Logan and the Wolverine
Part of the Born for Greatness 'verse
This is just a mostly fun side story that features a lot more of Logan, as well as Logan and Liaison. Not part of the main plot.
Hee hee I am waiting to see how many of you screech over a certain detail.
Logan's been a loner for a long time, except for his kid. Has no intentions of expanding his pack. But sometimes things happen and he no longer has a say.
Warnings: Swearing, brief threat of violence, implied loss of parents/family, shifter dynamics.
Word count: 1.5k
The first time Logan caught the scent of another shifter in his territory, his upper lip curled in a silent snarl. He was not the most territorial shifter, not by far. But he valued his space, and he valued being respected.
So this? This set his hackles up.
But he wasn't a slave to his instincts, hadn't been for a long time. He was in a much better place now than he had been twenty years ago.
So he breathed in deep, squashing the urge to shift and follow the scent trail. Instead, he did his best to commit the scent to memory - the faint tang of shifter, the mildness of youth.
And then he continued on with his day. If he spotted this shifter, he'd pull them aside for a nice talk about etiquette.
(Which still made him laugh, a little. Him? Teaching others about etiquette? His kid really had changed him.)
The second time, a few days later, when he caught the scent near his trash bin, he heaved a sigh. Nope. Couldn't ignore that. Could be a dumb youngster trying to prank him… but it could also be a young shifter trying to find food.
Either way warranted a look.
He set off on two feet, letting his nose guide him. The scent didn't change, still young, still alone.
It wasn't until he crossed the boundary of his territory that he smelled more of this shifter. Criss crossing paths, layers of scent branching off in different directions… including through his territory away from the house.
The layers and complexity told him the shifter had been out here a while. The intensity told him he was getting close to wherever this shifter stayed.
He paused outside a clear den, small, a little wonky looking. Unpracticed.
Still only one scent.
“Aw, hell.” Logan heaved a sigh, putting his hands on his hips. His kid was gonna kill him.
–
“Logan?” You pushed open the front door, duffel bag in your free hand. “You're damn lucky I got a taxi.” The front door thumped shut behind you, and you took a moment to stretch out your shoulders and look around.
No sign of him. You frowned. This wasn't like him, not at all.
“Logan?” You raised your voice a little, moving further into the house, leaving your bag by the door for the moment. You'd move it later, no big deal.
You had one second of warning, one hissing growl, before you spotted the brownish blur. Instinct had you leaping onto the couch, and from there onto the side table. The brownish reddish blur hissed again and slowed enough that you could see properly.
A wolverine. But not your wolverine. This one was notably smaller, coloring more red than Logan's coat.
“Shit.” Logan followed the younger wolverine in, reaching down fearlessly to scruff the youngster. The youngster yowled, wiggling in his grip. “Cut that out.” Logan flicked the youngster on the nose.
“What the hell.” The table under you creaked as you shifted your weight, but you didn't take your gaze off of the young shifter.
“I can explain.” Logan pulled the shifter close to his body, shoulders a little hunched.
“You'd fucking better.” You breathed in slowly and eased down from the table. This time, you refused to flinch when the shifter growled at you.
“Cut that out.” Logan flicked the youngster's ear this time. “I told you, she's my kid. Gotta behave around her.”
Your eyebrows practically hit your hairline. “Logan?”
He blew out a slow breath, looking down at the shifter currently gently gnawing on his thumb. “Found her northwest of here, bit outside my territory,” he explained slowly, still not looking at you. “On her own.”
You nodded slowly. “How old is she?”
“Younger than you were.”
The words hit you like a brick to the chest. For a moment, you couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Could only hear the echo of slamming doors and shouting.
You breathed in, the world settling back into place. This youngster needed Logan, much the same way you'd needed Logan. She needed support and a stable place to stay.
“What's her name?”
“Laura.”
You nodded slowly. “Laura,” you repeated. You looked at her, noted the color of her, the size. She was small, even compared to Logan. Young. “Well, Laura, looks like you're part of the family now.”
Laura growled quietly, ears flickering even as she refused to meet your gaze. You didn't blame her. At her age, and having been alone already, she probably felt her position in the pack was precarious. Not to mention you were human, which could muddle things further for her.
