This chapter's song is called Village by Cam. She wrote this song for her best friend when their older brother passed away at a young age. I always found that

     Some finished paperwork and a lot of murdered gummy bears later... I'm trying to update but it doesn't seem quite right. I probably shouldn't have been listening to upbeat country. Now the only sound is the glitter-laden fan in my glass snowman. It's so cool, it changes lights and glitter swirls around. I love my snowman ❤️

     Pfft, two days later at 3am...
     Now it's even later then that and I'm like "when did I stay up till 3 again...?" It was probably on Wednesday or Tuesday and now it's Saturday... I'm a horrible person.

     Tears silently dripped down my cheeks as I passed through my home land.

      A firm hand wrapped around my arm and pulled me in a different direction. Judging by the tingles that shot through me, it was Damian. I didn't fight but instead let him lead me.

     We'd already passed through the Poppy Fields and were entering the woods just south. It was all a blur, I felt like I was more in the past than the present as memories rushed through me.

I saw where I shot my first elk, the creek I learned to swim in, and the place my mother taught me the constellations. I could remember Storm wiping tears off my face when I accidently shot a baby moose. Over by that stump, Jade and I comforted Ivy when her mother joined our ancestors from an unknown disease. This was my life, the good and the bad, and I was walking away.

I focused solely on my pack's land; trying to burn an image of every detail in my mind. I knew Nick had approached and was saying something, but all I heard, all I chose to hear, was the common loons as they mournfully wailed in the swamps, my mother's voice ringing in the back of my mind as she sang an old nursery rhyme:

Into the forest, into the forest.
Take your bows and string your arrows,
for if you stay, no one will live to the light of day.
Be strong and don't delay.

For death is at your door,
and he rages like a wild boar.
But do not fear,
for he'll take no one here.

So, into the forest, into the forest!
Say goodbye, but do not cry,
for your heart is where those you love truly lie.

You can always find us there, even when life's not fair.

Everything stopped; my tears, the blur of passing trees, the memories that were slowly tearing me apart, it all stopped. But not my love for everyone I've ever cared about, it burned inside me, and I realized that they'd always be with me, living and dead.

I always thought it was so ridiculous when my mother would tell me she'd always be around, but now that I've lost everything and everyone, it finally made sense.

They were here, each and everyone of them. Their laughter, advice, tears, adventures, and every memory I had of them, would remain with me forever. The pain would never go away, that I could tell as it continued to rage inside, but I can handle it with them to support me. Even if they were only in my mind.

My head hung low, but I raised it high, wiping the tears off my face for the last time. I hadn't even realized I had stopped walking and that all the Blood Moon warriors had passed; except for one. Damian stood in front of me, a whirl of emotions swirling in his dark brown eyes. It hurt me when I noticed the pain, anger, and frustration they held.

"We need to shift. Since it's just you, we can watch you more easily," his voice held no emotion.

     I nodded, feeling a thick numbness flow through me as if my blood had turned to mud that was drying fast. I quietly reached up my shirt, careful not to pull it up with me, to rip off the bandage.

     After a few painful attempts from the awkward angle it was putting me in, I finally sighed, "Would you..." I gestured towards the wrappings as I pulled my shirt just over the top of it.

     He closed his eyes for a moment before stepping forward and gently ripping it with ease. I quickly let my shirt drop, but he grabbed my arm and pulled it back up. "Who did this?" his eyes turned almost black with rage at the sight of my gashes which were torn even more apart, fresh claw marks dragging across the original ones checkerboard style.

     I winced as I yanked my shirt out of his grasp and back down. Even though I wasn't looking, I could feel his hard gaze on me, demanding an answer. I quietly muttered, "I don't know."

     "Tell me, Crystal," he whispered as he came a step closer. He leaned his head down to me, the tip of my nose almost grazing his chest, "I swear they'll never touch you again if you tell me who it was."

