SORA

BLACK IN TOWN

You've got to be kidding me right now.

I gape widely at Kane as I watch him as he comes down the stairs twirling the car keys around his finger, smirking at me as I hold hands with my two children, Caelan and Lisla.

"Ready to go into town babe?" Kane smiles handsomely at me and I blink and stare at him, completely dumbfounded as to why he's here right now.

"Wait- What... What do you think you're doing? Didn't you have an important meeting today?" I quiz him and he shrugs and picks up Lisla from beside me, she wraps her arms around Kane's neck and she giggles when he tickles her with his beard as he kisses her cheek.

Kane leans in and kisses me on the lips, his breath smells like fresh mint, I didn't even notice from the kiss that he opened the door behind me, he leans back and smirks at me. "I pushed it back to spend time with my family." He says with a wink.

I hold onto Caelans hand with a frown as I watch him walk with Lisla to the car. "Your daddy is impossible, huh Cae?" I say down to my little boy.

Caelan shrugs and I can't help but fear he is the exact mini replica of Kane, both the men in my life are very cheeky, stubborn, and thick-skinned, our children are both four, and every day they act more and more like Kane, thankfully Lisla takes more after me, thank god, two Kanes is too much!

I follow Kane and strap Caelan into the car seat just as Kane does with Lisla in the back seat, he's sat in the front driver seat and I can see his smug grin from the mirror in front of him.

He's so sneaky.

I have a sneaky suspicion he only pushed back the meeting because he is being overprotective but won't admit it, after I told him I was taking the children to Deepwater to have a mini-vacation, instantly I could feel how it made Kane and his wolf feel, I can feel all his emotions when it involves me and the children going anywhere.

Even after all these years and since the first day we met, he hasn't changed a single bit.

It's what I love about him though.

Getting into the seat next to him he starts the car and he drives off, I turn the radio on and soft music fills the speakers with music both the children and I enjoy, Kane doesn't mind, only recently he started enjoying listening to music because of the children.

"Daddy, can we get ice pops?" Caelan asks Kane as I tap my finger to the song 'Dirty Paws'.

Kane grunts, looking in the mirror to stare at his son. "Have you been good to your mom?" He asks Caelan and I see my little boy's head bob innocently in the back seat, making me smile widely.

He's so cute.

I poke Kane on his leg, gaining his attention. "Of course you can baby, daddy will get you one when we get into town, won't you, daddy?" I chuckle and stick to tongue out at Kane, to which he just shakes his head and grins, he squeezes my leg with his hand and sighs.

"Fine."

Both kids in the backseat cheer and it's peaceful again, we pass the beautiful tall trees I've missed so much from the human realm and it reminds me of the first time I came to Deepwater five years ago in Lucas's truck.

It seems like it happened in a past life, so much since then has changed, Kane is king and we moved to The Vale shortly after he passed the title to Alpha to Lucas, his beta and best friend. Amanda and Troy now have moved into a much larger home Kane had made with Lucas in his spare time and it's absolutely beautiful and right next door to the house Kane built for me.

Even after so many years, we decided to keep the house and use it whenever we can slip away from royal duties within The Vale, which we take advantage of whenever we can. Kane loves being King but it's a very hard job and stressful, if I noticed anything by now it's that Kane HATES paperwork.

As queen I have taken on half of his duties, the parts he doesn't want to do I do for him, I meet and show around leaders of the new human realm around The Vale and host dinner parties and charities, we even do something new and host human teens in our schools in The Vale, it was actually Kane's idea which completely threw me off guard.

I made Kane's idea possible and now we have visitors from all around the world visiting on a daily basis, it's become sort of a hot spot for vacationers and thrill-seekers since The Vale is full of creatures of all kinds, it's not for the faint-hearted, there are still many dangerous things in The Vale, from food to flowers that can harm the human body, even kill them if not inspected properly.

We arrive in town and it's thriving with people enjoying the summer break that is currently happening within New Zealand, people from all around the world visit to go hiking and explore during this time, more so now than ever because of how famous this place has become since the war.

