Wild Girl (READ DISCLAIMER)

Prologue

No POV

During the early eighties, the Vega family was known for traveling the world. Holly Vega, the matriarch of the family, was a wildlife photographer for magazines and zoos. Her husband, David Vega, was a zoologist who met his wife while in Africa. He was there to check on a pride of lions he and his team tagged years before, and Holly was there taking photos of the wildlife for National Geographic.

Five years after meeting, David Vega proposed to Holly Angelucci, who accepted happily on their five year anniversary at a famous Italian restaurant Holly's family frequented.

Two years after, the two officially became married in a beach wedding in Puerto Rican, David's home town.

Three years later, in 1989, the two had their first child, a daughter they named Katrina Maria Vega, an eight pound ten ounce girl with lightly tanned skin like her mother, and deep brown eyes like her father.

Thirteen months later, they had their second child, another daughter they named Victoria Dawn Vega, a seven pound eleven ounce girl with a darker tan like her father, and cocoa brown eyes like her father.

When the girls were six and five respectively, they went on a safari with their parents in the forests of California. David to check on a pack of wolves he and his team tagged before Katrina's birth, and Holly to photograph them for a magazine article her employer signed up for her.

While there, their daughters always remained close, Katrina and Victoria always within sight of the Vega parents. Every morning, day, and evening, the four Vega's stayed close, the parents doing their jobs while keeping their daughters in sight and safe.

On the last day, however, things took a turn none of the Vega's expected or wanted.

While Holly was taking the last group of photos of the wolves, David took his daughters on a drive through the forest, a Jeep left will Holly so they could meet up in a few hours. While on a rest break, the girls safely in the Jeep, David was behind a tree, doing his business. Not aware of how loose the seat belt was in the Jeep that kept the girls fastened, David had his back to them.

As he goes, his youngest slipped out and started wandering around the area, her older sister asleep for the last hour of the drive. By the time he got back to the Jeep, young Victoria's child-like curiosity has taken her into the forest. Waking his eldest, David quickly heads into the forest, Katrina with him as he searches hurriedly for his youngest.

The two make their way to Holly, David quickly informing his wife that their youngest is missing. The two adults and one young girl search for Victoria, with no luck after over six hours.

Collecting their stuff, the three Vega's leave the forest to inform the police on Victoria being missing. With the assurance that the police, and a few other groups, are looking for Victoria, the three head home, Katrina worried for her sister, a matching worry with their parents.

Unfortunately, after over over a year of searching, and finding no sign of her, the police have no choice but to abandon the search, not enough manpower to keep the search going.

The family never got over losing Victoria in the wild, the family going out every chance they get to try to find her, over the next eleven years, the three would always go to the same area where Victoria went missing and searched the entire surrounding area for her, making no sign of the youngest Vega.

When the police told them that they had no choice but to declare Victoria dead, the remaining Vega's left California, being too upset to be in the same state where their family started, and they lost the youngest.

What neither of the three Vega's knew was that Victoria was alive and well all these years. Shortly after wandering away, young Victoria tripped over a tree limb and twisted her ankle. Being as deep into the woods as she was at the time, and the distance her father and sister too great to hear, Victoria's pain-filled scream from twisting her ankle and falling on her side went unheard.

By humans, anyway.

A pack of wolves, a neighboring pack to the one Holly was photographing, heard the scream and checked on the young Victoria. For reasons unknown, especially to Victoria, the pack started to help her, tending to the wound and comforting her.

For the next eleven years, Victoria's instincts started to match the wolves. Her eyesight has become sharper, being able to make shapes out in total darkness, and noting things from a distance no human should be able to do so naturally. Her reflexes, as well, have become sharper. She has been quick and agile, being able to keep a steady pace with the rest of the pack when they sprint, and has become quite effective at taking down deer and like animals.

For eleven years, Victoria has become a wild counterpart to normal girls her age. While wandering around the streets of Las Angeles at night, an unplanned event twists Victoria's life, and the life of the one she met, to a place neither thought.