Dreaming the Wolf, R, 10-23-09, Chapter 23 and Epilogue

[purplemoon123]

WOW!!! Love this interlude. So Serena has her own pack to worry about. Interesting, very interesting!!!

Chloe Sullivan might be the salvation of them all. And Lana Lang was intrinsically linked with them.

So who are they going to try and take???

Can't wait for Chapter 16 even if takes awhile.

[dagney]

God- this story truly is epic, the angusih you can make the reader feel in a few paragraphs. Yikes I hope Chloe and Lex can help these people. Dagney

[SVfan1286]

Fantastic interlude Ava!

It's heartbreaking to hear about all those people who have been experimented on. Whoever is behind it all is truly sick.

I love that Serena is trying to help them though. She could've just focused on revenge for those behind her condition but instead she decided to help people just like her too. She maybe 'evil' and have done some horrible nonforgiving things but she still does have compassion and a heart. I love how complex her character is.

I look forward to reading chapter 16!!

[somethingeasy]

“There is nothing heavier than compassion. Not even one's own pain weighs so heavy as the pain one feels for someone; for someone, pain intensified by the imagination and prolonged by a hundred echos.”

wow! This was an amazing chapter! And this quote… I did NOT expect a quote like this to be attached to Serena of all people. This chapter was insightful and a revelation about Serena, and I felt a LOT of pieces falling into place with the plot in general as well as Serena’s personality, psyche and main motivating factors.

She walked through the halls and occasionally heard little whimpers of pain. Serena also heard scatterings of laughter. There were whispers of reassurances of parents to children or vice versa. Some of them were doing well. Too many of them weren’t. Some of their number had no one to comfort them. She clenched her hands in anger and frustration.

I have to admit, I was seriously confused with the opening chapter. I assumed that Serena was walking through a lab filled with some of her personal mutant test subjects, so I was quite puzzled about why she seemed so worried about their well-being and comfort. Since when does an evil monster of a mad scientist care about her guinea pigs so intensely?

When she had first freed him, he was still normal. She had only thought that he was like her. That eventually he would find some sort of balance, but it had never happened. His body kept changing in an endless flux. His screams had been more than any of them could take, but she had stayed with him. Serena refused to even entertain the thought of locking him somewhere away from everyone and letting him do this on his own, and she couldn’t bring herself to kill him. It would’ve been a mercy, but she was weak.

I finally started to get an inkling about what was Serena’s real role amongst these ‘lab freaks’. She wasn’t experimenting on them… she was helping them!!! After all this time, after everything we’ve learned about the lengths she will go through to get vengeance and achieve her objectives, I find out that Serena actually has an honourable, caring, altruistic and even a noble and heroic side to her nature. That’s AMAZING, Ava!!!

The end result was what was before her now. His legs were like tree trunks that were bent backward to allow for a quadruped form. His arms were incredibly muscled and looked vaguely like a gorilla’s. They were lined with veins that stood out against his dark skin. Ricky’s hands were elongated and he had retractable claws. Everything about him screamed brutal, bloody death. His ears were elven and his face was angular, the beginnings of a snout. The thing that broke Serena every time she looked at him was his eyes. They were still full of intelligence and awareness. Ricky knew everything that was happening to him. His mind was intact. He hadn’t gone crazy. His eyes were the reason why she couldn’t kill him. Somewhere deep down he still had hope.

The poor, dear sweet boy! This description made me cringe! It wasn’t just the fact that his entire being looked hideous, but also the fact that it felt like he was in such PAIN! I can’t imagine that a body can be twisted up like that and he would NOT feel agony while walking, talking, sitting or even while trying to sleep. Does the boy even manage to sleep without sedatives soothing his twisted limbs?

The other scientists were at odds. Some of them felt that since the gorilla was so close to humans that his change should’ve been more fluid than anyone else’s. Those who disagreed posited the notion that the closeness of the gorilla and human was precisely the reason it was taking so long. The human body was confused and at odds. It knew it should recognize what was happening but it also knew the changes were foreign; the body was so much more conscious of the fact that it was the wrong form.

This was fascinating, and it filled in a LOT of the blank spots about all the conspiracies centred around Smallville, Serena, Lex and Chloe. I still haven’t got a clear picture, and I still can’t even begin to guess what’s going on with Lana… but I can make some guesses about what’s the deal with Chloe and Serena being changed into half-wolves.

