Taming a Beast

I woke up the next morning, my body aching due to how quickly I had healed myself the night before. I got up from the bed slowly, thanking whatever higher power there was that it was Saturday, meaning there was no school and that the kids would most likely be out of the house, either playing sports or outside or going on field trips to the mall and other places without the city, none of which I was in charge of.

I walked to the serene courtyard, which was at the north end of the mansion. The mansion itself blocked the noises from the fields and courts on the south end of the mansion, where the majority of the kids would be either testing out their powers or strengthening themselves through games. I sat down and thought about all that had happened last night, and mostly about how Logan was right.

I sighed and got up, going back into the building to find Logan. I was trying to figure out how exactly I should word it, and I was trying to force myself to grow more comfortable that I was about to admit that I was wrong. Usually even when I knew I was wrong, my stubborn side shone through and I would insist that I was still right. But when my relationship with Logan was in jeopardy because of my ignorance, it was time to push my pride aside.

I was not surprised to find Logan searching for something to eat in the kitchen. He turned around slowly to face me, then closed the fridge as he leant against it. He gave me a careful look and said, “How may I help you?”

“I’m so sorry I flipped out on you last night,” I said softly to him, meeting his eyes. His expression fell softer, and he took a few steps towards me. “You know that I hate not being able to do something on my own, especially fight. I feel weak when I have to have others help me, and I hate that more than anything.”

“It’s alright,” Logan said, putting one hand around my waist and the other on my face. His thumb stroked over my cheek slowly, and his eyes bounced, taking in every feature of my face. “I’m the same way, and you know that. If the roles had been reversed, I probably would still be sulking about how I couldn’t take them on my own.”

I laughed a bit, relaxing now that I knew he wasn’t upset with me. He surprised me by saying, “That’s such a beautiful sound.”

I laughed even harder, crying, “You are so lame!”

“Take that back!” He growled playfully, beginning to chase after me. I took off down the hallway, screaming and laughing as I hurt Logan grunting after me. He might have been the fastest runner back in the day, but I beat him in races all the time now, and I knew that made him furious, which made it even more fun for him to be chasing me.

I made it outside and was running towards the forest when I heard something fly through the wind. I ducked behind a large stump and saw a needle fly into the tree I had been running in front of moments ago. I yelled behind me, “Logan, watch out!”

“You can’t trick me that easily, Shiloh!” Logan yelled back, a chuckle in the back of his voice. I heard another needle fly through the air and saw Logan enter up on the scene. He saw me squatting and froze, his eyebrows furrowed as he sniffed the air, his head turning towards what was probably the source of the weapon.

Then, he took off through the brush.

“Logan, no!” I yelled, jumping up and running after him. More needles came my way, and I dodged them, still yelling after Logan. “Now’s not the time to be a hero!”

“I’m protecting you,” he yelled back. “I consider that to be my job and my thrill.”

I stopped yelling, conserving my breath and energy when I heard Logan’s claws and heard grunting. I ran through the brush to a small clearing, in which three bodies now lay. Logan looked back at me, wiping his claw on his thigh, then looked back down at the bodies.

Suddenly, someone tackled me from above. I screamed as four more fell onto Logan. I shifted and lashed out, slicing through three of them with Lady Deathstrike’s claws. I took two off of Logan and he took the other two. The two I took began stabbing me with large pieces of wood, pinning me down as I pulled them out, my legs not healing fast enough. Logan pulled the two of them off of me, and I shifted down as Logan finished the last two off.

“Magneto will find you. It’s only a matter of time,” one muttered before Logan silenced him for good. He rushed over to me as I groaned in pain, the wounds resealing themselves. He gave me his hand which I squeezed as hard as I could, wanting to get the pain out.

After I was done healing myself, I was exhausted and sore. Logan picked me up, bridal-style, and I didn’t argue as he carried me to the hospital wing. The moment my back hit one of the beds, Hank and Jean were attending to me and Xavier was questioning Logan about what had happened. Then, he asked to speak to me alone. Logan refused to leave, so Hank and Scotty had to pull him out themselves. Whatever Xavier was about to say to me, I took it that he wanted it to be kept top secret.

