They don't know what it's like like this, pretending I'm happy so I can smile like this and laugh like you

Lamia let out a frustrated growl as she slumped to the ground behind the hotel that the quest members were staying at. Green eyes had shifted into crimson as her hands balled into fists and she bared her fangs angrily. Blood oozed from her lips and stained her clothes, a drained corpse laid a few feet away from her, and her nostrils were flared as she tired to calm herself down from her high. Feeding always did that to her, it made her body full of adrenaline and filled her with excitement, it made her feel alive.

While her hunger wasn't fully sated she no longer felt the ravenous hunger that she did a couple minutes ago when talking to Percy. Letting out a shuttered breath she leaned her head back against the building, thankful that the hotel formed the dimly lit alleyway that she now sat in. She glanced at her kill and sneered, just another bum off the street, no one would miss him.

She tensed when she heard footsteps slowly approaching her. Looking up she saw it was…Hazel? What was she doing back here? Not bothering to get up Lamia smiled lazily at the girl, fangs and all, as Hazel came to a stop in front of her. Lamia looked her up and down for a moment, the girl was undoubtably beautiful and powerful, a perfect meal for a monster such as her. The blood of a daughter of Pluto would sustain her for months, she sighed wistfully at this, knowing Percy would be disappointed in her if she ate his companion.

Hazel looked at her curiously before glancing at the corpse nearby. Amber eyes widened in realization before she smiled sheepishly at Lamia. The monster watched as the now flustered demigod shuffled her feet and looked at the ground in embarrassment. The daughter of Poseidon chuckled, she and Hazel had talked before and got along alright, but the girl was still rather shy around her.

"Can I help you, mpenzi wangu? (my darling)" She purred, growing more amused the more uncomfortable Hazel became,"It's very late, why are you here?"

Hazel swallowed thickly as she finally met the monster's gaze,"I uh, I sensed death so I came to see what it was…" She trailed off as she watched Lamia smile playfully at her while licking the remaining blood off her lips. Green eyes sparkled with delight as Hazel blushed and quickly averted her gaze, this was almost too fun. Children of Pluto were never known to be extremely expressive, and seeing such a powerful demigod intimidated and embarrassed by her was a sight to behold.

A coy smile stretched across Lamia's lips as she patted the ground next to her,"Come now, I don't bite pretty girls, sit with me mpenzi wangu." The seductress cooed, smirking at the now fidgeting girl. She would not eat Hazel, she was far too entertained by her.

"A-Are you sure?" She stammered,"If you need to feed more-"

"Don't be ridiculous," Lamia interrupted with a soft laugh,"I would not invite you to sit with me if I were still feeding." Hazel hesitantly sat beside the woman, casting a spare glance at the deceased man as she did,"Does that bother you?" Lamia asked, looking at the demigod closely.

Hazel looked at her before giving a slight shrug,"You're a monster…it's only natural."

"Nothing about me is natural." She retorted dryly, leaning her head back and dropping her flirtatious act; frustration slowly overcame her at Hazel's vague answer,"And you didn't answer my question."

The dark skinned girl was quiet for a moment before looking at the corpse once again,"Does it bother you when I kill monsters?"

"Of course not msichana mpumbavu (you foolish girl), you kill for survival."

Hazel smiled slightly at her,"There's your answer then."

Lamia narrowed her eyes,"That's it? No lecture on how there are better ways to feed? No condemnation for taking an innocent life?" There had to be a catch. Aside from Percy, no demigod had ever tried to be understanding about her situation, any that she encountered called her a murderer before trying to kill her. She pursed her lips at the thought, the irony was never lost on her.

Demigods didn't see monsters as beings worth living, not that Lamia could fully blame them, her kind were anything but saints. But not all of them were terrible, and some demigods just hunted them for sport, and many had come after Lamia before. Again, she was no saint and she couldn't say that some demigods weren't justified in coming after her, but she always had fun slaughtering the ones that hunted her.

Demigods killed monsters and monsters killed demigods. Both groups despised each other and that's how it would remain. Percy was a special case, he had been in tartarus with her, they had bonded and were siblings. His friends were only tolerant of her because they trusted Percy, what made Hazel any different?

