Dearest Readers,

I AM BACK AND IT FEELS SO GOOD! Finally my semester that has been dragging on for what feels like forever is now over and I am free to do what I love, and that is WRITE! Now I'm back with regular updates every Tuesday and Saturday.

I hope you all are having a lovely holiday season!

As always, please let me know what you think :)

XOXO Ally Layne.

Bad Moon Rising

11: demigod show and tell

It didn't take long for Jacob to scurry back over with a glass of water in hand and wariness in his eyes. "While I'm glad you're all for being hydrated and everything, we really do need to get you to a doctor to see your shoulder," he fussed, kneeling back down closely at my side.

I rolled my eyes, pushing his shirtless, not-to-mention rather firm, chest out of the way as I took the wad of towels off my injury. Good. It was already starting to heal.

Jacob drew in a breath that sounded like a hiss, and the others seemed to be confused as to what I was doing.

I didn't blame them, and I knew what was going to happen next would only confuse them further.

"Well, Lady and Gentlemen, before I start a small demonstration I want to let you know normally I would do a long talky-bit before this and explain what I'm about to do, but this hurts so I'm just going to heal myself first."

I felt a small, gentle tug in my gut as the water started to flow out from the glass and toward my shoulder.

"HOLY SHIT!" Quil.

"What the-" Jared.

"SHE'S A MAGICIAN!" Okay, terrible deduction, Paul.

I paused, looking over at the guy who had recently turned into a silver wolf. "Seriously, Paul? Is that the best you could come up with?"

His eyes, and everyone else's eyes were staring straight at the water that still was holding itself in mid-air, inches from my shoulder.

"Uh… are you doing that?" Jacob asked, pointing at the water that was two feet from his face.

I nodded. "Yup. And this isn't even the cool part."

"Somehow I doubt that," Jared muttered.

"Prepare to be amazed," I told him, before continuing to flow the water to my wound, immediately feeling relief upon its touch.

A small sigh escaped my throat, and the tension removed itself from my shoulders at the refuge from the pain.

Within moments, the wound closed, leaving behind a scar that was far less dramatic than the ones that were permanently etched on Emily's face.

Jacob plopped down on his rear, his legs seemingly unable to hold him up in the kneeling position. "You-you just healed yourself."

"You're a magician," Paul insisted.

I crossed my arms, letting the remainder of the water rush over and splatter him in the face. "I am not a magician. I mean, I met a few before, but-"

"So you're not a magician but you know some magicians? And you have watery magical powers?" Quil asked, rubbing the back of his head.

I sighed. "They're not really magical powers-"

"Well that certainly looked pretty damn magical to me," Embry muttered.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Magic is a whole different ball game, trust me. And it's one I don't really care to find myself involved with."

"Then what exactly are you, Andromeda?"

Everyone looked over to where Sam was standing with Emily hidden tightly in his side.

I pursed my lips. "Well, that's usually the whole talking part I do before I reveal everything but like I said before-"

"You were hurt," Jacob voiced, raising a hand to where the scar still remained. When I didn't move to slap his hand out of the way, he slowly traced a finger along the white line on my skin. "And now you're… not?" His worried gaze locked on mine.

I shook my head, placing a hand over his own which was still resting on my shoulder. "No, I'm not hurting at all. I've healed myself completely, well, completely enough to leave a scar behind for memory's sake."

He winced. "I'd rather not remember that."

"Why, so you can look back on how much of a prick you are?" Paul mocked.

Jacob immediately twisted away from me and moved toward Paul.

"That's enough," Sam cut Jacob off before he could retort, making him move to sit back at my side. Sam's laser-focused eyes then honed in on me. "Now, I believe you were explaining what you are?"

I nodded. "Yes, I was." I looked at Jake, who gave a nod of support and took one of my hands into his own.

Something in my chest softened.

"Were you guys ever taught about Ancient Greece? Where they worshipped their different gods and goddesses?"

