I AM THE WOLF!

Madeline Hilton isn't exactly sure how far she's wandered from her home in Fresno but she knows she needs to find her way back home. After all, it is getting dark, and being lost in the thick scary dark woods isn't the best place for a mere lady like her to be.

She picks her way through the brambles and bush thorns, lengthy wavy silvery blond hair flowing behind her and rustled by the wind as she tries to mentally will herself to remain calm. She absently wonders if her foster parents are worried about her absence yet or if they are still tendering to themselves and not bothering.

"Psssst, hey little barbie," a deep male voice sifts through the air sending her the chills.

Madeline conveniently ignores the voice while stepping up her pace. Being lost in the woods and encountering a strange virile male who says 'hey little barbie' doesn't give good vibes at all.

"Hey! We're talking to you. Where do you think you're going?" Another harsh male voice thunders from behind.

Now, Madeline steps up her pace and wonders how far her long legs can go if she decides to break into a run. She just needs to find a stupid tarred road and take a break from these woods. But suddenly, she hears heavy running footsteps coming up from behind her and glances back to see the men coming after her. She starts to run, trying to put as much distance as she can between herself and the sensed danger. She looks back again and sees that one of the men is gaining on her.

She can feel the wind rushing at her and blood roaring in her ears as she keeps sprinting forward. Why does it have to be today? She has constantly passed through these woods but never had she been lost or chased by strange men. 

Someone thugs at her hair, yanking her from her thoughts and she cries out in pain. She spins around to see who it was only to have the man wrap a strong arm around her, gripping her to himself.

She struggles and thinks fast, finally deciding to bite the man's hand hard enough to draw blood. The man cries out in frustration and pushes her hard, Madeline pitches forward and in a bid to hold on to her balance, she twists her ankle and falls.

Her sapphire blue eyes mirror pain and anger as she stares defiantly at both men while sprawled on the ground. The one she bit is still holding up his arm while the unscathed one menacingly takes a step forward towards her.

“Don't come any closer," Madeline whispers with a fragile voice yet keeps a bold expression. Hell, if she is going to go down, she’s going to do so with spite and anger.

She knows deep down that whimpering and crying are only going to make the men more eager to subdue her, tear her clothes off her and ravage her. So she resolves to give them her anger and fire.

“And what will you do, little barbie?” The unscathed man says with a leer.

“You’re going to stand there and talk? Why don’t you come closer and find out?” Madeline hisses.

She remembers she wore up her hair in the morning with a polished silver hairpin. It is the only thing of value that she has of her real mother and it is long with a sharp-toothed edge. She comfortingly reaches out for it while pretending to smooth out her hair. She doesn’t feel sorry for any of the men who decide to approach her first.

The men roar with laughter, the girl sure has some fire.

"Want to go first? Won’t be bad to have you tame the girl for me, she looks like a wild one," says the bitten man to the unscathed one.

The unscathed man starts to undo his zipper as he gets close to Madeline who is still sprawled on the floor but slightly resting on her elbows. If her blue eyes could emit fire, she would have certainly set the man ablaze in a heartbeat with the kind of look she gives him as he comes closer.

“Relax now, kitty. Don’t be skittish. You might even like it.” He throws back his head in laughter, glancing back at his partner.

He roughly pushes Madeline's shoulders, causing her to collapse on her back on the floor. But Madeline doesn’t mind, she is born-ready. The man starts to lower himself on top of her, thinking there would be no surprises since little barbie is hurt. So he doesn’t expect the solid kick in the groin when it lands which makes it all the more painful.

He had thought that having his way with the girl is going to be a walk in the park. Hell, he doesn’t even know how she manages to pull the maneuver but she does. He groans loudly in pain, cradling his groin with his two hands and giving Madeline the chance to pull out the polished bone hairpin and neatly stick it into his jugular vein.

Hot sticky blood gushes from the man's neck onto Madeline's face and shirt. She pushes him off her while trying to regain her breath which she had held with anticipation when waiting for the man to settle on top of her.

The second man roars in anger and advances toward Madeline who tries to get up but grits her teeth when the pain shoots up to her thigh.

“Hey, big man. Why don’t you come to me instead and leave the girl for now?” A cold gruff voice from a man who is hidden in the shadows suddenly sounds.

"Don't you dare make any threats at me if you don't want your throat slit and your guts fed to the wolves," the first man says to the new intruder.

The intruder issues a surprise attack by lunging at the first man, hitting him hard with a blunt force to his head, and snapping his neck neatly in half even before his body hits the ground. It's all very fast that not even the man expected it.

"I am the Wolf!" The intruder growls at the dead man.