I gasped for breath with my chest constricting around what felt like broken ribs. Cel had taken more damage than I had anticipated and my body was not strong enough to heal it quickly. I brought my hands up and stared at them, thinking about what these same hands, or paws rather, had just done out there. It was a strange thing to sit with.
I closed my eyes and worked on steadying my heart rate. I shakily pushed myself to my feet, wincing at the deep bite in my hip, blood running slowly down my thigh. I limped back out through the tree line and as soon as I cleared it I could see Phoenix already watching me from across the field, Sean beside him talking to Alex.
His eyes went wide the moment he saw me properly and he started toward me immediately. I gave him a small reassuring smile and tried to tell him I was fine but he growled at the way I was walking. His arm came around my shoulders and I could tell from the way he moved that he was about to pick me up.
