Catalyst Read online

  “I love it when you’re full of life and laughter. It warms my heart, Ales.”

  He shook his head.

  “You’re too good to me, Lani… you really are.”

  I couldn’t help it as I smiled at him. This was all I ever wanted, and I couldn’t ask for more. I had my husband, our child and our lives weren’t a threat every day.

  Ales surprised me by spinning me while I was spaced out. When I landed back in his arms, I looked up at him.

  “Who taught you that?” I asked.

  “Some woman who enjoyed dancing,” he answered nonchalantly.

  My face twisted into a scowl. I rolled my eyes and looked away as we continued to dance.

  “Are you jealous, baby?” he asked me.

  I rolled my eyes once more and tried to walk away, but he pulled me right back into him.

  “There’s no woman on this earth that could ever replace you. You hear me, woman?” he teased.

  I scoffed but smiled at his attempt to reassure me.

  “It’s okay. I know you’d feel the same if any of my exes turned up and tried to claim me.”

  Ales’ eyes glowed a dangerous glint as he smiled.

  “We both know I would break every bone in his body and watch him bleed out slowly before I let him even look at you. Come on, baby, you know me better than that.”

  This time, I threw my head back and laughed loudly. Ales took this opportunity to nip the axis between my neck and shoulder. My laughter turned into a moan that I was sure those around us heard. I cleared my throat and righted my head. I cocked my eyebrow at him and he had the nerve to give an innocent boyish look. The bastard.

  I shook my head at him and moved my arm from his shoulder. I grabbed the lapel of his grey charcoal suit jacket and pulled him closer to me. I planted a soft kiss on his lips.

  “You’re so annoying,” I said when I removed my lips from his.

  He kissed me again, this time snaking his arm around my waist, and pulled me into him. When he removed his lips, I missed their softness.

  “Pick a place,” he said.

  “What?” I asked confused by his question.

  “Where do you want to go? For our honeymoon?”

  “Let’s go home,” I said without a second thought.

  “Greece it is… I haven’t been back there ever since I woke up. I couldn’t go back there without you,” he confessed.

  I nodded.

  “This is why I love you so.”

  “You can’t love me as much as I love you. I wouldn’t allow it. You know that.”

  I chuckled.

  “You just have to be hard-headed even in something like this.”

  He smiled at me and kissed me once more. I was happy we were going back home, even if it was just to visit. My heart soared.

  ***

  As we got near the end of our reception. The live band took the stage one last time. I heard the beginning of the song, but I wasn’t sure if that was my favorite song. When the singer took the mic and sang the first verse, my heart did a double flip and burst into a million pieces.

  ♫ I could lose my heart tonight, if you don’t turn and walk away…♫

  I wanted to scream. Instead, I stood up and walked over to the dance floor standing right in front of the stage as the singer sang my favorite song, I Could Fall In Love by Selena. I didn’t care that I was up there swaying back and forth as he continued to sing the rest of the song.

  After a moment, I felt Ales’ hand snake around my waist. I leaned into him, and we swayed together. As he sang, my heart soared. I was here and happy with the man of my dreams. He didn’t know how long I prayed and yearned for him. I missed him and wanted him to come to me so bad, yet I didn’t voice it. Tears filled my eyes, and I shut them as I laid my arms over his. He didn’t know how perfect this was for me. I was so grateful for this man. He gave me everything without me ever asking, and I didn’t know if I could ever repay him for doing so.

  “Thank you for everything, baby. Thank you,” I said as the song was coming to an end.

  “I’d give this and so much more Elani. You have no idea.”

  I turned to face him. Ales’ kissed my tears and waited for me to open my eyes, once more looking up at this beautiful man that was all mine.

  “You ready to go, Mrs. Petra?”

  I couldn’t help it as I broke out into the biggest smile ever and nodded.

  “I’ll always be ready to go with you, my liege.”

