Not in choosing a mate.  Not in something that would leave her soul vulnerable instead of her body.

Jess took a step closer to him, staring up into his eyes.  Her heart was pounding in her chest.  She vaguely realized she was still holding his hand.  Gently squeezing it, she leaned even closer.  This time it was her lips that gently brushed across his.

Ah hell.  Logan knew when she wouldn't release his hand, heard her  pounding heart, and then felt her lean in that it wasn't only him.   If he fought this urge he felt towards her it would be twice as  difficult, for them both.

Parting his lips he answered her with a another kiss, hesitent, still  wanting to bolt.  Enfolding her hand with both of his he spoke as his  lips still brushed hers, low and breathy.  "You don't know what  you're doin'," he met her eyes, his baby blues contradicting his next  words:  "You can still get away..."

Jess's brown eyes stared at his.  "No I can't," she whispered back.  "It's too late."  And it was.  He was offering her everything she had dreamed of after breaking out of that accursed laboratory.  Everything, and more.

She swallowed, trying to get some moisture to her suddenly dry mouth.  "What if I said I was willing?"  And she was.  Her instincts were too strong to fight, and he seemed to be an honorable man.   What he said he wouldn't take by force, she freely offered.

Licking his lips Logan's breath was hard to come by as he replied to  her question.  "I'd say you're making a big mistake," he whispered,  hands pulling her closer against his bare chest and abdomen.  "You  don't know what you're getting into with some one like me."

Though his words were warning her, they were the only thing trying to  push her away.  Brushing her lips he trailed his lips slowly along  her jaw to her ear.  "Guys like me have more enemies than friends,  you'd be in danger where ever you go..."  His embrace tightened  another fraction at that idea.

She had tilted back to look up at Logan, the movement pressing his torso closer to his.  "I could say the same thing, Logan.  It's not just because of turning into a wolf unexpectedly.  I'm still a valuable experiment."  The last sentence was pronounced with extreme distaste.  "I'm sure that there are people waiting for me to resurface, and it's blind luck that I haven't been recaptured yet."

Now it was her turn for her lips to brush against his neck and collarbone.  "Might be good for both of us to be together.  We can watch each other's backs.  And backsides," she added with an impish grin.

Logan was having a difficulting time thinking, breathing, and  reasoning.  Still, fear echoed in his mind through it all.  "Jess, I  want..." he paused, breath hot on her neck as he bent for another  taste, another breath of her scent and haulted.  Pulled back.   Released her and turned.

"I can't."  He clinched his fists and began walking.  "Mansion's a  few miles, we best get walkin'."

Jess stumbled back a step, not having expected him to remove his support like that.  She stared in open mouthed shock at him as he walked off.  One moment he was about to kiss her, and then the next he was pushing her away at arms distance.

With an irritated snort, she hurried to catch up at him.  Not willing to trail behind like an obedient puppy, she walked shoulder to shoulder with him, a good six inches away from him.  He wanted space between them?  Fine, she would give it to him.  Her body language, from her stiff gait to the way she gazed everywhere but at him, spoke of her irritation and tried to hide her hurt.

Logan stared straight ahead, quite aware of her displeasure and  stubbornly avoiding it.  There were lots of young bachelors at the  institute, she'd have no trouble finding one.  Even Remy LeBeau would  try his hand, he did with all the new recruits.  Logan narrowed his  eyes at THAT thought and quickened his pace.

Nearing the edge of the woods and a tilt in the landscape Logan  sighed, partly relief and mostly irritation that the mansion was  before them now. 

Slowing Logan finally looked at Jess.  Not catching her eyes he  haulted and caught her shoulder with a firm hand.  If they went in  peeved at one another they'd draw attention, more than just her  newness would.

"Jess, I..." he bit his lower lip as his gaze softened, hand  releasing her.  "I can't be with you."  His voice dropped to a low  whisper.  "I want to, believe that, but..." his hands fisted as he  looked away. 

"But what, Logan?" she growled.  "I don't understand why you--"  Jess broke off and looked away as well.  "I don't know that I can do this," she muttered under her breath.  It was going to be hard enough to readapt to being around people.  It was going to be hard enough to keep from reacting to animal instinct on everything that even slightly annoyed her.

And it was going to be hard knowing that he was so near, and yet so distant from her.  For all she knew he had a lover already, and she had been an impulse.  Or even worse, she'd watch him day by day, unable to completely avoid him on the grounds, fall in love with someone else. 

She let out a heavy breath, still unwilling and unable to look at him.  It just hurt too much.  "Maybe you should have just left me out in the woods."

"I've been there, Jess.  In the woods, feral, without a home or  family.  Without any purpose or focus aside from instinctual needs,"  he reached out, his hand pausing twice before touching her jaw to  turn her towards him.  "I don't want ta leave ya out there with that."

A simple touch and he was already questioning his decision again.  It  had to be the wolf in her that was making him react the way he was.   He pulled away again, but the yearning was already there as he stared  at her.  "I don't want ta leave ya," he repeated.  "I'll stay as long  as ya need ta get settled, put ya through your first training  sessions.  You'll have made a friend by then."

He knew already she'd meet Rahne, they'd smell each other as soon as  she entered the grounds.  If there wasn't a better ice breaker for  her he couldn't say.  He hoped his will would remain strong until  that first session, then he'd leave.

She wanted so badly to lean into his touch, to savor the feel of his flesh against hers. But Jess instead knocked his hand away.  It was too painful to feel the emotions he was  evoking in her, knowing that he was only going to be there a short while. 

"Don't," she said with more than a trace of bitterness.  "Don't make me feel again, want things, believe I actually have a  shot at a semblance of a normal life, only to watch it disappear in a puff of smoke again."

They were so alike, why was he fighting this?  He wanted to give her  everything and yet... couldn't allow it.

"There are those worse off than ya, Jess," he decided the opposite  approach, his voice firm and unsympathetic even though he completely  knew what and where she was coming from. 

"Within those compounds," he pointed at the institute below  them.  "There are more than just a few who can't show their true  faces in this 'normal life'.  They don't have the gift to use a human  form.  One is missing his face, two have blue fur, and another can't  shed her gold skin and wings.  They have to use machines to help them  blend in, and even then, one touch from a stranger gives them away.   There is one woman with more than her share of men after her, but who  can kill any one if they accidentally touch her, even brush against  her bare skin... we're not talking embraces from a lover here."

Before he could regret it he grabbed both of her shoulders, gently  but firm, and held her gaze.  "And they have all found normal lives,  Jess."

How did he manage to do it?  How did he manage to know just what to say to slip past her defenses, to leave her open to hope and hurt?  His touch on her shoulders made Jess want to melt against him, but her pride demanded that she stay strong and snarl.  "Okay, so they found normal lives, and they're worse off than me.  Forgive me if I sound skeptical, but I've heard those kinds of promises before, and look where I ended up."

That sounded harsh even to her own ears.  Jess gave a heavy sigh.  "I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head slightly.  "Im just not handling this well.  Once I'm there and dealing, I'll be fine.  It's just...nothing's been constant in my life except pain and misery."   She finally looked up at him.  "I don't want to lose you just yet."

amn.  Taken aback Logan blinked at her.  She didn't want to lose  him... but for all she knew he could be an unexpected and unpleasant  man.  They just met and he had fallen without really paying attention  to it.

Still, he forced himself back into his previous state of mind, though  didn't pull away.  "You have a lot to gain, Jess.  The people  here..." he trailed off.  "You won't lose me."  It was all he could  do to not take her into his arms again, how badly he wanted to feel  her against his bare chest and arms.

"Come on, you need rest.  Food.  A warm, dry bed and shower."  He  placed his right arm around her shoulders and lead her down the hill  to the back door.  Most of the others were busy with meals and  chores, and one look from Logan would hault any questions for now if  they saw them.

He was right.  She was tired and hungry and badly needed to destress.  That and the approaching full moon  would explain her mood swings and general irritability.  Or at least that's what she told herself and ignored the fact that her emotions for him were chaotic on their own.

So she didn't resist as he guided her.  Didn't pull away from his touch.  If anything she leaned a little closer to him, just needing a little extra support to get through this.

Logan resisted pulling her closer, and breathed a sigh as he found an  empty room within the dorms for her.  He gave her a brief tour: bed,  dresser, closet, chair, bathroom.  "The bath has everything you'll  need, I'll get ya some fresh clothes.  Ya can have yours washed later  tonight."  He was out, faster than he wanted to be, and down the hall  to grab two sets of plain clothing for her and see that Charles was  clued into her presence.

Once Logan was out of the room, Jess; shoulders slumped.  She felt dog tired.  No pun intended, she thought wryly.  Almost too tired to appreciate that the room had amenities that it had been a long time since she had experienced. 

Such as the bed, which was looking mighty attractive at the moment.  Her instincts were to dig a hole or find a deep, dark den to fall asleep in.  Fortunately, several blankets practically over her head had the same effect for her.  But first she intended to indulge in another basic that she had to do without for quite a while. 

Hoping that there weren't cameras in this room like there had been in her cell at the lab, she started to strip off her clothes, leaving a trail as she headed to the shower in the bathroom.

Logan had been able to ask Jubilee for an extra set of plain clothes,  the girl had enough anyways, without any questions.  Though  protective over one another Jubes knew when to and when not to worry,  knew she'd find the answers to her questions in due time.

Letting himself back in after pausing to listen first, Logan set the  clothes on her bed.  The clothes on the floor, like a trail into her  arms, didn't go unnoticed.  She was vunerable and nude in there.   Glancing at the shut window, on the 3rd floor, he still didn't want  to leave knowing she was safe.

Picking up the folded clothes again he set them just inside the  bathroom upon the sink, closed the door, and sat in the chair to wait  like a gaurd dog.

The hot water hitting her body felt like a miracle.  After so long of being cold when wet, the sensation of being warm and wet was almost  forgotten.  Groaning, Jess let her tense muscles relax as weariness stole over her body.  Her guard was so far down, she didn't notice the sound of the door closing. She stayed under the spray until she was swaying on her feet, eyes shut, almost asleep.  Only then did she reach for a washcloth and soap to scrub over herself.  And found herself wondering what would it be like for Logan to be in here with her, touching her...

Jess cut off that thought before it could go any further.  Logan had made things crystal clear.  He was attracted to her, but he wasn't going to act on those feelings.  Fine.   She would be strong and not encourage him on, as much as she wanted to.  She had too many things to relearn, too many worries and concerns about rejoining civilization without having to add the heartbreak of unrequited love. 

