the great wave | percy jackson

𝑥𝑖𝑥 - piper

"Wolves," Piper said with a shiver, perhaps a bit obviously. "They sound close."

Following Ash's lead, Jason rose and summoned his sword. Leo and Coach Hedge got to their feet too, and Piper tried, but black spots immediately began to dance before her eyes.

"Stay there," Jason told her. "We'll protect you."

She grit her teeth, hating feeling helpless. She didn't want anyone to protect her. First the stupid ankle, now the stupid hypothermia, and of course somehow Ash was still going despite probably being worse off. She wanted to prove she could do that too, be on her feet with her dagger in her hand.

Then she spotted a pair of red eyes glowing in the dark, just outside the entrance of the cave, and thought Okay. Maybe a little protection is fine.

Black beasts bigger than Great Danes edged into the firelight, fur caked with ice and snow. Their canine fangs gleamed, crimson eyes disturbingly intelligent. The wolf in front was almost as tall as a horse, mouth stained in blood as if he'd just made a fresh kill. Piper pulled Katoptris out of its sheath, and then Jason randomly spoke in Latin as he tended to do sometimes.

Piper didn't think a dead language would have much effect on wild animals, but the alpha wolf curled his lip, fur standing up along his spine. One of his lieutenants tried to advance, but the alpha snapped at its ear. Then all of them backed into the dark.

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

"Hail, king of wolves," Ash murmured, but Hedge cursed over her. "Whatever it was, it wasn't enough. Look."

The dogs were coming back, but the alpha wolf wasn't with them. They didn't attack, they waited–at least a dozen now in a rough semicircle, effectively blocking the cave exit.

The coach hefted his club. "Here's the plan. I'll kill them all, and you guys escape."

"Absolutely not," Ash said at the same time Piper spoke: "Coach, they'll rip you apart."

"Nah, I'm good."

Then Piper saw the silhouette of a man coming through the storm, wading through the pack. "Stick together," Jason said, and Piper thought that was a good idea until he stepped closer to Ash, not-so-subtly putting a foot in front of hers. "They respect a pack. And Hedge, no crazy stuff. We're not leaving you or anyone else behind."

Piper wasn't sure whether the lump in her throat was from the protectiveness he was exhibiting or the fact that she was the weak link in their "pack" right now. No doubt the wolves could smell her fear.

Before them, the beasts parted, and a man stepped into the firelight. His hair was greasy and ragged, topped with a crown of what looked like finger bones. His robes were tattered fur of various creatures, uncured, and very unfresh. His frame was lithe and muscular, like a cross-country runner's, but the most horrible thing was his face. His thin pale skin was pulled tight over his skull, teeth sharp like fangs, glowing red eyes fixed on Jason with absolute hatred.

"Ecce," he spoke, voice rough, "filli Romani."

"Speak English, wolf man!" Hedge barked.

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

Piper barely registered the use of the Roman term, mind racing as she tried desperately to remember any myths about wolf dudes as the wolf dude in question studied their little group, nostrils twitching.

"So it's true," he mused. "A child of Aphrodite. A son of Hephaestus. The champion of the Underworld, and a child of Rome, of Lord Jupiter, no less. All together, without killing each other. How interesting."