14

Kane woke me up at 5:00 AM to prepare for the dreading day ahead of us. I did not sleep last night and every time I think about lunch I want to throw up.

Kane is acting himself as if there's nothing to worry about. His history proves otherwise. Humans may be weak against these mythical creatures we dreamed about in books but we have had our fair share of wars.

I'm terrified. Not for me but for Kane. He has such a heavy burden on his shoulders and danger lurking on every corner and he stares back at it welcoming. I could never be as fearless as him, truly without him or Locus Black I know many of his people would not be here today. But here they are, unafraid and supporting their Alpha with their full hearts.

We are dressed in the finest clothes I have ever worn in my life, a beautiful gown laced with emerald green lace and silk, someone did my makeup and hair and I can't remember the last time I stared at myself in the mirror for so long.

I look unrecognizable in such a short time.

Kane is dressed and every single mate-less she-wolf here can do nothing but gawk dreamily at him as he stands and talks to his men. He wears a black tux with a black shirt and his beard and hair are freshly cut and cleaned. To say he doesn't make me wet from looking at him would be a huge lie.

He is every woman's dream and damn it if I don't pass out from the way he looks at me, dressed like the god of lust. His confidence and his dominance have captured the looks of every single person we have came into contact with today and it is truly magnificent to see.

Kane is speaking to Lex the lead warrior and his men. They are not dressed formally but rather in masks that hide their face and black clothes. They look ready to kill.. and they are. They are with us today as a precaution. I pray nothing happens but I can't shake this dread in my stomach that there is a possibility something will happen.

"Don't worry, Kane would be damned if something happened to you." Amanda says beside me as she holds baby Troy. I nod nervously.

"I'm just freaking out, ignore me." I say glancing at the men, who are carrying weapons I have never seen before, these men look scary and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared just by looking at them.

"Hey look at me. Nothing is going to happen." She gives me her big confident smile and I believe her.

But I have this feeling I can't shake.

Kane comes to my side and Amanda gives me a hug as she goes to Lucas's side.

"I have something for you." Kane says as he hands me a beautiful black box with the Black family Crest on.

I open it to see a gorgeous silver necklace, laced with jewels I have never seen before, they are glowing from the reflection of the light. In the middle sits a beautifully shaped emerald heart stone.

"I want you to wear this at all times Sora." Kane says, his voice is hard and commanding.

He has been on edge slightly all morning.

I nod "What is this for?" I ask as he takes the necklace and begins to put it on me.

His face is hard and emotionless. "It's been in my family for generations." He says as he clips it on behind me then goes to look at me. "Never remove it, promise me." He says staring into my eyes hard.

I nod nervously.

"We are leaving, never leave my side." He demands again and we both walk towards our ride.

I gulp down and stare as the men begin to get onto horses, who are covered in weird armor. My nerves running wild as this is finally happening, I'm going to another realm.

I adjust in my seat to get comfortable then Kane comes in, his eyes are serious and I've never seen him look so lethal before, he has dominance coming off him in waves.

He grabs my hand and laces our fingers together and I look at Kane to see him watching me. "We will enter The Vale through a portal deep in the forest, we will arrive there shortly." I nod nervously, feeling my mouth go dry.

He sees my nervousness and relaxes. He smiles at me for the first time today and I melt. "I love you." He breathes out. "So much." He says and I lock our lips in a fierce kiss. Shocking him for a mere second before he returns my kiss, both showing each other our emotions without saying them.

"Alpha, we have arrived at the gate." The driver says startling me and making Kane growl quietly.

We both exit the vehicle. Lex holds out his hand for me as I whisper a 'thank you' as I take it. He nods. I cant see his face due to the mask that he is wearing. It's a black ski mask that is made out of material I can't place, perhaps leather or plastic? Something much thicker. They are dressed as navy seals. I'm very scared of them at this moment.

Kane meets me at the 'Gate' and it's beautiful. It's a gate that has Deepwater on it, surrounded by vine and ivy deep in the forest. Anyone seeking this would think it was just random that it was here in the middle of nowhere. But what they wouldn't see what I am about to witness.

A pack warrior kneels in front of the gate and whispers three words into the gate lock.

'Nilthu i Vale'

The 'gate' with the large words 'D E E P W A T E R' Has now disappeared and is now replaced with a glowing light blue bright light. I can faintly see a street in the light with a castle on a hill in the distance.

