Selah threads her fingers with mine and snuggles into my side as we walk from the 5^th Avenue Theatre to our next destination. The winter air is biting cold and I feel her shiver against me.

“I hate this cold weather,” she grumbles, but I can’t agree with her. I love feeling it and knowing I’m here with her. Everything I’m able to feel as a human makes me thankful for my second chance at a life with her.

Wrapping my arm around her, I pull her even closer. “Come here, my love.” Her scent makes my chest feel as though it might burst from happiness. A year after facing down hell and coming out the other side, I don’t think I could love her more. “Did you enjoy the show?”

She sighs and rest her head on my shoulder. “It was so beautiful. I’ve never read War & Peace, but I feel like I need to now.”

A chuckle rolls through me. “Natasha’s tragic love story doesn’t happen until the second half. There’s a lot to get through before it gets to the story we just saw.”

“Okay, then. I guess we’ll just have to come see The Great Comet again. Do you think Tolstoy will forgive me?”

Shaking my head, I jut my chin toward the bar across the street. “Want to stop in for a drink before we call a car?”

She nods. “Date night is my favorite.”

“Mine too.” I can’t keep myself from kissing her right here on the sidewalk. Breaking our kiss, I stare into her stormy gray eyes and smile. “I never thought I’d have a normal life. Every day I wake up and see you next to me, I thank my father for giving me this chance.”

“Me too.”

I pull her to the bar and open the door. Instantly we’re surrounded by warm air, loud music, and the smell of beer. “Are you sure this is okay?”

She glances down her body at the fucking amazing dress she’d chosen for tonight. “I’m a little over dressed.”

Leaning in, I whisper, “You’ll be underdressed as soon as I get you home.”

The hitch in her breath goes straight to my cock. Oh, the sounds this woman makes. She drives me insane with need. “Maybe we should just go home then.”

Yes. I don’t answer, I just grab my phone and order us a car. With a five minute ETA until our driver arrives, I settle her on an open stool and allow myself a moment to look at the beautiful woman I’ve loved since I knew what that emotion felt like. She’s smiling, happy, and it’s because of me. But then her eyes go wide and her face blanches.

“Selah, what’s wrong?” I can hear the fear in my words.

“Sariel…he…I thought you killed him.”

Turning, I follow her gaze and my heart nearly stops at the sight of Tamiel, my fallen brother, standing in the corner with a pint of beer in his hand. His blazing gaze is locked on us and a tremor of unease worms its way through me.

“I didn’t smite him. There’s a difference.”

“It’s been years. What could he want now?”

Putting myself in front of her, I stand tall and breathe deeply, gathering all of my resolve. Tamiel smirks and sets down his glass before striding across the wood floor toward us.

“Brother,” he says.

“How do you still have this form? I turned you to ash.”

“When Lucifer called all of the fallen back from purgatory our former bodies were restored. Which is fine with me. I like this body.” His focus goes to Selah behind me. “Do you?”

A feral growl builds in my throat. “Don’t speak to my wife.”

My phone buzzes, alerting me that our car has arrived. Glancing from Tamiel to Selah, I sigh. I have to deal with this, ensure my family will be safe. “Baby, go on home. I’ll meet you there. I have to talk with my brother.”

“But—“ she starts to argue.

“No. Do this for me, please? Tamiel isn’t here to harm me. If he was, he’d already have done it.”

The watcher nods his head and smiles. “He’s right, darling. He’s a measly human now and I’m a vampire. I could have snapped his neck before you even recognized me.”

“I’ll be right back, Tamiel.” Taking Selah’s hand, I help her down from her seat and put my free hand on the small of her back. “I’ll be home soon, baby.”

Once she’s safely in the car, I head back inside the bar. My brother has taken the stool Selah had occupied and somehow there are two fresh pints of beer waiting on the table. Taking the seat across from him, I push away my annoyance at my time with Selah being interrupted.

“She’s really your soul mate?” Tamiel asks. His eyes are pained and hopeful at the same time.

“She is. Father gave her another life.”