They nodded faintly at my words. "You mean, like Zeus and Hades and all them?" Jared asked.

"Yeah, like them," I said. "There were the 12 Olympian gods, which were worshipped the most out of all of the rest. And with them, there were others who were not given spots as the 12 Olympians, such as Hades, Hestia, or even Nyx- but they were still called upon by the humans and prayed to and worshipped."

"Not that I don't mind this history lesson-"

I cut Jake off. "Just listen, please?"

The others seemed to stiffen at my plea. It was then I figured they finally understood how serious this was- how serious this was going to be.

"Yeah, of course," he assured. "Sorry."

I smiled down at him softly before continuing, "Well, before I tell you this next part I just want you all to remember that you're a bunch of shape shifting wolves. So hold onto your butts."

Paul crossed his arms.

Quil and Embry shared a look of confusion, but turned back to me within moments.

"Those gods and goddesses? They were real. And they're still around today, doing just as they always have done. Siring children, battling evil monsters and other beings that seek to do wrong in the world."

If crickets were in the room, the sound of crickets chirping would've been the only thing heard. Instead, I was stuck listening to the heavy breathing of the large men around me.

And Emily, but she wasn't really a part of the problem.

"Uh… so… you…" Jacob didn't know where to begin.

I squeezed his hand.

He squeezed it back.

"Does this mean you're a demigod?" Sam asked, eyes narrowing at my form.

I nodded faintly. "I'm the daughter of Poseidon, god of the seas."

"Does that make you some sort of princess, then?" Paul asked, leaning back in his seat. "That's probably why you can afford that home and all your stuff."

"Well, no, not really," I admitted. "The money is coming from Camp Half Blood, where I spend my summers."

"Camp Half Blood?" Jacob echoed. "Where is that? What is that?"

"It's what it sounds like. A camp for half bloods, which is another term for demigods. We go there to learn how to survive, with monsters who are after us all the time because of our scent and godly blood."

He blinked. "Monsters?"

I nodded. "Monsters."

"So, you have faced many of these monsters?" Sam inquired, titling his head curiously. "Are they just as described in the Iliad and Odyssey?"

"And worse."

"Your brother, that is missing," Paul spoke. "Is he a demigod, too? Do you think he was taken by monsters?"

I felt a prickling sensation in my eyes. "Percy… yes, he's a demigod- he's my twin. I didn't know what to think when he disappeared, but he was taken while in the boundaries of Camp so there wouldn't be a way for a monster to take him. Not with me in the same room as him, at least."

"Then what does that mean?"

I sighed. "Most likely it was something godly that took him. Probably about another prophecy or something. I just hope it's not one that's big or like the last one."

Jared perked up. "Prophecy? What was the last prophecy?"

I felt myself stiffen up at the memory. "A lot of people died because of it. Do you remember that great big storm that wrecked through most of the country last August?"

They nodded their heads.

"It was a large beast, Typhon. It took nearly all of the Olympians to beat it," I explained. "While, at that time, there was a large attack sent by the newly reformed titan, Kronos, toward the gates of Olympus, which happen to be located in New York at the top of the Empire State Building."

"A pretty volatile decoy," Sam muttered. "But then who was there to stop this Kronos guy?"

I sighed. "That's what the prophecy described," I explained, before closing my eyes, as I started to recite words that had been engraved in my brain from the trauma they caused.

"Two half-bloods of the eldest gods

Shall reach sixteen against all odds

And see the world in endless sleep

A hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end their days

Olympus to preserve or raze."

Silence took over the pack once again, and I removed my hand from Jakes as I rubbed my thighs in anxiousness. I bit my lip.

"That's talking about you and your brother, isn't it?" Emily asked, her voice soft and knowing.

At my nod, she walked over to me and held out her arms for a hug, which I quickly accepted, and lunged into her embrace.

She reminded me so much of my mother.

"You were too young to deal with such things," she spoke. "And these… gods, they let a bunch of children fight for them?"

