SILAS POV
One moment she was standing in front of me, hands shaking as she tried to explain why she was not what I thought she was, why she would never be enough, why I would have to choose someone else one day. As if anything she'll say could ever scare me or make me change my mind, nor my feelings. She was it for me, even before the mate bond snapped between us.
The next moment, I could not move.
It did not happen suddenly, not like a switch being flipped. It crept in, insidious and wrong, like the world had decided to slow itself down only for me. My chest tightened first. Breathing became harder, like my lungs were pushing against something thick and invisible. I drew in air, but it felt shallow, useless, like I was inhaling through water.
Helena stopped talking mid-sentence.
I sa
