Author's Note: Hey everybody. It's been a while. Sorry about that. I really have no excuse other than life just got away from me there for a while. And I had the mother of all writer's block. Lasted damn near three months. But it's gone now and-for right now-my life is back under control.

So here is the third installment of The Mating of Two Souls. I hope you guys like it...

Enjoy!

Six months.

Nearly seven.

Jessica pretended it didn't matter, wanted desperately for it not to. But it did.

Logan's absence bothered her.

Almost as much as the burning just under her skin, reminding her that it shouldn't, asking her why it did.

She tried not to care. Tried so hard to rid him, and their night together, from her mind that at times it consumed her.

But it was impossible to ignore the impression the man had left on her.

And, no. She didn't mean the mark on her neck that all but tingled whenever she thought of him.

She was speaking of the memories of that night. The near constant yearning to be with him that tugged at the back of her head. The explicit fantasies that would put Jenna Jameson to shame. The nights she spent awake wishing she were in his arms just as she had been that night.

Jessica threw the wrench in her hand across the garage, the harsh clang of metal on cement falling on deaf ears.

Letting her head fall into her hands, she cursed herself. She was better than this, sniveling and pining after some guy. A guy that not only left her after their one night, but up and left the general vicinity of her. Probably the county. Possibly the state. Maybe even the country for all anyone knew.

Who the hell spends all their time wishing they could be with some loser that screwed them, left, and has shown no sign of coming back for seven months, she thought bitterly.

Sure as hell not her.

Normally.

And she couldn't figure out why that had changed. She was smarter than this, knew better than… this.

"Something the matter, my dear?"

Jessica's head shot up at the sound and she found herself looking at a rather large blue man in a three piece Armani suit.

"Nope." She shook her head. "Nothing at all, Hank"

She saw him nod his head as she used the car before her to push off from the ground.

"Thinking about our missing feral once again." It was a statement. Not a question. And that bugged Jessica. That the doctor knew her so well.

"No. Why would I think about that piece of…" She sighed and turned to face the mutant, one that had become a close friend in the past few months, behind her. "I never can't think about him, Hank."

He stepped closer. "I know, my dear."

She leaned into his open arms, blinking back tears of anger and frustration and loneliness.

"You know, Jessica, that I would help you if I could."

She nodded, trying her best to ignore the tearing in the back of her mind telling her that these were not the arms meant to be wrapped tightly around her.

I know, she screamed to herself.

She pulled away, silently telling Hank that she wanted to be let go, and moved back to the car.

Sighing, she ran her hand along the hood. Right now it didn't look like much. In fact, it kind of resembled a heap of metal. But Jessica could see the beauty in it, what the machine had looked like thirty four years before.

A part of her still couldn't believe she had dropped a small fortune on the 1976 Corvette. But, it's like her father always said. If you see a beauty, you have to take her home and take care of her.

He was speaking of cars.

And her mother, of course.

She smiled, just like always, when she thought of her parents.

"Have you named her yet?"

Her smile grew. Hank was the only person in the mansion who knew of the real reason she bought the car. To get her mind off of Logan. And he had supported her in her unsuccessful task all the way. Nodding, she answered, "Jocelyn."

"Jocelyn?"

"Yep." She looked at her friend, her hand never straying from the car. "It's a classy, beautiful name for what will soon be a classy, beautiful car."

He nodded. "Jocelyn it is." The two were quiet then, both lost in their thoughts. It was a few minutes before Hank spoke again. "How about we go inside and get some lunch. I believe Headmistress Storm said something about pasta." He turned to smile down at her.

She smiled back, touched that her friend remembered her favorite food group. "Yeah. That sounds good. Besides, Jocelyn needs a break. We've been going at this for hours."

Six months.

Almost seven.

And that damn animal had yet to shut the hell up.

Even the sound of his beloved bike wasn't enough to drown out the sound of its howling.

Though, Logan had no clue as to why it was howling. After all, he was giving it what it wanted.

He was going back to the mansion. And, as a result, her.

But apparently that didn't make the thing happy.

Well, he thought, that's just fine. 'Cause I'm not happy either.

Logan didn't want to go back. He wanted to stay as far away from that damn place for as long as he could.

He just couldn't take it anymore.