Finally feeling clean and ready to curl up in bed, Jess shut off the water and grabbed a large fluffy towel.  She dried off her body and then wrapped it around herself, a second one wrapping up her short hair. It was for the best, she tried to convince herself, that it didn't happen.  The wolf in her may have chosen a mate, but the human in her would have to live with the consequences.  Not noticing the clothes by the sink, she reached for the door.

And let out a half yelp, half cry when she realized she wasn't alone in the room. 

Logan started at the cry, suddenly not so confident in why he had  stayed.  She hadn't seen the clothes he had left... or had ignored  them.  Either way she hadn't expected him to be here.

"I'm sorry Jess," he rose from the chair.  "Wasn't sure how at ease  ya were... thought a familiar face... "  he trailed off, eyes  lingering a bit too long on the skin exposed, flush from the warm  water.  Soft, he imagined.  Supple and firm in all the right places.

"You okay?"  He couldn't think of what to say, to do... though he  what he wanted to do, after surprising her, might not be welcome.  He  wanted to fold her in his arms, smell her damp clean hair, taste her  neck.  He didn't want to want her... he too had been surprised at her  entrance though.

"I...uh...wasn't expecting anyone to be in here..."  Her resolve had been firm in the bathroom, when it was just her.  But now she was wavering seeing him standing there.  It was so tempting to drop the flimsy towel wrapped around her just to see that feral look in his eyes again.

Her grip on the towel tightened further, making sure it was closed.  "I'm okay.  You just startled me."  She started over to the bed.  The longer Jess looked at him, the more her resolve weakened.  She did risk a glance at him out of the corner of her eyes.  "Thanks for checking though.  But I'll be okay now." 

Logan took a hesitent step toward her.  It was an easy decision: she  was closer than the door, though a part of him still wanted to  backpedal, do the right thing and leave.

"Ya sure, Jess?"  Another step.  "Strange place.  Strange people,  smells, sounds..." he closed the distance between them, one hand  resting on the bed post as the other reached for her.  "I haven't  given ya the tour yet," she invaded his flaring nostrils, her scent  driving his heart rate up. 

She sucked in a shuddering breath as he neared.  There was something about his scent that made her tremble, that made her body betray her mind.  Her feet felt like they were attached to leaden weights, but she still managed to take a step backwards.  "Don't, Logan," she said as she put up a hand to halt him.  "You made your feelings clear earlier.  And I don't want to do something we'll both regret in the morning."

She was lieing, he could smell it.  Still, he backed a pace, then  another.  She was right... and yet wrong. 

"I'm not sure my feelings will ever be clear around ya," he looked  towards the door and then back at her.  "I'll come back in the  morning ta wake ya."  Glad and yet frustrated at her sudden turn.

Pausing at the door he looked again at her, eyes steady and  unspeaking for a few moments.  Then: "I wouldn't regret it."

Jess swallowed hard as she set down on the bed, wanting so badly to call him back to her.  But the timing was all wrong for both of them.  "I can't now.  I need time to adjust to everything."  But did she have that time?  He said he would stay long enough to see her get settled.  Then what?  "I'm sorry."

Nodding, Logan looked away, down at the door knob and slipped out.   In the hall he strayed near the door, protective.  The Professor  needed to be told of his new pupil though.  He walked away.

She held her defensive posture until she heard his retreating footsteps.  Jess let out a large sigh and allowed her shoulders to slump.  Telling herself she wasn't going to let herself cry, she got up and went to the bathroom, intending to splash water on her face.  That was when she discovered the clothing he had left for her, and she realized he could have joined her in the shower at any time.  Now even more confused by his intentions and her emotions, she grabbed them and went back to the bedroom.  She curled up under the blankets, wanting to fall asleep and forget.

some time later:

Rahne had been told of the new comer by the professor, and her  abilities.  Another wolf!  Rahne grinned as she scratched at the  door.  Though in her human form, she rarely knocked like one.

Sleep had been a long time coming for Jess.  But her body's needs had finally won out over her mind's turmoil.  But she still had awakened early and gotten dressed.  It would be better for both her and Logan if weren't naked or nearly so when they saw each other next.

But she had expected a knock on the door.  Not  a light scratching.  Puzzled, she stood up and started to the door. And stopped dead when she smelled another wolf outside.  Fighting with the urge to growl, she opened the door, not surprised to see a human standing there.  The same way she looked human.  "Yes?" she asked cautiously.

"Rahne Sinclair," the wolfen smiled shyly and offered her  hand.  "Professor said we had a new one, thought we'd get along just  fine."  Though she could sense the unease within Jess, Rahne remained  calm and friendly. 

"Jess.  Jess Leahs."  She took Rahne's hand, albeit a little reluctantly.  Rhane didn't  seem threatening, but the wolf instincts kept speaking to her.  Jess wasn a stranger in Rhane's territory, which put her at an immediate disadvantage.

"Hungry?  I could bring the goods here, or you could follow me to the  kitchen."  She smiled again.  She could smell Logan all over this  door way, even wondered if he wasn't lurking down the hall some  where. 

"Maybe bring it here?  I'm not certain I'm up to facing other people yet."    She managed to work up a weak smile at the sound of the word food.  How long had it been since she had a decent meal, one that was cooked and not something she had caught? 

Logan rarely became protective over new recruits, he rarely smelled  this way around any one.  "Logan will come by shortly after you fill  your belly."  Rahne watched her close at that.

Her face fell a bit when she mentioned Logan.  Jess had been trying to ignore the fact that she would be seeing him shortly.  "You know," she said stepping out of the room, "I've changed my mind.  Let's go to the ktichen and see what we can find to eat."  It was an excuse to escape the room and hide out from him for just a few minutes more.

Rahne briefly wondered at Jess' subtle shift in mood at the mention  of Logan, then shook it off.  She'd sniff it out sooner or  later.  "Whatcha in the mood for?"  Rahne lead the way down the halls  to the stairway.  "Bobby did some t-bones earlier today," she flashed  her teeth in a knowing grin. 

"That sounds good," Jess said.  Though still an omnivore, she had developed a distinct preference for meat even when in a human form.

Entering the kitchen she motioned for Jess to take a seat.  "Consider  yourself lucky we got so many here who love to handle food.  Me, I  just want to eat it."  She opened the fridge and got out two tin foil  packets.

"I can relate to that," Jess said.  She watched Rahne open the meat, her stomach starting to rumble.  She was going to be a civilized being and wait until the food was actually warm.  Then she was going to make herself eat it with a knife and fork.  She wasn't going to give into her instincts and tear into it with tooth and nail. 

Trying to hold onto her control, Jess took a deep breath.  "So you're wolf too," she said a bit cautiously, gingerly giving into a sense of curiosity.  "When did you find out?  And how have you dealt with it?"

Popping the plates into the microwave Rahne turned and leaned against  the counter.  She didn't like to think about those days.  "I was just  a child," she said simply. 

She didn't like to think of the days she had been locked inside one  form or the other for months at a time, and then scared to try it  again once returned to her old self.  Not now.  "Xavier's School...  this place has helped me."  She offered a smile, however forced it  was.

Jess nodded, reading her body language.  So Rhane was as uneasy about her abilities as Jess was about hers.  "I'm hoping it can help me too.  Anything has to be better than...well, you know."

"So," eager to change the subject.  "Logan brought you in, right?   How'd you two meet?"  She smiled with honesty this time, handing Jess  her plate, steak, fork, and knife.

Jess' mouth watered as the full scent of the steak hit her nostrils.  Still she made herself count to ten once she grabbed the silverware.  "He was running with a wolf pack in a territory I was calling my own when we came across each other.  I guess you could say we hit it off in a way," she added with a trace of grim humor. Tilting her head Rahne furrowed her brows.  "I suppose.  He does have  that stand offish attitude of his, makes it tough to say what he's up  to 'till you get to know him."

Then with a smirk she added: "Well, it musta worked though, he got  you here, yes?"  She chuckled at that as she sliced a bite off of her  steak.  "So," she bit her lip.  It was so clear, unless she had been  reading it wrong.  But was a straight forward question... too  straight forward for so early in this acquiantance? 

"So, Jess, really I can't help but wonder... the signs are there and  all... his scent, your body language... you like him, doncha?"

Jess choked on the bite of meat she had been swallowing.  She gagged it down before speaking.  "Yes...no...  Ah... It's complicated," she said with a shake of her head.  Or at least her human mind was making it complicated.  Her wolf instincts were remarkably clear about what she wanted.

"It's been so long since I've trusted anyone," she said softly.  "And my judgment hasn't always been the best.  I'm just afraid if I give into those feelings, I'll be making a big mistake."

Nodding Rahne pursed her lips in thought before speaking.  "Ya know,  Logan's been like a dad to me...  I don't think he'd ever persue a  lass he wasn't serious about."  She half cringed at her wording  before continueing:  "Ya need to start some where, Jess.  Or live  your whole life in fear, alone, untrusting..."

Another pause, then: "Most people here find new lives, new  philosophies.  Just keep your mind open dear."  A sympathetic smile  as she returned to her meal.

Jess had heard Rahne's second statement, but the first one was what she focused on.  "Like a father?" she repeated.  Rahne looked to be close to her in age, and she had expected the other werewolf to say 'like a brother.'  "How...how old is he?" she asked after a false start.

"Hmmm..." Rahne scratched behind her ear.  "I'm not sure even he  knows, false memories and all?  But his healing factor is what keeps  him at his current age.  How old he look to you?"  Rahne  grinned.  "Sure he's a serious one, but I've seen him let loose... in  his own way.  Takes 'act your age' to a new level, ya know?" 

Jess nodded.  "I see."  She took another bite of of the steak, the wolf in her relishing the taste of beef, even if it was cooked.  Rahne had given her a lot to think over.  "So you really think I should go for it?" she asked, still uncertain. 

Rahne hid another smile and crept out of her chair to kneel next to  Jess' chair, lowering her voice below a whisper.  "If you don't...  well, I'll find ways to make *him* go for it."  She grinned, showing  her teeth in a mock dare.  "It's easy to tip a man's libido..."  She  spoke that last part slow with each word in slow highlights before  she stood, regarded Jess from the corner of her eye, giggled, and  returned to her seat. 

Jess shook her head, teeth bared in a half grin, half grimace.  "I'll consider myself warned."  She took another bite of the steak, chewed and swallowed as she thought over Rhane's words.  From the looks and scents Logan had been giving off, it wouldn't take much to tip Logan's libido. 

