Justice, the 4th hunger games book, the story after mockingjay

Chapter Thirty-nine

So sorry for the massive gap in me updating! I have been swamped with uni work. I am currently training to be a teacher and the work load is just immense!! Had time to write this short chapter though. hope it keeps you going! I'll try and update again at the weekend. There's some good twists and action coming up. at the moment it is all in my head so as soon as get it formulated into some form of chapter i'll post it but won't be for a couple of chapters time!!

Hope you enjoy and make sure you let me know what you think!

Let me know if there is anything you would like to see happen or if you have any questions and ill try fit them in/answer them! :)

Chapter Thirty-nine

KPOV

I am abruptly awoken by a drop of rain landing on my nose. Snapping open my eyes I take in my surroundings.

Where am I?

Where is Marc?

The minimal light of the sunrise enables me to view our immediate vicinity. I can just make out a small figure in the tree beside me and relax slightly Marc is balled up with someone between his arms. Ali. I smile, they found each other.

I feel his presence before I remember the events of the night before. The arrow, the near miss. I can feel the strong pair of arms I am wrapped up in and the soft warm breath ruffling my hair just behind my ear, Peeta, I finally found him. Finally reunited. Yes I nay have almost killed him but like he said that is all in the past and I didn't, we are together and are now one step closer to the end of this.

I close my eyes and allow myself a couple more minutes of peace and tranquility. I snuggle deeper into Peeta's embrace. My movements cause him to stir and his grip on me tightens ever so slightly as I feel the warmth of his lips on my ear as he begins to lightly pepper kisses.

.

"Hey." He whispers. "How did you sleep?"

"No nightmares?" I ask him.

"No nightmares." He confirms.

"It's beginning to rain." I comment not bothering to open my eyes.

"Hmm, oh yeah, I put a canvas up above us to keep us dry. It's been raining for a while now."

"How did you manage that without waking me?" I question.

"I did wake you Katniss." He laughs and pulls me closer.

"I, I don't remember." I state screwing up my face as I try and remember.

"Calm down and stop worrying. You were pretty tired. Slurred your words quite a bit. I don't think you really want to know what you said."

"Oh! What did I say?" I all but beg.

"Let's just say it made me fall that little bit further."

"Please tell me what I said. Please." I whisper, swinging my leg over the branch and turning to face him. He smiles at me, ensuring I am stable before bring his hand to me cheek and brushing away another rain droplet.

"I wasn't able to make out most of it but you said something along the lines of not ever wanting to let me go, that you were glad I threw you that bread, that you can't imagine a life without me. It kind of makes me wonder what you were dreaming about." I can feel the deep blush begin to spread across my face and I hurry to bury my face in my hands.

"I wish you wouldn't wake me up Peeta. I always manage to subconsciously embarrass myself in one way or another. I see him smile through my fingers as he reaches up and slowly and careful pries my hands away from my face.

"I thought it was adorable Katniss."

My heart swells with his response and I lean forward to press my lips to his. Once again I am overwhelmed with the flood of feelings and sensation I get from his touch. This is something I will never get used to.

I hear a snap of a twig from below and we are both instantly alert. The minimal light makes it difficult to make out anything below us. I quickly open up my bow and load an arrow just as Peeta frees himself enough to pull a couple of knives. Noiselessly I slide forward to allow myself room to draw my bow and begin to scope out the ground beneath me. I am unable to see anything below us.

I feel Peeta tense up behind me and I allow him to guide me to the shapes down by the river, less than ten metres from us. They aren't tributes, they can't be. They're the wrong shape. Too many limbs and too many of them. I manage to count six in total but I can't work out what they are. Walking on all fours, the have an outline of wolves but I know they must be much more dangerous than that. They would have claws that could rip skin from bone and teeth as sharp as razors. They would be cleaver, hunters, but why have we not encountered them before now?

"Mutts?" I whisper barely audible.

"I think so."

One twitches their ear and snaps their head upstream. Up the way Marc and I had come from the night before. That's when the ear piercing scream reaches my ears causing me to stiffen in fear and shock. I feel Peeta stiffen behind me as he swiftly hands me all his weapons. Oh no. I know what this means. No I beg. No not now. I silently slip the daggers and knives into my bags as the wolves disappear just as quickly and quietly as their arrived. The scream is swiftly followed by a cannon firing. I wonder if that was the wolves or another tribute. My guess is the latter.

"Go now." Peeta whispers desperately fighting the oncoming attack.

"Peeta." I sigh. "Not real, not real. I'm here. I love you. Don't leave me?" I beg tears filling my eyes. We had gone so long without an episode. I thought this Peeta was long gone.

"Please. I. Don't. Want. To. Hurt. You." He forces out through gritted teeth.

"Repeat the things you know to be true Peeta." I whisper.

"My name is Peeta Mellark. I am the winner of the 74th and 75 hunger games. I am in love with Katniss Everdeen. She is my wife. I have two children. We brought down the Capitol and ended the games. Paylor brought back the games. I am in the games. Katniss is not a mutt."

I grab the bags, pull out some of the rope and attach it to the branch. Throwing myself off the branch I swiftly make my way to the ground and lower myself to the base of the tree and I feel the damp of the grass under my feet where I am almost instantly joined by Marc.

"Mutts?" He asks, and I nod looking up at Peeta hoping he will be OK.

"Clever, very dangerous I would say. We do not want to be found by them at any point. Let's just hope they only come out in the night." I reply a little detached.

"What's wrong with Peeta?" He ask noticing his and my own distress.

"He's struggling with a flashback. He needs something to help him but he doesn't want me to get hurt. I gasp as I remember. My letter to him. It should still be attached to his wrist, where he said he would keep it.

"Peeta?" I call, careful to keep my voice as low as I can for fear the wolf mutts are nearby.

"Kat, please. I don't."

"Your wrist. Look at your wrist." I cut him off as I grab hold of the rope and begin to pull myself back up into the tree but Marc catches my leg.

"Are you sure that is a good idea?"

"I've got to try something. What's the worst that can happen?" I ask dryly as I turn my attention back to climbing the tree.