Kane finds a spot and parks the car, he turns off the engine and then turns to look at me then the children in the backseat who are excited and looking out of the windows at all the shops and boats.

"Right." He stares down his children who know what's coming next from Kane's mouth.

"No running off, no fighting, and definitely no talking to strangers, you understand?" He says in his Alpha tone and both children nod their heads sternly.

I unhook the seatbelt and open the door, Kane does the same as we open the door to the back door to get the twins from their seats and put them down beside us. I grab my bag and purse from the front seat and then hold onto Lisla's hand who stands near me waiting impatiently as she looks around with wide eyes at all the tourists and stores with people selling things.

Caelan is holding onto Kane's hand when I walk up to Kane, he holds onto my free hand and we begin to walk to the seafront, it's beautiful this time of year, all the boats are here from traveling, they make port for two reasons, the food, and the weather.

"Momma look!" Lisla points to a man dressed in a wolf costume and I laugh when I realize who he's dressed as the kids begin to grow excited when the man in the wolf costume spots us and makes his way towards us.

"Woah, there's daddy, let's go say hi and take a photo!" I say with a smile as both my kids scream yes, making Kane roll his eyes.

The man comes up to us and bends down to my children and begins to sniff them playfully as Caelan and Lisla begin to stroke the man's costume causing me to giggle, I turn to see Kane unimpressed by the whole thing and it makes me giggle harder.

While the kids ask the man questions I take my phone from my bag, I walk over to the man and bend down slightly. "Is it okay if I take a photo?" I ask politely while the kids fuss over the man's giant teddy paws.

"Of course!" The man says happily and then bends down to put both paws around both my smiling children who beam up at me and Kane as I open my phone camera and snap a few photos.

Kane snorts when I thank the man and try to shake his hand, which is impossible by how large the costume paw is, almost realistic in size, the whole thing makes me laugh simply because of how annoyed Kane is.

The man walks away and I lace my hand with Kanes. "Oh, c'mon wolfman, it was pretty funny."

He raises a brow and huffs out. "I look fu- nothing like that, did you see the eyes? It was all wrong."

I throw my head back and laugh. "I'm going to buy some ice cream, salty caramel, or bubblegum?" I ask Kane, already knowing the twins want bubblegum.

He looks at me and I smile cheekily at him. "Salty caramel." He says as he pecks me on the lips and I chuckle.

I wink at my kids who happily hold onto Kane's hand. "I'll be back in a second." I call out as I walk over the street and make my way to the ice cream shop.

There's a queue but it's no longer than five people, so I stand in line and wait, Kane mind links me to let me know that Amanda, Lucas, and their son Troy are with him and they are sitting on a bench near the boats.

I stand and wait in line and I see how people look at me, knowing who I am and who my mate is, they stare at me curiously and if not for Kane, I would be incredibly uncomfortable with this but since the war ended, I have gotten used to being known and stared at, this much doesn't bother me at all anymore, I'm sure if I was still human I would find myself staring at the Queen of the supernatural world with interest as she stands in line for ice cream.

It's a bit odd, but it's now the world I live in.

"Sora..?"

I turn from a familiar voice and that's when my eyes land on someone I thought I would never see again, someone I have never seen since I moved here.

"Holy shit, it is you, wow.." Tom says as he stares at me surprised, his eyes traveling up and down as he checks me out.

I didn't think I would ever lay my eyes on his face ever again, which makes me wonder why the hell he is here in New Zealand, the last time I saw him, he broke my damn heart when I found him in my bed with another woman.

"Hello, Tom."

He stands in front of me and it's almost surreal how much he has changed, his hair is shorter and he is no longer a skinny thin man, he has some muscle, he looks good, more relaxed from how I remember him from four years ago.

"I never thought id see you again.. you look great Sora, wow." He says and nods my head stiffly, unsure what to say to that.

I smile politely. "Thank you.. what brings you to New Zealand?"

