Chapter 3

"I miss you honey but this place is not safe for you honey."

Iris froze at her place when her father's voice boomed in her ears. Slowly breaking the hug she looked at her father's face and tear-filled eyes. There was fear and a lot more care in them. What she couldn't decipher was the meaning of his father's last words.

Why would her hometown be not safe for her?

"Why dad?" She asked, shocked.

"You won't understand now. But..... Princess..... " He couldn't complete it when a sudden knock on the door interrupted them.

"Did someone see you when you came here?" Her father asked, panic-stricken but Iris couldn't understand what he meant. The airport security had seen her, the cab driver, and a few more people also. She couldn't be invisible to just come straight to her house.

"Dad... What do you mean by someone? There were people....." She couldn't finish her words when the knock was heard again and this time an inpatient voice too. Someone called her father by his name.

"Tyler, Jeremy here."

Tyler walked towards the door letting out a small sigh of relief and opened the door when a man of the same age as her father entered with a small smile.

"Oh my goodness. Did she grow up like this? Tyler, doesn't she look like her mother Olivia only?" The man was more than surprised just having a glance at Iris.

"Hi..." Iris spoke softly out of courtesy.

"Hello, young lady. I am Jeremy Grint. Your father's colleague." Jeremy introduced himself while extending his hand towards her which she took to shake.

"When did you come by the way?"

"Just now," Iris replied with a smile.

"And that's the problem that she has come back to," Hee replied when Iris found Jeremy's expression changed too.

"It's ok Tyler. Didn't she inform you earlier?" Jeremy asked Tyler.

"No." Came a short reply from Tyler's end.

"Fine. We will send her back by tomorrow or the day after tomorrow." Jeremy spoke, making Iris's heart sink in pain. Since she had come, everyone was talking about sending her back. But nobody was telling her the reason.

"Dad, I want to stay with you for a few days. Please don't send me away like that. You are the only family I have. I spent thirteen years alone in the UK. Why are you being cruel?" Iris could feel her tears threatening to come out without sparing her any chance to settle.

She wanted to be in her hometown at least for some time with her father. But all she got was rejection.

"Dear, you need to understand. You can't stay here. I will soon be in the UK. But you need to leave first." Her father came towards her taking her in a tight hug seeing the previous part of his life suffering and crying.

"I love you princess more than anything. I can't lose you. Please hear out for once." Tyler almost broke while making her understand the severity of the situation here.

"Why dad." Iris cried out this time ignoring that a third person was also present there who was looking at the struggle of the father-daughter duo.

"There is something you don't know. A lot of things are there in this town. You are not safe here and I can not protect you here. I sent you back for your safety only. Why didn't you inform me before coming down to Seattle."

Iris became dumbfounded hearing her father's words. How could that be possible? What sort of things were there that she didn't know. From her childhood until her mother died everything was perfect and beautiful. Once she lost her mother, her father sent her away. Now whatever she was hearing she couldn't decipher a single word.

"Why am I not safe here dad? Tell me? Who would harm us?"

"Not everything can't be answered, dear." Her father held a firm voice and for the first time, e she saw his pupils getting darker.

"What's wrong with your eyes, dad?" She snapped at him when he composed himself and told her to move upstairs.

"We will talk about it later. For now, please go to your room." Tyler instructed her daughter and helped her to move her luggage upstairs. Once he confirmed her properly inside her room, he came down to talk about some serious issues with Jeremy.

"Hey Tyler, keep calm. We will find a way." Jeremy sensed the budding pressure increasing inside Tyler. For the first time, he saw Tyler losing control over himself in front of her daughter.

"I can't. You know she is all I have had since I lost Olivia. I can't risk her life, Jeremy. She shouldn't have come back here."

Tyler kept on pacing to and fro while clenching and unclenching his fist. He was losing his calm and composure altogether.

"Relax Tyler. Don't make it hard on her. She knew nothing about this world. And letting her know everything might bring danger to her. But keeping her in the dark also won't do good. But what else could we do?" Jeremy placed both hands on the table while thinking something deep.

"It was all my fault. I should have sent her far away, cutting all ties."

"Do you think you could have stayed away from your only daughter? Do you forget how you used to run secretly thrice a year to meet her in the UK?" Jeremy gave an assuring smile to his old friend who was losing his mind at that moment.

"I know but what can I do now?" Tyler lost his temper again.

