Sorry, I accidentally made a filler chapter... Oops, I mean, I uh, meant to do that... Yeah. Lol, you're probably wondering how I managed to turn that last chapter into a filler XD What can I say, I'm skilled.

     Damian's POV
Enjoy being in s Guy's mind... MWUHAHAHAHAAAA

     Keith and I were crouched near a clearing, a herd of deer on the opposite side milling around in the trees. I felt my chest swell with pride at the thought of my mate, only a few yards away, her beautiful hair braided over her shoulder and a sleek bow at hand, fighting for her pack...

      My stomach twisted in guilt as I thought of what I made her and her pack mates do; even though administering the Wolf's Bane was Nick's call, that didn't stop me from feeling like I'd gone out of my way to injure my mate.

     I closed my eyes when I remembered the look on Crystal's face. She normally looked so bold and strong, but when she was separated from her wolf, all I could see was dismay, and pain. I shivered at how much pain I could see in her, without her wolf's strength, the distress over her pack and parents would have multiplied.

     As her mate, I can see past most of the facades and outer barriers she puts up to block everyone else out. And what lay underneath, knowing my pack had caused it, was almost unbearable. I've already confronted Nick about it.

     While Silver Moon only saw him as a merciless slaughterer, I knew there was more to him; although, I definitely did not agree with what he was doing to their pack. The temporary power had gone to his head. And that scared me because pretty soon, once he's found his mate, it won't be temporary, and he'll have a whole lot more wolves to command.

     When I spoke to him, he listened to me and agreed to consider their wellbeing more, but he insisted on fulfilling his plan in an attempt to please our father. I thought of him in disgust, but before I could begin a mental rant about him, I heard a scream. I heard Crystal, scream.

I felt pain lance down my side as I fell to the ground while Keith leapt up exclaiming, "It's Crystal, you're feeling her pain."

Even though he was yelling, I barely heard him, but when I finally registered what he had said, I sprang in her direction. Not bothering to stand, I lunged forward, my outstretched hands morphing into paws. Landing on the ground as a large, black wolf, I thundered towards her, my heart thumping louder than the undergrowth that was pulverized beneath my frenzied paws.

     Within seconds, I burst through the trees, absolute horror filling me.

     My mate lay on the ground, and on top of her was a colossal, brown lump of fur with teeth and claws that could tear through metal with ease.

     I quickly overcame my emotions as it moved its head towards her exposed neck, which she immediately tried to cover. Charging forward, I sprang onto the grizzly bear, forcing it off her with a snarl.

     We rolled and I had to shove off it to keep from getting flattened under its weight. This thing had stood its forepaw on top of Crystal; another wave of fury coursed through me when I realized it had to have broken bones.

     Before it could get up, Keith and I leapt on it, tearing into its flesh but doing minimal damage due to its thick, long fur.

     With a roar, it stood up and tried to shake us off, but I gripped firmly to its scruff. Keith had been on its flank and quickly crashed to the ground. Before he could scramble away, the bear struck him with its forepaw, throwing him several feet away despite his own massive size. Keith yelped from the impact and stayed still, sprawled out on the ground.

      The bear dove towards the earth, and I was forced to jump off it again. It was now between Crystal and me. I lunged forward and nipped at its paws, even daring to grab an ear.

     The beast snarled at me and I skipped backwards, leading it away from my eerily still mate.

     I once again dashed towards it, feigning an attack to its ear before diving under its belly and whipping around to face it. Smiling, I knew it was trapped in a corner where a thick evergreen brushed against a rock ledge. Crystal lay directly behind me, and Keith was to the side.

     I was about to lunge forward again, when I heard Crystal call to me, "Get away, give it an escape route."

     Relief rushed through me at the sound of her voice. She's alive, I thought and Tanner, my wolf, yipped victoriously in my mind.

     I turned to see her still laying on the ground, wheezing heavily. I was about to call out to her, when her eyes widened in horror and she opened her mouth to scream.

