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

Sitting Around

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or The Heroes of Olympus. Uncle Rick does.

Anna's soothing hand made its way through my fur. I always wondered why dogs loved to be petted. Now I can see why. It's calming, and feels refreshing. It's just like when Annabeth would play with my hair, in those few moments that we could just relax together and not worry about our lives ending, or the world.

"So what are we waiting here for? It's not that I wouldn't enjoy staying like this forever, but I was just wondering. It feels like we've been waiting for at least an hour."

"We're waiting for the convoy from your manor to arrive. They'll be bringing some security, but mostly it's research staff and equipment."

"I still can't  believe that I actually have like a whole organization at my command. This new me is pretty damn cool." A sound came from the shrubs, and I instinctively jumped into a pouncing stance. My body stood guard between Anna and whatever was coming through the bushes.

The first thing that I saw was the barrel of a riffle, which was followed by a soldier in what seemed like a tundra camo uniform. Two more soldiers came out from the bushed before others started emerging.

I realized that this was probably the convoy that we had been waiting so long for. At the very least the didn't seem to be hostile.

One of them, a women, started approaching. She wasn't one of the other three soldiers, she wasn't as armed, having only a holstered pistol. Her uniform was almost the same, with the exception of the symbol on the sides of her sleeves. I wasn't too versed with military ranks, and I assumed that these people used slightly different symbols than the actual Army.

Still, I knew that this women was the one in charge, given the aura of authority. She also had a particular smell to her, it seemed vaguely familiar. I couldn't quite place where and when I recognize the smell from, but I could tell that it made me feel empowered.

Almost like a moral boost, the same that I had whenever I had my friends at my side when facing adversities. Without a warning, the women in charge dropped onto the floor, her body began contorting in unsettling ways. He clothes began to disappear, her hair grew, and her skeletal structure morphed.

At the end of the transformation, a wolf stood in her position. She had white fur, with greenish streaks that reminded me of leafs caught by the wind.

As if following her lead, the other three soldiers all did the same thing, turning into wolves as well. They all looked different. One was a solid brown, while another had intricate patterns.

In unison, they all did what I could only describe as a bow. For some reason, the gesture didn't feel weird. I know that normally this sort of thing would be against my nature, but this show of loyalty and respect, it seemed natural to me.

"My lord," I heard three distinct voices say in my head. I could hear them clearly, but there wasn't a particular direction. It was just there.

I turned to look at Anna for guidance, "Why are they bowing to me and calling me lord?" I had tried to focus on Anna hoping that the others wouldn't hear me, but whether they did or not, they gave no sign.

Anna leaned slightly down to whisper in my ear, "Did you already forget what you're the god of?"

If I could face palm, I would have. I felt kinda for not thinking of that, I just wasn't used to being revered by anyone. "Relax, you don't need to be bowing to me right now, focus on the mission. The mission always comes first."

"Yes, my lord," This time only the wolf in charge of the others responded. She turned to the other three, and started barking orders at them, literally barking.

It was different than the type of telepathic talking that we were apparently capable of. It was more basic, more primitive, but there was a pro to such communication. Even if someone were to read our mind, or tap into our telepathic conversations, I doubted they would be able to understand us.

Seeing them change shape got me thinking, could I possibly turn into a human as well?

Instead of speculating, I asked Anna, "Hey, do you think maybe I could change between a human and wolf just like them?"

"Probably. I wouldn't know for sure, but back when all your different aspects were connected, you were able to switch between being a wolf and a human whenever you felt like it."

I closed me eyes, and began to focus. I imagined my body. I tried remembering what it felt like to have a human body. What moving my arms or legs was like, but I just couldn't.

I was so focus that I had forgotten to breath, and when I began gasping for air I noticed that my point of view hadn't changed. My eye level was still lower than it should have been for a my human body.

I looked down just in case, and sure enough, my paws were still there. I felt a feral anger start to overtake me. I began to growl without really thinking about it. I noticed the soldiers that had come with the convoy seemed to panic a little.

Sure, I always had trouble restraining my emotions, but this was different. Even from when I was angry before, it didn't feel the same as this.

This felt untamed, uncontrolled. Even if I wanted to calm down, I couldn't. I mean, am I upset that I wasn't able to change into a human? Sure, but I was only my first try, so I don't understand why it was frustrating me so much.

I saw the other people, who I guessed were not wolves, start to shudder. I didn't know if it was from fear or of it was from cold. I could notice the area around us beginning to drop in temperature, rapidly.

Suddenly, a warmth moved it's way down my back, starting at my neck. I could feel all the muscles in my body, loosen up. My growling scaled down from a teeth-rattling rumble to a much softer hum.

When I looked up, I saw that Anna was the source of the warmth and calm that washed over me. She smiled, not even faced by the fact that I was getting so angry. I admit, after looking closer at her I noticed minor details that distinguished her from Annabeth. Once I noticed these changes, she looked more like a twin or a daughter.

However, when she smiled, it was as  if I was getting a glimpse into the past. Smiling back at me was Wise Girl, not her reincarnation, but the actual Annabeth Chase.

I suddenly got a nostalgic feeling, remembering my time back at the camp. The time in between all the craziness. When we weren't bring threatened by damning prophecies or overpowering deities.

In those moments, it we were just two teenagers experimenting with romance. Enjoying each others company and cherishing every memory made. Those were the best moments of my life, by far.

I'm not sure at which point I did, but I closed my eyes. For a lack of a better phrase, I got lost in la la land. That, however, was not the most important thing that happened.

When I opened my eyes, my perspective was different. Anna no longer stood over me, instead, I stood over her, easily a foot taller than her, and she was tall already. I'm no mathematician, but I think I was easily six foot five.

I had done it, I had changed my body back into a human.

"Hey Percy..."

"Yeah?" The excitement in my voice was easily noticeable, but for whatever reason, Anna didn't seem half as excited. Actually, I had trouble reading her expression.

"You're naked."

(A/N: Well, there's another short chapter. I've now published quite a few shorter chapters. I hope that those of you that have been keeping up with this story can let me know what you prefer. Did you enjoy the fact that I was able to publish more often? Or did you not feel like I did publish more often? Did you think the actual quality of the content changed, and if so in which way?

Anyways, feedback would be appreciated, thanks.)