It took me a bit longer to get to my dorm than it really should have. I was avoiding it. I couldn't keep up the act that I was okay any longer, and I wasn't sure how Damien would react to the blood lust. I had finally found a group of friends besides the one at camp who liked my company, and now there was this bullshit on top of it. Not to mention the whole Elizabeth thing. What the fuck was that?! I ended up sitting on one of the benches before going into the common room. I felt tears fall down my face, and I quickly brought my hand up to wipe them away.

Why couldn't my life go like everyone else's? Why can't I get an everyday life? Why did I have to get marked and break up with one of the only people who supported me through thick and thin? Why was my life such a fucking hero's journey?

I felt my body shake as I crumpled into myself and the tears started to flow faster. All I wanted was my mom. All I wanted was her to hold me and tell me this was all normal—all I wanted was to tell Annabeth I was sorry. Sorry about not telling her my answer sooner, sorry about thinking we could have the perfect ending. Just sorry. I wanted to talk to my mom about all these new feelings I had, feelings I've felt before but buried down deep inside because all I cared about was Annabeth.

That was when I felt the air turn cold, sending a shiver down my spine. I quickly tried to compose myself, but before I could, I felt a warm wet tongue gently hit my face. Then I looked up to see a giant black Neapolitan mastiff. Mrs. O'leary. I smiled and then looked up to see a note attached to her neck. I stood up, my face still wet, and I hugged her, grabbing the note. She moved to keep close to me as I read it. She rested her big head on mine, and my worries suddenly went away as I read.

Nephew,

I am aware this is very uncharacteristic of me; Nyx is a dear friend of mine, and I hate to see her worry over a fledgling who has gone through worse than accelerated blood lust. I asked Nico what he thought would make your stay in Tulsa more bearable. He suggested Mrs. O'leary watching over you. I expect nothing from you, except; if you find yourself in Seattle, give the High Priestess my regards.

Lord Hades of the Underworld

I folded the note, put it in my bag, and looked at Mrs. O'leary, who looked like she was waiting for me to give her a command. I smiled and gave her chin scratches as she grew to a smaller, more mortal-friendly size. That's when I heard the concerned, worried voices coming from inside. I then sighed, looking at Mrs. O'leary.

"You set off the protection barrier, didn't you?" I asked her, and she whined, which caused me to chuckle. "Don't worry, I'll think of something- maybe I can just show them the letter from Hades."

I wiped my eyes, trying not to look like I had just started to ball my eyes out. Mrs. O'leary nudged my arm, and I began to pet her calming down. I rest my face against her taking deep breaths.

"Is that a hell hound!?" I heard Professor Nolan shout, which caused me to jump up and Mrs. O'leary to swing around. "Percy? What are you doing with a hellhound?" Her voice was not more confused, and her face turned to a soft concern looking at me.

"Of course, the Son of Poseidon is hanging with a Hellhound," A tall, slender vampyre woman said in an irritated voice.

"My love," I heard Dragon say as he put his arm on her shoulder. "Our parents' feuds are not our own."

I watched the women relax and nod, "Yes, yes, I am aware. Old habits die hard." She said back and looked at me.

I turned back to Professor Nolan, a lump in my throat. She moved anxiously, sitting next to me; I could tell she was scared of Mrs. O'leary.

"She's not going to attack you," I said, my voice cracking. "She's tame; Daedalus made sure of that before he passed her ownership to me in the Labyrinth." I continued to pet Mrs. O'leary, suddenly very intimidated by all the vampyres around me, and I gave the note to Professor Nolan.

Everyone was quiet for a long time, and I couldn't bring myself to look at their faces. I felt the note be handed back to my hand, and then Professor Nolan spoke.

"Anastasia, do you think you could update the barrier? It seems the lord of the dead wishes Percy to have his….dog with him here at the house of night."

"I'll need a bit of fur, but yes, I can do that." She replied in a soft voice; I looked up to see that she was wearing a concerned expression.

"Mrs. O'leary," I said softly. "Her name is Mrs. O'leary."

"Percy, you're not in trouble," Dragon said, and suddenly I was met with three vampyres sitting around me. But I wasn't intimidated; I was comforted. "Anastasia's barrier spell went off, so we decided to investigate. Then we found you with….Mrs. O'leary."

I nodded, and I noticed Anastasia grab some of Mrs. O'leary's fur before standing up again. "Dragon, I think Percy needs some time with his mentor; come help me update the spell."

"Yes, my love," Dragon obediently said, squeezing my shoulder a bit before he and Anastasia walked back inside.

Professor Nolan and I sat in silence for a long time. I closed my eyes and just listened to the sounds around us. The rustling leaves started to calm me down, and I looked at Professor Nolan, who was staring at the moon. She smiled a soft, kind smile and chuckled.

"If I weren't ever marked, I would have become a huntress." She said in an amused tone. "My Aunt understood the fear I had regarding relationships and offered me a place with her hunters. Yet Nyx had other plans for me."

