Annabeth's POV

The tallest monster stepped forwards, in front of his minions. He smiled at Grover and I, baring his sharp, yellow canines. "Well, boys, look what we have here!"

The other monsters behind him snickered and made barking noises of laughter. The leader smirked. "What do you propose we do with these mortals?"

"Eat them!" One barked. "Rip out their guts!" Suggested another. "Pit them against each other in a mythological cage match!" Shouted a third. The other monsters stared at the third out of the corners of their eyes, as if wondering what he was thinking.

The lead monster shifted his vision from his wayward lackey back to Grover and I.

"Anyways... I vote we eat the one with the tacky beanie," he started, ignoring Grover's protest of "hey!" before his eyes shifted over to me as if he was a tiger and I his prey. "And I have a better idea of what to do with the girl." He smirked at the end, making my blood run cold as his eyes roamed my figure.

Disgusted, I forced myself not to take a step away from him as I said, "We are not pathetic mortals, beast."

He raised an eyebrow as he stared at me with curiosity. "No? Then what are you? Not that it will matter in the end, but at least this way we can say we've had the pleasure of consuming... whatever that is." He pointed to Grover, sneering.

Ignoring Grover as he complained under his breath, I said bravely, "My friend is a satyr. I myself am a daughter of Athena."

The monsters howled with glee as the leader threw his head back and laughed. "A daughter of Athena? Well this will certainly be a treat! My boys haven't gotten a chance to have one of those."

I tried to hide the disgusted shudder that his words caused. "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we will be leaving as soon as we get what we have come for."

"And that is?"

I took a deep breath, hoping that I was right. "Percy Jackson."

The leader frowned, raising a single eyebrow. "What makes you think that he's here?"

"You're Lycaon, the werewolf king," I boldly stated.

He nodded, smirking. "Guilty as charged."

"Therefore, Percy Jackson should be here with you. Your pack had infected him and he was coming to join you. Now, where is he?" I demanded.

Lycaon smirked at me. "Well, this is an interesting development. I know of Percy Jackson; everyone in the mythological world has. To have such a valuable asset in my pack would certainly make all the difference in battles..."

He snapped his fingers, still smirking at Grover and I, as two werewolf monsters stalked towards us and bound our hands behind our backs. I tried to fight against them, but their inhuman strength easily overpowered me.

"Unfortunately for everyone, Percy Jackson isn't here," Lycaon announced. I stared at him. That had to be a lie, but why would he lie about that? I didn't see Percy in this room of hideous monsters; where else would he be?

Lycaon continued, saying, "Fortunately for me, I have something that could bring him here." He smiled wolfishly. "Unfortunately for you, you're the bait."

Percy's POV

"I'm willing to do anything for her," I murmured, "but I don't have time."

I left Rachel's family's estate soon after. She left me and I rested for a few hours before continuing on with my journey. The only piece of information that I had to go on about Lycaon and his pack was the fact that they were heading towards California. I had heard that they had tried to invade the Wolf House at the very beginning of the Second Giant War. Hopefully I would be able to find them nearby.

I headed out at around two in the afternoon, making my way west. By the time I reached Las Vegas, Nevada, the sun had already begun to set. Harboring the same ideas from that night in Kansas, knowing that if I continued after dark, the wolf would be stronger, I turned back into a human and walked into the city.

The stereotypical bright Las Vegas lights flashed blindingly above me as I made my way down the single street. Cars whizzed by, the wind blowing my hair in every direction even more than it already was. My hands were stuffed into the pockets of my jeans and my orange camp shirt rumpled around my belt. People walking out of hotels and bars made loud shouts, disrupting the night that had so much potential to be peaceful.

I turned into the doorway of a hotel whose sign read 'Lotus Hotel and Casino'. The man in the doorway greeted me, saying "Good evening, sir! We've reserved a room for you."

I walked passed him without saying anything or even glancing in his direction. From behind me, he called, "Have a nice stay!"

Inside the hotel, at the counter, a bellhop stood with a check-in lady. They smiled at me with sinister smiles, saying cheerfully, "Here is your hotel card, sir! Good for anything in the hotel or casino."

I took the card without looking at either of them. Walking to the abandoned elevator, I stepped in and let it shoot me up a few floors to my room.

Now, at this point you're probably wondering if I'm an idiot. No, I can assure you that at this moment, I'm not. With these knew abilities of mine that came with being a werewolf, I was perfectly in tune with nature and especially the moon. No matter where I was, I would be able to tell when the moon was setting outside and no amount of magic could subdue that. This ability came from a curse, and even the Lotus eaters knew not to mess with a curse.

I would be able to leave in the morning without losing any more time. I was confident in that fact and my knowledge.

My room was on the top floor. It wasn't a huge room, smaller than the one I had when I went to the Lotus Hotel with Annabeth and Grover so many years ago. That was our first quest...
We were so young and inexperienced. And look at me now, a danger to everyone. Did that eleven year old even have a thought that maybe someday, in the not so far future, that he would have to leave camp to save everyone's lives? Did he think that maybe he would be a monster that threatened everyone?

No, not once. Oh, how the times have changed. What I wouldn't give to go back to those days where the worst thing I could think of was that my mom would get stuck with Uncle Hades. He might have seemed like the worst possible solution at the time, but now, I would gladly leave my (living) mother with him if it would keep her safe.

My mother... Gods, does she know about me? I looked at the clock sitting on the dresser next to my king-sized bed. It read nine o'clock at night.

What time would that be in New York? I did basic math in my head quickly. It would be midnight there. Should I call her? Did she already know about me? I didn't want to worry her, but what if I was worrying her more by calling her?

All I knew for certain was one thing: I wouldn't have this opportunity for a long time.

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the phone from the cradle and dialed my mom's number. It rang a few times, and I sighed in relief. She was asleep, I wouldn't have to wake her up.

The dial tone beeped, telling me to leave my message. I started, saying in a falsely brave voice, "Hey, Mom. It's, uh, it's me, Percy." I paused and was about to continue when someone spoke back to me.

"Percy?"

My breath caught in my throat. "Mom?"

Notes