Chapter Text
After the Battle of Athens, I thought things would finally settle down.
No more gods going off the rails. No Titans clawing out of Tartarus.
No fight, no nightmare, No quest
Just a little peace.
Time to visit my mom. Catch up on school. Maybe even take that beach trip Annabeth keeps pretending she doesn’t want And maybe try out that vegetarian restaurant that Grover was rambling about.
And if I got really lucky….
maybe I could stop on obsessing over Nico di Angelo.
But a long peaceful period ? That was a lie I told myself to sleep at night.
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Tomorrow marks one month since our last battle.
And it also marks the worst day of my year. Maybe my life.
Because Tomorrow... my heat starts.
Yay…
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Percy Jackson, Hero of Olympus. An omega?
But it’s true. I’ve hidden it for years. Only my mom, Grover, and Annabeth know.
Not even my father, Poseidon knows.
Not because I’m ashamed — gods, no — but because being an omega, especially a True omega, isn't something you advertise.
Not in Camp Half-Blood.
Not in Olympus.
Not anywhere, really.
True omegas aren’t just rare. We’re myth.
In demigod history, it’s happened six times. Six. And none of those stories had happy endings.
Not one.
The first four? Claimed by gods like trophies.
Used. Controlled. Forced into divine
“unions.” rape is what what I call it
Turns out, when you’re a true omega, divine fluid — physical contact — can change you. Break you. And in some case even... evolve you.
They called it ascension.
I call it hell.
Those omegas gave birth over and over — never by choice. Their children were whisked away, forgotten. And when the gods got bored?
Those heroes were left with empty arms, broken bodies, and no way out.
They ended their own stories. Quietly. Tragically. Alone.
The last two? They didn’t wait for fate.
They took one look at what they were, what the world gods would do to them, and ended it before it began.
So yeah... it’s a curse.
A legacy soaked in silence and blood.
And now it’s mine.
So yeah, we had to be really careful about where I was going to spend my heat.
Annabeth warned me my pheromones were unusually strong — “potent,” she said, like I was some kind of magic cologne gone rogue. Even True Alphas could get knocked sideways if I wasn’t careful. So I chose the safest place I could think of: the house by the sea.
It’s the one Mom used to rent every summer, the same one we almost lost a few years back. But she managed to buy it somehow — fixed up the roof, added some solar panels, repainted everything in soft sea colors. It’s peaceful here. Quiet. Right by the water. Almost no foot traffic. And more importantly, the ocean breeze masks scent trails better than any spell. Still, Annabeth carved a rune barrier around the house, just in case something did leak out.
I told Chiron I needed time away, and the campers bought the excuse without asking questions. Mom stocked the house like I was preparing for winter hibernation — snacks, juice, enough instant ramen to make Grover cry with joy.
Everything was going to be fine.
Probably.
....I hoped.
Guess I jinxed it
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“ Percy, did you find the dye ? ” Mom called from the kitchen.
“ YEAH, MA! ” I yelled back, blinking out of my mental fog.
I’d gone on autopilot standing in the pantry. After a quick scan, I grabbed the familiar bottle of blue food dye and made my way to the kitchen. There she was, Sally Jackson, goddess of kitchens and cookies, apron tied tight over her very obviously pregnant belly.
I couldn’t help but feel protective just looking at her.
“ Here you go, ” I said, handing her the dye.
She smiled warmly. “ Thanks, sweetie. ”
Ever since we found out she was pregnant, I basically turned into a bodyguard. A paranoid one. She wasn't even allowed to go outside to check the mail without one of us trailing behind her. If she so much as sneezed, Paul was calling the doctor. She swore she’d strangle us both with her apron strings.
Still, we couldn’t help it. This was her. Our Sally. And my baby sister was in there.
The front door swung open with a click.
“I’m home! ” Paul called out, voice muffled by what sounded like an avalanche of grocery bags.
He shuffled into the kitchen like a human shopping cart, arms full of paper bags and fruit poking out of the top.
“Welcome home, honey, ” Mom said, kissing his cheek.
“Ewwww, Mom ” I grimaced loudly.
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.”
Then—whap! The spatula came down on the back of my head.
“OW! Unprovoked violence! ” I whined, rubbing the spot.
“Drama king, ” she said, smirking.
Paul, the traitor, chuckled and walked behind me just as she turned her back to stir the cookie mix. With a grin, he ruffled my hair like I was five and whispered, “ That’s for the eye roll, smart guy. ”
“ Hey—! ” I turned to glare, but he gave me a playful stink-eye in return, like " don’t push your luck". I narrowed my eyes. Battle was declared. But Mom turned around, and we both straightened up like perfect angels.
Coward.
Brat.
---
I flopped into the bar stool at the counter while Paul started unpacking the bags. “Whatcha get?”
“Fruit, protein bars, more snacks for your heat. And sparkling water — the fancy kind you won’t admit you like.”
I scoffed. “ i don’t like it.”
“ Uh-huh,” Paul said, not even bothering to argue.
Mom glanced between us and sighed dramatically. “You two are worse than the actual children.”
“I am the actual child,” I reminded her with a grin.
“And yet you act like you’re four,” she said.
I stood up and threw my arms around her from behind, swaying us side to side like an overgrown toddler. “Don’t you love me anymore, Mama?” I whined, cheek pressed against hers.
She snorted and patted my hand. “You’re a menace.”
“Your menace,” I said sweetly.
“Alright, my turn.” Paul gently pulled her away and wrapped his arms around her belly, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.
I blinked. Okay, I was fine. I was totally fine. Just had something in my eye.
Mom looked over her shoulder at me. “Percy, go set the table.”
“Can’t Paul do it?” I pouted.
“He just carried 100 pounds of groceries through the door. You’ve been standing in the pantry daydreaming.”
“ Daydreaming is a valid activity! ””
“ Now. ”
Her eyes narrowed in Mom Mode — the ultimate threat level. Even Ares would’ve backed off.
“ Yep, got it, ” I said quickly, grabbing the plates before she could weaponize the spatula again.
---
As I laid out the dishes, I paused, taking in the scene.
My mom, laughing as Paul teased her. The smell of cookies filling the air. The crash of waves just outside the window.
It felt… safe. Like the world had stopped spinning for a second and let me breathe. I hadn’t had a moment like this in ages — not since the wars, not since the last prophecy, not since finding out what I was.
I didn’t know how long this peace would last.
But I was going to hold onto it with everything I had.
Even if I had to fight fate again.