“Logan,” the Rogue gasped, her dark eyes going incredibly wide. She stood up slowly, Hunter still in her arms.
“Daddy! You got away from the monsters!” Hunter cried, a wide smile on his face. He turned back to the Rogue, bouncing up and down. “Mommy, Daddy got away from the monsters!”
“Ah can see that, sweety,” the Rogue whispered, her voice very strained.
Hunter’s head swiveled around and came to rest on Erinne who was now standing beside Logan. He arched an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side. “Daddy, who’s that?”
Logan was about to answer when he felt Erinne press herself up against him. She grabbed onto his arm, nuzzling her face against the appendage.
“The name’s Erinne,” she purred then brandished her left hand, complete with wedding ring. “I’m Logan’s wife.”
“No yer not!” Hunter screamed, squirming out of the Rogue’s arms and sliding to the ground. “Daddy’s married to Mommy! Daddy loves Mommy! He told me so himself! He loves Mommy! Not you! Yer a bitch!”
Logan opened his mouth to speak, but the Rogue acted first.
“Hunter Jason MacKenzie! Ya do not say that word,” the Rogue chided, kneeling down in front of the little boy. “No matter how much they deserve t’ be called names, ya don’t do that. Okay?”
“Okay,” Hunter agreed, scowling in Erinne’s direction.
The Rogue placed a kiss on Hunter’s forehead. “All right, sweety, Ah want ya t’ go back in yer room. Ya stay there with Chase till Ah come get ya. Can ya do that?”
Hunter nodded his head, frowning slightly. The Rogue gave him a kiss on the forehead again then he turned and scampered to a door on the opposite side of the room. Hunter stood up on his tiptoes in order to turn the knob. He glanced back at the adults one last time before disappearing into the darkened room.
Logan, Erinne and the Rogue remained perfectly still until the door shut again. As soon as the door was closed the Rogue rose slowly to her feet, keeping her eyes trained on Logan and Erinne. Her robe had shifted a bit from being crouched down and Logan got a glimpse of creamy white thigh.
“Who’s the bitch?” the Rogue demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. “An’ what the fuck is she doin’ in mah home? She doesn’t belong here? An’ if ya chose her over yer family, Logan, neither do ya.”
“She’s here to help me take Hunter and Chase away from this place,” Logan informed her.
“Over mah dead body!”
“I think that can be arranged,” Erinne hissed, advancing further into the room. She cocked the gun and held it level with the Rogue’s head.
To Logan’s complete and utter amazement, the Rogue didn’t so much as flinch at that. Not even when the gun was pressed flush against her forehead.
“Ah don’t know how ya got him t’ believe that he’s yer husband, but it ends now,” the Rogue said calmly, nothing about her betraying any fear.
Erinne snickered quietly. “I’ll say. You’re gonna be dead in a few moments, slut. What do you think of that? You won’t be able to protect your beloved children when you’re dead.”
“That’s what you think.”
With a calmness that Logan couldn’t even fathom, the Rogue raised her hands and placed them on Erinne’s cheeks. Logan had no clue what was happening until Erinne began to tremble. Unable to see either of their faces, he wasn’t completely sure what was going on. Until Erinne let out an ear piercing scream and fell to the ground.
“What the fuck did you do to her?” Logan roared as he rushed to his fallen wife’s side.
“Ah did what Ah had t’, Logan,” the Rogue informed her, slumping down onto the couch she had been sitting on when he had originally entered. “Ya can’t seriously expect me t’ give up my sons without a fight. Ah’ve loved those boys since the day ya told me Ah was pregnant.”
“You expect me to believe that I knew before you did?” Logan demanded as he cradled Erinne carefully in his arms. “I thought that it was the woman who was supposed to know first.”
A ghost of a smile appeared on the Rogue’s face. “Ya could sense them. Right from the start. Ah think ya told me that ya could smell mah hormones changin’ cause Ah was pregnant.”
“That didn’t happen,” Logan insisted. “That couldn’t have happened. You’re just trying to fuck with my head!”
“No, Ah’m not,” the Rogue told him, tears shining brightly in her eyes at that moment. “An’ if it wasn’t fer that bitch trickin’ ya, ya’d know it too, Logan.”
“She’s my wife,” Logan stated firmly.
The Rogue shook her head. “Ya’ve never been married t’ her, Logan. Ya couldn’t have been married t’ her. She’s too young. ‘Sides, she’s the reason ya can’t remember anythin’ ‘bout the past twenty-one years.”
“Tw-tw... twenty-one years...?” Logan stammered, staring at her in shock.
“It’s been twenty-one years since ya escaped from those sadistic government doctors that gave ya yer metal skeleton,” the Rogue told him.
The most frightening part about it was that all of Logan’s senses were insisting that she was telling the truth.
“That’s not possible,” Logan mumbled, bringing a hand up to his temple.
The Rogue slid to the ground and crawled towards him. Logan could only sit there shaking as she reached a trembling hand out towards him and lightly ran it through his hair. The familiarity of the gesture brought tears to Logan’s eyes.
“Ah love ya, Logan. Nothin’ is gonna change that,” the Rogue murmured, bringing his head forward to press a kiss against his hair.
Their eyes met for a moment when the Rogue pulled back and Logan couldn’t help but whimper. His head was in turmoil. There were just too many blanks in his memory. He didn’t know what to believe. Who to believe. Erinne was his wife, but she had lied to him. The Rogue was his enemy, but she was telling the truth.
With a loud cry, Logan pushed himself to his feet and bolted towards the window. Not pausing for a second, he dove through it and flew through the air.
“LOGAN!”
The Rogue’s voice reached his ears just as he landed on the grass below with a cat’s grace. Glass showered down around him, but Logan paid it no mind. He scrambled to his feet, his hands becoming cut and torn on the glass as took off running. Logan had to get away. As far away as possible. He had to sort out all of the conflicting information in his head. At the present, it was one big mass of confusion with only one clear thought ringing out.
Hunter and Chase were his sons.
A part of Logan wanted to believe that the rest didn’t matter. He could survive the rest of his life not knowing anything about himself or where he had come from. It was just a bunch of names and faces that hardly every meant anything to anyone.
Logan tore through the surrounding forest, hoping to find some way that he could escape. There was no way that he would be able to think clearly if he was anywhere near Xavier’s hideout. His sons were there. So was the Rogue.
Not counting the fact that the Rogue was his sons’ mother, Logan could sense that there was something else between them. Marriage seemed like a little much, especially since he already had a wife, but there was something.
Logan, please calm down. We mean you no harm.
Logan skidded to the ground at the sudden invasion in his mind. He stumbled and staggered for a few feet as he struggled to catch his balance and continue on.
Please understand, Logan. This is your home. You are safe at the mansion.
The only thing that Logan could think of to do was growl. Perhaps, if the real people were close enough, he would be able to stop them from messing with his head. It was confusing enough without the English voice that popped up out of nowhere. It sounded familiar and Logan was almost sure that it was Xavier’s voice.
One more reason to hate the man.
“Get the fuck outta my head!” Logan screamed, cupping his hands over his ears as he ran.
Logan--
As the voice returned, Logan called out automatically, “MARIE!”