The daughter of Pluto shook her head,"That would be hypocritical of me. Must I kill monsters when I have the option of either subduing them or running away?" Lamia watched warily as the demigod's smile broadened,"You're apart of our team now, and I know you get enough lip from Jason."

The monster chuckled at this before shaking her head,"More than you would believe, that kid doesn't have a relaxed bone in his body." She huffed, smiling slightly as Hazel let out a quiet giggle. Green eyes clashed with amber and Lamia felt heat rise to the back of her neck as she stared at the girl. Lamia had been with countless men and women over the centuries, but none had known her true identity as a monster, and she rarely stuck with a mortal for more than a couple weeks.

There was something different about Hazel. She was beautiful but Lamia had been with supermodels and movie stars before. And Hazel was kind but Lamia had had many kind lovers in the past. So what made her different? Lamia studied the dark skinned girl for a moment, green eyes traced her face before finally settling on her amber eyes. The daughter of Poseidon noticed the way that Hazel leaned closer to her, not in a sexual way as various other partners had, but in a curious way. Hazel's head was tilted to the side slightly and seemed to be studying Lamia just as intently.

Not in a lustful way, no, Hazel stared at her as though she were a child listening to a grand story. She was obviously enraptured with her, but not like Lamia's past lovers, instead Hazel wanted to know her and learn about her. She looked at Lamia as though she was a fascinating storybook that she couldn't wait to read. Intellectual curiosity. That's what it was. Hazel wanted to understand her, not even Percy had wanted to get to know her when they first met and she was his sister.

Lamia finally flashed Hazel a smile,"I like you, mpenzi wangu."

"Thinking about her again?"

Lamia jolted at the sound of her brother as he gently laid a hand on her shoulder. Cool, green eyes watched her worriedly and she scowled before turning away from him. She hated her inability to hide her emotions from Percy, he was far too preceptive for his own good, which was surprising considered how much of a moron he could be.

"Shouldn't you be trying to find your girlfriend?" The monster huffed, shrugging his hand off and standing to her feet. Percy flinched at this before sighing and turning away from her.

"Yeah..." He abruptly stopped speaking as he walked away from her briskly, knowing that his presence wasn't desired. Lamia sighed softly at this, feeling bad for pushing him away, but Percy needed someone strong-not some stupid girl who was hung up over her stupid crush. They were about to go to war for Hades's sake and all she could think about was Haz-STOP!

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying in vain to push the thoughts of the dark skinned girl out of her mind. Why couldn't she let her go? Because she knew what you were, and she stood by your side anyway. Cursing angrily she slammed her fist down onto the table, splintering the wood and putting a medium sized hole in it. What she wouldn't give to see that stupid girl again.

-Line Break-

Piper shouldn't have been surprised when her mother appeared beside the wolf pack. The wolf man, Lycaon, smirked at her appearance before turning on his heel and morphing into a wolf. Within seconds he was out of sight, but his pack remained, and while suspicious Piper didn't have time to focus on him.

Venus strolled casually up to her battered daughter, dark brown locks flowed behind her as chestnut colored eyes examined the girl coldly. Piper's eyes shifted lazily to her mother, taking in her tanner skin and sharper cheekbones, and her heart clenched painfully in her chest when she realized the goddess's intention. Venus shifted her appearance to look like the woman her father fell in love with, the woman Piper had seen in photographs, the woman she had wistfully dreamed of meeting, and the woman she had come to love as she learned more and more about her over the years from her father's stories.

This was first time that her mother had taken on this form around her. Kaleidoscope eyes shifted over the woman's form, bottom lip quivering slightly when she realized she was the spitting image of her. Piper knew why the goddess did this; to make her weak, to hurt her, and it was working. Before her stood the mother she had always wanted when she was a little girl, but rather than the warm smile she had seen in the pictures, the deity bore a cold and calculating look. Venus looked at her as though she were a mere pest that needed to be dealt with.

The wolves circled around the two, snarling and snapping their jaws as Piper glared defiantly up at her mother, Hazel's sword was grasped tightly in her hand and she steeled herself. Her mother killed Hazel, and Piper would avenge her.

Venus looked at the sword and scoffed before rolling her eyes,"Oh put the sword down, you won't be using it."

