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"Left," Piper called. Annabeth ducked to the left and fired off rapid combos of punches at Piper's glove. When they had first started training together like this, Piper always stumbled backward on the last punch of the combo. Now, she held her ground and kept calling out commands. "Right."
Annabeth ducked back to her right and fired off another combo. Piper gave her a nod, and Annabeth flipped her friend. She locked her in an armbar for half of a second but didn't apply pressure. Annabeth rolled backward and made it to her feet. She turned and fired a few punches off at a punching bag.
Annabeth would never be the strongest fighter. She could probably lift weights for the rest of her life, but she still wouldn't be as strong as half of the fighters in the Olympic League. That was why she needed to keep up her technique. Annabeth turned back around and went to swing. She froze mid punch and backed away.
"Sorry," Piper began. She tried to sit up but only ended up collapsing onto her back. Annabeth helped her into a sitting position. Then, she pulled her manager to her feet"Percy was supposed to take over for me."
"I'm super busy," Percy called. He was on the other side of Annabeth's personal gym. Annabeth turned and gave him a look. Percy shrugged and took a sip of his water. He was setting out some of Annabeth's research.
Annabeth looked around her gym. She was in a boxing ring, which wasn't the same as the cage that she normally fought in. The size was the same, and the mat was the same material as well. There were a few punching bags around the gym, along with a few mats. The other half of the gym was designed to exercise her mind.
There was a whiteboard that they used to write information about Annabeth's next opponent. A few chairs were in front of the whiteboard, and a table had a laptop on it. There was also a chessboard in a far corner of the gym, but that was mostly for fun. Percy refused to play with her anymore, but Piper hadn't broke yet.
"Let's take a break," Annabeth said. Piper nodded gratefully and started to take off her training equipment. Annabeth helped her. While a bunch of other fighters had teammates and million-dollar gyms that they trained in, Annabeth preferred the small gym that she had bought from a man that she saw as a second father.
Chiron was a kind man who had been crippled in some kind of accident. He never explained what kind of accident it was, and Annabeth never pushed it. She still went out of her way to visit Chiron and help him out with his summer camp for troubled kids. It was where she had first met him.
"Hey, Percy!" Piper called. Percy turned around and raised an eyebrow. "You suck."
"I love you too," Percy said. Piper stuck her tongue out and then laid back in the ring. Annabeth stepped out of the ring and walked towards the cooler in the corner of the room. She grabbed two water bottles out of it and made it back to Piper's side. Piper took the water gratefully.
Annabeth sat in one of the chairs and leaned back. Her training routine was a little different every day, but the biggest problem was that she didn't have another fighter to spar with. Piper had a little bit of self-defense training that she was given when she was younger, but it was nothing compared to what Annabeth did. Percy had gotten into plenty of fights when he was a teenager, but those were all schoolyard brawls.
Since Annabeth was now in the big leagues, she would have to find some kind of sparring partner. There was a school to learn karate nearby. Fighting a mob of blue belt kids might be comparable to one grown adult. If only she could find a karate school that would take her up on the offer.
Jason Grace offered to train with Annabeth, but he was pretty rusty on his skills and busy most of the time. A frown came to Annabeth's face as she thought about her problem. Percy sat down next to her and spoke, "You'll figure it out."
"How did you know I was trying to figure something out?" Annabeth asked. She turned her head to look at him.
"Your face gets all scrunched up," Percy answered. He leaned back and stretched out. "Mom wanted me to congratulate you on the new contract. She wants to take you out to dinner to celebrate."
"She doesn't have to," Annabeth began. Percy gave her a look, and Annabeth smiled. Sally Jackson was not only a saint of a woman, considering she raised Percy and god knew he was two handfuls. She was also a second mother to Annabeth.
When Annabeth first won her championship, her father didn't care too much. Her stepmother didn't either, not that she cared about anything Annabeth did. Sally cared though. She insisted that she take Annabeth, Percy, and Piper out to eat to celebrate the victory. She also did her best to attend Annabeth's fights.
"She's going to," Percy said. Annabeth couldn't keep the smile from her face. Percy smiled as well. "This Friday?"
"If she's not too busy," Annabeth answered. She heard a phone ring and turned her head. A groan escaped Piper, who was now laid out on the ground. Across the room, Piper's phone was inside of her purse and ringing.
"That's my work phone," Piper groaned. She tried to sit up but seemed to have no luck. Annabeth smiled and stood. She walked towards Piper's purse. The phone was always in the left pocket, as it was the quickest pocket for her to grab when she carried it. As Annabeth grabbed the phone, she saw someone enter the gym.
"Hey Jason," Annabeth greeted. She turned and jogged halfway towards Piper. At the halfway mark, she tossed the phone. "Catch!"
Piper caught the phone with ease. She opened it and spoke, "Hello?"
"How are you doing Jason?" Annabeth asked. She turned towards Jason and smiled at him. He smiled back and walked further into the gym.
"I'm good. I finished with my meeting early, so I thought you would like to spar," Jason said. He shifted his duffel bag on his shoulder, and Annabeth smiled brightly. "And congratulations. I saw the press conference."