"We can sort it out. Don't let her sneak out of the house until we find a way. I am trying to get her itinerary for the day after tomorrow." Jeremy assured him when Tyler looked at his face with desperation in his eyes.

"She has to leave by the day after tomorrow or by tomorrow if possible."

"Sure," Jeremy replied.

Queen Anne Hill Woods

Two men were walking wearing only some shorts to cover their lower region. Each of those two men had their entire bodies drenched in sweat while they had a specific smile on their faces.

"That prey was easy to hunt down. Find something tougher next time." One of them spoke who had dazzling golden orbs and jet black hair. He was walking in his almost naked glory with an attitude of pride.

"Done. But in the end, you would say it is easy. I know you." The other man spoke who looked a little younger than the previous one and had dark brown orbs and brown hair.

Both were in their mid-twenties with sculptured masculine figures and an aura of dominance. Their eyes held a smoldering gaze and their features had anything but harshness.

Leonard Knight and Alex Knight. The Knight brothers.

"Brother, what about today's hunt?"

"We would be going but there is....." Leonard stopped replying to his younger brother Alex's question when a strange smell hit his nostrils. Without wasting a single moment he ran in the direction from where the unique smell was coming. It was more like lavender yet it can not be completely taken as that.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Alex growled a little while following his brother's footsteps with equivalent speed. Even though both found it weird to smell such things they couldn't stop themselves from rushing toward the source of it.

"Stop...." Leonard growled, decreasing his pace standing at a distance from where the source was visible. All they could see was a slender figure standing near a tree with long curls. Those rogue strands were flapping her face with the unrestrained wind. She was moving them away with her hand while walking towards the deeper forest. Her footsteps could be heard easily and the smell was getting stronger with each passing second.

Leonard and Alex stood there for a certain time until someone else called her and she decided to move back. Her retreating figure was the only thing they had seen before they moved further.

"Did she see us?" Alex tried to confirm.

"Maybe. She was about to enter the territory." Leonard replied with a small frown on his face.

"Did you feel something strange?"

"Yes. The same I sensed years ago."

Both of them were talking when they heard the roar of the engine and understood the car had left.

"She is from a new town." Alex was the first person to speak while Leo was busy looking around for something else.

"Seth is coming." Leo sensed his pack's member's movement and replied to Alex.

Within a certain moment, another man of the same height as Alex appeared in front of them wearing nothing but small shorts as usual.

"Seth, what's the news?" Alex was the first one to ask.

Seth looked at Leo who had a more questionable expression on his face.

"Alpha, we found some movements in that Rogue's house. I think they are planning for something big."

Seth had been in this since he was born. With a promise of loyalty, he was serving till then.

The Dark Moon Pack is known for its ferocious and aggressive nature. Every single member of the pack is intolerant of any sort of disloyalty. They are known for the merciless punishment that they give to every single traitor they find.

"We have waited enough just by thinking to settle the matter without a war. Every single rogue will be killed after torturing them and every single person would go through the same pain who has ever helped a rogue."

Leonard's one statement followed by his wolf's growl shook every single corner of the wood violently. The popping vein on his forehead and the bulging nerves made it clear that he won't stop until he finished the traces of rogues.

Alex looked at his brother who was controlling his wolf to come out at that moment to rip apart every single rogue that he would find. Every war needs preparation and being an Alpha his brother Leonard aka Leo knew the best tactics.

"Brother, the Northern Pack had also asked for help. These rogues are increasing in strength and they need us."

The Northern Pack was another strong pack that had a fair share of ruling in some parts of America. Being a friend of Colt who is the Alpha of Northern Pack, Leo was always determined to help them.

"Tell them we are here to help. Every single rogue we would kill or capture, they would be gifted too with their battered body or as a slave."

The fuming rage was something that Alex found scary in his brother. He understood the reason behind his budding anger too. Leo hadn't found his mate till now and there was a curse on their pack. Every third Alpha in their bloodline might die as mateless. Leo's great grandfather managed to have pups without a mate using breeders but later on, she turned out to be his mate when it was found that a willing pureblood could be the mate.

But Leo being mateless was still in search of a willing pureblood who could be his mate. The curse was still getting flowed in their pack and none knew the exact way to break the curse.

Declaring the war all three started moving towards the p packhouse when Seth heard something through the mind link. He was waiting for the crucial information to inform Alpha Leonard. Even though he knew it would make him more than angry, he couldn't help but share.

"Alpha, the Rogue's daughter has returned."