At this point, he would do anything- go back to Jessica, screw her again, even accept their 'bond'- just to shut the damn thing up.

He could swear he had been driven mad by the animal's incessant howling, the blind fury and heartbreak that it was always screaming about.

As the mansion grounds came into view, Logan let a feral growl rip through his body as the animal began a new round of astonished howls. Howls which were now accompanied by small, and if he might say quite pathetic, whimpers.

The thing didn't believe him, what was right in front of its own eyes.

Damn near desperate to show the thing that this was no trick, he flew past the gates and down the winding drive, pulling into the open garage with the speed of a bat out of hell. Practically falling off of the bike, he left his bags for another time and strode through the garage quickly, barely registering that a scrap heap on his way happened to reek of Jessica.

Once inside of the mansion, he realized that he did have enough sense to stop and find her scent before charging through the building.

He found her instantly and couldn't stop the deep breath he found himself taking. It was soothing, that smell that was only hers washing over him after over half a year of wanting her. Missing her.

He didn't know that he was moving until he opened his eyes to see the kitchen in front of him.

He did know, however, that he did not like what was in the kitchen.

Two people sat at the island, eating what looked like spaghetti, laughing, and getting awfully cozy.

And those two people were Dr. McCoy and his Jessica.

Another growl escaped him as the realization that he had referred to Jessica as his came upon him.

"Logan."

It was a gasp. He couldn't help but smirk. He would know that sound anywhere. After all, he had heard it enough that night.

He looked at her, ready to take her in, learn her by sight again but was robbed of the chance when the blue man next to her spoke.

"Logan. Welcome back."

He had to force his response for he was choking on a growl. "Thanks, Fuzzy." Deciding that he wasn't going to waste anymore time on the doctor, he turned to Jessica. "Jess. How've you been?"

He saw her throat move as she swallowed. "Just fine." Her shoulders were squared off, the skin around her eyes tense. She was uncomfortable.

He guessed that he couldn't blame her. After nearly seven months of absence on his part, he wasn't sure there was any other reaction to his presence.

"And you?"

She shifted in her seat, causing her scent to waft in his direction and almost send him into a frenzy.

She just smelled so damn good.

And the animal had finally, finally, quieted down.

Logan hadn't realized that he had yet to speak until Jessica cleared her throat.

"Fine."

Now his words were stuck in his throat for another reason.

He had never seen her like this before.

White tank top and blue jean shorts covered in black smudges that matched the ones adorning her skin. Freckles that weren't there the past winter covered her body. Her glasses were gone and he was thrilled to see that her jade eyes were bigger and brighter than he remembered them being.

She was breathtaking.

"That's good."

It was a whisper.

Her scent changed and he found himself missing the smell of her that night, when pheromones had bounced off of her skin in waves.

Because now, she was positively radiating anger.

Blind, repressed anger with just a dash of what he had no doubt was hate.

The bitter smell was vile, making his nose itch, and was only made more repulsive by the fact that it was now a part of Jessica's scent. And because he was the one that added the tangy flavor to his mate.

He had to fight back another growl. One because the damn thing was howling again, angered at him for causing Jessica that pain. And two, he had thought of her as his mate.

Logan's full attention was brought back to the pair as he saw McCoy put a hand on his mate's arm. The subtle nod of her head meant nothing to him. All he cared about was the other feral touching Jessica.

"What brings you back to the mansion, Logan?"

He shrugged, watching as she stood and took her plate to the dishwasher. "Felt like coming back."

Hank nodded. "Well, I'm sure we will all be very happy to have you here."

His only response was a grunt as he watched Jessica walk towards the door. Towards him.

"I'm going to go get ready for tonight."

"All right, my dear. And I am sorry once again that I had to back out."

She shook her head. "That's okay, Hank. I can handle 'em all on my own."

He chuckled lightly. "I'm sure you can. Tell them all I hope they have a wonderful time."

"Of course."

And then she was gone.

Gone without so much as a glance his way.

And it surprised him that the animal wasn't the only one mourning the loss of her glorious presence.

Jessica growled at her reflection.

She couldn't believe it.

When Hank had backed out of this evening, she had told Storm she could handle the kids on her own.

And she could.

There were only three of them, after all.

