Third chapter for y'all. I' really enjoying writing this story, and I have a bunch of cool ideas for the next few chapters. Some big names dropped as well, will they make an appearence soon? (wink). Would you guys like to see Phobos or Lupa POV? Been thinking about it but didn't really feel right. Let me know and enjoy!

6 months later

Jason

Jason sat in the shadow of the trees, taking in heavy breaths, lungs still burning and eyes unfocused. The girl he had come with, Leila, lay next to him in a similar state. After training all morning, their rest had been cut short by Lupa. She sent them running to the stream, some 3 kilometers away, across and then back. For the two small children, this was no easy task. It had been like this every day at the Wolf House: wake up, train, learn, train, eat, sleep. It was brutal, but Jason was slowly becoming accustomed to it, everyday more impervious to the stares and growls of the wolves.

He understood why they did this. In Lupa's pack there was no place for fear or cowardice, and Jason could not let himself be intimidated by them. He was slowly perfecting a wolf stare of his own, and when they glared at him, he glared back. There were some wolves, especially the younger ones, who were more curious about them, and even kept them company sometimes. He had warmed up to some, especially to a certain black one with startling blue eyes.

He glanced over to the circles, where the black wolf prepared himself for a fight. Being almost twice the size of the rest of the wolves his age, he was facing off against a ten-year old brown wolf, his scars showing off his many battles. Jason watched as they circles each other, growling menacingly. The brown one lunged first, darting to the right and slashing at his face. The black wolf dodged easily, countering with a lazy swipe to the snout. The older wolf shook his head, evidently surprised at his speed. Snarling angrily, he launched himself at the black wolf, launching a flurry of attacks. Jason was sure the younger wolf was done for, but his eyes widened as he moved with unbelievable grace, dodging and spinning away from the brown wolf's onslaught. The older wolf snarled and grunted, but could not land single blow. His attacks started to slow, becoming more sloppy and weak. Then Jason saw his mistake. A big, overreaching strike that left him unbalanced and unprotected.

It was then the other wolf struck.

He launched a vicious counter, striking him hard in the face. Applying pressure immediately, he followed up with a set of lightning strikes to the midsection, before flipping him over his shoulder and stopping his gleaming fangs a millimetre from his throat. A large wolf with a scar across his face had been watching the bout intently, and didn't look the slightest bit surprised with the outcome. He nodded slightly, and both of the combatants left the circle, joining the crowd to watch the next match.

'I've heard he is a son of Lupa', said Leila. She was been watching the fight as well. 'I mean, come on, he was playing with him. Wasn't even fair'.

'How do you know he's Lupa's son?'

'I'm friendly with the nature spirits, and they tell me things. Stuff that happens here that we don't hear about because we are too busy crossing a freezing river, or getting crushed by wolves.'

Jason smirked, then winced in pain. 'Makes sense. How longer do you think we'll be here? I wanna see the camp'.

Leila's eyes gleamed excitedly. 'Yeah me too. I bet it's really cool, and no one will try to eat us every morning'.

Jason smiled, glancing around at the gathered wolves, where a small brawl had started between the youngest ones. Lupa sat on a rock a few ways away, looking at the scene with something close to amusement on her face. 'She can smile', Jason thought to himself. She was a stern and authoritative presence, but she a big motherly figure for Jason nonetheless. In a strange way, he was going to miss this place.

—

Leila

It was darkening, and Leila looked out at the Clearing from her sleeping spot, watching all the wolves wander around, slowly laying down in their chosen places. It was she only moment of the day she could relax, without thinking about what the next day's training would bring. It was then when she saw a black blur of fur dart between the rocks at the edge of the Clearing, clearly trying not to be seen. She got up and stealthily followed, hiding in the growing shadows.

The supposed son of Lupa had always intrigued her, so different from the rest of the other wolves. He had a pitch black coat, with strong muscles rippling underneath, a result of almost six years of constant training. More than once she had found herself fascinated by his eyes. They were light blue, much like Lupa's, but ringed around the irises with a fiery red colour.

