Page 17 of Into The Green

And the swirling sensation in my stomach, yeah that had fuck-all to do with jealousy.

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Cece

I was determined not to complain. The yarrow and leather were helping, but a couple hours in, each step was starting to feel like stepping on nails again. I took deep breaths, trying to breathe through the pain like Jade had once tried to convince me to do when I'd been having some particularly bad cramps one month.

I ended up taking aspirin.

I sucked at meditation.

Doyle was a constant companion, keeping easy, mindless conversation as we went. He noticed - I was sure - when I started walking on my tiptoes to avoid any more unnecessary pain.

Several yards ahead of us, Jasper was soldiering on tirelessly, and I realized that the chances were that I was holding him and Doyle back. They would probably be twice as far without me.

"Not gonna happen, sweetheart," Doyle's voice said, as if reading my mind.

"Do all of you read emotions?" I asked, a little snippy at feeling like I had absolutely no private thoughts or feelings.

"That's Jasper's thing," Doyle said, shaking his head. "It's just the logical thing for you to be thinking with your busted feet and granny pace." As if to soothe the effects of the harsh words, he reached down and took my hand in his. "But that isn't going to happen. I won't have it, and believe it or not, neither would Jasp."

Doyle's hand tightened on mine, and he started swinging our entwined hands between us as we walked. "Hey Doyle," I called a minute later, feeling awkward at asking, but feeling close enough to him to do so. "What is Beltane?"

He stopped suddenly, thereby stopping me with him, and watched me like I had asked why it rained sometimes. "It's the festival of fertility."

That was why Jade hadn't been as livid as I thought she should have. Maybe it was a normal way to celebrate by sleeping around. It made a sick kind of sense in a way. Maybe it wasn't technically considered cheating.

"Doesn't make it okay," Jasper's voice called from ahead.

And, well, I kind of agreed with him.

"Doesn't make what okay?" Doyle asked, looking between us.

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head, wondering why Jasper had remained friends with Doyle after he cheated on his sister, but knowing it wasn't my place to go there.

By midday, Doyle's hand was around my waist, holding up a fair amount of my weight, his brow furrowed in concern. "Hey, man," Doyle called unexpectedly.

"No," I hissed at him, having every intention of toughing it out.

But it was too late. Jasper stopped suddenly and turned, brows furrowed, like maybe he had forgotten we were even there. His gaze went to Doyle, then Doyle's arm around me, then to my face. His own features contorted in concern as, I imagined, he registered the pain.

"Fuck," he growled, shaking his head. I could see the battle there.

"Go," Doyle said. "We're more than halfway there. Go get her. We can wait here. You bring Jade. I'll run with Jade back out of The Green. Your folks don't want you. They won't chase you. You can take your time coming back with Cece."

Jasper looked at me again then dropped his gaze to the forest floor. "We'll rest a while," he decided in a tone that left no opening for a debate as he turned to sit down beside the stream.

I pulled free of Doyle's hold and tiptoed away a few yards to find the largest tree, shielding me from their gazes as I slid down the bark, feeling it scrape over my skin. I took all the pressure off my feet, stretching them out in front of me and taking a couple deep breaths to keep my emotions under control.

It was unexpectedly exhausting to be in pain. The feeling made every inch of me feel tight and tense and uncomfortable. I wasn't sure I could get back up again. Even if they let me rest for the rest of the day, short of being hoisted up on their backs like a toddler, I didn't think I could do it. I also wasn't exactly sure I could swallow my pride enough to tell them that.

I brought my hands up to my face, swiping at my eyes. I just had to suck it up and deal. Really, I wasn't sure it was even possible to hurt any more than I already was so there was nothing to worry about.

Then, against my hands, I felt heat.

And, well, I might not have known much about The Green, but I knew to be scared of things that didn't feel right. And something breathing onto my hands, yeah, that sure as hell didn't feel right. I stiffened, the giant tree behind me preventing any kind of escape.

Not exactly thinking right, my hands dropped, and I came face-to-face with the biggest freaking wolf I had ever seen in my life. Really, like a wolf on steroids, midnight black and about the size of a small horse. It leaned forward, nudging me with its wet nose.