Two weeks ago, when Rogue had come to Jessica with the idea of a teacher taking the three members of the senior class out to a bar, she had been looking forward to it. They were high school graduates and, as long as there was no illegal drinking, she was more than happy to take them.

Especially since she had a feeling the small group would find a way to go out with or without a chaperone.

But now, she was absolutely dreading it.

Because instead of letting her take Rogue, Bobby and Piotr by herself, Storm had asked Logan to go with them.

And, of course, he had said yes.

So now she had to deal with him all night.

It was not an experience she was looking forward to.

But she didn't have to like tonight.

She just had to endure it.

Sighing, she put the finishing touches on her makeup before running her fingers through her now shoulder length hair.

Jessica still didn't know why she had cut over two feet of her hair off. Especially since with such little hair, it was so easy to see the mark he had left on her neck.

But she had.

And she had to admit that it did feel good to not have all that extra weight on her head.

She shook her head, making her way out of the bathroom attached to her room. Looking down at herself, she mentally checked everything, making sure she was ready.

Hair.

Makeup.

Teeth.

Jewelry.

Clothes.

Shoes.

Money in left pocket.

Phone in right pocket.

"All right." She walked over to the table just inside her door and grabbed the keys to the mansion Excursion. "Let's get this over with."

Closing the door behind her, she left the room and walked down to the rec room where her former students should be waiting for her.

And they were.

But someone was no where to be found.

"Where is he?"

It was hard to keep the venom out of her voice and she knew that she barely succeeded.

"He said he would meet us in the garage."

Jessica nodded at Rogue. "Then let's get going."

As the four of them made their way through the halls of the mansion, Rogue caught up with her.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded again. "Of course. Never better."

Rogue gave her a leveled look.

The girl really was too insightful for her own good. But then again, how could she not be. She had lived six lives, all of them tragic in their own respect, not including the one she was living now.

She sighed. "All right. That's not true. But tonight's about you guys. So I'm just gonna put that aside to the best of my ability."

The younger woman tried to hide her smile but failed.

When the group got to the garage they found Logan leaning against what the students had lovingly dubbed the X-Mobile.

Just the sight of him there made her heart beat faster and butterflies to awaken from their slumber and flutter around her stomach.

And that infuriated her.

"Everyone get in the truck."

Jessica prayed that her voice wasn't as hostile as she thought it was.

Bobby, Piotr and Rogue quickly climbed in to the oversized vehicle.

But Logan stayed where he was as Jessica made her way to the drivers side.

"Sure you don't want me to drive?"

She rolled her eyes. "Naw. I think I can handle it."

He shrugged before getting into the passenger seat.

Taking a deep breath, she got behind the wheel and started the ignition.

God… Please help me get through this night.

She was beautiful.

He knew that he was supposed to be trying to stay away from her and he wanted to.

But he found that he couldn't.

When Storm had asked him to tag along tonight, help Jessica keep an eye on the kids, he had wanted to say no.

Had meant to say it.

His mouth had been open to say that exact word. It was right on the tip of his tongue.

But for some reason a different word had come out.

Yes.

The animal deep within him hadn't quit purring since the meeting with the school's headmistress.

And he couldn't blame the thing.

Because she was beautiful.

She was standing at the bar, passing out drinks to the newest graduates of Xavier's, laughing, smiling.

Something about her that night was radiant. She seemed to glow and Logan realized that this was most likely her.

He just hadn't seen it.

Before that night he had paid her no attention at all, forced himself not to. And after, she had been angry, hate oozing from her every pore, and it had dulled her personality.

But now, with the students she obviously considered her friends and away from him, she shone bright.

"Shit."

This wasn't him thinking like that.

Radiant?

Shone bright?

That had to be the damn animal, who was too busy watching her contentedly to realize the distance between them.

Logan shook his head, trying to knock the thoughts away, get his mind as far away from the animal as possible.

Unfortunately, it didn't work. The thing's thoughts still leaked into his own and as a result he couldn't think of anything but Jessica.

The angry growl, which he was trying his best to keep quiet, morphed into something different, bitter and jealous, as he watched another man walk up to his mate.

Talk to his mate.

Laugh with his mate.

Touch his mate.

He was out of his chair so fast, with so much force, that the legs screeched against the wood floor as he set off through the crowd, intent on getting to Jessica.

