Chapter 3

Percy POV

I stared at the moon with dread; it was only a sliver away from being full, and I hadn't even come close to merging with Fenron. I sat down in the middle of the grass and concentrated as hard as I could.

The moon is almost full, Percy. Do you know what that means?

"That you get to control my body for a night and go on a murderous rampage?" I deadpanned.

Oh, I'm going to have so much fun. I'm going to destroy everything in my path, even that pretty girl with the black eyes.

"You know she's a werewolf too, right? She can probably handle you considering the fact she's merged with her wolf and is much more powerful than you alone."

Impossible. No one bests Fenron, werewolf or not.

"Dude, just merge with me. You're only going to get control once in a while, and since I'm never letting you take over, why not be in partial control 24/7?" I tried to sway him, but if the wolf had an actual body, it definitely would've rolled its eyes.

How about this? I eat your soul and take full control 24/7? That sounds good to me, you?

I broke the connection and opened my eyes; the afternoon sun blazed in the air, meaning I had spent yet another night talking to Fenron to no avail. It seemed like the wolf got more stubborn every time I interacted with him.

I stood up and walked towards the house. The past week had been quite dull as Zoe had warned. I couldn't morph into my wolf form on command and therefore she thought it would be best if she hunted alone and due to my lack of demigod scent, there were no monsters that were interested in coming after me.

After chucking rocks off of a cliff, I decided to get some water from the river.

Blood would quench my thirst adequately.

I really need to try and control my thoughts; Fenron is really getting to me.

After a few minutes of walking I heard the rush of the river where I had fought Lycaon. The river had washed away the blood that had once stained the rocks. I bent down to drink when I heard an arrow rush by my head. I instantly backed up and wildly looked around, but there was no one in sight. The hairs on my neck stood on end when I bent down to examine the arrow.

Silver.

My eyes widened before I broke into a sprint. Arrows flew by me and impaled themselves into trees as I did my best to weave through the forest.

I heard a hunting horn nearby and the sound of boots crunched through the leaves.

"Alright, Fenron. It's looking like we're about to die, so going wolf form would help a lot."

I received no answer in reply.

Well, I guess we're going to run this solo.

I envisioned the day Annabeth had left me, how hopeless, angry, and betrayed I had felt. How defeated I was when the telekhines took my powers. How broken I was when I lay defenseless in front of Lycaon.

Instead, I felt my anger disappear, replacing it came a wave of depression. Why do the Fates hate me? Just a few weeks ago, I was sleeping in my cabin, a hero at Camp and the role model everyone had looked up to. Now, I'm being hunted like a wild animal.

Suddenly, I felt an arrow impale itself into my arm. I roared in pain as the silver coursed through my veins. I could hear the sound of four female voices surrounding me as I pulled out the arrow and tried to focus on breathing.

"We got the mutt, now."

"Stupid boy thought he could outrun the Hunters."

"His hide isn't even worth displaying in my tent. We'll just use it as a chew toy for the wolves."

"Wait, hold your fire! Isn't that Per-"

Suddenly, I felt my fangs sharpen and claws shot out of my hands. My face elongated and I felt pinpricks all over my skin as fur shot out of it. I glared at the Hunters who were looking at me with a little awe, realizing that I towered over them in height.

With a monstrous roar, I swiped three of them away like rag dolls and knocked down the fourth. I pinned her to the ground with my paws and got ready to bite her head off her shoulders.

"Percy? Is-is that you?"

That voice. It was so familiar but I couldn't quite place it.

"It's me. It's Thalia!" she shouted.

Thalia? Thalia Grace?

The name echoed through my brain as I felt myself shrink in size as my claws shrunk and my fangs shortened. Soon, I was back to human form, pinning down Thalia with my hands.

"PERCY!" Thalia pulled me into a hug and began to cry. "They-they told me you were dead."

She pulled away before wiping her eyes. "Annabeth told me that you died trying to get to Daedalus' workshop! What happened? How are you a werewolf?"

I felt anger course through my veins. "Why were you hunting me?" I asked bluntly.

"Phoebe said that she saw a werewolf. She's an expert monster tracker, but when I saw it was you…"

I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, my emotions are a little hard to control."

Thalia ran over to her fallen sisters. "Are they okay? I wasn't really thinking when I swiped at them, it was more of an instinct."

"They're fine, just knocked out." She said as she stood up and looked at me. "You didn't exactly answer my question. How are you alive?"

I took a deep breath before relaying what had happened in the past week. I decided to leave out the fact that the wolf who saved me was Zoe Nightshade as I was pretty sure that if Artemis found out, things wouldn't bode too well.

I finished up my spiel when I saw that Thalia was fuming. "That bitch left you to die? And Olympus approved of this? That's Minotaur shit! I'm going to kill them!"

I grabbed her wrists. "Thalia, you can't tell anyone what I just told you. Everyone thinks I'm dead and to be honest, I want to keep it that way."

