Above is a map of their camp. It's from a map of their entire territory that I just finished, but the writing is hard to read so I have to work on it as a whole some more.

Lol, the chapter name is ridiculous but I couldn't think of anything and I really want to update!

I'm making this a really bad habit! So, it's a halfway filler. There's a lot of dialogue and... Well, you'll find out when you read it! I better shut up before I spoil something.

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    Crystal's POV

     I strained to open my eyes, I felt as if my lids were wide apart, yet the darkness still surrounded me; closing in as if to smother the life from deep within my bones. I felt pressure on my ears that seemed to roll around in my mind, blocking out all sound. But gradually, I started to hear something. It sounded like I was deep below the water's surface, steadily growing nearer and nearer, when my head broke the surface and sound rushed to my ears.

     "-ribs, and a concussion. Do you know what to do from here, Guppy?" Silver, our pack's doctor spoke.

"Mhmm," Lark, a young wolf who had been fondly nicknamed Guppy by her mentor, replied.

Silver's voice grew distant but I heard her call, "I'll inform the pack, do as needed and do it right. I don't want to come back to a sloppy job that has to be cleaned and redone," she sounded stern, and I obliviously wondered what was happening, and what had happened.

"Why am I in the medical ward?" I asked Brook. "Brook?"

No reply.

Terror coursed through me, "BROOK!?!?

"No, no, no... this can't be happening! What did I do??? Please, Moon Goddess, don't let her be dead," I prayed, "did I injure myself so bad that she died so I could live off her energy???"

Before I could continue my mental rant, still unable to open my eyes, I heard voices nearing.

"Crystal!" I heard someone call as they rushed towards where I lay. Their voice was so familiar, but I couldn't place it. They felt comfortingly warm as they pressed themselves around me, as if to form a shelter from the evil that lurked outside.

"Bro, give her some space; you're going to suffocate her if you get any closer," another voice, even less familiar than the first warned, "now, what's up with her?"

I instantly didn't like this person, they instinctively felt... wrong. They're odd dialect didn't help either.

I could tell Silver, who was a very proud woman, was trying to keep from growling as she responded, "one broken and two cracked ribs. The gashes were deep and it could be fatal if they get infected," I felt my heart grow heavy with fear when I realized she was talking about me, "I don't know why she hasn't healed more than what she has already, her wolf should be helping her-"

The one who was sheltering me withdrew. He swore before hissing at the other one, "I told you not to make me give her the Wolf's Bane! If she hadn't, maybe she would have been able to defend herself... the other wolves knew right where to attack, but I didn't and-"

"Damian," Mr. RiverRat coolly but firmly said, "shut up."

I heard Damian mumble some unrecognizable words under his breath... If that ducking knit-head doesn't shut up, I'm gonna beat his pass silly for almost killing my mate...? I tried to make sense of what he just said, when realization hit me, "MATE!?!?!? Since when do I have a mate???" I mentally screamed. Then it suddenly hit me; all the horrible memories came roaring back. My pack, my parents, Damian, Blood Moon, the bear, my friends... my friends.

     I remembered after they fought the bear, Damian had gone somewhere... I don't know where. But in the time I had, I told them the plan and that they needed to prepare our Summer rendezvous site for defense. Also for them to set up traps that only Silver Moon would recognize. I never thought I would appreciate all those training sessions on recognizing and placing hunting traps so our pack would see where they were set without tipping off the large game we hunt.

"Wolf's Bane?" Silver inquired, breaking off my thoughts, "What is that? Does it interfere with her condition?"

I heard Damian, growl, but Nick cut him off, "Wolf's Bane separates a werewolf from their wolf side. She can't communicate with her wolf-"

     "Brook."

      "Excuse me?" Nick exclaimed.

     "Her wolf's name is Brook. She told me when I injected her," Damian growled.

     "Fine," Nick continued, "Crystal can't communicate with Brook until the affects wear off. It should be anytime now."

     Relief coursed through me, "She's not dead."

     "That would explain a lot," Silver murmured to herself, "as I was saying, the ribs and gashes are a side note right now. I'm hoping that once her wolf returns, she'll wake up, but for now she's in a comatose state. Please understand, there is no way for me to tell when or if she'll pull out of it."