  He smirked, leaning in to kiss me. As he was kissing me, he wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up. Spinning us in a circle, he continued to kiss me. I felt as if I had died and gone to heaven, but knowing Ales, he went and brought heaven down to me. The way I loved him, no one could ever match it. This man was part of me, part of my being and there was nowhere else I’d rather be than here smiling as he continued to kiss me, despite everyone telling him it was enough. It would never be enough. His lips would never be enough for me to not kiss anymore. I couldn’t wish for this day to be any different. It was pure bliss in its truest form.

  Chapter 11

  Ales

  I knew exactly where I was going to take Elani. If she wanted to go back home, then that was where I was taking her. I smiled as she removed her oversized shades and placed them on her head. She looked at the private jet and then back at me.

  “What the hell is this, Ales?” she asked.

  I shrugged, smirking at her dumbfounded expression.

  “It’s a private jet, babe, duuuh!”

  She rolled her eyes at my statement.

  “I know that.” She lightly shoved me, and I couldn’t help but laugh at her attempt because I didn’t move an inch. “Seriously, Ales, where did you get this?”

  “Did I forget to mention I’ve got more money than the average man?”

  Elani crossed her arms over her chest and waited for an explanation.

  “I’ll tell you on our way, babe. I promise,” I said coaxing her to go toward the jet.

  She kissed her teeth and walked toward the jet. She looked beautiful in her hairstyle she called, ‘faux locs’ or whatever the hell they were. I liked the way it felt on my fingers and she looked so beautiful with the hairstyle. She was wearing a yellow sundress that made her skin stand out even more. The way it swayed as she moved caused my insides to stir. It was mid-thigh, but every time she moved, it showed more and more skin.

  When we finally boarded, she was still looking at me with her eyebrow cocked waiting for me to tell her about my statements. I smiled at her to see just how serious she was. When she didn’t smile back, I knew she wasn’t messing around. I held back from laughing; I didn’t want her to think I was laughing at her.

  “Come here, baby,” I said to her as she sat across from me.

  She rolled her eyes, but still came and sat on my lap. I kissed a spot on her bare shoulder before I began to tell her.

  I sighed and looked out the window placing my large hand over her small bump rubbing it.

  “So, here’s the short version of the story…When I awoke, the gods had been gracious enough to give me some money and a place to stay until I figured out how to find you. At first, I thought you maybe woke up just in a different country, but that wasn’t it at all. As you know, Patrocleus was what I consider more than a simple friend. He was my brother, and he was killed in the Trojan war. Before I met you, he was my confidante and the only person who mattered to me. I had no brothers or sister, he was it. So, I guess the gods took pity on me and sent him to me as my confidante. He was there waiting for me to wake up and hasn’t ever left my side. The gods entrusted our journey in his hands and, between us both, we came up with the strategy.”

  I stopped talking and looked at her to see her hanging onto my every word.

  “Strategy?” she inquired.

  “Yes. We invested in companies, have gold bonds and so much more. I didn’t want to be a leader in that way. You know me, I crave a good fight. I like to be behind enemy
lines and to be around chaos. We both agreed that we didn’t want to be directly involved. So, at the good times of the stock market, we started to invest and now we’re billionaires.” I shrugged my shoulders, not really caring about money.

  Her face twisted in confusion.

  “Billionaires?” she asked in a small voice.

  “Yep. I mean, would it really make sense for me to be alive for centuries on end and not profit from it all? I would be called a stupid man if anything. So, yes, this jet is mine. I have many other properties and such. I just don’t need to flaunt it, because that’s not my goal. It never was my goal. You were my goal and now I’ve achieved it. All I have acquired is now yours.”

  Her eyes went wide, and she stood up from my lap, causing my face to turn into a frown. I looked up at her as she just stared at me. It didn’t make sense to me as to why she just kept looking at me like that.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Why are you giving me what you worked so hard for? I didn’t do anything to deserve that money. It is yours and I don’t care for it just as long as I have you.”

