Leaving the piece of paper on the pillow seemed like he was running away. However, if he had to explain why he was going to go to work on Christmas, without so much as his phone ringing, he had a feeling she’d worry she’d made him want to leave. With a last look at her, he walked to the center of the apartment.

“Father, I beseech you.” The whispered words may have been quiet, but they held no less conviction.

Except his father was apparently pretending he did not hear him. Gabe let himself glance at Cassandra. She lay still, the rise and fall of her chest the only indication the cancer hadn’t already taken her from him.

“Father.” He growled low, his hands balling into fists. Gabe had no doubt his father had tabs on him at all times. “Gabriel, Archangel of Guardians, I beseech you.”

Again, there was no sudden appearance from his father or even his voice filling the room. Which meant if Gabe wanted to demand an audience with Gabriel or the Council, he had to end his stint as a human.

“And leave her because I’ve not yet fallen.” The words took the smallest edge of his anger at the situation. If he regained his wings, he could return home and fight for her life, but if she was not interested in being with him once she knew the truth, he’d never be by her side again because even for her he would not take an innocent’s life. “But you would save her life.” Staring at her, the next step was apparent, and it wasn’t a choice.

He would not abandon her. The cancer was worse, but she was still fighting. He would wait until it endangered her too much not to leave—if his father insisted on ignoring his summons.

“Gabriel, Archangel of Guardians, I beseech you on behalf of a Guarded.” Gabe knew changing the verbiage would do nothing, but he was going to say it a million damn ways until his father listened. Which was not on attempt three.

Cassandra rolled over in the bed, and he froze. He’d been a bit louder on the third summons, and he did not wish not wake her. She could not see him vanish into nothingness if his father granted his wish.

“Father, Gabriel, Oh, mighty angel, I call you forth.”

“You will do this all day, will you not?” His father’s angry voice filled the room even though he did not appear.

The volume at which Gabriel snarled the question caused Gabe’s ears to ring with pain. He was grateful Cassandra hadn’t been able to hear a peep since his father would still only exist on the heavenly plane.

“I would have done it until you responded and I will continue to do it until my last breath if the council will not meet with me today. I have no desire to wait any longer. It has been some time since Carlyle left to place my request. I want my audience. Now.”

“You do not command anything, son of mine or not.”

“You mean to tell me you do not wish for your son to come home? To retake his place as a true Guardian?”

“You would leave her side?”

“If she is to be saved, I would do what is best for her.” Which is remaining here but there’s no reason you need that information, father or not.

“What if she is not granted salvation? This will be your final attempt.”

“Then I will return and stay by her side until she passes. My job as a Guardian dictates I must watch over my charge. If her life is best suited by my presence, then I will remain. Whether she has a year left or twenty, she is mine to guard, and I choose to do that here, on Earth.”

Tension wrapped around him as he waited for his father to say something, anything. The minutes ticked by and his anger rose like a cobra prepping to strike. “Do not dismiss me, Father. I made a mistake once, but prior I was perfect at my job. I deserve respect as an angel.”

His father emerged, white wings almost bent at the tips due to their massive size. His face was a mask of indifference, even his eyes did not glow with anger. “You have a surprising lack of patience for one who spent much of his life in war rooms.”

It was unusual for his father to be emotionless. Gabe found it unsettling, especially as fury raced through his blood. “Will they see me?”

Gabriel nodded, his glossy blond hair swishing about his shoulders—the only feature he shared in common with his son. “They have. All members believe you have been granted sufficient time to make your argument.”

A chill passed over him and the tingling sensation remained in his legs for just a moment. He’d never experienced weakness, but Gabe was positive his weakness brought about the chill. Fear that he would not be able to save her, and his terror, and therefore weakness, at the possibility of life without her.

“I am ready.”

Gabriel sighed, his wings sagging momentarily before he held out his hand. “Your wings will be restored. It is the only way you can return.”

“I understand.” I will cut them from my body if necessary to return to her. The thought made him pause. He’d accepted being human, but he hadn’t realized the lengths he’d take to get back to her.

Looking over his father.’s shoulder at Cassandra, he hoped she would not wake in his absence and see the note. If all goes well, you will return shortly. Shifting his gaze, he stared into his father’s oddly calm eyes. Again, a twinge of unease went through him at how effortlessly his father remained impartial. He touched his father’s hand, and the pain began.

