Chapter 55 - The Aquarium
Cat remained sick for three days. She spent most of that time in bed with Trey by her side. The good news was they had heard back from the realtor, and the house they put an offer on was theirs. They expected to close in thirty days. Trey said the timing would be perfect because she should have completed the transition to werelion by then.
Cat was lying in Trey's arms, finally feeling like herself, and she sighed with relief. For the past three days, she had felt like she was dying. She looked out the window and saw it was sunny with very little fog this morning.
She wanted to take a walk on the beach in the fresh morning air. After being cooped up, she needed to get out of the house. She just hoped they didn't run into any more of Trey's family while they were out. She wasn't in the mood to get into any confrontations, or she may let Trey tear them apart.
"How are you feeling this morning, sweetheart?" Trey kissed the back of her head.
"I think it's over, Trey. I feel great. I was just thinking I would like to go for a walk on the beach. It looks nice out, and I'm tired of being in the house." Cat turned over so she could see his face and moved up to kiss him.
"Alright, we'll take a walk. There's a small cafe not far. We can eat breakfast there if you're up for it." Trey ran his hand over her smooth cheek. He could already see little differences since he marked her.
Cat's eyes were still the beautiful pale blue he loved, but gold flecks were floating in them now. Her black hair was even shinier and softer than it was before. Her scent was also getting stronger. He doubted she had even noticed anything since she had been so sick.
"That sounds great. Let's go." She jumped out of bed and ran into the closet at lightning speed. She came back and looked at Trey with widened eyes.
"Trey, did I just run extremely fast? How did I do that without cracking my head open?" Cat looked down at herself and didn't think she looked any different, but she knew everything was flying past her when she ran. What was weird was that she could focus on everything, even going fast.
"My kitten's not a kitten anymore. Honey, that's your lion's blood. You'll be able to run fast in human and lion form, one of the many perks of being a shifter. We just have to remember not to do it in front of humans, or they'll know something's different about us."
Trey walked over and led her to the mirror in the bathroom. At first, she didn't see anything different, but she focused on her eyes and noticed the gold flecks. Then she saw how her hair shined like glass.
"This is all from the werelion blood? Wow, I wasn't expecting that. Can I expect any other physical changes? I mean, am I suddenly going to be six feet tall and have breasts the size of boulders?" Trey couldn't hold back his laughter at her description.
"No, your height and breasts will remain the same. Besides, I think you're perfect the way you are. You shouldn't see any other physical changes, but you'll notice more sensory changes like I talked about the other day." He smiled as Cat stared at herself in the mirror.
"Let's go eat breakfast. Hold my hand when we walk. I don't want to take off running and accidentally cause a scene." She walked to the closet very carefully, making sure not to go too fast.
She put on a pair of white jeans and a light blue sweater. Trey was dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt. Cat was going to ask him if he would be too cold, but then she remembered they have more body heat. She wasn't there yet, because she still felt chilly.
They walked barefoot down the beach in the opposite direction from where they had run into Sonya. Trey carried their shoes as Cat tried to calm herself down from the urge to run as fast as she could. He was laughing and promised later he would take her somewhere remote where she could run as much as she wanted.
When they arrived at the small cafe and put their shoes on, they sat in the deck area to have a view of the ocean. Cat glared at the waitress as she flirted with Trey shamelessly while ignoring her. The waitress stopped when Trey reached over and pulled Cat onto his lap. He kissed her deeply, not caring that the waitress watched with anger in her eyes for being ignored.
"Please leave us alone. My fiance and I are celebrating, and we don't need anyone bothering us." Trey stared at the woman as her face went red before turning on her heel and walking away.
"Thank you, Trey. I was ready to shove her into the water if she got closer to you. What makes women feel like they can do that when a man is obviously with someone else?" Cat laid her head on his shoulder, not in any hurry to get off his lap.
"I don't know why women or men do that, but not only is it disrespectful, I don't know anyone who finds that behavior attractive. What do you want to do after we finish breakfast?" Trey ran his hand up and down Cat's back as they ate, watching the waves.
"Can we go to the aquarium?" Cat had seen the advertisements when they watched TV, and it looked incredible.
"That's a good idea. There's so much to see there. I even heard they temporarily have a great white shark while it's on the mend." Trey silently hoped none of his family happened to be there today.
After they were done eating, they walked back to the house and got the truck. Trey drove them to the aquarium, and Cat was practically bursting at the seams with excitement. She had never been to an aquarium.
They walked into the first section, which was a large dark room. Cat stared in awe at the little windows with black backdrops that had different types of jellyfish in each one. She watched every jellyfish as they swam around. They looked as though they were glowing with it being so dark.
They walked to the next section and were in a large area that made them feel like they were at the bottom of the sea. The room was all glass, and fish were swimming all around them, including above their heads. They had to walk over a glass bridge to leave the area, and Cat held her eyes shut while Trey led her out. Having that much water around her was too much.
They then went to the penguin area and sat on one of the benches to watch them play. Several penguins were jumping in the water and swimming like rockets before jumping out the other side. Cat giggled in delight, watching them.
After they had gone to each exhibit inside the aquarium, they went outside, where they could look off the observation deck at the sea lions and sea otters. Cat loved seeing the little otters swimming on their backs and watching the sea lion sunbathing while barking like giant dogs.
"Trey, this has been one of the most memorable days of my life. I never knew the sea animals would be so fascinating up close. I could spend all day here just watching them." He smiled at Cat as she glowed with happiness.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. We can come as many times as you want. Let's stop in the shop and see if they have anything you want." Trey led her over to the little shop with the high-priced souvenirs. He didn't care what the cost was. He would buy the place out if it made Cat happy.
She picked out matching sweatshirts for her and Trey with sea otters on the front. She also picked out a glass dolphin and a stuffed penguin. When they got to the truck, Cat hugged Trey when he lifted her inside.
"Thank you. I love you." She pulled him to her and kissed him, showing her appreciation.
Trey walked around the truck and got in on his side with a smile on his face. His lioness was evolving, and he couldn't wait to see her reach her full potential.