She followed him from a distance as he evaded the pack and headed for the treeline. She set out to follow, but was stopped but a low growl coming from one of the wolves on guard. It was a clear message: one more step, you lose a hand. She stopped, but looked back at the trees and gasped. She wasn't sure if she imagined it, but she could have sworn she saw the black wolf stand up, and run off into the dark forest.

—

Percy

After reaching the treeline, Percy transformed into his human form, running off into the forest. Almost at the age of 6, Percy was a tall boy by human standards, with a lithe and athletic build, but nowhere near as big as he was as a wolf. When in his wolf form, he now stood at an impressive 5 feet, his strength and power almost matching the stronger adults. However, his human form was not for fighting, but more for talking and reasoning. By now, he could seamlessly change forms, and both felt equally natural to him, both useful in their own ways.

He didn't exactly know how this worked, but he was dressed in his faded jeans and blue t-shirt. These were the clothes he had last been wearing when he was a human, and he supposed that they just melted into his wolf form, just appearing when he was a human. His mother did the same with her clothes, but he had never asked.

He ran through the forest, confidently whipping past the trees. Even in the pitch black of night, he could see perfectly, maybe even better than in daylight. At night, his senses doubled, as did his strength and speed. He seriously doubted anyone in the pack, save his mother, could best him in a fight at night. He ran in his human form, feeling tiredness creep his legs. He would've reached his destination much faster as a wolf, but he liked to spend time as human sometimes, to clear his head and to think.

After some time, he slowed down to a walk, seeing the fallen tree ahead. He was not far, and he positively buzzed in excitement. Finally, his ears caught the sound of crackling logs, and he saw the clearing where he had talked to his mom, now illuminated in warm orange glow. A man stood next to the fire, looking at the stars. He started running, and at the last moment the man turned and caught Percy in a flying hug.

'Hey dad'.

—

They talked for hours, Percy recounting all of his fights and training, his eyes gleaming in excitement as they talked about the prospect of his upcoming hunt. It would be his first one, an important event in the life of any wolf in the pack. They ended up laying on the ground, looking up at the stars.

'Why do you like them so much, Dad? The stars, I mean.'

'It is my way of keeping calm. Each constellation has it own story, its origins. Looking at them makes me think about all of them, and how they each made their way into the heavens'.

'Were they…real people?'

Phobos chuckled. 'Of course. That one right there is called Sagittarius. It depicts a centaur drawing his bow. That is a very real centaur, who you will one day meet. He is called Chiron. That one', he paused 'is Ursa Major'.

'What is its story?'

'There was once a woman called Callisto. She was the daughter of the King of Arcadia, a man called Lyacon. She joined the hunters of Artemis, and took an oath to stay a maiden forever. However, she was seduced by Zeus, and he got her pregnant. When Artemis learned of her condition, she turned her into a bear. Later, Callisto was hunted down and placed in the stars forever'.

'Wow. You're not kidding, are you?'

Phobos laughed. 'No, that is a true story, although there are some rather strange variants of it. This reminds me, I have something I need to give you. Do you remember Callisto's father, Lyacon? He was an evil and cruel man. He wanted to test if the king of the heavens was really omniscient, so one day he invited Zeus to a banquet, and served his the remains of his own son, Nyctimus. In response this, Zeus turned him and all his sons into wolves, and he became the first werewolf. His pack still is at large today, and although your mother may have chosen not to tell you this, they are a threat.'

'That is why I have brought you a gift'.

Phobos reached inside the small pack he had brought and pulled out a knife. It was around as long as his forearm, with along curved blade. It was a one-sided blade, and the edge was wickedly sharp, with a black leather hilt. Percy watched in fascination as it glinted in the moonlight, traces of red lining the blade.

'It is made of silver', Phobos began. 'Dipped in the River Acheron in Tartarus, blessed by myself. It can kill any kind of monster, including werewolves, and do enough damage to seriously injure gods or even titans. Wolves of Lyacon's pack can be killed with this. Also, it has a pretty cool trick.'