"Thank you," Annabeth said. She walked towards the ring with Jason. "I was just taking a break from beating up your girlfriend."
"Don't beat her up too much. We have dinner plans tonight," Jason said. Annabeth shrugged.
"Shut up," Piper said. Annabeth turned towards her friend to tease her, but Piper gave all of them a scathing look. Her hand was clamped over the phone. "All of you. Shut up and come here. I'm going to put it on speaker."
Annabeth frowned and exchanged looks with Jason. They made it to Piper's side. Percy joined them a moment later. Piper lowered her hand from the phone and put it on speaker.
"Sorry about that. I can hear you better now," Piper said. She looked at them and brought a finger to her lips. "This is Piper McLean speaking. How can I help you?"
"Miss McLean," a man greeted. Annabeth frowned. She knew that voice, but she couldn't place it. From the way that Jason stiffened, he knew it too. "This is Octavian. Manager of the Wolves."
"Please just call me Piper. What can I do for you?" Piper asked. She was staring at Annabeth with wide eyes. Annabeth stared back.
"I would like to extend an offer to your client Annabeth Chase. We would like for her to join the Wolves," Octavian said. Annabeth's eyes widened, and Piper's jaw dropped. Jason blinked in surprise, and Percy went to high five Annabeth. "We would like to discuss this offer over dinner. All expenses paid by us of course."
"Where at?" Piper slowly asked. She looked at Annabeth with an unspoken question. Annabeth quickly nodded. She would be insane to pass up this opportunity. Even if she didn't join, meeting a member of the Wolves would be beneficial to her.
"Lugis," Octavian answered. "If you are not familiar with the place, I can send the address to your email. Say Wednesday at six? And please do feel free to bring your entire team."
"We will meet to discuss the offer," Piper said after a few moments.
"Thank you for your time, Miss McLean. We will see you soon," Octavian said. He hung up a moment later. Piper placed her phone down and looked at Annabeth.
"The Wolves!" Piper said, almost yelling. She jumped to her feet and grabbed Annabeth by her shoulders. "Annabeth, they want you to join the Wolves!"
"The Wolves," Annabeth repeated. She still wasn't over her initial shock. Why did the Wolves want her? "Why would they offer me a spot?"
"Because you're the best female fighter in the world," Percy answered. "Annabeth, you are the smartest person I have ever met, and you're amazing at everything. Who wouldn't want you on their team?"
"It's not often that Lupa reaches out to a fighter," Jason added. Annabeth looked at him. "Most people find their way to her. I grew up around the gym. Reyna showed up one day. I think Nico brought Hazel there. For Lupa to reach out, she has to think you're special."
"I'm not that special," Annabeth said. She felt her face turning red, but pride also swelled in her chest. She smiled. "Jason, you know them best. Do you think I should join?"
"I guess that depends on what you want to do," Jason replied. "The Wolves is a full-time job. That's why Lupa offers housing near her gym and also why her gym never closes. You're done with college, right?"
"I am," Annabeth confirmed. She looked down and thought about it. Annabeth already knew that she was going to get more money by being in the Wolves. The sponsorship deals alone would double, and hopefully, it would something better than modeling lingerie or another skimpy item. It wasn't about the money though.
"You should," Percy added. "I'm no expert in the Wolves, but this sounds like an insane opportunity. You can't just pass it up. Think of the opportunities this will create."
"Yeah," Piper said softly. There was a smile on her face, but it almost seemed forced. When Annabeth looked at her manager, Piper looked away. "You should go for it."
"What's wrong?" Annabeth questioned. She crossed her arms. Piper didn't look up. Annabeth just gave her a look, and after a few moments, Piper finally met her eyes. Jason grabbed Piper's shoulder.
"Octavian is the manager for the Wolves. They won't need two managers," Jason began. Annabeth frowned and uncrossed her arms.
"Don't let it stop you," Piper began. Annabeth shook her head. "You can't pass up this opportunity."
"I'm not doing this without you," Annabeth said. She placed her hand on Piper's other shoulder. "You have been there with me ever since I started. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere without you. We're going to that dinner meeting, and we are going to negotiate a few terms. The most important is that you will still be my manager."
"Annabeth, I cannot let you pass this up just for me," Piper argued. She looked at Percy and Jason. "Tell her."
"I'm not changing my mind," Annabeth stated. She crossed her arms. Percy looked in between the two and then looked away. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Jason studied the two of them and seemed to think about it.
"Why don't I come with?" Jason offered. "I can speak for both of you. Lupa loves me, so I might have a good shot of convincing her."
"It's settled then. The four of us will go to the restaurant. We either leave with a contract that covers all of our terms, or we leave with nothing," Annabeth said. Percy nodded his agreement. Piper reluctantly nodded, but she didn't look too happy.
Annabeth looked away. She always promised herself that fame would never change her. It didn't matter if she instantly failed upon trying to fight or if she became the most famous fight in the world. Annabeth would not forget the people who helped her get where she was. That was why she wouldn't leave Piper behind, even if it cost her the chance of a lifetime.