Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and the little surprise! Hey who am I kidding I think you'll love it. This one is honestly a happier chapter than some.
Replies:
Undeath9087: Yeah I've come to realise I enjoy making them suffer far too much- though I do also enjoy comfort so that's good! And yes, yes you shall understand Fungus next chapter.
Weirdhead: Well Hedge might not pulverize him but hey, Leo gets to let loose a little, and a certain group are gonna show up so that's good.
Quip Scarlet: Yep, Zoe is definitely in this chapter, I love her. And I love other characters too.
The Official Clarisse: Hahahahahah. I will not confirm or deny which ship I plan on hurting- but it will be connected to lotsa trauma I'll say that much.

The wolves snarled in the darkness and Leo's mind raced, they needed to come up with something fast he knew that much.

He bit his lip thoughtfully as he very carefully slid his hand into his toolbelt, focusing- and he resisted the urge to smirk when he pulled out a glass bottle full of clear liquid- and he trusted the belt, he knew it would give him what he wanted, focusing fully on Jason and Lyacon, who glared at Jason's sword. He moved to each side as if looking for an opening, but Jason's blade moved with him.

"Leave," Jason ordered. "There's no food for you here. "

"Unless you want tofu burgers," Leo offered, because really, how was he supposed to resist that opening?

Lycaon bared his fangs. Apparently he wasn't a tofu fan.

"If I had my way," Lycaon said with regret, "I'd kill you first, son of Jupiter. Your father made me what I am. I was the powerful mortal king of Arcadia, with fifty fine sons, and Zeus slew them all with his lightning bolts."

"Ha," Coach Hedge said. "For good reason!"

Jason glanced over his shoulder. "Coach, you know this clown?"

"I do!" Piper's eyes were wide-and Leo was impressed, she probably knew more about the myths than he did. "Lycaon invited Zeus to dinner," she said. "But the king wasn't sure it was really Zeus. So to test his powers, Lycaon tried to feed him human flesh. Zeus got outraged—"

"And killed my sons!" Lycaon howled. The wolves behind him howled too.

"So Zeus turned him into a wolf," Piper said. "They call… they call werewolves lycanthropes, named after him, the first werewolf."

"The king of wolves," Coach Hedge finished. "An immortal, smelly, vicious mutt. "

Lycaon growled. "I will tear you apart, faun!"

"Oh, you want some goat, buddy? 'Cause I'll give you goat. "

"Stop it," Jason said. "Lycaon, you said you wanted to kill me first, but-"

"Sadly, Child of Rome, you are spoken for. Since this one"—he waggled his claws at Piper—" has failed to kill you, you are to be delivered alive to the Wolf House. One of my compatriots has asked for the honor of killing you herself."

"Who?" Jason asked quickly.

The wolf king snickered. "Oh, a great admirer of yours. Apparently, you made quite an impression on her. She will take care of you soon enough, and really I cannot complain. Spilling your blood at the Wolf House should mark my new territory quite well. Lupa will think twice about challenging my pack." His eyes swung to Leo, "She wants the fire boy too- though I don't think she really admires him."

"You're going to leave now." Piper's voice was only slightly shaky- she was using her powers, her charmspeak but she sounded afraid, too afraid- it wouldn't work, "Before we destroy you."

Lycaon's red eyes crinkled with humor. "A brave try, girl. I admire that. Perhaps I'll make your end quick. Only the son of Jupiter and the son of Hephaestus are needed alive. The rest of you, I'm afraid, are dinner. "

"Well whoever wants Jason and I is gonna be real unlucky." Leo growled, "Us demi's stick together. We're not letting you touch Pipes or Coach Hedge."

"Leo's right." Jason took a step forward. "You're not killing anyone, wolf man. Not without going through me. "

Lycaon howled and extended his claws. Jason slashed at him, but his golden sword passed straight through as if the wolf king wasn't there.

Lycaon laughed. "Gold, bronze, steel—none of these are any good against my wolves, son of Jupiter. "

"Silver!" Piper cried. "Aren't werewolves hurt by silver?"

