Annabeth kept one eye on her laptop and the other on the empty chair near her. Reyna had stepped outside five minutes ago and wasn't back yet. Annabeth was surprised she made it this long. She knew exactly what the woman was.

"Babe, you have to stop staring," Piper began. Annabeth rolled her eyes at her best friend. "I'm serious. You can't keep your eyes off her."

"Because I don't trust her," Annabeth said flatly. "I saw how she was punched. That would have done more damage to a human than just knocking them to the table. She's not human."

"Since when is not being human a bad thing?" Jason questioned with a look of hurt on his face. Annabeth might have believed his expression if it wasn't for Piper pulling a pouting face as well.

"Shut up," Annabeth said with an eye roll. "I just don't get a good feeling from her."

"You didn't get a good feeling from me either," Piper teased.

"And, I was right," Annabeth stated. "You're a monster."

Piper gasped in mock shock, and Annabeth grinned at her victory. Jason smiled as he watched them.

"You're such a bitch," Piper finally said, and she turned her head away. Annabeth laughed, and she saw Piper's lips twitching into a smile.

"I'm the Queen Bitch," Annabeth proclaimed. "Don't forget it."

Annabeth looked back at her laptop and rubbed her eyes. She needed to finish her essays that were due tomorrow, but she also kept an eye on Jason. He looked good so far, but there was a lot of moonlight left.

They had been doing this for the past year or two now. Around the time of the full moon, they would hang out with Jason and help him throughout whatever mood he was having. Most of the time it was aggressive anger, so Annabeth made a point to have a wrestling match with him before the full moon really kicked in. He had yet to beat her but was getting scary good.

A few times it had been sadness, and they kept his mind off of it with corny movies and lots of candy. Then, there were the lustful times. They treated him like they would any lonely boy, leave him alone in a room with a lot of tissues and a few bottles of lotion.

Although, Annabeth did notice that Piper and Jason would sometimes disappear together around the time of a full moon, and Annabeth wasn't a fool. She noticed how Piper always had a bigger smile when they came back and the small limp she had.

Piper was around the same age as Jason, and the two were horny teenagers. Annabeth was two years their senior and officially a young adult. Not that a twenty year old could be considered any kind of adult. Annabeth knew she wasn't ready for that title yet, and she was one of the most mature twenty year olds around.

Annabeth sighed. It was still dangerous for Piper to have sex with Jason around this time. Being a succubus gave her a natural lust for both men and women, and she was always horny. Always.

If Piper made the mistake of having relations with Jason on a full moon, he could accidentally hurt her if not kill her. Annabeth shuddered as she thought of the health classes that she was given in high school. It was drilled into humans what species they could and could not have intercourse with. And werewolves were at the top of the list with a big disclaimer that said 'do not have intercourse during a full moon'.

And then the stories. Annabeth was forced to sit there and listen to a video of some scientist explaining how about the deaths happened a year of a werewolf's partner dying from having a heart attack related to too much sex. And then the injuries that could occur from the werewolf being too rough.

After that, there was the unit on Cyclopes and Ogres. Annabeth shuddered every time she thought about it, especially since Clarisse found out what unit they were on and gave Annabeth all kinds of graphic stories. Truthfully, Annabeth was fine with finding another human to settle with. Or the hot merman who lived near the beach.

"She's thinking about him again!" Piper cackled. She pumped her fist. "I get five dollars."

"You couldn't have waited until after midnight?" Jason groaned as he grabbed his wallet.

"Are you two takings bets on me again?" Annabeth accused as she felt her cheeks heat up.

"Always babe. I just think you need to take a trip unda the sea," Piper teased, finishing the sentence with her worst impression of a Jamaican accent. Annabeth glared but felt her cheeks glowing like lava.

"Just make sure to keep your head above water," Jason teased.

"I know where some smooth rocks are that can supp-"

"Enough!" Annabeth practically yelled. "Percy is just a friend!"

"A merfriend," Jason corrected with a smirk.

"He can be a merboyfriend," Piper added.

"That's what I meant, Pipes," Jason began.