Plate empty, she pushed it away.  "This is a school, right?" she asked.  "What else goes on here?  Are there a lot of students?"

"Right now most are home.  We're between semesters," Logan stepped  into the entrance and leaned against the door frame, regarding Rahne  with a nod.  "Nice little chat you too?"

Rahne gave Jess a fierce look before turning to look at  Logan.  "She's just eaten, you can't take her to the Danger Room  now."  Looking back at Jess with half a smile, still speaking to  Logan:  "Wait half an hour."

Jess had sat up a little straighter when Logan appeared.  Despite talking to Rahne, she still felt a bit conflicted and nervous around him.  She had made a decision, but hadn't quite figured out how to follow through on it. 

"Danger Room?" Jess echoed.  She didn't like the sound of that.  Things that had the word danger in the title usually didn't turn out good for her.  "What's that?"

"The Da-" Rahne threw up a hand to interrupt Logan. 

She explained instead:  "It's holographic technology for you and the  other beginners.  Harmless.  But serious if you want to advance into  the machinery and real live demons the computer can manufacture with  nano technology."

Logan gave her an approving smirk before addressing Jess: "I jus  wanna see what yer made of, Jess.  Ya won't start the actual lessons  for a while.  An introduction to the way it's run and a basic run- through of the beginning level."

Rahne shot Jess a look.  "Your tour begins."

Jess nodded and stood up.  It sounded sort of like the times she had been tested.  But that had been against flesh and blood animals and not holograms.  She gave Rahne a genuine smile.  "Thanks for the meal."

She turned towards Logan, projecting a confidence she was just beginning to feel.  There was one nagging worry in the back of her mind.  If she sank too deeply into her instincts, let the wolf have too much of a free rein to impress him, it would be hard to reintegrate her human half.  But she wasn't going to tell him about that worry.  At last not until she had more of an idea of what she was in for.  "Well, let's go find out what I am made of."

Logan nodded curtly and turned to lead the way.  The less he saw or  spoke the more he'd keep a reign on his... needs, wants, desires.  Or  so he figured.  He knew it wasn't completely true though.  He could  still hear her breathing, hear her heart beat and foot steps behind  him.  Still feel her moist lips on his own... blast.

Stopping at the doorway he placed his palm on the screen for a  scan.  "I've preset it, soon as the doors close the session will  start."

After the doors closed they were emersed in darkness for a few  seconds.  "I think you'll find it familiar at first."  The lights  came on to reveal the cold steel room of a naked Danger Room.  Then  holographic trees, hills, light, and a full bloomed forest began to  sprout.

"Amazing," Jess whispered.  When she had been told it was holographic recreation, she had been expecting to see something that would tip her off that it was fake.  But the likeness was almost perfect, something she would mistake for real at first glance.

"This is what ya are used ta, now..." he pointed behind  him.  "Something ya aren't used ta."  A tree behind him began to  creak, bend, unroot itself.  "Stay free of it long as ya can, this is  strictly a hologram," he brushed his hand through the nearest  tree.  "But the computer keeps tabs on how often ya are engaged.   Session'll hault after eight engagements."

He sprinted to the side lines as the tree became more active.  Fully  uprooted, and using roots like snake-legs, slithered to where Jess  stood.  Bending it began to swipe it's long leafed branches her way.

Surprised, she let out an undignified squawk and jumped backwards, avoiding a sweep.  "Is this some sort of twisted revenge for marking my territory?"  How was she supposed to fight these escapees from a Tolkien novel?  Although that was part of what he was testing -  how she thought on her feet.

Well, she could probably think better on four than two in this situation.  Except that she couldn't and maintain some sense of modesty.  She'd have to talk to Rahne how she dealt with that... It was a mistake that she had allowed herself to get distracted.  "Ooofff," she grunted as a swinging branch caught her, knocking her to the ground and the air out of her lungs.

Eyes widening Logan snarled and jerked his head up to where the  control tower was hidden behind a fake sky.  He had keyed it to pure  holographics, beginners had no place in the DR with physical blows on  the first session.  He had no way to see who had done it though  unless he haulted the session completely.

"Computer: Abort." He spoke clearly, supressing his growl.  A  pause.  "%Abort Overridden%", the computer's metalic feminine voice  spoke out over the creaking tree.  And the tree kept at it, swinging  and slithering over his foe.  Whoever it was had a sick sense of  humor.

"Jess, the game's changed!"  He yelled to her the obvious.  Then  began coaching.  "Use what ya have and it don't."  Height issues: the  other trees would block it's path.

 Jess heard Logan yell at her as she rolled backwards, ducking another swipe.  So much for modesty, she thought as she kicked off her shoes.  She was forced to dance to one side again, covering the stumble as another branch scratched across her back.  Snarling, she whipped the shirt off of her back, but didn't get any further undressed before letting the Change rip through her.

Armed now with claws and fangs and a better sense of balance, she did the last thing the tree expected (she hoped).  She charged and leapt up, claws first, towards the top of the tree.  If it was mobile, that meant it could be knocked off balance, and she hoped her weight and momentum would be enough to do the trick.

Groaning and creaking the tree's long limbs swiped, trying to knock  her off it's body.  But they were too long to do anything to her so  close to it.  That and her weight as she bore into it sent it wind  milling backwards.  Roots sliding on the ground as it finally lost  balance and crashed to the ground it bounced once before it  disapeared and left the cold metallic ground of a nude Danger Room  behind.

Jess landed with a grunt on the cold floor.  Shaking her head, she stood up on her hind paws and turned in a circle, tail swishing as she realized her enemy was gone.  Letting out a snort, her ears came forward into a proper forward position before turning her head to preen some fur on her upper arm.

"Nice one," Logan strolled up and patted her shoulder before thinking  to look at the control tower.  Black, lights off and empty.  A simple  whiff of the room would tell him who had messed with it  though.  "Sorry the rules changed," he released her shoulder, having  to reach upwards to even get to it in her shifted form.

Jess took a deep breath and reversed the Change.  "Not your fault," she said, looking up at the control tower as well.  She wondered if this had been a misguided attempt by Rahne to nudge her and Logan closer together, much as she had threatened.  Wondering what had happened, she didn't even notice that she was topless and the jeans covering her lower half had some strategic tears in them now.

The missing shirt and torn jeans didn't go unnoticed by Logan.  His  eyes took her in, wandering down her body but not lingering for any  lengthy time.  Clearing his throat, unknowing about her talk with  Rahne and her decision, he peeled the fresh shirt off his back. 

Though he wanted to feel her bare skin against his, the only thing  telling of his continueing desire were his baby blues.  Holding his  white tee shirt out to her he caught her eyes, held them.

Jess reached out to take the shirt and froze, chocolate gaze locked with blue.  Just step forward, she told herself, take the shirt and put it on.  But when her fingers brushed against his, she found herself unable to complete the action.

Snippets of her conversation with Rahne replayed in her head.  Her breath came hard and fast, but not from the fight.  Suddenly she found herself moving forward, against his bare chest, lips pressing against his.

Logan's breath caught as he felt her warm flesh against his, and then  her moist lips inviting his in a kiss.  His hands moved of their own  will, embracing her, pulling her tight against him.  His lips  hungrily pressed to hers, tongue seeking out that familiar stranger  he'd been yearning for.  Pressing hands wandered her lithe back,  shoulders, and hips. 

It was intense, consuming, his sudden welcoming of her shift in  attitude.  But part of him still questioned it.  Breathing heavily he  suddenly broke the kiss.  "Jess," a harsh whisper emitting as he  longed to kiss her again.  "Ya sure ya want this...?"

Her answer was little more than a breathy whisper.  "Yes."  So much longing pent up in that single syllable.  She reached up to gently stroke the side of his face, fingers playing lightly over his sideburns.  "I'm not going to fight this.  I can't fight this any longer."

Jess' hands then stroked down to his chest.  Then she pressed her lips to his again.  She had made her decision, and she was at peace with it.  And in his arms, for the first time in a long time she felt like she was home.

Holding her firmly against his body the cold steel Danger Room didn't  seem cold nor dangerous any more.  The world around them disapeared  as he kissed her.  His claws snikted free and, laying their sleekness  against her bare hip, expertly finished what her shifting had left  behind without leaving so much as a nik to her flesh.  Still, they  clung to her, trapped between their pressing bodies.

A step, then two as he simultaneously lifted behind her thighs to  bring her legs astraddle his hips.  Another few steps before he had  her against a slick wall, releasing her legs to frame her face.

 Her legs wrapped tightly around his hips, holding him tight to her.  Jess' fingers clutched his shoulders tightly as well, as if afraid that he would disappear on her.  Breathing heavily, she stared at him, eyes dark with desire.

Forcing her fingers to relax, she let them trail over his shoulders and to his chest.  Trusting him to hold her up, she leaned forward to kiss him again.  But instead of the frantic tangling of earlier, this kiss was slower, more exploratory.

As his mouth gently explored hers, his hands even softer felt her  ears, jaws, and neck.  Logan explored her with fingertips, feeling  the pulse in her jugular as they brushed down to her collar bone.   Felt the uneven breathing and flush upon her breast as he eased  himself back, hips still firmly holding her against the wall but  making room between their chest and abdomens.  Fluttered against her  rib cage and tickled the sides of her stomach.

All the while a throbbing was growing between them, pressing  painfully against his pants and her groin.  Just as slowly as the  kiss and his fingertips he rotated his hips against hers, grinding  slowly.

A soft whimper escaped Jess' throat as she squirmed against him.  For such a powerful man, she was surprised how gentle his touch was.   The cold steel behind her was a contrast  with his warm body.    And warm mouth.  Her hands stroked over his broad back, working her way down his spine.

She was breathing heavily when the kiss broke.  She leaned her forehead against his, staring into his eyes as she tried to catch her breath.

Logan's hands fluttered to a crawl as he stared into her eyes.  His  fingers, barely moving, traced the curve of a rib back and forth  along her side.  Her scent, her sound, her feel... he was consumed by  everthing he sensed from her.

Each breath he took, each slow grind of his hips against hers, was  pushing him, begging him to move as if the world had stopped  turning.  Without breaking eye contact he tilted his head and kissed  her softly.  Finally breaking the intense stare he turned his head   to kiss her neck.  Grazing his teeth and tongue across her flesh,  biting enough to pinch but not bleed.

