Our standoff goes on for what feels like forever, neither of us willing to budge. Lexie stands off to the side, trying desperately to put on a brave face, but I can see her hand shaking out of the corner of my eye. Marcus notices my distraction and makes his move.

He pushes the table towards me and it catches my ankle, causing me to trip. I manage to catch myself with my hands, but not before my ankle twists with a sickening pop. Before I can get back on my feet, Marcus is pulling me up by my arm; he slams me against the door he came through, holding me up by my shoulders so my feet are dangling off the floor.

"What a shame it has to be this way. You were destined to be one of the very best."

"Is that the best villain speech you could come up with? It's like you're not even trying," I make gagging noises at him and his eyes light with fury.

"I don't think you're really in a position to be making jokes right now, Warrior," he seethes.

I roll my eyes, reveling in the way his breathing gets heavier with his increasing anger.

"I should just snap your neck, quick and easy."

"You could try," I shrug nonchalantly.

He lifts his right hand and places it around my throat, his long fingers wrapping around so that his thumb rests over his index finger. I place my fists on his shoulders- I try to push up against him to ease the pressure on my neck.

I'm still holding onto the scalpel Lexie handed me, waiting for the right time to use it. Noting the lack of oxygen making its way to my brain, I decide this is probably as good a time as any. Holding it up to his throat, I dig in hard enough to draw blood, but not enough to cause serious damage.

He just quirks an eyebrow at me and smiles. It's cold and lifeless and doesn't reach his eyes.

There's a loud metallic bang in Lexie's direction. We both turn our attention to her, but she's nowhere to be seen. Realizing fairly quickly-as quickly as one can when they're being choked out for the second time in one day- that Lexie is providing a distraction for me, I rip Marcus' hand off of me and push him to the floor.

I pin his arms down with my legs, the scalpel still held firmly to his neck.

"Wanna know the difference between you and I, Marcus?" I smile down at him.

He narrows his eyes at me, struggling to get up, but my hold is too secure.

"The difference is that I don't waste time on stupid speeches."

I slit his throat, making sure to cut deep and wide.

His eyes widen and his movements still, but I stay in place a little while longer to make sure he's really dead.

"Do you know any ways to kill people that don't involve maiming their necks?"

Lexie is standing in front of the table Gabriel is laying on, thankfully looking less shaken than the last time she saw me kill someone.

"Necks are easy targets," I remark, trying to sound calm.

My heart is pounding and exhaustion hits me full force. I slump against the wall, noticing the sharp pain in my ankle, and place my head in my hands. I'm sure I'm getting blood all over my face and in my hair, but I ignore it.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," Lexie says softly.

She walks around to me, being careful to avoid looking at the dead body on the floor, and slides down next to me. I'm surprised when she wraps a comforting arm around me, but I lean into it anyways.

"Shouldn't I be telling you that?" I sigh.

"You can't carry all the burden on your shoulders, I don't care how strong a Warrior you are."

"I'm no Warrior," I whisper, staring at Marcus' lifeless face.

Lexie follows my gaze and lets out a small cry.

"He was my friend. I thought we could trust him, I can't believe..." She hiccups and wipes a tear from her eye.

We sit in silence for a few more minutes, but for once it's pleasant and not laced with malice and hateful glares. My heart has almost slowed to an acceptable rate when a loud explosion sounds entirely too close to us. We both jump at the sound and turn to see a giant hole in the wall adjacent to where we were just sitting.

"There's... a hole. Big hole," Lexie says shakily.

"Yup," I nod, unable to formulate a coherent sentence.

Once the smoke and debris clears, I'm even more shocked to see Killian beaming maniacally at me with four other pack members behind him.

"God, I love C4," He laughs, holding his arms out to me.

"Where the fuck did you get C4?" I stare back in wonder.