For a good long while, I kept wondering ‘why wolves’. It sounded like some geeky scientists had watched too many horror movies and just got it into their heads to try grafting wolfy instincts onto humans with a bit of a meteorite cocktail to ‘see what happens’. But now I see it was a great deal more methodical than that.

The scientists who messed around with Chloe and Serena experimented with a LOT of different people and animal combinations before hitting on the right combo for these two women. I don’t know how many failures there were before Chloe and Serena ‘happened’, but it’s obvious that Chloe and Serena really lucked out surviving these experiments. Not only surviving, but even getting all the benefits that were grafted onto them.

Now I have to wonder… how the HELL did Chloe and Serena manage to escape the facility they were being held in?!?? If these two were the only successes produced by the scientists, how the heck did they manage to escape from the holdings, instead of being held on like a pair of treasured prizes?

My only guess is that the scientists had no way of knowing that Serena and Chloe were successes? They were probably experimented on, and then released into their ‘natural habitats’ to see how things developed? In that case, someone is going to come back wanting to collect Chloe, aren’t they?

She recalled what Dr. Benson had said, “If you put cold water in the freezer to make ice, it will take longer than if you put hot water in the freezer to make ice. There is a long detailed reason as to why this is true, and if you are interested, look up the Mpemba Effect. Suffice it to say that we believe that something similar may be happening here. We think he’ll finish eventually. We’re missing something, Serena, something important.” That statement had firmed her resolve. Chloe Sullivan might be the salvation of them all. And Lana Lang was intrinsically linked with them.

Poor Ricky! I can see why gorilla DNA would have sounded like a great idea for a combo in theory, and it was really fascinating hearing Dr. Benson’s theories about why it didn’t work practically. Poor Ricky got the short end of the stick… but hopefully he’ll turn out ok at the end of his agonizing ‘puberty period’.

And the observation about ‘Chloe being the salvation of them all’… wow! So THIS is the main reason Serena wants Chloe? She wants to see what went right with Chloe, so that she can apply the same ‘cure’ onto the other DNA splicing experiments? Actually, this sounds like a very noble and just reason for wanting Chloe… and I really can’t imagine why Serena feels the need to kidnap Chloe to get this done. Surely she knows that Chloe would cooperate the full way if it meant saving innocents?

Hmmm, how come Serena is not also ‘the salvation for them all’? Is there some imperfection in her DNA splicing too? Is Chloe truly the ONLY successful subject from the vast number of combo experiments?

Ricky grabbed ‘Transformers’ from her hands, “Yesss!”

“Oh, I see how it is. Do you think we can still watch ‘The Incredibles’ though? I haven’t seen it and Jill tells me that I’m missing out.”

Ricky bobbed his head up and down. He didn’t know why she thought that he wouldn’t want to see it again. He would watch anything twice for her. Besides, he really loved that movie too. He shoved the movie at her. Clearly he wanted to get the show on the road. As Serena was about to put the movie into the DVD player, Ricky stopped her.

I really loved the description of Ricky. He’s obviously got monstrous proportion and dangerous levels of strength… but he’s still such a gentle and sweet little kid. And so adorable too! I loved that he was willing to turn down Transformers to watch Incredibles just to accommodate Serena. There aren’t many pre-teen boys willing to give up watching Transformers for anyone. And I also loved how Serena wanted to see Incredibles with this little boy… it’s obvious that she adores him, and loves his company. She genuinely cares for him.

I’m seriously LOVING these layers you keep piling onto Serena, Ava! Damn, you’re making it HARD for me to hate her!!

Tommy was Ricky’s best friend here, but he was currently in observation. His hearing was overwhelming him. He needed to be sedated and placed into a sound proofed room until his hearing equalized out or they could fit him with special ear plugs.

I really appreciated this mention of ‘Tommy’. For one thing, it was nice to know that Ricky has a friend in this facility, and it was also helpful to give a face to another suffering patient in Serena’s charge. It sounds like she’s giving help to a lot of innocent people who NEED it. It’s mind-boggling how Serena can be so noble and so monstrous at the same time.

