Pertemis: A Wolf’s Tale
Chapter 29 Second Leave of The Tale

N/A so I've started to think about a little credits for loyal readers. I mean the ones that usually comment. That's why from now on, I'll dedicate my chapter to a reader that usually comment every Chap I update. This chapter is dedicated too.... meloctoni !!! ???

Percy's Point of View

Percy awakened and found himself inside the infirmary. He tried to sit up, but a tug made him to groan. He started down and saw bandage was wrapped around his torso. That was when everything came flooding back.

He couldn't believe she actually stab him. Sure he knew that she was man hater goddess and all, but he believed thy had come to a point of no killing each other. Guess Artemis is still Artemis. Even if he gave her million years more, it wouldn't change who she was and her nature. It was her root, she was destined to hate males and it happened to be his race.

He was mad, yet disappointed. He knew it was hopeless to even hope staying in the hunt. What's the point of staying when I'd end up dying sooner or later? Percy thought. Their relationship was never expected to be form. He was meant to be non existent to the world. Yet he believed her words.

"I will protect you Perseus! From any harm I promise!"

He recounted her words that day. He was wrong to believe it. She was an Olympian, it was risky to even meet her. They were the ones that wanted him dead. Such a fool to even trust this timer bomb. Percy struggled for awhile and he managed to get to his feet. The wounds ached as he winced.

He had to go. He should've done it long time ago. Just because of that stupid feeling and promise that he kept clinging onto her. Now she'd shown her real face. She stabbed him without even consideration. It was her nature and he couldn't do anything to change it.

He went to the area where the clothes were hung to dry over night. He grabbed some of his clothes and hurried back to the infirmary. Surprisingly there was no one on night duty which allowed him to sneak through the tents without being detected. The least thing he wanted was to have someone reporting to Artemis.

He knew most of his belongings were still in her tent, but considering it wasn't worth risking his opportunity. Percy packed and quietly left the hunt for the second time, or perhaps the last.

It took her two hours of Ananbeth and Thalia begging until she gave up and left the infirmary.

Artemis regretted of what she'd done. Standing by his side watching him hurt because by her own hands ached her even more. She knew she had promised to never let any harm to him and yet she was the one to break that promise.

What would he do when he wakes up. Would he still follow her, believe in her? Would he forgive her?

With all the guilt she couldn't settle, Artemis decided to return to the infirmary and wait until he wakes.

Her foot heavy as she made her way across the sleeping camp. She didn't know how to apologise. She never did it much before. She did once or twice apologising him back at the cave in Delos. Perhaps he might give her a chance, he always had.

But as Artemis set the flap opened, his bed was empty. Yet the warmth still there to tell her he was gone.

Percy stumbled across the wood. He had to get further more, he was still to close to camp.

"I felt someone over there!"

He heard a scream and his heart stopped. They had found out his disappearance and they were tracking him. Percy started sprinting, through bushes and trees but with his wounds and agility, he knew he was no match for the hunter.

He ran for a long time and came to a halt when in front of him was a steep cliff. There was no say he could climb up to the top and turning back would be facing the hunters. He heard there presence was closing in as he panicked. He didn't want to go back anymore. Suddenly, he heard the sound from the bush just few meters from him.

"Psst"

He turned only to see a hand waving at him out of the bush. "Over here!"

Percy still stared at the bush with his feet planted on the ground confusingly.

"Don't just stand there dumbass" the person whispered out loud. "They are coming."

Reluctantly, Percy approached the bush and he was dragged immediately away by the mysterious person.

"Hey dude what the hell" Percy tried to yank his hand off. "Where are you taking me?"

"Talk later" he said. "If you want them to catch you, I can leave you now and you can return to them."

Percy heard and kept his quite. It wasn't that he had trusted the guy, but he had no option. Either the mysterious guy lead him to a trap and kill him, or Artemis would kill him in the future. He decided to give it a shot.

The mysterious man lead him trough a carven under the cliff, through it to the other side. Its entrance was well hidden by bushes and trees. Even if the hunters did follow his scent and track up the where he halted a moment before, they wouldn't know how to get over that cliff. Probably they were still trying to figure out how did Percy managed to make the impossible jump.

They appeared at the clearing at another cliff, probably around Arizona if he remembered right from the map Ar- that goddess showed him.

"That was close" the stranger panted, and gave Percy a grin.

"Who are you?" Percy frowned. "And what's your name?"

"Your race and my name is Lucien by the way"

"Ok great answer dude of course I know you're male" Percy rolled his eyes. "Unless you had surgery and added a penis."

Now Percy and better looking at the man. He was told, about 1.90 with grey hair and golden eyes like Hazel, accept they looked more animal than human. His pale skin matched his hair and that feature like those super attractive model he saw on the magazine Aphrodite's carried around, except his ears were long and pointy like the elves. His dark pants pointed out the simple grey tunic he wore. Under the moonlight, the guy literally glowed.

