Chapter 1

Peeta's POV

A piercing scream fills the night air waking me from my deep slumber. I jolt upright and try to take in my surroundings. That's when it hits me. Katniss' fist clocks me right on my arm. I turn to my right and see her face scrunched up in agony and terror. She is thrashing around and screaming. I immediately pull her to my chest and whisper into her ear.

"Hey Katniss, it's alright. You're safe. You're safe. Shhhh…" I repeat this over and over until she calms.

"Peeta?" she says groggily.

"Yes it's me, you're safe." I still have her held tightly against my chest and am rubbing her back soothingly.

Slowly she drifts back off to sleep. These nightmares don't happen as often as they used to and sometimes they aren't too bad. This one was tame compared to some others. Even though so many years have passed since the hunger games and the war, Katniss and I still experience nightmares from time to time.

Sometimes my episodes from being held captive in the Capitol can get nasty and Katniss is the one by my side calming me down. That tracker jacker venom is some nasty stuff. Some of it is still in me to this day, so there are times when I feel this uncontrollable rage but eventually it passes, or Katniss will talk me through it. She is my anchor.

I look down at my wife in my arms who is now sleeping soundly, and I allow myself to take in her beauty. I can't believe to this day she married me. How in the hell did I get so lucky? I will never know. I always thought she would pick Gale. Guess I was wrong about that one.

I brush back some tendrils that have fallen into her face and place a kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight my love. Sweet dreams."

I allow myself to drift off to sleep beside her.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGH

I open my eyes and realize its morning. I stretch and yawn and thrown my hand to Katniss' side of the bed hoping to feel her there. My hand touches cold sheets and I can't help but frown. I'm disappointed whenever I wake up and she isn't here. I also can't help but feel paranoid every time. What if something happened to her? I quickly dispel the thoughts from my head. The war is over. Snow is dead. Coin is dead. The threats are gone. Panem is in a state of peace.

I sigh and throw my legs over the side of the bed. I wince at the coldest of the hardwood floors and walk over to the chair where I left my pants. I put them on and throw a t-shirt on quickly as well. I jog down the stairs of our house in Victor's Village. Now that Katniss and I have been married we decided to move into one house together.

"Katniss!" I yell as I jog down.

There is no answer. I can't help the dread that fills my stomach. I always have the feeling in the back of my mind that something bad is going to happen. I frequently have dreams about it. Katniss dying is the worst of them. If I were to lose her… I don't even want to think about it. The thought alone is unbearable.

"Katniss!" I yell again.

I make my way to the kitchen and make a quick scan of the room. Empty. I see a note on the kitchen island however.

"Went hunting. Be back later. Katniss. Ps. I love you." I read aloud.

I can't help but smile at the last part. I decide to start breakfast so I head to the stove. I whip up some eggs and inhale them in no time. Whenever Katniss goes hunting in the woods she is usually gone until midday because she knows I worry. But there are times when she has returned before dusk. I always breathe a sigh of relief when she walks through the door again.

Katniss still has a love for hunting and being in the woods. Me, the woods remind me too much of the games so I have only been in there a couple of times. My wife loves it. I think she finds it therapeutic. It's a part of her old life and a part of her. I know sometimes she goes to the woods to get away and just think.

Gale doesn't go with her anymore. Not since Prim died. I don't think Katniss has ever forgiven him for creating those traps with the bombs. Although he didn't authorize its usage, Katniss still holds him partially responsible. I have told her to forgive him many times because I know Gale would never have wanted to hurt Prim but Katniss has yet to do so.

I pick up my plate and wash it along with my cup. Soon I will be heading to the bakery. After the war was over and some of us returned to 12, we rebuilt. I made my parent's bakery what it was and more. I hope I have made them proud keeping the family business. My mom probably would not have been too thrilled with me marrying Katniss though. A girl from the Seam. She would have freaked.

