Betty watches as four guys walked into the diner. They all looked like they were going to church or worked for a bank or High-class business. They head over towards a booth in her section. She heads over once they sit down.

“Good morning gentlemen. Would you care for some coffee or juice?” she passes out the menu’s she had in her hands.

“We would like four black coffees, please.” Jesse went ahead and ordered coffee for everyone.

“Coming up.” Betty turns around and goes to pour four cups of coffee.

While Betty is pouring the coffee, something didn’t feel right to her about these men. Something about them was bothering her. She heads back over to their table and set the coffee cups down.

“Are you gentlemen ready to order and will this be one ticket or four separate ones.” Betty pulls her order pad out.

“It will be all one order and I would like a number 3. I would also like hash instead of potato cakes.” He hands his menu back to Betty.

“and for you gentlemen?”

“I have a number 3 as well and with hash.” The brown hair guy sitting next to the first guy she talked to order the same dish as the first guy.
Betty looks towards the other two guys.

“I’ll have a number 5 and I’ll have a number 7 please.” The other two men place their order.

Betty writes their orders down and walks off to place the order in the window. She looks back over towards the four men and something about them didn’t seem right. She could call Isa to come up here, but she doesn’t want to wake her. She had a rough night last night. She and her training supervisor along with several enforcers had captured a group of rouges that had invaded pack owned lands.

Rogues were Were-wolves or Were-cats that were wild and didn’t have an alpha leading them. They normally were given two choices, if they didn’t kill anyone. Either to join a Pack, Pride or be killed. She knew rogues were people that had been turned and left to learn what they were on their own. Also, they tend to give into the wild nature of their beast.

Twenty miles away from the diner:
A bloody teenage girl crawls on the ground with her back hurting. Some wild animal had attacked her last night and left her for dead. She was lucky enough to escape from the house she had been taken too by some church members. They were preparing her to be married to a man three times her age. She had tried to run away once before, but they managed to capture her.

This time she waited and stowed away in the back of a guy’s pick-up truck. He had stopped at a local gas station she had managed to run too. Once the guy stopped again. She managed to get a nice trucker to drop her a few miles from where she was currently. After that everything was a blurred. She remembered running for her life while being chased by a group of large dogs. One of the dogs had bitten her and clawed her back. It had left her for dead.

She slowly stands up looking around. The dress she had on was torn all to hell it was barely covering her. She walks for a while trying to find someone to help her.

Maria was on her way back to the pack mansion. When she spots a bloody teenage girl wearing a torn blue handmade dress. It was like the ones she has seen Mormon women wear walking down the road. It looked like she had been attacked by a large animal. She pulls over and gets out to see if the girl was alright. As she got closer, she could smell the coppery scent of fresh blood on her.

“Hey, are you alright?” Maria carefully approaches the girl.

Kairi had heard a car pull up behind her. She was scared that it might be a member of the Mormon group her family belonged to. When she heard a female voice. She stops and turns around to look at the woman. She didn’t look like any of the women that were at the house or any she had seen.

“No, I need help.” Kairi had tears sliding down her cheeks.

“Why don’t you come with me. I’ll take you somewhere safe.” Maria stands there and looks at the girl.

Kairi walks towards the nice short brunette hair woman. She seemed to be concern about her. She was a little nervous as she stepped closer to her.

“Do you mind if I look at your injuries?” Maria was curious about them and who might have made them.

Kairi shakes her head no. She gives Maria her arm. She couldn’t remember what happened to her.

Maria looks at the marks on the girl and could see that they were already healing. That right there told her a Were had attacked her. The marks looked to be claw marks from a wolf. She’ll have to tell Daigh and Sparrow when she gets home.

Maria helps the girl to her car and helps her in. Once the girl was inside and buckled in. Maria walks around and gets into the driver side. Just as Maria was about to drive off. A black SUV pulls up behind her.

Kairi turns around watches as a man she knows to get out of the driver side of the SUV. She turns back around and looks at Maria.

“Please, don’t make me go back with them. Please!” Kairi didn’t want to go back, because she would be taken to the Canada homestead.
Maria could tell this girl was worried and scared. She could smell her fear.

“Where did you run away from?”

“A compound owned by the Mormon church in Colorado.” Kairi didn’t want to go back.

When the guy approaches the driver side of Maria’s car. He knocks gently on the window. Maria rolls the window down some.