“I heard you chose her over Heaven, again.” He toys with the rim of his glass.

“I did. My soul will be judged when the time comes.”

“Mine is lost, but I know you can help me find redemption. I want to…serve the greater good.”

My sense of unease grows as I remember the vast number of fallen Lucifer called to his aid while we fought him. “But you knowingly allied yourself with Lucifer. How can I trust you? You fought with him when we were trying to imprison him.”

He shakes his head. “No. When he brought me back, I left. I refused to do his work. I was never in this to get back into Heaven. I wanted my soul mate. After I found her and watched her die, I was only too happy to serve my sentence in purgatory.”

“And now you want to fight the fallen?”

He runs a hand over his jaw, his eyes looking tired. “I have to make amends for my part in Lucifer’s plan. If I’d known he was instrumental in the whole thing, I’d have done more to stop him.”

“Did you find your soul mate before the flood?”

Eyes cast down, he shakes his head. “I told you this already. I found her over twenty years ago and watched her die the same day.”

“What if she’s been given another chance? Maybe Father returned her to you after we trapped Lucifer.”

A glimmer of hope shines in his expression before his face darkens. “I’ll wait for her until the end of time if I have to. Until then, I want to fight for good. I need you to help me.”

I remember clearly Gabriel’s words telling me my fallen brothers would find me. Nodding, I take a long drink and close my eyes. I’d hoped for a longer reprieve than this. “Fine. We’ll begin training you to find and fight them tomorrow night, if you don’t mind. How should I contact you?”

He gives me his information and offers his hand for me to shake. “Thank you, brother. I can’t tell you what this means to me.”

“I’ll to my best to help. But Gabriel and Michael gave me something you don’t have.”

“The sword.” He visibly pales as he says the words. The instrument of his death at my hands is a vital part of taking down the fallen permanently.

“Have you spoken with Gabriel?

“No. I’ve called to him, but he doesn’t answer.”

“I’ll see what I can do. It’ll take more than you saying you want to help to earn his trust.”

“I’m aware. I’ve got eternity to prove it.” The wicked grin on his face makes me think of Devin. That vampire is always ready for a good fight. Maybe I can bring him in to help.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got a beautiful woman waiting at home. I hate to disappoint her.”

“Cheers, mate.”

By the time I get home my house is dark with the exception of the small reading lamp in our library. My love is curled up on the overstuffed chair with an open book on her lap, a blanket covering her and a cool mug of tea on the table next to her. She’s sound asleep and so beautiful it hurts.

Brushing my knuckles over her cheek, I murmur, “Wake up, my love.”

Her eyes flutter open and she offers me a soft smile. “Everything okay?”

“I’ve got work to do starting tomorrow. Tamiel is joining the fight for good, and I have to help him.”

She sits up and takes my hands. “But you’re human. He could kill you.”

“A lot of things can kill me now. But this is my responsibility. I may be human, but I’m also still an angel. I always will be.”

Shaking her head, she frowns. “That’s not—“

“I don’t have my power, but there is still some grace inside me. I can feel it every time I pray. Gabriel made me human, but he couldn’t take it all away.”

“Will it grow?”

Honestly, I don’t know. My worry extends to our child, to the future children we might have. If I have grace, they will as well. “I don’t think so. But, my love, you don’t need to worry. They won’t take me from you. I know it with the same certainty I know we’re supposed to be together.”

“Do what you have to, but please be careful. Tamiel threatened to kill me once before. I don’t think he can be trusted.”

I relay the story he told me, reminding her of all he’d lost. “He was trying to end his life by threatening yours. He knew what I’d do. I promise you, he won’t be a problem.”

She nods and wraps her arms around me. “I believe you. Now, can we finish our date? I’ve been waiting to show you the outfit I bought for tonight.”

I lift her into my arms and drop a kiss on her lips. “I loved your dress. I told you that.”

Leaning close, she nibbles my ear and whispers, “The outfit is under the dress.”

Everything changes in that one short sentence. I put aside all my concerns, all obligations, and take my wife to bed. No matter what else might be coming, I have her.