"We'll see about that."

This caused the goddess to laugh mockingly before shaking her head in amusement,"Goodness, had I realized killing Hazel would get you this worked up..." She trailed off airily, taking a couple steps closer towards her defensive daughter,"Well, I still would have killed her." She shrugged carelessly,"But maybe not as savagely."

"Shut up!" Piper snarled, eyes shifting to a ruby red as she pointed the blade at her mother,"Just shut up, you bimbo!" She knew what words agitated her mother more than anything, and bimbo was on the top of the list. She remembered the woman's rantings about her fellow gods doubting her intelligence, and how frustrating it was to have been reduced to being known as the bimbo. She hated being constantly underestimated and brushed aside because she was seen as some ditz, and Piper knew this. But she wanted to hurt her mother just as badly as she had hurt her.

Venus's eyes darkened considerably and her lips formed a sneer,"You've spent too much of your time around those entitled demigods if you think it's ever acceptable to call me that." She snarled, rage overcoming her and proceeding to flare as Piper smirked at her lost composure.

"I used to feel sorry for you, but now I see the truth." Piper stood straighter, loving how quickly she had aggravated the goddess.

Venus took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself while she continued to glare at Piper,"Do you now?"

"I do. You are an idiot, because no intelligent person would ever give up family for power."

"YOU ARE A FOOL!" Her mother bellowed, eyes glittering with malice as she took a threatening step forward,"Just because they are my family does not make their treatment towards me or their actions just." A bitter laugh escaped her as she shook her head,"I pity your blind alliance towards the gods, towards Percy." Piper stiffened at the mention of Percy's name, instantly losing her smug smile and becoming uneasy by her now smirking mother.

"Percy...he was supposed to join me, you know that, right?" The goddess paced back and forth slowly, taking deliberately steps and striding with purpose as she kept her gaze fixed on her daughter. Piper grit her teeth as she watched the woman, she looked like a predator prepared to deal a final blow.

"He would never-"

"Silence." Venus snapped,"You talk too much you insolent girl, it's time for you to listen." Piper glared but remained silent,"I visited his dreams, I created the merciless and angry boy you see today." An amused smile played on her lips at her daughter's surprised expression,"He was supposed to be mine. Percy was to be my solider, my advisor..." She trailed off before smirking once again,"and I was planning on playing with him all that I wanted." Piper felt queasy and enraged at her mother's confessions, wondering how she had ever allowed herself to trust such a deviant.

"You're sick."

"Am I?" Venus tilted her head questioningly,"All I wanted was for him to fight for me, and I'd give him all the pleasure in the world." She purred, only furthering to disgust her estranged daughter,"I would seduce him much like I did your father-"

"Is there are a point to this story? Or are you just trying to gross me out?" Piper snarked,"Because you're really wasting my time here."

The two jumped and the wolves startled as a new voice spoke up,"Wow, I didn't know she liked me that much." They all turned to see Percy casually talking to Artemis, the goddess looked just as disgusted as Piper and she snorted at the boy's comment.

"How oblivious are you?" She asked, not seeming to realize that everyone's attention was now on them.

Percy sighed before shrugging,"Really oblivious. I thought she was just using me to piss off Piper but really...I'm freakin irresistible." He grinned broadly at the now unamused huntress,"I should change my name to Babe Magnet." He laughed lightly at his own joke, only furthering Artemis's annoyance as she shook her head in disbelief.

"You can not be serious right now."

"I totally am, Arty, call me Babe Magnet!" He cheered, throwing his fist in the air excitedly and causing Artemis to groan in sheer irritation.

Percy grinned at her as she pinched the bridge of her nose,"You're unbelievable."

Piper blinked at them in confusion,"How did you two find me?"

Percy raised an eyebrow before jutting his thumb towards Artemis,"She's goddess of the hunt...tracking is kind of her thing."

Artemis snorted,"Kind of."

The son of Poseidon chuckled lightly at this before turning his attention to Venus,"What are you doing here?" Piper watched in frustration and confusion as her mother sauntered closer to her boyfriend. The goddess had an air of caution as she addressed the boy, gauging his reaction and casting suspicious glances towards Artemis as she approached him. Artemis watched her with narrowed eyes but remained still much to Piper's surprise.