     Before I could turn around, I heard an aggressive shriek just before something whizzed through the air and shoved me to the ground.

     I tried to flip over, and almost instantly when I hit the ground, the weight on my shoulders left.

     The sound of my fall was quickly followed by an ear jarring thud. Confused, I turned towards the bear, shock creeping through my spiked fur. It lay on its side, trying to fight four wolves.

     I tried to scramble up to help, but before I could even make it to a crouching position, a gurgled cry split the air.

     The beast was dead, slain by a wolf who'd aimed a viscous blow to the precise location necessary on the neck to collapse it's throat. All I could do was stare in shock, from it, to the wolves that were now gracefully stepping off the carcass as a cold gust of wind whipped their fur.

     Once they were off, they assessed each other for wounds, then turned their eyes to me. Eyes that were filled with hatred beyond comprehension. I held the gaze of the black wolf with searing, green eyes who had stepped forward.

     These must be the Silver Moon warriors that escaped, I realized. As I recognized them, I heard Crystal trying to fight back a groan.

     A new wave of fear rolled over me. Ripping my gaze from the she wolf, I whipped around and took two, large bounds to Crystal's side.

     I heard her pack mates growl, but I couldn't care less.

     She looked up to me, her beautiful, blue eyes were dull as they met my brown ones. Tanner howled in my mind with the pain that was blistering inside me at how distant she seemed.

     I snapped out of my daze and tore my eyes from hers to view the damage.

     Her shirt was turning a dark, dark red on her left side. Tenderly, I shoved my nose under it, still in wolf form, and pulled it up with difficulty.

     I couldn't bring it all the way so I stopped and looked at what was visible. There were four, rugged gashes between the middle of her rib cage and leading to her hip. They were deep, blood pooling out of them. There was so much blood...

     I retraced my steps to grab the ripped clothing that lay on the ground where I had shifted. Racing back, I found the other wolves had shifted and we're now with Crystal. A girl, who I recognized as the black furred wolf, was holding her hand with tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

She grimaced at the sight of Crystal's injuries, and after glaring at me spoke to my mate, "You're going to be okay; everything will be fine," she masked her voice from fear but her tension was clearly visible.

I carefully moved to her exposed side, but as I neared two of her friends moved between me and her. I turned my head so I could see her face and whined; trying to communicate to her to let me come near.

She nodded to them and they grudgingly stepped aside.

When I neared, I noticed her breathing was increasingly more shallow. I dropped the bundle of cloths and tried to press it into her gaping side. After fumbling a few times, earning several winces from her, one of the guys reached his hand out, and I reluctantly let him take the cloth to stop her bleeding.

Turning her head towards her friend, Crystal ruffly whispered, "Ivy, what are you doing here?" glancing around at the rest of her friends, fear crept into her gaze, "You guys shouldn't be here."

I felt miserable and couldn't meet her eyes as she nervously glanced at me while Ivy chastised her, "If you think we're leaving you than you're mistaken," with an air of concern she added, "Save your energy, you shouldn't be talking."

She sighed but thankfully remained silent.

My ears laid flat on the back of my head as one of her other pack mates growled at me, "What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be with your friend?"

I felt torn as I glanced at Keith, then back at Crystal, her breathing ragged. It didn't take long for me to decide, Keith looked as if he was out cold and he had his wolf for support, Crystal needed me more.

I laid my head on the ground next to her shoulder so she would know that I'd decided to stay.

"Maybe I didn't make it clear, get out of here," the same guy tried to continue but was cut off by Ivy.

"Storm, leave him alone. We need to focus on Crystal," she sounded more concerned than angered, "we need to put a tourniquet on than bring her back to camp-" a clap of thunder in the distance interrupted her.

"We need to hurry and find something to cover her with when it rains," Storm continued.

"Damian, go see Keith, he might be bleeding o-out," Crystal murmured painfully under her breath before anyone else could say anything.

Normally I'd feel elated at the sound of my name on her tongue, but right now it just made me feel sick.