With a sighing grunt he pulled his hips away from hers, letting her  pants and panties fall from the strategic cuts he had done earlier.   Standing close, but not pressing the rough jeans against her, he  placed a final bite on her shoulder before searching her eyes again.

She was breathing heavily as she stared back at him unblinkingly.  The bruises his bites had raised faded into normal flesh.  And it was a strange sensation to feel so vulnerable and yet so powerful under his gaze.  If anyone had told her earlier that she would be naked in a deactivate virtual reality environment with her soon to be lover, she would have told them that they were crazy.

She was overwhelmed by sensations, the hairy rasp of of his chest against hers, the scent of his skin, the feel of his teeth against her flesh.  Jess wouldn't bite him back.  HIs healing factor may be able to counteract her lycanthrophy, but she wasn't going to risk it.  Her fingers scratched down his chest and to his fly.  She was still staring at his eyes directly as she lowered his tooth click by tooth click.

Why had they waited for this, why had they fought it?  All of that  seemed trivial now.  True he'd still worry but what was the point of  fighting this?  It was too strong an attraction, she was literally  bringing out the animal in him.  A phrase, he had learned, didn't  always mean a brute fierceness.  But loyalty, kindness, he was caring  for her the moment he had seen her.

He felt each click of his fly like small earthquakes, teasing his  thick just a few centimeters away.  The slight brush of her finger  tips.  It was agony.  He breathed through parted lips as he stared at  her, not trusting himself to move just yet.  Where he had taken  simple measures to rid of her pants she seemed to enjoy watching him  wait for his turn; already reigning him in like a wild bull.

His fly now open, Jess' hand slipped inside, easing the fabric away  from his hips.  She debated shifting just so she could tear them off of  him, but she didn't want to expend the energy.  Not when it could be  spent on so so many other pleasant things.

Such as this.  Her hand cupped his groin, eyes widening at the length  and heat she felt there.  Her breath came in heavy gusts through her  nostrils as she stroked him, learning the feel of him.

Logan released a shuddering sigh as she touched him, stroked him.  He  braced both hands on the wall to either side of her neck, not  trusting his fingers to leave her shoulders unbruised.  It had been  so long since he'd been here with a new lover, unknown and exciting. 

"Jess," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her jaw and ear lobe.  Teeth  scraped, ever teasing, as he run his tongue over her neck before  finding a spot below her ear to gently suck.  Small, abondoned  thrusts from his hips sent his thick eagerly against her palm and  fingers.

Jess turned her head to the side and whispered in his ear.  "Logan,"  she breathed before following the word with her tongue.  Her breathing  was heavy as she continued to squeeze him lightly, her hips matching  his rhythm on instinct.

Smothering a moan against her neck as she licked his ear he kissed  harder, teeth scraping and yearning to taste her.  Reaching up he  cupped her left breast, kneading it as he felt her hips matching  his.  His other hand formed to her thigh and the tensing and  quivering muscles beneath the skin.  Fingertips crept up, his thumb  brushing against her sex.

Jess let out a loud gasp, shivering against him.  She arched her chest into his hand, wriggling against him.  Her hips shifted, torn between drawing away from his probing and impaling herself on him.

This was what he had needed to see, that flicker of feral in her.   There was time for foreplay later, now he wanted her.  Bad.  Needed.

With the hand that had lay against her hip he took her hand away by  her wrist, holding it up to his mouth.  Simultaneously running his  tongue across the inner carpal to her palm and resting his crown at  her entrance.  Then with a low husky growl he pushed into her wet  folds.

Jess whimpered in need, shifting her hips back and forth. in an effort  to position him.  Though by no means a virgin, it had been a while.  But the potential for discomfort didn't stop her.  Grabbing his shoulders  she stretched, straightened, and then started to lower herself onto him. 

Logan continued to grip her wrist, as if a life line, as she  positioned herself and then began to impale herself.  He groaned as  he tightness surrounded him, slowly sinking into her until their hips  met. 

Holding her wrist and panting he didn't move, letting her grow  accustomed to him stretching her.  He throbbed within her.  He felt  her pulse beneath his fingers throb. 

Jess let out a soft whimper as he stretched her open.  Her legs remained clamped around his hips tightly, now allowing him to draw away.  He felt every bit as good as she had imagined.

Her own breathing was heavy as she leaned forward, resting her forehead against his.  She was too close to see him clearly, but that didn't matter.  Especially when her eyes drifted shut as her head tilted to one side and she pressed her lips to his.

Logan pressed into her mouth with hunger, tongue devouring and  dancing feverously with hers.  He still gripped her wrist and now  pressed it back against the wall in his fist.  His other hand traced  her hip as he grinded his hips against hers, slightly stirring  himself within her tight confines.  This sensation emitted a muffled  growl from his throat.

She let out a shuddering gasp at the feel of him twitching inside of her.   And as good as that felt, she wanted, needed more.  Needed to feel him moving against her.  Needed to   hear their grunts, growls, whimpers, and moans as the they slammed into each other.  She pushed with her hips, trying to move up and down his length, encouraging him to start moving as well.

Logan echoed her gasp as she began pushing against him.  Releasing  her wrist he braced both hands on her hips as he began moving against  her, his need and her will starting him out fast.  Lips resting  against hers he moved them to the crook of her shoulder with a moan  of her name.  Breath hot on her flesh as he panted with each thrust.

Both of Jess' hands rested on his shoulders, fingers digging into his muscles for purchase.  As much as she could pinned between him and the wall, she worked herself up and down against his cock.  She continued to kiss him, nipping at him as she worked against him.  She squeezed him with each withdrawal, trying to keep him inside her even longer.

Logan bucked into her as she began to squeeze him, slammed into her  harder in response.  Raising his head from the crook of her shoulder  he returned her nips along her jaw, finding her lower lip and sucking  it before inviting her tongue to play.  Despite an outright brawl not  causing him to break a sweat, he was now beginning to with a fine  sheen along his rippling muscles.

Jess' tongue tangled with his as she gripped him tighter.  She whimpered as Logan rubbed against all the right spots.  Her grunts turned to a keening whimper as she squirmed against him, part frustration that she really couldn't reach much more than his shoulders, part desperate need.

Increasing the tempo by a hair Logan felt her need and frustration.   Crashing into her mouth he muffled his moans as he thrust into her,  with each thrust shifting his hips up as she swallowed him to drive  them that much closer, his cock that much deeper.  His tongue  attempting to match the timing of his hips he gripped her hips  tighter, as if afraid of falling.

The trembling grew into shaking as she clung to him tightly.  Jess whine became a shriek as her head snapped back, nails digging into the broad muscles.  Every muscle tenses and contracted as wave after wave of pleasure swept through her body, threatening to sweep her away.

A loud moaning growl tore from his bared teeth as her muscles clamped  around his throbbing cock, and dug her nails into his shoulders.  The  barest glistening of broken skin as he turned his head and the stench  of his own blood, from her fingers, sent him spiraling at a dizzying  pace.  The masochist in him chomping at the bit.  Slamming into her  with inhuman sounds, once, twice... a roar ripping through him as he  clenched and buried into her one last time.

Jess continued to move against him, trying to wring out every ounce of pleasure she could.  A second, shallower orgasm swept over her, making her quiver.  Gasping for breath, she slumped against him, trusting that he would support her weight and hold her upright.  Her eyes drifted shut as she savored their mingled scents of flesh, sweat, blood, and sex.

Logan held her against his panting body, waiting for both breath and  heart rate to slow as he slid out of her.  He gently crouched to the  ground, limbs tangling as he kept her close.  Laying a kiss on her  ear lobe he rested his head against hers.

Jess stayed limp against him, still trying to catch her breath.  She seemed almost embarrassed now, reluctant to look at him. More that she was afraid of what she would see.  It had been a long time since she had been loved, and almost didn't dare believe that he could feel that way towards her.

Logan furrowed a brow, Jess seemed to be avoiding his gaze.  Part of  him snickered 'told ya so' while the other couldn't believe she might  be reconsidering now.  Hesitent, he hooked a fore finger and thumb  beneath her jaw and gently moved her face up to his.  He kissed the  corner of her eye.  "Ya okay, Jess?"  He asked in a whisper.

Blushing under his intense gaze, she nodded.  "Yeah," she said in a slightly shaky voice.  "It was just a little intense there for a moment."  Jess reached up and gently brushed her fingertips against the beard on his cheeks.  "So what do we do now?" she asked, not just referring to the next few minutes.

"We coulda been doin' this all along," Logan searched her eyes.  It  felt right to have a woman in his life, all anxiety of his enemies  aside.  "If you'll have me..." he trailed off, he'd what?  He could  make promises and break them?  "I can't make promises, Jess.  But I'm  loyal to the end."  And a damn fierce watch dog.  If Remy so much as  looked at her now he'd have his liver.

"I thought I just did have you," Jess murmured, unable to resist the joke, using humor to try to deflect some of her own worries.  She was frightened of what he was asking of her.  Her instincts were still primed to run, to flee back to the solitary safety of the forrest. 

But for the first time, she didn't listen to those instincts.

"I can't make any promises either, Logan," she said, dark eyes staring into his.  "But as long as you'll have me, I'll stay by your side."

"You had me at the first punch," Logan joked back, gently framing her  face with his hands, fingers nestling up into the short, soft locks  of her hair.  "And I'm not going any where."  Closing the distance  between them he brushed his lips across hers almost delicately, and  with painstakingly slow measures increased the soft pressure to a  butterfly kiss.

Jess  was shaking as she returned the pressure, trying so hard not to let show how frightened she really was.  Ever since the first night she had Changed, she hadn't dared allow herself believe that she could ever have a shot at a normal life.  Normal in terms of being loved and loving someone.

When the kiss broke, she rested her forehead against his, smiling softly.  "So now what do we do?" Jess asked.  Eventually they'd have to face the outside world, but not quite at the moment.

"We find you some whole clothes," Logan returned the soft smile,  closing his eyes.  He made no move to get up though.  "Can't promise  your wardrobe I won't do it again."  He added as an after thought.

Shifting his weight on the cooling floor he inhaled her scent.  "I  think we're alone down here, you want a tour of the basement?"  A  certain gleam in his smirk told her it wouldn't be an every day tour.

And there was an answering gleam in Jess' eyes.  "I'd love to, Logan," she said, lightly stretching beneath him. "And if we're caught, I can always quickly put on a fur coat."

She nuzzled his cheek as she felt the last of the aches from where the tree had swiped her were disappearing.  "Any idea who changed the program on us?  Somebody's idea of a practical joke?"  Rahne was the only other person she knew of that was aware that she was here.  It could have been one of the way she had threatened to get her and Logan together.