A knock on the door startles me from my thoughts. I walk to it and open it to see Haymitch, our former mentor. He is more like a friend now than anything and I think Katniss sees him as a father figure. Me, not so much.

"Haymitch. To what do I owe the pleasure this early in the morning?" I joke with him. Haymitch usually sleeps until noon most days.

His face however remains passive and my smile immediately falls from my face. He walks past me and strides into my kitchen where he opens the fridge and pops open a bottle of alcohol.

"Yes you may come in," I say to myself. I'm slightly annoyed that he barged in without an invitation. Then again, it's Haymitch. I shouldn't expect any more.

I join him in the kitchen and see him drinking our wine. I immediately scowl.

"Do you have to do that so early in the morning? I thought you were getting off the stuff."

He ignores my comment and takes another swig from the bottle watching me out of the corner of his eye. Now I am getting annoyed and frustrated.

"You wanna tell me why you're here."

"You might want to sit down for this." He says gruffly. His eyes look worried and I can feel my expression mirroring his.

I plop down into the nearest chair and wait for him to speak.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGH

A loud profanity slips from my lips and the tray of bread clatters to the floor. I have been utterly careless today and the burn on my hand is proof of that. Ever since Haymitch came to our house this morning and gave me the news I have been on edge. Especially since Katniss has been in the woods, it has increased my worry tenfold. I shake my hand and bend to pick up the bread and fallen tray.

"Hey you ok?"

I turn my head to look behind me and see Katniss in her full hunting gear with her game bag in her hand and her bow in the other. She looks at me worriedly and even more so when I don't answer her. Her game bag drops to the floor and the bow makes a clatter as it falls.

"Peeta?" she kneels next to me and looks into my eyes. Her gaze drifts down and that's when she sees the burn on my hand. "Geez Peeta, you need to be more careful."

She pulls me up, cradling my burnt hand and leads me over to the sink. She places my hand under the cold water and I flinch slightly.

"Stop being a big baby," she tells me with a smirk on her face. "You've had much worse."

She continues to cradle my hand and wash the burn. She is now looking at it intently, I guess to make sure it isn't too bad.

"Hi." I say. Wow. That's what I utter. I mentally do a face palm. I guess the burn combined with seeing her return from hunting in one piece has hindered my verbal ability.

"I was worried," I say softly. Oh, it's back.

"You're always worried," she says slightly annoyed. She hates when I worry too much.

Katniss begins to put some medicine on the burn and starts to bandage it soon after.

I sigh and say, "Got a good haul?"

"Just a few rabbits and a squirrel. Nothing too big." Now she seems a little distant. I know why. I also know I'm about to get an earful. "You need to stop worrying about me Peeta, I can take care of myself."

"I know Katniss." I pause. "It's just, Haymitch stopped by this morning." At this she looks up at me with a questioning look on her face.

"What he told me, made me worry more about you ok."

"What did he say?"

I hold my tongue deciding if to tell her the whole truth. Everything that Haymitch told me. Or maybe I should say part of it. While I'm deciding this in my head I suddenly realize Katniss is looking at me impatiently.

"Well?" she asks, a little irritated.

"There is a new threat. Snow's brother apparently wants to be like his big brother."

Katniss drops my hand and looks away from me. She stares off into the distance. I know she is still listening so I go on.

"He's been making an army for the past year and a half and acquiring soldiers to fight for his cause." I gulp. The horror filling my veins again as I relay what Haymitch told me. It was the same feeling of dread I felt this morning.

Katniss looks back at me, waiting for me to continue. When I don't she raises her eyebrows.

"There's something you're not telling me."

I look into her eyes. The grey depths pleading with me for the whole truth. Who am I kidding, I am powerless against her. It is still hard for me to utter those last words. It's like someone suddenly stole my tongue. My worst nightmare could come true.

"Peeta," she pleads, "Tell me." Her hands now grip mine.

"His first order of business," I whisper, "Is to kill the Mockingjay."