Fourth chapter finished. Sorry I didn't upload sooner, I was at a friends house the last 5 days, and couldn't really get down to write this. Anyway enjoy!

February 2000, Four years later

Lupa sat at the edge of the Clearing, watching the newest demigod arrival, a stocky son of Mars, as he sparred with some of the youngsters. However, her mind drifted elsewhere, and she found herself thinking of Percy, and how his hunt would be doing. He had left a week ago with a large group, and his energetic, positive presence was sorely missed. She realised she truly loved the boy, which wasn't something she was used to. The only other person she had felt that way towards would be Phobos, and she didn't really see him much, which was a shame. She had wanted to discuss something with him.

Although she knew Percy better than anybody, certain aspects of him were still a mystery to her. He was the son of two gods, and while neither were Olympians, they were far from weak deities. By all regards, Percy should be a god. But he wasn't, and Lupa was unsure as to why. His senses, strength, speed, size, healing rate… It all pointed towards a god, but his blood was still red. She was fairly certain he was an immortal, but could still be harmed in battle, similar to the immortality received by the hunters of Artemis. Still, she did not know why he was not fully immortal.

She had some suspicions, though. His parents were gods from different pantheons; Phobos, a greek god, and Lupa, roman to the core. This had never happened before, so Lupa could only speculate, but she suspected it had to do with the mixing of roman and greek blood. This was considered an abomination, and one that would bring forth an unnatural being. It was one of the reasons Zeus, and Jupiter respectively, had banned all contact with the other pantheon to avoid anything like this from happening. It was also one of the reasons Percy was in constant terrible danger. If his parenthood was discovered, Lupa doubted Zeus would be understanding or merciful. She had done her best to keep Percy hidden within the pack and not to draw attention, but her son's power was growing exponentially, and it was simply a matter of time before he came to the attention of the gods. When that happened, Zeus would be livid, and there would be a clear target for him to take out his anger on.

At the thought of this, a shiver of worry made her way up her spine, but was soon replaced by a steely resolution. She would not allow anyone, king of the gods or not, to harm Percy in any way. Even if it meant giving her life.

She shook herself out other stupor, and cast a disinterested glance at the son of Mars, who was getting mauled by a group younglings. 'Please Percy', she thought, looking up at the sky. 'Please be safe.'

—

Percy

Percy slowly trotted along the narrow trail, his snout pointed down and eyes fixed forwards. He was part of a group of around fifteen, silently making their way between the towering trees. They had been following a large group of black-tailed deer for six days, sousing and analysing the best way to take them down. For the hunt, the pack would work as a team, first scouting the prey and finding the weakest and strongest members. Then, stragglers would be taken out, and the prey would begin to be weakened. The wolves will drive them into a chosen location were they will have every advantage, and then they would finish their prey.

Percy and his group were routing the deer through a carefully chosen path through the forest, across a field and to the shores of a large frozen lake. They were in the middle of the winter, and snow piled thick in some areas, but under the protective canopy of the forest it had no effect on the deer. The plan was to move the group of deer to an area beside the lake were there was a thick layer of snow. Once there, they would move very slowly, while the pack would not be affected, and could take them out easily.

In the last few days, the pack had haunted, the deer, taking out the weakest ones and stalking them constantly. This caused them to become skittish and afraid. Also, as a son of Phobos, Percy had discovered he had powers over fear. He could make others afraid by drawing their fears up to the surface, making them relive horrors of their past. Right now, he was concentrating on the group ahead, making them feel hunted and afraid, urging them to escape along the route that had been prepared.

Trotting beside Percy was the most senior member of the group, a greyish-brown wolf called Jabber, who happened to be Jax's uncle. Although not a fearsome fighter, he was an excellent tracker and hunter, with a brilliant mind able to outwit the most difficult preys. Jax tailed his uncle, his eyes gleaming in anticipation. Behind Percy was a she-wolf with a pure white coat, melding in with the snow-covered forest floor. She had been born in Canada, and made her way to the pack when she was two, calling herself Frost. She had been on almost every single hunt the pack had set out on since then. A few more hunters followed, and tailing the group were three younglings, who would watch the hunt and learn.

Excitement spread in the group as they broke the treeline and spotted the deer ahead, already struggling to move, sinking in the deep snow. The pack seemed to fly over it, their padded paws perfectly adapted to the conditions. They would spread out in smaller groups, hitting the deer in multiple places. They would go for the achilles tendons and bring them down, then focus on the throat and finish. With the exception of Percy, who was nearly double the size of any of the wolves in the pack. He would go in alone, and take out the biggest of the deer first. Although trapped, these animals had sharp antlers, and their kicks could very easily shatter bones.

They needed to be fast and careful.