"I can't lie to Lady Artemis. Even if I do, Phoebe, Diana, or Shay will tell her that you're still alive."

"Thalia, I'm a monster now. If the Olympians find out I'm alive, you know how they'll see me. I've been betrayed, and therefore I pose a threat to them whether I do anything or not," I turned towards the other three Hunters. "You have to let me kill them."

Thalia shook her head. "I won't let you kill them, Percy. Those are my sisters and it's my responsibility to protect them."

"Thalia," I pleaded. "You know how your father is. He would order you and your Hunters on me the minute he finds out I'm alive."

"I know, but I can't just let you kill my sisters!" Suddenly a blur of white flashed in the corner of my eyes.

I turned and saw that all three Hunters' throats were slashed open. Thalia's mouth dropped open before she drew her bow.

"Something's here," she whispered.

I gulped, knowing what exactly that something was. "Thalia, I-"

Suddenly, the brush exploded and a white wolf knocked Thalia away. Before I even had a chance to move, the wolf bit my shirt, threw me onto its back, and ran.

I gripped Zoe's fur as she ran like a bolt of lightning. I heard an arrow embed itself in Zoe but she continued to run. After a minute, she stopped and collapsed onto the ground unconscious.

I scrambled to my feet as Zoe shrank back down into her human form. I ran into the house and dug through the cabinets, running out with the homemade bandages Zoe had stored.

There was an arrow sticking out of her lower back and I grimaced before walking up to her. I mentally shuddered when I realized what I had to do.

"Please don't kill me for this, Zoe."

I removed the arrow before lifting up her shirt gingerly. I kept my eyes solely focused on the wound as I did my best to staunch the flow of blood. After wrapping her lower back in bandages, I immediately fell onto my back and tried to process what had just happened.

I morphed into werewolf form. Albeit, it wasn't really by my own will but it happened.

After thinking for a few minutes I decided to try my luck and carry Zoe into the house. Yeah, she had let me hold her hands but carrying her involved a lot of contact and if she woke up and went berserk, there was no telling what kind of harm that would cause my body.

After scooping her up, I came very close to dropping her. With all the adrenaline that was going through my body, I had completely forgotten about the arrow wound in my arm. I winced before walking into the house.

After placing her down as gingerly as I could in the bed (she never seemed to sleep and so she granted me free use of it) I sat down in a chair and closed my eyes. I hadn't felt this tired since, well, the day I got my powers drained. There was no way contacting Fenron would be a good idea.

Suddenly, I felt a strange feeling in my stomach. Dread filled my mind as I looked outside. The sun was setting.

I bolted through the door and began to sprint. There was no way Fenron would spare Zoe and I wanted to get as far away from her as possible. Suddenly, I felt my legs grow more powerful and my claws were sharpening.

The sun had set and I didn't have much time until I would lose control over my body. I sprinted even harder, trees whirled by me as I felt my enhanced muscles working as hard as they could. I finally stopped and panted, looking around me to check where I was.

Cacti littered the landscape and I felt cool sand under my feet. I had run into a desert. Suddenly, I began to feel woozy and darkness took me into its arms.

I groaned as I felt the sun hit my face. I turned to go back to sleep when panic seized me.

I was in the desert last night. So why am I in the forest?

After turning in a few circles I calmed down and focused.

The house is only a couple miles away from here. What could Fenron have done?

I ran in the direction of the house. Although I didn't have the strength of a werewolf, I sprinted as hard as my mortal legs would allow before collapsing in front of the house. The walls had holes everywhere and the table had been thrown outside.

I slowly got to my feet before walking in; I breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Zoe was in her bed unharmed. I looked more closely and realized that the bed had been torn up and there were claw marks all over the house.

Confusion hit me. What happened?

"Only one way to find out,'' I muttered before closing my eyes.

Swirls of darkness formed into my good old friend, Fenron.

He didn't say a word and his form was almost glowing with anger.

"So, Fenron, why didn't you harm Zoe? And who pissed in your Cheerios?

Fenron snarled in anger. I thought that stupid girlfriend of yours was unconscious.

"She's not my-"

I went to claw her apart when she rolled out of bed and morphed into her wolf form.

"Really? Judging from the fact she was sleeping when I got here, I'm going to guess you got your tail handed to you. Oh man, all that talk about eating her and you got whooped by a girl who was shot in the back, hours before?" I gloated.

Don't test me, Jackson. She had the element of surprise and I wasn't at my full power after running all the way to that damn forest.

"I'm hearing a whole lot of excuses right now, Fenron."

The wolf roared and lunged before I woke up, a grin plastered on my face.

"What are you smiling about?"

I looked up and saw Zoe cross legged on her bed. Afternoon light flooded through the broken walls and windows.

"Uh, I was talking with Fenron," I smirked. "I heard you whooped his ass."

