The Man She Truly Loved Returns
1251 Words
Lyana sat on the edge of her bed long after Zian retreated to the living room, her palms pressed to her stomach, still shaken by what happened. Her breathing had evened out, but her mind spun in frantic circles.
Zian’s hands had glowed.
Her pain had vanished.
And for a moment… she had leaned into him, trusting him.
She hated that moment.
So when her phone buzzed loudly beside her, she snatched it up as if it were a lifeline.
“Lyana?” a familiar voice came through—deep, warm, possessive. “Are you okay? I saw your updated condition reports.”
Her throat tightened. Tears pricked unexpectedly at her eyes. “Gabriel…”
The longing in her voice surprised even her.
“I miss you,” she whispered, closing her eyes.
In the doorway behind her, Zian froze mid-step.
He didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.
But he heard every word.
Gabriel’s voice softened, dripping with concern. “I knew he wouldn’t take care of you. I should’ve been there. I should’ve protected you.”
Lyana wiped her eyes quickly. “He… he tries, Gabriel. But it feels wrong. He makes me feel guilty for everything.”
Zian’s heart clenched painfully.
She felt guilty.
Because of him.
He looked down at his hands, remembering the golden glow he didn’t understand.
If he truly was dangerous… maybe she was right to stay away.
Gabriel’s tone shifted—lower, darker. “I’ll come tonight. I don’t want you staying alone with him.”
Lyana exhaled shakily. “Please. I need you.”
Zian stepped back fully from the doorway, moving silently into the shadows so she wouldn’t see the devastation on his face.
He whispered to himself, “She needs him… not me.”
Later that night
The doorbell rang.
Lyana hurried to open it—too quickly for someone pregnant. Her face lit up in relief.
There he stood—Gabriel Cross.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a tailored suit and the effortless confidence of a man used to getting everything he wanted. His dark hair was slicked back, his green eyes sharp and assessing.
Everything Zian had grown up believing he could never become.
Gabriel stepped inside, ignoring Zian entirely as he swept Lyana into a careful embrace, brushing a soft kiss against her forehead.
“You look pale,” he murmured. “I told you not to stress.”
Lyana melted at his touch.
Zian stood near the kitchen doorway, silent, invisible.
At last, Gabriel turned his gaze to him.
“So,” he drawled, “you’re the substitute husband.”
The disdain in his voice wasn’t hidden—it was displayed with the same ease one might show pity to a stray dog.
Zian bowed his head respectfully. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
He started to walk away, but Gabriel’s voice cut through the room like a blade.
“No.”
Zian paused.
Gabriel stepped closer, eyes sharp and predatory. “Tell me, Zian… how does it feel raising my baby?”
Lyana winced. Zian didn’t flinch.
“It’s not about how I feel,” Zian murmured. “It’s about keeping her safe.”
Gabriel laughed—a low, cold sound. “You think you can protect her? You can’t even protect yourself.”
Zian stayed quiet, but something inside him twitched. A spark. A heat. A pulse beneath his sternum.
Gabriel circled him, eyes narrowing.
“You’re too calm,” he said slowly. “Too composed. A normal man in your position would’ve broken by now.”
Zian’s breath hitched—not at the insult, but at the truth hidden beneath it.
He was too calm.
Too still.
Too controlled.
He didn’t understand why.
“I don’t know what’s happening to me,” Zian admitted softly.
Lyana looked up sharply. “Zian—”
He continued anyway. “Sometimes… I feel something waking inside me. Something I can’t explain.”
The air thickened.
Gabriel stopped walking.
He studied Zian with a sudden, unnerving intensity—eyes scanning him as if searching for cracks.
“Waking?” he repeated.
Zian nodded once. “Yes.”
Gabriel stepped closer, invading his space, eyes locked onto Zian’s.
“And when did this start happening?”
Zian hesitated. “I… don’t know. Maybe when Lyana—”
Gabriel held up a hand. “Stop.”
The room darkened slightly as clouds swallowed the moon outside. Wind rattled the windows. Lyana shivered.
Gabriel leaned in closer, voice lowering to a whisper cutting through the silence:
“Did your eyes always look like that?”
Zian blinked. “Like what?”
“Like they’re hiding gold beneath the surface.”
Lyana gasped quietly.
Zian sucked in a breath, startled. “You… saw it too?”
Gabriel didn’t answer.
He lifted a hand and snapped his fingers. A faint shimmer of energy rippled around him—too subtle for Lyana to notice.
But Zian felt it.
Gabriel stepped back, expression shifting from arrogance…
…to something else.
Recognition.
Fear.
And a hint of horror.
“No,” Gabriel whispered, almost to himself. “This can’t be happening again.”
“Again?” Zian echoed.
Gabriel’s gaze darkened. “Look at me, Zian.”
Zian did.
Gabriel inhaled sharply. “Your aura… it shouldn’t exist. It was extinguished years ago.”
Zian’s heart pounded. “What aura?”
Gabriel’s voice dropped to a terrified hiss. “The Immortal Aura.”
Lyana’s eyes widened.
Zian froze.
Immortal?
Gabriel stepped back as if Zian were a bomb ready to detonate.
“This is bad,” Gabriel muttered. “Very bad. If they sense you—”
“Who?” Zian demanded.
Gabriel looked him dead in the eye.
“Everyone.”
Zian’s breath caught.
Gabriel ran a trembling hand through his hair. “The wolves. The covens. The heavens. The hell factions. They’ve been searching for this energy for centuries.”
Lyana clutched her stomach. “Gabriel, stop. You’re scaring me.”
“You should be scared,” he snapped. “Because if Zian awakens fully, every realm will come for him—and they will burn the world to claim him.”
Zian stepped back, shaken. “I don’t even know who I am.”
Gabriel stared at him.
And for the first time since entering the apartment…
Gabriel looked afraid.
“You’re not human,” Gabriel whispered. “Not fully.”
Zian shook his head violently. “That’s impossible.”
Gabriel swallowed hard. “Impossible doesn’t matter. Your aura just flickered. Once that happens, it only grows stronger.”
He stepped toward Lyana, voice urgent. “We need to get you away from him.”
Lyana hesitated—not moving.
Her gaze flicked between Zian and Gabriel.
Zian whispered, voice cracking, “Lyana… please don’t be afraid of me.”
Her lips parted.
Gabriel cut in sharply, “Lyana. Come here.”
But Lyana didn’t move.
She stared at Zian—confused, torn, trembling.
And Gabriel saw it.
His expression darkened.
He took a single step back from Zian and whispered—
“If your aura awakens, I won’t be able to stop what comes next.”
Zian’s eyes widened. “What comes next?”
Gabriel’s voice was barely audible:
“A war.”
A chill ran through Zian’s body…
Just as his vision flickered gold again.
Gabriel’s fear spiked visibly.
Cliffhanger: Gabriel realizes Zian’s immortal aura is awakening faster than anyone expected—and that it might already be too late to contain it.
- Writer