They caught up with the deer, Jax splitting up with his uncle, and Frost leading a group of her own. Percy raced and leaped into the air, his fangs gleaming, projecting feelings of sheer terror at the animal in front of him. His eyes shone with something close to glee as he landed on the deer and tore its throat out in one swift movement. The metallic taste in his mouth fuelled him, and his vision went red. He became a shadow of claws and fangs, tearing through the defenceless animals as they struggled to move. He slashed at them repeatedly with his huge claws, opening cuts all over them and ripping them to shreds with his teeth. As the group began to thin, his vision began to clear, and he realised how out of control he had been. Utilising his powers over fear did that to him, and it was something he was trying to learn to control.

Suddenly, Percy noted a change in the air. A pungent smell reached his nostrils, and he looked around nervously. Jabber had realised this too, and looked at Percy with a concerned expression. A moment later, barks filled the air, and a group of around thirty wolves appeared out of the trees. They were the size of small cars, with dishevelled grey hair and gleaming red eyes. Leading the group, was an especially big wolf, it eyes focused on Percy, saliva starting to fall from the edges of its mouth in anticipation. What most got to Percy was the smell. They smelled like a week-old corpse, the smell making Lupa's pack shake their heads in disgust.

Percy suspected who they were, but he knew for certain that they meant nothing good to his friends and himself. Percy locked eyes with the leader as a deep feral growl started to escape his throat. He would not allow these monsters to harm anyone in his pack. His muscles started to tense up, getting lower to the ground and preparing to fight unlikely odds. As he was about to pounce, a silver arrow sprouted from the neck of one of the smaller wolves. His eyes opened in surprise, and he slumped to the floor.

Percy's eyes widened. Now he was certain.

He raced forward as a wolf, seeing the leader run towards him as well. Just as they were about to engage each other, Percy changed to his human form, sliding on a section of ice and grabbing his knife out of the air as he did so. He slid between the wolf's legs, coming up behind him. Quick as lightning, the wolf whirled around and slashed madly at Percy's head, but he ducked and stepped inside the strike. In one fluid motion, he rammed his knife into the base of the wolf's chin, the tip of the blade piercing the top of his skull. The wolf went limp and crumpled to the ground.

Retreiving his weapon, Percy looked around as his pack made no progress fighting the seemingly invincible wolves. Only a girl dressed in silver clothing, who Percy supposed had shot the first wolf, was succeeding at all in fighting the hellish creatures, whirling dual knives with incredible speed. Her long black hair flew around wildly as she spun and dodged, her brown eyes glinting dangerously. She wore a silver circlet on her hair.

Thinking she would do fine on her own, Percy raced towards the group of surrounded younglings, that were bravely growling at the red-eyes monsters. As a wolf, Percy landed in their midst. He would push and tackle them with his superior strength in his wolf form, then finish them off with his knife. His transformations became so fluid and natural it looked in various moments like he was both a man and a wolf, whirling amongst the wolves' ranks, leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake. Once the younglings were safe, Percy turned his attention to the rest of the group, which was staring to be thinned by the huntress.

Percy saw Jabber, Jax and Frost fighting bravely, but were being forced to give ground as their claws could not manage to harm the monstrous creatures. Percy and the huntress fought back to back, helping Jax and the others and finishing the last of the enemy wolves. Suddenly, Percy felt as if someone was in immediate danger. He turned and threw his knife, impaling a wolf that had been about to tear the huntress' head off. The last of the wolves dead, Percy looked around, breathing heavily. He saw with satisfaction that all the younglings had made it, as had Jax, Frost… Percy looked around, his eyes squinting, then widening in horror. Some ten metres away, laying in a puddle of blood, was Jabber.

—

They all gathered around him, Jax desperately licking the deep claw marks in his chest. Jabber turned to look at his nephew, gently pushing him away. Even though he was too weak to speak, his message was clear.

'He has accepted his fate', said the huntress, who was kneeling next to Jabber gently heaving body. 'He was a valiant warrior and a brave soul. Respect his sacrifice, and let him die honourably'.

Jax closed his eyes, a single tear escaping his eye, and nestled himself into his uncle, determined to stay with him until the end. Percy' head hung in shame, his eyes pointing dejectedly at the floor. He heard a small growl, and made eye contact with Jabber, who now wore an irritated expression on his face. He understood him: Jabber would not allow Percy to blame himself for his death. It was his choice, and he had made it gladly. Percy saw this, and raised his head, and Jabber gave him a nudge of satisfaction. His muscles relaxed, and he lay his lead down on his nephew's lap, looking at him lovingly. In that moment, Percy respected him more than ever; there is no other way he would have liked to die more than protecting his friends and family. Finally, Jabber let out one last long exhale, and his body went limp.

—

In his human form, Percy sat with his back to a tree, staring at the now waning fire. The pack had gathered itself and left the battle field. They had taken the deer with them, and after around an hour of travelling, Percy, who was now the de-facto leader, had told them to rest for the night. Jax had been inconsolable, his body aching with grief. Rather than trying to talk, Percy simply walked next to him, his body posture protective of him, showing his support constantly. He knew that right now talking would do him no good; he needed to see that someone was there to support him. After the rather exhausting day, everyone had fallen to sleep early, except for a few guards and others.