Kane holds my hand and we walk towards the portal. Half of his men going first, next is me and Kane, then the rest of the men.

40 in total, plus me and Kane.

Kane gives me a confident smile as he leads me through his world. I close my eyes and silently pray to all the gods in the world that we make it out alive.

💥💥💥💥💥

I feel a slight tingle and shift in the air as I slowly open my eyes to see we are in a completely different place than before.

We are now outside a much larger portal as I can tell is the town square. It's huge and glowing with so many images inside the light that I can make out only one, from where we just came from.

Kane is holding onto my hand as we walk towards the awaiting carriage on the side of the road, a few steps aside from the portal.

The carriage is black and gold with a red interior laced with gold lace. It's beautiful and has the Royal house of Grinmorte welded into the sides of the carriage. Horses are with us for our guards to follow in front of him and behind as four are on either side of the carriage with me and Kane inside.

I look outside and the sky is not blue anymore, it's a crescent orange with a hint of red, and there is no sun, but I notice large objects circling the sky.

"Gargoyles." Kane's voice mutters and I jump.

I squint to the sky and watch as I see they do indeed look like giant bats with wolf legs.

"This is unbelievable," I say my voice shaking slightly. I'm so nervous. What if those things come to eat us?

I glance at where we are heading and I see it. The castle. It looks exactly how I would imagine. It's huge for starters, overlooking the city below it, with more Gargoyles swarming around the top of the castle. The air is thicker in fog as we go further up the hill towards the castle and I can't seem to stop my heart from beating out of my chest.

I touch the necklace Kane gave me and I sit back into his embrace and I feel calm overcome me.

The carriage stops at the gate and someone knocks on Kane's side of the carriage making me jump out of my bones to which Kane notices and smiles slightly, before replacing it with a hard cold stare as he opens the door window.

A tall hideous-looking creature with a similar human figure with sharp piercing red eyes and pale skin speaks in a thick accent I do not recognize.

"Alpha Kane Black?" This creates says and Kane grips my hand harder as I stop staring at the creature who is now staring at me.

Kane moves in front of me in his seat. Blocking its view. "Yes, a problem?" He says roughly.

I cant see the creature anymore but I can only assume that it is very intimidated by my mate as its voice gets slightly quieter and has more respect in it.

"Queen Lila is expecting you Alpha, you have permission to enter."

Kane does not respond as he shuts the window and growls out lowly.

"Fucking dares to stare at my mate." Kane grits quiet out, causing a nervous laugh out of me.

"What was that thing?" I ask as he straightens up, his eyes hard.

"A Grim." He says as he rubs his forehead. Something he does when he is getting angry.

I frown and kiss his hand causing him to sigh.

"They are familiar of high society in The Vale, the fact she sent one to greet us..." he shakes his head angrily, eyes blazing, hatred coming off in waves.

"Hey hey.. stop, we need to play nice." I say softly and he groans. "Those were your words, Alpha Black." I say teasingly.

Huffing and leaning back. "I'm not known to play nice. But I will for you." He says as he looks at me.

I can see how much that bothered him. Deciding to keep my mouth closed about it I gently stroke his hands in a soothing manner that he enjoys, feeling the tingles erupting from each touch.

The carriage comes to a stop and it's quiet. The doors open on both sides as we release our hands and exit the carriage. Kane helps me down yet again. I smile warmly at him and he looks down tenderly at me and then bows down to me.

I glance at the massive castle in front of me and I start my feel my hands sweating as I nervously try to not wipe them or my dress. I need to not mess this up. Kane and I are immediately interrupted by what we were doing as the large iron doors open and a pale man exits to bow politely to us as I and Kane stand in front of him.

"Alpha Kane, Luna Sora, I am here to welcome you to Castle Black." The pale man smiles and I shudder. He bows then straightens. "I am Dasmond and I am your guide." He says politely towards us.

"Her Royal Highness Lila Grinmorte awaits your arrival. Please follow me, Alpha, Luna."

We step forward, hand in hand. With only Lex and four more soldiers behind us on high alert.

"Remember what I said." Kane says quietly to me as we enter through the main doors.

I nod and touch the necklace. "I will." I say softly as I take a deep breath.

With Kane by my side and Lex behind me with our men, I will be a Luna they are proud of.

As I head into the belly of the beast with the man I love.