"Not sure," Logan stood, taking her hands to help her up.  "But we  can start the tour in the tower, take a sniff around an see what we  find."  Eyeing their clothes he gathered them and left them at the  wide Danger Room doors for later gathering.  "Lab has some gowns if  ya want ta cover up, maybe some jammies?"  Again the smirk.

"Ooo... the kind with feet in them?" she smirked in return as she stood up.  Stepping closer to him, Jess put an arm around Logan's shoulders and pushed up on her toes to kiss him.  Just because now she could without having to fight all her uncertainty.

Slipping his hands around her lithe back Logan held her to his body,  delving into her mouth with a slow, seeking motion of his tongue.  It  had been too long since he had last allow himself to feel something  for another, and express it. 

Bending, he caught her behind the knees and lifted her up, wrapping  her legs about his back.  "Speaking of feet, remind me to treat yours  to a thorough scrubbing with my tongue," he growled with a promising  smirk.

Jess let out a little squeak as she locked her ankles behind Logan's back.  "Followed by the rest of my body?" she said with a playful gleam in her eyes.  She tightened her arms around his neck, pulling herself even closer.

She nuzzled his cheek, resting her nose against the curve of his jaw.  "I have to admit, Logan, this is very frightening for me.  It's been so long since I've trusted anyone, and as happy as I am, I'm almost equally scared."

"'Sokay, darlin'."  Logan nuzzled her neck, inhaling her scent.  "No  reason ta be scared."  He began taking the steps up to the tower  control room.  "I won't bite THAT hard."

The tower's computers lit the room but the main lights were off.   The dream-like blue of inactive computer screens filled the room as  Logan entered, and at one sniff knew what sick puppy had been in  here. 

Jess inhaled from the door, not wanting to cross-contaminate with her won scent.  "Oh she did not," she growled with her mouth wrinkling into a grimace.  "Rahne told me she'd take things into her own hands if I didn't make a move.  Smells like she couldn't wait."

"Oh...?"  Logan perked a brow at her with a twitch of the corner of  his lip.  Sidling up to her he tilted his head.  "And how would you  have taken it," he picked up her hands and drew her backwards into  the room.  "into your own hands?" 

Jess grinned as she followed him into the room.  "Pretty much how I did earlier," she said, slipping closer to him.  "Minus the tree whacking, of course."  She rubbed the tip of her nose against his.

"And if I resisted?"  Logan slipped out of her reach, a feral look  in his movements and baby blues.  Though he knew he could hardley  resist her, and wouldn't have lasted long after the first look,  first touch from her.  Like she had doen earlier.

"Oh, I'm sure you would find me very, very persuasive."   Jess prowled forward, a sultry look smoldering in her eyes.  A hand reached out and gently brushed over his chest.  "After all, we're both predators, and you know how determined a predator can be when stalking her prey."

"Ah," Logan held up a finger while still circling away from  her.  "But when another predator becomes the prey, he knows all of  the predator's tricks.  He's more than just the prey." 

He kept circling, eager to keep up the game and eager to see how and  when she managed to stop im in his tracks.  They were limited to the  basement levels, he had to desire to go skipping through the mansion  butt naked with the students and other team members unsuspecting.

Jess circled him as well, keeping in step with him.  "True," she said, dancing a little closer.  "But then both are predator and prey at the same time.  Both are in the same situation, for at any moment, hunted could turn hunter."

"Are ya suggesting," he slowed his circle to allow the space between  them to close another few paces.  "I do something," another few  paces towards, then haulting altogether.  "Like this?"  Reaching for  her he grabbed both her wrists and pulled her against him.  "Or  this?"  Nuzzling her neck he gently bit down on her shoulder.

"Yesss..." Jess tilted her head back to give him better access.  Ant in an attempt to resist the temptation to sink her teeth into his neck, to claim him as a wolf would.  But even with his healing factor, and the immunity it supposedly offered, she wasn't ready to risk it. 

Instead she freed one hand from his grip.  "Or something like this," she said wrapping her arm around his back and slowly sliding it down.  "Or this."  Reaching his ass, she dug in lightly with her nails and squeezed.

With a soft moan Logan mirrored her actions while finding a soft  spot on her neck and sucking.  Soft at first, swirling his tongue  along her flesh while his hands gripped her ass and pressed her  against his hips.  As his heart rate rose he sucked harder, his  nostrils flaring as he picked up the scent of her blood.

A sudden vision of her bruised, broken, and bleeding body swept  before his closed eyes.  He started, pulled away to look at her and  blink.  There was blood in the air.  But different than hers, he  tested the air as he pulled away towards the hall.

She had been moaning and pushing against him, then suddenly he was gone.  Jess stood there for a moment, looking vaguely insulted that he had left her.  Something had to be up.  He couldn't have gotten bored with her that quickly. 

Could he?

"What is it, Logan?" she asked, following him.  She tested the air as well, and caught the scent of blood.  "Where's that coming from?"

Logan felt dazed when he turned to look at Jess.  The blood, hardley  fresh, was conjuring an odd craving.  Seeing Jess he forced himself  to snap out of it.  Grabbing her shoulder and hip he kissed her hard  and long.  Conjuring a stronger craving than that for raw steak.

Breathing hard when the kiss finally broke he grabbed her wrist and  led her into the infirmary to the line of beds without any patients  occupying them.  Again the blood invaded his nostrils and again he  let his gaze wander to the back door that hid the supplies.  With  nothing short of a frustrated growl he sealed his lips onto hers  again, trying to remain focused and confused why it was so hard.

Jess didn't resist as she was dragged into the infirmary.  The blood smell was stronger here, and she was starting to react to it as well.  Feral instincts were awakening in her that would grow stronger until the passing of the full moon.  In fact, if she didn't know any better, she'd say that he was reacting similarly.

Instead she concentrated on kissing him back, nipping at his lips and her fingers clawing at his back.  If his kisses were any indication, he hadn't lost interest in her.  "What's going on, Logan?" she whispered, seeing confusion flittering over his face.  "What's wrong?"

"I..." Logan shook his head, rubbed the back of his neck as he felt the craving slowly subside.  "I wanted meat.  Raw.  That blood," he was staring at the door to the other room as he trailed off and returned his gaze to hers.

"Take my mind off it," his gaze at her full of want, his interest in her growing with the need for meat.  Pulling her close again he inhaled her scent before licking a nipple.  "Need you," he murmered in a husky breath.  The blood was still there, taunting him but he had other wants.

She growled softly, stretching up on tip toes to nip at his lower lip.  Jess melted against him, letting her nails just barely graze his skin, touches meant to inflame his desire and keep him very interested.

Her gaze was heavy lidded as she continued to nip at his mouth.  His scent as well as the blood scent mingled, making the feral side of her want to come out and play.  With the full moon approaching, that desire would only grow stronger and stronger.

Logan loosely embraced her as she enticed his senses.  She built the fire within his body until even the strongest, strangest cravings were ignorable.  Enjoying her teeth playing along his lips he caught her upper lip with a nip.  His claws popped free, running his fingers over her thighs.

He walked her backwards back until the back of her calves met one of the infirmary beds.  With one hand behind her shoulders he lowered her to the sheets.  His nipping became a much more desirous series of kisses as he pressed his crown against her slit. 

She had shivered at the brush of cold metal against her legs. And more so when the room tilted and she found herself firmly pinned beneath her lover.  Just as Logan had needed sensation, she needed something to focus on to hold back the more destructive animal instincts.  And he was giving her more than enough.

One leg arched up and around his hip, leaving herself wider open to his explorations.  Her hands clutched him tighter, fingernails threatening to become claws as she returned his kisses with a frenzied passion.

He could smell the change in her, hiding just below the surface.  And he wanted it.  It was wild.  Untame.  Feral.  He growled as he broke the kiss, biting her neck and collar bone.  The cool metal of his claws teased her belly, and the thigh lifted at his hip.

Easing part way into her was only another tease as he pulled back out to the crown.  Repeat the motion this time he eased out to rub his length along her slit. 

Jess let out a soft growl, this one of frustration laced with warning as she squirmed against him.  Her hips arched trying to get him back inside of her.  Back where he belonged.  Back where she wanted him.

Her hands slid down to his ass, kneading the muscles.  Jess dug in with her nails to encourage him to thrust inside of her.  Not that she didn't enjoy him rubbing against her.  She just wanted more.

Logan growled something of a challenge, nipping along her jaw as she squirmed against him.  As she kneaded his ass he wanted to give it to her, needed to.  Fast and hard.  But he held his will, growling again as he bit down on her shoulder.

Bringing one hand up he cupped and pressed his palm against a breast.  His claw tips reaching out from his knuckles to tease her neck.

There was a thrill of danger that ran through Jess.  If she moved her neck just so, his claws would slice into her tender flesh.  And if either of them startled, he could decapitate her.  She was pretty sure she wouldn't regenerate that.

But there she was also growling in response to his challenge.  But the claws at her neck prevented her from doing much other than slide the ball of her foot up and down his calf teasingly.

Bending his head Logan licked at the indentation of her collar bone, swirling his tongue into the crevice.  Moving his hand he ran the smooth back of his claws over her breast before setting both hands on the bed to either side of her shoulders.  She had answered his challenge so he moved the tips of his claws away from her jugular.  Raising his head he locked his gaze with hers. 

Claws away from her neck was all she needed.  She had answered his challenge and now it was time to issue one of her own.  In a fast move she gathered her legs under her, palms flat against his chest.  She gave a grunt and then pushed with all her might...

...and managed to reverse their position so she was now on top.

Fiercely she grinned at him before inching backwards, sinking onto his cock, just as she had wished earlier.

With a feral grin Logan gripped her hips and thrust up into her, burying himself to the hilt in a swift motion.  Grinding their hips together he released his grip on her to sit up half way, tangling one hand in the back of her hair to pull her into a demanding kiss.  He liked it when they got rough and he was going to push all of her buttons.

After a moment to adjust to his invasion, she began to move up and down on him.  Her fingers still dug into his chest, curling like claws although they didn't break his skin.  She met his kiss with equally demanding nips on his lips, though she retained enough control not to break his skin. Healing factor or no, she didn't want to repeat that set of worries over again.

She was still restraining herself.  The feel of her surrounding him, up and down, only drove his lust to smell his blood on her lips to higher levels.  This strange obsession with blood was doing more than making him crave raw steak, it was sexual.  He needed it.

