I missed you in the storms

His eyelids lowered in a sleepy sort of sadness as she turned her head from him. There it was, the truth she couldn’t face. The reason he knew this distance between them was the only way either of them could survive this. If he let her see the depths of his hungry need, she would try to run from him. If she ran, he would chase, and her hate would follow.

He lowered himself slowly down from his sitting position, resting on his paws. It was so much harder to be by her inside the den then it was without. Here, he could see the conflict in her eyes, hear the soft hurt in her voice. “I haven’t been far from you since the day we returned.” but surely that didn’t surprise her. Her words… her words hurt. Did she really think he would seek comfort in the arms of another now, with Zee alive and within his borders? He was lonely and aching, but that was a penance he deserved.

“I can’t stay in this den with you, Zee. Not until you're ready to give me all of you. The terrors are only a part of it.”

"Speech"