     I was frozen, physically and mentally. My heart hammered, not only at our close proximity but also from his behavior. He'd never been so protective before.

     His breath on my ear knocked me out of my stupor, "I-I don't know the names of your pack mates," I was relieved I had an excuse. I should have hated whoever it was, if not for hurting me, for injuring my pack. But I didn't. They were simply following Nick's orders.

     He took a deep breath before stamping into the woods, probably to shift. He stopped half way and turned back towards me, "Don't even think about running away again."

     Before I can say anything, he whips around and disappears. As if I'd bother running with my side reopened.

     "What's up with him?" I asked Brook while moving in a different direction to do the same, tying my clothes to the back of my legs with a few leather strands from my bag.

     "Well let's think," Brook pressed, "you run away from your mate, fight him to escape, then you only return to exchange yourself for the sake of your pack. I wonder why he's being so protective?" her voice dripped with sarcasm.

     "How could he not understand that I was practically forced into that?" I asked doubtfully, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized she was probably correct. Ugh, why is she always right?

     After checking to make sure I had everything, I shifted and hurried back before someone came looking for me. My side burned as the wind blew my fur into the gaping wounds. I trotted through the woods until I found the rest of Blood Moon, all in their wolf forms.

     Two dark black wolves sat at the base of a tree. They both watched me, one with brown eyes and one with yellow, as I kept a distance away from everyone else; an outsider.

     They kept glancing at each other and I knew they were mind linking... I can talk to my pack! I realized. The connection between my pack mates and I had been disrupted except for when we're in wolf form. I didn't really know why, my guess is that when my parents died, being the alpha and luna, they left the pack in a disheveled state.

     I lay down slowly so as not to tear my side open anymore. My eyes closed in concentration as I reached out to Storm. Normally I'd link Ivy, but the last thing I need is for her to come chasing after me, and I knew she'd only harass me for information on what's happening.

     It felt like I'd fallen into a thick, palpable darkness and was left with only my heart to locate the soul I searched for. I suddenly felt something connect and quickly took my chance, "Storm, it's me!"

     Brook muttered, "How creative-" but was cut off by his response.

     "Crystal! What's happening? Are you okay? I swear if they've hurt you..."

     "We're waiting for everyone to shift before we go any farther. They've kept to themselves so far," I avoided answering his second question.

     "Promise me you'll mind link on a regular basis," he demanded.

     I felt like someone was clenching my heart as I replied, "Always."

     We started talking as if everything was okay; images of memories filling the darkness of my still shut eyes. I even found myself laughing through the mind link. But reality had to set in eventually.

     A nose nudged me, and I looked up to meet Damian's eyes. He tossed his head in the direction of everyone else who was starting to trot away.

     I said a hurried goodbye to Storm as I rose, already losing the connection from lack of concentration.

When I'd risen, Damian was already wolf lengths away, and to my sad realization, I was back to my old two guards. They stalked up to me and one growled for me to move faster.

I snarled defiantly, but quickened my pace until I was lagging behind everyone else by a couple wolf lengths. Luckily, they didn't argue.

Every now and then, I'd notice Damian check behind him as if to make sure I was still here, "At least he still cares... sorta," it stung how he'd been ignoring me, and I wondered if I'd made him feel the same.

Brook growled but didn't say anything.

Even though I was no longer demanding them like when they were herding all of Silver Moon, we still took frequent breaks for the many who'd been injured. And to my satisfaction, some of the traps that had been set up during our escape had made a mark on quite a few of their warriors.

On one of the breaks, Damian stopped for a moment to make sure I was being cared for. To both Brook's and my dislike, he didn't stay longer then a few moments before once again disappearing.

It wasn't too long before the trees suddenly opened to show a flat, dry expanse of land. No grass grew here, just spiderweb cracked dirt. This was the land near Eagle's Cleft, the canyons that marked the south side of my territory. It was also the last place I'd see before leaving my home.