Tom scratches the back of his head. "I'm actually here with my wife and daughter, we're just visiting, you know.. sightseeing."

Woah, I did not expect him to say that he is married with kids, I look at him surprised. "Uh, can we talk? If you let me I'd like to apologize for how we left things in the past.."

'Babe you almost done?' Kane asks through mindlink and I pale.

Crap, if Kane sees Tom all hell will break loose, he might actually kill the poor man, no not might, he will actually try and kill him, Kane knows all about Tom and what he did to me if he sees him I am afraid of what he might do.

I move from the line. "Uh sure, okay, let's find somewhere to sit.

'Almost done' I minklink back.

We find a seat and Tom looks at me nervously as he sits opposite me. "I didn't think I'd see you again after what I did.. I mean.. I looked for you for weeks but.. you just vanished."

I smile weakly and nod my head. "I stayed with Amanda, my friend from school.. after.. well, after us I just couldn't stay in Paris anymore."

He nods his head slowly. "I'm so sorry Sora, I.. what I did to you was the lowest point in my life, I don't want to make excuses for myself, what I did to you was shitty, I fucked up and ruined your life because mine was.. well.. not going so great."

I look at him lean back and rub my forehead. "Tom, your life was heaven for people like me, you had it all." I say getting slightly annoyed.

He swallows hard and smiles sadly. "Yeah.. no, I er.. I lost my job and my dad cut me off, I was broke and I owed a lot of money to dangerous people, I hit rock bottom Sora and I kept it from you, I didn't want to ruin what you had with my problems."

"I don't even know why I did what I did, I was upset and I wasn't thinking clearly when you walked in on me with.. er.. Lindsey?"

"Bethany."

He hangs his head shamefully. "Yeah.. Bethany.. I er, I was high out of my mind and when you left I got upset and broke the water pipe.. I fucked up and honestly, despite everything I did, I did love you Sora, you were like the only thing I never regretted back then, I'm just so sorry for what I did."

He goes into his pocket and pulls out a check note. "Please, let me repay you, I have the money, i-"

I sigh out and smile and move my hand across the table and grab hold of his hand and squeeze. "I forgive you, Tom. I thought about it for a long time and I don't want to dwell on the past, if anything I should thank you.. If not because of what you did, I would've never found Kane and had my children, who mean the world to me."

He swallows hard and I see tears in his eyes as he nods his head, he wipes his eyes with the edge of his jacket sleeve with his free hand. "Sorry, it's just.. It means a lot.. thank you, thank you Sora." He sniffs out as he looks at me, his eyes bloodshot from crying.

"What the fuck is going on here!?" A threatening voice makes me jump and I know who it is from the sound of how deep his voice is.

Kane, double crap!

I look from a crying Tom to a really pissed-off Kane and cringe. "Kane er, this isn't what it looks like." I remove my hand from Toms and Kane is furious from what he's seeing, he begins walking towards a terrified Tom and I pale.

He grabs him by the shirt and lifts him from the chair and holds him in the air as his red eyes pierce into Tom angrily. "WHO THE FUCK IS HE?" Kane growls out deadly and I grimace, knowing his wolf is now present, I sigh holding my head and groan out as now people watch curiously at the scene Kane has created.

"Kane! Stop, this isn't what you're thinking, please drop him." I say calmly as I put my palm on his back and rub him slowly, calming his wolf.

Kane's eyes snap to me and growls out annoyed then snaps his eyes to Tom and he releases his shirt, Tom falls back slightly and stumbles to the floor.

"Explain or so help me Sora-"

I take a deep breath and groan out. "This is Tom, my ex.."

Kane only looks even more deadly as he takes a step towards Tom, I move in front of him and put my hands on his chest, stopping him from doing what I know he was thinking of doing to him. "Kane, he meant no harm, he's here with his family and he wanted to apologize, that's all."

"I-It's true, I'd never hurt her." Tom says, standing up and rubbing the rest of the tears from his face as he looks at me and Kane worriedly and slightly pale.