  I was genuinely confused. Did she not understand what was mine was hers?

  “Baby…” I said before standing up and towering over her. “I got all of that for you. I don’t care for riches or gold, you know that. I’ve had it before, and it didn’t provide me with happiness. It’s useless having it and not sharing it. I want this for you, for our future and for our kids to come, especially this little one that’s on the way,” I said smiling at her. I made sure to pull out the thousand-watt smile.

  She gasped and narrowed her eyes.

  “How dare you?” she said as her own smile formed.

  “What?” I asked innocently.

  She swatted my arm, and I flexed causing her to laugh this time.

  “You know damn well what you’re doing, Ales. You know how weak I get when it comes to your damn smile.”

  I leaned in closer to her lips, pausing to look directly into her eyes as my tongue snaked out of my mouth and licked her bottom lip before pulling it into my mouth. Elani’s eyes fluttered as she held back a moan. Her hands shot out and held onto my shoulders. I kept my eyes open as I sucked on her bottom lip for a moment, feeling her body lean into mine. I lightly bit her lip before I released it.

  “How do I make you feel now?” My voice was husky, filled with desire.

  She pulled the same bottom lip into her mouth as if savoring my imprint there. She didn’t open her eyes as her arms circled my neck and her breasts pressed against my chest. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked at me.

  “You make me want you. That’s what you do.”

  I gave her a peck then another one and I couldn’t resist her as I deepened the kiss.

  Elani

  I opened my eyes to Ales’ kisses. He was kissing my shoulder as he rubbed my belly. Feeling his large hand over my growing middle gave me warmth all over my body. I smiled, knowing he was going to be the best father ever to this child of ours. I didn’t doubt that he would not only provide but also protect our baby girl. I turned to face him as he shifted continuing to rub my belly.

  “We’re here,” he said to me.

  Fear and excitement caused my body to cease all movements. I hadn’t been back here since I killed myself over Achilles’ body. I knew it was different, and half of what I knew as home wasn’t going to be here, but I was still filled with fear.

  Ales turned my head to face him. He softly kissed me, making me relax, and causing my fear to dissipate a bit. He let go, and I pouted.

  “My love…” He began. “You are not here alone. I share your fear and excitement, as well. I am just as fearful as you are about stepping off this jet and looking at what our home has become. That’s why we aren’t headed there first.”

  “We aren’t?”

  “Nope.” He kissed me again then pulled away. “We are in Maldives right now. I want you to enjoy yourself before we end up seeing what our home changed into. Let us enjoy ourselves, truly enjoy ourselves, okay?”

  “Whatever you wish, my liege.” I smiled at him.

  ***

  Ales was right! We truly enjoyed ourselves in Maldives. From the white sandy beaches, the turquoise lagoons, to the best part which was the snorkeling. I wouldn’t even complain that we stayed on the over the water bungalows. I had never seen anything like this island. It was truly beautiful to see how much everything was so breathtaking. I wasn’t sure what I fell more in love with, Ales or Maldives itself. We stayed there for four days, then Ales surprised me when we got on the jet and we were flown over to Santorini.

  I never knew love like I did in Santorini. We tried about every restaurant and acted just like tourists. I couldn’t even tell which town this was from my time; it was beautiful. The galleries increased my love for paintings, and I fell in love with my home once more. We stayed in Santorini for four more days. Ales was always sun-kissed, but now you could tell he was always out in the sun exploring with me. Everything was perfect until we stepped foot in Athens. Our anxiety was on a whole new high, but I knew we were both hiding it from each other.

  We went straight to Delphi. Neither of us spoke as we looked over at the theater. We just stood there, hand in hand, looking at how different our home had become. The large stadium stood there, but everyone called them ‘the ruins’. I took a deep breath as we took in the sights before us. We continued without speaking a word, feeling like our world would crumble if either of us made it known that this was our new reality.

