YOU.
——- "Wolves." Piper said nervously, "They sound close."
Jason rose to his feet and quickly summoned his sword. Y/n drew her sword and stood, along with Coach Hedge and Leo. Piper attempted to join them but stumbled and fell back down.
"Stay there," Jason told her. "We'll protect you."
Piper gritted her teeth. Y/n could tell she was upset that the group had to keep helping her, first with the broken ankle, then the hypothermia. The h/c haired girl slowly made her way to Piper and crouched next to her, resting a hand on her shoulder.
"There's nothing stronger than accepting help," Y/n assured quietly, rising back to her feet and entering a defensive position near Piper.
Outside the cave in the darkness, Y/n could see a pair of glowing red eyes in the distance. More wolves advanced at the edge of the entrance. The beasts were covered in black fur, and easily bigger than Great Danes. Caked in ice and snow, their fangs gleamed in the firelight, making their red eyes look disturbingly intelligent. The wolf in front was almost as tall as a full-grown horse, and his mouth was stained with blood and guts as if he'd just made a fresh kill moments before arriving.
Piper pulled her dagger out of its sheath.
Jason stepped forward and spoke in Latin, and the alpha wolf curled his lip. The fur on his back stood straight. One of the lieutenant wolves tried to attack, but the alpha wolf snapped at his ear, and all the wolves backed into the darkness.
"Dude, I gotta study Latin. What'd you say, Jason?" Leo asked, hammer in hand.
Hedge cursed. "Whatever it was, it wasn't enough. Look."
The wolves had come back, but the alpha wolf wasn't with them. They halted their attack, waiting in a rough semicircle just outside the firelight, and blocked the cave exit.
The coach hefted his club. "Here's the plan. I'll kill them all, and you guys escape."
"Coach, they'll rip you apart," Piper retorted.
"Nah, I'm good."
The silhouette of a man then waded through the wolf pack.
"Stick together," Jason ordered. "They respect a pack. And Hedge, no crazy stuff. We're not leaving you or anyone else behind."
The wolves parted and the man stepped into the firelight.
His ragged and greasy hair was the color of soot, topped with a crown that appeared to be made of finger bones. His robes were made of pelts — wolf, rabbit, raccoon, deer, and more. The furs didn't seem to be cured, and from the smell, weren't very fresh. He had an extremely lithe and muscular build like a distance runner. But his face — his face was horrible.
Thin, pale skin was pulled right across his skull. His teeth were sharpened to razors. His eyes glowed bright red. He fixated on Jason.
"Ecci," he snarled, "Filli Romani."
"Speak English, wolfman!" Hedge bellowed.
The wolfman growled. "Tell your faun to mind his tongue, son of Rome. Or he'll be my first snack."
The wolfman studied the five. His nostrils twitched.
"So it's true," he mused. "A child of Aphrodite. A son of Hephaestus. A faun. And a child of Rome; of Lord Jupiter, no less. And of course, the Legion's traitor. Altogether, without killing each other. How interesting."
He smiled at Y/n who glared daggers at him, "You've done well, filia maris, quite treacherous indeed — "
Y/n grit her teeth, "Shut the hell up, mutt." She interrupted.
The wolfman bared his teeth at her, his amusement suddenly dissipating.
"You were told about us?" Jason questioned, "By who?"
The man snarled — perhaps a laugh, perhaps a challenge. "Oh, we've been patrolling 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."
The wolves snarled through the darkness.
Y/n saw Leo from her peripheral, putting his hammer away and pulling out a small bottle of clear liquid. Y/n assumed it must be something flammable.
Lycaon glared at Jason's sword, moving side to side to look for an opening, but Jason guarded himself.
"Leave," Jason ordered. "There's no food for you here."
"Unless you want tofu burgers," Leo offered.
Leo's jest made Lycaon snarl once more; he apparently didn't have much of a sense of humor. "If I had my way," Lycaon said with regret, "I'd kill you first, son of Jupiter. Your father made me what I am. I was the powerful mortal king of Arcadia, with fifty fine sons, and Zeus slew them all with his lightning bolts."
"Ha," Coach Hedge said. "For good reason!"
"Coach, you know this clown?" Jason asked, glancing over his shoulder.
"I do," Piper answered. "Lycaon invited Zeus to dinner," she answered. "But the king wasn't sure it was really Zeus. So to test his powers, Lycaon tried to feed him human flesh. Zeus got outraged — "
"And killed my sons!" Lycaon howled causing the wolves behind him to howl too.
"So Zeus turned him into a wolf," Piper continued, "They call... they call werewolves lycanthropes, named after him, the first werewolf."
