The afternoon of the full moon found Star and Night sitting together in front of their tents in a tense silence. They knew what would likely happen tonight but had so far refused to acknowledge it aloud.

Star didn't want Night to spend the day worrying about what would happen in Greyback showed up. That would only make his transformation even more painful and they were bad enough already. She could easily recall how bad the transformation had been the last time Remus had been extremely worried. It had taken her a few hours to calm the wolf down and Remus had suffered numerous injuries.

Night on the other hand, had spent the last few days thinking and had come up with a plan. He hesitated to tell his sister because he knew Star wouldn't like it. Unfortunately, they didn't have very many options. Star couldn't stand up to a full grown werewolf. Not one that wasn't him anyway. She would be torn to pieces and left to die a very slow and agonizing death. If she survived, she would most likely be a werewolf. And that was something Night would never let happen to his sister.

Star's voice cut through his thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"

Night looked at her and saw she was watching him with a concerned look on her face.

He raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Oh, it is." Star agreed. "But I know that look on your face. You get it when you're thinking seriously about something. Whatever you're thinking has you worried."

Night didn't' bother with trying to deny it. Star knew him better than anyone. Which wasn't saying much considering it was only ever the two of them. Even before they had run away. Still, it was like she could see right through him and knew things about him that even he wasn't aware of. She would know that he was trying to keep something from her. Besides, she needed to know.

"It's not what I'm thinking that has me worried. It's you."

Star looked surprised at that. "Me? Why?"

Night looked slightly embarrassed. "I might have come up with a plan for tonight."

Star's look of surprise faded and she pressed her lips together as she considered her brother.

Night, for his part, tried not to fidget under the intensity of her gaze. He always felt like Star wasn't looking at him, but through him when she gave him that particular look. Finally Star's gaze softened and Night was able to relax.

"Let's hear it then."

"You're going to hate it, but I think it would be best if you stayed up in a tree and let me handle Greyback. Let me finish." Night said hastily, seeing Star open her mouth to comment. Star closed her mouth after a moment and nodded for him to continue. "It's one thing to run around with Moony. He likes you, considers you a pack member and would never hurt you. But Greyback isn't Moony. He wants me to join him so he'll try to bite you. And you're not capable of fighting off a full grown werewolf without sustaining injuries. I can. I might get injured but I'll heal, you won't."

Star thought about it for a minute. Then she sighed.

"As much as I hate it, you're right. I can't stand up against Greyback in werewolf form. But what do you plan on doing? Werewolves can't climb trees."

Night's eyes hardened. "I'm going to fight him. Moony and I are both in agreement on this. We won't let him force us to join him. And if he tries to hurt you, we will kill him."

Star was startled by the fierce determination she heard in Night's voice. Never had she heard him sound so determined about something. Nor had she expected him to seem so calm about fighting another werewolf. One look in his eyes told Star that Night meant every word he said. He would fight to protect her, just as she had fought to protect him. Pride for her brother filled her as she spoke.

"Very well then. It's not as if I can stop you. I want it on the record that I don't approve of this plan though."

Night grinned in relief. "Noted. Now, we need to get going."

Star nodded and took up the first aid pack. Together, they left their clearing and made their way through the forest to the clearing a half mile away where Remus transformed. It wasn't big by any means but it was big enough to hold a werewolf and a teenage girl as they played tag. They would play in the rest of the forest if it wasn't for the fact that the trees grew so close together. The trees weren't very good for climbing either. Very few of them had branches low enough to grab and pull yourself up.

Night quickly shed his clothes and Star stuffed them in the first aid pack before climbing one of the trees. She chose a branch halfway up that gave her a good view of the clearing but also hid her from anyone who might be looking for her. It helped that her green shirt blended in with the leaves.

There were ten minutes left until the moon rose and Star could easily say they were the longest ten minutes of her life. The only other time that could compare was when she was waiting for Remus to first transform but at least then she had been next to him and could offer some comfort. Star couldn't stop herself from worrying about her brother. She worried that despite his belief that he could defeat Greyback, Night would lose. Greyback was older and undoubtedly had more experience fighting other werewolves. Until a few days ago, Night had never met another werewolf, much less a transformed one.

Before Star could dwell on it any further, the moon rose fully and the sounds of Night's transformation brought her out of her thoughts. She watched him transform, feeling the familiar pain in her heart as she watched him suffer and knew she could do nothing to help. While she knew the transformation took less than a minute, it seemed like much longer. Moony lay panting in the middle of the clearing, recovering from pain.

He didn't get long.

A few minutes after the transformation, another wolf entered the clearing. Star recognized it as the wolf that attacked her brother seven years ago. Moony was on his foe in a heartbeat, crashing into the bigger wolf and sending it flying into a tree. The wolf, who could only be Greyback, recovered quickly and attacked Moony. Claws flashed and Star heard Moony yelp. Heart clenching, she peered down through the leaves and saw her brother staggering away from Greyback. Blood was dripping steadily from a wound on his shoulder. Moony didn't let that slow him as she launched himself at Greyback.

The next few hours were a blur to Star. Her eyes were unable to keep up with the speed at which the two werewolves fought. She was only aware of when one of them injured the other and quickly learned the difference between the wolves' cries. Greyback was certainly the stronger and more experienced of the two, but Remus was younger, faster, and had the desire to protect his sister/pack mate. Judging by the yelps, Moony was managing to injure Greyback more than Greyback injured him. She just wasn't sure how badly. Still, every time Moony yelped, her heart clenched with fear and she peered down through the leaves to make sure it wasn't a fatal injury.

Finally, much to Star's relief, the sky above the east trees began to light up. Both werewolves must have sensed the approaching sunrise because they finally broke away from each other. Moony staggered over to the tree where Star was hiding and collapsed at the base. Greyback wasn't as lucky. He took two steps before crashing to the ground. When he hadn't moved for a few minutes, Star decided that it was safe enough to leave the tree. She practically flew out of the tree and was kneeling next to the still transformed wolf that was her brother.

Star had to stifle a gasp as she finally got a look at the injuries Moony had suffered. Her gasp must have been somewhat audible as Moony opened his eyes and looked at her. Star was startled by the fierce protectiveness she saw in his eyes, so eerily similar to the look Night had given her last night, before they closed and Moony howled as he began the painful transformation back into Night. Behind her, she could hear the sounds of Greyback transforming but she spared him no attention. All of her attention was for her brother.

When the transformation was finally over, Night tried to roll onto his side so he could curl himself around his injuries. He let out a cry of pain the second he began to move and Star placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back down. That alerted Night to the fact that he wasn't alone. Groaning, he opened his eyes and looked up into the worried ones of his sister.

"How are you?" He croaked.

Star laughed. She couldn't help it. Night was the one who had spent the entire night fighting with another werewolf. And yet he was asking how she was. Just like he did after every transformation. It was also the proof she needed that her brother would be just fine.

"I'm fine. Now, hold still so I can treat your injuries."

AN: Sorry this is so late. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to update every week like I did last year. I'm only three weeks into school and already I'm very busy. Between that and work, I don't have as much free time as I used to. My goal is to update every two weeks instead.

We are almost to the end of this story. There are only a few chapters to go. After that, I do have plans for the sequel to Outcasts. However, I'm not sure I'm going to post it. I don't get the feeling that a lot of people out there are still reading. And I don't really want to post something that only a few people are going to read. You can still change my mind though. Leave me reviews letting me know what you think of my story and let me know that you do want the sequel and will read it.

Until next time, I recommend that you read Atticted and Dukes and Servants, both by Beatlebug. They are both very good stories.