He was grateful for his father’s cloaking as a scream tore past his lips. He could not mistake the rupture of flesh and muscle as his wings exploded forth. Gabe crashed to the floor on his hands and knees, chest heaving as he struggled to breathe through the pain. Eyes downcast, he pushed himself to focus calm enough to heal his injury. After a beat, he rose from the floor and gave a flap of his wings to ensure they worked.

He nearly vomited when his sight landed on Cassandra’s bed. “No.” His horrified whisper drew tears to his eyes, and he cried for the very first time. Tears fell and slipped down his cheek, landing on his body and the floor as he looked at his charge. Gabe’s eyes burned with each fallen drop, and he knew his body trembled where he stood.

Her aura was so densely black he couldn’t see her through it. He knew she lay inside it, as she always had, but the intensity of the death that followed her could not be hoped away. “She doesn’t have long.” The salty taste of tears was foreign to him. Biting his cheek, he rounded on his father. “Why was I not told? Surely someone was watching?”

Gabriel looked at him, finally showcasing emotion of some sort, but Gabe could not make out just what kind. “We knew. You were so dedicated to something for the first time that I did not wish to pull you from your time here. I hoped if I presented you with how she might falter once you left, you would simply guard her from Earth as a human until she passed.”

“You tried to steal her chance.” His low growl barely concealed his anger.

“You have the right to stand before the Council of Angels. Now.” Gabriel’s sadness was finally audible.

“You have given up on her. I have not.” With a powerful downward thrust of his wings, Gabe transported out, passing directly to the door of the council room.

“Gabriel, do not charge in angry.”

“I will do whatever I damn well please, Father.” He spat the familial term. The door opened as if he’d twisted the knob as he blasted his palms against it.

The Archangels had all taken their seats. None, save for Ariel, dared to look at Gabe as he approached. His steps seemed to shake the floor as he planted his feet with each movement. Every single angel that refused to look him in the eye fueled his fire. He did not stand in the designated circle near his father, but at the one on the other side of the table, disrespecting his family ties. It was then he saw Carlyle leaning against the back wall. His mentor looked him in the eyes, and his gaze spoke volumes. He did not agree with Gabe's actions.

Well, fuck him.

“Thank you, for finally deeming my charge worthy, because she is who you truly ignored.” He began, curling his fingers around the edge of the table to keep him upright as fury threatened to have him launch at any angel who looked at him wrong. “I have also heard you are all aware cancer has nearly swallowed her whole, even if her body has not yet begun to actually deteriorate.”

His stomach churned as he spoke of her like an object and not the woman he had come to love.

Continue. For her.

“We all know the humans, many of them at least, believed a miracle happened on this day—on Christmas. So it is fitting that today I come before you and demand, no take, the miracle that my charge is worth.”

“You have your answers then?” It was Uriel who spoke though he still did not meet Gabe’s gaze.

“Aye.”

“Gabriel, please lead your worker in the defense he wishes to begin.” Sandalphon’s icy blue gaze shifted between Gabe and his father as the man tapped his fingers on the table.

“Gabriel, Guardian of Man, please inform the council of why Cassandra Marks should be saved from a disease that angels do not typically save humans from.”

His father’s words were cold and calculated, but Gabe’s would not be.

“Cassandra Marks lived through a tragic upbringing that could have turned her into a terrible human being. A human who stole, attacked and even murdered to survive. She bounced between not one, but three, foster homes until a family adopted her. Then, in a twist of fate, her parents were taken from her. She was alone, and instead of turning her talents and mind to negativity, she began to plan.” He looked around and was not surprised to see the angels still not looking at him. “Her life’s work is about creating a worldwide system that will place children with families no matter the country. It will reduce if not eliminate the ridiculous fees that hinder so many parents away from adopting and leave so many children, especially in third world countries, without a family.”

Gabe pushed back from the table and circled around Michael. “Even angels have families. We have parents and siblings. We have lovers and children. Is it not fair humans all be given a chance if fate has stolen their family?”

Michael finally looked into Gabe’s eyes, a steely expression lurked in the depths, but his head did nod.

“Cassandra Marks is incredible, but not for her system. For her soul. While fighting this cancer, she remained optimistic. It is true she has had moments of weakness, and I am honored to have been there as her Guardian to protect her from herself. She spent time at the children’s ward, at the soup kitchen, and with her support group. I was with her many times, and I can tell you, there is no one with the ability to light up a room the way Cassandra Marks does. She is a guiding light who will ensure the program she dreamed up is brought to fruition. She deserves to live and see those children find homes. To see parents bring home the missing piece of their family. Cassandra is not replaceable. She is not someone to cast aside because of this cancer. She is someone to save.” When he stopped speaking, he was at the opposite end of the table, staring at his father, his body struggling to take in air as fear for her life suffocated him with each word.

