breathe me [helios]

She dared not nudge him back, avoiding as much movement as she could to keep from her emotions spilling over. Her voice was quiet when she spoke, barely more than a whisper. "I can no longer lead Pantheon, Helios. I cannot be this family's Matriarch." She inhaled deeply, then breathed it out slowly, composing herself for the rest of what she needed to tell him. "I am sick. I have been since Katja won our lands from us. It has only continued to get worse and now I am certain that... That I will die. Will you lead this pack for both of us until we can choose a successor and then... Will you go with me to my parents? I don't want it to happen here."

Her words were sure to shock him and he was sure to have questions in abundance, but she needed to say them while she still could. By the end of her speech, tears were slowly spilling from her unseeing eyes, but she still remained stoic and her voice remained even. She was certain it wouldn't continue that way.