As Ricky cuddled next to her on the couch that was also in the room, she felt content. Serena ran her hands through the fur that was growing thicker. The repetitive motion soothed him, but it also soothed her. Touch had become so much more important since she could feel even more so than when she had been a normal human.

This was why she would be relentless and ruthless. Serena would spare nothing and no one. Her soul and peace of mind was a small price to pay if it meant that this didn’t happen again.

“No cost is too high.”

I loved the note this interlude ended on, Ava. It really show us the loving, doting, mothering and caring side of Serena’s character. Just like I’m always amazed seeing the nearly ‘pure’ kind of love Kale holds for his beloved girlfriend, it also astounded me to see the purity of the love that Serena has for these kids. AND that the kids return to her.

Why hasn’t she approached Chloe and solicited her help openly instead of playing all these games around her. She could have gained Chloe’s absolute cooperation by showing her what she was hoping to achieve… instead Serena has made herself a formidable pair of enemies in the Sullivan/Luthor team.

[Avalanche]

A/N- Well guys, here is probably what a lot of you have been waiting for. I hope it works for you. Two things: 1) skauble hasn’t been feeling the best and can’t be my beta anymore, so thank her for all the work she’s done because it's been phenomenal; and forgive me for any mistakes, 2) chapter naming convention changed because I think this can be called the beginning of the second act.




Chapter 16- Consequences of Risks





“What I want is to be needed. What I need is to be indispensable to somebody. Who I need is somebody that will eat up all my free time, my ego, my attention. Somebody addicted to me. A mutual addiction.”
Chuck Palahnuik





It was a beautiful day in the park. Samuel loved days like these. It meant that he could enjoy a nice run. He could exert his body, but his mind was free to wander aimlessly. Often he was at his mundane job or working for a client. But the best times were when he was with Marissa. Samuel could enjoy her company and the freedom that meant. Even though she required nothing from him, Samuel wanted to give her everything. All of him was wrapped up in her. He wanted it to be that way.

Samuel slowed his run to a brisk walk. He reached into his zippered pocket and picked up the phone.

“Lana, hello. I was hoping that you had time for me this evening. Maybe around 6 o’clock?”

Samuel listened as she spoke her schedule to him. While it was mildly annoying, it was invaluable information. She eventually confirmed that they could meet at the time he specified. It was pathetic how needy she was. How dependent on others she was. He consoled himself with the knowledge that Serena’s plans were coming to a head. The time was fast approaching. It quickened his heart and breath in anticipation.

This job had some quality about it that made it far different than other jobs. Samuel didn’t know why that was. He’d been involved in bloodier campaigns. Campaigns that required him to test the limits of his stealth. He’d known the grim touch of death and somehow shook it off, but this was different and he didn’t have the ability to define it. Samuel wasn’t so sure he wanted to define. This job would always be a part of him. He would hold the memory close and revel in it.

Samuel stopped walking, tilted his head back, and closed his eyes. The sun would never feel like this. The wind would never cool his skin in this way. The chattering cacophony of people talking, dogs barking, and children laughing would never caress his ears this way again. This moment would have to exist in his memory alone. Samuel found that he didn’t want it to end. His only regret was that Marissa wasn’t by his side to enjoy it with him.

Reluctantly he focused again and began his walk to his car. Samuel began whistling a nonsensical tune. It was a great day. It would always be a great day in his memories.

********

Two days. It had been two long and frustrating days since Chloe Sullivan freaked out on her boss. Lex was being moodier than usual and it was beginning to grate on Mercy’s last nerve. She figured that she could cut him some slack since he had more or less been rejected by someone he fancied himself in love with. It didn’t particularly matter to her if he was or not, but his brooding and general “woe is me attitude” was helping no one and nothing; especially since the guard detail she had put on Lang sometimes lost the girl. It raised her suspicions like nothing else could. Lana Lang had to be working with someone very good because the people Lex had bought and she had chosen were no slouches.

Mercy had no idea what had happened that day. There was an explosion in the building and then Chloe had freaked. That much she got. When they had gotten outside to where Chloe was, Lex had told them to stay back. Mercy wasn’t entirely on board with that, but he was the boss and Chloe was a werewolf killing machine; it seemed like a no brainer. Mercy had thought everything was under control; but Chloe said something to Lex, stalked away, and ripped a set of keys from the hands of a man that Mercy had designated to drive one of the six vehicles present.

