like a stake being driven through her head over and over again. Her only solace is that her head is laying in the cold wet muck, a mixture of mud from the brook and stinking rotting foliage that is cooling some of her pain. As Rose attempts to move her body, sharp pain shoots up throughout her body telling her that she is seriously injured. Yet, her friends continue to laugh down at her, mocking her as Rose lays there calling for them to help her.

​

The more she pleads for their help the more they mock and laugh at her. She begs them to take her to the hospital and still they deny her assistance. This is just a game to them that Rose could lose if she doesn’t get help soon. She can feel her body shivering, unsure if it’s from the cold or shock. Rose attempts to move her body, but the pain is excruciating as she assesses where she is injured the most. Lifting her head, she notices something warm with a metallic scent dripping down into her left eye from the spot where she hit her head. She moves her head enough to see a blurry vision of Sarah and her four groupies looking down at her from their perch at the edge of the ravine, mocking her.

​

The more Rose screams for help, the more they laugh. She screams from her attempts to move, aggravating her injuries more. They don’t care that she is injured. They don’t care that she was supposed to be their friend. They never did care about her. She knows this and always has known this, but it doesn’t hurt any less. She was always just a number to them. She was always just someone to kick while she was down. Yet, she had to be their friend and keep their friendship because Rose’s father only cared about his connections with their families, and that hurt even more than the betrayal of her friends.

​

Soon the laughter dies down as the group walks away only to be replaced by a low growling sound in the bushes ahead of her. Then she hears the loud snapping of a branch and the movement from the bushes parting. Fears courses through Rose’s body making the hairs on her skin stand up on end causing her to hold her breath. The sight before her is impossible, but that doesn’t make it any less real. In front of her she sees yellow-orangish eyes glowing above a set of massive teeth with drool dripping from its fangs coming closer to her. It’s hard for her to get a clear view of the beast with her blood dripping into her eyes distorting her vision, but she knows she is dead if it decides to attack her. As it draws near, her body tenses cause severe pain to shoot throughout her body. Just as she starts to pass out the beast rises on its hind legs and then darkness consumed her.

​

Rose slowly blinks her eyes open as the gentle feeling of movement comes to a stop and sees a massive forest surrounding a small town. A feeling of painful nostalgia comes creeping into the center of her chest as she looks out the car window at the people she hoped to have left behind for good. She never wanted to come back to this town, but her father forced her to after finding out about her switching her major from Business Management to Digital Photography. He didn’t even notice until Rose was just finished with her schooling. She had to go a few extra years because she changed her major with only one year left in getting her degree. It took her father four years to realize that she had changed her degree instead of continuing to further her business degree and he was livid. She smiled to herself as she thought about how she got away with getting the degree she always wanted.

​

“Serves him right for not paying attention to what I was doing” Rose says to herself as the vehicle continued to move.

​

“What was that missy?” the cab driver asked her, looking into his rearview mirror. He was a skinny man with a long face and pointed nose. He wore sunglasses that covered his eyes and an old worn-out red cap with a tuft of light brown hair sticking out.

​

“Oh, nothing. The house is just up that hill to the left.”

​

“No problem.” The cab driver drove up the high hill where a large house sat to the left with a U-shaped driveway leading to the front door. There the driver stopped and turned around as Rose just glared at the house before hiding her deep seeded anger behind a smile as she looked at the man facing her.

​

“Thanks for the ride”, Rose said as she handed him the cash and tip for the cab fare.

​

“Anytime, and thanks.” The cab driver smiles at the tip, got out and walked to the back of the cab. He then unloaded her bags and tipped his hat towards her. “Have a nice day missy.” He then got into his cab and drove off with a wave, leaving Rose to stare at the door to the foreboding house she grew up in. A house that never felt like home since her mother passed when she was just a child.

​

At the bottom of the steps to the entrance sat two perfectly shaped pumpkins with fresh dirt covering the flower beds. Sitting on top of the flower beds were white skeletons that looked like they were clawing their way out of an unmarked grave. The tree in the middle of the front yard was covered in red leaves and fake cobwebs with ghosts hanging down from its limbs. Yes, Rose was back in town in time for Halloween. Normally she loved Halloween, but not in Little Ivywood Township where the people turned their backs on her when she needed them. Still, she loved the woods that surrounded her hometown, even if she almost died in them.