“You’re extremely lucky that Wolverine has been there to protect you the last two times you’ve gotten attacked,” Xavier said slowly, in that thoughtful way of his that made you wonder what he was truly thinking about.

“I know I am. I’m just extremely lucky that Logan’s always there to protect me,” I said, watching Xavier carefully as he rolled closer to my bed. His eyes locked in mine, and I knew he was reading my mind. It didn’t feel like an intrusion like it did when he tried to change my actions; instead, it was just a slight twinge in my mind and a forceful reminiscing of moments that had happened in the past.

Xavier pulled back, taking his mind out of mine. His lips fell into a thin line, and he sunk into the back of his seat, letting a little breath escape his mouth. “Just as I thought.”

“What is?” I asked him slowly, surely giving him a wary look.

Xavier looked at me, probably judging whether or not I was strong enough to handle whatever he was about to throw at me. He let out another breath before saying, “You’ve so thoroughly impressed Magneto that he wants to capture you and replace Mystique with you. Mystique has no idea of it yet, but she knows Magneto thinks of you as a strong weapon and will do anything to capture you, even if it is leading to her own demise.”

“So all of these people that have been attacking me, talking about rewards Magneto’s offering... it’s so he can make me a Brotherhood member?” Xavier nodded slowly, looking solemn. “But how can he do that? I mean, I can understand if he wants to capture me, but he can’t make me a Brotherhood member unless he has a mutant on his team that’s a brainwasher. I would never join their cause in a million years.”

“You can find that the Brotherhood members, Magneto especially, can be very... persuasive, to say the least,” Xavier said, seeming to choose his words carefully. “I think you have the strength to resist him to a point.”

I cocked one of my eyebrows. “What do you mean, to a point?”

“Well, Magneto’s infamous for using the people you love as leverage to do whatever he wants you to do for him. He’ll take the lives of Logan, Rogue, Jean, Storm, Gambit, Scotty, even me, long before he’ll give up on you,” Xavier said, reaching over to grab my hands. “You must stay strong, but also protect the ones you love. Keep that in mind.

“Now,” Xavier said, his voice entirely changing tone, “I believe Wolverine would like to see you again.”

The door opened and Logan rushed in, looking around for any imminent dangers. Xavier rolled up beside him and said, “Logan, please take Shiloh back to her room. She needs to lay down for the night.”

Logan nodded dutifully, then came to my bedside as he helped me out. We walked slowly back to my room, since my body was still quite sore from the fight. Logan helped me lay in my bed, and he laid down next to me, looking at my body and my face as he stroked my hair. He said, “Xavier told me not to ask you what the two of you talked about, so I’m not going to. I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“I was more worried about you, running into the fight like that,” I murmured to him, letting my fingers slowly trail over the contours of his muscles. “You’ve got to think things out more often, strategize and whatnot.”

Logan sighed, letting his head fall down to my chest. He kissed my skin there, and said, “We just need a day to ourselves. These past few days have been pretty stressful.”

I smiled, my fingers squeezing at his neck. “I’d love that.”

Logan sat back up, pulling me up with him as he pressed his lips to mine, very gently. I pulled him tighter to me, my lips parting a bit so I could breathe in air and not have to separate from him. Logan pulled away from me, searching my face again, and he sighed.

“Tomorrow night, we’re going to go to a hotel and we’re going to have a very nice, very relaxing night of our own. I’ve already okayed it with Rogue, who said she’d cover for us and plead our case if needed. But we need this badly, especially you. With Magneto chasing after you, you need a night to just relax and not worry about mutants attacking the place you’re at. You deserve that much,” Logan murmured, kissing the inside of my wrist and then pulling my arm so it rested on his shoulder. His hand covered my rib, and my fingers locked in his hair.

“Thank you,” I whispered to him. He nodded and lowered himself down, pressing his lips to mine, lengthening the kiss as long as he could before pulling away. He got off the bed, and I sat up to watch him leave. He stood in the doorway, and I saw a soft smile cross over his face.

“I love you,” he whispered to me. I had to restrain myself from jumping up from the bed and pulling him back down, taking his shirt off in one rip with it. Instead, I swallowed and gave him a smile back.

“I love you, too, Logan,” I whispered before he closed the door, leaving me in the darkness thinking excitedly about what tomorrow would bring.