SWEET SORROWS│p. jackson

[ 12. ]

II xii. the king of mutts... II

"WOLVES," Piper muttered. "They sound close."

"Are you kidding me?" Andromeda grumbled under her breath as the guys all stood. "Now I gotta freaking get up...in a freaking snowstorm....stupid wolves needing to freaking eat us..."

"Andie, mind helping us?" She looked up to see them all annoyedly looking down at her. "Or are you gonna keep complaining about snow."

She shot him a glare, stumbling to her feet. Jason turned back to Piper, a stern look on his face. "Stay there, we'll protect you-"

A low growl made the group freeze.

At the entrance, dozens of wolves suddenly appeared. Their shadows danced along the end of the rock from the firelight-making them seem much more intimidating than they looked already. Then, more wolves came forward. Their fangs gleamed, and their glowing red eyes looked disturbingly intelligent. The wolf in front was almost as tall as a horse, his mouth stained as if he'd just made a fresh kill.

Jason stepped forward, and Andromeda frowned when he spoke something in Latin. He had been talking in that language back at camp...and it was really putting her off.

One of the wolves tried to advance, but the big one in front snapped at his ear. Then, all of the wolves backed into the dark.

"Dude, I gotta study Latin." Leo's hammer shook in his hand. "What'd you say?"

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

The wolves were coming back, but the big wolf wasn't with them. They didn't attack. They waited-at least a dozen now, in a rough semicircle just outside the firelight, blocking 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 said.

"Nah, I'm good." As if that was a reasonable response to Piper's logical statement. They all looked forward once more when a man appeared from the snowstorm, wading through the wolf pack.

"Stick together," Jason said. "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 hair was greasy and ragged, the color of fireplace soot, topped with a crown of what looked like finger bones. His robes were tattered fur-wolf, rabbit, raccoon, deer, and several others Andromeda wasn't too curious about. His face was-well, it was ugly. His thin pale skin was pulled tight over his skull. His teeth were sharpened like fangs. His eyes glowed bright red like his wolves'-and they fixed on Jason with absolute hatred. That's when it all clicked. Lycaon-King of the mutts.

"Ecce," he said, "filli Romani."

"Speak English, wolf man!" Hedge bellowed.

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

Leo had to grab Hedge's arms to keep him from hurling his body towards the King. His hands swung and flailed as he shouted, "Let me at him, Valdez!" over and over.

"So it's true," Lycaon mused, ignoring the satyr's antics. "A child of Aphrodite. A son of Hephaestus. A daughter of Hecate. A faun. And a child of Rome, of Lord Jupiter, no less. All together, without killing each other. How interesting."