Sorry for the lack of updates. Real life has been a pain lately. I'm going to try to keep updating every week but if not, I'll aim for every two weeks.


"Let the meeting officially start," Clarisse announced formally as she looked at the others around her table. Chiron stood at the head of the table with a small frown on his face. Piper stood across from him and had her arms crossed. Concern was written all over her face.

Annabeth was in the room as well, chewing on her nail. Probably from stress. They were missing one person, but that was because they had not called her yet. Hell, Clarisse was sure that they would have already put a boot up Circe's ass if she was there and knew about it.

Clarisse was more concerned about getting Reyna some sleep than anything else. So, calling Hylla would have to wait. She looked at the others and continued, "I propose that we just break Circe in half."

"Shouldn't Reyna be here for this?" Piper questioned. Clarisse pointed behind herself with her thumb.

"She's in my room. Passed out. She's not going to wake up," Clarisse stated.

"Have you tried?" Annabeth pressed after a moment.

"No. Because I gave her an entire bottle of sleeping pills," Clarisse answered.

"Clarisse!"

"You can't do that!"

"Dear..."

"It wasn't actually a whole bottle," Clarisse defended as she raised her hands in mock surrender. "Just enough to get her to sleep. You all saw how exhausted she was."

"It doesn't mean you can drug her!" Piper argued. Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't Jason be here?"

"Too many people to gather. We need Princess' brain power," Clarisse answered. She looked at Annabeth. "Let's catch you up. The bitch that came to the bar, Circe, is the monster who marked Reyna. She also..."

Clarisse felt her temper flaring up as she thought about it. She continued, "Circe made Reyna have sex with her and threatened all of us if Reyna didn't do it. I'm not going to stand around and let her do that anymore."

"Reyna is worried that Circe is going to hurt us. She won't listen to us when we say that we're not worried about that. We're just worried about making sure Reyna is okay," Clarisse informed. Annabeth nodded and glanced back at the bedroom door.

"I'm guessing Reyna isn't holding up well," Annabeth assumed.

"Not at all," Piper replied.

"How could I have not seen this coming?" Chiron asked quietly. He shook his head. A look of distraught rested on his face. "How could I not see who Circe was? We were friends for years."

"It's not like you were with her all the time," Piper began with a gentle voice. "And, I think she has had plenty of experience covering up what she has done."

"I still suggest breaking her in half," Clarisse muttered unrepentantly.

"Do we know if Circe wants anything else from Reyna? Other than just sex?" Annabeth questioned. Anger smoldered in her eyes. It looked like she was trying to remain objective, but Clarisse knew it was just picking at her.

"Not really. Reyna was vague on the details," Clarisse replied. "But, I'm sure that bitch has more in mind. We just have to convince Reyna that we're not going to be hurt by Circe."

"How do we do that?" Piper asked. No one around the table said anything. A sigh finally left Annabeth.

"I don't think we can," Annabeth finally said. "Reyna is stubborn, but on top of that, she's protective."

"Especially if she sees us as part of her pack," Chiron added on. "She would do anything to protect us."

"Okay. So, we tie her down to keep her from being able to run away from here," Clarisse began strategizing. She then sighed and hung her head. It was frustrating to want to help her friend, but not know how to do it. Clarisse closed her eyes.

It made so much sense now. Reyna wanted to help everyone at the bar and protect them from Lycaon and Ma Gasket. That was why she killed Ma Gasket's boys and tried to frame Lycaon for it. The plan almost worked perfectly.

Would it work on Circe?

Clarisse wasn't sure, but she sure as hell wanted to try. She chewed the inside of her lip. Clarisse finally spoke, "Anyone have ideas?"

No one spoke up. Annabeth shook her head, "This is out of our league. We need to go to the police."

"Reyna isn't going to want to go to the police," Clarisse argued.

"And we won't make her," Chiron stated. "What we need to do is call Hylla. That way, she can be there for her sister, and the two can figure it out together."

"Reyna isn't going to want to tell her sister either," Clarisse tacked on. A sigh left her. "How do we contact Hylla?"

"I can call Thalia and ask to speak to Hylla, or have Hylla call us back," Piper suggested. "Or just wait for Reyna to wake up and try to convince her."

Another irritated sigh left Clarisse. This was useless. They weren't getting anywhere. She stood and left the kitchen. Clarisse made her way toward the guest room and peeked inside. Reyna was still sound asleep. The werewolf was laying on her stomach and had her face buried in a pillow.

Clarisse took a few moments to make sure that Reyna wasn't suffocating herself. Then, she leaned on the wall and just studied her friend. The plan was to bring the others together and figure out how to help the werewolf. It was all Clarisse could think about, but she knew that Reyna was a bit arrogant and stubborn.

Clarisse would be the same way. She wouldn't want anyone to help her and would face Circe head on. Only, Circe had complete control over Reyna. There didn't seem to be anything the werewolf could do. It was probably a mixture of fear of her friends being hurt and knowing how much power Circe had over her.

Could they convince Reyna that Circe really wasn't in control? Before, it had just been Reyna. She was on her own with no one to rely on. Now, she had friends that would help her. And a sister who would no doubt rip Circe's head off.

"We're going to figure this out," Clarisse promised quietly as she looked at Reyna. She turned back around. Now, she was going to kick these useless losers and Chiron out of her house.


"You drugged me."

The accusation brought a smile to Clarisse's face. She turned away from the stove and studied the half-awake werewolf in front of her. Reyna rubbed her eyes with one hand and blinked at the same time, like that would help her wake up.

"I did," Clarisse confirmed without remorse. She motioned to the fridge. "Help yourself."

Reyna slowly walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. She took a couple of sips and seemed to still be trying to wake up. Reyna glanced at the stove and slowly spoke, "How long did your drugs last?"

"It was sleep medicine, and you've been asleep twelve hours," Clarisse said. "Do you feel better?"

"A little," Reyna muttered. She rubbed her eyes again. "Fuck. I feel like I've been sleeping for days."

"It's because you're exhausted," Clarisse stated. "Chris is outside grilling steaks, and I'm making the sides in here. Can you set the table?"

Reyna nodded and moved to the drawers that Clarisse motioned to. She opened it and grabbed the plates from inside. Reyna glanced at Clarisse, "I don't want to intrude."

"You're not."

"I... thank you," Reyna finally said. She hung her head. "I don't know what to do, Clarisse."

"Good. Because I'm going to tell you what to do," Clarisse declared. She put her spoon down and looked at Reyna. "You are going to eat dinner with Chris and I. Then, you are going to call Hylla and tell her about Circe."

"Okay," Reyna relented. Her shoulders slackened. Clarisse frowned as the werewolf didn't put up much of a fight. She must have been scared. Or desperate.

"We're going to figure this out," Clarisse promised. Reyna just nodded and didn't say a word. She placed the plates on the table and got silverware for everyone. Then, she stopped behind Clarisse.

"Thank you," Reyna whispered. Clarisse turned toward her. A grunt of surprise left her as Reyna hugged her. Clarisse returned the embrace.

"Hey, we're friends," Clarisse said with a shrug. She heard Reyna's breath hitch like she was trying to keep it together. Clarisse tightened her grip. Reyna finally pulled away and wiped her eyes. "Now, let's go bother Chris and see if he finished the steaks. I'm hungry."