I knew Ares was my father months before he decided to announce it to the rest of the world.

I hadn't wanted him to claim me, and I had told him, too. I wanted to stay Undetermined in the Hermes cabin forever.

I guess that sounds pretty weird. Most demigods long to be claimed and live in a cabin with siblings who share their interests. They feel that once they have been assigned a cabin, they have a family; people they can trust. The one place that they could call home. But I never wanted any of that. The way I saw it and still see it today, once you've been claimed, your godly parent becomes your label. Your group. Your cabin defines you.

I mean, really. Everyone counts on Athena's children to be the problem solvers and expects them to pore over books all the time. Children of Aphrodite are always self-centered and generally not worth speaking to, unless, of course, you're one of them. Kids like me, children of Ares, are known for being prideful and tough. We're expected to start fist fights and pick on other kids.

It's not like that when you're Undetermined.

The campers don't categorize you when you're Undetermined. I don't think they realize it most of the time, but they automatically judge you by who your godly parent is. I'll admit, even I expect my fellow campers to act a certain way according to their godly parent. As I said, it's an automatic label demigods slap on each other without thinking. As an Undetermined camper, you don't have to deal with any of that. You can be friends with anyone and do anything without anyone raising an eyebrow at you.

I wanted it to stay that way forever.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good war movie. And sure, I've got a bit of an attitude. But there are other sides to me as well, and I don't want the Ares side to define who I am. I don't want to be looked at as a heartless punk who lives only to pulverize kids.

And I knew that I would be shoved into that stereotype immediately and would never be given another thought once Ares claimed me. I had seen it happen with other campers, and it was the last thing I wanted to have happen to me.

But I knew that he had to claim me. So much was riding on it.