​

She looked at the brightly colored forest one more time before approaching the door to her father’s house. Taking a deep breath, she rang the doorbell and waited, and waited some more. Finally, she just used her key to enter the house to find it empty and silent. Well, it looked empty, and her suspicion was confirmed as she glanced to the table in the foyer where a note was lying. Her father was out on business and wouldn’t be back until later to “talk” about her “life choices”.

​

Rose left the note untouched where she found it and entered the house passing her father’s office to the left and the living room after it. She turned right into the hallway that led to her bedroom that she hadn’t used in almost seven years. Besides it being dust free, it looked almost untouched. Her father must have had his house maid prepare the room for her. Setting her luggage down by her bed, she walked over to her walk-in closet, past her old clothes and found what she was looking for. Sitting in the back of her closet was all of her hiking gear and clothes that she used anytime she went into the woods.

​

She had always loved the woods and would hike the trails every chance she had. After that Halloween seven years ago, she went out into the woods even more. She has never been able to forget that night. It haunted her dreams every night and even during the day. Most of the time if filled her with anger. Her anger towards her so-called friends, the people of the town, the authority figures in this town and especially towards her father. She was left to die in the woods, and no one cared. Her body tensed as she thought of the past and her fingers became tight fists at her sides with her nails biting into her palms. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her gear, changed her clothes, walked past the kitchen and out the back door. She may have nearly died in the woods, but they were still a peaceful haven away from the world.

​

In the woods, Rose was able to transport herself into another world. A world without cruel people, where it was just her and the beauty of nature. Her black hiking boots trudged along the trail leading her deeper into the colorful forest stepping onto the dead foliage that has fallen from the trees. She shifts her pack on her shoulders to adjust the comfort for the long hike ahead of her to the spot where everything happened. In her pack she has her trusty camera that she has always carried with her to capture the beauty the forest never fails to provide her, as well as essentials that all hikers should carry with them: a compass, first aid kit, water, snacks, an extra set of clothes, water-proof matches, sharpening stone and her serrated fixed blade knife.

​

The further she hiked into the woods the calmer she felt, with the scent of fresh forest air surrounding her as the chilled air blew through the forest trees raining down more colorful leaves towards the ground. The sight was magical, and a smile formed on her face as Rose just stood there with her head tilted back and her eyes closed, taking in the magical atmosphere that was provided to her. Here, within the trees was her true home. A place she has always called her own. Even after all these years memories of all the times she spent within the forest comes back to her as if she never left.

​

Rose continues walking until she finally finds her destination. The same place where she nearly died seven years ago. She looks down into the ravine remembering the laughter of her friends as she cried for help. Slowly she brings her right hand up to touch a pendant that she found in her hand the night she woke up in the hospital. The pendant is a smooth piece of wood shaped into the head of a wolf that looks like it’s howling. The details so defined that one could see nearly each strand of the wolf’s fur carved into it. The only time she can remember seeing that pendant was for a brief moment when her consciousness came to, and she saw that exact pendant on a wide bare chest as she felt someone carry her through the woods. Unfortunately, she passed out again before she could see who that bare chest belonged to. When she woke up next, she was in the hospital alone with the pendant in her uninjured hand, and she had worn it ever since.

​

“I wish I knew who rescued me,” Rose says as the cool breeze carries her voice across the ravine. She removes her backpack and sets it down by a tree and sits down staring at the stream as it trickles through the ravine over the stones making a soothing sound. Rose lays her head back against the tree behind her closing her eyes to enjoy the small rays of sunshine warming her face.

​

Down in the ravine Patrick emerges from a massive thicket staring up the length of the flowing brook. As he walks along the water’s edge his feet crunch on the stones that cover the bottom of the ravine. With the season heavy into the fall the woods smell of earth and the decay of plants and leaves as they decompose for the next spring’s life. He stops at a spot by the brook and bends down to touch the stones and mulch.