Kane was about to open his mouth before a soft female voice speaks.

"Tom? Oh my god, what's going on?" A young woman gasps out as she stands beside Tom and looks at him worriedly as she places her hands on either side of his face.

I sniff the air and she smells wolf. "I'm okay.. I, er.. Kate, this is Sora and her mate.. Kan-"

"..Sora? The Queen?" Kate says abruptly, Tom nods his head, and then her eyes bulge when she snaps her head towards me and Kane, fear suddenly on her face.

"Oh my god.." She whispers out and I smile tightly at what she's probably thinking right now.

"It's fine, honestly, we were just catching up, it's nice to meet you." I say forcing a smile as I feel Kane's anger radiating off from him, making me slightly tense at how mad he is right now.

"H-Hi.. I'm Kate, Toms mate." She says nervously as her eyes meet Kanes and then mine and I smile widely and shake her hand.

Kane snorts. "Fucking great." He says annoyed and I nudge him as a warning to be nice.

This is beyond what I had expected to ever happen, Tom has a werewolf mate.. holy crap, I don't know what I'm more surprised about, him having a Mate or a child, both seem so weird to me.

Tom clears his throat. "I was just er.. you know, telling her how sorry I was about the past."

Kate nods her head knowingly with a sad smile as she laces her hand with Toms.

"Momma! We got ice pops!"

I turn and see Caelan run into me and grip my leg before he eyes the people in front of me cautiously, much like his father is doing right now, I chuckle and bend down. "Wow, that looks yummy, did you say thank you to daddy?" I ask and he nods his head while ice cream is all over his face.

I turn to Tom and Kate and see an older woman walk up to the couple with a small girl holding onto the woman's hand. "Ah there you are, I thought you got lost." The old woman says and Tom and Kate both look apologetically at the woman.

Tom bends down and picks up the small girl and then turns to me smiling with the girl in his arms, she has cute pigtails and is licking an ice cream like Caelan, she also has it all over her face. "This is Ellie, my daughter."

"Hello." I greet her smiling and she shyly looks away from me, causing me, Tom, and Kate to laugh.

Kane puts his arm around my waist and as much as I would like to stay and talk, Lucas, Amanda, Troy, and Lisla are waiting for us. "It was really nice to see you again Tom, and it was nice to meet you Kate, and Ellie, but we have to head back to our friends." I say sadly and Kane picks up Caelan and then lifts him to sit on his shoulders.

Tom shakes his head and waves me off. "I understand, we have friends waiting too, I'm glad I got to see you Sora, and you too Alpha King, I er, I'm sorry if I gave off the wrong impression." He says stiffly to Kane.

Kane shrugs and does something I thought I'd never see him do, he puts his hand out to shake Toms's hand and smiles. "Sorry for almost killing you." He says casually and I almost choke on-air as the words left his mouth.

Tom pales and nods his head and shakes his hand and pulls back, Kate looks relieved and the air grows light when Caelan laughs.

"Daddy always jokes about killing mama's friends" Caelan says giggling and I can't help but laugh when Kane frowns, Tom and Kate laugh and then we say our goodbyes and walk away from each other, both heading in different directions we walk away.

"Why does everyone always think I'm joking." Kane says grumpily.

I lace my hand with Kanes and cuddle into his arm as we walk, I can't help but laugh as he shakes his head. "I know baby, I know." I say teasingly and he growls out.

He turns and looks at me seriously. "Let's go eat, I'm fucking starving."

I gasp and whack his arm. "Kane! Language!"

Caelan giggles and eats the rest of his ice cream while I see Kane grinning smugly without a care in the world as he tickles Caelans feet, making him giggle louder.

"You'll be the death of me." I mutter out quietly, playfully glaring at him.

Kane smiles handsomely at me and shrugs. "You love me."

I lean my head back and laugh and shake my head. "Yeah, I do."

And I wouldn't change a single thing about him either.