"The king of wolves," Coach Hedge finished. "An immortal, smelly, vicious mutt."
Lycaon growled, "I will tear you apart, faun!"
"Oh, you want some goat, buddy? 'Cause I'll give you goat."
"Stop it," Jason demanded, "Lycaon, you said you wanted to kill me first, but...?"
"Sadly, Child of Rome, you are spoken for. Since this one," — he waggled his claws at Piper — "has failed to kill you, you are to be delivered alive to the Wolf House. One of my compatriots has asked for the honor of killing you herself."
"Who?" Jason inquired.
The wolf king snickered. "Oh, a great admirer of yours. Apparently, you made quite an impression on her. She will take care of you soon enough, and really I cannot complain. Spilling your blood at the Wolf House should mark my new territory quite well. Lupa will think twice about challenging my pack."
Piper struggled to her feet. "You're going to leave now," Piper tried to charm him, "before we destroy you."
She was shivering in her blankets, pale and sweaty and barely able to hold a knife.
Lycaon's red eyes crinkled with humor. "A brave try, girl. I admire that. Perhaps I'll make your end quick. Only your Roman companions are needed alive. The rest of you, I'm afraid, are dinner."
Jason took a step forward. "You're not killing anyone, wolfman. Not without going through me."
Lycaon extended his claws and howled. Jason tried to slash him with his sword, but it passed straight through him as if the wolfman wasn't there.
Lycaon laughed. "Gold, bronze, steel — none of these are any good against my wolves, son of Jupiter."
"Silver!" Piper cried. "Aren't werewolves hurt by silver?"
"We don't have any silver!" Jason worriedly shouted.
Hedge charged forward when the wolves leaped straight into the firelight.
But Leo was faster. He threw the glass bottle at the ground, causing it to shatter all over and spill its liquid contents onto the wolves. The cave erupted with the familiar scent of gasoline. He snapped and shot a small spark at the puddle on the ground, and a wall of flames exploded. The wolves yelped and jumped back, retreating. Several of them caught fire and ran into the snow, making Lycaon uneasy. He looked at the barrier of fire nervously.
"Aw, c'mon," Coach Hedge complained. "I can't hit them if they're way over there."
Every time a wolf attempted to break the barrier, Leo would shoot a new wave of fire from his hands, but it seemingly made him more and more tired with every effort, and the gasoline was dying down.
"I can't summon any more gas!" Leo warned. Then his face turned red. "Wow, that came out wrong. I mean the burning kind. Gonna take the tool belt a while to recharge. What you got, man?"
"Nothing," Jason spoke, defeated. "Not even a weapon that works."
"Lightning?" Piper asked.
Jason concentrated, but nothing happened. "I think the snowstorm is interfering, or something."
"Unleash the venti!" Piper suggested.
"Then we'll have nothing to give Aeolus," Jason shook his head. "We'll have come all this way for nothing."
Lycaon laughed mercilessly, "I can smell your fear. A few more minutes of life, heroes. Pray to whatever gods you wish. Zeus did not grant me mercy, and you will have none from me."
The fire began to die out. Jason cursed and let his sword fall to the ground. He crouched with his fists up like he was ready for hand-to-hand combat. Leo pulled his hammer out and Piper raised her dagger. Coach Hedge raised his club eagerly, and Y/n thought to herself. What can I do?
Before the wolves ripped them apart, a ripping sound cut clean through the wind — like a piece of cardboard being torn. A long stick pierced through the neck of the nearest wolf — the shaft of a silver arrow. The sight of the arrow made Y/n's stomach drop. The wolf writhed and fell to the ground, melting into a puddle of black shadow. Another arrow, aimed at Lycaon, was caught by the wolf king himself before he yelped in pain and dropped it. Across his palm was a smoking, charred gash. Soon after a new arrow stabbed through his shoulder, and he staggered.
"Curse them!" Lycaon yelled. He then growled at his pack, and the wolves turned and retreated. Lycaon glared at Jason one last time, "This isn't over, boy." He seethed.
The wolf king disappeared into the night.
Y/n heard more wolves baying not seconds later, but the sound was different, like hunting dogs on a scent — much less threatening than Lycaon's wolves. A small, white wolf burst into the cave, followed by two not far behind it.
Hedge asked, "Kill it?"
"No!" Piper yelped. "Wait."
Y/n turned pale. She felt sick. Those dogs looked familiar.
The wolves tilted their heads and studied the campers with huge golden eyes. Then, the one in front fixated on the h/c-haired girl. Y/n took a step back as the wolf lifted its snout into the air, sniffing for her.