“Is it true you asked if she was needed for her vision and she responded she was not?”

“You!” Gabe hissed as he lunged at Carlyle, but he never got to lay a hand on the other Guardian Angel. Michael and Raphael grabbed him around the waist, slamming him against the left wall.

“Do not blame him. It was I who witnessed the conversation.” Gabriel stepped up to Gabe, his eyes glowing brightly. “Calm yourself or your plea will be dismissed.”

Swallowing, he forced his anger down, driving it deep into his body until it sat in his feet like weights. “I’m sorry.” He spoke to Carlyle even though he did not look at him. “I apologize for the loss of temper. As one can imagine, I have grown very connected to Miss Marks. I am protective.” I am in love.

“The council will ignore the outburst as it does not pertain to the human in question. Now, Gabe, answer the question.”

Sucking in a deep breath through his nose, Gabe held onto it until his lungs burned. He breathed out on a sigh, doing his best to keep his emotions in check. “It is true. She understands that while her work is her design, any other can champion setting it up.”

“Thank y-”

“But I disagree.” He ignored the glare from his father and kept speaking. “It is her soul that will ensure the success of the project. Is it possible another intelligent person can create the algorithm needed? Of course. But the work is about more than the algorithm. It’s about how her soul touches the people around her. She needs to be the one performing the meetings and setting things up. She is the only one who understands. Will she die one day? Yes, and by that time I believe she will have found another human like herself to pass the job to.”

“Thank you for your appeal. It is an uncomfortable question, but one that must be asked.” Gabriel did not appear sorry to have to ask, his eyes still burning with heavenly fire, still broadcasting his anger for all to see. “Have you fallen in love with your charge?”

Gabe’s blood drained, leaving him dizzy. “Why is that a pertinent question?”

“Your statements must be made out of logic and reasoning. While you spoke, the cadence to your words changed at select moments.”

Clenching his jaw, Gabe let himself look around the room at the council. Suddenly, all eyes were on him. “My feelings have no bearing on my testimony. Cassandra Marks deserves to be free of cancer. She has a mission to complete, and I am certain in my sentiment that it is her ability to understand the foster care system, a missing family and her caring soul make her uniquely qualified to at least get her vision launched.”

“Very well.” Gabriel looked at his son out of the corner of his eye. “This is not a deliberation. Those in favor of removing cancer from Cassandra Marks, please raise your hand.”

Gabe’s breath caught in his throat as he watched hands rise. He’d not known the answer would come so swiftly. Carlyle’s hand raised, even though he had no say. Gabe thanked his mentor with a nod, though his support could not alter the outcome, it meant a lot to Gabe. His father, Uriel, and Michael all held their hands high.

Breathing became difficult. Gabe put his hands to his throat and clawed at it as the room seemed to spin around him. His chest hurt as he attempted to suck in lungfuls of air. Gabriel’s hand on his shoulder finally eased him of his suffering.

“What happened?” The words were choked out as he was hunched over still trying to catch his breath.

“I believe you experienced a panic attack. A holdover from your time without your wings.” His father looked into his eyes as a parent, not his employer. “Do you understand what has been decided?”

“I am not staying.”

“Gabriel,” his father’s voice held all the warning tone of when he scolded Gabe growing up centuries ago.

“No. If you will not save Cassandra, I will do whatever it takes to save her. I will help her fight. I will heal her suffering when I can.”

“You will expose yourself and lose your wings. You’ve only just gotten them back. Agree to stay here. Accept that not all can be saved.”

“No. I am her Guardian Angel. I will not abandon her. I will make myself visible to her and tell her everything.” He forced himself to rise and stand at full height. “I do not want these wings if I cannot save those who deserve salvation.”

“Gabriel, my son, think before you act.”

“I have done my thinking, Father. As you requested, I will answer. I am in love with Cassandra Marks. She is everything humanity should be, and while I was human, it was evident how she changed my world, in just a short time. I would gladly fall to live by her side no matter the length of time she has left.”

He turned, allowing his wings to unfurl from his back, likely for the last time. He glanced at his father as he walked past, but none stopped him.

Earth.

And with a thought, he was back in her apartment. Gabe refused to look at her, to see the blackness condemning her. He wasn’t done fighting for her life. Let her see me. Another thought and he dropped the cloak that angels lived under. He tucked his wings against his back, not wanting to start off on a path that would have her think she’d gone insane.

