Dreaming the Wolf - Chapter 13
Title: Dreaming the Wolf
Rating: R
Category: Angst
Summary: After the events of Freak, Chloe finds herself changed more than she thought possible. A spin on the classic tale of girl becomes werewolf.
Spoilers: I haven't been actively watching SV for a long time now, so anything goes and I take liberties. This is set after the episode Freak and careens madly and gleefully towards AU.
Disclaimer: If I owned anything, then there would be no need for me to write fanfic or read it.
Chapter 13
“The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms; and to confide in one's self, and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course.”
Michelangelo
Everything had moved so quickly. Lex barely had time to register that there were multiple threats. Hell, he didn’t even know where he was or how he had even gotten to where he was. He only knew one thing. Chloe wasn’t Chloe anymore. She was a big werewolf and she had murder in the eye. He’d only seen her this way that day that she thought he had been the author of her misfortune. Even though he knew that she would’ve killed him, he held hope that she wouldn’t. Now, however, there was no reflection of the Chloe’s intelligent mind. There was only anger. Only the ferocious urge to hurt something and her sights were set on him.
He had no idea what had been done to her, but if what he was looking at was any indication, it had been brutal. Her coat lacked luster. Her once vibrant green eyes that had been alive were now dulled in rage.
Lex raised his gun and braced himself. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he couldn’t let Chloe hurt anyone. His hand shook. His eyes blurred. His body trembled. He couldn’t do this. “Chloe.” Despite Lex knowing that he had to do this he couldn’t. His hesitation cost him the thing that was more precious to him than anything his money had ever brought him. His life.
Lex felt Chloe’s fangs rip into his hand. The gun fell to the side. He couldn’t reach it. Chloe released Lex’s hand and went straight for his throat. After she ripped his throat out, Chloe moved to the soft of his belly and began shredding. Lex remembered being with her. The way that her tongue had danced over his throat. The way that that she gently nipped him and had him begging for more. She would lave the mark in time with the movement of her hips. He had loved the way she had made him feel. It was a sharp contrast when measured against his time with Lana and those other women.
Lex remembered how she had moved from his throat down his chest. To continue the work of her tongue on his belly. And then lower. To remember the loving passion of that night and to feel this violation…this pain as she had brutally ripped out his throat and moved to his belly was worse than death.
All Lex felt was the blood gushing from his throat. He couldn’t breathe. It was an excruciating pain that lasted for two minutes. It was an eternity. The last thing Lex felt was not the pain from his wounds, but the pain of knowing that the person he loved most in the world had ended his life. That she would live without him.
Through the haze of blood, Lex saw her rear back from his body. Lex turned his head and surveyed their surroundings. Nothing moved. Nothing lived. It was a grisly scene of destruction and the horror would stay with the patrolman that would eventually discover the scene. He watched as Chloe left him and ran to the fields. He was alone and nothing would ever change that.
********
Lex jack-knifed into a sitting position. His chest was heaving. Feeling the unpleasant oiliness of the sweat on his own skin, Lex looked wildly around the room. The dream had been so real. So all consuming. Lex knew he was awake, but it felt wrong…surreal. As if the other world crafted in his mind was the true world and this was nothing more than an echo.
Lana turned so that she was facing him. The first time he had awakened next to her, all he could think was that she was beautiful in repose. Lana was always uncomplicated, but like him, she portrayed what others expected. People expected her to be at peace. To be the beautiful girl of tragedy that they had always known. She never buckled under such pressure because it wasn’t pressure to her. Lana saw it as her due; and Lex didn’t know if it was because she was that arrogant or if because she didn’t know any other way to behave.
As he gazed at her, she no longer seemed peaceful. The visage that even yesterday he would’ve taken comfort in was nothing more than a mask. She was still the same person that she had always been and would always be. The only thing different was how he allowed himself to view her. She wasn’t beautiful anymore, but neither was she ugly. Lana just was. Lex wiped the sweat from his brow and got out of bed. It had amazed him that she was such a heavy sleeper; the first night that they had slept together, she had awakened at his slightest movement. He could only guess it was a result of her nerves and nothing more.
Lex left his bed and went into his restroom. He indulged in many things in his life. His money bought him whatever he needed and his bathroom was no different. Lana had thoroughly enjoyed using the shower. She liked the high water pressure and the fact that it came equipped with multiple shower jets. His bath tub was also impressive and they had enjoyed it together many times. Lana could be a peaceful force when she wasn’t too busy thinking about what she wanted or what anyone else wanted and just was content.
