What surprised the men the most was when they walked into the hospital room, tired of waiting, and found Nathaniel blissfully sleeping on the chair beside the bed. He had never looked so calm in all his life. The sight was a beautiful one. A father, reunited with his daughter after 10 years. They finally have their lives back together, and they couldn't be happier.

"Uh, sorry, but I strictly said one at a time", the doctor said in a quiet, wary voice. Victor, Alex and Theo all gave him an evil glare, silently threatening him. He cleared his throat, then walked away.

They were not going to wait another second to see Noelle.

The three men all took seats on the large hospital bed, since Noelle had only taken a small part of it. They couldn't ignore the multiple bruises and scars that she carried on her skin, they looked even worse up close, but they know that she's a survivor, and she'll definitely survive this.

"Poor little thing, probably exhausted", Alex spoke softly, a voice he forgot he had the ability to use. Victor nodded his head in agreement, stroking the back of her ears.

"Do you think she can hear us?", Theodore asked with a puzzled expression.

"Yes I can!", she yelled in her mind. She couldn't see the men who were sitting around her, but she could recognise their voices instantly.

Her father's melodic tone that would lull her to sleep.

Alexander's sharp tone that she found a little scary.

Victor's calm voice that was never raised or rushed.

And then Theodore. His voice had obviously deepened a lot over the last 10 years, since the last time she had seen him he was 13, but she could still tell that it was Theodore.

"Probably not, she's sleeping", Victor said while frowning.

Yes, her fox is asleep, but her human form was wide awake!

"Can we wake her up-"

"No! Leave her be, she probably hasn't slept this comfortably in years", Alex interrupted in a louder voice than he intended, causing Nathaniel to awaken from his peaceful slumber. His eyes fluttered open and looked at the men with a confused expression on his face.

"What is everyone doing here?", he asked in a raspy voice, a tint of anger detected.

"Not our fault you were taking ages, we want to see her too", Victor answered, his eyes still trained of the fox in front of him.

"Don't blame me for wanting some time with my daughter", he retorted, sitting up on the chair.

"I don't think sleeping counts as spending time with your daughter", Theodore said in sarcastic voice.

"Shut the f*ck up, you're probably scaring her", Alex growled at the other three.

"Don't use that sort of language in front of her", Nate growled back.

"She's 20 years old!"

"I don't care, don't swear."

The four continued to argue until a sneeze silenced them.

They all looked down.

And to their surprise,

Meanwhile:

In a land, far away from the Highlands is where were hiding.

"It's been 20 years, Michael, where could she be?", the skinny, older woman asked her husband.

"We've been searching everywhere Iris, she's probably dead by now", he responded with little enthusiasm. She gasped at his words.

"Don't say that! I'm not going to stop looking, with or without you."

"I'm tired of this, Iris. Tired of always moving. Tired of coming close to finding her, only to reach a dead end. Tired of being heartbroken whenever that happens. Tired of always having to pick up the pieces of my broken heart. Tired of pretending that everything is fine when it's not. I don't want to be disappointed anymore. I just pray that she's in safe hands", he finishes with a single tear rolling down his cheek. His words left his wife shocked, and silent.

You guessed it right,

Michael and Iris.

Let's go back to the start, shall we?

Michael Winters, a human who happened to land in Araceli, where Iris is from, on a trip with his family. He was walking in the woods when he stumbled upon a pack of wolves. Trapped, he had no where to run or hide, so he waited for death to overcome him. He closed his eyes, all he could hear was the sounds of gnarly growls.

But all of a sudden, it stopped, and all he could hear was the sound of light footprints.

He dared to open his eyes, only to see the five wolves, that were previously surrounding him, now all lying on the floor, bloodless, and a woman standing beside him. Her eyes were glowing, a sight he had never seen before.

"Who are you?", he asked her in a low voice, still shocked over the previous events.

"My name is Iris, and I'm assuming you're a human", she replied with a smile on her face.

"Aren't we all?"

"No, you should've done your research before coming here. This place is populated by the supernaturals, mainly wolves", she informed him.

"Are you a wolf?", he asked while taking a few steps away from her.

"I'm a witch, and I just saved your life, so I think I deserve a 'thank you'", she chuckled lightly at the end, her eyes going back to their normal blue colour.

"Thank you", he breathed out. "I'm Michael, by the way."

She nodded silently, smiling at him sweetly.

He didn't notice how beautiful she was until that moment, with her icy, diamond eyes, tall frame and gorgeous brown hair. His hair was also brown, but leaned towards a ginger colour.

"I can show you around if you'd like", she suggested and he nodded, accepting her offer.

Since that day, they saw each other daily, hooked onto one another.

They married a year later, it seems really early, but when you know, you know.

It wasn't allowed in Iris' culture, in fact, it caused her to be disowned by her family and Kingdom, but her love for Michael overruled that. They wouldn't allow a witch to marry a human, but the couple didn't care.

They ran away, to a Kingdom the didn't know, but little did they know, the wolves in Araceli were following their every step, waiting to defeat them.

And when Iris gave birth to their daughter, the ceased the opportunity, knowing it would ruin the pair.

That's what let them to run away, abandoning their daughter for her safety.

Since then they haven't been found. They currently in an unclaimed land, where no one would find them. They've been moving ever since Noelle was born, not wanting to risk their safety. They haven't been able to conceive since Iris gave birth to Noelle, and even if they could, they wouldn't want to. The don't want to go through the same pain they went through 20 years ago.

They ached to find out about their daughter, but there was no information on her. It's like she never even existed, and that's what made Michael lose hope.

"I'm not giving up Michael, and as a father, you shouldn't either."

Back at Highland:

"Noelle?", Nate breathed in a whisper.

His daughter was awake.

She looked up at him with her doe eyes, examining him.

Noelle was ecstatic now that she could see everyone. Her father looks the same, except that his hair has gone a bit grey. Theodore looks incredibly different, muscular and tall, good looking, but obviously not as good looking as Easton. Alexander and Victor also grey some grey hair, but she could recognise them all.

She wondered what Easton looked like.

She attempted to stand up on her four little legs, but due to her weak state, she fell back down, causing the four to gasp in horror.

"Is she okay?",

"Oh my, Noelle, are you hurt again?",

"Do you need to the doctor?",

"F*ck, sh*t!",

She giggled in her mind at how worried they sounded. These brooding, scary vampires where worried over a tiny fox.

She smiled up at them in reassurance, earning softened looks from the men around her.

She let out a weak howl, indicating her happiness, which brought the attention of Easton, who was already making his way towards the hospital room.

At the sound, his senses were on high alert and he sprinted to the room worryingly, hoping that his beloved is okay.

"Noelle?!", he yelled frantically once he entered, but he calmed down once he met with her big eyes. A huge smile appeared of his face, the other men fading away, all he could see was Noelle. His heart melted at the sight of her, and all his worries flew away.