The moment that Chloe touched one of her men, all bets were off. There was a collective raising of guns, but there was no need. Chloe jumped into a vehicle and peeled off in a spray of rocks and a cloud of dirt. It was tense and no one knew how to react. The spell of inactivity was broken only when her boss, one of the most collected people she knew in front of subordinates, let loose a string of invectives that she didn’t think the rich even knew. It had served as the cue to load up and leave.

Since that day, Lex had made sure to make everyone as miserable as he was. It had to stop, which was why Mercy was now standing outside of Chloe Sullivan’s door. Misery loved company and it was dying for Chloe’s. Mercy didn’t even have to knock on the door before it was flying open and she was subjected to the intense regard of Chloe Sullivan.

Mercy cocked her head, “I am more than willing to discuss the elephant in the room outside your door where everyone can hear, Miss Sullivan. Are you?”

That statement illustrated the biggest threat Mercy Graves posed to her. Mercy could end and win any fight with her by making the issue known. Secrecy was paramount to Chloe’s survival, but not Mercy’s. It was with reluctance that she let Mercy into her home. A place that hadn’t welcomed anyone outside of Lois since her change. It felt…wrong.

Despite her reluctance, Chloe stepped away from her door and allowed Mercy to enter. When Chloe turned back towards Mercy, she watched as Mercy examined her entire home. She seemed bewildered.

Chloe was the first to break the silence, “What?”

Mercy, her back still to Chloe, shrugged, “Nothing really.”

It wasn’t “nothing really”. Chloe could hear it in her voice and it irritated her that Mercy wouldn’t divulge what she found so odd about her home.

Mercy did think Chloe’s apartment was odd. It was lacking. In the interest of not annoying her hostess, since she would be doing so in a few moments anyway, Mercy decided to answer Chloe’s question.

Mercy faced Chloe again, “I expected more than this,” she made a gesture that spanned the entire living room, “This place is bare. I expected to see more flair from you.”

It was true. Chloe had removed a lot of the artsy, color driven things of her home in favor of a more sedate and calming theme. There were still knick-knacks and pictures of her family and friends, but for the most part it was somewhat stripped down.

Chloe crossed her arms in front of her chest and glanced around, “Yeah, it is,” she refocused on Mercy, “What do you want?”

“Luthor is miserable, which means I’m miserable; and if I’m miserable, I can’t do my job. So I suggest you go talk to him.”

Indignation flared in Chloe and she stepped towards Mercy. “Challenge. Disobedience.” A growl followed Mercy’s words and Chloe knew her eyes were gold. They had to be because she felt her body anticipate violence.

Mercy didn’t get to were she was in life by being stupid. As much as it galled her to know that Chloe Sullivan could more than likely kill her with minimal effort, she knew what she had to do. Equality didn’t exist amongst wolves or dogs. Everyone had a place. You knew who you were above and you knew who you were below, and it was sacrosanct. Mercy was undeniably below Chloe Sullivan; and she would do herself no favors by trying to change things.

In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t particularly matter. She had far more pressing concerns than the highly unlikely scenario where Chloe would kill her unprovoked. Mercy could trust Chloe not to be an idiot with her power more than anyone else in the entire world. It was a sad commentary on the world in general and her life in particular.

Mercy backed up, lowered her eyes from Chloe’s, and threw up her hands in the universal gesture of surrender. Chloe’s response was immediate. She stopped her growling and the hairs on Mercy’s arms decided to stop standing on end.

Chloe cursed softly under her breath and dragged her hands down her face. “This sucks.”

Since she wasn’t dead or dying, Mercy took it for the good sign that it was. Chloe seemed to need some kind of comfort. Mercy sometimes forgot how young Chloe was. She wasn’t old, but Mercy had a wealth of experience. Certain events in her life had made it almost impossible to hang onto the little insecurities. Chloe didn’t have that, and in some ways her insecurities had been nurtured by Smallville. Chloe was dealing with those insecurities as well as the larger issue of what was going on now.

Mercy smiled slightly, “If it’s any consolation, you aren’t dead. There’s always the chance it can improve. Death offers little to no improvement.”

