Pertemis: A Wolf’s Tale

Chapter 19 Hunting Tale

Artemis’s point of view

Two weeks already passed and there was still no new of Percy. She had chased him across California through every corner and forest until she finally lost his track at Utah. The only thing she was concerned was if he was in the trauma and uncontrolled stage that his werewolf would tear the entire western united states to pieces. Not only that but now the Olympians were chasing him and with Perseus being on a rampage would draw attentions.

Artemis devoured the meat as her appetite seemed to disappear any moment. She missed his cook, the magnificent taste that always made her head exploded with fireworks. Artemis often found herself standing in his tent in the morning the past 2 weeks, maybe she had formed a habit of waking him, or she was waiting, hoping that he would be soundlessly asleep on his bed. Neither did occur.

"Milady, is there any new about Perseus?" Annabeth suddenly asked.

Artemis looked up and shook her head with a sigh following. She was concerned and perhaps irritated sometimes with Annabeth being too close to Perseus, but having her to be considered his only friend in the camp made her pleased a little. If it wasn't for Annabeth, things would've gotten worse if she didn't report the prank to her.

"He's probably too scared to return" Thalia scoffed. "Coward and hopeless male" All content is property © NôvelDrama.Org.

Artemis was about to speak to her when the young hunters snapped. "You have caused this mess Thals! things were fine until you chased him away. Now we can't even have a decent meal"

"So now you guys blame this on me" Thalia slammed her palms on the table that rattled the plates. "Don't ever forget your past with males girls! And what does things fine before huh? His arrival just messed up everyth-"

A sound of flesh against flesh occurred through the pavilion as everyone gasped in shock at the sight. Annabeth stood there trying to control her breathing while Thalia was holding her cheek with five red weal marks of fingers on it. The hall turned cold as the sky darkened.

"Annabeth what the hell!?" Phoebe yelled as she lunged at her, other hunters clashed in and pushed her back, leaving Annabeth remained intact. Meanwhile, Thalia just stood there still shocked from the slap from someone she considered as her sister.

The pavilion exploded into a fight with young hunters protecting Annabeth while the others wanted justice for Thalia. The food was thrown over the place, there were yelling and cursing and Artemis, who was completely stunned by what was in front of her. Never in her life since she established the hunt had experienced this antagonism and conflict. What brought Artemis a little hope where Annabeth's side was supporting Perseus and waiting for his return while the opposition kept trying to grab at Annabeth and yelling insult and their vows. That was until Zoe take action.

"Quite!"

Her palms hit the table and the crowd silent.

"Are ye not see the Lady presence?" She glared around with intimidation. "At least act like civilised people."

"Girls," Artemis looked around with exhausted gaze. "This is not just about Perseus, but also the safety of the immortals as well. You sure know that werewolf' bite can end our life right."

"Then let the Olympian chase him down and execute him." Phoebe huffed. "It's not our concern anymore. We have no more responsibility for him."

"What are you talking about?" Amara, a hunter who had been in the Hunt for nearly ten years snarled. "Have you ever felt appreciated with the chores and meals he provides us? What did he do wrong

anyway? By far he's been the most decent male I have seen in my life."

"And I have promised my mother to take care of him, Phoebe," Artemis said from her seat, all heads turned to her. "Even when you guys have no responsibility with him, it's still mine."

"But we can't just let you find him alone," Phoebe said.

"That's why I'm asking for your aid now."

The hunters behind Thalia started to shift, no apparent enthusiasm on their faces. She knew the task was not easy. Hunting werewolf without confronting it ever before, even Artemis was inexperienced

"Cowards" Annabeth muttered and picked up her bow. "Who's coming with me? I'm finding him."

Some hunters started to move after HER as the others made way for them, Zoe looked at them,

"Outrageous!" She yelled. "You guys are disrespecting the lady."

"Let them go, Zoe," Artemis stopped her. "They ha-"

Suddenly, thunder rumbled across the sky like it wanted to rip it in half. Zoe turned to Artemis to inform her. Her blood turned nervous, the least thing she wanted was being summoned by the Olympians.

"I'll be back," Artemis stood up and looked around. "Meanwhile, Zoe will take charge."

"Milady, what about Annabeth and some others?" Thalia spoke, but Artemis just gave her a sigh and vanished into thin air.

She walked through the palace of gods without even looking at her surrounding. But somehow she noticed the atmosphere around her. It wasn't boisterous like normal, even the wind had stopped

blowing and the doves of Aphrodite seemed to absent in the gardens. Something must have gone wrong.

The steps to the throne room were empty with only the marble stone reflected her face. The golden doors rose to her vision as the highest steps and they gleamed in the sunlight, but she knew, behind it was somehow worse than the doors of death.

The metal doors creaked open, it sounds vibrated throughout the vast hall. All heads turned to her as the goddess strolled down across the room. She resembled on her throne, only then she noticed the absence of her brother, Apollo.

"Father you summoned me" she gave him an acknowledgement nod.

"Yes," he said, though his face was grim and a bit nervous. "We have got some tracks about the werewolf after three months of losing it."

Her blood ran cold, she could feel the coldness of her sweat against her cheek. No way they could find him that easily. Hestia and she had cast a glamour on him, he would just appear as a mortal to anyone. Even though he escaped in California, there was no way he could travel across the entire North America to reveal his track. She glanced around the room nervously. What if they tortured him, she couldn't bear the sight of him being hurt, or even worse, they had killed him. Then where was Apollo, did Perseus reveal about their relationship and now Artemis was actually inside a trap and was waiting to be accused and executed. Her knees started to shook nervously, even when she tried to control it.

