Kassandra's home was everything that Isabella had expected it to be. Vases of odd-looking plants covered every square inch of available space of the cramped living room. Tentacle-like vines dangled from the ceiling in a dizzying array of tangles and knots. Every couple of seconds Isabella was forced to lazily push aside an errant vine that dangled a little too close for comfort. She was half tempted to say the damn things had some form of sentience. As they were in the house of dryad, Kassandra supposed that was possible.

Kassandra emerged from her kitchen, a pair of steaming cups of tea in her hands. Wordlessly, she passed one of the cups to Isabella before collapsing into her lush looking armchair. Her fingers trembled slightly as she brought the cup to her lips, pointedly not meeting Isabella's probing gaze. Isabella stayed silent for a few moments, but her patience rapidly wore thin as it became evident that Kassandra wasn't going to make an attempt to speak.

"Kass," Isabella said sharply, snapping fingers loudly, "Hello? Anybody in there?"

Kassandra started, jumping a little in her seat and causing some of the amber liquid in her cup to spill onto the stone floor. She hissed in agitation before waving her hand, sparkling green energy flitted around her fingertips for a moment. Then, in a flash of light, both the energy and the mess had disappeared.

"Sorry," Kassandra said, finally turning to face Isabella. "I did not mean to ignore you I was simply…trying to find the right way to say what needs to be said."

"Then say what you need to say," said Isabella in exasperation. "Christ first Percy and now you. Can we quit it with the cryptic shit already?"

"If this was simple, then Percy would have told you already!" Snapped Kassandra, rubbing at her temples in frustration. She sighed, "Gods…of all the beings that could have come here it just had to be him."

Isabella bit back a growl of frustration.

"Sorry, sorry," Kassandra said around Isabella's agitation. "Look, I will tell you what I can, but I apologize because this is only going to be more confusing." She heaved a shaky breath and set her cup down with trembling fingers. "After his arrival, I reached out to some of my sisters. You might not be aware of this, but my sisters are spread far and wide across this country. Some even as far as California and New York. They are…involved with beings of unfathomable power, and I'm not talking mage craft or anything ridiculous like that. These beings are…we'll say they're powerful and simply leave it at that." Kassandra leaned back into her seat, a pair of vines materializing in her palms which she began to fiddle with.

Isabella felt her back stiffen. "…What did your sisters say?"

"Only that Percy Jackson is related to these beings," Kassandra said simply. "They refused to tell me more, but even that was enough. Given what he has thus managed to accomplish, how easily he has managed Packard's pups…I have concerns. Grave concerns."

"Such as?" Isabella asked stiffly.

"Such as based on what I suspect him to be, and just how powerful he likely is, I fear that Percy Jackson has the capability to raze all of Paradise to the ground."

"He wouldn't do that!" Isabella snapped, the teacup in her hand shattering under the force of her grip.

"Peace, Isabella," soothed Kassandra. "I only said that he had the capability, not the willingness. If I was really convinced that he bade us ill will, I would have raised my concerns in the meeting."

"Then what is this, Kassandra?" Demanded Isabella, "Because I already know he's powerful. I saw the aftermath of his Packard's pack myself."

"The point, Isabella, is that he's dangerous. Beyond dangerous. That his…kind, they attract attention. The kind of attention that brings trouble. Trouble that we can't handle."

Isabella's eyes narrowed. "And I'm guessing you can't tell me what kind of trouble that is?"

Kassandra shook her head vehemently. "Absolutely not. Being this close to him is bad enough. But Isabella, if there is only one thing you take away from this conversation, let it be this. Names have power. Be careful with how you use them."

Isabella groaned softly, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. "Christ, this is becoming ridiculous." She looked back up at Kassandra, doing her best to keep her agitation down. "So let me get this straight. You wanted to talk to me about Percy, because he's somehow related to some powerful assholes, he's dangerous - which we already knew - and that he's going to bring the attention of something you can't tell me about? Does that about sum it up?"

Kassandra, to her credit, didn't flinch. She met Isabella's gaze neutrally. "If I could tell you, believe me I would."

"But you can't," said Isabella.

"I apologize, but you must be aware that Percy Jackson is dangerous. He will bring a dangerous kind of attention to our town."