     Damian moaned and my heart once sank.

     I caught the words, "I need to inform the pack about-" but I slowly sank into the darkness. It felt like I was surrounded by mud that condensed as I fell farther, dragging me deeper until finally, I was left in complete and utter silence.

     Time no longer existed, or maybe it was the only thing that existed; whichever it may be, I was oblivious to it all. I slipped in and out of consciousness for what seemed like seasons; however, I was never able to move or open my eyes. Will I always be stuck like this? I wondered.

     "You just need time to heal. You'll wake up fully when you're ready," a familiar voice answered.

     "BROOK!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE BACK?!?! I've been worried sick!" I screamed at her.

    "Ow, that really hurt- don't scream again unless you want me to leave for good," she warned exaggeratedly.

     I sighed in relief at her irritable self.

     We gossiped about a whole lot of nothing for what felt like another couple days. I could sense a presence near me the whole time, warm and comforting. It rarely left my side, and I had to admit to myself who it was: Damian.

     I don't know how to feel about him, so over the next couple hours I took advantage of the time to think about him. I finally came to a solid conclusion:

     He has been nothing short of  amazing, I thought to myself, I know he's from Blood Moon, but that's like choosing your fur color. I need to let myself accept him... just not now. The pack comes first, and they need to accept him before Damian and I strengthen our bond... When I wake up, I'll have to talk to him, and them, then Nick is probably going to weasel his way in- Aww, gross! That's going to make him my stepbrother! I felt my nose wrinkle in disgust...

MY NOSE MOVED!!!

     I could hear light snoring to the right near my head as I forced myself to move.

     At first, nothing happened. Then I felt a twitch. My index finger barely moved, then a couple more fingers... my whole hand flexed before I moved it to my side instead of hanging off the... I'm not really sure what it's hanging off of.

     I forced my eyes open before quickly squeezing them shut again, "Why is the light always so bright?! I think the idiotic sun hates me..." I didn't even realize I was speaking aloud until Damian shot up.

     "Crystal! How long have you been awake?" he sounded concerned and I slowly opened my eyes again, he was now blocking out the light with his broad shoulders, "that doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is you're awake, and you're going to be okay... Oh my goddess, I'm so sorry this happened," he moaned, biting his lip, "I never should have given you the Wolf's Bane and-" I interrupted him.

     "You're right, you shouldn't have. But right now, I really don't care, I'd just like to forget everything that has happened and just once," I emphasized, "live as if everything is okay," I gasped as I finished my last breath of air and closed my eyes.

     "Crystal, you're being irritable again," Brook chastised me.

     "Ugh, you know I'm not good with mornings and he was giving me a hea-" I couldn't finish my thoughts because I was literally pulled out of them.

     I opened my eyes to find Damian now on the leaf pile I'd been laying on, with me pulled on top of him. Glancing up, I met his eyes.

     He smiled and whispered in my ear, "Is this better?" his warm breath tickled me.

     I nuzzled my head so my chin was on his chest and my forehead softly leaned against his neck while humming, "Mhmm."

We stayed like that for some time, eventually I fell asleep; how I managed to sleep even more, after being passed out for who knows how long, I have no idea. But I found a way, with Damian's right hand going between playing with my hair, and caressing my bent, left leg that was pulled over both of his. I lay over his chest on my right side, light dappling the floor where it came through the open window, my four gashes facing upward while he was careful to avoid them. His left arm supported my back and kept me near him.

I felt content, truly content for the first time in sunrises. But it had to come to an end eventually, I just wished it wasn't him that ruined it.

     I heard voices and felt Damian's chest vibrate. I didn't want to wake up, I was so content. But as the voices volume grew, I sluggishly rose my head and tried to ask what was going on but it only came out as a bunch of syllables lost to comprehension. I paused to let my tongue catch up and my eyes adjust, which landed on Nick standing by the wall so Damian could see him.

I pushed off Damian's chest a little to prop myself up and mumbled, "What are you doing here... Actually, what am I doing here?" I quickly stood but immediately lost my balance. Damian shot up and grabbed my arm to support me. "I need to see my... pack," I slurred, "They need a report on the bear."