"Oh shit," Y/n muttered.
Then, the wolf barred its teeth, growling lowly and staking a slow step. The other two followed.
Its pupils dilated and Y/n's breathing became ragged. She offered a nervous grin, "Nice doggie, you want a treat?" She crouched down slowly towards the sole burger left from earlier and attempted to reach it.
"Y/n, what are you — " Jason began but was interrupted when the wolf barked and pounced.
"OH SHIT — " Y/n shouted before the wolf bit her in her right forearm. A piercing scream came from the girl as it tore through her flesh.
"Oh my god!" Piper shouted as Y/n kicked the dog in the face as hard as she could. She stood from where she fell on the ground, and a rage erupted in her chest. She reached for her sword that she had dropped, and used it to defend herself against the second wolf that came after her.
Her friends didn't know what to do. But, luckily for them, they didn't have to do anything; a shrill whistle was heard from outside the cave.
The once ravenous wolves confusingly retreated, as a troop of hunters in white-and-gray winter camouflage, at least half a dozen, entered the cave. They all carried silver bows, with quivers of glowing silver arrows on their back.
Their faces were all covered with parka hoods, but Y/n know who they were. Her teeth grit when one, a little taller than the rest, crouched in the firelight and snatched the arrow that Lycaon had dropped, and with the other hand, she pet the wolf who had bit Y/n. The wolf now had blood staining its white fur.
"So close." She turned to her companions. "Phoebe, stay with me. Watch the entrance. The rest of you, follow Lycaon. We can't lose him now. I'll catch up with you."
The other hunters disappointedly mumbled in agreement and disappeared, heading after Lycaon's pack.
The girl in white turned toward them, her face still hidden in her parka hood.
The tall girl turned towards them, her face still covered by the parka hood. "We've been following that demon's trail for over a week. Is everyone all right? No one got bit?" She said, a twinge of a smirk in her voice as she directed the comment towards Y/n, who seethed in response.
Jason stood frozen, staring at the girl. Y/n know who she was; she couldn't remember the specific details, as usual, but they'd fought before. And from what Y/n recalled, she had prevailed and sent those wretched hunters running away.
"You're her," Piper guessed. "You're Thalia."
Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, tensed when she heard her name. She pulled her hood off, revealing her short, spiky black hair, with a sliver tiara across her brow. She had a healthy glow to her, like she was a little more than human, and her eyes were a striking blue. Y/n sheathed her sword and held onto her bleeding arm as she looked at the familiar bandage across Thalia's neck. She chuckled lowly when she saw it, knowing its origin.
"Do I know you?" Thalia asked Piper.
Piper took a breath. "This might be a shock, but — "
"Thalia." Jason stepped forward, his voice trembling. "I'm Jason, your brother."
She thought for a moment, studying his face, then Thalia rushed forward and hugged him.
"My gods! She told me you were dead!" She gripped Jason's face and seemed to be examining everything about it. "Thank Artemis, it is you. That little scar on your lip you tried to eat a stapler when you were two!"
Leo laughed, "Seriously?"
Hedge nodded, like he approved of Jason's taste, "Stapler's excellent source of iron."
"W-wait," Jason stammered. "Who told you I was dead? What happened?"
One of the white wolves barked from the entrance of the cave. Thalia looked back and nodded, but kept her hands on Jason's face like she was afraid he might disappear.
She turned to Y/n, "My wolf recognizes your scent." Thalia grabbed her brother and backed away, towards the exit. "What are you here for? Come to kill my brother? Or did you hear that we were on our way and came to try and finish us off?"
Before Y/n could argue back that her being here had nothing to do with the hunters, Leo stepped forward. "No, she's not here for that. She doesn't even remember her past."
Thalia scoffed, "She told you that? Rule number one, shorty, don't trust a traitor."
Y/n tried to keep her cool. She heard Leo mutter a short "I'm not short," and her hand inched towards her sword. She really didn't like this girl.
"I'm not a traitor," Y/n said sternly. "And I'm getting pretty sick of people calling me that."
Thalia and Y/n refused to break their gaze. The others watched as a silent showdown had begun.
"What else would I call someone who betrayed their people?" Thalia snarled.
Y/n returned a scowl, "What do you even know about me? I don't ever remember talking to you. Just a foggy memory of one of your subordinates shooting an arrow through my shoulder and the rest at you attacking me for no reason."
"No reason? We told you to leave and you wouldn't. Sounds like a good reason to kick your ass." Thalia remarked.