"Just speaking with my daughter-"

"Did you know about Nemesis?" He interrupted, his voice void of emotion as he arms crossed over his chest and waited for her response.

Venus snorted before shaking her head,"Of course I did...she broke her oath." She turned somber for a moment,"I'm not happy about it..." She trailed off before smiling bitterly,"I treated her terribly but she was useful."

"She was my friend."

"I'm well aware."

"So you realize that, when you lose, I'll take my time killing you."

"You may try."

Piper gritted her teeth as she tried to control her rage. Her hand clenched the sword tightly as she watched the calm exchange between the two. What were they doing? Hazel's killer stood before them and no one attacked? Did Percy even care about Hazel? Piper's eyes hardened as the two continued talking, her rage drowned out their voices and a shuttered breath escaped her. She wasn't letting Venus get away.

Anger clouded her judgement as she rushed the goddess. A scream of rage erupted from her throat as she moved to drive the blade into the woman's heart. Her vision turned red when her mother whirled around, blocking her thrust with a blade of her own. Before Percy and Artemis could jump to Piper's rescue the wolves circled them, snarling and snapping their jaws threateningly. The two drew their weapons to fight off the wolves while Piper continued savagely attacking her mother.

Her swings were strong but sloppy, and she was too controlled by her hatred to seek clarity during the fight. Angered yells escaped her as her mother easily evaded her blows, the smirk on her lips only further infuriated Piper, and she swung even harder.

"You took her from me!" Piper roared, bringing the sword down where her mother's head was. Venus sighed impatiently as she dodged the blow, waiting for her daughter to make another strike. Piper felt like she was on fire, her mounting anger was spreading through her body like flames, and she reveled in it. There was so much more strength in anger than there was in misery.

"It is not my fault that she couldn't fight off the hellhounds." Venus replied with a careless shrug, blocking another wild swing from her daughter. If possible Piper only grew more furious, her breathing was ragged from a mix of rage and exertion, and she focused on that anger to attack her mother with even more ferocity.

"You killed her! Why did you kill her!" She wasn't thinking straight, but she barely felt anything when her mother sliced her thigh with the tip of her blade. Piper stumbled backwards before charging forward again, not caring about the blood, only wanting to draw some of Venus's instead.

Swords locked together as the two women tried to overpower each other, Venus was right in her face, smiling maliciously as she said,"Same reason I slept with your father and left him broken hearted, because I could." Piper's eyes widened in disbelief and animosity, but before she could react Venus shoved her backwards, thrusting her sword toward's Piper's torso. Her daughter clumsily jumped out of the way before screaming profanities at her and charging once again.

"I hate you!" She shrieked, bringing her blade down as fast and hard as she could,"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" A curse escaped her when Venus parried her strike, lunging forward she delivered a painful punch to her daughter's face. Piper staggered backwards, blinking rapidly and instinctively rolling out of the way, and just as she did so her mother had stabbed where she once stood.

Venus let out a cruel laugh as she confidently stood before her wary daughter,"Many people hate me, sweetheart, join the club." She cooed mockingly, waiting for her daughter to once again throw herself at her. But she didn't.

Piper stared numbly at her, anger dissipating as she gazed upon the hateful goddess who still bore the look of her birth mother. Chills swept over her as she met her mother's unflinching glare accompanied by her smirk filled with twisted glee. She had come to the realization long ago that her mother didn't love her, that her mother was evil, and she thought she had made peace with that. But watching the woman from the photos, the one her father spoke so highly about and brought alive with his stories, attack her and taunt her without remorse was heartbreaking.

This was the woman her father fell in love with. The one that cradled her in her arms as an infant and sang her to sleep. There was no way she was always like this...there couldn't be, right? She had to have loved her at some point, right?

"Did you ever...actually love me?" Her voice was but a whisper and it was nearly impossible to hear over the sounds of Percy and Artemis fighting the wolves.

Venus lost her smirk and looked at her daughter emotionlessly,"Would you like the truth or a lie?"

"I don't know." I'm too afraid to know.

