Without Destiny

Chapter 23

Mack's POV

Demigods are adaptable beings. I believe it's the human in us. Everything else in the Greek world- the monsters, even the gods- don't change. Don't even learn. The monsters die over and over, only to come back and do exactly the same thing again- be killed the same way. Sometimes a clever one might try something new, try to learn from the last time, but in the end, they take another trip to Tartarus.

The gods, no matter what they think, are the same way. They rule over the universe, every now and then trying something new, but eventually they revert back to the way they've always been. Selfish, vengeful, jealous. How many times has it been proven that you can't prevent prophesies, that everything you do only brings you closer to fulfilling it, yet they still try? Maybe that's where I get that aspect of my personality from…

But demigods are different. We read the stories of old, learn from our experiences, prepare. We adapt. Because unlike the monsters or gods, we are not immortal. When we die, we die- soul gone to Hades or reborn as someone completely new. So, we do everything we can to not die- much like the mortals.

Vampires are not Greek monsters, but as I train with them, pushing my strength, my speed, to the absolute limits, I adapt.

It becomes easier to see, to react, to counter. We are made of the best and worst parts of both gods and humans, so when I need strength, I get stronger. When I need speed, I get faster. And when I start to feel doubt and fear, I stand my ground. Demigods learn from their mistakes.

As the weeks pass, the wolves, too, get stronger, better, until they can absolutely dominate a lone vampire acting as a newborn. But it's not enough. We might be going up against an army, and it's never just one on one in a real battle.

"Now that you can fight one on one, we're going to start adding more players. Now, wolve usually fight as a pack, in groups- they are most efficient that way. However, in a battle against multiple opponents, you will likely at one point become isolated and be forced into a fight alone against two, maybe three other opponents. First, you will practice against multiple opponents at once. Then you will work on fighting as a pack."

So, we adapt.

The yelp escapes me in equal parts pain and surprise as I go spinning to the ground, grunting as I hit the dirt hard.

I lay there a moment, breathing hard as I wait for the knifing pain to fade. This isn't anything new, but it sure has been a while since I took a hit that solid. It's been a while since I've been double teamed.

A pale hand appears in front of my face, but I wave it away, slightly breathless.

"Just give me a moment," I groan.

"I think that's enough for today," Jasper says from a few feet away. "At this point it's best to just rest and pick up again next time."

"Sounds good," I grunt, heaving myself into an upright position with a wince. My shoulder feels dislocated, but it's nothing that can't be set and then healed with a bite of ambrosia.

"Edward, Emmett, hop in with the wolves. Let's see how they do with a third person on them."

"You are crueler than Cabin five's head councilor." I clumsily climb to my feet to make my way over toward the vampire doctor.

"Ares' kids have nothing on my old councilor," the war vet dismisses, but his words draw me up short. My feet freeze, and I quickly turn to reappraise his features. I don't know his eye color, but there are only a few cabins who have kids with that curly blond hair. I had compared him to one the first time I saw him.

"Cabin six?" I guess.

"Son of Athena, at your service," he bows his head slightly, and I find myself instinctively returning the gesture.

"That explains it," I acknowledge, and he grins slightly.

"Go get your shoulder fixed up," he waves me away, and I continue on my path. The blond doctor sets it in seconds, and then I'm left just watching the wolves' practice. One by one, I watch the wolves get overwhelmed. They are too focused on the vampire in front of them, too focused on getting the kill.

"They need to focus on just evading until help can reach them," a voice says sidling up to my shoulder. I don't take my eyes from Jacob as he gets tackled from the vicious blonde female from behind.

"You done, too?" I comment, as Mason collapses beside me with a groaning huff.

"Yeah." We sit in silence for a moment, watching Jasper step in like a general with his troops. I really should have suspected he was a son of Athena- he looks like the male version of Annabeth before the battle of the Labyrinth- before Alison, Mason, and I slipped away to meet up with Luke. Well, I guess he was Kronos by then.

"You know, I can see why you stayed," Mason comments quietly, wrapping his arms absently around his knees and leaning against the bolder that has unofficially become the medic zone.

It's where the good doctor hangs out in case of injuries, but there aren't many. A few broken bones from the wolves that need to be set. Bruises too, but there isn't much that he can do for those other than have us rest out of the way until they're recovered. Even now he stands a little way away, watching the sparing. I know he can hear our conversation, but he politely pretends to give us our privacy.

"On the run who knows how long and then stumble upon some good people that patch you up, give you food, shelter, a place to stay. Knowing you, you probably put up quite the fight until finally relenting. Didn't have anywhere to go anyway so you were probably treating it like one of you foster homes. No doubt you became attached- they are cool people. How many times have you tried to run away?"

