~ NYSSA
Everything stilled.
Blood rushed in my ears and my heart hammered violently in my chest. My mouth opened and closed, words caught in them. I tried to speak, but no words would come.
"You're silent," he noted, head cocked to the side. "Did I scare you?"
"You…" I managed out. "You said that…"
His lips curved slowly, deliberately. "Yes, little wolf, I love you, surely you know that, or have I been doing a terrible job at showing it?"
"I—" I swallowed thickly as a knot formed in my throat. "You said it."
"Was I not supposed to?" he asked, voice dripping with amusement. "I thought that's what you do when you love someone."
Everything inside of me warmed at the softness of his voice, and the warmth that radiated from his eyes.
The knife fell from my hands, clattering against the chopping board, the sound unusually loud as it echoed through the silence.
"I—"
"You don't need to say it back," he cut me off firmly.
"But—"
