I Loved Him In Every Lifetime

The rain fell in cold sheets, turning the streets into a blur of lights and reflections. Ava Hale pulled her jacket tighter around her, shivering despite the warmth. The alley she took to get home was quiet, too quiet, but it was a shortcut, and she didn’t have time to argue with herself about it tonight. Her boots splashed through puddles as her mind wandered to school, homework, and the usual chaos of teenage life. She hated being invisible, hated feeling like no one really noticed her. Even her best friend Iris, seemed to shine too brightly sometimes, leaving Ava in her shadow. A movement in the corner of the alley made her freeze. Shadows twisted unnaturally across from her. At first, she thought it was just her imagination, but then she saw it, a figure coming from the darkness. It was human-shaped but wrong somehow, with limbs that moved too smoothly, too fluidly, and a head that seemed just slightly… off. Ava’s heart hammered in her chest. Every instinct screamed danger, every muscle in her body told her to run, but her feet were frozen to the wet ground. Then, golden eyes appeared in the darkness. They were sharp, glowing, and impossibly calm. “Step back,” a deep, steady voice said, though the speaker didn’t move closer at first. Ava swallowed hard, trying to speak, but her throat felt dry. The strange creature moved closer to her, and the shadows around it seemed to stretch, reaching toward her like fingers. Panic creeped at her, cold and sharp. Suddenly, a figure stepped in between her and the strange creature. Tall, broad-shouldered, and impossibly graceful, he moved with confidence that made the world seem smaller around him. The golden eyes had belonged to him. Luca Vale. “Get out of here,” he said firmly, not breaking eye contact with the creature. The creature recoiled, hissing softly, then melted back into the shadows. The street returned to silence, except for the pounding of Ava’s heart and the drizzle of rain. “You… you saved me?” Ava finally whispered, her voice trembling. He didn’t answer immediately. His gaze lingered, intense and unsettling. “I think you would have been fine if I hadn’t been here,” he said, but there was a strange warmth in his tone, something that made her chest ache in a way she didn’t understand. Ava felt something awaken inside her. It wasn’t fear, exactly, though that had been there. It was… recognition. Something deep in her chest hummed with a strange energy she didn’t yet understand. “I… thank you,” she said, forcing her voice steady, though it shook. “You don’t need to thank me,” he replied softly. “Just… be careful.” Even as he turned and walked away, leaving her alone in the alley, Ava couldn’t stop staring. The force she felt wasn’t just curiosity. It was stronger, older, like something in her had remembered him before she ever knew him. That night, Ava dreamed of another world, moonlight towers that touched the sky, whispers of promises made long ago, and a man kneeling over her lifeless body, holding her hand and crying. The man in her dream had the same golden eyes, the same feel, and the same unshakable calm. When she woke, her chest felt tight, and her mind roamed with questions she couldn’t answer. Who was he? Why did she feel as if she had known him forever? And why did the shadows feel… angry at his presence? Her life had just changed, though she didn’t realize how completely. Something ancient had stirred, something powerful and dangerous, and Ava could feel it in every beat of her heart.