"We don't have any silver!" Jason said.

Wolves leaped into the firelight. Hedge charged forward with an elated "Woot!"

But Leo moved forward faster, shoving past his friends, tossing the bottle at the ground and it shattered on the ground, splattering the liquid all over the wolves, "We might not have silver." Leo gave a wild grin, ripping the sling off of his right arm as the smell of gasoline filled the room, "But silver isn't the only thing that can hurt you, something I've learned, most things, most monsters, well, they have at least one other weakness." he flung out his hand, a burst of fire erupting from his fingers as he yelled, "Burn bitch burn!" and a wall of flames erupted from the puddle.

Wolves yelped and retreated. Several caught fire and had to run back into the snow. Even Lycaon looked uneasily at the barrier of flames now separating his wolves from the demigods.

"Aw, c'mon," Coach Hedge complained. "I can't hit them if they're way over there!"

Every time a wolf came closer, Leo shot a new wave of fire from his hands- his expression twisting as he laughed- and with the way the fire filled the air around them his expression was almost terrifying to look at, he noticed Jason and Piper taking steps back, though he didn't actually understand why.

He felt powerful, he might not be skilled with weapons but this- well, this was what he was good at. He could fight, just in a different much more destructive way.

But of course even he had limits- he could feel himself starting to get tired, and much to his annoyance the gasoline was already dying down, "I can't summon anymore gas- the tool belt needs a while to recharge. Please tell me you guys have something we can use because we may be in trouble."

"I have nothing," Jason said. "Not even a weapon that works. "

"Lightning?" Piper asked.

Jason concentrated, but nothing happened. "I think the snowstorm is interfering, or something. "

"Unleash the venti!" Piper suggested, a panicked note to her voice- not that Leo blamed her for that. He was feeling pretty panicked too.

"Then we'll have nothing to give Aeolus," Jason said. "We'll have come all this way for nothing. "

Lycaon laughed. "I can smell your fear. A few more minutes of life, heroes. Pray to whatever gods you wish. Zeus did not grant me mercy, and you will have none from me. "

The flames began to sputter out. Jason cursed and dropped his sword. He crouched like he was ready to go hand-to-hand. Leo pulled a knife out of his pack- he might not be the best with them but it was probably better than being weaponless when he was running out of strength. Piper raised her dagger, Coach Hedge hefted his club, and he was the only one who looked excited about dying.

Then a ripping sound cut through the wind—like a piece of tearing cardboard. A long stick sprouted from the neck of the nearest wolf—the shaft of a silver arrow. The wolf writhed and fell, melting into a puddle of shadow.

Leo felt his face splitting into a wide grin at the sight- realisation flooding through him as he dropped his dagger and let out a loud victorious whoop, punching the air, "Yes! Yes take that you suckers!"

More arrows. More wolves fell. The pack broke in confusion. An arrow flashed toward Lycaon, but the wolf king caught it in midair. Then he yelled in pain. When he dropped the arrow, it left a charred, smoking gash across his palm. Another arrow caught him in the shoulder, and the wolf king staggered.

"Curse them!" Lycaon yelled. He growled at his pack, and the wolves turned and ran. Lycaon fixed Jason with those glowing red eyes. "This isn't over, boy."

"It sure looks like it is." Leo called out, "You know who's here, go fuck yourselves you wolfy dickwads!"

The wolf king disappeared into the night.

Seconds later, Leo heard more wolves baying, but the sound was different—less threatening, more like hunting dogs on the scent. A smaller white wolf burst into the cave, followed by two more.

"Do we kill it?" Hedge looked far too eager but Leo grabbed his shoulder, yanking him back quickly.

"Don't you dare! Don't you realise who's wolves they are?"

The wolves tilted their heads and studied the campers with huge golden eyes, and Leo darted forward, dropping to his knees and grinning widely, "Hey there guys! Where's your mistresses then? Are they coming?"

And then they were there, in the mouth of the cave, a troop of hunters in familiar white-and-gray winter camouflage, at least half a dozen. All of them carried bows, with quivers of glowing silver arrows on their backs.