"But not the federal kind of attention?" Isabella clarified.

Kassandra snorted in derision. "Hardly," she said, "No, the kind of attention he will bring to Isabella is far more dangerous and deadly than anything the Bureau could ever dream of controlling."

Isabella rubbed at her forehead. She could already feel the beginnings of a migraine pressing behind her eyes. "I do not have the capacity to be dealing with this right now," she said. Glancing at her watch, she stood from the couch.

"Thank you for the tea, Kassandra, but I need to be going. I will…consider your warning."

Kassandra nodded, "I appreciate it. I know I am putting you in an uncomfortable situation, but I felt that you deserved to know exactly who you were getting into bed with."

Ignoring the innuendo, Isabella nodded her thanks once more and turned, strolling from the room. Getting back into her car, she began her drive back to her home, her mind racing. What, if anything, had Kassandra told her that she hadn't already known? The information about his former associates was potentially distressing. But she also wasn't overly surprised by the revelation. Given the power Percy had already displayed, it made sense that he had to know some powerful people. But what the hell could be out there that had Kassandra of all people so spooked?

Isabella didn't know the dryad particularly well, but she did know that the woman had been alive for at least a couple hundred years. She was easily one of, if not the most powerful individual member of the council. But she had seemed genuinely petrified. What the hell could do that to someone like her? She needed information, and Percy certainly wasn't going to be forthcoming. Whatever these rules were that kept him and Kassandra from telling her things must of been genuinely important. She didn't think Percy would have been the type to give a damn about rules or regulations unless he genuinely thought he might face repercussions for it.

And that thought alone made her skin crawl. What the hell was going on here? Gripping her steering wheel tightly, she glanced over at the clock on her dash. Half past one in the morning. Percy was likely already in New York. She pulled her phone free from the cupholder.

Andrew picked up after the first ring. "Evening ma'am," he greeted, "I just heard back from our boys in New York. They're watching the house now, so far, no signs of trouble."

"That won't last long," said Isabella. "I want continuous updates."

"Of course, ma'am. I'll let you know as soon as I know something."

Nodding to herself in satisfaction, she ended the call just as she was pulling into the driveway. Stepping out into the cool night air however, her attention turned to something far more pressing.

Something smelled wrong.

Lifting her nose into the air, she sniffed. What the hell was that god awful stench? She felt the hackles along the back of her neck begin to rise as her stomach tensed. The smell seemed to be growing closer, whirling around her fingernails elongated and a snarl emanated from deep within her chest. She quickly directed her attention back to the house, but she could only smell Cassidy. Her worries soothed; she turned back to the source of the stench. She didn't who they were but they wouldn't be hiding in the forest if they were there for anything good. This was an ambush. Someone was attacking her again.

Once was coincidence.

Twice was circumstantial.

Third was enemy action.

Allowing her instincts to guide her, she charged into the darkness.

BREAK

The Packard Mansion was ostentatious. Percy wasn't surprised, nothing about Packard suggested subtlety, so it wasn't shocking that his family would have similar compunctions. The three-story Victorian home was surrounded on all sides by a large, wrought-iron fence. A gatehouse sat at the entrance to the long driveway leading up to the home. He could make out a couple of men lounging around inside. They weren't wearing a uniform which told him that they were related to the family in some way. That made his life easier.

His eyes turned back to the house. He sighed, it would have been so much easier if he could simply sink the building into the ground, but New York wasn't exactly a hotbed for earthquakes, and he didn't want to be drawing unnecessary attention from unwanted parties. Confident that he could handle whatever was inside the building, he double checked his equipment. His shield-watch was strapped to his left wrist. He could feel his pen within easy reach in his right pocket. He didn't necessarily think it would come to that, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He then checked his holster, made sure it was loaded and that the safety was off, before checking the attached suppressor.

Happy with all of his equipment, he began his trek from his position.

He'd arrived over an hour ago, and had already thrown a veil of mist magic over himself to keep him hidden. Emerging from the tree line, he crossed the street quickly and approached the small gatehouse. The two men were stiff in their seats, their backs straight and their eyes constantly tracking the road. Clearly, they had been alerted that he was on his way.

Adorable.