As he got into the shower and turned the heat as high as he could stand it, Lex thought about his dream. He had many bad dreams. Most of them involved his father, some of them involved publicly failing; those were normal dreams. Dreams that embodied his insecurities and his fears about who he was and what he had the ability to do. But this dream was different because he had thought that he was handling the Chloe situation well. There were problems, but they had been making progress. He hadn’t handled the fact that she could kill him well, but that was a recognized issue he had with her.
The sexual aspect of the dream had completely boggled his mind. He and Chloe had never had sex before and the summer they spent working to bring down his father was all business. They had gotten close, but it had been friendship and nothing more. The feeling that it could have been more asserted itself. Lex had to destroy that line of thinking because it would bring nothing but misery. He couldn’t understand why his mind would supply such a scenario; especially in a relentlessly violent dream. A fantasy would have been another matter entirely; a very welcome matter. Chloe was beautiful and he was a healthy male. “It’s just stress.” Lex would tell himself that until he couldn’t.
Lex spent half an hour in his shower before he felt the normal pressure to face his day. There were a few business propositions that he needed to go over, but those could wait. Today Lana had a doctor’s appointment and he would not miss it. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something wrong. Despite the many other things that had been going wrong with his interactions with Chloe, he had noticed that she seemed wary and uncommonly jittery in Lana’s presence. He’d even noticed it with Clark on the few occasions he had been able to observe the two. Despite his suspicions and reservations, there was nothing he could do and he would support the mother of his child. No matter what.
Lana stirred and showed signs of awakening when he was finished dressing. Her eye opened. He would’ve sat beside her, but her eyes darkened in what could only be irritation and whatever good feelings he had about her vanished. For the first time in his life, Lex found that he didn’t even want to try anymore. He knew himself; and he knew that much of the enjoyment he found in life was the pursuit.
His competitive drive helped him out of more situations than he could remember, but with her it wasn’t there anymore. He’d looked for that drive ever since he buried his father and it just wasn’t there for him anymore. Lex didn’t need any other indicator to tell him that he and Lana were over and that all that was left was for one of them to say the words. At this point, it was a demented game of chicken.
He watched her sit up in bed before he left the room. Lex needed to chat with Chloe before he and Lana left for the doctor’s office. It was only 8AM and the appointment was at 10, but he didn’t know how long they would talk. He’d slept later than he wanted, but there was nothing pressing for his day except for Lana’s appointment with Langston.
As Lex left the room to find Chloe, he considered Lana Lang. The singular fact that repeatedly made itself known to him and Clark was that she didn’t deserve either of them. She didn’t deserve the lies and the hits her self worth took by being with either of them. She didn’t deserve that kind of discontent no matter her faults.
She deserved Whitney Ford or Jason Teague or even Pete Ross. Men who would honestly show her that she was more than what this town thought. That she was more than what she thought herself to be. It was mildly depressing that he couldn’t cast her as the villain of the piece. He really wished that he could be dishonest with himself in this matter, but Lex found that he didn’t want to devote any more mental consideration to this than absolutely required. The entire situation had gotten so far out of control that denying it would be more destructive than blowing it up.
He passed Mercy on the way to his office and she fell into step with him. Mercy never walked fully behind him, but she was always a half step off of his gait. He’d seen her do it with his father and a few others who had her in their employ at one time or another. It never mattered if they deliberately walked quickly or went at a snail’s pace. She was always right there reminding them that she was dangerous and was there to help.
Mercy noted that he looked tired and stressed, which was fairly normal; but there was this air about him that made everything seem decidedly abnormal. She couldn’t help him with whatever problem he thought he had. Lex was moody, brooding, and as melodramatic as the next person. He just hid it better than most.
Mercy spoke directly to him only after he had finished reading the reports she handed him, “Sir, the limo is prepared and we have men in place at Langston’s office.”
Lex stopped and faced her, “You only call me “sir” when you’re irritated with me. It’s early, Mercy, what do you think I’ve done this time? Also, any particular reason why you have men at Langston’s office? I find it to be somewhat ridiculous. These men you’ve listed here aren’t even bodyguards. They’re mercenaries.”
She stopped when he did and gave him a cursory glance before her eyes met his own. Mercy held up her hand and began ticking points off of them, “Your shoes aren’t shined, you wore that suit two days ago, and Felix Dandridge called. Twice. And you have yet to answer him. I don’t trust Langston and I’m not supposed to do so. I say all that to point out the fact that you are distracted,” Mercy invaded his personal space, “I never question a client’s personal life as long as I can do my job. Get your house in order, Luthor, so I can do my job.”
