The Animal Within

Chapter 20 - Wolf House

The Wolf House, situated in Sonoma Valley, was chaotic.

Two spires of twisted earthen tendrils rose out of the empty reflecting pool in the courtyard. One contained Hera, and the other the rising figure of Porphyrion.

Jason had thought that Enceladus was terrifying, but even within the mass of earth he could tell that Porphyrion would be far worse.

Now, facing Khione and her monsters, he just wanted to find a den somewhere and curl up. He was nearly collapsing to the ground as it was after summoning Zeus' lightning bolt to stop Enceladus. With Thalia turned into a frozen statue, Porphyrion's imminent revival and no weapon, he almost wanted to announce to Gaea that he was giving up.

And Gaea was another issue. He remembered Kronos' glee as he'd told the Greek demigods about the existence of their Roman brethren, how he'd disappeared soon after with Luke in tow. Aphrodite laying out all the details of Ouranos' death had made it even clearer for the demigods. Jason knew that Kronos wasn't to be trusted, not when Gaea was involved.

So, when the Titan turned up at the Wolf House and proceeded to turn half of the earthborn into mud with a wave of his hand, Jason was nothing but suspicious.

Kronos took a look over the rest of the monsters before stepping back and making his way over to Hera's cage where Leo and Piper worked to try to free her.

"Can you crack it open?" Leo demanded. He was making little progress with his saw, despite Tempest's assistance.

Kronos didn't even bother considering Leo's request. "Absolutely not."

"Sat – Kronos," Jason corrected as the omega turned a heavy glare towards him, "you won't help?"

The Titan flicked his gaze over to the other spire where the Giant King was rising. It was rumbling slightly. "No. I mean – I could. But they have to, I'd rather not go against prophecies, especially when they're predicting death."

Jason scowled, for a moment tempted to snap back at him. Kronos couldn't hurt him, not if he didn't want an immediate response from Jupiter.

"He's a coward," Hera spat. "That's why he won't. Too afraid of Gaea."

That explained why Kronos kept looking back at the giant's spire. "You'd be a fool not to be afraid of her," he snapped back at Hera. "I can't free you without her knowing I'm here."

At that, Jason noticed that the Titan was hovering a few feet off the ground and pacing on nothing but air. Smart – keeping off the ground to stop Gaea from being aware of his presence. "How did you even know to come here?"

"Is this really the time to be pointing fingers, Grace?" Kronos snapped.

"I don't know," Jason mused. "But weren't you missing when Hera was captured?"

"Oh, that wasn't him," Hera assured Jason. "That was that snow-bitch."

"Khione?"

"Yes," Kronos said. "I thought you've been over this already?"

"But," Hera said as she eyed Kronos, "that doesn't mean I don't doubt that you had anything to do with it."

Kronos shrugged carelessly. "Believe what you want. It doesn't change anything." He snapped his gaze to the other spire a second before it cracked with a sound like thunder, the earth exploding out and showering over them. Kronos shook the shards off, raising a hand and forming his scythe.

The giant Porphyrion rose to his full height, forty-feet tall.

Before the giant, Kronos looked downright runty. "This is why I'm here," Kronos murmured, moving around the pool to the side.

Jason lifted his wooden plank. "Right," he said, not sounding particularly heroic.

Porphyrion didn't seem particularly concerned with Jason, instead keeping his gaze on the Titan circling around. "Kronos," he rumbled, he voice echoing around the Wolf House. On the edges of the courtyard, the monsters regrouped. Leo's hands were trembling as he tried to saw through Hera's cage and Piper's voice shook. "There you are, little Titan." The giant rather pointedly sniffed the air, a rumbling chuckle breaking through a moment later. "Oh, I'd heard rumours. But to smell the evidence... I'd thought it was too good to be true. Kronos – an omega?"

Khione giggled from her place amongst the storm spirits.

Porphyrion was entirely focused on the omega now, completely ignoring Jason. The demigod took the opportunity given to him when Kronos glanced over. He took a running leap, using the winds to boost his jump, and snatched a sword from the giant's braided hair. Jason yelled as he plunged the blade into the giant's ear.

The Giant King roared, staggering as he swatted at the demigod, but Jason had already retreated, his new sword in hand.

"You." Porphyrion glowered down at Jason. "Who are you?"

"Jason Grace," Jason said, "son of Jupiter."

Kronos darted forward, his movements nothing but a blur as he slashed straight through the giant's Achilles tendon before Porphyrion could respond or Jason could say any more.

The giant roared, twisting sharply to bat Kronos away. The Titan toppled a pillar and dug a trench into the courtyard beyond. Before he could stagger to his feet, the giant had pinned him down with a scaly foot. The earth started creeping up Kronos' feet.

"Hey!" Jason yelled, but Porphyrion was completely preoccupied by the omega he had pinned to the ground.

In the empty pool, the earthen spire around Hera crumbled. The goddess rose to her feet, fixing her gaze on the Giant King. Porphyrion took one look at her before scowling. He eyed Kronos, then Jason, and then stepped back and slammed his spear into the earth, disappearing down a hole that opened up.

Kronos brushed the earth off him, staggering to his feet. He held a hand out to summon his scythe back to him. "I had that," he snapped at Hera.

The goddess narrowed her eyes at him. "What was that?"

"I had him right where I wanted him," Kronos grumbled.

"Looks more like he had you where he wanted," Hera mused.

Kronos bared his teeth at her. "It's no wonder Zeus wanted you left there. Would be easier on all of us."

Hera ignored him, instead turning her gaze towards the monsters still around the courtyard. "Cover your eyes," she warned the demigods, and then there was a brilliant light and Jason was burning.

"Hera!" He heard Kronos roaring, before the light turned into darkness and he was falling.