With a single kick, the door to the guardhouse shattered into the small building. Part of the door landed on the nearest man, throwing him from his seat. The other man tried to stand and pull his weapon free but Percy didn't let him. Percy's suppressor snapped three times in rapid succession; the first caught the man in the forehead, as the other two snapped into his chest. The now dead guard collapsed to the ground, and Percy rounded on the second man who had only just managed to extricate himself from the door. But he didn't get any further as Percy ended him in a similar fashion as the first man. The exchange had been fast, barely lasting a few seconds at most.

Stepping over the bodies, Percy fingers scanned the underside of the desk the men had been seated at before finding the silent alarm. To his relief, he had been fast enough that neither of the men had managed to trip the alarm, as far as he could tell at any rate.

Turning from the shack, he cast a minor mist illusion over the small building. It was a simple spell, but one which would show any passersby an image of the two men still sitting patiently at their post.

Making sure his weapon was up and at the ready, Percy quickly exited the guard house and briskly began making his way up the driveway. He caught sight of a couple more guards meandering around the perimeter of the building, but he didn't concern himself with them for the moment. It wasn't risk potentially exposing himself unnecessarily. He considered the front door for a moment, before dismissing that option. While he wasn't overly concerned with their numbers against him, considering he didn't know what kind of weaponry these guys were packing and not even he could shake off a dozen anti-armor rounds.

Slinking around the large, multi-car garage he found a side door which opened after some persuasion on Percy's part. The inside of the garage lay host to a number of expensive, foreign sports cars and SUV's. The door at the other side of the garage led to a small mudroom, which opened up into what appeared to be a utility closet. Specs of golden light peeked under the cracks of the door leading to the mansion proper. Pressing a palm to the floor, Percy reached out through the house, trying to feel out the small vibrations in the ground caused by movement. He felt at least twenty bodies in the building, several pacing and meandering the halls, while others congregated in a patchwork of rooms on the second floor.

A pair of wolves had just passed by the door to the utility room when Percy emerged. Bringing his weapon up, the handgun snapped and hissed as six shots were fired in rapid succession. Accompanying thuds marked the end of the two men, as they dropped to the ground. He could feel at least four others on his current floor. Deciding to wipe out the entire floor, Percy began a quick and efficient elimination of the remaining men.

Content that he wasn't going to be caught from behind, Percy trekked up to the second floor, climbing the red velvet steps before coming to a landing which branched out into two separate hallways. The hall to the right appeared to lead to the master suite while the hall to the left sprawled out to the rest of the building.

Percy considered his options for a moment. It was likely, that if Packard was going to be anywhere, it would be locked up in the master suite. He was confident in this assertion, because of the large number of bodies he could feel in that direction of the building. However, if he wasn't fast enough, it would open him up to an attack from the rear. As fast as he was, and even with the element of surprise on his side, he wasn't confident he could handle the seven men before the rest of the house was alerted.

He decided that it was better to be cautious, and proceeded down the leftward hallway. Passing through a small archway, Percy moved quickly through a hallway of floor to ceiling windows, and he could hear voices as he closed in on a large, open concept room the size of a small apartment.

"…freak-shows. I want nothing to do with this anymore."

"Keep it down, would you?" Another voice snapped, "the fuck you think is going to happen if someone hears you say shit like that?"

"Lay off 'im Caleb," said a third voice. "I don't disagree with him. This whole fucking thing stinks, and that's without even getting into this Jackson guy."

Crossing the threshold, Percy came into sight of five men lounging in a large, family-styled room. An enormous sectional sofa surrounded a large television, which hung over a roaring fireplace. Three of the men were lounging comfortably on the sofa, each with a bottle of beer in hand as they watched college football on the television. Unlike their friends on the floors below, these men were far more relaxed, likely content in the security and strength of their family to protect them.

On the other side of the large room was a small kitchen. Two men sat at the large, granite-topped island. They, unlike their companions, looked far less relaxed. They were hunched over near one another so closely, that at first glance Percy had thought they were embracing. But in reality, they were simply speaking so lowly to one another that Percy doubted that even their buddies on the sofa would be able to hear them.