I didn't want her to push the subject so I quickly ran over and was relieved to find he was alive. His head was already forming a bruise where it had hit the ground and he likely had a concussion.

After sniffing him up and down for any other injuries, I determined he would be okay and dragged him over to the others so I could watch both him and Crystal.

When I returned, they had already worked out a plan and put a tourniquet on her stomach above the gashes. They placed two sturdy sticks two feet apart and bound the empty space with the cotton shirts from the three guys and the ripped clothing I'd carried over that wasn't being used for Crystal. They repeated the process only there was more space between the sticks and I realized the second one was for Keith. After all that had happened, they were still working for my pack mate's survival.

They rolled Keith onto the make shift gurney before the one I heard referred to as Talon disappeared into the woods and returned as another black wolf with his remaining cloths tied to his hind legs. He went to one side and I aligned myself on the other.

The three human formed werewolves lifted the gurney up and I quickly crept under the two sticks that stuck out on my side so they rested on my back.

"Geyser, you and Ivy should get Crystal. I can scout ahead since I'm fastest," Storm, the one who had been verbally aggressive towards me, suggested.

     The two others hurried into the woods and like before, reappeared as wolves with cloths wrapped around their hind legs.

     Once They were under Crystal's gurney, we headed off through the trees at a fast trot.

     Since we were in wolf form, it didn't take long for us to reach the stream we crossed earlier. The water wasn't high, but we had to cross carefully so as not to get Crystal and Keith wet. The rocks we'd crossed over before weren't large enough for us to skip across with the gurneys so we had to wade through the water.

     Once we reached the other side, the trees were denser and we had to re-route multiple times. Storm would run ahead and locate the easiest path for us. We got stuck multiple times and he had to help us, but after four hours we finally came in view of the clearing that lay down hill. I could see the guards that scrutinized the Silver Moon warriors, eating the supplies that were supposed to be rationed.

It had started raining earlier, and the extra cloths that the other wolves had around their legs were now covering Crystal's side. I was grateful that I couldn't mind link Nick due to the great distance between us and the rest of our pack back in Tennessee; otherwise, I'd have to alert him of our presence or be breaking our pack's law, which is a serious offense. I do not want to have to choose between those options, I told Tanner, my wolf, who grunted in agreement.

When we were just outside the barrier, they set Crystal down and helped Talon get out from under Keith.

They each dipped their heads to Crystal, who had at some point fallen asleep during our journey, before racing into the woods.

I checked on both Keith and Crystal, trying to buy the others some extra time but after a few minutes, I knew I had to go get help for my unconscious friends' sakes.

     I raced down through the chasm that separated the land and lead down into the Indian style camp. When I burst through the hole that opened up to the clearing, several heads turned towards me and I yipped a couple times to some of the guards, signaling for them to follow me.

     They did, and upon finding the two limp forms laying on the ground, carried them back. When I emerged from the chasm a second time, I was met by Nick, "What happened?" he demanded, eyes growing wider when he saw the claw marks on Crystal's side.

     I whined and shoved Drake, the one holding her towards the Medical Ward as I'd heard it called.

     Silver Moon's medic gasped when they saw their luna's condition. As they laid her on the sturdiest table I've seen yet at this unusual place, a bundle of cloths was shoved towards me. I grabbed them from Nick and hurried towards another room to shift.

When I came back, the doctor, who was a stout woman with grey streaked, brown hair, shooed us out of the room so she could look Crystal, who was increasingly pale, over for broken ribs.

When we were once again outside, Nick repeated, "What happened? Why is she... like that? And what's wrong with Keith?" apprehension was evident in his voice.

I visibly shivered as I remembered the sound of her scream. I solemnly met his yellow eyes, which were abnormally filled with emotion, "We had just found a herd of deer. Crystal went by herself so we wouldn't scare them away... she was only a few yards away..." I murmured more to myself than to him, "I heard her scream, but when I got there, the bear had already hurt her-"

He cut me off, "A bear did this?" he asked incredulously, "that would explain how deep the wounds were I guess..." he trailed off before continuing, "I had assumed it was a werewolf."

