The Male Hunter | Olympus' Traitor #1

Chapter 43: Target Acquired

Percy drifted awake. to the sound of movement in the camp and light filtering into the rent. As his brain woke up, he realized that his arm was thrown over the body of someone who was snuggling into him. At first Percy was confused, but then he remembered the events of the night before. He was married to Thalia! Slowly disentangling himself from his wife, Percy moved to the side a bit and gazed at the beautiful woman laying next to him. Her black hair was slightly disheveled and draped over part of her face,the blue streak covering her eye. The look on her face was content, as if she didn't have a care in the world. "Morning," Percy said softly as Thalia's eyes flickered open.

Thalia looked confused for a moment, but then a smile came across her face. "Morning," she replied before leaning over and giving him a peck on the lips.

Unfortunately the moment unfortunately couldn't last as Hannah suddenly burst into the tent. "Hey guys, Lady Artemis wants. . . to. . . see. . . you. . ." she said, trailing off as she saw the position that the couple was in. "Sorry!" she squeaked, face blushing an intense red. "I'll, just, um, go." Hannah then turned and practically ran out of the tent.

After a moment of shocked silence where Percy and Thalia just stared at the place Hannah had been standing, they suddenly burst out laughing. "Did you see her face?" Thalia wheezed through her fits of laughter. Not able to speak, Percy simply nodded.

"We should probably see what my mom wants," Percy said once the two had calmed down.

"Ya, I guess," Thalia said reluctantly, she didn't want to leave the warmth of laying in the cot with Percy.

After enjoying the warmth for a second more, the couple finally arose for the day and quickly got dressed. For the first time in a long while, they didn't put on the full Hunter's uniform. They put on the pants and boots, but Percy slipped on a hoodie while Thalia found her old leather jacket. It was a little tighter now, but it still fit just fine. Exiting their shared tent, and getting some looks as they did so, the newlyweds made their way to Artemis's tent. "Enter," a voice called from inside once they had reached the entrance. Pushing the flap aside, they did just that.

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"They went this way," Violet said to the trio behind her as she crouched on the ground, examining some prints that had been left in the mud. The small task force of Hunters - and Nico - had arrived at Justin's abandoned camp the night before, prepared to move out at first light. Gesturing for the others to follow, Violet headed up the trail to find her old camp mates and bring this to an end once and for all.

The trail quickly steepened as it wound its way farther up the mountain range. For hours the group traveled until they stopped some time in the late afternoon. As they were sitting and eating the food that they had brought with them Nico turned to Violet. "Do you think we are catching up?" he asked.

"I think so," Violet said. "There's been a lot of movement on this trail. Not just by the main force, but by smaller groups that I can only assume are patrols as well."

"That's promising," Victoria said. "In my experience patrols represent a form of fear." Nico and Violet looked at her with slightly confused expressions. "In most cases a patrol suggests that whomever is conducting them is trying to protect something," Victoria explained. "Thus, we can conclude that we are likely getting close to the final location of the traitors. Otherwise, why would they try to make sure that nobody can approach unnoticed?"

Nico and Violet just stared at her for a moment before Nico spoke. "Huh, I never thought about it like that," he said.

"Boys," Tracey muttered under her breath with an eyeroll.