Their faces were covered with parka hoods- Leo wondered how many of them he'd met. How many of them had fought during the war alongside him- or below given the fact that he'd spent most of the time on Festus.

One of the girls stepped forward, crouching down in the firelight and snatching up the arrow that had wounded Lycaon's hand.

"So close." She straightened up, "How annoying. Pheobe, thy should stay with me, watch the entrance. The rest of you follow Lycaon. We can't lose him now. I'll shall catch up with thou."

The other hunters mumbled agreement and disappeared, heading after Lycaon's pack, leaving Zoe- because Leo would recognise that voice anywhere, Pheobe, who moved to the entrance of the cave- and another girl, who was shifting almost nervously.

"Well Zoe." Leo grinned, stepping forward, "It's been a long time huh-"

"Thy should be more careful." Zoe's voice was amused as she pulled down her hood, "You would have been wolfmeat if it wasn't for us."

And then a blur of silver and white smashed into him and Leo yelped as he went flying to the ground, hitting it hard, "Ouch! What the-"

"Leonidas Valdez I am going to murder you! You nearly got yourself killed you idiot-" and Leo was instantly wrapping his arms around the girl who had knocked him to the ground.

"Hey!" Piper's voice was panicked, "What are you-"

"Stand down!" Leo called quickly, "Calm down." he managed to push himself up with his good arm before wrapping it around the girl again. "Cal what in Hades' name are you doing here?"

"I couldn't stand waiting for you knowing that you were out there probably fighting for your life so I IM'd my sister."

"And I collected her from camp and we reunited with the hunt to help her find you." Zoe informed them-"

"Wait-" Leo turned his head to look at Piper when she spoke and her eyes were wide and confused, "You're sisters?"

"Yes." Calypso pulled back from Leo, pulling her hood down- Zoe had already done the same and she was eyeing Jason distastefully- she might be more tolerant towards boys than she had been after exposure to the Jackson family but clearly she still didn't like new boys.

"Okay." Leo took a deep breath, "Let's take a moment- though-" he gave a slightly goofy grin, "My girlfriend literally decided to follow me on a quest-"

"Hmph." Zoe looked unimpressed, "I don't know what thy have done Valdez, but my sister is clearly under some spell."

"She invited me to join the hunters." Calypso's lips twitched, "I said no."

"Have I ever told you that I am madly in love with you?" Leo grinned, pulling her into a kiss, ignoring Zoe's disgusted noise and Jason and Piper's exasperated noises.

Then they pulled back and Leo let out a breath, and Calypso helped him to his feet, and Leo looked over at his friends, who still looked fairly tense, he resisted the urge to laugh when he saw that Piper had, probably without realising, moved to stand in front of Jason slightly, clearly she'd also noticed the glaring.

"Right." Leo took a deep breath, wrapping his arm around his girlfriends shoulder, wincing when he noticed the way she was leaning back to look at the bandages. Yeah she was gonna be very annoyed at him when this was over. She hated it when he got hurt. "Okay guys, Jase, Pipes, Coach Hedge, meet Zoe Nightshade, the lieutenant of Artemis' hunters. Also known as scary bow lady-"

"Valdez thy should know I will shoot you, even if you are dating my sister."

"She loves me really-"

"Leonidas." Calypso let out a laugh, "Stop teasing her."

"I'm not teasing."

"Of course you're not-" Piper snorted, shaking her head, "Leo I love you but you're such a dumbass at times."

"Of course I am." Leo winked, and he noticed Zoe eyeing Piper almost curiously- that would definitely interesting. "But we probably should focus-"

"By the gods it seems thy have finally grown up-"

"Seriously?" Leo snorted, "I'm trying to be mature, that's a low blow-"

"Can we focus." Jason blurted out, "Please."

"Right." Zoe straightened. "I'm glad we arrived in time- you may be annoying but it would not be good if you died Valdez, Calypso would be sad-"

"I would." Calypso nodded.

"Since you're here." Leo gave a hopeful grin, "Is there any chance you could maybe help us out?"