Chapter 11

Percy was sitting at the bar with both his hands clasped together beneath his chin as he stares directly in front of himself, deep in thought as he thinks about a particular she-wolf he encountered earlier.

He should be more careful, watching her and her family from afar as he has surely been noticed, especially when said family looked him dead in the eye. For some reason though it wasn't until Aleu looked at him did he feel the sudden urge to flee. But why? It was only logical to leave before she pieces together the puzzle, no matter how crazy the picture is.

The point of this matter though is that he is slipping. Before he was always on guard, just waiting for a canine to attack him for no apparent reason. Now though he is casually walking through, taking in no regards to the dangers that threaten him. He needs to be back to what he was when he first entered the town.

As if to second that point he felt the hairs on his neck stand up, urging him to look over his shoulder to see who is watching him.

Sure enough close to the door is a young husky, the very same one that saw him his first night here and who he "accidentally" snarled at. The dog however doesn't bark; instead he moves closer next to a figure slumped over a table that has an empty bottle in his hand.

Percy only smirks before turning away. The dog faithfully staying close to his owner in order to protect him, noble and admirable.

He picks up his glass and drinks down the rest of the liquor. Normally he stayed away from alcohol because of the bad memories, but on this windy day in the frozen world he needed something to warm himself up. Besides, it's Friday, he should celebrate, the weekend will be here and he doesn't have to work this weekend.

With that small thought he glances outside. The sun is setting; no doubt its counterpart will be up soon.

He stands up and leaves money on the table as he turns and walks out of the building. He is sure to give the husky an extra birth of space, but he glances out of the corner of his eye. The dog in turn is watching him very closely.

It doesn't matter if they aren't barking or not; they don't trust him and probably never will.

That night

3rd POV

Percy, or rather Omega now, shuts the door while he crouches in front of his shed before slinking off towards the woods. Omega pushes all of his thoughts to the back of his mind as he breathes in the night air. This is it, the last full moon of the month. After this he will no longer have to linger in fear of being caught in his monster form and be burned at the stake.

That is unless the dogs give him away.

He sighs as he stands tall and releases a much held in sigh. He suppose he should be grateful that he hasn't been cast out yet, but this only adds further musings to his dilemma. When this whole mess started he had a firm belief on who is friend and who is foe. So far his only ally is himself, considering he has told no one else of his condition nor is there anyone that he trusts as much.

Then again...there are his old comrades. They would take a(n) sword/knife/spear/arrow for him, he knew because he too would sacrifice himself to save one of them. They are the best friends he could ever have, fiercely loyal and always ready to fight. They took care of each other, they would comfort one another and they talk to each other. They had no regrets, they would do it again not only to serve but to be there with their friends. They laugh together, fought together and were feared together.

Omega releases a hearty chuckle as all of these memories comes rushing back to him as he walks. The great and hilarious fun they had with one another. It was war, but they still had each other, the closest assurance that they would survive.

By this time he had stopped running as he stares at the snow beneath his feet as hot angry tears begin dripping from his blood red eyes. It was too much, always too much. He did his duty, he didn't want to die, he didn't want to kill, but he did it and now he is paying the price. The nightmares won't leave him alone, nor the curse from Lycaon's bite.

His claws grew and sink deeply into the earth as his breathing becomes laborious while his misty eyes turn a deeper shade of crimson. It wasn't fair, none of it was. Nobody deserved that, deserved this. To watch the few true friends he ever had, be torn from him because that god was scared of his power. They deserved better.

All the pent up fury that had coursed through Omega's body suddenly leaves as he releases a heavy breath and stares down at his paws, hands, whatever. He was angry. He was scornful. He has regret, but never, ever, is he going to be regretful for being there with his buddies.

Just like Leo and Annabeth.

Omega's breath starts becoming shaky. He is willing to bet his life that if Annabeth and Leo knew what was going to happen, if they knew their future, they wouldn't have changed anything. That's what Omega loved about them. They just cared about everyone; which is what led to their downfalls. But Omega also knew it was what the world needed.

He didn't want to think, he didn't want do anything, not even go for his nightly runs like he usually do. Maybe just for tonight he can sit here and-

His thinking is interrupted when he hears the patter of running four legged feet coming right at him on his left. He turns to see what it is when the thing crashes into his side and bounces right off. This doesn't hurt Omega in the slightest, nor does it detour the excited wolf that he now sees.

It is Aleu and see looks very happy to see him.

"Hi Omega," she all but shouts as she bounces around him like a puppy. "How are you this fine night?"