"Why do you hold back?" he moaned against her lips.  "Taste me, Jess.  I need you to."

"Can't," she whispered against his lips.  She was shaking with need, wanted so badly to give into his request.  Still she moved her hips on him, and her breath was coming heavier.  She nipping at him between the words, nails scratching at his pectoral muscles and lightly over his nipples.  "Can't risk Changing you."

He could feel his climax fast approaching.  Still, between panting breaths, he argued with her.  His words came slightly slurred as he kissed her neck "My life,"  ear, "wouldn't be," mouth, "that different," jaw.

With a demanding growl Logan bit into her shoulder.  The flood of her coppery tasting life onto his tongue sending him over the edge, erupting into her with a muffled moan.

She wasn't certain which it was that freed the beast within - his words or his bite.  But Jess found herself spontaneously Changing, even though the full moon wouldn't be until the next night.  With a snarl she bit into his shoulder deeply, teeth scoring against adantium sheathed bones as she shuddered in ecstasy  above him.

Logan's head flung away from the wound he had given her, a loud and ecstatic moan released from his bared teeth.  He clung at her, fingers feeling and digging into the fur.  The pain of her canine teeth against his bones, the pleasure of her body coming down and around his.  This was Logan's heaven.

Returning his mouth to the gash buried in her fur he sucked and lapped at the wound inbetween moaning growls.  "Jess," his voice was anything but human as he moaned her name.  Not many women could take what he wanted to dish out, and the ones who could always got seconds... or thirds.  He could already feel his body reacting to her blood and her feral animalism.

Jess' wound was healing, much as she could feel his trying to around her fangs.  She let go, but licked at the wound as it regenerated.  Deep down, she had a feeling that she was going to regret biting him again, feel guilty if he did Change like she did, but at the moment it didn't matter.

"Logan," she growled softly.  Almost despite herself, her tail thumping against his thigh as she rubbed against him.  The feeling of his fingers tugging her fur was a new sensation, one that she hadn't had considered a possibility before.

His wound tickled and tugged beneath her licks.  These were the best wounds, deep and to the bone.  They hurt when they sealed, at first.  And then they tickled.

A parted lip smile came to play across his face as the wound finished sealing.  "Thank you," he sighed, looking up into her wolfish gaze.  He still clung to her thick fur, hands now petting and stroking up her neck.

A slow smile stretched across her muzzle, something the muscles there weren't accustomed to do.    One ear twitched as he reached the base of her skull, but her tail still wagged slowly.

Her claws lightly traced up his chest, tip circling around the nipple.  She raised small welts,   She could only really feel his skin on the pads on the tips of her fingers and the larger one on the palm of her hand, but she did like the pressure created by her fur being rubbed and preened.

Logan closed his eyes at the feel of claws on his skin.  Still he threaded his fingers in a scratching motion up to the back of her ears.  Opening his eyes he felt along up the curve of each ear to the tip and back down again. 

To her shoulders his hands reached past fur to massage.  It was strange to have his mate covered in fur and yet it was... accurate.  Like something he dreamed of and yet could never have. 

If she had been a werefeline, Jess would have been purring.  She hadn't thought she would have a lover who accepted her for what she was.  That Logan seemed to get turned on by her in fur was a plus to her

Her eyes fluttered shut as her arms slipped around to scratch his back softly.  With her longer muzzle, kissing was going to be tricky, but Jess gave it  a try, nibbling along his jaw first before sucking lightly on his lip.

Closing his eyes Logan nibbled back along her thin wolf lips, felt her canine tips brushing along his lip when he tilted his head.  Parting his lips he felt the smooth bone of her canine with the tip of his tongue.

Opening his mouth he invited her tongue to play with his.  Hands caressing the sides of her head and neck as he leaned up into a sitting position and still had to tilt his head back to kiss her.

It was a different sensation to kiss him like this.  Her muzzle wasn't flexible enough to seal against his mouth.  So she was rubbing the front of  her muzzle against his lips as her tongue tangled with his.

Her claws slipped up and over his shoulders and then back around his back.  She kneaded the muscles there as she rubbed her chest against his.  Her tail lazily slapped against  thigh as  she practically tucked her chin against her neck to be able to kiss her lover.

The sensation of her claws and finger pads against his flesh, her thick fur, the short whiskers and long teeth teasing his lips... he realized he had let her dominate him.  And very willingly so before she was even in this stronger, larger form.  It took a different kind of lover to make him to that without realizing it.  It took a mate.  With the same animal instincts coarsing through her that did through him this was the first time he felt on equal ground with a lover.

Pushing against her as she rubbed her chest along his he tipped his head to make their tongue tango a little easier on her neck.  Reaching around he gripped one of her wrists and guided it back front to lay it along his throbbing thick. 

Her fingers wrapped around him carefully, being certain to keep the tips of her claws away from the tender flesh.   It felt odd to only feel him on the slightly callused pads on the tips of her fingers and across the top of her palms. 

But it didn't stop her from stroking his length.  He accepted her for what she was, which was making her more and more comfortable with her alternate form.  Something that only a mate, and not a lover, could do for her.  Whimpering with pleasure, she continued to stroke him, squirming against him.

Her touch made him gasp with longing.  Nipping at her lower jaw he moved his hips against her strokes.  She was igniting much more than desire in him.  He could hear her breathing, her heart beating in her ribs.  Her scent overwhelmed him.  And underneath it all he again smelt blood.

Trembling, a low growl emitted from his throat.  He fought for control as his body tensed but he wasn't sure about for what.  With a sudden burst of need he flipped her on her back, straddling her hips and lowering into her.

Jess let out a grunt as the breath was knocked out of her lungs.  Her claws shifted around his back and dug in, clawing the skin.   Growling she nipped at his neck, teeth not breaking the skin.

Her hips canted, arching to welcome him deeper inside of him.  She stretched around and then squeezed Logan.  His growl was answered by one of her own.

She was stubborn, he gave her that.  But if she had already bit him twice it was hopeless now even if the change got past his healing factor.  Driving himself into her he set a fast, hungry pace.  He stared at her with a challenge written on his face, lips slightly bared. 

Though it appeared a hasty execution it was a careful and long-learned control of his claws as he released them, barely grazing the fur of her shoulders as he stabbed them down into the bed.

The cold feel of metal whistling past her startled Jess and she yelped before biting into his shoulder.  Instinctively her teeth locked, holding her body against his more firmly.  All the while the sweet pressure was building between her legs, threatening to spill over at any moment.

Logan gritted his bared teeth at the pain, his face burried in her fur he closed his eyes to welcome the pleasure.  Pushing harder, faster, he felt her inner walls quiver and squeeze him tighter.  With grunting moans as he was assaulted with extreme pleasure from one end and white hot pain on the other he pushed over the edge.

As he felt her climax, hot slick and tight around him he moan loudly to fall with her.  Exploding deep within her he thrust through the orgasm until it ebbed. 

Two things were life affirming for Logan.  The pleasure of sex.  And the pain of torn or tortured flesh.  These made it clear he lived.  That he breathed and was human, not some creature.  He celebrated life with the pleasure and pain of life and death's brinks. 

She remained tightly wrapped around him.  Her body sang with pleasure, but Jess' face was blushing brightly under her fur.  He may have been okay with her biting him, but she was not.  It was the third time her control had slipped, the third time she had let her instincts override her self control. 

Jess forced her jaws to release, tongue lapping at the wound as the flesh pulled back over the puncture wounds.  Her claws retracted slightly, leaving scratch marks as they pulled out of his flesh.

Panting, Logan sat astride her, head held to one side as she cleaned his healing wound.  There was something worrisome in the way she lapped at it this time.  Turning to look her squarely in the eye Logan retracted his right hand claws and brought it up to the side of her face.

Stroking the fur beneath his thumb he searched her worried eyes.  "Jess..." he felt a twinge of guilt for making her do something she did not want to do, and worse- he made her do it by tapping into her instincts, not her will.  He wasn't sure what words, if any, could sooth her now.  "It's not your doing, if it happens."

The blush grew brighter as the fur melted and her muzzle retracted.  "Is it?" she asked, not looking at him.  "It wouldn't happen  if I hadn't..."

She pulled away from his touch, but buried her head against his shoulder.  "What if you didn't have a healing factor, Logan?  What if it had been somebody else?  All it would take is a nip, just me breaking the skin.  Wouldn't it be my fault then?"

Logan embraced her as she pushed into him.  He rubbed her back slowly, hands slowing and then stopping when he couldn't find the right words. 

"Jess, life itself is one big-if." He paused again, taking her shoulders to push her back, his hand holding her jaw firm to catch her eyes.  "The people in this building have to deal with what-ifs every day.  You are not alone.  What if Cyclops visor gets knocked off?  What if Rahne loses control of her shifting again?  What if Beast and Nightcrawler's holograms short circuit in public?"

"It's NOT their fault and it's not yours," he spoke sternly, eye brows furrowing as he held her gaze for another moment and then released her jaw.

Jess stared him in the eye for a moment before nodding once.  She wasn't certain she believed it, but he apparently did.  And if he didn't blame her if, and it was still an if, she had Changed him, then she would try not to blame herself.

She let out a soft sigh and leaned against him.  "We need to figure out a safe place for me before moonrise," Jess said.  "I won't be able to control the Change, and I don't want to run the risk of hurting anyone."

Logan stroked the back of her neck lightly, absently tracing the hair line beneath her short locks.  "We have lock up cells used for the tougher of our problem makers.  I'm staying in it with you, Jess.  Part of you coming here is to work past your fears of your abilities.  Maybe we can figure something out," he wasn't taking no for an answer.  If worse came to worse she'd have Xavier in her head every full moon to help her control it.

Jess managed to give him a half smile. "I really hope so, Logan," she said. She didn't want to get her hopes up, that there might be a way to keep from going completely berserk when the full moon rose.

She leaned into his touch, her own fingers scratching lightly over his chest. "So is there anyone else I should meet before having to go into lockdown?"

"You have plenty of time to meet the team later," Logan cocked his head.  "And Chuck's busy... we should arrange a meeting soon though." 

"Do you need some clothes or should I just have a clean set waiting outside of the cell for when it ends?"  He freed her legs from his own and moved to sit beside her.

"Probably outside would be best. The Change really does a number on clothes," Jess said abit regretfully. She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. Not that she enjoyed the feeling of cloth
tearing as her body shifted forms, but clothing provided some sense of humanity as she slipped further into the animal.

