-PIPPA-
"Can we... can we try again?" Helios’s voice was barely a whisper, yet it was heavier than a storm.
Perse whimpered in my mind, sinking into her front chestnut paws. We had loved him all our lives—she still did. It felt unnatural not to run to him, not to fold into his warm arms at the sound of his voice.
But I couldn't do it. Not anymore.
That wild, consuming, infinite love was gone. In its place stretched a barren, silent field across my heart.
My pulse didn’t stir at his presence like before. It felt distant. It felt wrong.
"I can’t," I murmured, shaking my head. "I can’t go through that again—falling back into us, only to watch your fated mate appear. It nearly destroyed me, Helios."
His jaw clenched, muscles taut like he was holding something back. "That won’t happen ag
