The fight

"I know. I know, Callie." His voice was a whisper as he left a last kiss on my temple. Our eyes locked, and it was the golden glow of our wolves keeping us entranced. The bond between us continued to strengthen and grow.

I could feel Apollo's emotions, and there was no doubt about how he felt about me. With the look in his eyes, I knew he could sense mine as well.

But, if we lived through this, I was going to tell him.

The ding of the doors broke us apart.

Bracing myself for another fight, I was almost surprised to find the hallway leading to his office empty. There wasn't a single agent in our way.

Donovan must feel incredibly confident if he was leaving us a clear path to him.

"Stay behind me," I told Apollo. I saw him nod from the corner of my vision. Then I moved down the hall, keeping my guard up in case we faced any unwanted surprises.

At the door to the office, I pressed my pointed ear to the wood and listened for any immediate noise. I heard nothing, but deep down, I knew he was in there.

I backed up and braced myself. One swift kick and the door flew off its hinges. The wood slammed on the ground, and I stormed inside, my eyes finding him instantly.

Agent Forty-Two. Donovan.

The man I had once found incredibly attractive and thought that we would have this fling for the rest of our lives or until one of us died. And when I looked at him now, I wondered at how I ever let him touch me, or how I ever trusted him.

One look into his eyes and I knew he put the hit on my name. He was the one who marked me for death. The betrayal didn't hurt. In fact, in some way, it was expected. After all those years together, perhaps deep down, we always knew that we would die at the other's hand.

"You marked me for death." Not an accusation. A statement.

Donovan sighed and titled his head to the side as he examined me with cold eyes. "I did, yes." He placed his palms on the desk and his body shifted like he was about to stand up.

"Stay down!" I growled and heard the beastly sound from the back of my throat. Donovan stilled and looked up at me across the length of the office.

The tension in the air was frigid, and it felt like the string holding us back was on the verge of snapping.

"You know, Callie, you always were a pretty face with a mouth full of sharp teeth." Donovan admitted, leaning forward on his elbows and intertwining his fingers. "This is a good look on you."

Following his statement, I bared my fangs at him in a silent hiss. My entire body was humming with untapped energy and I was just waiting for the moment to strike.

Donovan moved in a blur, leaping from his chair and rolling on the floor to my right. My stance lowered as I readied myself. When he jumped to his feet, there was a handgun pointed right at me.

"The sound of violence is music to my ears, Forty-Two. Are you going to sing for me?" I purred.

Apollo snarled and stepped forward. Donovan's aim moved to him and I lost control of the beast lying in wait under my skin. She saw her mate in danger and craved the blood of the one foolish enough to threaten what belonged to her.

"Weren't you supposed to kill him, Agent?" He spat the last word, and it made me feel sick. "The Alpha spreading Mist through New York was on our list."

"He's not responsible. I already killed the one who was, and he was no Alpha." As I spoke, I moved slowly, trying to keep myself between Donovan and Apollo.

"And you're the expert on the wolves now?" Donovan barked with a short laugh. "You fuck one dog and now you're following him like a lovesick puppy. You belong on the list with him."

"You have no right to speak about him. He's more man than you could ever dream of being. You're no better than a rat. A filthy, lecherous, murderous little rat!" I was getting closer, and we were seconds away from clashing.

"Speaking of murder," Donovan twisted his face to look at Apollo, "has our little whore told you about all of her conquests? How many names do you think she's taken off the list? How many bodies has she put on the ground just to get to one target?"

Apollo's voice was low and threatening, but the sound of it made me want to purr. "Her hands are red with blood, even now, and yet I trust them completely."

Donovan spat on the ground and cursed. "Fucking stupid. This is all bullshit. Callie, you know you belong with us, not these filthy animals. If you come back to me now, we can find a way to put this all behind us."

I took another step closer, almost within reaching distance. We locked eyes, and I felt a chill in my gut at the emptiness in Donovan's eyes. "I am not human, and I never was. Don't expect me to act like one now."

And I let the monster free.

My body became a blur as I leapt at Donovan. The gun went off, but I dodged, and the bullet barely grazed my side. I couldn't even feel the sting as adrenaline pumped through me and pushed me into action.