"Is there going to be anyone else watching?" she asked. "They used to observe me every shapeshift." That would be unnerving. It was bad enough to be watched by people she marginally knew. But a complete
group of strangers seemed even more threatening to her.

"No.  There are security cameras but we only use them when a gaurded mutant occupies the cell, usually with mutant-gift dampers and state of the art cuffs and collar as well."  He chuckled softly, knowing what it sounded like.  "I'll let Chuck know what will be happening so there won't be alarm if some one stumbles in on the scene, he'll keep the room empty for us."

"Do you need to eat before hand?"

She smirked lightly at his description of the cell, wondering if the cuffs and collars were used even when a dangerous mutant wasn't in the cell. "Eating wouldn't be a bad idea," Jess said. "The Change burns
through a lot of calories, so food before and after would be good. Especially rare, or raw meat. Anything with a lot of protein."

Her fingers tickled along his jawline. "Let's get something to eat, and then go settle in one of those cells? Maybe we can play around a bit until the moon rises?" Jess asked with a coy grin.

"A wolf with the sexual appetite of a hare," Logan nipped at her fingers with a soft growl.  "And we'll play.  Remember that bath I promised you?"  Logan grinned, flashing his teeth more than any other would.

"We should dress, don't need to frighten the children... our raw steaks will do that just fine."  He threw her a pair of blue scrubs.  "Need ta get ya some fresh, untorn clothes..." the look on his face read 'so I can tear them again'.

Though paper thin, the scrubs would do until they got upstairs to their rooms.

After they dressed Logan left an extra change of clothes for Jess just inside the stairwell for their return.  Then he retrieved their steaks and put them in to thaw.  Though not the freshest, it was fast.  The steaks thawed into juicy, plump, sopping wet mounds of muscle and fat.  They glistened in the red light of the stove that had warmed them and their odor soon filled the kitchen as Logan brought them out from the oven's steaming maw.

Jess inhaled deeply, mouth watering. As far as she was concerned, as long as the steaks weren't ice cold, they were edible. The wolf in her growled hungrily, although she didn't give voice to it.

Instead she softly murmured, "I am going to behave like a civilized person and eat this with a knife and fork. I am not going to tear this apart with my fingers and fangs." She looked up at Logan with a humorous gleam in her eyes. "Do you believe what I'm saying? Cause I don't."

"Not one bit," Logan chuckled.  With a tilt of his head he regarded her and then retrieved a plate to nudge both their steaks onto.  "Let's eat some where a little more private, something tells me I'm not the only one associating food with sex right now."

With a promising look directed at Jess he led the way back down into the 'basement' and to the confinement chambers.  Setting her extra change of clothes just within reach through the bars Logan then unlocked the door and gestured his mate within. 

She had been okay with the idea of being locked up for the duration of the full moon. It would be safest for everyone - she wouldn't hurt anyone in a feral rage, and she wouldn't be hurt by people trying to contain her. Intellectually, she was fine with the idea.

But when Jess actually saw the cell, vaguely reminiscent of the large cage she had been kept in, she froze. She knew it was a completely different situation, and if she needed out, she would be let out. But Jess could not voluntarily step forward.

"Jess...?"  Logan laid the plate down and took a step towards her.  She was pale, staring at the cell, unmoving... Logan gently squeezed one shoulder, stepping into her view and blocking the cell out.

Locking his baby blues onto hers he rubbed her upper arms.  "Jess, it's okay.  We can find another way to pass the moon."  With his healing factor he had no complaint chasing her and otherwise keeping her too preoccupied within the woods during her shifting to harm any others.

Jess focused on his eyes, her breathing slowing down ash the memories receded. "I'm sorry," she said, stepping forward to lean against him, blushing with shame as she hid her face in his chest. "I thought I was okay with the idea of being locked up. But I guess I'm not."

"What other choices do we have?" she asked. "I don't think it would be wise for me to stay in the mansion. Too many risks and trouble for me to get into."

Logan stroked her short locks.  "The danger room has more space for you to run, or I could try and keep you preoccupied out in the woods."  Logan understood the fear of cages, if not from personal experience than from other X Men and X Women. 

"If we went deep enough you might not meet an unlikely victim, just me."  Her short locks between his fingers felt strange when he remembered how her fur felt, how much stronger and thicker it was.

Jess nodded. "The woods would probably be best." She was still worried that some how she'd escape the Danger Room and then go on a bloody rampage through the mansion. Hopefully they could travel far, fast and deep enough into the forrest to be left alone. They'd deal with her claustrophobia some other time.

She leaned against Logan, soaking up warmth and reassurance and comfort. "Didn't even think to ask Rahne how she deals with it," she muttered. The other shifter had to be feeling something similar now that the full moon was almost upon them.

Logan chewed the inside of his lower lip.  He had brought Jess here to deal with her problems.  Exactly the word she used.  Rahne had her own ways, usually by running away or having Xavier aid her once a month, but her ways might not work for Jess.

"The woods then," Logan rubbed her back reassuringly before seperating and fetching their steaks.  "But first we eat," he took her hand and guided her to the floor where he sat.  He sat the plate on the other side of him, away from Jess.  Popping one claw he chanced her a small, one sided smirk before cutting a sliver.

"Only if you're a good girl," he held the sliver out for her, leaning in and watching her with intense and husky blues.

Jess' eyes followed the meat. "Want me to beg for it?" she said with a smirk. Her animal instincts were demanding that she snatch it out of his hand. The closer it got to the full moon, the closer the wolf in her came to the surface. Without realizing it, she crouched with her feet, arms balancing, ready to spring.

"Only if ya want," Logan chuckled, watching her crouch and tense.  He tossed the sliver into the air, wondering if she'd catch it.  He sliced another chunk from the steak for himself before holding up another for her.

"Jus' don't bite the hand that feeds ya, darlin'," he laid the morsel on his thigh.  "Or the thigh," with a grin.

Her eyes tracked the arc of the tossed meat, and her hand snatched out to grab it at the apex of the curve. Jess forced herself to wait a second and then slowly chew the meat instead of gobbling it down. She also had to resist the urge to lick her palms clean.

Looking up as he spoke again. Then her eyes focused on the strip laying on his thigh. Crouching over his leg, she gingerly picked up the bite between her teeth and chewed and swallowed. Then she bent back down, a teasing smile on her face. This time she gave into the impulse to lick her plate clean.

Logan shivered as the moistness from the sliver and now from her tongue seeped past the thin cloth and against his flesh.  Reaching out he stroked the back of her shoulders before reaching for another bite himself.

Shifting his position slightly he grunted at an odd throbbing in his spine.  This time he held the sliver for Jess in his own teeth, the raw juices dripping down his chin and neck.

Not wanting to let anything to go to waste, Jess crouched in front of him. She leaned forward balancing herself with her hands on his thighs and started to clean his neck. The moon was coming close to rising soon, and her fangs were extending as were her claws. There was a slight growl as she snapped her teeth shut on the end of the meat, cutting it neatly in two.

She chewed rapidly and swallowed. And then dove for his mouth again. Jess kissed him in short violent hips, her claws digging into his thighs and shredding the thin scrubs.

Logan's jaw throbbed as he gnawed on his own half.  The pains in his back had migrated, though he was much too ... involved to mentally take notice.  A subconscious and quick rubbing of his fingers over his other hand's knuckles as they itched.  Then she was on him, claws and fangs and a violent lust in her kiss.

Logan hoped he judged her actions and reaction right, that it was now or probobly never.  Feeling for the plate he slid it away and towards the adamnatium bars of the cell before he took both her shoulders in a firm grip.

Pressing into the kiss, he moaned as his grip on her tightened, bringing her closer as he then reached for her legs and brought them around his waist.  With half a stumble he palmed the control pad and then fell into the door, kiss breaking from the jar and sudden jolt of pain as his hands and knees hit the floor.

Jess squawked in surprise as she found herself in the cell, firmly locked in. Squirming out from underneath him she lunged for the door just as it slammed shut. In half a panic, she turned to face Logan, panting heavily, fingers clawing at the floor.

Logan rubbed at his arms absently, the pain disapearing slowly.  "Jess," he tried to keep his voice level, soothing, like speaking to a spooked horse.  "You'll get through this.  There are no scientists, no needles, no chains and no experiments."  Kneeling he crept closer to her, beckoning with one hand.  "Just me.  I'm not leaving you.  Nothin's gonna hurt you."

Jess remained crouched on hands and knees. She may have looked human, but the wolf in her was definitely in charge. At first she cringed away from his hand, as if expecting to be hit and crab scuttled to one side.

Slowly, the human recognition returned to her eyes. Shivering, Jess launched herself towards him, not in anger, but in shaky fear. She'd be angry later on, once she was done being comforted. Jess snuggled into him, trying to get as close to Logan as possible.

Logan drew her in, though he didn't have to try hard- he just wrapped his arms about her as she pressed into his form.  "I'm sorry," he whispered.  He stroked her back, attempting to ease her shivering.

It was eating at him now.  That he had done this to her so soon and without first discussing it.  But sometimes you had to do just that.  THe anticipation of pain was far greater than pain itself, and if she had been worrying about this moment for days on end it wouldn't have much affect.

She remained trembling in his arms for several minutes, trying to pull it back together. Even when living with the wolves, she hadn't stayed in an enclosed space or lair, preferring to stay out in the open in a semi-sheltered thicket or scrub.

Slowly her claustrophobia faded as she became aware of a tingling across her skin and a growing tenseness in her muscles. Jess pulled away to look in Logan's eyes. "It'll be soon," she said. "Maybe in five minutes. Can't promise that I won't attack you."

"I'd be worried if you didn't," Logan smiled.  He gritted his teeth as the base of his spine throbbed, like sharp and quick needles slowly working their way up his back.  He didn't want to think about why these sudden jolts of pain were happening, nor admit them aloud.  Not when Jess was so certain it was her fault.

He pulled her close, masking his discomfort in the warmth of her kiss.  He had to admit that much, her shifting abilities turned him on.  Even if she did try to rip out his jugular in 5 minutes.

"I'm gonna lick ever inch inch of you when this night is over," he grunted at the last word, hands and wrists shaking as the muscles surrounding his claws spasmed.

"Sounds nice," Jess said, not noticing his condition. She was too concerned with her own. "It's moonrise," she was able to choke out before clenching into a ball. With a cry that became a snarl, her muzzle pushed out. teeth sharpening into fang. Her fingers shortened and claws extended. Her skin tingled with a pins and needles
sensations before her fur exploded from every follicle.