Mercy executed a sharp military about face, walked away and tossed over her shoulder, “By the way, I changed all of your pass codes on all of your computers yesterday and installed a new security suite. New access codes are in your lock box.”
No other person could dismiss him quite like she could. Shaking his head, he continued the trek to his office.
Lex turned the knob to his office door and found it locked. He never locked it before Mercy came back into his life; but because she compulsively locked every door that had a lock, it was no surprise. What was a surprise was the fact that as he rounded the couch he saw Chloe sleeping. Naked. With only a blanket bunched at the waist so that her legs were also exposed. One of her arms was tossed across the couch so that it lay with her knuckles grazing the floor. Her face was turned to the back of the couch.
It was clear to him that she was not entirely human and that she hadn’t completely shaken off the wolf form. Lex could clearly see the wiry outline of muscle. Gaze moving to her legs, Lex saw the more impressive outline of muscle there. Her knees looked slightly bent backwards, but she gave no sign of discomfort. Her hair was also significantly longer. Chloe would need to have it cut if she didn’t want anyone to ask questions. Too many people saw her on any given day to not notice this particular change. Lex would call a hair stylist before he left for Lana’s doctor appointment.
As he watched the gentle rise and fall of her back with each breath, her muscles visibly shifted to settle into the correct pattern of a more human Chloe. The general size and shape of her body slowly crept closer to its normal configuration. Lex didn’t know if this was happening as a natural function and gradual resolution to the traumatic shift from wolf to human; or if it was because she was asleep and didn’t have anywhere near the control she had while awake and so her body randomly changed.
He did note that her body might be doing this as a way to get her more comfortable. Chloe wouldn’t need to toss and turn as much if her muscles shifted to alleviate various pressures from being in one position or from being on a sleeping surface that was too hard or soft. “Intriguing.” It would be something to ask her later. Lex was fairly certain that she wouldn’t become angered over this question. It was something that should be brought to her attention.
Chloe needed to wake up because Lana would probably stop by his office. Despite that, Lex wasn’t in any particular hurry to wake her. She looked peaceful and the vision of her on his couch in his office covered with his blanket was one that he wanted to savor, but it was something that needed to be done.
Lex cleared his throat and called her name softly, “Chloe.”
He watched her thigh muscle twitch spastically and then settle back down. Lex moved over to her and put his hand on her back. He found himself painfully pushed onto his back on the couch with a snarling, teeth bared, yellow-eyed Chloe staring at him.
Chloe abruptly stopped being aggressive and began a soothing, gentle rumble that he could feel in his bones. It relaxed every muscle in his body as though he had just seen a masseuse. Whatever tensions that he carried over from his earlier realizations were removed. He felt light and nothing mattered except that she was on top of him and felt so good.
She leaned forward and down and nuzzled his neck. He heard and felt her face shift. The fangs he knew she had grazed his neck. Her hand moved over his heart and Lex inhaled and exhaled sharply. As soon as he did so, Chloe reared back. Before he even knew what had happened, Chloe had taken her blanket, wrapped herself in it once more, and was across the room with her back to the window.“What the hell?”
He could see the faint outline of the normal green of her eye, but the gold still overshadowed it. The only consolation was that she wasn’t feral and he wasn’t going to be horribly eviscerated. There was still menace in the air, but he didn’t think it would be the kind that ended in violence unless he did something stupid. It was then and there that Lex decided that maybe he should install cameras in this room. Before he lost himself in his ruminations, Lex focused on the situation at hand.
Chloe had known the exact moment that Lex had entered his office. She had heard him try to open the door to find it locked and then as he unlocked it with his key. She would’ve fully awakened but she had been so comfortable and the overwhelming sense of calm and safety lulled her back into semi-sleep. She had been fine. Everything had been fine…until he touched her. Then it was like she had been electrified and was in motion before she processed the fact.
Then it got weirder and far more disturbing because when she nuzzled Lex’s neck, she had smelled his unique scent; but then he exhaled and Chloe smelled Lana. The smell became a taste that settled on the back of her tongue. Lex was marked as hers and that fact made her want to rip Lex’s throat out. But something was really wrong with the way that he smelled. “How did her scent become so thoroughly enmeshed with his?” Chloe could barely discern his own unique scent under Lana’s cloying one.