"Shut the fuck up," Piper said with her arms crossed and a lifting of her nose. "Besides Annabeth, can't he go on land for a few hours? Or you can just do it in the bathtub."

"Oh my god," Annabeth groaned as she buried her face in her hands. Her face burned, and she was sure that she looked like a tomato.

"Mermen and mermaids can sustain themselves for some time on normal water, but they do need salt water eventually," Chiron chimed in.

"Not you too," Annabeth began.

"Well, Annabeth is so salty I'm sure she can-"

"Piper, if you finish that sentence, I will kill you. Strangled to death."

"I'm your best friend!"

"I'll give you a good funeral."

"Jason! Tell her not to be a bitch!"

"Don't drag me into this."

"Bitch."

Annabeth almost felt bad as Reyna stepped back into the dining room. There was a confused look on her face as she took in the scene in front of her. Piper was standing on her feet and had a finger stabbed into Jason's chest. Thankfully, she sat down upon seeing Reyna.

Reyna slowly walked back towards the table and sat down. Her gaze moved to her soda can. Annabeth could usually get a good read on people. Not Reyna, though.

The woman was obviously homeless. Between the fact that she smelled like a dead animal the day before at the bar and the tattered state of her clothes, Annabeth felt confident in that conclusion. The stab wound was also concerning. In this city, there was usually a reason for being stabbed, and the hospital took care of everyone that came in. Even the homeless. So why didn't the woman go there?

Annabeth moved her eyes to the woman's face. She had done a great job of not looking so far, but now, her eyes were drawn to the scar on Reyna's mouth. It was a deep scar near the end of her bottom left lip that extended down to her chin. What caught Annabeth's attention the most was how different the scarring was in different places. Some skin was lighter than the other, having yet to fully fade.

Annabeth remembered an image like this from one of her textbooks. It was about certain creatures, typically werewolves, vampires, and other creatures considered to be more of an alpha, marking someone who had crossed them. They left the scar as a warning for all.

The creature would use a sharp claw if they had one or use a knife to make a cut on the offender's lip. Then, they would reopen the cut everyday digging their claw deeper inside or even biting at it to tear it open even more. It would continue until the creature was satisfied with the mark that had been made. From how differently colored the various parts of the scar were, Reyna had been marked over and over again for months.

It also could have been a self-inflicted wound. If Reyna was a junkie and couldn't get her fix, she might have nervously scratched at the area so much it became scarred. She would get her fix and calm down, only for the process to repeat again when she ran out.

There was a third option that had the most evidence behind it. Reyna was homeless and had tried to fight someone much bigger than her at the bar. She had probably gotten into a fight or two before and gotten her ass solidly kicked. Then she was probably left with a bad cut that reopened for several different reasons. Involved in other fights, simple movements like eating, or from having to be opened constantly and drained of pus.

With how bad her stab wound had been, Annabeth guessed her last theory was the most probable. She must have been staring for a long time because Reyna finally seemed to realize she was being examined. The woman's dark cheeks turned a red tone, and she buried her scar behind her can of soda. Annabeth averted her eyes to look at Chiron.

"Jason, how are you feeling today?" Chiron asked. Annabeth looked at her friend. Jason looked at them and smiled brightly.

"Happy. Really happy," Jason answered. Piper's shoulders visibly sagged in relief.

"Thank god. I haven't started my essay yet," Piper admitted. Annabeth gave her a reprimanding look. "What?"

"It's due tomorrow morning," Annabeth chided. "And, it's five pages."

"I was going to have you help me," Piper mumbled. Annabeth crossed her arms. "You're a genius!"

"What if we spent the night helping Jason?" Annabeth questioned.

"I would have told my teacher I was helping my best friend through the full moon," Piper answered.

"First off, I'm your best friend."

"Are you though?"

"Second," Annabeth growled, narrowing her eyes. "That excuse only works for werewolves. Not you."

"I'll make it work, Piper promised. Annabeth signed and rubbed her forehead. She knew there was no getting around Piper. "It's just about wolf clans. And Jason is useless on the topic. No offense."

