Unsurprisingly, I had never tried fish grilled over an open fire before. It tasted amazing.

"You guys can cook, too?" I was maybe flirting a little - not with anyone specific, just generally.

Alexei shrugged. "There's not much to it. Stick a fish over a fire and leave it there till it smells good."

"Well, it tastes great." I shivered.

"Are you cold?" asked Nico.

"Aren't you?"

He seemed to consider the question. "Maybe getting that way."

Perhaps living effigies didn't feel the cold like the rest of us. Or perhaps all the muscle was insulating.

The guys unpacked sleeping bags and we snuggled in, sitting around the fire in our sleeping bags. But I was still shivering. I was used to cold Brooklyn nights, but halfway up a mountain was something else.

"Here." Alexei drew me to him with an arm around me, his warmth adding to that of the fire. Nico closed in from the other side, making me the filling in a very attractive sandwich.

"Cozy?" asked Christoph. He moved in closer.

Their bodies were warm but I was beginning to feel all kinds of heat, and not all of it coming from me. My attraction to them was strong enough it could have been used to light the fire, but I was now starting to suspect that it was not all one-sided. Of course, I had felt something from Christoph earlier - and not a little something - but this was less tangible. It was hard to put into words, but animals have that way of sensing each other's desire - like they can taste it on the air. I had no idea what attraction or desire tasted like, but I was picking up something. The problem was, that I was getting that sensation from all three of them. Which was flattering and nice in a wicked sort of a way, but how was I supposed to deal with it? There were lots of ways I could go about finding out if a guy liked me, but none of them really worked on three guys simultaneously. I wasn't sure there was any way I could do this subtly - if I tried to find out if Alexei liked me, then Christoph and Nico were going to notice, and so on.

By this time, I was exhausted physically from the rigors of the day and mentally from the pressures of the last few. My brain was in no condition to carry out the complicated relationship mathematics of 'who likes me?'. I opened my mouth to say something clever and it came out far less clever than it had sounded in my head.

"Is this weird? I mean, is this... Are you guys always this... Am I imagining things or do you all like me?"

Well, if nothing else, it was now out there. Normally, you could say; what's the worst that could happen? But in this case, the worst that could happen was that I had caused a rift between three friends who were helping me save the world. The worst that could happen was that me feeling horny had brought about an end to mankind. That's pretty 'worst'.

But Alexei shrugged. "I wouldn't say 'always like this' but love is seen differently in our world to yours."

"Less limited," suggested Christoph.

"More fun," put in Nico.

"That makes it sound shallow," Christoph disagreed.

"I don't think so. Fun doesn't have to be shallow."

"Could you stop arguing with each other and explain things to me?" I suggested.

"We take our cue from the ancient Greeks," said Alexei. "It's a vision of love that relies on following your heart and listening to your body."

"And humans don't?"

He shrugged. "Your bodies do, but your minds are constrained by the artificial constructs of society telling you what is 'right' and 'normal'. Foolish. If you love a person then you love them. The idea that it should be limited to one person is meaningless. Love is the greatest thing in the world; why should it not be shared? I can't speak for the others, but I am certainly attracted to you. And if Nico or Christoph is also, why should my feelings change? It makes no sense."

"I am," said Nico. "Attracted to you, I mean."

"Me, too," added Christoph. "Very much."

This ought to have been my dream come true. I'd been intensely attracted to all three of them since they showed up at my door, and now it seemed that all my concerns about breaking their friendship were for nothing. I could have my cake and eat it. But somehow, it being okay made it not okay. Those societal constructs Alexei mentioned still had a hold on me. When it was wrong, it had felt delicious and wicked because I knew I could never have it, now it was okay, it just felt wrong.

"I think I need some space," I mumbled. I clumsily got to my feet, still in my sleeping bag, shuffled off a little way from the fire and lay down. Why was I sleeping out here, cold and alone in the dark, when I could have been sleeping nestled between the bodies of three powerfully attractive men? I guess some things are just a bit much to deal with.

I fell into a fitful sleep, the dreams that had previously been arousing now seeming uncomfortable and strange. I was woken in the early hours by a hand roughly shaking my shoulder.

"Cat. Quickly." Christoph's voice was low but urgent and I hastily shrugged off the muzziness of sleep.

