On his way back from the Emperor’s audience hall, Zayden encountered Diana.

They spoke briefly—simple words exchanged out of courtesy rather than comfort. She asked mostly about their mother’s well-being. Her brother was never the source of her worry. He remained safe by the Crown Prince’s side, for now.

After the long journey, Zayden finally reached his mansion. Without pausing to think, his feet carried him straight toward Ren’s bedchamber. It was like a habit he had developed. Or rather, tried to.

He opened the door.

No one was there.

Only the faint remnants of the omega’s pheromones lingered in the air, already beginning to fade.

Zayden swallowed hard, his pulse quickening.

Had he left?

The thought alone made his heart race rapidly. Panic seized him before he could think of reasons. He turned sharply and rushed back into the corridor, his gaze darting across the dim hallways.

Normally, the darkness would have posed no issue for him. But now, with his thoughts in disarray and his chest tight, even his keen vision faltered.

Still—no matter how hard he searched—there was no sign of Ren.

After searching for him everywhere, Zayden finally stood before his room. The door was locked—just like always. He reached for the keys in his hand and slowly unlocked it.

Before he even stepped inside, the scent of orange blossoms drifted into his nostrils. A faint smile tugged at his lips when he spotted the omega curled up on the bed, wrapped in a blanket.

Without waiting another moment, he moved toward Ren, sitting on the edge of the mattress with careful movements so as not to wake him.

Silver strands spilled over Ren’s face, partially obscuring his features and barely allowing the alpha to admire him.

Zayden’s heart was still racing—not out of fear that Ren might have left, but from the lingering dread that the man before him could be yet another illusion.

He couldn’t forget the terror of holding his beloved in his arms, soaked in blood, believing he had lost him.

The Emperor had merely instructed him to reinforce the knights along the borders—near his land and throughout every corner of the empire—so that that woman could not trespass again.

But would that truly be enough to stop her?

"Why did she come back?" he murmured, a frown forming on his face without him even realizing it. "What does she want now, after all these years?"

A soft hand tapped against his cheek, pulling him from his thoughts. Zayden blinked, slowly turning his face toward the touch—Ren’s cold fingers brushed against his warm skin.

"You have finally returned," the omega murmured, a faint smile curving his lips.

For a moment, Zayden wasn’t sure whether this was real or merely another dream.

During the General’s absence, Ren hadn’t returned to his own room. He had stayed here instead, finding solace only in the alpha’s space. He hadn’t often slept by Zayden’s side—but with the rainy season approaching, his emotions had grown restless, unsettled.

That season still haunted him.

It was a horror he had never truly been able to forget.

Zayden nodded at once. He hadn’t expected such a warm smile after their earlier ’fight’—if it could even be called that. Had he known this was how he would be received, he would have rushed back without hesitation.

"What are you doing in my room?" he asked softly. "I’ve been searching for you everywhere."

"Waiting," the omega replied, his thumb gently rubbing against Zayden’s cheek.

"Waiting for what?"

"For you."

Zayden’s heart skipped a beat. The tension that had weighed on him earlier seemed to dissolve instantly. His brows relaxed, his worries fading as if they had never existed.

He leaned closer and pressed a soft peck to Ren’s warm lips.

"I didn’t know you were such a good boy," he murmured with a quiet chuckle.

Ren’s cheeks flushed. He quickly withdrew his hand and tugged the blanket closer around himself.

"Goodnight," he said, clearly embarrassed.

Without another word, Zayden rose from the bed and headed for the bath. It was already past three in the morning, and the sun would rise soon enough.

After taking a quick shower, he stepped out with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Ren was still asleep, his steady, gentle breathing filling the room.

"Haaah... looks like I’ll need to hear your breathing to be able to sleep," Zayden murmured as he slipped beneath the blankets.

He wrapped an arm around the omega, pulling him close against his chest.

"My cute attendant," he whispered to himself, pressing a gentle kiss into the silver strands of Ren’s hair. "My mate," he added, as though saying it aloud might make it unquestionably true.

Before he could say anything else, he stopped himself.

The argument they had the other day surfaced in his mind, vivid and unwelcome.

Ren hadn’t told him he loved him.

Unlike the illusion, Ren hadn’t said he didn’t either.

Perhaps Zayden should have listened, truly listened, to what Ren had wanted to say. If he had, maybe things wouldn’t feel so fragile between them now.

But as much as he hated to admit, Ren’s silence scared him.

What if the answer was not in his favour? The thought alone sent chills down his spine.

Zayden lay awake long after Ren’s breathing evened out.

Ilyan.

The name surfaced like a thorn pressed beneath his ribs.

Ren had clearly loved him deeply. Enough to mourn him in silence, enough to carry his absence like a wound that never truly healed.

Zayden had seen it in the way Ren sometimes stared into nothing, in the way his scent turned faintly bittersweet on certain nights—grief tangled with longing.

What if he never forgets him?

The thought tightened Zayden’s hold, not enough to wake Ren, but enough to remind himself that the omega was here.

Alive.

Warm.

Real.

And by his side.

He curled his fingers around the fabric of the other man’s shirt, like holding onto a thread that could tear at any moment.

"Ren," Zayden whispered, his voice shaky.

He lowered his gaze to the peaceful face pressed against his chest.

Ren looked even more handsome when he slept—softer, with no sign of longing for another.

And yet, even now, Zayden wondered how much of Ren belonged to the past.

Could he ever compete with a dead man?

Ilyan would never make mistakes again. Never raise his voice. Never argue. He would remain perfect in Ren’s memories, untarnished by time or reality.

Zayden, on the other hand, was painfully alive—flawed, impatient, capable of hurting the one he cared for most. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He had always done so.

That was why he had sworn never to let anyone break through the walls he built. He isolated himself, masking his loneliness with smiles, until Ren appeared.

What if, in Ren’s heart, there was always a place he could never reach?

Zayden exhaled slowly, resting his forehead against Ren’s hair.

"I am here," he whispered, though he wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince. "I will not disappear. So please, even if you don’t love me, don’t leave me."

But doubt lingered, heavier in his chest than ever.

Loving someone who had already lost their heart once—and to someone already dead—felt like standing in the shadow of a ghost, one he could neither fight nor banish.

And for the first time in a long while, Zayden feared that no matter how tightly he held Ren, he might never truly be chosen.