by Elisabeth -
Before she could answer Alcide, her alarm went off indicating that it was time for her to be up and rush to get to her exam.
“Damn! I have to go.” Arabella shot out of bed and ran towards the door. As she was almost out of the room, she came to a halt as a sound caught her by surprise. She turned around hearing gasping and then a groan.
Her eyes widened in shock as she watched him sit up a bit higher on his bed fully naked as he stroked himself. His eyes were shut as his head was thrown back in pure ecstasy. Arabella’s shocked expression transformed as a wide Cheshire smile spread on her face. Her tongue slipped out of her mouth and licked her top lip as she watched how each stroke was done with finesse.
She was hypnotized by the definition of Alcide’s body. She bit her bottom lip as her eyes traveled up then down, glancing at his big muscular arms as his veins looked as if they were going to pop out of his skin. Arabella suppressed a moan as she lowered her gaze. She looked up at his face when she heard him groan louder as he picked up the speed on his strokes. Arabella watched in amazement as his big hand wrapped around his thick, impressive member. She was lost in the moment as she advanced towards him. She was mesmerized by his strokes and the sensual display in front of her. She felt herself growing wetter and wetter by the minute. She tried to hold back her moan this time, but it escaped at the same time as his release.
“God, I’ve never known a man’s moan to be so damn sexy.” She said.
Alcide smirked,
“Oh yeah?” He teased.
Arabella nodded as her eyes were glued and mesmerized by his seed that glistened and coated his large hand. She couldn’t stop staring at it. Alcide couldn’t suppress his chuckle,
“Want to help me?”
Arabella moaned as she stood at the foot of the bed.
“God yes!”
~E~
Arabella groaned as Alcide got out of the bed and stood at his full height. Arabella instinctively reached out to grab his arm that was coated with his seed. She shuddered when he flexed his muscle with the skin to skin contact. Alcide knew his hand was coated with the remnants of his seed as he reached out to caress her throat roughly and he brought her up to him. Arabella felt the air leave her lungs as she floated in the air.
At this moment, most people were shocked or fought, but Arabella was more turned on than she’d ever been. Arabella let out a moan as her nipples stood erect Alcide watched with a satisfied grin, the shift in her eyes as her eyes sparked filling with lust. Alcide brought her close to his face and kissed her roughly. Arabella wrapped her legs around his waist as he eased on her throat. His hand moved to the back of her neck, and they fell back on the bed.
Alcide groaned and flipped Arabella on her back and spread her legs not even thinking about anything as he easily slipped inside. Arabella pulled away from the kiss,
“I’m going to be late and miss my exam, Alci.”
Alcide smiled at the nickname instantly liking it,
“I’ll personally make sure you make it on time.” He retorted leaning in and kissed her again. This time he didn’t give her a moment to say anything as he slipped in and out of her.
~E~
Arabella was glad that she made it to her exam and was done. She confidently handed her exam paper to her professor and walked out smiling. Her smile kind of faded when she saw Bernice walking up to her. She wanted to call and explain what happened yesterday but she had gotten caught up with Alcide. She wanted to tell her friend about losing the only other singer in their little group. What Arabella hadn’t expected was for Bernice to practically give her a bear hug and hear her friend sniffling.
“I’m so sorry Ari. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to protect you from that creep Jared. I had no idea he even looked at you like that, and it makes me feel bad that I auditioned him myself not even noticing the signs. I’m so sorry Ari. Please forgive me and know that I didn’t mean to put you in harm’s way.”
By now, Bernice had started sobbing in the middle of the hall capturing other on-lookers’ attention. Arabella shushed her and rubbed her back.
“Bernice, it’s okay. Come on now Bee; I know you would never put me in harm’s way. We’ve been friends for a long time now; you’re like my sister.” Arabella pulled Bernice out of the hug and reached up a bit to wipe the tears from her friend’s eyes. She smiled softly,
“Should we take this somewhere else before everyone here clubs us over the head because they failed their exams?”