Chloe favored her with a look of incredulity. Mercy shrugged and said, “I’m not good at comforting people or offering any kind of sound advice unless it speaks to the subject of how to avoid painful death in most situations,” she shrugged again, “We all have our gifts.”

“Did you come here to declare that I should go talk to him? It only enables his whining,” Chloe’s voice was unnecessarily harsh, but she had no patience. Not today and not with him.

Mercy clucked her tongue, “There is a reason you freaked out on him. Don’t you understand that if it is enough for you to jeopardize an alliance, where the stakes are far higher for you than anyone else, then it has to be of great significance? Not just to you, but for everyone involved because these things… they fester and poison everything they touch. There is still something weird going on and you know it involves you. It’s unfair, but it falls on you to make this better. Lex may be difficult and he wears people down to a weathered stump of disillusionment and frustration; but I think that if you give him an honest chance, he might be worth it as much as anyone can be worth it. You’re more than strong enough to deal with him and force him to be better,” after a moment’s pause to hear a response from Chloe, Mercy resumed speaking, “Besides, you should do it for yourself. Something is bugging the hell out of you. The sooner you get it off your chest, the sooner things can get done; and that’s the bottom line.”

Chloe was silent for a moment and then she narrowed her eyes, “I thought you were only good with advice on how not to die?”

Mercy laughed softly, “If you don’t recognize this entire situation as one that could end in our bloody death if given even half the chance, then you probably deserve to die. Self preservation is instinctual as well as deliberate and you need both to be anything of value in this life. Don’t ruin my opinion of you, Chloe, it’ll devastate me.”

Chloe turned away from Mercy and headed to her front door. “Go away, Mercy. I’ve had enough of your company.”

As Mercy walked passed Chloe, she said, “I’ll see you later this evening.”

Chloe wished that she could slam the door, but she refused to give Mercy the satisfaction of knowing that she had won. She didn’t want to admit it to herself, but she liked Mercy. It was a hard and bitter pill to swallow. As she gazed around her apartment, Chloe felt tired and a sense of foreboding. Everything was gray. It had been two days since she had last seen any color. She was getting flashes of color, but it wasn’t the same. Her gray days never lasted so long and it scared her to think that she would never experience a day full of color again.

Her voice was soft and alien to her own ears, “This sucks.”

Empty rooms never offered comfort; only your own words thrown back into your face.

********

By the time Chloe decided she should probably follow Mercy’s advice and talk with Lex, it was about 5:30 in the evening. She was admitted into Lex’s mansion and was on her way to his study when she ran into Lana. Or rather, Lana ran into her. Lana seemed anxious and Chloe pushed aside her initial negative reaction and engaged her. No matter her personal feelings on the matter, something was wrong with Lana and Chloe wasn’t quite heartless enough to not be worried.

As Lana brushed passed her after their brief entanglement, Chloe grabbed her arm and spun her around. Not violently. It was more like a friend getting the attention of someone being absentminded.

“Lana, are you ok?” Peering closely at her, Chloe noted the slightly elevated breathing and the furtive glances towards the exit.

Lana took a moment and focused on Chloe. The same Chloe that was planning something with Lex. The last time that Chloe had engaged a Luthor shrouded in this much secrecy went terribly. They were planning something and these two people had already proven to everyone how destructive they could be on their own. It could only be infinitely worse with them working together.

“Yeah, I’m ok. I’m just late meeting a friend. You remember Vanessa?”

Chloe narrowed her eyes, but she nodded and Lana continued, “She was on the cheerleading squad with me. Anyway, she moved to Topeka last year. She’s in town for the week and I figured I’d catch up with her.”

Lana glanced down at her watch, “I’m almost late. I’ll talk with you later.”

Maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe Lana could get what she needed from Anthony and confront Chloe. Chloe was basically a good person. She would pull back if things got too bad. It’s what she did with Lionel. Then again, maybe that was the problem. Chloe obviously didn’t learn her lesson or find her limitations with Lionel. Maybe it was time that Chloe suffer a major fall so that she could finally understand that those games were best left un-played.

With that, Lana quickly left. Chloe stared at Lana’s retreating back. As far as Chloe could tell she had been telling the truth, but something about that particular truth was making Lana nervous. “Maybe a half truth? But why?” All thoughts of Lana fled when she heard Mercy’s distinctive tread.