The goddess nodded slowly before whistling sharply. The remaining wolves stopped their attack on the now battered Percy and Artemis, and they bolted off into the woods, howling loudly as they left. Percy leaned heavily on Artemis, cursing as he cradled his bleeding arm to his chest, and with a hiss he attempted to place some weight on his foot only to find it was broken. Artemis was bleeding a bit as well but she was far better off than her companion, she kept her eyes on the love goddess warily as she attempted to heal some of Percy's injuries.

Venus turned her back to her daughter and prepared to depart before she paused,"The next time we cross paths, daughter, I will kill you." She promised coldly, refusing to turn around and meet Piper's gaze before vanishing.

Piper stared at the spot her mother stood with tears in her eyes. She slumped to the ground and leaned against a nearby tree, barely registering when Percy and Artemis approached her, and remaining silent as they checked her injuries. A bruise would form on her cheek and luckily her mother's blade hadn't punctured her femoral artery on her thigh, there was just some blood cascading down her leg. The calluses on her palms had started bleeding due to her overuse of the sword, but she didn't feel any pain as she laid there limply, cradling her blade in her lap as though it were a child.

Artemis tended to her wound while Percy gently cupped her face in his hands,"Pipes?" He was startled by the tears now flowing down her cheeks as she looked at him. She could no longer find it in her to harbor anger about the death of Hazel or about the encounter with her mother, because everything had become clear to her. Not only how worthless she was in a fight when she was that angry, but the reality she had been trying to run from. The reality that Hazel was truly dead and revenge wouldn't bring her back.

But that wasn't the only thing she that caused her rage to evaporate so quickly. She had heard her mother's words of warning, her promise of death, but Piper also heard how her mother's voice wavered when she spoke. Venus couldn't even look her in the eye as she threatened her, trying to fool Piper into believing she wasn't worth her time. She knew emotions and body language well enough to know that her mother didn't hate her. The love goddess lost her cocky stride as and her condescending sneer as soon as her daughter had broached the subject.

Piper was trembling now as she looked away from Percy and back to the spot Venus had once stood. Subconsciously she clutched her blade close to her chest, releasing a shuttered breath, her mother was purposefully pushing her away. She wanted her to hate her, because then it would make everything easier on both of them when it they were to cross blades again. That's why her mother had been toying with her during the fight, she had every chance to cut her down with ease but she didn't, and she now knew why that was.

"She...she still loves me."

Hello lovelies, this was a shorter chappie :( but this story has maybe two chapters left before it's finished! We've almost made it!

Oddballzebra: Jesus, he still stammers and gets embarrassed when talking about intimate stuff? That's honestly ridiculous. Also, since when does Lycaon look like that?

Personally I get embarrassed when talking to family members about intimate stuff, I'm not good at displaying emotions much less to my family, but I guess it's different for everyone. And Lycaon looks like that since I wrote him like that because...you know...fanfiction...

Imperium-xx: It's great seeing your enthusiasm for literature, especially for such a well-written book, but Malcolm X was supported by the Nazi Party for his advocacy of racial separation, and that severely dilutes the effect the excellent writing style of his Autobiography has on me.

I get what you're saying, I use to loathe Malcolm X because of how racist he was, but if you finished the autobiography you'd know that he changed his views. After he went to Mecca he saw that people of all color got along and that it was just America with the race problem rather than whites being inherently evil. He even agreed with MLK after his journey to Mecca and started preaching for racial harmony. One of his last moments alive was him giving a speech about how not all whites were evil. It is an excellent book that I now feel the need to re-read :)

ReaperOfOaths: I'm still sad but damn this is amazing the way the characters are portrayed brilliant the motivation their actions pretty much everything is awesome specifically the interactions between lamia and percy those are awesome also although I may have the proper appendage... yea that's it dildos out for harambe. is that still a thing... na probably not

Percy and Lamia = the best siblings. Thank you for supporting my dildos for harambe even though you don't need a dildo...I started laughing when typing this but anyway, God bless you and your support. DILDOS OUT FOR HARAMBE! (I know this had been dead for a hot minute but I was lowkey sad that I've seen no one do this :(

ALSO! FIRST ONE TO COMMENT GETS MY NUMBER! That's right, my number: 11 :)