I resumed to explain everything that had happened, not leaving anything out... except for the part when I let the others get a head start; however, I knew my scent would tell him that I'd stayed there a short while so I added that I had stopped to assess how injured they were before coming in.

     As I was finishing, Crystal's pack started to group around the building, waiting to see their injured luna.

     After a while, the girl with long, brown hair that we had managed to catch emerged from the crowd, I think her name is Jade, I try to remember.

     When she noticed me, she nervously creeped over. She paused an awkward distance away and timidly stuttered, "W-what happened to C-Crystal, I m-m-mean Luna Crystal," she tried to hold our gazes but was to scared.

     Most would probably see her as cowardly, but I noted how much courage it would have taken for her to overcome her fear of us for the wellbeing of her friend.

     I opened my mouth but Nick cut me off, "You were right the first time, she is no longer your luna. And she was attacked by a bear," he said bluntly, all signs of his earlier emotions gone.

     I expected her to shy away after his outburst, but to my surprise she stepped closer and defended "She will be my luna until she d-decides otherwise. You may have h-hurt us, but we will a-always stay by our luna's side," she glared defiantly.

     Nick was as shocked as me, and before he could respond the rest of Silver Moon broke out into loud cheers of agreement.

Suddenly, they fell silent. I turned towards the direction of their stares to see the pack Doctor stepping out to announce the news.

Nothing of importance to the story is in the below A/N... READ IT ANYWAYS!!! (Do read the next paragraph but then you can ignore it) It's pretty much me entertaining myself after the first paragraph by writing out some of my typical passing thoughts... Be scared, my brains a bit wonky... In a good way though, right guys? *look of expectancy fades to worriment at silence*

Although, Stuffed-Panda has been very encouraging with all their comments (which I love by the way...) so if you enjoyed this chapter, stop by their page and thank them.

Balletmaster101 and GoldenWolf11, you both know I love your comments but I know you both in real life so it's especially awesome when I receive them from people I don't know cause they don't have to face my wrath should they leave a mean comment but they choose to leave nice ones instead :) visit both their pages though guys cause they're awesome... Also read their new book called The Hunted (they're writing it together on an account called friendbuds209)!

I suddenly feel like going to the beach, seriously it randomly popped into my mind. I could smell the sweet salty wind (yes Jenna, I can smell the ocean- other people who are probably confused now, I have the world's worst nose. I can smell things like bacon, bleach (kinda), vinegar, and things like that.) that blew ferociously whipping my hair, the sun having vanished leaving only a peachy color in its wake that turned grey, then purple, then blue as the stars are hidden by dark clouds... It probably sounds like I had the vision for a while but in reality,it only lasted 2-3 seconds.

Although, I need to know, did I just write a whole lot of nothing? I'm trying to name the chapter so I'm going through everything that happened and it all sounds like a bunch of fish scales... Sighs, somethings fishy. Lol, now that's what I want to name the chapter but it has zero relevance. (Wow, it's been like two months since I wrote that so I'm kinda like... What does that even mean?! Yeah that's right, I don't even make sense to myself!)

Okay, I finally went with Standing On The Edge because Crystal is on the brink of death... Is it too misleading to the story? Cause it makes this chapter sound all awesome but to be honest it was kinda lame... I'll make the next one better... Ugh I'm lazy (not really, well kinda... I work too much some days and not enough other days. In the end, I'm tired but have a ton of energy-what's sad is that even though it doesn't make sense, it's true. I'm a complicated soul.) welcome to my mind.

And I'll be getting around to the adventure part of this story soon... Hopefully. It's in the plan I just have to get a couple more chapters with the other info in... I feel like I should sleep but I'm not tired... Grumbles.

I'm currently working on the map, then if I have time I'll add some hand drawn pictures (don't worry, I'm pretty decent with my pencils. Even though they're drawings, I always manage to trick people into thinking they're paintings *smiles deviously*)