Mercy cleared her throat, although she had the distinct impression that it wasn’t necessary, before she spoke, “Before you go talk to him, why don’t you go to the kitchen and eat something?”

Chloe was mildly surprised, “Why do you think I’m hungry?”

Mercy rolled her eyes at her, “You have been a fixture here for a while now, and I like to think that I’m observant enough to know when you usually eat…and how much you eat. Observation is a requirement of the job,” with that parting shot, Mercy left. No need to poke the wolf in the eye.

Chloe really disliked the fact that she liked Mercy. It was hindering her ability to show any kind of meaningful anger and pettiness towards the other woman. Given the circumstances of her current situation, Chloe did the only thing she could do. She went to the kitchen and ate.

Fifteen minutes and a cheeseburger later, Chloe went to Lex’s office. Enrique was gracious enough to give her a couple of mints and that was why he was one of the cooler members of Lex’s staff. When Chloe got to Lex’s doors, she hesitated. Chloe knocked on his door after a few deep breaths. A voice deep inside of her was yelling that things would change drastically.

Chloe entered the room and closed the door gently behind her. When she turned around, Lex’s back was to her. It wasn’t a good sign of how this particular conversation would go. It symbolized the great distance of lies of omission and distrust between them. If she was honest with herself, and she needed to be at the moment, then she would acknowledge the fact that the Lana issue was more infuriating than it should’ve been. It had to do with her lack of pregnancy; but more than that, it was the fact that Lana got a part of Lex that she didn’t.

Mutant pheromones aside, Lex had pursued her and some part of him probably had truly wanted Lana. Just like a part of Clark had wanted her; and like a part of Chloe was jealous that certain things came easy to her. Saying it was all the meteor rock was not acknowledging the fact that Lex was destructive, to himself and to others; or that she and Clark were destructive in some ways.

Everyone had that potential. It would be letting him off the hook for his own choices; and it would be a willful dishonesty as to who they all were and all the virtues and faults they possessed. There were some wrongs a person committed that shouldn’t be ignored. They had to be brought to the fore and fought over to get a resolution; for better or for worse.

Lex’s body straightened, he held his head up from the papers he was reading, and glanced behind himself.

His tone of voice implied boredom when he spoke, “Is it a trust issue, Chloe?”

Chloe was incredulous. She never expected that to be his opening volley. [i]“This is the conversation he wants to have?”[i/] He didn’t even bother to look at her. It was insulting and Chloe forced herself to not read more into it than what it was: him being an overly sensitive jackass. She walked towards where he stood and stopped a few feet away from him.

Chloe sighed and ran her hand through her hair, “Lex, I told you that I was willing to trust you, and I do. I trust you as much as anyone can trust someone else in this situation.”

He turned around quickly, which startled her. Had she been any less inclined not to kill him, her automatic response might’ve been to lash out at him. His eyes narrowed, “What’s that supposed to mean? I’ve done everything I possibly can to try and be what this partnership requires. You took off and didn’t bother to call. Did it never occur to you that I might’ve been worried or that you were making it difficult for Mercy to be effective?”

Chloe was going to stay calm because nothing he’d said was wrong in the strictest of meanings. Nothing was unduly harsh. She had taken off and worried everyone involved. Memories from a summer spent with this Lex and not the jerk who took his place had been on constant replay…along with the Lana thing.

“You’re right. I should’ve called or something. What I mean by the trust thing is that I expect you to be yourself. I expect you to look at the long game and do whatever it is that you think will get the results that you want. Sure, it coincides with what we need right now. You’ll eventually do your own thing that’s in your best interest.”

That stung. “Is that what you really think of me?”

She took a forceful step towards him without realizing it, “What in your behavior implies that this time around will be any different from when we put Lionel away?”

Lex crossed his arms over his chest, “I’m sorry that I hurt you.”

He actually sounded like he regretted what happened, which didn’t fit with what she knew of that particular situation. It was confusing. After that summer that saw her in hiding, Lex had written her off. It was like they had never been partners to bring down the person that tormented them both. She thought that they were getting along well. That even if he wasn’t her bestest buddy ever that at the very least, they were friends. Allies.

