We were guided back down the hallway from where we came and were lead deep down into the bowels of the complex.

It was significantly colder and darker where Samson was taking us than the top floors. After what felt like an excruciating hour of silent marching, he stopped in front of a door and used his shoulder to push against the frame to budge it open.

A cold breeze rushed out of the pitch black room to greet us while Samson made quick work of freeing Matteo and I from our restraints, allowing the cuffs to loudly fall at our feet on the cold floor. I didn't even have time for my eyes to adjust in the slightest before we were shoved inside and the door locked behind us.

I couldn't see anything for an eerily long time, I didn't know where Matteo was in all of this and the fact that he didn't seem to be talking to me wasn't helping either.

Finally though, the darkness began to seem not so dark and I could start to see the room that we were locked inside of.

While it technically was a cell since we were locked inside, the interior was anything but that. The room looked old but it was entirely furnished it was just bathed in darkness.

My eyes journeyed throughout the room and came across Matteo who had moved literally as far away from me in the small space as humanly possible.

It made me clench my fists at my sides in a feeble attempt to contain my immediate waves of rage.

I was the one dying here, not him. It just didn't make any sense and it was the confusion of it all that was infuriating me the most.

"What the fúck is the matter with you?" I railed on Matteo the very next instant.

His downcast face suddenly piqued with interest and jerked upwards, his amber eyes practically flowed in the shadows of the room as he made his way across the room.

I regretted my word choice for a split second before I remembered that I was dying so I shouldn't have to filter myself in the short time I have left.

With every step Matteo took closer to me, I skirted away but the room was only so big and soon my back was pressed against the wall and Matteo's body entirely too close for comfort.

"Whatever this has been, Olive, it's over. The sooner you get that through your thick head the better." His voice was thick and low, yet it still managed to sound like nails on a chalkboard to innocent, unaware ears; and he wasn't even finished.

Matteo wound his hands through his hair, closing his eyes for a split second before dropping his hands and opening his eyes suddenly. "I should have rejected you a long time ago."

All my life, I thought if I ever had the misfortune of even hearing the word reject in this context I would be a weepy mess but right now it just totally pissed me off.

"Oh, you should have? Really?" I mocked up to Matteo, emphasizing the last word with a hard poke of my finger against his chest. "Care to elaborate on that because last I checked, everything was going just swimmingly between the two of us." I had thought things were going well for brief, flickering moments but my voice came off cold and sarcastic.

Oops.

Matteo growled and bat my hands away from his chest, "Don't you get it?" He shook his head, "It's like I'm finally seeing everything for the first time in the light, all of everything that has ever happened to you in the span of these last few weeks is a direct result of me and my pride."

His fist suddenly collided with the wall beside us, "She was right, I was selfish and because of me you are dying."

Again his hand slammed into the wall, the dry wall cracking and falling to the ground to reveal a concrete shell. There was blood against the cool surface. "I didn't need to take over your pack that day, I had known of the wrongs that had been taking place there for years but I wanted more. More power, more packs, more blood...

I didn't have to bring you with me, I had no use for a mate but I was selfish and the thought of leaving you there even though I hated your existence nauseated me. I didn't have to turn you but I wanted you a certain way and I took that choice away from you. Everything, it is all because of me and now you're dying and there is nothing I can do about it, Olive. I love you and I can't save you. I am no good for you, you and I both know this."

I reached up and slapped him the moment the words left his lips, I moved so quick that it even caught me a little off guard. I halfway didn't expect to make contact with his face but I definitely did by the throbbing in my palm and the intense anger radiating from Matteo's eyes. I pulled my hand away from his face just as fast but this time Matteo was ready for the motion and caught my wrist before I could move it away.

"How dare you." I bit out with as much venom as I could muster as I tried to tug my arm free from his arm but Matteo held fast. "You can't just go and tell someone you love them as they are dying, do you know how seriously fûcked that is?"

Matteo's hand tightened ever so slightly as he enveloped the entirety of my wrist in his palm before he dropped it altogether and walked away from me.

I blinked in disbelief, I don't know what I had expected but this was certainly not it and maybe it was the adrenaline in my system or maybe the mortality crisis I was currently dealing with but I couldn't stop myself.

"Want to know what is even more fûcked than that?" My voice rang across the dark room and even in the shadows I could see Matteo's body stiffen, "That even after everything we have been through, I love you too, Matteo."