Fighting for Heaven with Hell (Piper McLean x Oc) ||Discontinued||

The God Who Cried Wolf

"Wolves," Piper said. "They sound close."

Jason rose and summoned his sword. Indy, Leo and Coach Hedge got to their feet, too. Piper tried too, but she swayed on the spot and sat back down again.

"Stay there," Jason told her. "We'll protect you."

The howls were closer now, and soon, glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness. Indy tapped her ring and summoned her bayonet, instinctively moving forward. The wolves were huge, larger than great danes, with shaggy black fur and gleaming fangs. It wasn't hard to see that these were not ordinary wolves, their eyes gleamed with a malice that could only be found in monsters.

The alpha wolf stepped forward, its maw stained with something that looked suspiciously like blood. Indy was about to aim her gun, when Jason stepped forward and said something in Latin. The wolf curled his lip and let out a snarl, the fur on its back rising. One of the other wolves attempted to advance, but the alpha snapped at its ear. The others seemed to get the message and retreated into the darkness.

"Dude, I gotta study Latin." Leo marveled, "What'd you say, Jason?"

Hedge cursed. "Whatever it was, it wasn't enough. Look."

He was right, the beasts had returned, but this time without their leader. They didn't attack. They waited – at least a dozen now, in a rough semicircle just outside the firelight, blocking the exit.

The coach raised his club. "Here's the plan. I'll kill them all, and you guys escape."

"Coach, they'll rip you apart," Piper said.

"Nah, I'm good.'

"Piper's right," Indy warned, "There's a reason wolves are higher up on the food chain than goats."

Hedge glared at her, but didn't have time to respond. A man was strolling through the storm. He entered the circle of wolves and sauntered past them as if they were shrubs.

"Stick together," Jason said. "They respect a pack. And Hedge, no crazy stuff. We're not leaving you or anyone else behind."

When the firelight illuminated the man's face, Indy fought the urge to take a step back and throw up in one of the bushes. His hair was greasy and ragged, the colour of fireplace soot, topped with a crown of what looked like finger bones. Pale skin was pulled over his skull so tightly that you could count every single vein in his head. When he smiled, Indy saw that his teeth were in fact yellowing fangs. His robes were tattered fur – wolf, rabbit, raccoon, deer and several others that Indy couldn't name, but were probably on the 'Endangered Species' list. The man had the same glowing red eyes as the wolves, and his malicious stare was fixed on Jason.

"Ecce," he drawled, "filli Romani."

"Speak English, wolf man!" Hedge bellowed.

Wolf Man snarled. "Tell your faun to mind his tongue, son of Rome. Or he'll be my first snack."

The wolf man studied them one by one, evaluating their possible strengths and weaknesses. When his eyes leaned on Piper, Indy forced herself to remain calm. It would be dangerous if he figured out what Piper meant to her.

"So it's true," he mused. "A child of Aphrodite. A son of Hephaestus. A faun. A child of Chaos and a child of Rome, of Lord Jupiter, no less. All together, without killing each other. How interesting."

"You were told about us?" Jason asked. "By whom?"

The man snarled, or laughed. It was impossible to tell, "Oh, we've been patrolling for you all across the west, demigod, hoping we'd be the first to find you. The giant king will reward me well when he rises. I am Lycaon, king of the wolves. And my pack is hungry."