She’d smelled sex before and it didn’t obliterate the natural scent of the participants. The feeling of Lana being wrong permeated his skin. Something was terribly wrong and she didn’t understand it. Chloe might’ve been able to think more on the matter but the wolf was so close that she couldn’t focus on anything other than the fact that he smelled strongly of Lana.
Lex took a step towards her and she turned from him to face the window, “You know, Lex. You know what it feels like to hate your own skin. To see something in yourself that you can’t accept.”
He looked away from her just as she faced him again. When his eyes meet hers, he opened his mouth to say the words he knew she wanted to hear. Chloe held up the hand that wasn’t holding the blanket to interrupt him, “No. I don’t want to hear those words from you until you can tell me why you feel them.”
Lex was incredulous. He was about to do something he almost never did and she didn’t want it from him. The realization came that he didn’t really deserve it, but he had thought that they were slowly making progress. The one time in his life that he genuinely felt contrition for something he had done and was prepared to own it was the time that the person he wanted most to unburden to was not accepting it. It hurt. It was another failure.
Chloe turned her body to face the window. She gently caressed it. Her voice was soft when she spoke to him again, “Lana is many things. Often times callous. Sometimes generous, but she is honest. She is what she is and has never tried to apologize for it. Lana is incapable of empathy and it’s a function of the kind of parent Nell was to her…of how everyone chooses to deal with her. But it’s not because she’s malicious. You, Lex, are incapable of empathy because you choose not to feel it. It’s something conscious on your part. It’s a function of your Lionel induced insecurities and your own unique brand of arrogance. That’s why I don’t particularly want to hear those words from you until you can tell me why you feel them.”
Chloe faced him again. Her eyes were gold. They were unforgiving, “I don’t think you understand how hard it is not to rip you apart. How hard it is to control this anger that simmers under my skin because I can’t see how beautiful this day is turning out to be,” she gestured towards the window, “We meet each other halfway, Lex, or not at all.”
Lex knew what she was doing. If he named them, he couldn’t hide from it anymore. She wasn’t going to let him. But she said what he had wanted to hear from so many people in his life. She was telling him that she wasn’t going to make him do all the work in whatever relationship they had at the moment. That she would accept him, but only if he accepted her. Lex also noted that she wouldn’t let him skate by. Chloe would try for him if he would extend the same courtesy. This was the best he could hope for because he had no doubt that the wolf was more than willing to make demands that all amounted to him doing whatever she said.
He looked down at his watch. Lana would be ready by now and they needed to leave. As he opened the door he stopped, “I’m sorry. Even if we weren’t friends you never deserved that. None of you did,” with that he left the room and closed the doors.
********
Lana found the drive to the doctor’s office to be uncomfortable. She identified the cause of her discomfort, Mercy Graves. She had opted to act as chauffeur for the day and Lex hadn’t minded. Mercy Graves was creepy. She was always lurking. Lana looked into the mirror and found Mercy’s eyes on her again. Her face didn’t show it, but Lana knew that Mercy was mocking her in some way. It was the way Mercy’s head tilted, the way her eyes didn’t dart back and forth from the mirror and the road. It was arrogant to Lana.
It hadn’t been a good morning for Lana. Not even a little bit. Earlier in the morning she had tried to hack into Lex’s laptop computer; but she found it impossible. Lex must’ve changed his codes. It was infinitely irritating because not even Anthony’s overly complicated instructions worked. She would have to take another look at him because he might not be the skilled technician he claimed to be.
Lana was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice they were at Langston’s office until Mercy was opening her door. Mercy was looking at her expectantly so Lana took the offered hand and allowed Mercy to assist her out of the limo. Lex followed after and took her hand. She glanced at Mercy only to see an infuriating smirk flit across her face.
Her appointment was routine. They had gotten the important things out of the way the first couple of visits; although Langston did give her some kind of vitamin booster. The pictures that Chloe had requested had already been taken; Lana only needed to share them with her. When they left, Lex informed her that he needed to attend a business meeting and that he had already called for another car to take him, which left Mercy and herself alone.
Mercy knew that Lana Lang didn’t like her and she didn’t really mind. There had been many times that she had worked for a client whose significant other couldn’t stand her. It came with the territory; but there was some quality about Lana Lang that was somehow an affront to her. Mercy couldn’t put her finger on it. It was just there. Boiling beneath the surface.