Percy now sat at the fire, staring into the glowing embers. The huntress, who had told Percy her name was Zoë Nightshade, sat down a few metres away from him and eyed him curiously.

'You're part of the Hunters of Artemis, aren't you?', asked Percy in a raspy voice. 'I have heard you hunt in a group. Why were you not with your sisters?'

'We too were attacked by Lyacon's wolves, and I was separated from them. I moved to rejoin them, but spotted your pack, and helped'.

'Yeah, thanks for that. Those were some pretty cool moves you got'.

Zoë regarded him cooly, her dark eyes examining him as if a piece of meat. 'How did you change into a wolf? I have never seen that before'.

'I'm not really allowed to say that. Some pretty bad stuff could happen if I do'.

Zoë's eyes narrowed, not trusting him completely. The light from the fire reflected off her coppery skin, giving her a sombre look.

'I understand. It is not right of me to ask you to divulge your secrets'.

She started to get up and leave, but Percy stopped her.

'My father once told me a story about the Hunters. He said that when you join, you take a vow to stay a maiden forever, and swear off the company of men. Why did you come and talk to me? I can see you hate men, yet you talk to me'.

'You have given me a reason to', replied Zoë simply. 'I saw you fight Lyacon's wolves, creatures that even the Hunters are hard-hard-pressed to fight, with ease, to protect your friends. I respect that. Then, you saved my life. Even if you are a man, I must thank you for that'.

She turned and left, leaving Percy staring at the fire once again. He thought about the disastrous day they had had, a simple hunt turned into a full-scale battle. His thoughts drifted back to the battlefield. His throat clenched up, but he would not allow himself to take any blame for Jabber's death. He had died protecting those he loved, and saying anything else would be insulting his passing.

He thought about his loss of control. It was happening less now, but when he used his powers in a fighting situation, he found it very hard to keep a clear head. That is why he had only trained his powers with his father, and he would need much more training to master them.

He thought about the attack, and he felt himself fill with rage. Lyacon had dared attack Lupa's pack and the Hunters of Artemis, and he would pay. Percy would make sure of it himself.

However, his thoughts finally drifted to a certain brown haired daughter of Ceres. He thought about iris messaging her, but decided against it, she would be asleep now anyway. After Percy and Leila's meeting in the forest, Percy had become friends with her and Jason in the time they stayed at the Wolf House. After they had left, Percy had stayed in touch with them, especially Leila, and had become good friends. He iris messaged her frequently, which meant that he had lots of time to talk to her. However, this also meant that he had to explain how iris messaging works, as the Romans did not know of it. He told her that Arcus, goddess of the rainbow, allowed them to speak this way as her mother was a goddess, but she could not tell anyone else. Percy even went to see her a few times at Camp Jupiter, sneaking in under the cover of night. She had grown, but Percy was still a full head taller than her, a fact he reminded her of constantly. He wished he could talk to her right now, but she was occupied with her duties at camp, and he had immediate problems to deal with. Lyacon had to be put down, and Percy would ensure it was extremely painfully.

—

A group of wolves sat in a circle in the Clearing, talking heatedly. Lupa sat regally listening to a slim wolf with a brown coat and a white stripe on his forehead. At her right sat Charlie, and at her left stood Knox and a montruous wolf with bulging muscles under his grey fur. Percy, Jax and Frost stood by them. They were joined by Zoë Nightshade, who sat on a rock with a serious expression, and an auburn-haired girl who looked around thirteen.

'They attacked us, in our territory!' exclaimed the wolf with the white stripe on his forehead. 'Those disgusting slugs killed my brother. I would have war. I will see them all dead!'

'Calm down, Jasper', said Lupa sternly. 'We are all saddened, and all want to fight, but we should listen from the Hunters'.

Jasper nodded respectfully at Lupa, his breathing uncontrolled. He left the circle, Jax with him.

'Lyacon's pack have been attacking us as well', began the auburn haired girl. 'They have not killed anyone yet, but it is only a matter of time before they do. I will not stand by and let that slimy rat hurt us, nor Lupa's pack. I support immediate action against them'.

'I second that', said Lupa. She walked up to a higher rock and spoke to the gathered pack. 'We will send out scouts, and find the whereabouts of Lyacon and his pack, and prepare to strike them. In the meantime, the Hunters of Artemis and the goddess herself will stay here. We will face this common enemy together, and rid the world of that disgusting creature for once and for all.'

Setting up for a conflict with Lyacon and his pack. There may be less involvemnt from jason and Leila in the next few chapters. Also, I tried to write Zoe speaking Old English, but couldn't really figure out how to use all the thees and thingscorrectly, so she just speaks normally.I'm back home now, so I will probably be uplodaing the next chapters very soon.