I drop my new sword and it turns into a emerald again. Max's eyes are wide. The girls eyes are different: hazel now.

"First of all, never insult a girl by calling her a boy. And second of all, don't point your sword at me. I'm not a monster. I just saved your asses back there," the girl says, her voice steely calm. She looks at me and gets off Max, who scrambles to his feet and reaches for his sword, which he puts in his belt, and it immediately disappears. I gape at him.

"The monster said it was looking for you," the girl says, pointing at me.

"Uh, you speak dog?" I ask. The girl glares at me.

"No, I speak wolf. The wolfs were here first, not the dogs," she says.

"Who are you? Are you a werewolf?" Asks Max. The girl scoffs. She is dressed in tattered clothes, her blue shirt and jean shorts had holes and she had some cuts around her legs and arms.

"No I'm not a werewolf. And trust me, if I knew what I was, I wouldn't be here right now. But I'm not a werewolf," the girl says, brushing her dark hair out of her eyes. She had a gold dagger at her side.

"Are you a demigod?" Asks Max. I look at him in confusion.

"I told you, I don't know what I am. I've been on the run since I was thirteen, two years ago. My mom died after birth, my father died...two years ago. Car accident. Then I discovered I could turn into a wolf. My claws kill monsters instantly. And then I met this monster who told me he was after a Peter Labelle, blond hair, green eyes, demigod-whatever that is. It can't be weirder than me turning into a wolf, so I just killed the damn thing," the girl says. Her eyes hold a sort of tiredness to them, and she sways on her feet ever so slightly.

"I think you may be a demigod. There's this place for us, keeps us safe from monsters. I can take you while I'm taking Peter as long as you promise no more wolfly-magic stuff," Max says. The girl nods. Meanwhile, my thoughts are swirling.

"Demigods? Wolves? Monsters? Please tell me what's going on," I say to Max, who looks at me with pity. I pick up my emerald and slip it into my pocket.

"I'll explain everything when we get to your house. You need to say goodbye to your dad," Max says. Say goodbye? I reluctantly follow Max, as does the girl, but she seems to have trouble walking as fast as us. She looks really tired and a little sick. My thoughts go around and around in my head so fast my head feels like it's going to explode. But something does explode. Suddenly there is a gaping hole of dirt and stone in the alleyway wall. Max stares at the girl.

"Was that you?" He asks her. She shakes her head. Then Max turns to me.

"You?" He asks. I just look at him strangely.

"How would I have done that?" I ask him. He shakes his head dismissing it and we keep walking towards my house.

We get to the front steps of my small tan house with its giant windows, and I knock on the door. My dad opens it an scans us.

"Hey Max. Uh, Peter, who is this?" He asks, raising his eyebrows at the girl, her clothes tattered and the golden knife in her belt. Then there is a sudden smirk on his face.

"Peter! Is this your girlfriend?!" He asks. Max snorts and I roll my eyes. The girl does not look amused.

"Um, no, sorry to ah, disappoint you Mr. Labelle. My name is Amber. I just met your son and his friend in the back alleyway," she says. She hadn't even told us her name before, I had forgot to ask with all the crazy stuff going on.

"Um, the three of your come in, come in," my dad says. We come in and sit down at the dining table.

"Mr. Labelle, we saw a monster in the back alleyway, and it was after Peter. I think...I think it's time," Max says. I look between him and my dad, still not understanding. Max looks at me and starts explaining. His words blur together and I'm more confused than ever. He told me about the gods being real, me being part god apparently, a camp for us to stay safe and train our skills, and so much my Brian almost exploded again. I stare at my dad who looks at me painfully.

"You knew. You knew this whole time?!" I ask,
my voice raising slightly. I stand up, slamming my hands on the table.

"And you lied!" I cry out. "You said mom left us after she had me! You lied!" I said. My dad flinched. I hardly ever got angry at him, he was never mad at me, and I was never mad at him. And we certainly NEVER lied to each other. I felt anger bubble up inside me and suddenly everyone jumps when a vase holding a plant explodes. Max looks from me to the plant.

"Oh, you don't have anything to worry about, I know who your mom is," Max says, relief in his voice.

"Nothing to worry about? Nothing to worry about?! My mom is a god and your saying just because you know her that it's okay?" I say, glaring at my best friend. He gulps. Another plant in a vase explodes and everyone jumps again.

"Peter, just calm down please. This is only happening because your angry, please calm down," my dad says. I take a deep breath and sit down again.

"I'm sorry, it's just a lot to take in," I sigh. Amber looks at me, her eyes full of some emotion I can't read.

"Trust me Peter, when I first turned into a wolf, I let my emotions get out of hand, and let's just say things didn't end well for that large group of deer..." Amber says.

"Turned into a wolf? You didn't tell me about werewolves!" My dad cried out looking at Max. Ambers eyes turned purple and she glared at my father.

"I am not a werewolf. I've been cut with silver and it didn't hurt me at all," Amber growls. When she sees my dads scared expression her eyes soften and turn back to their normal hazel color.

"We think she's a demigod of some sort. Maybe a roman animal god, Fauna or something," Max says. My dad sighs, and walks towards me. I stand up and hug him.

"We can see each other again maybe next year," my dad says. I sniff a little. He's the only family I've ever known.

"M'kay dad," I say, and she ruffles my hair.

"Max, take them to camp now," my dad says. Max nods and we head out the door.

Amber?

Wait WHAT?

ME?

No way!

😂😂

-Amber❤️