I wince at my friend's analysis, hating that he knows me so well and hating that what he guesses is completely accurate.

"Only once," I grumble after several minutes. He was waiting very patiently for me to give him an answer.

"How many times have you thought about leaving?"

"A lot," I growl, suddenly getting irritated. My hands fist in the grass by my legs and rip it up. "Is there a point to this?"

"Yeah, Kenzie, there is," he says drolly. "When you get close to people, when you feel vulnerable, your first instinct is to run. You did it with Alison, and you did it with me, but when you end up staying… After this battle, we're not done with these people, are we?"

I rip up more grass in my agitation. "No," I admit.

"And you're not coming back to camp with me, are you?"

"No," I sigh again. "At least… not yet. Maybe someday."

We watch the training in silence for a while, and I pretend not to notice Carlisle's curious side glances in our direction.

"By the way," I comment offhandedly, "you do know that every person in this field can hear every word we say and half of them can communicate telepathically, right?"

He turns his head to blink at me. Then, he sighs. "Only you would stumble across a group of supernatural's unrelated to our world with abilities like this."

"I don't know, Jackson has pretty rotten luck," I shrug, turning away. Every day it's getting easier and easier to focus and see the once blurred movements.

"But only you would start living with them."

"Like you said, they're good people."

"And it has nothing to do with Leah," Mason drawls ironically.

"It has everything to do with Leah," I admit readily, tensely. From the moment we met, she literally dragged me to Emily's, convinced me to stay, was the reason I left and was, later, the reason I came back.

After that, we just watch the rest of the practice in silence.

….

I can feel Leah's eyes boring into me. They have been for almost an hour, but I studiously ignore it even though she does nothing to try and hide her attention. It's more than discomforting. It makes me uneasy, nervous, awkward, but I'm determined to not react.

Accidentally, my resolve slip and I turn my head. Our gazes immediately catch, and I curse myself for not holding out.

"Who is Jackson?" she asks immediately once she has my attention, and it might just be the best thing she could ask. It instantly enables be to look away, though my mood definitely sours. "Sorry," the she-wolf says immediately to my reaction, "it's just that you and Mason have both mentioned him before."

"Percy Jackson is the most lucky, yet unlucky demigod that ever existed," I sigh, fiddling with a fidget spinner Leah had gotten me. I tear it apart and reassemble it quickly, give it a quick flick, and then disassemble it again. "He's a son of the big three so the worst monsters are always after him and he always accidentally gets involved in dangerous situations, yet he continually manages to scrape through. Everyone at camp loves him. It's amazing how much he's a natural leader yet doesn't seem to even notice." He's a really great guy- genuinely sincere and kind, I mentally add. I liked him for the most part.

"The reason that I say he's lucky, though, is because his dad loves him," I huff sullenly. "He's met his dad several times, his dad talks to him- Jackson's even been to his palace…"

I don't react as Leah reaches over to pause the movie, but I don't know why she bothers. Neither of us had really been watching it before.

"Are you jealous of him?" she asks slowly, but there is no judgment in her eyes when I look up at her sharply.

"The first time I met my father was a few weeks ago, the night Mason showed up and I broke down on you," I say tonelessly instead of answering. It's a stupid question anyway. Of course I'm jealous of him. "My father told me that he didn't contact me because it was destiny for me to hate him, to betray the gods, and to find my way here. Jackson was destined to be a hero- loved- the savior of Olympus. I was always destined to be a traitor. A coward. To run. That's who you imprinted on."

I don't draw away as Leah reaches across the couch to grip my hands. I don't even look away in shame. Because she imprinted on me- and I've been told what that means. It means she won't reject me, not truly, even if it's good for her.

"I don't care," she says, practically growling. It's the answer I expected, but I still feel a twinge of disappointment. It's not real. It's artificial. "No, listen," she insists, shaking me. "I don't want some perfect storybook imprint. I don't want someone who I get along with every second of the day. I want someone who will fight me, who will be selfish, who will hurt me- but then do her damn best to fix it. I want flawed and imperfect because it's perfect that is the fairy tale- that's fake. I might be irrevocably tied to you, but what we do, whatever relationship we have, that's real."

I stare dumbly into her burning brown eyes, unable to look away from her conviction. This is what I'd been trying to avoid earlier- getting stuck in her stare. This is somehow worse than I imagined. Anything I might think to say gets stuck in my throat, much like how my breath is getting stuck in my lungs. Damn it.

A/N: It's been a little bit, but here it is. Only a few more chapters now, but I'm not going to guess because I always end up writing more than I anticipate.

Please review.

~Silver~