I shrugged, moving out of her arms and back into the comfort of my chair before I responded. "It was either fight or be killed. And I wasn't going to stand around and watch as the world fell into darkness under the reign of Kronos."

"So, you're a hardened warrior that doesn't take no shit from no one," Jacob summed up, looking at me right in the eye as if to say I see who you are. A small smile formed on his lips. "I think you're pretty awesome, Andie."

Quil coughed loudly. "Well now I know why she's the one the spirits chose for-"

Jared smacked him on the back of his head.

Jacob let out a low growl, making Quil roll his eyes. "Oh come on, you all know I'm right."

I didn't bother to try and read between the lines, there was way too much going on. That was definitely something I didn't want to try to unpack.

At least, not before I learned some more about them first.

"So I shared my superhero origin story, what about you guys? What makes you turn into giant wolves?"

Paul blinked. "Did you just-"

"Superhero origin story?" Embry deadpanned. "I'm sorry, in what story are you the main character?"

I winked. "Obviously this one. Can't you tell?"

Sam cleared his throat. "I don't know what you know about the supernatural beings around here-"

"But there's a coven of vamps in Forks?" I added. "Yeah, I know that."

Sam crossed his arms. "It's their proximity to ours that makes us shift. Apparently, it was a straying nomad clan that made me turn when I did."

Emily rubbed his arm.

"And it's the vamps in Forks that made the rest of us shift when we did," Paul finished, eyeing Jacob for a second too long before turning to me. "How did you know about them?"

"Don't tell us they're attracted to your scent," Embry groaned. "That'll be one more thing to worry about."

I shook my head, letting out a faint laugh. "I don't know how appetizing I smell to them, so don't worry. Actually, my friend Annabeth, who happens to be the smartest person I know and a daughter of Athena is the one who told me. I also knew there were shifters in the area, but I didn't know it was you for sure until today."

They all paused. "How did she know?" Jared questioned.

I looked over at Paul. "Magic."

He blinked. "Bullshit."

"You caught me," I groaned. "Well, at least, I think Rachel would like to think what she does is magical, but I think seeing green smoke all around her is really friggin creepy… but at least it's not the mummy that we used to have to deal with." I shuddered at the memory. "Now that was creepy."

Jacob shook his head. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

"Long story short, I know about your existence and the vampire's existence here because of the Oracle of Delphi, who had foreseen it."

"Oracle of what now?" Quil asked.

I let out a long-suffering sigh. "That's why I said it was magic, you know. But the Oracle is someone who has the gift to see the future, blessed by Apollo. My friend Rachel is the current one, now."

"You have some interesting friends," Jacob spoke, looking as though he was still trying to get a grasp over everything that I had just laid out. "If you knew about our existence, then why did you choose to come here?"

I felt a small smile creep over my lips. "Because wherever trouble is, usually my brother follows."

.

.

.

After my little time of show and tell with the pack, I was fed by an eager Emily who was a superhuman all her own as she whipped up a bunch of meals for everyone at the meeting in short notice.

She was busy hovering over my shoulder like a hawk, making sure there wasn't something on the plate that I missed.

"I don't know how your powers work, Andie, but I know the boys need a lot of food when they shift. It'll do you some good to put a little food in you," she had chastised when she noticed I didn't completely fill my plate.

I quickly scarfed down some of the potatoes and decided that she was someone I'd rather not get on the bad side of, and listened to everything she said.

"Jake, Jared, the two of you are on patrol," Sam spoke, once the dinner had settled into everyone's bellies and we had gone on into useless chatter once more.

Jacob immediately looked at Sam in shock, before looking back at me for a second, then back to Sam. "But-"

Sam's lips tightened. "With what your actions caused today, I don't think you have any room to try and get out of these rounds, Black. You and Jared will do your rounds and you won't complain."

I watched as Jacob looked back to me, before his eyes lowered slightly at Sam's words. "Fine."

