Hi, thank you for clicking on my story. I'm currently writing another story called "Invincible." This is really different from the whole Katniss and Cato pre, during, and after games romance story, and from my other one. This one is where Cato wasn't in the 74th annual hunger games, yet fate still brings him to Katniss in the bitterest of ways when Snow calls upon him for a mission. Set during mid Mockingjay. I hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own this story, and the characters.

Without further ado, chapter one of "Temptation."

I sit in the velvet chair in the frigid and dimly lit room. It stenches of a mixture of blood and roses that causes me breathe out of my mouth rather than my nose to block the scent out. I look at the clock, and seconds slip away each twitch of the crimson hand, the next one seeming slower than the one before. Of course I insisted on being early, as would most people when they were called upon by the infamous President Snow. He sent me a later with a stamp of approval from the Capitol itself. I slip out the note, and make sure I got the time right. I skim the letter quickly trying to find where the time is given.

Dear Cato Soldate,

I have sought upon all my files to find a boy strong enough to complete this mission. Throughout my many on going days and nights of seeking for a candidate for the of the mission, I heard about you. Numerous days I've been observing your training at your academy and you are without a doubt the best competitor known to man. The mission I'm sending you on is anything but easy, but not impossible. This message is brief, I have little time on my hands with rebellions and such. You will show up to the Capitol mansion this Saturday if you choose to accept my request. If you don't show up, you will be found and we will have to turn you into an avox, for this message is absolutely top secret. Choose wisely on whether or not you decide to make this letter into account. Don't tell anyone about this, I won't take any mercy on the victim you decide to have loose lips with. At five o'clock precisely at my mansion I will further explain this task.

Sincerily,

Coriolanus Snow

The clock reads four fifty-nine right now. Yes, I did get the time correct, thank God, I think to myself.. I fold the note up neatly and put it back into my coat pocket. I dressed nice of course, I wouldn't want to look like a poor man in front of Snow, especially when he has selected me for a task.

I'm nervous to say the least, it's never easy working with a man who can kill you in a matter of seconds. I've been in his place before in fights, and I see the victims scared eyes as I place my hands on their neck, and they wait for the crack. I've always had the upper hand, I've always decided the fate of the victim. Who'd have known I'd be the victim, the man on a ledge, right here and now? I don't want to be in this situation but if I chose not to except it, my tongue would be cut off and I'd be punished by having to live a lifetime of muteness. I straighten my tie, and rub the folds in my pants. I run my fingers quickly through my hair, then smoothed it back, scared any hairs would be spiked up.

The door opens and I nearly jump. The sound interrupted the dead silence, and startled me ever so slightly. I feel my heart begin to pound as I see Coriolanus Snow walk through the door, right on time, and I quickly stand up out of mere respect. The smell of rose and blood grows stronger with his presence, and I need to focus even more to breath out of my mouth. His paper white hair is slicked back with some sort of gel, and his beard lays scruffy. His suit is all black except for a single white rose in the pocket of his shirt, which is known to be his trademark. His lips are puffier than the last time I saw him, which was in the quarter quell, on television as he made a speech. His don't even seem to have an iris separated from a pupil, he just seems to have dark wholes in the center of white. He reminds me of a snake, and I feel like the helpless little mouse he's eying as his prey.

There he is, there he stands, the tyrannical dictator which has been ruling Panem for years, and is facing a rebellion so grand, he might actually lose. What use could I possibly be in this situation?

"President Snow," I address him, my voice serious and revealing none of my fear. I'd always been good at that, hiding any emotion that lies in me. "It's an honor," I say. I don't know if his presence is an honor, when fear is rising up in me.

"Hello Mr. Soldate," He says, extending his hand out for me to shake. I meet it and clasp my hand in his, and feel his cold, clammy, and callous skin on mine. I let go after he does, cautiously keeping my surveillance on him, as I let my hand drop. He sits down, so I do as well, knowing to follow his gestures in order to indicate my own. "I'm happy you could make it," His voice mumbles. I nod in return, still not speaking, not until he asks me a question, I could mess up. "I bet you are wondering why I called upon you, correct?"

"Indeed, I am sir," I reply, my voice strong and hard. I can't show weakness, I can't show vulnerability, not when he calls upon me.

He shifts his position to a more comfortable one, as if he's about to start a long lecture, which I'm relatively sure he will.

"Cato, I've seen you train before, and you know how to fight, and you know how to defend yourself well. My only question now is how officiant are you're survival skills?"

"I'm consummate in that area for sure," I reply with ease. "I can find food easily, and water too."

Snow nods, his eyes revealing nothing. "I've heard you dislike the so called Mockingjay, Katniss Everdeen," He says randomly.

"Loath is a more adequate word than dislike," I imply. When I first saw the so called "Mockingjay" I immediately disliked her. I was supposed to be in her games, but someone beat me to volunteering, so I lost my shot at participating in those games. Even though her beauty and bravery was astounding, I refused to let myself be dragged into the hype about her. As I watched her and her lover boy kiss all the time, I felt my hatred rise and spark. It was weak what they were doing, leaning on one another for support when most people in the games get none. No wonder she died during the quell. Rumor has it her lover boy is being held captive here at the Capitol. Serves him right, he didn't deserve to win the quell, the games almost felt rigged to be in his favor.

Snow smiles at this comment. "Excellent."

