𝐎𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒༄ • Jᴀsᴏɴ Gʀᴀᴄᴇ

Chapter 20

"Wolves," Said Piper. "They sound close."

"Exactly what we needed." Muttered Freya, her hand instinctively going to the hilt of her sword. Jason followed her movements as he and Leo sat up. Piper tried, but her legs wobbled beneath her.

"Stay here," Said Leo. "We've got your back."

Piper didn't look happy, but stayed nevertheless.

Just outside the firelight at the entrance of the cave, a pair of red eyes glowed in the dark. 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.

Jason spoke something in latin, and at first, Freya didn't think it would have any impact, but then the alpha wolf curled his lip. 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.

"Dude, I gotta study Latin. " Leo's hammer shook in his hand.

"Yeah no kidding," Agreed Freya "What'd you say, Jason?"

Hedge cursed. "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."

"No way." Said Freya. "You'll die."

"Nah, I'll be alright."

The silhouette of a man was coming through the storm, wading through the wolf pack.

"That's even more reason for us not to leave, Coach." Said Jason.

"We're staying together." Resolved Freya, locking eyes with Jason.

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 Freya couldn't identify. The furs didn't look cured, and from the smell, they weren't very fresh. His frame was lithe and muscular, like a distance runner's. But the most horrible thing was his face. 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.

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

"Speak English, wolf man!" Hedge bellowed.

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

"Maybe he wouldn't have to mind his tongue if you left," Sneered Freya.

The wolf man studied her, then their little group. His nostrils twitched. "So it's true," he mused. "A child of Aphrodite. A son of Hephaestus. A daughter of Poseidon, and a child of Rome, of Lord Jupiter, no less. Two leading a quest, and all together, without killing each other. How interesting. "

"You were told about us?" Jason asked. "By whom?"

The man snarled—perhaps a laugh, perhaps a challenge. "Oh, we've been patrolling for you all across the west, demigod, hoping we'd be the first to find you. The giant king will reward me well when he rises. I am Lycaon, king of the wolves. And my pack is hungry. "