Before I realized what I was doing, I reached out and patted his arm. "I forgive you for trying to kill me earlier, you know."

He blinked, before stiffening dramatically. "I-I didn't try-"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I know you didn't try to kill me. But you nearly did. And I forgive you for it," I told him. "When people like us make mistakes, the consequences are that much higher, and I get it. I understand, you know."

He tilted his head. "What did you do that could compare to what I did to you?"

I shrugged, and felt my mind slip back into another time, even though it was only just a year prior. "I downed a ship in the ocean with my abilities. It killed everyone on board. Even though they were on the other side of the war, they still were demigods, you know. They were people who had lives, and I ended them because my friend was killed."

I could still feel the anger that seeped through my veins.

It was something that I lived with every day.

"You really were a warrior, weren't you?" Embry asked.

I felt my eyebrows furrow. "Was? As far as I know, I still am."

Jacob let out a low chuckle.

I looked over at Sam. "Maybe you'll have to let me do some rounds of patrol for you guys, too. I had to do it all the time when I was at Camp."

Jacob's chuckles stopped all at once.

Sam tilted his head. "You will have to prove yourself first, just as any one of us would."

"No, Sam-"

I looked over at Jacob who was now standing and glaring at the pack's alpha with fire in his eyes. "You don't speak for me, pup."

His teeth grit together. "I am trying to protect you, Andromeda."

I crossed my arms. "I don't need protection, Jacob."

Quil started to laugh. "You're going to have your hands full with Andie, dude."

I stopped. "He's going to what?"

Quil's eyes widened. "Uh… he's going to not have anything to do with you, at this rate."

"He has no ownership over me, let's get this straight," I demanded. "I don't know what is up with you wolves and protecting women, but I am not some sort of helpless damsel in distress, no offense, Em."

Emily shook her head. "No offense taken," she admitted. "I already have my wolf."

I nodded to her gratefully before turning back to the others. "I've been battling with monsters for years, and I will have to fight the good fight until I die because of what I am. So no, I don't need someone to protect me. I know how to protect my own back, and the backs of the people around me."

I raised a brow at Jake, who was now looking at me in what I think was admiration.

Weird.

"If anything, it should be me watching your back."

The awe in his eyes flickered back to annoyance, and I shrugged to myself. Typical men.

Sam looked at me intently. "I'll speak with the elders and see if they will allow you to join us on our patrols," he said. "It would be an honor to fight alongside you. My wolf… it's as if it recognizes you somehow."

All the others seemed to nod in their agreement, including Jacob.

And there was another look in his eye that I couldn't place. It was something I never really have seen before.

It was those words of spiritual recognition that Sam voiced which stuck with me the walk home with Embry, who insisted that he bring me home himself. Something about Jake not being able to, which meant he had to make sure I made it-

Some sort of weird male crap, that's for sure.

But I went with it, if only to spend time with a newfound friend.

Also, he gave me a phone that Emily had decided to gift me. A flip phone that was super cheap, a burner phone, really- but my first phone.

"We figured you should have it in case we need to get a hold of you," He had explained. "Or, if you needed to get a hold of us."

I nodded, feeling a wide grin spread across my face. "You mean I don't need to just walk outside and start howling?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, how about you never do that. Let's just stick to the phone, okay?"

Embry showed me that everyone's numbers were inside, including Emily's.

I had a feeling I was going to take advantage of that one for some good meals.

Besides, at this point I'm surrounded by monsters anyway, so what is having a phone going to do to me at this point?

I did my usual IM with Annabeth and explaining mostly everything that happened (carefully avoiding explaining my careless wound) before trading numbers. However, after I swiped through the mist and through her image, I realized that there was one number on the phone that seemed to keep me deep in thought.

Laying on my bed, I lazily felt the ridges of wide white lines that graced my shoulder, feeling the indent of the skin that I knew would now always be there.

Why do I feel so close to him when all he does is hurt me?

What does that say about me?