The Wolf of the North: Book one of the Destroyer Chronicles.

Primal Instincts

I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or The Heroes of Olympus, uncle Rick does.

I could feel the warn tears seeping into my shirt, dampening it. It started as a silent sob, but Claire became progressively louder.

We were only a few steps from the dinning room, and I didn't want the others overhearing our conversation.

I pulled away and and wrapped an arm around her back to lead her towards a room with more privacy.

As we walked through the halls Claire had her arms wrapped around herself as if she was cold, but instead of a slight shiver she shook violently with each sob.

Since she left the pack, Claire had always carried herself with a professional deamenour, hardly ever showing emotion past a slight grin or a barely noticeable frown, so I felt guilty for feeling slightly relived.

It's not that I was glad she was crying, I was just glad that she was showing emotion again. For some time I had feared that she had turned into a robot, showing no emotion and focusing on nothing but her job.

I smiled to myself at the thought of having the old Claire back.

I snapped out of my thoughts as I realized that we had been walking for a while now. We seemed to be in an area of the manor that wasn't really being used. I couldn't hear anyone else besides Claire and myself.

I didn't often visit the manor though, and when I stayed here long ago I had isolated myself in my room. As a result I only knew the layout of the house, I designed it after all, but I didn't know what purpose was given to each room, which meant I had to pick a room at random.

Fortunately, the door I opened led to what seemed to be a living room of sorts. I led Claire to a couch in the room and sat down with her.

At first there was a silence that dominated the room. It took every available space that it could. It was almost as if there was no room for anything to move or any sound to travel in the room.

I didn't know what to say at forst, so Claire beat me to it first, "I'm sorry Perseus. There are so many things that you need to worry about, but here you are. I don't mean to waste your time."

I didn't say anything at first. I laid back and took a deep breath. "You're right, I have many important things to worry about," I paused before continuing. Before I could continued though, Claire nodded while wiping at her face a. She seemed ready to leave, but the I began to speak again, effectively keeping her seated, "And do you know why I worry about those things so much?"

"Well, the fate of the world depends on the outcome."

My response was very poetic, yet simple, "Honestly, who gives a shit?"

By now Claire had looked at me for the first time during this whole conversation. Her expression showed that she didn't understand anything of what I was saying.

"I don't care about the world. I don't care about Manhattan or this manor. Heck, I don't even care about Olympus or Othrys. For all I care Koios can take over the world along with Fenrir. All of that is meaningless."

"The pack, my family, and my friends. All the people I love and care about, that's the reason for why I fight. If it not were for people like you Claire, then life would be meaningless, and fighting for such a life is pointless. Which is why I'll always have time for you. It's the moments that I share with you that make life worth the gamble."

I took her hand closest to me and held it in mine and placed the other on the side of her face, maintaining eye contact. "I'm not always so great at explaining myself. Often, what I say ends up being misunderstood. So I'll tell you this. You're a wolf, so follow your instincts."