My stomach knotted as I slunk over the rough terrain. The half moon was part way up the sky as our shadowy figures crept across the barren land. I cast my eyes up to the multitude of twinkling stars, wondering if my pack was watching over me from up there. Mom has her own star, I bet she's part of the moon goddess's silver archer, I thought of my mother's favorite constellation.

I noticed a black scar crossing the land in the distance and knew it was the deep gash in the earth known as Eagle's Cleft. The canyons rose high in the area beyond, a grayish blue against the black sky. When the sun rises, they'll turn an ancient pink streaked in layers of other colors. That's where we get our powder for dyes.

We closed the distance between the cleft and us, soon we were trotting steadily along side it.

I was tempted to go to the very edge to snatch a glance down, but decided not to.

All too soon, we reached where the chasm slides underground, marking the corner of the south and west border. The others didn't give a second thought about crossing over, but I skidded to a halt just before reaching it. Both my guards turned towards me and growled, but I ignored them.

Twisting around, I took a final look at my territory. The trees rose from the ground far away from where I stood. I knew my pack wouldn't be able to hear me, but as the two guards approached with another warning growl, I raised my head to the stars. My howl echoing back against the tree line, highlighting the eerie song as if a chorus were adding their goodbyes to my own.

I revived it, letting my voice rise and fall. High and low, light and deep. My mournful wail finally died away, and I lowered my nose until my head hung. I closed my eyes for a moment as I turned back towards the pack who sat and watched me from afar. I ignored them as I slowly forced myself forward, fighting the same feelings I had when I tried to escape them before I met Damian.

I took another breath and crept across where I pinpointed the border to be, a shiver going down my spine where I crossed. I didn't look back because I couldn't, an indescribable feeling of foreboding filling me.

"No one who has crossed the border has ever survived."

"If you ever find yourself outside the border, you run as fast as you can until you're well within it."

"Never cross that border unless on pack business, Crystal. It will only lead to misfortune."

All the warnings I've ever heard rang in my ears as I went around the enemy pack who continued to eye me as if I were an unknown species. Finally, they began moving again, and I let myself fall to the back.

We were in the middle of the tall canyons when we finally stopped for the night. The moon was sinking low, and it would be day soon. My guards immediately moved to watch me from afar after I returned from the privacy of a thick bush where I'd shifted back to human form. I surveyed the area and spotted a low tree away from where Blood Moon had congregated for the night. I sighed as I stumbled towards it.

After taking out the medicine that Silver gave me and shoving my bag to the side, I applied the herbs to my injuries and tightly wrapped a cloth around my entire torso.

I sighed as I finished and curled into a tight circle with my head against my bag. A cold wind whistled through the looming peaks we hid beneath, a shiver racking my body as I heard quiet footsteps approach me.

     I didn't bother opening my eyes, "What do you want?" I startled myself at how cold and hollow my own voice sounded.

     He didn't say anything as he pushed a low hanging branch out of the way to get to me.

I shuddered a little as warmth from his touch blossomed on my side where his hand was, and gradually felt it leak through my limbs. He lay down next to me, wrapping a blanket around us and carefully pulled me to him.

My eyes snapped open when I realized he had me pulled to his chest, and that he planned on us sleeping... together. I stuttered, "What are you doing?"

He made a deep humming sound, almost like a purr before whispering in my ear, "Never letting you go."

So, that's 300 words less (actually, it's even less than that cause of my outrageously long A/Ns- sorry, I got lonesome so I started a one way conversation) than my goal. Yeeeah, sorry bout dat.

It was really hard for me to write the beginning of this chapter, I was dying inside from boredom and lack of focus.

I hope you liked it and the new cast I've created... I wonder how my actors would feel about being assigned to the different characters... Hopefully they'd find it funny and enjoyable.

Again, Luke Bryan is the greatest country singer, so your assignment, my dear reader, is to listen to I See You (even if you don't like country).

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Again, that was I See You by Luke Bryan.