"Mind you," I say and then continue by asking the question that bewilders me. "Why does my opinion matter when the girl was killed during the quell?"

Snow cackles in a sinister moment, and must resist the urge to cling to the back of my chair in fear because for a moment I'm not sure he's entirely insane. "Cato, Katniss is very much alive," He says. His eyes darken as he adds, "And still very much of a threat to our peaceful system."

I wince, how could the girl survive the insane shock the other contenders so mindlessly decided to set off? "How did she survive?"

Snow averts his eyes to the side. His face is frustrated and there's a vacancy in his eyes that tell me he's not entirely here, but more in his mind. "Our precious games were hacked into and an unknown alliance was made without us knowing. Plutarch, the new game maker was a spy from district thirteen." He mumbles almost to himself.

"That can't be possible, district thirteen was diminished years ago," I utter in shock.

President Snow lifts his hand and curls it into a loose fist over his mouth, and his other hand clutches his elbow. "A secret civilization formed there, and we let it remain there without trouble as long as they were isolated and didn't start a nuclear war. We made a compromise, as long as they play dead, we left them alone."

"Why didn't you kill them?" I ask. "Wasn't a bomb dropped on them? We've seen the footage in school about thirteen, and it's all ruins, how could they have lived?"

Snow shrugs. "We didn't drop a bomb on them, that was old footage we've been playing for years. We wanted to threaten the districts. Though now they've turned on us."

I sit there for a moment, trying to soak all this information in. "So they are planning to fight back, correct?" I question, knowing that this plan is dangerous of them. Snow nods his head and darts his eyes back to me and they glare at me. "Why don't you send a bunch of peacekeepers in? Or bomb the place, that will surely take care of your troubles." I suggest, even though I'm sure I'm not the first two.

"This is where you come in, Mr. Soldate. They are heavily guarded. I once said to my dear friend Seneca before he passed, a spark of hope is okay as long as you can keep it contained. Now that spark has burned to a blazing inferno that threatens to ruin our peaceful society. They claim that the jurisdiction we offer is inadequate and unfair, and our dispensation is even more so. You must understand we've tried to reason with them, but nothing will work, their president is insufferable. Consolidation is no longer an option."

I nod, not understanding half the words he just say, but pretend I do for the sake of the matter. "What is your request for me?" I ask, careful not to make impatience show in my voice.

He grins slyly and says grimly, "It's not a request. It's a demand, unless you want to lose your tongue." I close my mouth as a reflex, and he chuckles. "You see, Cato, to fight fire with fire, the outcome is you'll always get burned. So I cannot send an army of peacekeepers. I cannot kill the girl, that would be like pouring oil in the fire, only increasing the flame. What I need is for you to go in there and lure her back here. She will do anything for the boy, Peeta. I need you to gain the girls trust and get her to come back, so I can torture the flame. Convince her to go with you, but alone."

I shake my head. "Despite how much I hate to admit it, the girl is smart, she won't fall for this."

Snow frowns. He leans forward and his eyes are dangerous. "Get her here," He snaps, emphasizing each word. "I don't care if you need to abduct her, wound her severely, woo her even. Whatever you do, get here to me, and I promise you in the end you'll have her blood on your hands and your life will be full of fame and riches."

I avert my eyes to my tapping foot, a clear sign I'm nervous. "The rest of the districts will hate me," I answer flatly.

Snow snickers. "No one will ever know you did it." He sees my conflicted face and adds, "I don't think your family's hearts will be beating very long if you don't agree to bring her back."

Panic crosses my face for a mere second. A picture of my little siblings and my parents lying dead flashes through my mind. I know saying no in this case is not an option. Though still I'm conflicted, does the girl deserve to die, much more do I want to kill her? I think back to the games, and I saw the boy tribute who was a schoolmate of mine being shot with one of her arrows and his dead body on the ground. I grit my teeth and look back up. "I will do the job, though I refuse to kill her in the end, that is not going to part of the bargain. Otherwise, I accept."

Snow smiles and says, "Good choice. Tomorrow they are planning on filming a video of district eight to show off the victims left from the bombing. That is the only known record so far we have of her above ground and outside of district eight. There you'll pretend that you're caring for the sick and wounded. Show her you have potential to fight and convince her you're worthy to be a part of their squad. Say you couldn't stand our government and had to leave, and you want to fight back with them. It won't be easy, she's very...guarded. I'm sure you can do this though, just show you're not going to be worthless. Though we are going to bomb the remaining victims in the place so you'll need to get out of there with them." He pauses when he sees my mortified face, and then adds, "We wouldn't want them to regain hope when all that lies ahead is more destruction and misery. It's better to kill them now and simply prevent them from experiencing more pain." I nod, but still feel a knot in my stomach. His eyes are excited as he says, "After that get close with the girl, and make everyone trust you."

I nod. I know this is wrong, I can tell because of the remorse creeping up through my bones. Though I know I have my family to worry about, and myself. This would be easy, I assure myself in my thoughts, I always been good with the girls in two with my charm and such. I grin to myself and say, "President Snow, we've got ourselves a deal."

Will Cato be able to hand her over? Will Katniss believe him?

Okay, so I hope you like this. Should I continue? Does it sound promising? Do you think I should do the rest of the story from Cato's POV or Katniss's? Or flip flop? Reviews are appreciated, and if you do review and have an account I'll give you a sneak peak of the next chapter! Thanks for clicking on my story!