So you didn't push.
“You're still lucky I got a taxi.” You fixed a disapproving look on Logan instead.
He just grunted, shifting Laura in his arms. “Yeah, yeah. You hungry?”
“Not yet. Figured I'd see what you have and cook dinner for us.” You carefully didn't mention the bottle of vodka you'd brought with you, as a gift from John, who had apparently gotten it from a Russian comrade. Didn't seem like a good thing to mention with a kid in the house.
This trip was going to be very different from what you'd thought.
Logan nodded, looking a little relieved. “Good. Thanks.” He strolled off, Laura still securely held in his arms.
You didn't let yourself feel jealous for more than a moment. Or two.
It didn't really matter once they were out of sight, anyway.
Breathing out, you shook yourself and went to work on dinner for the three of you. It would be fine. No problem.
It would just be different.
You wrinkled your nose and huffed at yourself. You'd just adapt and deal with it. No big deal.
You did startle when a hand landed on your shoulder, half-turning to look at Logan.
“You're lucky I didn't shriek,” you said, lips quirked.
“Good thing,” he agreed. “You alright?”
“Fine,” you said with a little shrug, not knocking away his hand.
“I know you didn't expect this,” he said slowly.
“It's fine,” you reiterated, more forcefully this time. “Of course you couldn't leave a kid on her own.”
He paused, brows furrowed as you turned your attention back to the stove. But he didn't press the issue. He sighed softly, and you barely heard his footsteps retreating.
You hated yourself, just a little bit.
But you didn't call him back, either.
Dinner was unusually quiet. Laura took one look at the soup you'd made and sat back, scowling fiercely. Dark hair fell into her eyes, and she made no move to push it aside. Logan ate two bowls of soup in contrast, but he also stayed quiet, darting looks between you and Laura.
It was all you could do to eat quietly and not scold either of them.
Maybe after dinner you'd look for a hotel in the nearest town. Laura needed Logan more than you did, and you doubted your presence in the house would help her.
Damn. You'd been looking forward to a relaxing week with Logan.
Laura slithered out of her chair and skulked away, shooting you one last distrustful look over her shoulder.
Which left you and Logan.
“You alright?”
The gruff question forced you to look away from your bowl, and you smiled even if it felt thin. “Fine,” you lied through your teeth.
He grumbled, shaking his head. “Don't lie to me.”
You snorted, rising from your seat and taking both your bowl and Laura's untouched bowl. “It really doesn't matter,” you deflected. “I'll wash up and go.”
“Go?” The hint of panic in his voice made you pause. “Where?”
“Find a place in town to stay.”
“Why?” Logan stood abruptly, chair nearly toppling but for his deft hand.
“What she needs is stability,” you told him, more or less patiently. “Especially if she hasn't been here for long. She needs to feel secure, safe. A stranger coming in out of nowhere, unannounced, isn't going to help.”
Logan frowned, shifting his weight. “That doesn't mean you have to leave.”
You shrugged. “I'll come back tomorrow, see if she'll get used to me.” Your lips twitched in something that wanted to be a smile. “Not like I'm going anywhere long term.”
Logan worked his jaw back and forth, clearly hunting for an argument, and coming up empty. Finally, he sighed. “Stay tonight, at least,” he tried. “I've got the bed ready for you.”
The offer was tempting. This place had always been comforting to you, a now-secondary home.
If only you were confident you wouldn't wake up with an angry wolverine on your bed, or that you'd do more good than harm staying.
“I'll think about it,” was all you allowed, finally starting on the dishes, turning away from Logan. “Better go check on her, make sure she eats something.”
That was enough to get him moving, but not the way you expected. Arms encircled you from behind, tight enough to make you squeak in surprise.
“You're important too,” he muttered, low and gruff. “You matter to me.”
You blinked, brain effectively blue screening.
“Stay.” Logan squeezed you, just a little, just enough to push the last of your air out. “Stay.”
You wiggled enough that his grip loosened, and then turned to hug him back. Hard. “Okay,” you whispered, voice thick. “I'll stay.”