He merely smirks as he watches the she-wolf's antics. "It is just fine," he answers, not bothering to mention his past and troubled thinking. "What's got you in this fine mood?"

Aleu gives a small chortle before saying. "Well I got to spend time with my brother today, someone who I thought I would never see again, but I'm glad I was wrong."

She continues to prance around him like a deer, an action that coaxes a grin to Omega's face.

He is starting to take great delight in Aleu's presence. She is just bubbly with energy despite the rare occasions where she is exhausted from being a pack leader and spending time with him late at night. She somehow finds a way to get him smiling and even to snap at him whenever he steps out of line, the first person to have the guts to put him in his place. He would have doubted her friendship with him, but she has such sincerity to her that he is finding it harder for him to see her as a selfish person. If anything she is one of the most selfless girls he has ever met.

That last thought suddenly causes his grin to fade a bit. Did he just think that? He was admiring her and at the last moment called her a girl. He decided to shake this off though, it doesn't mean anything. He is sure Aleu will just start laughing hysterically if he ever told her of this.

Like she would find a demonic looking creature like me attractive.

Seeing the developing frown on his face, Aleu gently bumps against his side, taking some pleasure in feeling his sturdy body and noting how his strength seems so large that it easily repelled her smaller body.

"What are you thinking about?" She chirps as she finally quits her hopping so that she could better look into his eyes. His bright glowing silver eyes... But she pulls herself back together when she hears him speak.

"Just things that I would like to forget." He pauses and looks away as if in deep thought, "and yet...I'm not even sure if I want to forget them."

Aleu for the most part baffled. She never had such contradicting thoughts like this...not unless she counts the recent idea of her and Omega.

No, no, no, she growls lowly in her mind, he's my friend and he expects nothing more from me...right?

"So anything else new happen today?" Omega asks, most likely to change the subject.

Aleu decides to oblige him with a nod of her head but becomes silent for a few seconds, wondering what to say. Seeing and talking with Kodi was pretty much the highlight of her day. Then she remembers something that is worth mentioning.

"I saw Perseus Jackson to-"

She is interrupted when Omega suddenly jerks back as if he has been struck and even back steps backwards. He turns his wide eyes to Aleu as if she had suddenly grown a second head. However, just as fast as he reacted he calmed down. "You saw...my human?" he asks in a rather timid voice.

"Yes," Aleu answers slowly, not wanting to cause another sudden reaction. "He was in town right when the mail came in."

Slowly Omega nods his head, "Good, nice to know that he is, uh, up and about."

Aleu cocks her head to the side as she regards the wolf curiously. He has suddenly become tight lipped and even nervous, as if she had said something that has scared him.

She knows it's really isn't any of her business, but sudden concern for Omega's wellbeing fills her mind and goads her to act.

"Omega," she says, "is everything alright between you and Percy?"

Omega chooses that moment to look at her blankly for a couple of moments before chuckling. This is a genuine sign of mirth though as he cackles at whatever he found amusing, furthering confusing the she-wolf. "Yes Aleu." He says and causes her heart to leap a bit when he finally looks into her eyes with a rather wide smile. "Percy and I are getting along just fine."

"Oh, well that's good," Aleu says as she turns away, suddenly feeling embarrassed at the fact that he can make her feel this way just by looking at her. Still, the conversation comes back on when she looks over her shoulder and at the still grinning giant wolf. "But why did you jump like that earlier? I was afraid that…that he was beating you or-"

Omega suddenly cracks up again, this time with thunderous laughter that seems to shake some snow free from the trees above. Such a sound would have caused Aleu to join in as well but she was at the moment too stunned to say anything. She has never seen her friend show so much emotion and she doesn't even see what it is that is funny.

Is he…is he laughing at my concern for him?

Such a thought suddenly weighed heavy within her chest, but before it could be hindered any further Omega regains control of himself, still chuckling every so often before he finally looks at her with a lopsided grin.

"No offense Aleu, but who would even think about beating me?" he questions and gestures with his strange hand-paw at his muscular body, "I will admit, he may beat himself up on occasion, but me? Not going to happen."

"Oh." She says and gives a rather weak chuckle but soon after it generates into a full size smile as she realizes Omega's words makes sense. He is most intimidating indeed; anyone who tries to attack him will no doubt be met with instant trouble.

However a certain phrase caught her attention and she frowns again as she looks at Omega and asks curiously. "What did you mean when you said your human beats himself up?"