“Can I help you, sir?” Maria had locked all the doors.

“Yes, ma’am. That young lady is the daughter of a friend of mine and I was asked to bring her home.” Markus wanted to get Kairi back, so she could become the bride of his uncle.

“Are you the police or have a letter stating this?” Maria could tell this guy was lying to her.

“No, but surely. You would want her to be her family.”

“Yes, I would and until I speak with them and you have a police officer with you. She’ll be coming with me. Here is where you can reach me.” Maria hands him a business card.

She rolls her windows up and drives off, leaving the guy standing there. She glances over towards the girl.

“Why don’t you tell me why you ran away and what happened to you.” Maria heads back towards the mansion.

Markus looks at the business card and notices it had an address on it. He turns around and heads back to the SUV. As he is climbing in.

“What did she tell you?” Paul was curious.

“She said to either bring her family or the police.” Markus glances at the business card.

“She’s more trouble, then she is worth.” Paul was getting impatient with her.

“We’ll let Jared handle this. He can convince this woman to give Kairi over to us. If nothing else, we can make it a legal matter.” Markus knew they could fight it in court.

Kairi and Maria:
Kairi looks at Maria “thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Why don’t you tell me why those men are after you?” Maria glances towards Kairi and then turn her attention back to the road.

Kairi sits back “my parents want me to marry a man that is three times older than me. He already has four wives. One of his wives is my cousin. She was forced to marry the man when she was just twelve years old.”

“Why did your parents want you to marry him?”

“Because my father needs his approval for a contract. If he doesn’t give it. My father won’t be able to stay in business.” Kairi hated that her father was willing to give his daughter way.

“How old are you Kairi?”

“Fourteen years old. I just turned Fourteen two days ago.” Kairi had her birthday at the compound they took her too.

“Where are you from Kairi?”

“Colorado.” Kairi was lucky that the truck driver she got a ride from didn’t ask her to do anything in return for transporting her.

Maria just sighs as she pulls on to a long driveway towards the mansion.

Kairi couldn’t believe the building she was being taken too. It had to be over a hundred or so years old. The place put the home of the leader of
their religion to shame. She watches as Maria pull the car around to where the garage was.

“Let’s get you inside so the pack doctor can look at you Kairi.” Maria grabs the bags of groceries she had bought inside the house.

Kairi follows behind her. She follows her into a huge kitchen. Everything in the kitchen was something you would find in a high-class restaurant. She had never seen anything so amazing.

“You work here, Maria?” Kairi looks directly at Maria.

“I’m the head housekeeper. My predecessor decided to retire and enjoy life.” Maria puts the bags away.
She turns towards Kairi “let’s go and see if Shelia is in.”

Maria leads Kairi down to medical, so Shelia can look her over. Maria knocks on the door before entering the medical room.

Kairi was amazed as she walks in behind Maria. The place looked like an emergency room. It was equipped for all medical procedures. A small woman with black hair comes walking in.

“Hi, Maria, what brings you to my office?” Shelia normally had to chase Maria down for her yearly medical exam.

“I have someone for you to give a medical exam too.” Maria looks towards Kairi.

Shelia glances towards her. She could see why Maria wanted her to examine the young girl. She had been attacked by a Were-wolf. She wonders if it had been any of the ones that Isa and the enforcers dispatched last night. She’ll have to check to see if any of the dead bodies the enforcers brought back matched the claw marks on the girl.

“Well, let’s get you out of those torn clothes and into this gown, please?” Shelia looks towards Maria.

“Kairi” Maria blushes from embarrassment.

Kairi takes the gown and steps behind a screen to changes into the gown. Once she has changed, she steps back out and Shelia starts her medical examination.

The Diner:
Betty had delivered the food the four guys order. She has been keeping a watch on them and notices one of them reached a phone call. She steps close enough to listen while taking care of some other customers.

“We found the girl, but we couldn’t get her. Some goody two shoe woman has her. She won’t give her back unless her parent shows up or the police. So, I’m calling Jared in to handle the matter. He’ll bring the girl back and take care of the woman who is protecting her.”

“Good job Markus. We’re up at the diner in town if you and Paul want to join us.”

“We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

“Bye,” The guy hangs the phone up.

Betty wonder who they were talking about. She gets their plates when they are up and takes them over to them.