They had been staring at each other off and on as she chauffeured her around town. Mercy decided to stir the pot as soon as they got back to the mansion. She didn’t know if Chloe Sullivan was still in Luthor’s office, but she would make sure that Chloe wasn’t bothered if she was. Lana would go off and sulk if she played this right.
With a bland voice Mercy spoke to Lana as she exited the limo, “Yes.”
Lana threw a confused look Mercy’s way, “What?”
“The answer to the question you’ve been dying to ask.”
Mercy knew that Lana would blow up at her. She expected the affected arrogant tone of voice, as if Lana was playing at adult anger instead of feeling it, “And what question would that be?”
Mercy gave an internal smile. She would enjoy showing Lana her place. If only to remove some of that entitled attitude that the other woman wore like a second skin. Lana was the king with no clothes and this town fed her little ego like one would a starving refugee. Mercy didn’t bother to hide the fact that she was amused and condescending to Lana, “Yes, Lex and I have slept together.”
Of all the things that Lana expected to hear, that was not on the list and she had no idea how to respond. Lana was realistic and knew that he’d had many lovers in the past, but to hire one to guard them was like a slap in the face. To learn that fact from his previous paramour was an insult.
Lana was fully prepared to lay into Mercy, but she was cut off at the pass, “Men like Alexander Luthor don’t settle for the Mercys or Lanas of the world.”
Lana found her voice, “You can’t talk to me this way!”
Mercy rolled her eyes, “Sure I can. I happen to be doing it right now.”
Before she knew what happened, Lana felt a stinging in her hand and realized that she had slapped Lex’s dangerous bodyguard. Mercy knew such a hit was coming, but it was important for Lana to understand that no matter what she did, Mercy was capable of recovering and doing something worse, which is what she did. Mercy grabbed Lana’s arm and bent it behind her back in classic karate hold. Just before she slammed Lana’s body into the limo, Mercy pulled back so that Lana was barely touching the surface.
Mercy’s voice lowered into a dangerous drawl, “You don’t get to touch me, Lang. Until Lex gives that bastard you’re carrying his name, you mean nothing to me. Lex is the priority. If I ever catch your handiwork on any of his computers or peeking into matters that don’t concern you; you will regret it. I’m very good at what I do and all that would be required for me to end you is to not do my job,” Mercy leaned closer so that her lips were next to Lana’s ear, “I don’t lie, Lang. And that means that I can get away with one big lie. In this case it would go something like this: “I tried my best, Lex. We were outnumbered.” Try my patience, Lang, and you’ll be my big lie.”
Lana felt Mercy let her go and turn her around. Mercy straightened Lana’s clothes, “If I’m not mistaken, you have some paperwork to sign. I’ve prepared them and they are on the desk in your bedroom.”
Lana ran from Mercy. She had never been so threatened. So scared in her life. What hurt the most was that she didn’t think Lex would do anything about Mercy even if she told him what happened. It was just further confirmation that Anthony Burner and she were doing the right thing. She’d prevent Lex from hurting anyone else.
Mercy watched Lang run away. She had just bought more trouble and she knew it. Mercy only hoped that Lana Lang would flush out her quarry before it was too late. She was fairly confident that Lang would say nothing to Lex, but it would not be too difficult to spin it so that he wasn’t too angry. Mercy couldn’t put her finger on it, but Lang was up to something and Lex was too blind to see it.
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
Mercy would’ve jumped in the air had she been any less well trained. She turned to see Chloe Sullivan stepping away from behind a little stone building. There was something predatory in the way that Sullivan moved towards her. In fact, Mercy wouldn’t call it walking. She would call it what it was: stalking.
Chloe stopped two feet away from Mercy and pondered the other woman. She understood why Mercy did what she did, she just hoped the other woman fully understood what she had done.
Mercy straightened her chauffeur’s hat and stood taller, “No, I shouldn’t have. Lex should have done this. But if you’re concerned that Lang is being insufficiently watched, then I suppose you could broach the subject with him.”
Chloe shrugged, “No, I don’t think I’ll be doing that. Be careful. Lana is dangerous in her own way,” with that Chloe headed towards her own car.
Mercy watched Chloe Sullivan walk to her car. “Her hair is longer.” She looked back towards the mansion. It was time to put surveillance on Chloe Sullivan and Lana Lang, but for two very different reasons. It was apparent that Chloe was in some sort of undefined danger and that Lana was the lone idiot who would get them all killed.
“No rest for the wicked.”
Back to Chapter 12
Onward to Chapter 14