Letting the scumbag sitting next to her know who she belonged to.

As he reached the bar, he cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the two people in front of him.

Jessica groaned at the sight of him there, hovering next to her.

But the man beside her stuck out his hand for Logan to shake. "Hey, man. I'm Paul."

Logan merely looked at the much younger man and Jessica sighed.

"Paul, this is Logan."

The sound of her voice sent shivers down his back. And it pissed him off.

He found that he couldn't place that on Jessica and decided to instead take that anger out on Paul.

It was a decision made much easier when the man before him spoke again.

"Are you Jessica's father?"

His hand tightened around Paul's and a menacing growl rumbled through his metal bones.

Jessica was quick to react, throwing her own hand out to touch his wrist, a silent plea to let go of the innocent bar patron.

He continued to growl but let go of Jessica's friend.

"Logan's a friend of mine from work."

Paul nodded, cradling his hand against his chest.

Jessica looked over at Logan, eyes tight, and he knew she was trying to figure out what had wrought such a reaction from him.

"I think I should get back over to my friends. Let you two talk."

Logan looked over at the other man, barely able to keep the feral in him under control.

"Good idea, bub."

Paul retreated, leaving a seething Logan and an angry, confused Jessica alone.

She grabbed his hand, which he noticed was so much larger than hers, and dragged him across the bar, depositing him at the table he had been sitting at not five minutes before.

She sat across from him.

And said nothing.

He took the quiet time to calm himself, breathing deeply, in and out.

It wasn't until his breathing had lost its ragged edge that she began talking.

"You wanna tell me what the hell that was about?"

"He was touching you."

"Your point?"

He shrugged. "He was touching you."

"It was just my arm."

"He shouldn't have touched you."

"And you care why?"

"Because."

She paused, waiting for him to continue.

He didn't.

"That's all that you're gonna give me?"

Logan nodded.

"So you stalked over to the bar and man handled a guy who just happened to be touching my arm just… because?"

"Yeah?"

The feral winced when the word came out, knowing that it had been a question instead of the statement it was supposed to have been.

"Uh huh. Do you honestly expect me to believe that?"

He looked at her.

"You wanna try being honest with me?"

"I didn't like that he was touching you."

She sighed. "And why didn't you like that?"

"Because…" He took in her calm demeanor and knew instantly that she was being way too calm. He could see the anger slithering under her skin, boiling in her eyes.

"Because?"

He let out a breath, trying to think of a way out of this conversation.

But the animal was whispering to him, putting other ideas into his head.

She needs to know. She belongs to us, Logan.

He shook his head, hoping that Jessica was ignoring him at that moment. Or that she knew he wasn't saying no to her.

Yes, Logan. Tell her. Tell her that she has to be ours.

He wanted to growl, really let the animal know what he thought of it, but resisted, afraid that Jessica would think it was directed at her.

She has to be ours… We're hers.

"Logan. Are you gonna answer me? Why's it matter?"

Tell her, Logan. Just tell her.

"Because you're mine!"

He blanched, watching as what little expression on Jessica's face disappeared.

"Excuse me?"

Well, he thought, there's no turning back now.

"I said…"

She cut him off. "I'm yours."

He nodded. Surely it wasn't going to be this easy. He was sure that she would fight it, be angry, something. Maybe she just wasn't as feisty as he had originally thought.

"I'm yours?" She paused and Logan thought she was done.

She wasn't.

"Where the hell do you get off telling me that I'm yours? You think one night gives you the right to claim some sort of ownership of me?" Her voice lowered and Logan found that she could sound pretty menacing herself. "You think one night gives you the right to treat me like your property? Like a damn piece of meat?"

The animal was cackling in his head, humored by Logan's doubt.

I know how to pick a mate…

"Jess…"

"Don't Jess me." She scoffed. "I'm yours." Her hands fell flat against the table as she leaned forward and he could see them shaking. "I'm not yours. I'm not anyone's. I belong to myself and I refuse to sit here while you play like your some sort of chauvinistic caveman."

She stood, making her way across the room, heading straight for Rogue, Bobby and Piotr.

Jessica exchanged a few words with the three and then Rogue was running towards him.