"So...have you caught it?" She said, out of blankness in her mind. She was expecting Zeus to bellow at her of how could she still acting when her crime already revealed. But instead, her father gave out a sigh and shook his head.

"There was a report," Zeus said. "That the werewolf has made its moves or perhaps vengeance."

Artemis grimaced, her minds swirled like cob-web, trying to compromise his words.

"Bring in the victims." Zeus demanded and the doors flung open.

Apollo walked in and behind him was three stretchers followed, being carried by some Olympian warriors. Her brother walked through the hall, his expression was intimidating and the aura around him seemed dull but hotter than usual. He stopped in the middle of the throne room, his eyes suddenly gazed to her that Artemis suddenly felt danger circled around the goddess. It was cold, hatred and madness that was radiated from that gaze, a gaze even Artemis had to be afraid of from the brother she used to bully a lot.

"Father." He bowed.

"Show them Apollo," Zeus ordered and closed his eyes.

Apollo walked to the first stretcher, looking down at the person under the white blanket as he pulled it down. Artemis knew his kind, dwell in the centre of America and took a form like a serpent. They were minor, some occupied a forest, cave or section of dessert. His serpent-like skin gleamed with the colour of bronze and gold that his frail body laid breathing, hopeless and weak breath. A metal smell of magic hit against her nose as Artemis frown of why her brother putting a glamour on the patient. Until then, the god of healing flicked his finger and everything turned clear.

A rotten meat smell emerged the room, like rotten egg and vomit that most of the gods turned their face away, even Hermes puked out right there. Artemis dared take a look at the victim and found the source of that smell. Right at his forearm, an infected wound was still spreading across his scaly skin. She found some deep making within the rotting and still leaking blood flesh and she realised it was a bite mark. The poison of the attacker had carved deep into his skin, dissolved the layer of flesh and until the bone. The blood kept pouring out onto the stretcher as she found a strange pale yellow liquid was still eating and corroding his bone.

Apollo revealed the other two and the wound was pretty much the same condition but in a different location on the victim's body. She recognised on of them, a dessert god whom she encountered a few months ago on her hunt in Arizona. He had practically begged her for his life and Artemis had let him go. But look like the poor guy couldn't escape the destination the fates had set out for him.

"They are dying, the least I can do now is to numb their body so that they don't have to suffer the pain," Apollo announced.

Everyone across the room either cringed away from the smell or they couldn't bear to gaze the view of the wound. Even Ares who cringed his nose with a frown and concern on his face.

"They were bitten by a werewolf," Zeus told them and everyone gasped.

Artemis just widened her eyes, her mind raced along with her heart. No way, no way Perseus had done this. He wouldn't attack someone, he couldn't just... Yet she knew, deep down in her denial, she still knew who was responsible for the bites. Then guilt washed over her when Apollo gave her his glare. She had promised to keep Perseus out of trouble and to keep his identity hidden, but even that simple task she couldn't complete herself. She had chased him away, setting him on a rampant that caused all of that. After all, it was her fault that those poor and innocent victims were dying.

"Don't you have any cure for them Apollo?" Hephaestus said, his face already turned green from the sight and the new.

"Don't you remember the myths brother." Apollo reminded him with a snap. "Chaos has created them to keep us in order. Have you ever heard of any cure to their bites? Of course no because there isn't. The victims will eventually vanish, not even Physician cure can resurrect them."

Everyone swallowed, for the first time, even Athena had got a chance to gaze at the destruction of a werewolf. Now they had experienced the dreadful moment, the fatal wound and perhaps their Fates if

running into one of them.

"We must hunt it down immediately," Zeus declared after Apollo dismissed the stretches and the stench was removed from the room. "If this situation keeps going any longer, there won't be any immortal left in the world except that werewolf. It's down to a matter of who being hunted."

"Father, it's still too dangerous to spread the number now. The werewolf would certainly win if in solo." Athena told him and Zeus nodded.

"Which is why we will hunt in a group," Zeus declared. "Every Olympian will work in pairs, each can consist twenty-four Olympian warriors. Olympus will be at your aid when needing more troops. Hunt it down before it hunts us."

The meeting was dismissed. Most gods and goddess had made a team. Athena surprisingly joined with Poseidon; Demeter and Dionysus; Hermes and Hephaestus; Ares and Apollo since he knew Aphrodite wouldn't be bothered to join him. About Artemis, she didn't have that gut to ask her brother to team up with her. She knew one wrong move and Apollo would reveal everything. Lucky Hestia wasn't there at the time, she had made a trip down to the Underworld to visit her brother Hades, which saved Artemis a problem. The least thing she wanted was to have Hestia knowing the truth.

An arm pulled her aside as Apollo growled at her when they were out of eardrops.

"What have you done?" he hissed, a vicious and angry.

"Apollo I can explain."

"Really? Haven't you seen the consequences Artemis?" Apollo snapped. "What did you promise me about keeping him out of trouble? We should have killed him when we had a chance, he's not even our brother to be talked with."

"Don't say that Apollo," Artemis growled, her eyes brighten with silver light of power.

"You are still protecting him?" Apollo grumbled.

"Yes, and I always will." She greeted her teeth, showing him her determination.

Just when things were about to get exploded, Aphrodite came like water added to the fire.

"Hey, guys what is the commotion?"

Her innocent voice set Apollo's power down as he muttered 'nothing' and gave Artemis on last glare before disappearing.

"Wow, that was scary" Aphrodite stated as she turned to Artemis, but before the goddess of love could ask another question. Artemis already flashed away.

N/A: Hey guys another week with another chap ;). Hope you guys enjoy this chapter even though it is not much exciting. Votes and comments really help guys so please do! Next chap out next week. Bye and luv ya :)