​

“It’s been seven years since I found her here,” Patrick says to himself. The girl he found was injured and dying from falling down from the top of the ravine. She was wearing what looked like a white outfit cotton attached to it, with a long cotton tail on her backside. She wore black cotton gloves and black hiking boots. It was quite a contrast from her deep red hair that was tangled with stick, leaves and mud. She looked like a lamb without the ears and cotton fluff on her head. Though, later he did find her headband that was supposed to be her ears and cotton fluff that was missing for her outfit caught in a low hanging branch just before the ravine she fell into. He remembers hearing people laughing that night and went to investigate the source of that cruel laughter that only those who conspire evil deeds would use. He was proven right when he saw an injured girl crying for help as those above her mocked her. He could even smell the metallic scent of blood on her mixed with sweat, dirt and fear.

​

After those people left, he managed to carry her out of the woods and to the hospital where he made sure she got the help she needed. She only woke up once, and only for a moment before passing out without saying a word. She was so light and fragile in that moment, with a nasty deep cut above her left eye that ended up needing ten stitches. The gash reached from the hairline of her forehead to below her eyebrow. He had to rip up his favorite red shirt to not only wrap up her head to slow the flow of blood, but he also needed to set her right wrist that was broken.

​

She laid in the hospital bed with a cast on her right wrist and a tight brown wrap around her left ankle where she ended up having a second-degree sprain, at least according to her chart he managed to steal and read. She was also suffering hyperthermia from laying partly in the icy water, shock from her injuries and a concussion. He also learned that her name was Rose Woods, which he found suited her nicely. A lovely name for a beautiful girl. One he couldn’t help but look at with deep admiration and protectiveness. The doctors wouldn’t tell him anything since he wasn’t family, and that said family didn’t show up until later the next day. Hell, he technically wasn’t even allowed to see her, but he snuck in anyways because he had to make sure she was okay. He managed to steal blue smock the male nurses wear. It was a bit tight fitting, but it served its purpose to sneak in to see the girl. Her room smelled heavily of antiseptics, and she was hooked up to a heart monitor whatever else was needed to monitor her and a saline drip. She wore a white hospital gown with pink tiny flowers on it.

​

She just looked so broken laying there covered in bandages and black and blue marks. Patrick moved a chair to her bed as quietly as he could and held her hand until morning. Before leaving, he took off his wolf pendant and placed it in her left hand and closed her cold scraped up fingers around it with both of his large hands. He then brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it before saying to her, “I’ll be back for you, I promise”. The thought of leaving her alone left a heavy weight in his gut, but he had to know who did this to her. He could already feel an unbreakable bond with her that he wasn’t willing to lose. A powerful force that pulled him towards her, his Rose. With regret he then left her in the hospital bed and past a doctor that was heading for her room to check on her.

​

After making sure she was in good medical hands, he went back to the ravine where he found her to check the edge of it. There he smelled the scent of five other people, two females and three males. He also found tracks that showed that she was not only running but being chased by these people until she fell and injured herself.

​

“What kind of people would do such a thing?” Patrick said to himself as anger boiled up though out his body until he looked up and found a woman resting against a tree at the edge of the ravine. Raising his head, he took a sniff of the thick forest air and realized it was the girl he rescued, only this time she smelled of the woods instead of a mix of blood and dirt. A small smile came to him as he realized that she has come back just as he hoped she would. He watched over his Rose from a distance as she recovered from her injuries, but one day she was nowhere in sight. He found out that her father had sent her away to finish her schooling elsewhere.

​

Now, after so long, of not knowing where she was or if she was even doing well, there she was sitting against a large tree melting away the worry that he worked up for her during her absence as if she never left to begin with. He could feel his heart picking up speed at his excitement to see her again, making him feel more alive and alert again. “Rose” slips from his lips with a relieving breath, and he moves towards her only stopping at the steep incline just below her. She’s either really relaxed, or she fell asleep since she hasn’t moved once since he saw her. He moves a short distance away from her and found a shallower steep with large roots sticking out for him to climb up on and made his way to the woman who invaded his dreams since she disappeared from his life until now. Sure enough, she was sound asleep with a peaceful look on her beautiful smooth face. Right away he noticed the long scar over her left eye, marking her fight for survival and living through it. Patrick considered scars like those as a mark of strength and survival, and to him, she was strong, beautiful and brave.