Percy gasped as Phobos let go of the knife and it disappeared, as if the air had opened up and swallowed it. Phobos then reached and grasped the knife out of thin air.

'Just will for it to appear and reach out. You will find it anywhere'.

'How does that work? It was amazing!'

Phobos chuckled at his son's outburst. 'Not allowed to say. Magic is… tricky. Lots of layers around us allow for some pretty amazing stuff to happen. This knife will serve you well, as it has served me for many years.'

Percy kind of felt guilty about his father giving up his weapon, but he still thought the knife was cool beyond measure. He jumped up and gave his father a hug, being careful to keep the sharp edge away from him. Suddenly, thunder rumbled, and Phobos' flaming pupils darkened.

'Zeus senses something. I have to go. I love you, son.'

'Love you, Dad.'

—

Percy walked back slowly, making his knife appear and disappear, twirling it around. It was a strange sensation, grabbing an object out of the air. When he reached for it, he felt his hand go colder, and then felt the leather grip of the knife. He grabbed and pulled, the blade suddenly materialising in his hand. Easily the coolest thing he had ever seen.

He thought about turning into a wolf and running to the house, but he figured there was still lots of time left in the night, so he strolled happily through the woods, dragging his feet as he went. The air was rife with all sorts of scents, pine needles, deer…barley? Percy acted on instinct, grabbing his knife out of the air and whirling around. In a split second, his knife was at the throat of the daughter of Ceres, who made a small whimpering sound. She must have slipped past the guards and followed him into the forest.

'What are you doing?' Percy snapped angrily. 'I could have killed you!'

The girl's eyes widened, and Percy realised his mistake. He had just talked to the demigod, breaking the rules of her mother. He could be severely punished for this.

'Are you…the wolf? The black one?'

Percy ran a hand though his shaggy hair, not meeting the girl's gaze. 'What the hell.' He thought. 'I already talked to her.'

'Kinda. I can change back to a human.'

'Why didn't you ever talk to us? Jason and me? It's not like you weren't around.'

Percy blushed, although he wasn't really sure why. 'My mom has a set of rules for visiting demigods. Only she can talk to you.'

'So you are Lupa's son. Do you know who your father is?'

'Not allowed to say.'

They started walking towards the house, uncomfortable silence filling the air. Percy decided that he had already broken the rules, so talking wouldn't do him any more harm.

'I did want to talk to you. Many times, I almost did, but my mother has strict rules. In the pack, if you don't follow the alpha, that is considered a challenge to leadership. The only thing I could do was keep you company. But I've already started, so… How'd you end up here?

Percy and Leila talked all the way back to the Clearing, Lelia telling him of the attack on her family home, and that the next day, the wolves came. She left with them in order to keep her family safe. Percy told her of his life in the pack, the names of all the wolves, all the funny stories that had occurred in his six years. They both laughed, and it felt really good to talk to another human for a change. Sure, he loved Jax and the others as a family, but this was different. Refreshing.

They reached the edge of the treeline, and Percy stopped and looked at Leila.

'You have to sneak back, make sure no one sees you', He noticed how startlingly green her eyes were. 'You get caught, they eat you'.

Leila let out a laugh, quickly covering her mouth and looking across the Clearing. She knew her final test was coming up, so she would probably be going to camp soon. She was going to miss this place. She would have wanted to get to know Percy better.

Percy saw her Leila's gaze lingering on the house, taking in every detail.

'Hey, you know, even if you are going off to camp, this doesn't have to be the last time we see each other. I will start hunting soon, so I'll get permission to leave more and more. I might be able to sneak off to see you.'

Leila's eyes lit up. 'That would be awesome. This place is tough, but I'll miss it.'

Percy smiled, but then his expression turned serious as he looked at the sky, which was starting lighten up.

'Sun's coming up. We have to hurry'. They raced stealthily back to the house, Percy turning back into a wolf and reaching the house first. He sat on the porch and looked back to see Leila making her way towards him. They made eye contact and he winked, hearing her giggle slightly.

'I'm going to miss her', he thought.