Bernice chuckled and nodded. Bernice took Arabella’s hand and escorted her outside. When they got outside, Arabella turned and looked at her friend who looked like she hadn’t gotten an ounce of sleep.
Arabella reached out and caressed her cheek,
“I’m sorry that I didn’t answer my phone when you called or this morning. I was just busy, and as for Jared, you aren’t at fault. We’ve been singing together for this long, and none of us would have guessed it.”
“I’m really happy that you’re okay and I would’ve killed Jared if I hadn’t seen the state he was in. He’s barely breathing right now.”
“Is it bad that I want to say good and he deserves it?”
Bernice smiled and shook her head,
“Nope! You wouldn’t be my friend if you felt bad for him. Now, let’s change the subject before I go back and castrate him this time.”
Arabella laughed hard as they walked towards the Starbucks on campus.
“So, are you going to tell me who he is or?”
“Hmm?” Arabella asked her.
“Who's that man was that basically almost sent Jared to an early grave and who you are always ditching me for? Girl, you’ve been M.I.A for months now. I mean I didn’t mind because I was really busy with getting the extra hours and paying tuition but damn when was the last time we had a girl’s night?”
Arabella felt guilty. She hadn’t realized how much time she had spent with Alcide until Bernice brought it up,
“I’m sorry. Okay, I promise we will do something now that exams are over.”
“Yay! Also, when did you guys put the house up for sale?”
“What house?” Arabella asked as they walked into the Starbucks and stood in line.
“Your home? With your father. I passed by this morning and saw the sign.”
“Oh.” was all Arabella could say as she wasn’t sure what was going on.
As Arabella was about to speak, she heard a commotion behind her, and she turned around just in time to see a huge three headed dog running towards her. She was in shock and frozen into place. She didn’t know what to do as it charged at her and Arabella shrieked resulting in her fainting. Her world went black as she thought her time had finally come.
Chapter 7
Alcide threw Apollo’s door open almost causing the door to come off its hinges.
“Where is SHE!” He yelled. Furious that his brother had called and said Cerberus had appeared out of nowhere almost attacking Arabella.
Apollo showed up to meet him in the grand foyer,
“She’s fine, just asleep. You’re lucky I kept tabs on her. Come. Let’s sit down for a second; I need to speak with you.”
Alcide looked his brother up and down before he walked towards the living room that he’d visited quite often. He sat down and couldn’t control the anger he was feeling.
“Say it.”
“So, apparently, your scorned wife made a deal with our dear sweet uncle Hades, she’d work for him and do his bidding just if the little woman that her husband is in love with, dies.”
Alcide abruptly stood up.
“My wife? She’s dead! She has no power! How dare she? No… How dare he provoke me? What? Because he’s a damn god that’s older than my family and me, he thinks he can do this to me?” Alcide yelled the last part and began to pace.
“Don’t let your anger get the best of you. We can fix this. Your scorned wife only wants one thing, and that’s for you only to love her. For you to only be hers. Just do that.
You can’t beat Hades, and the more you resist, the worse it becomes for you. You know that?”
Alcide stopped dead in his tracks.
“You want me to let Arabella go? No! I won’t do that. She’s mine, and that’s where she’ll stay. Megara is not my wife anymore. Yes, at one time she was the love of my life but now… I don’t think I’ve ever loved someone the way that I love Ari. It scares me that I could open my heart up as I have. She didn’t do a damn thing for me to love her but I did. Our times that we spent together had mostly been in my room and me in between her legs, but even so, I fell, I fell hard, harder than I’ve ever fallen before.”
Alcide sighed running his fingers through his hair as he continued to speak,
“All those 12 labors that I completed were nothing to me. They were the easiest things on earth for me to do but this…letting Ari go? I can’t. You think I haven’t thought about it over the days, weeks, and months? I wake up and say to myself I should let her go. Let her live her life and love someone worth loving, but I talk myself, out of it. I tell myself that she’s what I need to forget everything all that had ever happened to me. She makes the madness stay at bay, but you think what’s wise is letting her go? For what? For who? MY DEAD WIFE!” He fumed.