  The next sighting made me tear up. When we stepped foot into the sanctuary of Apollo, I almost sobbed there out loud, but I kept it all inside. It was in the center of Delphi. I remembered going there and praying to the gods; I especially loved Apollo. I loved everything about his godliness, but seeing that sight made me want to bow down and cry my heart out for our home that was now destroyed.

  Everything was gone, and we were the only remains of that past. The people around us didn’t know anything as they took pictures of their vacations or their adventures, but we knew about this place. Achilles took me there once. It was where he told me he loved me.

  “It’s all gone, love.” I finally broke the silence, not able to stand it any longer.

  I finally looked up at Ales as he just stared at everything in silence.

  “I’m sorry,” he said to me.

  “We shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry for making us come here.” A tear fell past my eyes, and I wiped it away quickly.

  Ales turned me to face him. I looked up at him as his eyes held no emotion.

  “I’m glad we came,” he confessed.

  “You are?” I was surprised at this.

  “Yes, I am. If we didn’t come here, then we wouldn’t have realized something.”

  “What’s that?” I wondered.

  “We wouldn’t have realized how much we have survived and how much the gods bestowed their blessings on us. We could’ve been this. We could’ve been the ruins. Instead, we are standing here looking over what used to be our home but no longer is, and I’m okay with that. I really am. We can build our own home, not just for us but for our girl that’s coming and many more after that.”

  I chuckled, loving how he always knew what to say in these times.

  “I love you, Achilles.” His eyebrows shot up, and I shrugged my shoulders. “It only seems right. We are here, and I want to call you by the name you had when I first fell in love with you. Now, let’s go home. I can’t be here anymore.”

  He pulled me in for a hug, and I felt his chest vibrate as he laughed.

  “Anything for my Queen and my little princess.”

  “Speaking of princesses… I have a suggestion for a name. How do you like Alana-Thea? For our baby girl?”

  “Where’s the Thea from?”

  “Your mom. I cut her name short and added an A at the end. What do you think?”

  He pulled away from our embrace and kissed my forehead.

  “I r
eally love it. Alana-Thea Petra. I love her and you. Let’s go get her home ready for her,” he said with a smile on his face.

  ‘Yes, my liege,” I said, stepping on top of his feet and standing on the tip of my toes to kiss him.

  Ales laughed as he kissed me back.

  Chapter 12

  Ales

  We didn’t hesitate as we left the next day. I wanted Elani to rest instead of flying out right away. She was disappointed in what our home turned out to be, but she was glad she saw it for herself. I watched as she slept while we were on our flight back home. I rubbed her belly as she slept with her back to my front. My phone went off for the third time and I knew I had to pick it up. I reached out for it and looked at the screen. It was Patro. There was no way he was calling me this much for nothing.

  I sighed as I called him back right away. I saw there were more notifications, but I would get to those later. Patro picked up the first ring.

  “I’ve been trying to reach you for the past four days man!” he yelled.

  I snatched the phone away from my ear, not expecting him to yell the moment I called him back. I put the phone back to my ear.

  “I don’t wish to be deaf, Patrocleus.”

  “Yeah, yeah… I found him,” he said.

  I didn’t have to ask how or why. I just knew Patro was going to find Cyril sooner or later.

  “We’re on our way home. Bring him to my warehouse. You know what to do.”

  “I do, but one more thing…” This time Patro hesitated.

  I waited for him to continue, but he was still hesitating.

  “What is it Patrocleus?”

  “It’s about your mother.”

  I was avoiding her. It was just too weird for me. I didn’t know how to talk to her while she was in Stacey’s body and, even when it was back then, we were never close. We understood who we were to each other and how much we helped each other, but this? Talking to each other was something we never truly learned to do.

  I sighed. It was probably time to sit down and talk to her. I knew for a fact she didn’t desire to be in Stacey’s body any longer.