Phases of the Sea

Chapter 11

Perci POV

Weeks passed since Bella's return from Italy and subsequent grounding and house arrest. Surprisingly, she had taken her punishment gracefully, though Charlie and I knew she hated not being allowed out of the house for anything other than school or work, especially since I spent a lot of time at the reservation. Paul had asked me to spend some more time with the pack while they were on high alert after I told them about the demigod dream I had a bunch of vampires. We had a feeling that the dream I had may having something to do with all the disappearances and murders happening in Seattle, though we didn't have enough evidence to be sure, since nobody wanted to go near Seattle alone to get the information if it was true.

I had offered to go myself, being immortal, but Paul had shut down the offer immediately after I suggested it, saying that even if I was immortal, he didn't want me to test how long it would take for me to reform by going up there nearly unprepared. I had argued, but in the end, it had been Charlie requesting me that night to stay away until the violence died down. I would have been suspicious of the timing, had he not told me to pass the warning along to the members of the tribe that I hung out with.

At the moment though, I had no worries about potential vampire problems, or even stress about my upcoming finals hell, and graduation from high school. I was sitting, relaxed, on the beach in Paul's arms at a pack bonfire that reminded me of being back at camp. The mood was light, s'mores were being made, and a few songs had even been badly sung as we all enjoyed ourselves, even Leah, who was unusually grumpy around everyone but Seth and I. We were all having such a good time, that the sound of footsteps on the sand a few feet away actually managed to go unnoticed until a voice spoke up from just beyond the bonfire circle.

"Delivery for one Perci Jackson." The semi-familiar male voice spoke up, making all heads whip around to face him. Grinning, I extracted myself from Paul's arms and walked over to hug the god in the track suit.

"Hermes, good to see you again." I said, enjoying the small squeeze I got in return. I was still angry with Zeus for my immortality, but I didn't hold it against the rest of the council. Hermes and Apollo were two of my favorite immortal cousins anyway, so it was genuinely great to see him.

"Great to see you too, Perce. Mind if I sit, I've actually got a few minutes before I need to go again." He said, drawing a giggle from me as I gestured to the empty spot on a log where I was sitting before Paul pulled me into his lap.

"Go ahead, let me introduce you to everyone. Guys, this is my cousin Hermes, God of messengers, travelers, and thieves. Hermes, this is Sam, Jared, Jacob, Embry, Quil, Leah, Seth, Emily, and Kim." I said, pointing out the other members of the pack, smiling slightly as I pointed to Quil, who had joined the pack just two weeks ago and was loving it.

"Nice to meet you guys, but who is this, cousin?" Hermes asked, giving me his troublemaker smirk as he pointed to Paul, who suddenly seemed nervous. In response, I sat back down in his lap, my eyes never leaving Hermes as I snuggled back into the warmth of my wolf.

"This is Paul Lahote, my boyfriend and soulmate. Paul, this is Hermes, my third favorite immortal cousin." I introduced, smiling at the look of offense on said immortal's face.

"And who's in front of me?" He demanded, a look of playful hurt on his face, which I just grinned cheekily at.

"Thalia's first, and number two is Artemis. If it makes you feel better, Apollo is number four." I said, laughing as he nodded in acceptance before gaining a smug look at being told he was my favorite ahead of Apollo.

"It does, thanks." He said, making the rest of the pack laugh at his antics.

"Don't forget to give her the package!" Another familiar male voice hissed, making Hermes sigh.