“Cassandra?” He wished he could ignore the swirling blackness around her, but until he fell, it would cloud his vision. If you are ever able to unsee it.

“Gabe?” Her voice was a grumble as she rolled over and looked at him. “Is everything okay? You look . . . different.”

“I need to speak to you. To tell you some things I haven’t shared before.”

She sat up, the blanket falling off as she did. Staring at her, he could scarcely make out her beautiful face. Breathe, Gabe. Breathe and change your world.

“If you tell me you’re married, I swear to G-” Getting angry took more energy than she cared to expend, but she felt the fury boiling in her gut.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Though that’s likely less insane than what I’m going to ask you to listen to.”

Without meaning to, she tucked the blanket under her chin and scooted backward, putting her back against the wall. Gabe had been the picture of normal until a minute ago. Just get him talking, maybe it’s nothing.

“I want to tell you whatever it is won’t change how I feel about you, but I’m not so certain I can make that promise. So why don’t you tell me already.”

“When we’re together, have you ever noticed your emotions calm down when you’re upset? Or that perhaps maybe once or twice you’ve felt less sick with me around and then horribly ill when I leave?”

“Yes, but what does that matter? When we’re together, I’m happy. It makes sense my body would take my positive mood and help me feel even a little bit better.” Her heart beat rapidly in her chest. For a man who seemed so perfect, she worried she may have fallen in love with a nut job.

“I’m doing this all wrong.” He reached his hand out, touched her wrist, and smiled. “Is that better?”

She didn’t understand the question. “I’m sorry?”

“Are you calmer?”

Cassandra paused, taking note of the way her heart had steadied. “I do.”

“I swear to you, I am not insane and neither are you, but I’m not entirely who I said I was. My name is Gabe, I was a warrior for quite some time, and I’ve recently had a career change that sent me to Boston.” His eyes swirled with green and gold as he stared at her as if he were trying to convey something in them. “I am not a social worker, my father is not some random big shot New York lawyer.”

Nothing he was saying was cause for alarm. “If you’re going to tell me you’re really a bank robber—while it would have to stop— I don’t care, Gabe.” She meant the words. His past didn’t matter if he was trying to turn it around.

He snorted, his face twisting with mirth. “I’m not a robber. I’m not even human. I’m a Guardian Angel. Specifically, your Guardian Angel. Or I will be until this conversation ends and I’m stripped of my wings for revealing myself to you.”

When he stopped speaking, a quiet so deep filled the room she could have heard a mouse scurry across the floor. Cassandra’s jaw dropped as she assessed Gabe. He was stern, stoic even. His jaw was set in a firm line as if he were clenching his teeth, and his gaze was unwavering.

“Gabe,” leaning forward, she pressed a hand to his head. “You don’t have a fever.” She frowned.

“Of course I don’t. I suppose I should have added I’m not fever addled either.”

Her brow raised as he climbed off the bed and stood in the center of her apartment. If he were going to sprout a pair of wings, there would be no choice but to believe him.

“Gabe, I’m sorry. The stress of dating me has obviously gotten into your head. Or maybe it’s all the times I’ve said you were my Guardian Angel. You’ve started to believe it.” She’d caused this amazing, fascinating man to have a break with reality. “You probably just need some sleep.”

“The work trip you were planning on taking, the one before you found out about the cancer, to Cambodia.” He walked over to the desk and pulled out a folder she’d buried in a fit to not hate herself for not being able to go. “I put that there. Literally. It was my doing.”

“Gabe, please. The mailman had it with my things.”

He growled and crossed his hands over his chest. “I know when you were twelve years old you began volunteering your free hours to help the younger kids at the orphanage learn basic academic skills. I know you hoped it would help them find homes if they could impress potential parents with their skills.”

Her throat tightened. She hadn’t told him about that, in fact, she hadn’t even remembered it until he brought it up.

“I know when your parents died in that car accident, you were out in the library, not at a party like you’d told them because you knew how badly they wanted you to do normal things.”

Cassandra’s breathing hitched. “How could you know those things? Who did you pay to find out details of my past?” Her breath came in fast, shallow gulps as she struggled to think who would know such details. “What did you hope to gain in getting close to me?”

“Cassandra, please try to calm down.” Gabe’s eyes closed for a moment before he spoke. “I’ve told you. I am your Guardian Angel. It was I who prompted you to get to the damn doctor because you had death following you. I left my wings to be a human to get close to you to plead with my superiors to save you because it is within their powers.”