"It's obvious I'm a male dumbass" The guy sneered. "Remember what you are?"

"Yeh I'm Perseus Phoebe" Percy said.

The mysterious man sighed in frustration as he stepped back. He tensed up as the muscles became more visible under the tunic. He got on four and let out a growl and before Percy could react, the beast he was afraid most was now in front of him.

Then the memory hit. That day he had encountered a kind of his race, that werewolf that injured him. It was unmistakable with that grey fur, same features of the werewolf and those golden piercing animal eyes. That lethal claws and fangs. That was the werewolf he fought at the cliff that day.

Percy stepped back and brought out Riptide. The werewolf widened its eyes and shrunk back into the human or partially human again.

"Whoa whoa no need to be so worked up dude" he raised his hands in defeated. "H-how could you do that?" Percy stuttered, shocked from what he had just saw. "You mean transforming into a wolf?" He said. "That's normal for our people." "You say people" Percy grimaced. "You mean there are more of us?" "Wait your mother didn't tell you?" He asked back in surprise.

"All I know is that I'm a werewolf"

"And an Alpha" The guy added. "To your question, we're not all extinct. Most of us are still in Alaska and I'm the ambassador of the werewolf or actually a scout to bring the remaining ones out in the word back to our people."

Percy was dumb struck. All those year he thought his kind had extinct, the gods had wiped them out from the Earth surface. Now he just found out that there was still a bunch of his kind dwelling in the north. "They did wipe us out" Lucien spoke. "Many of us fled in the war and moved up north to the place they couldn't reach us, or just simply they were afraid to get there."

"So now you found me" Percy tried to break the silence after a while. "What do we do??"

"First of just get far Aqua from here and cover our track first." He suggested. "Then I'll train you"

"Train for what"

"To love yourself of course" Lucien rolled his eyes. "I know what your problem is Perseus"

"You talk about the beast within me" Percy looked at him. "Forget it! I'm not risking to turn into one"

Lucien gave out a sigh as he clenched his fist. "So that's what you learnt when living amongst the Olympians?"

"Isn't it right?" Percy question.

"No it's totally wrong!" Lucien flared as Percy stepped back. "We're the judges Percy, the judges of justice...or at least we were"

Lucien sighed out.

"The beast is say is actually your true form, we are born a wolf, not human looking Percy" Lucien pointed at Percy. "We're called the high race of the Earth, appointed by Chaos herself to maintain the balance of justice. Have you ever wondered why our bites can kill an immortal? That's our gift Perseus, we're also the punishers"

"You said we are high race and yet I simpl-"

"Don't you dare to say the gods are better than us!" Lucien came closer to face him. "We're more ancient, wiser, fairer than those common greedy gods. We sided with them in the Titan war, helped them pushing back the army of Giants and yet they stabbed us in the back"

Lucien spatted the last part bitterly.

"They were afraid that one day we would over thrown them and rule over the world" Lucien told him. "So their King Zeus ordered to hunt down us. It was a massacre but yet hi would they extinct a race that's ten times stronger? Our people are too tired of the world that we didn't bother to fight back. This palace is corrupted Perseus, it's filled with greed. I'm here to bring you home, to the place where you're belonged."

Percy though had believed his tale, yet his heart still heavy to keep looking at the horizon. He was being pulled back by something, an unknown weight in his heart.

He suddenly felt the missing, something didn't settle right. Not about Lucien but himself, like something wasn't there that made him felt uncomfortable.

"Don't tell me you miss those pathetic people" Lucien groaned. "They are nothing but a punch of ignorant, insignificant and greedy people. They want the world for themselves so we've given them. You should hold any heart for it"

"Not all of them are that bad" Percy looked up to him.

"Oh please if you are talking about your little goddess now" Lucien groaned it in frustration. "I'm gonna slam my head to the boulder over there"

"But she protected me from Zeus"

"And look at where she got you" Lucien sneered as he pointed at Percy wounds.

"Look Perseus" Lucian held his shoulder and spoke. "They can't be trusted. Even if there's something between you and her, it's not going to work. Dude think about it! We're werewolf and they are gods, we're supposed to be hating each other. And you have a feeling for a man hating goddess? Oh please, haven't you heard about stories about her? Staying with her never bring you goods Percy"

Percy looked down. He did have a point. Artemis had many stories how she murdered males in cold blood. Even he'd just discovered the rivalry between his people and the gods. It just worsen the fantasy of them being form, leading not to the point of impossible. They weren't meant for each other Percy's mad Artemis. He knew it since the fight, but now after the story of Lucien, Percy was convinced it was just a dream he hoped.

After giving out a sigh, Percy finally spoke to an impatient recruiter.

"So where do we go?"

"And that's how you speak like an Alpha" Lucien grinned in happiness. Percy's Point of View]