Chapter One

Passion and Pain

The moans grow louder and louder. They're almost a soundtrack to me now. I feel nothing, simply irritation and a tiny bit of anger, though I would never admit either aloud to President Snow.

My suitor throws her head back, moaning so loud I swear I hear the conversation in the other room cease. But that can't be. My hands cup her waist, and lock there. "Shh," I say urgently.

"But... You're... So... Sexy," she moans, her eyes rolling back in her head.

I grin, though there is no true emotion in it. "So I've been told."

Spent, she collapses onto my chest. I have to make her feel welcomed, like she had a good time, so that she will give the president a good report. However, my heart isn't in it as her lips find my neck. That's my tender spot, and she's much prettier than the other ones. Usually I'd lose it. But my heart feels... Empty.

What was her name again? I struggle to remember it. Yet my lips form it without conscious thought. "Carlie. I'm sorry, but I have to go."

She stares at me. "What do you mean?"

"I have somewhere to be," I say a little less pleasantly, trying to push her off as urgently as possible without being rough. But she won't budge.

"Finnick," she cries. My name on her lips seems strange, like two things that should not go together. "Please don't leave me." She tries to kiss me again, but I turn away. "Please, Finnick. Please!"

"I'm sorry," I whisper. And I really am. But now is not the time for apologies. I cannot bear to sit here anymore and pretend like I am enjoying myself, when the opposite is true.

Carlie weeps into my shoulder, but I swing my legs off the bed and separate myself from her. With one last look at her, watching her crumple in on herself and cry, I leave the room.

The president letting me use his mansion was a stretch. Fantastical, even. But he has, and I have disrespected him in his home. It was rash, and I will surely have consequences for my actions. But for once, I feel like Finnick Odair, the boy from District Four, instead of Finnick Odair, the sex god.

I think back to the promise President Snow made me agree to. Images of my Victory Tour flash through my mind- my next-to-nothing costumes, the hours on the train, the sex in between districts. You are who the Capitol wants you to be, Snow had said. Nothing more than a pretty face.

I don't think I have ever hated anyone as passionately as I do him.

I push the thoughts aside and stride down the long hallways of the president's mansion. I've never seen him with a girlfriend, even when I was younger, so he must live here alone, besides his guards. I wonder how it must feel to have such a vast space to yourself. Back home in District Four, I have the Victor's Village, but I have Mags next door to keep me company. He has no one.

Sympathy for the snake. Usually, I would feel it. But all I feel is fear. Alone, he has his thoughts... And he can plan.

"Odair?" The guard's voice jars me from my thoughts. I look up at him, puzzled by his alarmed look. But he isn't looking at my face. I follow his eyes, and...

All of a sudden, I realize something.

In my distraction, I simply left the room. I never even stopped to consider it. To consider the fact that I left my clothes there. I'm totally naked in the middle of the hallway.

Heat rises to my cheeks, and I hope I'm not blushing. "Don't flatter yourself," I snap. "I forgot my clothes."

I turn and run back to the room as quickly as I can. Carlie's not there anymore, but my clothes still lie in a heap on the floor. I pull my underwear and jeans on, and am working my T-shirt over my head when I hear his voice. Really, it isn't too far out to call him a snake. His baritone has that quality- the sound a reptile would make if it could talk.

"Finnick, we need to talk."

Without turning around, I pull the shirt down over my body. It's tight over my biceps, but I'm sure Snow won't be focused on my muscles. He'll have other worries. "About?" I say innocently.

"Look at me."

He says the words calmly, but there is a cold, deep threat behind his words so commanding that I have to force myself not to cringe away from him. I turn around and face him, my eyebrows rising in time with my heartbeat.

He smiles. "You're good, Odair. I have to say. That fearless exterior... It works on you. But you should know by now that things like that fly right past me."

"I'm well aware, sir," I say. "I wasn't trying."

Wrong thing to say. He grits his teeth. "So you are not afraid? Because you should be."

"Oh, I'm afraid," I admit. "But I know you wouldn't come here personally unless you had a reason. So what is it?"

He laughs. The sound is like sheets of sandpaper rubbing together. "You've got guts, I'll tell you that. That's the only reason I've kept you along."

"That and if you killed me, your pets would probably repeat the Dark Days," I correct. "They're too attached to me."

He clicks his tongue. "Yes, you're right. How I want to kill you. But because I wish the stability of the Capitol... I will keep you alive."

I hear the unspoken word at the end of the sentence. "But?"

He smiles. "No buts. Yet."

The notion that he could easily kill me when he wants to, that he is simply waiting for the right time, sends a chill of fear down my back. But my face remains impassive. "Can I go home?"

"I haven't any more clients ordering your... presence." He hisses the word. "So for now, yes. But remember, Mr. Odair. You and I have a promise. And I intend to uphold my end. Will you do the same?"

I bite my lip. If I say no, he'll kill me. If I say yes, he may kill me in the future. Either way, I'm dead.

But do I really want to lose my family in a rebellion, too?

I sigh. "Yes, sir."

"That's more like it. I'll have a hoverplane for you in the morning." He turns to leave, but stops at the door. "Oh, and Finnick?"

"Yes?" I whisper.

"I know about what happened. How despicable of you." He laughs and closes the door.

Technically, nothing happened between Snow and I. Anyone else would write it off and continue with their day. But I, I who knows Snow operates, can see the far-reaching effects of this conversation. And I know that I am not guaranteed life anymore. Not until Snow dies.

I hear a whisper in the back of my mind, almost like a hiss. It's commanding and urgent, yet deadly, like a snake. It whispers, You will never be safe.

So, how do you guys like it? This is the beginning of a four-part series arc that will follow Finnick through the high points in his life-his molestation, his love story with Annie, how Annie became insane, Annie's Games, his POV during Catching Fire, and his POV during Mockingjay. Book one will follow his molestation, his recovery, and how he meets Annie. There is a bit of a love triangle, but you already know how it's resolved. Finnick's twenty-one at this point, too, which means the books will go over three years.

I may do a prequel about Finnick's Games, I may not. Depends if you guys like this series. I just love Finnick and wanted to write what I thought happened to make him the way he is. (I love Mockingjay, but Finnick's death is the one thing I wish Suzanne Collins had changed.) If so, it would stand alone and have nothing to do with this series, though there would be hints of things to come.

Review review review! Please! Your reviews give me power. I love you guys and hope you HoN fanfic fans flock over to this. Thank you!

XOXO,

Casey