"None taken. I think," Jason said, not entirely sure how to feel about it.

"I have to describe the werewolf packs in the city compared to the wilds, but I have to cover five topics and compare the differences of each. The only one I'm struggling on is how a werewolf gets a clan when both their parents are werewolves," Piper explained.

"Your mom," Jason answered. Piper whacked him hard. "Ow! What was that for?"

"I need a serious answer," Piper retorted hotly.

"That is a correct answer," Chiron supplied with an amused grin. "The child will belong to their mother's pack, as it is repayment for the mother being unable to contribute to the pack for nine months."

"What if the child is rejected?" Reyna asked quietly. Annabeth looked over at the woman. Reyna was studying Chiron but still held the can of soda up to cover her scar.

"Ah. It can be complicated from there," Chiron answered. "City packs never reject a young cub. Ones in the wild are different. They raise the child to twelve and see if they can transform. If not, it depends on the clan. Some leaders feast on the perceived failure child, quite literally eating them alive. Some are sent to their father's pack. It is rare that the child will be kept though, as they are seen as dead weight. Some are sent off to a city to get a job and earn money that will be sent as tribute back to the packs. Others are just exiled."

"Then, there's me," Jason said jokingly. "My mother slept with so many men she didn't know who my father was, and she was a human. Since she didn't know what pack he belonged to, I was raised by my sister and learned from a werewolf who volunteers services to teach others of her kind."

Annabeth gently interlocked her fingers with Jason's and squeezed. He tried to hide it behind a joke, but he was hurting. A pack was supposed to be a werewolf's first family, and for a werewolf, even a half one, to not have a pack was a shameful thing.

"This is good," Piper said as she opened her laptop and typed rapidly into it. Annabeth focused on her essay and did her best to wrap it up. Jason played with two pieces of crust, using them as drumsticks. Chiron watched them amused, while Reyna continued to hide her scar.

There was silence in the room for a few minutes. Jason had started on his second box of pizza. Annabeth swore that the boy could eat an entire buffet and still be hungry. Jason noticed her look and defended himself, "I'm a growing boy!"

"The only thing growing on you is that ass," Piper flirted. Annabeth groaned and buried her head in her hands. She lifted her head and looked at Piper's laptop screen.

"You're on social media! You should be writing your essay!" Annabeth chided.

"I'm getting to it," Piper complained. Annabeth grabbed her laptop and slapped away Piper's hands as she tried to get her laptop back.

"No, you are not. I will sit on you, McLean," Annabeth threatened.

"Please do," Piper practically moaned. Annabeth's face turned bright red, and she shoved the laptop back towards Piper. The witch cackled as she was triumphant.

Annabeth shook her head at her friend and heard a chair move. She turned her head and watched Reyna leave the kitchen. Annabeth followed behind a few moments later. Reyna made her way into the hallway and stopped near Chiron's room.

"I'm not fooled," Annabeth challenged. Reyna jumped and turned around. Annabeth walked towards her and got right in her face. "I know exactly what you are."

"I'm not here to cause trouble," Reyna muttered. She tensed up and looked ready for a fight. "Just leave me alone."

"Chiron is helping you, but we both know that you are going to try and steal from him. He doesn't have anything valuable, so just leave him the hell alone. Get out of here," Annabeth hissed. "I've seen plenty of people like you. Chiron thinks that he can give you a little help and get you back on your feet, but I know better."

"Don't worry," Reyna growled in a low voice. "I was just leaving."

"Good," Annabeth spat. She raised her chin in defiance. Reyna glared at her before shoulder checking her, hard enough to make Annabeth stumble. Annabeth glared at the woman walking away. Chiron had a kind heart and just wanted to help whoever he could. He had been taken advantage of too many times, though. She wasn't going to let it happen again.

Before Reyna exited the hallway, Chiron stopped in front of her. He smiled brightly and said something to her. Reyna seemed to hesitate, but she nodded. Chiron's smile widened, and he led her away. Annabeth's eyes narrowed. Something told her Reyna wasn't leaving anytime soon, so Annabeth would just keep a close eye on her.