Chloe decided to veer the topic towards that time. It was a source of bitterness and frustration with her. Every decision she had made regarding this current partnership was directly informed by the seminal events that took place when they worked to take down Lionel and everything that followed; which began and ended with him rejecting her in the most basic of ways.

Her voice was soft and confused when she spoke to him, “I don’t understand. I know what rejection feels like. I know what disappointment feels like. I know unrequited love or a silly crush. But when it comes to you Lex…I just don’t understand what I feel. What happened after that summer? We weren’t so close that you’d feel out of control. Just…why’d you turn away?”

Lex cocked his head and looked at her. His eyes met hers and she didn’t feel threatened. She didn’t feel challenged.

“You didn’t need me.”

Those four words shattered whatever peace that she might’ve had moments before…she was angry and she found that her hard won control was lost. Chloe let out an inarticulate roar of fury. She felt the heat that had always signaled a change before. She felt the claws erupt from her hand. She yelled at him…frantic and forcefully. Her voice overlaid with deep tones.

“Of all the bull…Didn’t need you? Are you kidding me! Lionel would’ve killed me! He damned near killed my father and all you can think about was that I didn’t need you? Dammit Lex! I knew you had issues, but this…I have nothing more to give you.”

The urge to run was strong, but he knew that to do so would be signing his death certificate. Her hunt instincts would kick in with a vengeance. Lex felt pressure build in his eyes and for a moment he wanted nothing more than to drop his eyes from hers to make it better. To not feel this way. But he recognized that this feeling was from her change and it wasn’t something she was doing to manipulate him.

“Yes, Chloe, you didn’t need me. Not like I needed you. Do you not realize what it meant for someone to stand at my side? Not for my money. Not for my power, but because they truly wanted to help me? To fight with me? Not for me, but with me? If I couldn’t have helped you, you would have found a way. Tell me that you didn’t have some other plan. Any other plan. Tell me that I wasn’t the convenient easiest route. Tell me that with a straight face.”

Lex stood still. He wanted nothing more than to pace or to throw something, but Chloe was still agitated and swift movement might set her off. As he watched her, he saw her deflate.

If he had said anything else, Chloe could’ve stayed mad. She could’ve left him and never have felt a moment of guilt, but he had answered. There was no equivocating. He was honest and direct. “The first time in a long time.” Chloe thought that it would’ve ended there, but apparently he wanted to get it all out in the open. He was going all in.

“I thought that Clark could understand. He was my friend. I trusted him. And he couldn’t trust me. For whatever reason. All he ever had to do was just tell me to back off, but he made such a production of everything. His friendship was conditional, and he could never just come out and tell me that it was none of my business. I could settle for being second with Lana because it still meant that I won. She still needed me to validate her. Is it pathetic? Yes, but at least I won. At least I had something that Clark wanted. The worst thing that Lionel ever did to me was not care. He didn’t hate me. He didn’t love me. He just didn’t care. It meant that I inspired nothing in him. I was nothing. Do you know what that feels like? I wasn’t rejected, Chloe, I was simply a non factor.”

His voice trailed off and for the first time that Chloe had known him, he seemed small.

“There’s no feeling like it. I didn’t want to take that chance with you.”

Chloe was stunned. She could feel his discontent and felt lost when he turned his back to her. Chloe walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her cheek against his back. She could feel his lean muscles. She could hear and feel his heartbeat and it took only a few seconds for her own heartbeat to match his. “He smells good. Healthy. He’s strong. Virile. He can provide for offspring.” She unwrapped herself from his frame and forcibly moved him so that he faced her again. He resisted her, but in this her strength was greater. Chloe put her hands to the side of his face and forced his forehead to her own. His muscles were tense. Their breaths mingled. Her eyes were closed and she had a feeling that his were too.

She spoke softly as if this moment were the most sacred she had ever experienced, “Lex, did it never occur to you to tell me? That maybe I would stand with you no matter what? We were friends. Forget my life. I trusted you with my father’s. Yeah, you were one of many plans but it wasn’t because you were the easiest. You think it was easy dealing with you? Trusting you? The son of the man I so foolishly trusted? Having to admit that I was so terribly wrong? Don’t you know that the guilt of working for Lionel, for even a moment, is harder to bear than any injustice I’ve ever had to experience? Real or imagined? That by virtue of just working with him I enabled him to do bad things? Terrible things? It will be with me for the rest of my life.”