I backhanded the gun out of Donovan's grip and my claws slashed out towards his face. Donovan reared back out of the way, but I followed him with a kick.

He caught my ankle and twisted my body. I spiraled away and regained my balance, catching myself in a crouch. Donovan side-eyed the gun that had clattered away on the floor and before he could run for it, Apollo stepped into his way.

Naturally, Donovan had more than the gun in his possession. He pulled a knife from his back pocket. And it reminded me of the dagger on my hip.

We rose, eyes locked and frames tense. I pulled the enchanted dagger from its sheath and curled my fingers firmly around the hilt. Donovan's eyes flickered as he took in the sight of my weapon, and a smirk curled on his lips.

"We both know I was always more proficient in hand to hand combat than you were. And I don't care what you are now, Fifty-Five. I am going to kill you. I will be the one to wipe your name from the list and it'll be like you never existed."

"I barely existed before, Forty-Two. Your threats mean nothing." I stood up straight and rolled my shoulders to release the growing tension in my muscles. "I am more than you will ever be. I am the monster they created us to be, but I am the one who became."

"That sounds like the bullshit poetry of someone about to die, if you ask me," he snapped back.

"But, I'm already dead."

I lunged before he could respond.

Donovan twirled out of the way and I tossed the dagger in the air to grab it with my opposite hand and follow his movement. My next strike just barely missed his neck, but the blade grazed his cheek.

"Shit!" He stumbled back and reached up to touch his face. It was a thin cut, but the blood was welling up and spilling over to drip down his cheek. It kept going thanks to the enchantment on the blade.

I glanced at the dagger in my hand and nodded, impressed. There wasn't time to admire it further as Donovan lunged again. He struck repeatedly, hard and fast.

Each time Donovan got close to landing a deathly blow, Apollo would growl and I could feel the tension radiating off him as he yearned to join me. But he knew that this fight was mine.

I weaved and dodged. We pushed and punched and twirled and kicked. Blades rang out as he parried my blows and time came to a standstill as if we were the only two people on earth.

It was the dance of death. A battle of strength and will.

Perspiration coated Donovan's hairline and each breath he drew in was heavy and ragged. His cheek kept bleeding, and I was realizing just how much stronger I was now.

"Too much time sitting behind a desk?" I laughed at him when he stumbled back from a blow to his upper arm.

"Too much time on your knees?" Donovan huffed, wiping his face with the back of his sleeve, staining his white button up with blood and sweat. There were now tiny cuts all over his body from all my precise strikes.

It made me feel powerful to toy with him like this. Like a cat with a mouse.

"Why would I get on my knees when I can bring alphas to theirs?" I kicked my left foot and my boot connected with the inside of Donovan's leg. Once his weight was knocked out from under him, he crashed to his knees.

Just before I could slice his throat, he pushed up with his knife and cut the side of my arm. It knocked the enchanted dagger from my hand, and I groaned from the fresh cut on my skin.

"Callie!" Apollo shouted, but my vision blurred, and I couldn't turn to look at him.

What I could feel was the blade stabbed into my gut and taste the blood rising from the back of my throat.

When I looked down, I saw Donovan had grabbed the fallen enchanted dagger and jammed it into my stomach. There was a sneer on his wretched face as he looked up at me through the red dripping down his eyes from many slight cuts I gave him.

"If you're already dead, you won't mind dying again, will you, Callie?" He jeered, and I fell to my knees.

Blood spilled from my lips, and my hands grabbed at Donovan to keep myself upright. My head swam and I could feel my heart slowing down with each heavy beat.

"Calypso!" Apollo's cry sounded miles away.

As my mind clouded, I could get past the sight of Donovan glaring at me, inches away. I inhaled shakily and felt the throbbing ache in my stomach. Then my fingers curled on his arms and my claws sharped into dangerous points.

With my last ounce of strength, my hand snapped up to his throat. A growl from deep within left my lips as I dug my claws into his flesh. Donovan's eyes widened, and he gurgled over my fingers on his neck. Crimson poured out and coated my hand, and I dug my claws in deeper.

The edges of my vison went dark, and I pulled out the throat of an agent who never existed in the first place. Just like me.

Then my world went dark.