Percy Jackson protector of the hunt

Chapter 3

Percy POV

I woke up the next morning feeling like a million bucks. I moved slightly until I felt something beside me. I looked down and saw Jenna curled into a ball with a blanket that had fallen below her waist. I slowly shifted being sure to not to wake her up. I turned around and pulled the blanket up before going to the extinguished fire and piled more wood onto the stack. I thought about it quickly and soon it was ablaze with a steady flame. Confident that it wouldn't go out I quickly made lots of food appear, then went around to each tent and knocked my front paw against the support pole to wake up each girl. Some walked out with a sleepy expression till they saw the food, then they looked at me with a look of shock. They sat down and gorged on the food till they were stuffed. I walked toward Jenna gently nudging her on the shoulder to wake her up. She looked up groggily, and jumped a little bit until she realized it was me. I smiled and said, "Jenna there is food ready, just tell me what you want." She looked at me and said. "Waffles would be great." I nodded my wolfish head and suddenly there appeared waffles on the table in an empty spot near the end of the table. I walked over and sat down and looked at the girls. "Do you all like it?" the all nodded and looked at me. "Thank you." Said Thalia. "This is one of the best meals we have had in a long time." The other girls nodded their assent. "Your welcome glad I could do something to help you girls out." I stood up and walked out into the forest. I heard Thalia get up and walk away from the table. I walked further into the forest trying to get away for just a second. When I had gone a mile and knew that no one was around, I changed back into my human form. I stretched every muscle loving how it felt to be back in my normal body. I smiled and ran my hand through my black hair noticing that my sense seemed to have increased a little bit more since last time I was in my normal form. I smiled loving the feeling of the cool air on my skin. I sat down on the cool ground trying to stretch my legs a little bit I heard a snap from the woods close to the camp. I instantly was back in my wolf form waiting for another clue as to what was coming. I heard a rustling of the leaves above me. I looked up and saw Thalia sitting in the tree above me with a knife in hand. I called up, "Thalia may I ask why you are sitting in the tree above me?" She looked down and said, "'Alpha' if that is your real name I need to know who you are. I mean who are you really? I know you say that you are an immortal werewolf and we can all tell that that is true, but I want to know who you are as a person. You remind me so much of an old friend and I need to know if I'm right." I looked at her and said, "Thalia if you would please come down from there I have something that you might want to see." She looked at me skeptically, but decided to climb down the tree. When she was at ground level I noticed that the knife was still in her hand. "Please sit down." I said while indicating a log a couple steps away she nodded and sat without taking her eyes off of me. I said, "Thalia before I show you I must ask. What did you think about Percy Jackson before he disappeared from camp? Do you believe that he did all of those thing that he was accused of?" She looked at me with anger in her eyes that I noticed also had tears in them. "Who do you think you are? Percy Jackson was the greatest hero alive, and no I don't believe those lies for one minute. I know that he would never be a thief. I also know that he would never betray Olympus his fatal flaw was loyalty after all." She said with so much anger and frustration I was a bit confused. "If you don't believe those lies, then why all the anger?" She looked at me and said, "Because now we are supposed to be hunting him. He has a kill on sight order on him. No questions asked." I stumbled back a little bit, then quietly asked, "Would you kill him on sight?" She shook her head and was about to retort back when I changed back into my normal self. The look in her eyes was almost as if she wanted to kill me or hug me. Luckily she did the latter after a moment of hesitation. When she reached out I was there in a second holding her as she cried her eyes out into my shoulder. I held her and patted her back as she started to sob. "It's ok." I whispered in her ear, over and over. "I ain't going nowhere." She looked up and then what she did next surprised me a little bit. She hit me in the chest and yelled, "You stupid seaweed brain if Artemis knew who you were she would kill you or worse." I smiled and actually a laugh escaped my lips. Soon I was rolling on the floor laughing. Thalia looked like she was going to kill me for being so disrespectful. I looked at her face and then went rolling into a new fit of laughter. "Who do you think offered for me to come here?" I said in between gasps. The look on her face was priceless. Part shock and part anger that I was still laughing. She stumbled back as if she had been stabbed and fell on her butt when she reached the log. "The girls are going to go berserk when they realize who you are." I looked at her. "What do you mean?" I asked with a little bit of fear in my voice. "Percy, do you realize that you are the only male to stay in our camp? Do you realize that if they figured out it was you they would be excited?" I looked at her kind of shocked. "What do you mean excited?" She sighed, "Listen Percy we don't hate all men. There are a few that we would accept, it would take a while before they were comfortable with them but they would accept them. And you Percy are one of those. Artemis has told all of us how much she respects you, and that is impressive for Artemis to admit that about anyone let alone a male. When the girls realize that it was you who has become our protector, then not only will they accept you, but you would basically become one of our family." I looked at her shocked. "Are you serious?" She nodded her head and said, "As a heart attack. Beside they have seen how you treat them. They have seen how you treat Jenna. She is the youngest in the group and she has a pure heart. She is very good at reading people, and to have earned her trust so quickly is no small thing. The others will trust you." I looked at her and gave her a mischievous smile. "Then what do you say we go and give them a surprise that'll blow them away." I could tell that she was following my train of thought. This would be great. I transformed back into my wolf form and said. "Climb on up. We should probably be getting back to camp here soon." She smiled and climbed on top of me, while wrapping her arms around my neck so she wouldn't fall off. I took off running quickly covering the distance between us and the camp. When we reached the camp Thalia slid of my back and hit the floor with her feet. She seemed a bit wobbly so I caught her in a paw and said, "Hey now we can't have you fainting before the surprise." She smiled and said, "Yeah I know 'Alpha'" with a quick wink she was headed back to her tent to pack up her stuff. I nodded today would be a day of travel. We had already stayed in one place for to long. I went and laid down beside the fire warming my fur. After what only seemed like a couple of minutes camp was broken down, and everyone was ready to move. Thalia came over and tapped my shoulder. "Alpha we are ready to move." I nodded and climbed to my feet. Artemis stood in front of the girls and said, "Hunters move out." Soon they started walking at a brisk pace. I kept up and soon found myself next to Artemis. "So," she said, "Thalia knows about you." It was less of a question and more of a statement, but I nodded my head anyway. "Yes ma'am. I felt it was the right time." She smiled and continued. "I don't disapprove of your choice of timing." She looked at me and gasped. I looked at her concerned until I realized she was looking at my shoulder. "Is there something wrong Artemis?" I asked. She shook her head and said, "Alpha did you except Hestia's offer?" I slowly nodded not quit understanding why she changed subject so quickly. "I thought so. Your discolored patch on your shoulder not only has the Trident, and the Bow, but now both appear to be engulfed in flames." I was about to question her sanity, when she showed me a reflection in her silver bow. She was right. I looked at her and said, "What do you think it means?" She smiled and said, "Boy you are a seaweed brain aren't you. I shows who has blessed you in a roundabout way." I am sure I would have turned red in the face, had I not been a wolf. I thought about it, but then said, "Isn't that dangerous though? To have everyone know what powers I have." She looked thoughtful, and after a while said, "I guess it's up to you." I nodded my head. And turned around noticing that one of the girls was falling behind a little bit. Her breathing was a little labored, and she started to slow down. I ran behind her and scooped her up to where she was sitting on my shoulders, like a horse. I quickly caught up with Artemis and said to the girl on my back. "Go ahead and rest a little bit sweat heart I won't let you fall." With her falling asleep on my back I felt a rope appear around me and tie onto the girls hands and legs keeping her in place, but not tight enough to hurt the girl. I looked at Artemis and she smiled at me nodding. We continued on while the girl slept on my back.