Y/n smirked, "Remind me again who's ass got kicked? From what I remember you and your lackeys retreated after I beat your ass with the ginger girl's knife." She motioned to the girl behind Thalia, Phoebe, who turned red and looked away.
The black-haired girl prepared to fire back but stopped when Jason spoke up, "Enough, you two. It's in the past now, and we have more important matters to worry about."
Leo quietly turned to Y/n, and whispered "How did you remember that?"
Y/n didn't break eye contact with Thalia, "It all came back when I saw her face. I can't remember why I was there, though..." she trailed off.
Thalia sighed, "You're right; I don't have enough time, and I don't want to waste what little time I do have on her. We need to talk. Let's sit."
Piper took that as a challenge. She collapsed, and she would've cracked her head on the cave floor if Hedge hadn't caught her.
Thalia rushed over to the brown-haired girl, "What's wrong with her? Ah — never mind. I see. Hypothermia. Ankle." She frowned at the satyr.
"Don't you know nature healing?"
Hedge scoffed, "Why do you think she looks this good? Can't you smell the Gatorade?"
Thalia looked at Leo for the first time, and it was an accusatory glare, of course. She sent a look like 'Why did you let the goat be doctor?' As if that was Leo's fault.
"You and the satyr," Thalia ordered, "take this girl to my friend at the entrance. Phoebe's an excellent healer."
"It's cold out there!" Hedge complained. "I'll freeze my horns off."
But Leo knew when they weren't wanted. "Come on, Hedge. These two need time to talk."
"Hmph. Fine," the satyr muttered. "Didn't even get to bash anybody."
Hedge carried Piper toward the entrance and Leo was about to follow when Jason called, "Actually, man, could you, um, stick around?"
Leo turned back to look at Jason, who was asking for support. He needed someone else there with him; he was scared.
Leo grinned, "Sticking around is my specialty."
Thalia didn't look too happy about it, but she ended up accepting Leo. Y/n, on the other hand, was not welcome. Thalia glared at her until the girl groaned, and began to walk out of the cave. Before she could leave, she felt something hit the back of her head. She turned and saw Thalia put her arm down, along with a roll of bandages by Y/n's feet. She picked it up and left the group.
She saw Hedge, Piper, and that ginger girl, Phoebe, around ten feet from the entrance, entering a quickly set up tent Phoebe must have prepared. Y/n decided against sitting with the buff girl she'd given a black eye to less than four days ago, and leaned against the wall of the cave, right next to the exit, but still inside the cave to avoid the wind.
She thought hard; why had I approached the hunters that night? It began to drive her nuts. Sure, she was happy she actually remembered something, but she just couldn't get her mind off why. Why was she there in the first place?
For a few minutes, nobody inside the cave spoke. Y/n tried not to eavesdrop, so she tried to move further. She felt uncomfortable. Unwanted. Like a monster.
The tent was more so to the right of the entrance, so Y/n trudged through the snow to the left of the opening. She still wore nothing but a short sleeve top, so her arms were freezing. She used the bandages Thalia had given her, and wrapped up her arm. Y/n didn't have anything to clean herself, so there was stray blood still dripping down all the way to her fingertips.
She tightly wrapped her arm, so tight her eyes teared up. But she had to make sure it'd stop bleeding, or it'd just be a burden. She saw that blood had stained the left side of her clothes, and she groaned. So much for being seen in public, someone would probably call an ambulance for her.
Y/n found a rock to sit on, next to a large boulder that blocked the wind. She took a seat and rested her head against the stone. The girl studied the stars, hoping to find an answer. They told her nothing.
She brought her knees to her chest.
"Who was I?" She asked herself.
But she didn't know. And she wasn't sure she wanted to know. It was probably too much to bear. She felt the pit of anxiety burrow in her stomach, she feared what she could have possibly done. She prayed it wasn't as bad as it sounded. But it sounded pretty bad.
Y/n always knew she was the black sheep of their group, but she never anticipated it was this bad. That she was a villain. That she had betrayed her friend's trust. That she was a traitor.
A traitor to who, though? She had never been to Camp Half-Blood. She felt it deep inside her — it was one of those moments where she just knew things, — Camp Half-Blood wasn't the only place like it. She couldn't remember the name, but she could recall the river, the rolling hills, the buildings, and the hatred she had for the place. She didn't belong there either. That's why she betrayed them. That's who was betrayed. She was their traitor, whoever they were. She could remember liking one person there; just one. And it was the girl from the picture in her phone.
(unedited.)
a/n: finally hit chapter twenty!! hopefully tlh will be done by chapter thirty 🫶🏻 then we can do son 😏