"Huh uh," he grunted as I picked his arm off me, "you're not going anywhere. Jade warned me you'd do that-"

"Jade was here?" I asked, my head starting to pound from my vertical position.

He nodded, "each of your pack mates stopped by to wish that... the moon guide your path?" his brow furrowed adorably as he tried to remember and I almost forgot Nick's presence... almost.

"Doesn't your pack say that?" I looked confused between the two brothers who looked strikingly similar, yet totally different. Damian's brown eyes were almost always joyful, whereas Nick looked like he could scare death itself with his award winning scowl.

"No, we don't. There's a lot of differences between our packs," Damian looked out the window that stood next to the door on the right, as if all the changes lay spelled out in the clearing outside.

"If you two ladies are done gossiping," Nick broke the silence, "we need to get on to business."

I glared at him, "First of all, if you think that was gossiping, you should round up a group of girls, that is interesting. Secondly," I counted off my fingers, "I'm not done. What were you two arguing about?"

"That's what the business is about," he matched my glare before turning it to Damian who mouthed something at him.

I turned away from where I had been sleeping and staggered over to the examination table. Damian tried to help me, but I slapped his hand away indignantly, "I can walk a wolf length, thanks." I huffed.

As I said it, I stumbled towards the ground before he swooped me up and strided towards my desired destination where he gently sat me down. Was I appreciative? Pfft, no. I grumbled an assortment of curses that judging by the look he gave me, were again only traditional in my pack.

Before he could say anything cockier than his smile, I turned back to Nick, "As you were saying?"

He rolled his eyes before announcing, "We'll be leaving as soon as you're fit to walk on your own."

I had been leaning over the edge of the table trying to see what was going on outside, despite the burning pain on my left flank which faces Nick. But when I heard that, I froze. I looked at him, "There are injuries worse than mine that have to be dealt with. Not everyone will survive if we-" he cut me off.

     "Not everyone will survive? You do realize, that you and Keith almost died because we stayed here, right?" he lifted an eyebrow at me.

     "That was different!" I yelled desperation for my pack and relief that Keith was okay clouding my thoughts, "we haven't had a bear attack within our territory in generations! The only reason we had one at all, was because we haven't been marking our borders the past couple days and they could probably smell the, the... you know what I'm talking about," I glared as I for the millionth time tried to block out the memory of when I first returned to camp. The stench had been horrendous and sometimes, I can still smell the dead.

     I shook my head slightly and continued, "If we can go back to hunting and border patrol, even if it were one Silver Moon for every several Blood M-"

     "No," he shook his head, "No one else is going to be risked. Nothing you say can change it, we're leaving ASAP," upon my usual look of confusion when around the Blood Moon warriors, he further explained rather irritably, "we're leaving as soon as possible," and with that, he stormed out.

     I shifted position to slide off the table and charge after him, but Damian moved in front of me and trapped his hands on either side so couldn't follow.

     "Move," I demanded.

     "That's exactly what you shouldn't be doing. You've already been walking around too much..." he continued on with a serious look but I was too busy ignoring him and strategizing my escape out of the room to notice. "Stop."

I looked up at him questioningly.

"I can tell you're thinking about how to get out of here. You need to rest, you were attacked by a freaking bear! Seriously, you think that," he gestured towards my wounds, "hurts now? Wait until tomorrow when it gets stiff."

I grumbled under my breath about June bugs before letting him carry me bridal style over to the leaf pile.

-----
-----

A tree break and a lot of nagging about me needing to eat and drink (even though I didn't want to) by a combined effort between Silver and Damian later, I was nibbling on steamed carrots and a sliver of goose. As I was forcing down a piece of meat, it reminded me, "Was the prey retrieved?"

Damian snorted, "Yeah, and tomorrow I think we're having bear bacon for breakfast... I've never had bear before. Does it taste like chicken?"

"How would I know, we don't have chickens here."

His eyes widened, "You're telling me, you've never had chicken before?"

"You're telling me, you've never had bear before?" I mimicked.