That night once the girls had finished eating and were sitting around the camp fire talking, I decided to tell them a story. "So girls would you like to hear a story?" I asked while lying on the ground. They all nodded their heads. I had asked Artemis earlier in the night if I could do what I was about to, after she gave her assent I found out a way to do it with the least amount of damage done to myself. "This story is completely true, but it also has a surprise ending." The girls quickly got comfortable as I made the campfire dim down. I also created a secondary flame that floated above the campfire. This secondary flame will illustrate the story as I speak. "As all good stories do, this story starts like so. One day there was a boy. . ." Over the next hour I told them about my final weeks at camp, to the days following my expulsion. The girls faces started out cold, but soon turned to pity, then anger as they realized that the gods were hunting me. I looked over at Thalia and saw that she wore a similar expression, but her expression also showed one of knowing as she looked at me. As I came close to the end of my story about how I had been not been seen since the wolf attack, except for by a select few, one of the girls asked, "Have you seen him Alpha?" I nodded slightly, and said. "Yes I have, however let me finish the story before I tell you." The girls all nodded and continued to focus on the flames above. Right before the story ended I changed back and used a flame to hide my face from the girls. I pulled out Riptide, uncapped it and set it on my knees. "Now as to where I have seen Percy Jackson. You see it isn't that simple, the last I heard he is a protector. A guardian you could say, for a group of amazing people." The girls looked at me, and realized I wasn't a wolf anymore. They tried to see around my flame, trying to get a look at my face. I heard Jenna ask, "Alpha where is he?" I smiled that girl knew that I wouldn't hurt her, and that id do anything she wanted. Before the girls could react I let the flame disappear from around my face, and slowly looked up. "I am here sweet heart." To say they were shocked was an understatement. Some looked like they were about to shoot me, while others looked like they were going to hug me. I stood up, but before I could Jenna looked at me. She came up and gave me a hug. I was a little shocked, but what she said shocked me more. "Brother, you shouldn't have had to go through that alone." With that the rest of the girls suddenly surged forward and I was swallowed in a group hug. "Brother" was the main thing being said, but there were some other things being said. Things like, "I'm going to kill those campers." To things like, "Are they stupid." I was beyond shocked. They kept hugging me till a silver flash lit up the campsite. The girls quickly pulled away, trying to separate themselves before Artemis saw them. She had a look of anger on her face, but what I smelled was something different entirely. I could smell her joy. "Who started the hug with this male?" she said winking at me. Jenna looked up and stepped forward. "I did my lady." Artemis' look softened a little bit, but I could tell that she was only playing. Artemis reached down and grabbed her hand, while pulling her toward me. She fought for a second until she saw me wink at her, but what Artemis did shocked me more than anything else had that night. She kissed my cheek. The girls must have been shocked to, because it wasn't until Artemis spoke that they snapped out of their confusion. "I can't believe you didn't wait for me to join you." Artemis said, finally letting the smile show on her face. The girls swarmed me again, but this time Artemis was the closest one to me. I had a family again, and I knew that I would do everything in my power to protect them. After a couple of minutes the girls all extricated themselves from the hug and sat back down, however I noticed that Artemis sat the closest to me. I smiled and said, "Well girls that was nice." They all smiled. I did as well. "Well I think that is enough for story time for now. I think I am going to go for a run." The girls smiled and yawned as they all headed to their tents. Artemis stood up gave me another hug and whispered, "Be careful." I nodded and changed into my wolf form planning to get in a good run. I smiled and took off into the forest.