​

His beautiful Rose was back and this time he would work to earn his place by her side and keep her. He then looked at the lovely woman she has become, with small freckles dotting her face and her long deep red hair fanning over her shoulders. She wore a forest green insulated jacket zipped all the way up to block the cool air breezing through the shadowed forest, black cargo pants tucked into her black socks and black hiking boots that come up past her ankles. Next to her she has a full backpack that, by his guess, is full of hiking supplies. Looking at Rose again, he can see that she is very fit and by the worn treads of her boots, she goes hiking often. This makes him smile, “A woman after my own heart”. He takes note of her cute button nose and her pouty pink lips that he can’t help but to imagine kissing someday. Her silky red hair framing her round face draws his attention and he can’t help himself but to reach out with his right hand and run his fingers through it. The red in her hair reminds him of the color of blood and is just as soft as he imagined it would be as the strands glide through his fingers. To be able to touch her again was like touching the most precious and rare flower in the world.

​

 Patrick reluctantly pulls his hand away from his delicate Rose as she turns her head and her eyes flutter open revealing a sea of vivid green staring deeply into his deep yellow-orangish eyes. Such beautiful gems sparkling in the dim light the forest allows. He can’t help but smile as she parts her lips in her surprise to see him kneeling over her, as she moves her weight onto her left dainty hand that suddenly catches his attention. A hand that he would love to press against his cheek, nuzzle and…

​

Surprise shocked his face, eyes widening as Patrick felt his legs give out from under him, only to see the tops of the forest trees swaying in the cool autumn breeze just before the angry face of his Rose blocks his new view. The pleasant feel of her weight is on him before he can even think of anything as she supports herself with her left hand on the earthy floor near his head. He can feel a sharp cool object pressed against his throat as he looks into the eyes of his precious flower. Nope, not a delicate Rose. More like a wild thorned Rose, he thinks to himself as he smirks at how angry she is and how quick she managed to take him down.

​

“Who the hell are you, and what the hell do you think you are doing?!” Rose says with a deep threatening voice, where even a bit of a growl managed to escape her.

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Oh, yeah, not delicate at all. “Sorry, sorry” Patrick says to her with an amused smile on his face. But this only made her press the knife harder into his neck. He can see in her slitted eyes that she is willing to slice his throat, yet he still can’t help but to be amused and proud of her bravado. “I didn’t mean to startle you, promise,” he says as he lifts his hands in surrender above his head, still keeping his entertained smile which just seems to irritate her more.

​

“What were you doing?!” Rose moves her face closer to his in an attempt to make herself more threatening. That smile he keeps giving her is only making her more irritable, even if his smooth looking lips looks inviting. Giving herself a mental shake, she continues to glare at him taking note of the stubble on his sharp angular face giving him a bit of a gruff look that matches his intense yellow-orangish eyes that are crinkled at the ends to match his amused smirk. His thick brown eyebrows are straight and slightly raised as he eyes her, waiting to see what she will do next.

​

“Perhaps, I can answer your questions better if you remove your knife,” he says still looking at her. He could easily just flip her over and pin his Wild Rose down before she can even use her knife, but he’s having to much fun with her sitting on his abs with the feel of her weight on him. “but by all means, please stay seated the way you are. I certainly don’t mind,” he then waggles his eyebrows at her. Rose makes crinkles her face and with a disgusted sound quickly moves off of him and gets to her feet pointing her knife at him. Patrick then slowly sits up with a disappointed groan and rubs his neck where the knife rested just a moment ago.

​

“You sick bastard! Don’t even think about moving!”