She cried out, furious he would dare to pretend there was a cure while stating he was not crazy or sick himself. “Get out.” The words were barely above a whisper because she struggled to speak as the anger and panic collided. “Get out now.” Her foot caught in the blanket when she tried to stand, and she slipped.

A strange sound filled the air, and before she knew it, she was in Gabe’s arms. “Let me–” The words completely vanished as she lifted her head and saw the impossible. “Oh my god.”

“Actually,” Gabe said as he lay her back on the bed, “There is no god.”

A brilliant pair of shimmering white wings were on his back. They were just like the drawing of angel wings she drew as a child—an arched top that dropped to a point near his ankles.

“How did you get those to stay on and pop out?”

Gabe spun, and when he did, the smallest traces of blood lined the rips in his shirt where the wings had come from. As suddenly as they appeared, they were gone, suctioned back into his back somehow.

“This isn’t possible.” She was already standing up, reaching out to touch him. “There’s no way you had some strange surgery, and I’ve just never noticed? Or I’m the one with the fever. I’m going insane and seeing things. Hearing things too.”

He grinned. “Like it or not, that answer is no. Please, sit.”

She felt compelled, not like he was controlling her, but like she had to because there was a fucking angel in her apartment. “This isn’t possible.” She was talking to herself.

“It is. I know you might not want to hear this, but I love you. I came down to save your life so I could prove to my father I was better than a stupid Guardian Angel. Everything I did was to get to know you to fight for you. Along the way, it became just about you. The day I ran out?”

She nodded slowly, and probably for too long, but she was still in shock that this was not a fevered hallucination.

“That moment I fell in love with you. I didn’t lie to you. I may have omitted my feelings because I didn’t want to scare you off, but nothing has been a lie. Telling you this, once you believe, will destroy my wings.”

“Why would you give that up for me?”

He took her hands in his and kissed the tips of her fingers. It tingled from her damaged nerves, but instantly the pain shifted to something almost pleasurable. “Because as I just finished telling the principal angels, you are the most beautiful soul I have ever met. I would give up everything to spend time with you.”

“Wait, angels can remove cancer?”

“We can intervene, but it is rare.”

“So I’ll be free?”

A tear slipped down his face, and she sank down, laying back in the bed.

“I’m going to die.”

He shook his head fiercely and climbed into the bed beside her. “They will not save you, but that does not mean you cannot save yourself. That is what we will do. Together.”

She went to speak, but sound would not come out. Her voice was lodged in her throat. She wanted to believe him but was so certain she was still dreaming.

“How bad is it?”

“As an Angel, I see the aura following you. It’s so dense and dark I can scarcely see you even though I’m staring right at you.”

Warm tears raced down her face, and she felt her cheeks quiver. A dream would not be this cruel. “I’m not okay?”

He curled her against him and kissed the top of her head. “No, but you will be. You will fight to be.”

Her breath got stuck in her throat and swallowed again. “I believe you. I don’t understand why or how, but I love you, and I’m so damn glad you aren’t someone terrible.” She gasped. “Oh my gosh, I can’t say that, can I?”

“No god, you can say whatever you wish. You believe me?”

“If a man who is claiming to be a Guardian Angel is going to fight to save my life and loves me as much as I love him, I am not going to turn that away.”

He kissed her. A gentle caress that heated her body. Turning into his embrace, she kissed him, lost herself in him. Every stroke of his tongue against hers was more than it had been before. She had more energy as well.

“I cannot thank you enough.” She breathed when they broke their kiss.

“Fight. That is how you can thank me.” He lay beside her. “And promise to love me once my wings are gone.”

“Yes. To both.” She kissed him again. “This is absolutely insane.” She lay next to him, her hand brushing against something fuzzy and she grabbed it between her fingers. “Oh, Gabe.”

“I feel it. My wings are fading. This happened before—when I failed to be a proper Battle Angel and my golden wings melted to white.” His tone hushed. “Only this time they’ll just be gone.”

“I love you. I don’t understand how I could deserve this sacrifice, but I will make certain every day we have left is the best it can be.”

“Shh, just say every day, please. We’ll beat this. But for now, I think I’m going to need you to take care of me for just a little.”

Pushing up, she saw the sheen of sweat on his brow. “Anything.”

She was going to care for the most amazing man she’d ever met as he gave up the most incredible gift that she apparently truly believed in because according to his words, he would fall once she accepted his tale.

Oh my god, I’m in love with an angel.