Artemis POV

I smiled as I watched Percy take off into the forest. I couldn't help but get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever I was around him. He was such a nice guy, with an amazing smile, and such nice soft fur that I just loved to run my hands through. Whoa were did those thoughts come from. I couldn't think those thoughts could I? I walked back to my tent shaking my head to try and clear it. When I got into my tent I sat on my bed for a second before an Iris Message appeared. I looked up straight into the eyes of Zeus. "Hello Father. What can I do for you?" "You need to go to camp. There is a new war brewing, and your hunters need to get to safety at the camp." I nodded and said. "Yes Father." I swiped through the message, and was about to sit down and try to think of a way to tell the girls, when I suddenly thought about Percy. Oh no this isn't going to be good, but then I thought about the girls again and I almost groaned. This was going to be one of the worst visits that the camp will ever have. I laid down trying to get some sleep before the morning. The few times I did fall asleep it was plagued by thoughts of Percy destroying camp half-blood. I groaned and resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't get to sleep. I walked out of my tent to find that Percy had returned from his run, and was lying by the fire. He had his eyes closed, so I thought he was asleep, but as soon as I set my foot down, his head snapped up, and he looked directly at me. When he realized it was me he laid his head back down. I walked up to him and asked. "Percy do you mind if I sit here with you?" He smiled and said. "No I don't mind have a seat. If you want you can lean against me. I don't mind." I smiled and slowly lowered myself into a sitting position with my back resting against him. He radiated heat, pushing off the night chill. "What's wrong?" He asked without any preamble. I sighed and looked him in his eyes. They held so much love, that I was shocked. "Why do you ask? Who says there is anything wrong?" He smiled a toothy grin and said, "I ask because I am supposed to protect the hunt, and technically you are a part of the hunt. Also because I care. I am here for every one of the hunters. And I know there is something wrong, because you smell of worry." I looked at him shocked. He really was the perfect protector. I knew of no other male that would stay up late at night to listen to someone complain and I had never known anyone who cared so much about my problems. "Ok I'll tell you, but please don't be mad, or hate me." He whispered. "I could never hate you." That kind of shocked me. I cleared my throat. "Well you see, there is another war coming apparently, and Zeus has told me to take the hunters to camp, and I was worried about how you would react. I know you hate that place, and I really didn't want to tell you, but you need to know. I am not asking you to go with them, especially since both the camp and gods have threatened to kill you should you ever return." He closed his eyes as if he was deep in thought. After several minutes had passed with no response, I was about to get up and walk back to my tent, but his tail wrapped around my leg. "No stay. I enjoy your company, and as for the deal with camp. You need not worry yourself. I may hate the camp, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't still die for them. They are my family as much as the hunters. Also I am going to go to camp, because I think the camp needs to know what would happen if they mess with them." I looked at him shocked. He had just asked me to stay, as well as said that he would be going back. This man here was the perfect example of a selfless hero . . . and friend. After a couple more hours of talking about nothing in particular my eyes finally started getting heavy. I couldn't believe that I had worried about anything. I should have known that Percy would never hurt the campers. I got up to go back to my tent wishing him good night. When I laid down in my bed I realized I couldn't sleep. I tried everything I could to try to get a little sleep, but nothing worked. I walked back out of my tent in disgust, and headed back to where Percy was laying on the ground. I laid down beside him, hoping that with him around I could relax a little. However I did more than that. I fell asleep, but before I was completely out I felt him curl around me like a protective dog would. I hoped this war wouldn't take too long. With that last thought I fell into a deep sleep.