“Those memories themselves make me want to gouge my eyes out, but I endured it because I deserve that punishment. No, I deserved it, but I’ve paid my due. I’ve served my punishment and as for our dear old uncle, tell him unless he wants me to set Persephone free, he had better stay out of my affairs!”
“Herakles!” Apollo called out to him, but it was too late because at the snap of his fingers, a sleeping Arabella was in his arms and he walked out of the house not acknowledging his brother or the tone he carried.
~E~
Arabella woke up and shot up out of bed. She looked around trying to see if the dog was anywhere near her. She felt like she was either going crazy or something else. When she was younger, this had happened to her. She had seen another creature and screamed so loud that her father told her it was all in her head. He said he would fix it, but here she was broken and seeing things. She shut her eyes again and pulled her knees to her chest. She felt the soft satin as it glided over her body. She heard a snarl in the far corner of the bedroom, and she opened her eyes.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the same three headed hound she had seen at the Starbucks, and she screamed. She couldn’t stop screaming even when Alcide came by her side. She started to cry out loud not realizing a memory was triggering from when she was younger.
“Daddy!” She screamed. “Please fix it. Fix me. I don’t want the animal to scratch me again. Save me, please. Make me invisible. Help me, don’t leave me here with it.” She sobbed.
Alcide froze as he heard her crying out for her father. He wasn’t sure if this was a memory or if she really believed that her father was here. He pulled her into his arms and maneuvered her head to lay on his chest as he shushed her. He rubbed her back as he wanted to soothe her.
“Baby… Ari, it’s okay. There’s nothing here. I’m here. I’ll protect you.” He said to reassure her. His heart broke at the way she pleaded to be helped. To be fixed as if there was something wrong with her.
He didn’t get it. She was perfect from head to toe with all the scarring included. He ached to make her better whether it involved him giving her one of his precious rare roses. He needed her to calm down and be okay, so he did the only thing he could think of. He raised her head up to look at him even while she sobbed. He cupped both of her cheeks in his large hands, and he kissed her.
~E~
Arabella stopped crying as Alcide kissed her. He pulled her in even closer to him than she was. His tongue snaked past her lips and teased her own. She responded with her own tongue getting lost in him. She became lost in his kisses and couldn’t focus on anything else. She forgot about what she had just seen a moment ago, as he brought her into another world. He brought her back to her reality, to a reality that she liked and was beginning to love.
Her heart skipped a beat as the realization dawned on her. She was beginning to love Alcide and now what was she going to do? She didn’t want to leave him or this place. She didn’t want to ever walk away from the way his lips found hers every morning. She didn’t want to forget the way he would wake her up each morning in different ways. She moaned as he ran his fingers through her hair the way she liked. Her thoughts became muffled as he deepened the kiss causing her to forget about everything else because, at this precise moment, she couldn’t think straight.
Chapter 8
Alcide broke the kiss and looked at Arabella. She had the perfect expression of just kissed. I love you. He said to himself. He should’ve known he was in love with her from the first time she walked into his office. She still had her eyes shut, and he watched her. He watched as she looked relieved but at the same time afraid to open her eyes.
“Open your eyes.” He demanded.
He heard as she sighed and then she opened her eyes. She looked up at him and waited. He smiled at her, and she smiled back.
“Thank you.” She softly said.
“For what?”
“For this. I’ve never felt that before.”
“Felt what?” He asked. Not sure what she was referring to.
“I’ve never felt so protected in my life. No one has ever held me like that before.”
Alcide’s heart ripped apart at that statement. He shut his eyes and pulled her down with him. He rested her head on his chest. He didn’t know what to say as she said that. It truly hurt him to know that she had no one comfort her. They were quiet for so long that he thought she fell asleep but she spoke up indicating that she wasn’t asleep.