Panting heavily, she looked up at him, snarling and tensing, barely holding back her impulse to attack.

The last image Logan had before the pains in his own body grew to blinding proportions was of Jess' feral face glaring up at him, tense and ready to spring.

Then he knew nothing but blinding, white hot pain.  His spine whiped and arched his shoulders to the cold floor.  Knives shot up his leg and he rolled a eye towards his feet, trying to see them before another knive of agony shot him between his eyes and mouth.  Ears, skull, arms, claws, hips, tail bone... everything with jagged knives tearing through muscle and bone.

Groaning, howling with the pain his vision turned red as the pain drove him into a blood lust.  Claws sprang out from furry knuckles even as his stubby and padded hands grew their own.

The wolf in her was surprised not to see a human as she had expected, but another furry creature. Not human, and her instinct wasn't to kill it on sight like a human. Instead it was to assert her dominance, to make the other submit to her.

Ears flat against her head and hackles raised on her shoulders, she snarled a challenge, side walking and not letting looking away for one moment. While the human in her wailed in guilt.

Logan was a pile of fur, muscle, and blood lust when he heard the challenging snarl.  With instincts taking over he forgot about the pain, forgot that he'd never walked or crawled on the new digitigrade legs before, forgot who Jess was and squirmed onto all fours.  

With a growling bark he leapt to tackle her, both sets of claws out and aiming for her shoulders.

And Jess snarled back, meeting his charge. But not in the expected way. Cunning instincts took over and she acted almost without thought. Seeing she was about to be bowled over, Jess dropped her shoulders, letting his claws harmlessly pass above them. Her clawed hand/paws grabbed the loose fur covering his chest, bringing him closer.

Hitting the ground on her back, she pulled her legs under her and shoved upwards with all her strength. With the extra weight, she barely completed the somersault that flipped her and Logan so she was now on top. Still snarling, she snapped her jaws, trying to get a hold on his neck.

Tucking his muzzle down to his chest Logan hunched his shoulders as he fought off her snapping maw with his forearms.  His hind paws scratched at her hips and abdomen, attempting to get beneath her to kick. 

With her full weight on him and his arms busy fending her off he didn't have much in way of leverage.  With a grunt he slammed a wrist into her jaws, forcing it up so she had no choice but to either choke on it or rear her neck away.  Twisting his jaws to the side he clamped down on her bicep.

Jess threw back her head with a pained yelp. Instinctively she pulled back, feeling a large chunk of fur, and perhaps some muscle tear away.  It was of no matter. She'd regenerate her wounded flesh in a matter of
minutes.

Limping, she stepped away. Her eyes never left him as she circled, trying to keep her wounded side away from him. Though the instinct to dominate was still there, it was tempered now with the knowledge that this was her mate. Still, that didn't mean that she'd let him chew her to a bloody pulp.

Logan's sensitive nose was finally flooded, and seemingly jump started, at the scent of Jess blood.  With that came her other scents.  With those came his own, some what new.  He got to his feet and turned to face her. 
With some succession he turned his exposed gums and teeth to just exposed canine tips.

Shaking his head as if to rid himself of the red blood lust clouding his mind and vision he snorted.  He attempted to speak her name, sounding more like "Greth" with a muzzle, teeth, tongue and nasal passages he'd never once spoken with.

Jess sat down, facing him squarely. She wasn't surprised by the garbled name. It was difficult for her to speak around tongue and fangs, but she gave it an attempt anyway. "Rogawn." Standing up, she took a couple of mincing steps forward and lightly nuzzled the corner of his jaw.

The nuzzling turned to a few soft licks and a gentle grooming. It was as much to reassure him as to give herself a little time to calm down.  She was shaking inside, guilty over having bitten him, trying to fight the feeling that this was all her fault, that she had cursed him much as she was herself cursed.

Logan flicked an ear as he leaned into her grooming.  Glancing down he caught sight of his arms and legs, part of his toes.  Seeing them for the first time he raised one arm and hand up, turning it.  His fur was a dark brown, his claws white.  The fur was short but thick.

Further examination would show his ears smaller and more rounded than a wolfs, a yellow streak down either of his shoulders-to-hips, a short and bushy tail, slightly longer fur across his shoulders and back, and yellow marks above each eye.  His muzzle wider than a wolfs.

Still, he was completely wolverine.  Yet not a wolf.  Somewhat between, somewhat neither.

Wiggling his fingers witht he thick pads he turned to Jess, reaching up to scratch and rub at her left ear.

Almost despite herself, Jess' tail started wagging. She shook her head though as her jaw popped back into place, making faces to make sure it was now working right. Then she turned to look closely at him.  "Logan?" she asked, able to talk properly now.

She had done this to him, but not completely. He wasn't a wolf, but something else. She recognized the wolverine aspect of him, which puzzled her. Anyone who was bitten by her should be a wolf as well, not another creature. Carefully, she nuzzled his cheek, nto sure what to say.

Lacking the skills to manipulate his new muzzle and vocal chords Logan tried to tell his mate in other ways he was fine.  In fact he was more than fine.  

Butting his head playfully into her shoulder he shuffled closer to her shaggy body.  Turning his head from side to side he rubbed the top of his skull down her bicep and across to her side.  Lifting his muzzle he buried his nose in her back fur, inhaling deeply and nibbling close to the skin. 

Jess stood still, almost in shock at the sensation. In the wild, the only physical contact she had was with the wolves was dominance fights. She had never been groomed before, never felt the gentle nip of teeth tugging lightly her fur or the rasp of a tongue so close to her skin. And her tail started to wag, indicating she liked it. Turning her head, she nipped at his shoulder, shyly returning the favor.

Moving his head up Logan kept his nose and teeth and tongue sniffing and nipping and licking until he reached the base of her ear.  He muzzled her ear, her scent stronger as he neared her facial scent glands.  

Rubbing his cheek against hers he nibbled at her jaw while his clawed hands stroked her shoulders and back.  Pressing his shoulder to hers he licked her lips with the tip of his tongue, eyes hooded with a growing desire for his mate.   

The sensations he was creating were alien to her, but also very pleasurable. Claws digging through her fur, tips barely tickling her skin, sent delicious shivers through her frame. Turning here head slightly, she tried to lick him back as well. It was complete instinct, but also felt right to crouch slightly so her flanks were lower than his, her tail cocked slightly to one side.

Logan felt their tongues meet as she turned to lick his muzzle, causing a shiver down the middle of his back to his hips and tail.  He felt her crouch, his hand on her back moving lower as he turned to follow her scent.  His nose nuzzled her ribs, sides, hip, and then dipped lower to tease her between her legs.

Stroking her back and hips now he rose.  Hips pressed against her as he reached around to guide himself.  Stretching, he nuzzled her neck with a throaty moan as he pushed within her moist walls.

Jess trembled beneath him, surprised at both how strange and how familiar this felt to her. Familiar because he had been inside of her before, strange because she had never attempted sex while in a wolf form. And much to her surprise, she was finding that she liked it.   Experimentally, she flicked her tail against his legs in a light lash.

Gripping her upper arms Logan bit into her shoulder, scratching but not breaking her skin as he began thrusting with a tilt of his hips.  His grunt was muffled but there all the same, the tightness of her slick walls causing him a slow start.  He whimpered into her fur and gave himself over to instincts and pure sensation.

Jess braced her legs and tried to relaxed her hindquarters. The pressure from him inside of her, the scratching of his teeth and the tugging on her fur were all blending together into one pleasurable sensation.

Just a few days past had he been told he would find his mate, some one he could relate with on more than one level, be bitten by her and end up a wolf hybrid inside a holding cell... well, he couldn't say what he might tell that person.  This seemed so right.  So natural.  Something he had wanted for a long time, and yet hadn't known was there.

He could feel his climaz spiraling.  As he thrust faster he slowly straightened his spine as his hands came to rest on her hips.

She could feel cool air brushing across her back, all of his heat now concentrated in and around her hind quarters. His fingers digging into her hips felt... the only word that fit was right. The pleasure was growing sharper and sharper until it spiked through her. Trembling in ecstasy, Jess threw her head back and let out a heart felt howl.

Logan's hips jerked as she came, beginning his own climax as he released his seed into her.  He continued thrusting, slowing, drawing them out until he was spent.  Trembles coursed him as he withdrew to lay beside his mate, half on his side and half on his back he exposed his neck to her.

She sank down against the floor of the cell, legs sprawled beneath her. Jess' nose pressed against his throat, jaws parting. Her tongue lightly lapped against the skin as she nuzzled him gently. One paw shifted to rest on top of his.

Logan's eyes slitted in contentment near his mate.  Moving his paw he took hers between his stubby padded fingers, his other lifting to stroke her side, burying within the deep fur.  

Lifting his head he rubbed the side of his face along hers, nipping at her ear and cheek.  His hand came from her side to her face, feeling the different shape of her jaw and muzzle.

Jess turned her head to rub her muzzle along his. Her tail thumped lazily as she snuggled closer to him. She let out a little whine as she slipped her nose beneath Logan's jaw and nudged it lightly.

The tender moment was interrupted by a rumble in her stomach. With a sigh, Jess lifted her head, feeling hungry and looking around for any of the meat that they had been eating earlier.

Baring the tips of his teeth Logan nipped her ear, tugging on it as he got to all fours.  The cell was not large, and now it appeared even smaller.  With a snort Logan reached between the bars for the plate that had earlier been slid up against them.

Gingerly he retrieved the steak to lay it at his mate's front paws.  Licking her nose he then lay down, eyes rolling up to watch her while his nose lay a few inches from the morsel.

Jess' mouth was watering. The bloody scent of raw meat tantalized her sense of smell. But before she started devouring it, she tore it roughly in half and nosed a piece towards him. Only then did she began to shear off pieces of steak and eating.

Logan watched her for a moment.  For once admiring her dark, thick fur.  It was longer than his, shaggy.  But on a wolf "shaggy" was just beautiful.  The way it moved with her.  He wanted to dig his fingers and claws into it again, feel it move against his fingertips.  

After a moment his nose got the best of him.  With his eyes still on her he ate, tearing off chunks of the steak while he drank her in. 

After literally wolfing down her share of the meat, Jess yawned and licked her jaws. A wave of drowsiness, caused by the combination of the fight, the sex, the food, and the Change swept over her. She snuggled closer to her mate, and nuzzled the short fur behind the corner of his jaw.

FIN  

stay tuned for a continuation