True Blue ✷ Leo Valdez.

16: Jason Has A Sister.

"IS...IS THAT FUCKING WOLVES?" Blaire was the first to speak after the chilling sound of howls rang through the frigid night. She was almost one hundred percent sure it was in fact wolves, but she figured there was no harm in asking.

"Language!" Coach Hedge scolded, though Blaire's foul mouth was the least of their worries. The Sullivan girl shot him an annoyed glare in return, fighting back the urge to do something much more aggressive.

She really didn't like this Satyr.

"Yeah, it sounds like wolves to me," Piper confirmed, as if Blaire and Hedge weren't bickering like children mere feet away. "They seem close."

At that, they all stood, quickly unsheathing their respective weapons. Besides Piper, who winced upon attempting to pull herself up from her seated position.

"Stay there," Jason demanded, though his tone was gentle and brimming with worry. "We'll protect you."

  Maybe it was his choice of words that evidently filled Piper with physical unease, or his savior-ish behavior, either way, Blaire could tell she didn't like this. She narrowed her eyes at the boy, but ultimately decided on sitting back.

Recalling Jason and Piper's previous conversation, the one Blaire had accidentally eavesdropped on, Blaire fought back the urge to spit, look who's not doing anything now, Mclean. Or something along the cruel lines of that.

  She didn't though. Not because she felt like sparing Piper's feelings, but because she'd rather focus on the clan of wolves making their way towards her.

Suddenly, just outside, at the mouth of the cave, a pair of glowing red eyes became visible, illuminated by the light of the fire.

More wolves edged into the firelight—black beasts bigger than Great Danes, with ice and snow caked on their fur. 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.

Blaire blinked as if it would make the monsters disappear suddenly. She really wasn't in the mood to fight.

Before anyone— or anything— was able to make another move, Jason stepped forward. He muttered something in what Blaire assumed to be Latin, his voice stern and unwavering.

Apparently, this seemed to have some sort of effect on the wolves, though Blaire didn't understand how. For, Latin was a dead language.

The alpha wolf curled his top lip up and the fur stood up along his spine. One of his lieutenants tried to advance, but the alpha wolf snapped at his ear. Then all of the wolves backed into the dark, leaving the confused group to glance at each other in question.

"Damn, I gotta study Latin." Leo's hammer shook in his hand as he spoke. "What'd you say, Jason?"

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

The wolves 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 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."

  "Okay," Blaire agreed, though she was the only one who seemed to like his plan.

  "No, Coach, they'll rip you apart," Piper protested.

  "Nah, I'm good."

  Then, Blaire saw the silhouette of a man wading his way through the wolf pack.