Well, whatever their discussion might have been about came to a violent and abrupt end. His weapon burped fire as three rounds slammed into the first man, who toppled to the ground in a heap. The second man barely had an opportunity to even register what was happening before three more rounds slammed into him and his face slammed into the counter. Doing a quick mental recap, he bit back a growl as he realized that he only had two left in the magazine. Holstering the pistol, he pulled the small pen free from his pocket and drew his sword in a fluid motion. The other three men on the sofa heard the two others fall and had jumped to their feet.

Two were already in the process of shifting as the third turned and began to run from the room. Moving quickly, Percy raced across the room, not bothering to try and quiet his footsteps. The man heard his approach and swiveled, only to yelp in surprise as an invisible blade seemed to penetrate his sternum. With a twist, Percy hefted his blade free pulling the man's insides out with it. The other two stopped in their shift as they watched a man get disemboweled by seemingly nothing.

With a flick of his wrist, Percy threw his sword which caught the closest man in the neck. The man didn't seem to understand what was happening, as he stumbled forward his hands reached up to his neck and grasped desperately at the now visible sword. As soon as the sword had left his hand, Percy had shot forward and tackled the last man to the ground. He stunned the man with a heavy haymaker then crushed his windpipe. Not even a shifter's natural healing abilities were strong enough to withstand the onslaught as his head slumped back to the floor.

Getting to his feet, Percy walked over and jerked the weapon free from the other man's throat, nearly decapitating the man in the process. Sheathing his weapon back in his pocket, he quickly changed out his magazines before stalking back down the hall. With the second floor cleared, he stacked up by the final door. He could feel at least three more bodies inside the room. Unable to tell how small or large the room was, he grabbed his pen once more and balanced it in his off hand. Deciding that fire and brimstone was going to be more effective, he kicked down the door. The door exploded from its hinges and flew across the room, slamming into a man who had been bent over a large tablet at the ornate looking desk across from the room.

The man yelped with surprise as he fell to the ground. Raising his pistol, Percy fired off six shots before anyone could do anything. Three slammed into the man on the ground, before three more slammed into the next nearest woman. Both fell to the ground dead, and the third man who was most decidedly not Packard, looked up from the tablet on the desk, his eyes wide in surprise. Two more shots cracked out and slammed into the shifter's knees, dropping him to the ground. Holstering his pistol, Percy vaulted over the desk and allowed his illusion to drop as he hefted the man from the ground and slammed his fist into the man's midsection. The shifter gagged, spittle spewing from his mouth as slumped forward. Grabbing the man by the hair, Percy ripped his head back to meet Percy's gaze.

"Where. Is. Packard?"

"F-fuck you!" The man spat a wad of blood and saliva at Percy. The mess didn't meet Percy's face however, as the mass of fluids disappeared in the middle of the air. His gaze hardening, Percy hefted the man with ease and slammed him onto the desk. The man thrashed and wrestled against Percy's grip, but another blow to the man's stomach was enough to quiet the thrashing. Forcing the man's jaw open, Percy collected a mass of water in the palm of his hand which took the shape of a small sphere. Thrusting the mass of water into the man's mouth, Percy tightened his grip on the mass and forced it to expand inside the man's mouth. His thrashing began again in earnest as he all but drowned from the inside out. His eyes began to bulge and water and his face morphed into a disquieting pale color. With a wave of his hand the mass disappeared and the shifter heaved a desperate breathe for air.

"I can do this all day," Percy said calmly. "Where is Packard?"

The shifter hacked and wheezed, desperately trying to force air into his starving lungs.

"Like…I'm going to tell you…shit…you'll kill me anyway."

"Brave thing to say to the man controlling how much you suffer before he does," Percy noted as he began forming another mass of water in his hand.

"Wait!" The shifter cried out. "He went after Connors! He went to her place! He knew you were coming and the fucking coward just ran!"

Percy's blood boiled.

His hand shook violently as he gripped his pistol.

Bang.

AN: Shoutout to Double0Sxvxn for being an awesome Beta and dealing with my bullshit and as always if you enjoyed this but haven't checked out my other work, give them a try you never know you might find something else you like. I'm also on discord now, where I and a bunch of other writers hang out, chat and brainstorm ideas, you just have to copy the link that's in my profile bio if you want to come and hang out with us. Stay safe, stay healthy and have an awesome week

All My Love,

LilDB