“Can I tell you something?” She asked.
“Anything.” He replied to her.
Arabella sighed as she began,
“I’ve never felt my mother’s love, and until this day, I never thought I needed it. I thought I had my dad all this time, but I don’t. I was okay as I grew up. I really thought he loved me you know? I thought…” Arabella sighed. “I don’t know what I thought. I just imagined it all in my head I guess. You know when I got my first scar? When I was seven years old. I fell or something like that, and it scarred my knee then my dad said he would fix it for me. He would make me pretty again because pretty girls didn’t get hurt. But then…”
Alcide didn’t want to stop her from spilling her emotions, so he encouraged her to continue.
“Then what baby?”
“Then… then he got obsessed. He got obsessed with giving me scars and taking them away. It hurt at first for days but then it’s like my body became numb to it all. The worst one was my face. When he slashed my face, he didn’t give me any anesthesia. Oh, that pain lasted for days. I remember the way the blood dripped in my eye stinging it and I couldn’t yell out my pain because I was afraid I’d lose more blood. I thought I was choking when he got closer to my neck, but he cut it open with such precision that nothing was deathly. I don’t know how I didn’t pass out, but all I could think of was that if I disappeared this would all stop. Sometimes I wished that I’d died on that operating table.”
Alcide held her closer to him not wanting her to see the turmoil in his eyes that was brewing. He was angry and sad for her. He wanted to hold her and shield her from the pain. He wanted to strangle her father. He was worthless, less than scum. He didn’t deserve to live. He deserved to die. He deserved to be punished.
“Sometimes…” Arabella continued. “Sometimes, I wonder what I would be like without all of this scarring. I wonder if I would be as beautiful as any of the females I see around me. I wonder if men would look at me like more of a beautiful person than a scarred fetish that they must check off their bucket list. I wonder if that boy would’ve stopped calling me a monster as he got on top of me and raped me even when I screamed at the top of my lungs for him to stop.” He heard her sniffle. “I wonder if any of that would’ve made a difference. I just wonder s
ometimes. The only good thing that came out of this is you. If it weren't for you, then I wouldn’t know what it feels like to wake up and see someone who looks past my scar. I can see the way that you look at me. I’m not unaware of the way you stop yourself when the dangerous glint appears in your eyes. You want to take so much more from me, and I know it. Yes, I fear it, but I see it.”
“I would never hurt you, Ari… You must believe me. I would never do anything like that to you. I can’t ever see myself hurting you like that. I’m not a danger nor will I ever be.” Alcide kissed the top of her head as he felt her snuggle into his arms.
He didn’t say anything else as they laid there quiet. Neither of them spoke as their own thoughts took over. Alcide wanted to punish her father and he knew that once he stepped into that territory then it would cost him Arabella. Was that something he was willing to do?
For Arabella, she knew she was in love with Alcide now. She had never spoken to anyone about what had happened in her life. He was the first person she opened up to. She sighed, shutting her eyes hoping that he wouldn’t hurt her as he said. All she wanted was for him to continue to make her feel as she felt in his arms.
~E~
After that conversation, everything for Alcide and Arabella seemed to go well. They fell into a pattern of peace that they forgot about the threat on their life but Megara didn’t forget as she watched from the underworld. She screamed out of sheer hatred as she watched the only man that she’s ever loved while he looked at another woman as he used to look at her. She knew that this love seemed much purer which heightened her rage. She wanted the girl dead and nothing would stop her. The memory of her husband’s rage when he went mad and killed not only her but their children. She knew that it was pure agony and guilt that he carried over the centuries. For her, this was perfect but once he started to forgive himself and move on with his life, bringing another person in it. This was where she couldn’t endure it.
“You seem to be troubled, my dear Megara…” Hades’ voice whispered into her ears.
She shuddered as she kept her composure not wanting to suffer more than she had been doing already.