Chloe felt Lex relax with a quick exhalation, but she couldn’t stop, “We were forged in fire. There’s nothing stronger. Lex, I may not have needed you to be everything to me, but your friendship was as important to me as any relationship I have; save that with my father. I wanted you, Lex. And it hurt so badly when you just…left.”

Lex placed his hands over hers and then slowly trailed them down to her hips. He brought her closer.

“What if I wanted more? Needed more?”

Chloe moved her hands from his face and entwined their hands. They were so close now.

“Lex, deep down and buried beneath your kinda endearing obsessive nature you know that it would not have worked. We weren’t ready,” Chloe’s voice was light and mocking.

“And now?”

“Trust you to ask that. I’m a werewolf. You are a billionaire with trust issues and who has to be in control of everything. Just how long do you think it would take before one of us tried to kill the other? Lex, I doubt it. If it wouldn’t’ve worked before, it definitely won’t work now.

Lex’s heart beat sped up in agitation. She knew that she had hurt him. She spoke her next words not because he was hurt but because she needed to. Chloe could not imagine backing down from something she wanted. She’d tried that before and failed miserably.

Her voice was soft, “But maybe we could try.”

[Kit Merlot]

What an awesome chapter!

I loved that Mercy took it upon herself to speak to Chloe--she can see the Chlex are meant for each other and she's helping it along. In her own way

“He smells good. Healthy. He’s strong. Virile. He can provide for offspring.”

I loved this line The Chlex conversation was just gorgeous. Good for them for opening up to each other about their past friendship/partnership, and I'm so proud of Chloe for wanting to give them a chance at a romantic relationship

I am sorry to hear that Sarah is not feeling well and I hope she gets better soon!

Lastly, continued excellent work on this fic and I can't wait to see what happens next.

[GroundedSouls]

Awesome update. I love Mercy lol she's so cool. I liked that she convinced Chloe to talk to Lex and I'm glad Chloe and Lex talked and yay Chloe's inner wolf recognized that he's a compatible mate. I can't wait to read more and see the Lana take down lol.

[jem]

mercy was awesome!! good on her for having the guts to fix everyone's misery..

beautiful reunion between lex and chloe...

yay for chloe suggesting they try!

[purplemoon123]

Oh my!!! This chapter was just awesome!!!!

Thank you Sarah for all your work, hope you feel better.

“What I want is to be needed. What I need is to be indispensable to somebody. Who I need is somebody that will eat up all my free time, my ego, my attention. Somebody addicted to me. A mutual addiction.”
Chuck Palahnuik

Wow!!! I love this quote and it really sets up the Chlex.

I love Mercy and I'm glad that she got Chloe to talk to Lex.

Everything was gray. It had been two days since she had last seen any color. She was getting flashes of color, but it wasn’t the same. Her gray days never lasted so long and it scared her to think that she would never experience a day full of color again.

Oh, my poor Chloe!!! So, this why she got rid of her more colorful knick knacks. Will anyone else notice?????

Maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe Lana could get what she needed from Anthony and confront Chloe. Chloe was basically a good person. She would pull back if things got too bad. It’s what she did with Lionel. Then again, maybe that was the problem. Chloe obviously didn’t learn her lesson or find her limitations with Lionel. Maybe it was time that Chloe suffer a major fall so that she could finally understand that those games were best left un-played.

Bitch!!! Looks who's playing games that she knows nothing about. Please tell me she's is going to get what is coming to her!!!!

“He smells good. Healthy. He’s strong. Virile. He can provide for offspring.”

Guh!!!! Dies!!!

Lex’s heart beat sped up in agitation. She knew that she had hurt him. She spoke her next words not because he was hurt but because she needed to. Chloe could not imagine backing down from something she wanted. She’d tried that before and failed miserably.

Her voice was soft, “But maybe we could try.”

Yes!!! Please!!! They have finally open themselves to each other. But how is Lex going to react to the Lana not being pregnant and Chloe not telling him.

[dagney]

Yes! Terrific update, You are alpha! Dagney