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Please, as if a minor league werewolf could defeat me."

Stupid bitch. I was tired and she lucked out.

"How did you beat Fenron when you had an arrow wound in your back?"

"I let Sabrina take the majority of the control in that fight." I noticed her face go a little red. "Um, thanks for, ah, patching me up."

I did my best not to blush. "It was nothing, you fought the king of the werewolves to save my life, I just put a band aid on your cut."

"Don't sell yourself short, Percy. My regeneration time would've been much longer had you not stopped the bleeding."

"See, Fenron? She had an injury, and you're complaining that you were just tired from running. Aren't you supposed to be the eater of dreams or whatever?"

Fuck you.

"Damn, I should've let you bleed out. I could've saved you from the brink of death and we could've been square," I joked.

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Percy, tell your wolf that it makes the worst threats in Greek history. Like, 'I'm going to devour your spleen?' 'Your dreams will be mine?' Really?"

It's because I'm stuck in the mind of a pea-brained ape.

"He blames it on my intelligence."

"Honestly, I have to agree there. You aren't exactly the sharpest fang in the jaw."

I pouted. "Don't defend him!"

If only I could've been formed in her head.

Zoe grinned. "Hard not to. I almost feel sorry for the guy."

I like her.

"If he had a stronger owner, he actually would've stood a sliver of a chance against me."

Strike that. I want to rip her lungs out.

"Hey, don't blame the owner if a dog can't do the trick." I quipped in with a chuckle.

I will eviscerate both of you.

I laughed before I remembered what had happened yesterday. "Zoe, those Hunters you killed…"

The smile on Zoe's face disappeared as she stared at her hands. "I was on my way back to the house when I smelled silver mixed with blood. I ran over as quickly as possible and I heard what she was saying."

Zoe looked down. "You've been through enough and you don't deserve to have all of Olympus on your tail. I didn't know any of the Hunters I killed, thank the gods, but I had to make that decision. Artemis already hates, er, knows what I am, so I did my best to make Thalia's decision an easy one. She won't blame you for their deaths."

"Why does Artemis hate you?"

She refused to meet my eyes. "She doesn't."

"I heard you say it. You can tell me. Why does she hate you?"

Zoe gritted her teeth before sighing. She stood up from her bed before slamming her claws into the wall.

"She didn't even give me a chance to explain," she whispered. The raw pain in her voice sent a shudder through my spine.

"I show up in front of her, her best friend for hundreds of years, and the minute she sensed I was a monster, she killed me knowing full well what's it's like in Tartarus."

"Zoe, I-"

"She killed me so quickly I didn't even get to say her name. Killing those Hunters...It felt right. Judge me all you want."

I gave her a hug and she tensed. "It's ok. I'll never judge you, you're my savior and I won't ever turn my back on you."

I felt Zoe's hesitation crumble as she began to sob. "She didn't even say my name. I didn't even see the arrow until…"

"Shhhh. It's ok. I won't let her touch you ever again. We're in this together no matter who tries to stop us."

Line Break

3rd POV

Artemis fiddled with her bow nervously. It had been hours since she last seen Thalia or the Hunters she had taken with her, and the forests of Nevada were riddled with monsters.

Suddenly, Thalia burst into the tent, gasping as she held a deep cut in her chest that was dripping with blood.

"My-My Lady, there-" She collapsed. Artemis threw her bow down before laying her hands onto Thalia's chest. Her hands glowed as she began to replenish Thalia's energy when a hunter stepped into the tent.

"My Lady, the Lieutenant, Phoebe, Diana, and Shay are nowhere to be found. None of our scouts could seem to-" she looked down and saw Thalia. "Uh, should I continue the search for the rest of them, M'lady?"

Artemis nodded. "Please do, Kathy. Report back to me when you find any trace of them."

Kathy nodded before hustling out of the tent. Thalia groaned and Artemis quickly scooped her up, laying her down in a bed. "Thalia, what happened to you? Where are the others?"

Thalia slowly opened her eyes. "They-They're dead, my Lady." She coughed up some blood before falling back to the pillow.

Artemis felt her eyes burst into silver flames. "Who dared to kill three of my hunters? They shall pay with their life!"

Thalia hesitated, her eyes refusing to meet Artemis' flaming orbs of rage. Artemis grabbed Thalia's hands. "Tell me!"

"I-I can't."

Artemis drew back as the flames dissipated; betrayal evident in her eyes. "Very well. I'll see for myself then. Artemis laid her hand on Thalia's forehead and before she could even protest, Artemis withdrew it.

"I see. Your loyalty seems to lie with a boy more than your sisters."

Thalia made a move to protest before Artemis snapped her fingers. Ropes shot out of the side of the bed and pinned her down.

"As for the other wolf…" Artemis closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "She will die."

*peeks out from behind rock*

Sorry about that, I accidentally closed posted the wrong update to the corresponding story... :0