"Aunt? You're a daughter of Apollo?" I asked, and she chuckled, looking back at me.

"You're a smart young man; I'm sure you had me pegged just by my energy." Nolan had a twinkle in her eye, and I started to feel warm. No one has called me smart before. "In any case, you should know as a demigod your bloodlust is completely normal. I would be more surprised if you didn't experience bloodlust tonight. Your godly genes accelerate certain aspects of the change. One of which is the bloodlust."

"So this is just perfectly normal?" I asked and watched as Professor Nolan nodded, put her hand under my chin, and smiled.

"Yes, perfectly normal. Though now that I'm aware of this, I must tell Neferet so that you can get the proper knowledge on bloodlust." Nolan responded and moved her hand to my cheek. "Everything is going to be okay." I felt my throat getting tight, so I nodded, holding back tears. "You and Mrs. O'leary head back to your dorm room. I'm sure you want to call home?"

She then stood up, walking away, and I gathered my things once more, heading inside. Mrs. O'leary made herself significantly smaller as we walked to the men's dorms. I was substantially more relaxed as I opened the door, and Mrs. O'leary ran in, making herself at home. I looked up to see Damien looking at Mrs. O'leary with wide eyes, then back to me. His head tilted a bit, his gaze filling with concern.

"I know you guys said not to worry, but I saved you a plate from dinner," Damien said, smiling at me and pointing to the mini-fridge. "Is everything okay?"

I nodded, set my things down, and moved to put on some pj's. "Yeah, I'm just finding out a lot about myself, including that I have bloodlust, and that is just completely normal for a demigod fledgling. Also, this is Mrs. O'leary; she is a hellhound, but she's also my dog. Cammy will be okay."

"So the dark daughters ritual didn't go well?" Damien asked, and I noticed he had got the plate he saved for me out of the fridge. It was BBQ.

I smiled, grabbed the plate, and explained everything that happened. I didn't tell him how Zoey also had bloodlust. I figured she'd tell them when she was ready. Damien listened to it all, not interjecting, just listening. I ate the food and got quiet. It reminded me of camp. I don't know how Damien knew, but he watched me before moving over and adjusting the crystal light. He then handed me the golden drachma, and I called home while he introduced himself to Mrs. O'leary.

"Percy!" I heard Annabeth yell and other campers chuckle in the background. "Are you okay?" I saw how her expression was covered in worry. I had the look of someone okay. I couldn't lie to my wise girl.

"No," I said, then smiled. "But my roommate saved me some BBQ that I missed because of some mean girl sorority spirit club BS. I miss New York; three of my professors are demigods, my mentor Nolan is a daughter of Apollo. I have the bloodlust as a third former. I saw a ghost—or possibly a fledgling who died being alive once more? I think I may be into men? Also, I'm sorry."

Annabeth stared at me, and I heard the muffled chuckles of Damien, who was being smothered by hellhound love. I waited for a response then saw Chiron come into the picture.

"Percy, will you be okay?" He asked me, and I thought about it and chuckled a bit.

"I don't know." I looked at Chiron and shook my head. "I'm more concerned about one of the things I listed than the others. I met Elizabeth today; she died rejecting the change before our full moon ritual. And then I saw her again after guiding my friend Zoey out of the Dark Daughters and Son's full moon ritual. I'm freaking out. Hades didn't like that and sent Mrs. O'leary to me. Thank you, Nico. I know you're listening."

"Mrs. O'leary, I'd there?" Annabeth asked, and she had this expression of analytical concern. "Wouldn't she set off the protection barriers?"

"Oh, she did; that's how I found out one of my future teachers is a daughter of Athena," I explained, and Chiron looked at me interested. "Anastasia Lankford."

"Ah yes, I'm sure this meeting was interesting," Chiron said, his eyes holding concern.

"Her husband had to remind her our parents' feuds are not ours," I said and then shook my head. "I miss New York." I felt a lump in my throat Mrs. O'leary moved to put her head on my shoulder. "I've made awesome friends here, but I miss getting beat up by Clarisse. That's how homesick I am."

"I can arrange that for you, Prissy!" I heard Clarisse yell, and I started to laugh hard. Of course, she was there the entire can was.

"Seaweed brain," I heard Annabeth say, and I looked at her. "I think you need some rest. Everything is going to be okay. You got this. You held up the sky! Some mean girl BS is nothing compared to that, and about the whole Elizabeth thing, maybe you should talk to Zoey about it."

I nodded and smiled, wiping my eyes. "Yeah, okay. You're probably right."

"Of course I am," Annabeth said sweetly, and then the call ended. I looked to see Cammy had flicked the switch of the lamp off. Damien started to laugh hard, and we both got ready for bed.

I smiled after taking care of the food waste and cozied into bed with my pet hellhound. I would talk with Zoey tomorrow to find out what she saw. See what she thinks about the Dark Daughters. My gut told me that Elizabeth was only the beginning of freaky things happening here.