The smile fades away from his muzzle as Omega answers. "Well...you see...that's what I'm worried about." He finally sits down on his haunches and stares intently at the snow beneath his paws, deep in thought. "Like I said, we both have had bad luck." He says solemnly. "There are some days he just doesn't feel good...some days he has like a...weight holding him down...something he is having trouble moving past. When he served in the last war, he lost someone very close to him that keeps him from moving on and being happy."

Omega's face turns into a small scowl. "And sometimes that makes me confused, I honestly don't know what can be done to...make things better. I want to help, but I'm not sure if I can do anything." He finishes lightly, his rant over.

Aleu has remained silent throughout the whole thing. She doesn't know what to say really, especially when she doesn't completely understand what is really going on with him and the human's relationship. However it is quite clear that the two share a very deep bond, one in which they share many hardships together.

She isn't quite sure what to do now; she has never been one to comfort someone in pain. She thinks back for a moment before reminiscing the times she was hurt, physically and emotionally, and what it was that her parents did that helped made her feel better.

Taking those memories to heart now, she slowly works her way over to him, careful to not disturb his silent brooding. Whether Omega was aware of her actions and chose to ignore or not, she doesn't know but at the moment she doesn't let that stop her.

Finally she reaches his side and sits right next to him. He flicks his eyes at her just in time to see her lean towards him and starts nuzzling his body. He stiffens at the action but doesn't move to stop her nor does he voice any complaint. She continues to rub her side against his, savoring the feel of his fur against hers while smelling his dominant musk. It was almost intoxicating and causes her to shiver a little upon feeling the immense muscle that is working well with his soft fur.

"Omega, I know you haven't had much of a good life, and people fear you and made you an outcast, but right now I see you as an admirable wolf."

He shifts a little, unsure of the meaning behind the motion so she proceeds speaking with caution.

"You're big and strong, but instead of using that to keep others away, you use it to defend yourself like any normal wolf would." She pauses to look up at him. "And the fact that you're so concerned about your human companion shows your devotion, loyalty and care that I am sure that all dogs and wolves will respect when you tell them all."

There is nothing but silence and slowly Aleu wonders if she said everything right. Does he agree with her or does he not? Should she move away and give him space?

She is just about to when Omega finally speaks his piece. "No one has ever said that about me." He speaks quietly as he continues to watch the ground. "They just see a monster."

Aleu leans closer and says, "Well I don't and I'm sure Percy doesn't either."

Mentioning his owner brings a smile to his face and a weary chuckle. "I'm not sure about that...but some days I guess he appreciates me from time to time."

Aleu giggles a little in response and Omega looks back at her. "Thank you," he says with the same wicked smile as before like he knows something she doesn't. "It feels good to talk." He gives a little laugh, "even though I have no idea what it is I'm upset about." He then starts to rub his muzzle along Aleu's as a small sign of affection, his face red.

Aleu blushes along with him. "Of course," she finishes by leaning against him. "Anything for you."

They remain huddled there for a moment in the forest, bright moon overhead, snow being blown softly by the wind and the wonderful smell of nature in the air. The scene is just breathtaking and the two just wanted to soak it in. For Aleu it felt nice to be so close to Omega for some reason; she just wanted to remain there for as long as possible. They were laying right next to each other, if anyone would've seen them for the first time. They would've assumed the two were mates.

"Aleu, can I ask you something?" Omega asked breaking the long silence.

"Of course."

Omega ducked his head, "do you like me as only a friend?"

Aleu's heart dropped out of her chest, or so she thought. After a minute of silence, she spoke up. "I do like you as more than a friend Omega. It's been on my mind since I took you to the boat. I was just unsure if you felt the same towards me as well. I didn't want to ruin a friendship for feelings that have not been returned."

He chuckled and put a paw under her muzzle making her face him directly. "I feel the same way, Aleu. And I know that things between your pack, family and I are tough but I don't care about that stuff. I am falling hard for you and want to know if you would allow me the pleasure to court you?"

"Yes!" She said with an excited shout.

They enveloped back in their embrace and let the silence continue.

"Aleu?" He questions her quietly. "What did you mean earlier, about telling the dogs and wolves about myself? It's not like I'm going to stand before them and talk to them amass right?"

She forces out a laugh and says. "Well, um...I need to talk to you about that." She ends with a rather self-conscious smile.

A/N: Okay so I know that this chapter is shorter than normal. Don't hate me! But I will make it up to you. Next chapter will be longer than normal, I promise!

Updated: 04/03/2018