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“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.” Patrick then shifts so that one leg is up and places an arm on his knee giving Rose a once over. “You’re good. You actually managed to knock my legs out from under me without me stopping you. No one’s ever been able to do that before. Then again, I was a bit distracted,” and he looks at her with renewed interest that just makes her glare at him even more. He is, however, rewarded with a vivid blush on her cheeks.

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“I’m not going to ask again. What were you doing?” He notices that she has shifted her weight to her left foot. He can tell she is getting ready to kick him if he so much as tries to make a move for her.

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She’s a fighter. Just my type, he thinks to himself. Now he just needs to calm his Wild Rose so that he can win her trust and heart. “Look, I saw you leaning against that tree and just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he says while pointing to the large tree where her backpack still sits. “I wasn’t going to hurt you or do anything else.” Rose lifts an eyebrow at him as though she doesn’t believe him. “Okay, look, I wouldn’t do anything to you unless you wanted me to.”

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“Never…”

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“Never say never, love.” Patrick then looks at her with narrowed determined eyes. She doesn’t know it yet, but she will be his. They have a connection that sooner or later she will feel.

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“Don’t call me love,” Rose then straitens and lowers her knife to her side but still keeping a firm reading grip on it just in case he does try anything. “I’m not your love,” she says in a low quiet voice.

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“Not yet you’re not,” Rose’s eyes shoot up piercing him with a challenging look. “Give it time. Once you get to know me, I’m positive you’ll be my love.” Patrick then smoothly gets up and dusts off the back of his pants. He looks up just in time to see her eyeing him from head to toe with a look of interest. In fact, he can smell the interest she is trying to hold in check.

​

Rose looks up and scowls at him when she realizes that he caught her checking him out. It’s not like she can help it. It’s not her fault that he’s so tall and well-toned with muscles trying to burst out of his red long-sleeved shirt with the buttons ready to pop off if he so much as flexes. Even his dark blue jeans are so tight around his legs they look like they’re just painted on. How much muscle does this guy have anyway? This time she catches herself checking him out and quickly looks up again, only to find him giving her a knowing smirk. Suddenly she notices his shirt getting tighter as he casually flexes his chest muscles not catching that her eyes have grown a tad wide at the sight.

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“I would be happy to take my shirt off for you if you’d like.” Rose looks up with excitement but quickly manages to hide it, but not before Patrick notices it and gives her a light chuckle. “My names Patrick, by the way,” he says holding out his right hand to her which she eyes suspiciously before switching her knife to her left hand and shaking his firmly.

​

“Rose” she says reluctantly with a huff and pulls her hand away from him when he continues to hold it with a firm yet gentle grip.

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“It’s nice to meet you, Rose. Face to face this time.”

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“What do you mean?” she gives him a suspicious look as he moves closer to her with a dominant stance.

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“The last time I saw you, you almost died.” Her eyes widen with surprise, and she opens her mouth to ask what he means but nothing comes out. “By the way, my pendant looks good on you. I’m glad that you’re not only keeping it close to you, but you’re wearing it as well.”

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“Wait, you gave this to me?” Patrick nods at her with his, now becoming trademark, smirk. She lightly touches her wolf pendant that she has kept with her since she found it in her hand waking up in the hospital. “But that means…”

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“Yes, I’m the one who found you and got you to the hospital.” He then gently moves her hand away from the pendant and scoops it into his palm and gives it a gentle squeeze before releasing it. “Try to be more careful this time. I would really hate to see anything happen to you. After all, you’re my Wild Rose,” he presses a finger to Rose’s lips as she attempts to refute him. “You are my Wild Rose. You don’t see it now, but you will.” He then pulls his finger away steps back from her and slides down the steep ledge of the ravine with one hand held out towards the falling dirt and the other out towards the sky to keep his balance and then walk away once he reaches the bottom. He then stops, looks back with a knowing look and continues on his way into the woods.

​

​Rose just stands there looking at his retreating form. It’s hard for to believe that she just met her savior from seven years ago. “and I held a knife to his throat,” she whispers to herself in disbelief. “Oh my God, I held a knife to his throat!” after yelling that out, she crouches down and hold her head between her knees with a sense of horrified shame and disbelief.