"Hey. Jessica said we need to go."

"Why?"

"Because. It's gettin' late and Storm is making us do some Danger Room training in the morning."

Logan nodded and followed the young southerner out of the bar.

The ride back to the mansion had been hell.

She was forced to sit next to Logan and she couldn't stop thinking about the conversation they'd had in the bar.

She just couldn't get over the audacity he had.

"Because you're mine!"

Those words wouldn't stop floating around her head.

She had meant what she had said. She belonged to no one.

And yet, there was a part of her that shivered at the thought of belonging to the handsome feral.

She wanted to wrap her hands around her own neck just to kill that one little part of herself.

Running her fingers through her hair in frustration, she watched as the three teenagers, all of whom had crashed on the way home, trudged out of the garage.

She would most definitely pity them in the Danger Room tomorrow.

Which reminded her of the thank you she was planning on giving Storm.

The Danger Room had been the perfect escape tonight.

"Jess."

Or not.

She pushed away from the X-Mobile and started for the door.

"Jess."

She continued walking.

Until a hand on her arm stopped her.

"Jess. I just want a minute." He turned her to face him. "Just let me explain."

Ripping herself from his grasp, she crossed her arms over her chest. "You've got one minute."

He nodded. "Okay. So, I'm a feral."

"Really?" Sarcasm dripped from her voice, but she didn't care.

"Let me finish?"

She sighed, nodding.

"I'm a feral. I'm much more man than most ferals, but there is still an animal inside o' me. And it's territorial. Possessive."

Rolling her eyes, she asked, "And what's that got to do with me? You've gone and whored around with plenty of other women and I don't see you chasing them around. Tryin' to put 'property-of-Logan' signs around their necks."

"You're different."

She scoffed, incredulous. "Please."

"It's true. You- you're the only one I've ever bitten."

She still couldn't figure out what his angle was. This wasn't making any sense at all. "So I'm the first to get the brunt of your kinky side. That doesn't mean…"

He stopped her by raising his hand. "I'm not kinky. Well…" He smirked. "Not usually."

"I've had enough of this." And she turned to go.

"Okay. Okay." His hand was on her arm again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"What are you trying to tell me Logan?" Exhaustion, most of which was caused by the man in front of her, was beginning to come over her.

He lifted his other hand to her neck, gently fingering the mark left by him a few months ago and a part of her reveled in it.

And then something inside of her snapped and she felt him.

Not just his touch or the weight of his gaze.

But him.

She could feel his brain working, trying to come up with the best way to explain all of this to her.

She could feel his frustration and anguish.

And under that she could feel something else stirring restlessly in the back of his mind, just under the surface.

Something primal.

And powerful.

And she could feel the claim it held over her.

Mine.

Jessica wrenched herself away from Logan, her breath heavy and uneven.

"What the hell was that?"

He looked down at his feet. "The animal."

"But- but that thing… it…"

"It thinks you belong to it." He looked at her again. "Us."

"I don't understand."

"Your our mate. My mate."

She shook her head.

"Yes. You are. All ferals can mate. But they only mate to one person. And they mark that person so that everyone knows they belong to someone."

Her hand lifted to her neck, fingers laying where his had been just moments before.

He nodded.

"I'm…"

Again, he nodded.

"What- what does that mean?"

Her breathing had evened back out, but she was still terrified.

Shocked.

Tired.

"I don't know. I'm sorry… I don't."

Her hand still on her neck, his mark, she turned away from him and left the garage.

She couldn't deal with this.

It was too much.

How was she supposed to…

It was all a dream.

That's what this was.

Just some bizarre dream.

She would wake up in the morning and this whole day would just be some twisted dream.

Hell, maybe that night six, almost seven, months ago was part of it.

It was all a dream.

It was easy to believe if she ignored the voice in her head saying otherwise.

It's not a dream. You're mine. And I'm yours. We belong to each other.

All she had to do was ignore that voice, get into bed and the whole thing would be a dream.

Including the promise she barely heard Logan make.

"I'll fix it. I swear. I'll make it go away."

Author's Note: That was the third one. Did you guys like it?

I hope so.

Review?

I'm working on the fourth one. So it should be up soon... ish. I'll get it up as soon as I can.

Thanks for reading!

Writing Rebel