As I pulled on clothes, I saw Alexei and Nico standing at the periphery of our little camp, staring out into the morning mist, their bodies tense and alert.

"What's going on?" I asked Christoph.

"Something's out there."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than something leapt out of the woods beside us, snarling viciously, jaws slavering. Moving like lightning, Christoph threw out his right arm in a powerful backhander, knocking the attacker to the ground. It was a wolf, grey and shaggy, its eyes seeming to glow red in the early morning light. It jumped back to its feet again and Christoph put himself between me and it. Alexei and Nico were hurrying back towards us.

The wolf emitted a long, low growl, and a chill ran through me as I heard the growl answered from the woods around us. You don't see a lot of wolves in Brooklyn, I mostly have to deal with horny jerks. But what those two animals have in common is that they both hunt in packs.

Nico reached me just in time to grab the next wolf to hurl itself out of the mist. He caught the animal in mid-air with one hand around its throat, then threw it into the body of the next attacker. The two animals whined and scampered away to lick their wounds. As three more emerged, Alexei picked up one of the fishing spears and faced them down, standing solid and immovable as the wolves snapped at him. He thrust the spear towards them, keeping the animals at bay.

Perhaps it was my imagination, but it seemed to me that he could, if he had wanted, have killed them. I'm not an advocate of animal violence, but when they're attacking you it seems to me justified. Yet, Alexei - all of them, in fact - was holding back.

Another wolf darted forward, aiming directly for me, its eyes seeming to burn with hatred, the fur standing up on its shoulders. Again, Christoph put himself in the way, swinging his fists at the wolf, which it dodged. It leapt up at Christoph, clawed paws ready to tear flesh, but my protector grabbed its front legs, twisted and tossed the creature back the way it had come.

There were two more attacks but the wolves seemed to be losing heart, and they soon slunk away.

The men watched them go until Alexei said, "Pack up, we're moving on."

We ate breakfast on the move as we continued to hike up Olympus. The sun burnt off the mists, revealing as beautiful a day and as spectacular a view as the day before, and yet a pall hung over our party. The men were sullen, even moody, though I could tell they were trying not to be when they spoke to me. Was it the wolf attack that had bothered them? Or the events of last night? I had invited an open dialogue about the unspoken attraction between us, they had all honestly voiced their feelings, and I had kind of rejected them all. I've rejected guys before - though never three at once before - and they don't take it well.

I decided, as I had the night before, to ask the question. Hopefully, it would go better than last night.

"Is something wrong, guys?" There were the familiar looks between them - as if deciding what they could tell me. "Let me put it another way; something is wrong,” I said, my voice flat. “Would you like to tell me what?"

There was another long pause but Alexei finally spoke. "Wolves don't attack humans for no reason. And there's plenty of easier prey for them on the slopes of Olympus."

"But they did attack," I pointed out.

"Did you notice anything odd about their eyes?"

I've seen wolves in the zoo before but I wasn't what you could call an expert. Still, the red eyes, which I had put down to a reflection of the morning sun, had been odd. Also, slightly unfocused. I said as much and Alexei nodded.

"Someone is trying to stop us from reaching the summit. Someone who can control the animals."

"A god?" I gasped.

"Unless you know someone else who can control wolves."

"But they gave up."

"It wasn't working," said Alexei. "They realized that we would protect you no matter what. They will try again and it will not be so easy next time."

"We'll be ready," said Nico. I wondered if he was as confident as he sounded.

"Which of the gods is it?" I asked.

Alexei shook his head. "I would not like to speculate. They get pissed if you go about accusing them of stuff. But I could narrow it to a shortlist of those who wish to see the Earth razed."

"Ironic," I said.

"What?"

I shrugged. "They accuse humans of taking bad care of the Earth and its nature, but are willing to sacrifice animals like that."

Alexei smiled for the first time that morning.

"That is a very good observation."

The mood lightened a little as we walked on, the air thinning as we climbed higher, but I was now scared. There had been a lot of things about this whole affair that had scared me from the start. Starting with the always-present fear that it was all in my head. That I’d gone around the bend and would never find my way back. But I don't think the very real dangers had occurred to me until now. Gods and the razing of the Earth did not feel like real dangers - they were too fantastic to be taken seriously. But a wolf tearing my throat out?

That had a very immediate, visceral and down to earth feel to it. And, if my gut was any sort of indicator?

There was worse still to come.