After a while of us nonchalantly talking, back in our earlier position, I remembered my question about my 'guards'.

"Hey, Damian?"

"You know I love it when you say my name," he nuzzled my hair and I jabbed him in the stomach to get his attention back. "Ow-"

"As I was saying, you know how I was assigned two guards?" I paused slightly before resuming, "Nick said they'd always be watching me, but I haven't hardly even seen them... Not that I'm complaining, but why aren't they always around?"

He sighed, "They are always around; you just don't always see them. Like right now, they're outside far enough so they can't hear us, but close enough that they can tell if their assistance is needed,"

I felt a shudder go down my spine at the thought of always being watched. I knew it wasn't Damian's fault so I didn't bother blaming him.

He quickly changed the subject, and I didn't push it. Although, I did switch to the other topic I needed to go over, "We can't do this often, okay?"

He tilted his head so he could see me, pain flashing through his eyes, I hurried to finish, "I can't right now, it complicates my pack too much. They need to accept you before I can, I'm not just going to ignore you; I've heard enough stories to know that doesn't end well, plus I want to be with you!" I quickly added when I realized how insensitive I sounded, "I just can't go anywhere with this until they know you; you're different from the rest of your pack-"

"No, I'm really not; not the majority at least. The ones you've seen here, are the very worst of my pack. You don't know the ones back home, they're as nice as your pack is... almost," he looked as if he were mentally comparing our packs, and I felt a twinge of jealousy that he could see both sides while I was half blind to the situation. "The point is," he continued, "we're better than this. I was only dragged along because Nick asked, and I thought it'd give me a chance to find... you."

I felt my chest suddenly get warm as my heart melted. I playfully shoved his shoulder and laughed, "Do you ever stop flirting?".

"Well it's true!" he exclaimed.

I ducked my head to hide my flushed cheeks, but he gently lifted my chin, "Why do you always do that? Don't you know it drives me nuts when you blush?" his eyes twinkled mischievously.

     My cheeks got even warmer as I attempted to coolly reply, "I do NOT blush often."

     "Oh yes you do, sweet girl."

I opened my mouth to defend myself when I heard a cough outside the door, quickly followed by Scorch.

"Luna Crystal," he nodded towards me and I felt another rush of heat go to my cheeks at my current position.

Frog warts, I do blush a lot...

"Uhh, Beta Scorch," I stammered.

"He's your mate, while I don't know about the entire pack, most would, and all should understand," he dipped his head, and I smiled appreciatively. "Is there anything you need?"

I shook my head, "Just keep the pack running as it was before, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask me, I'm more afraid of dying of boredom than infection at this point," I sighed.

     "Very well," he may have been slowly becoming more relaxed around me as his respect grew, but he still treated our relationship as formal as possible. Especially when in others presence, "the pack is already aware of your condition."

My eyes cast down, "They said we're leaving as soon as I can travel-"

"I'm already aware," his voice lacked all emotion.

"Oh, well... I guess that's it," I awkwardly finished.

     He nodded while ducking out.

I tried to stifle my impending yawn, but Damian unfortunately heard it and insisted I needed to rest; so I yet again was lectured about my wellbeing before I finally gave in and let sleep take me again.

Do I need to add more emotion? Take some out...

Too much dialogue?

Am I running around in circles? Pfft, of course not! I'm sitting... You know what I mean though.

If you think of a good plot twist, try messaging me! I love plot twists and would love to see what you guys come up with! If you Private Message me, I might make it part of the story with a dedication to you!

Do I need to stop with the excessive detail? I never know if it's too much because I think in a lot of detail which is why I talk so fast and so much! You don't know that (well, didn't know that...) cause you've never heard me. I just went through a series of thoughts out loud so my friend could hear how I think sometimes and I flabbergasted her.

Do I need to add more tragedy? Have less? Have I made a depressing story?

Do I need to stop with the mood swings? (Ugh, that would be really hard)

Do I need to shut up in the authors notes and just write more chapters? (But it's like talking to a friend like this and I'm alone right now so I'm lonesome!)

Do I make a lot of grammar/spelling errors?

I really need to start adding pictures and music...