Born 01 - Born

runs his hands through his dark hair. "Not on purpose, Emma. You just make me so mad. I don’t know what to do about you. Tell me what I should do. I don’t want to feel this way about you. I don’t want to love someone that is so reckless with herself and is willing to die for other people. I will die if you die." He doesn’t look angry. His eyes are passionate but in a way that breaks my heart.
    I take a step back. "I don’t want to love someone who has sex with other women and lets them crawl all over him in front of other people. I don’t want to love someone who leaves marks on my body because he gets angry and then humiliates me, calling me not normal and a child."
    He laughs but it sounds pained as it cuts through the quiet of the forest. "Touché." He takes a step forward with his hands out. "I would rather die than hurt you."
    "But you have. You have already, so many times." I take another step back.
    He bites his lower lip and looks at me through his thick lashes. "What are we going to do?"
    I shake my head. "Rescue the women from the farm."
    He laughs again. "What about us?"
    A single tear escapes the hold I have over myself. "There is no us. There never was. There was you and me and Star and whoever else you freely let into your bed. It never was just us." I turn my back on him but Leo stays. I know I stole that one from one of Granny's books too.
    "Emma, there is no me and other women. It's me and you and this damned wolf. Leo, come on, boy. Let me past. Come here, Leo."
    I hear the growling and I smile.
    The group is sitting and laughing about something. They stand when they see me. "Are we going or what?" a man asks.
    I nod and pick up my bow and quiver. "Let's go."
    I whistle once and Leo comes bounding. I know Will is behind us. I feel safer with him there. I hate that.
    The walk down the mountain is easier than the last time. I am much less exhausted, and the fear of what we are about to do is driving me forward.
    "So, is that your boyfriend?" one of the older women asks.
    I look back to where he is walking with one of the guys and talking. His eyes move to meet mine. I look back at her and shake my head. "No. I don’t have a boyfriend. There is a guy I like. He's really sweet and kind and funny." I laugh. "He has no survival skills whatsoever but it doesn’t matter. He makes me feel like it's before the wars and the sickness."
    She nudges me. "Then why do you have that stricken look on your face when you see him?"
    My eyes narrow. "It's his brother. He thinks he should be able to treat me like his little sister, I think."
    She shakes her head. "Girl, he doesn’t treat you like a little sister. Trust me, I was married twice before the wars. That is not the look a sister gets."
    I glance back. "He doesn’t exactly do the single relationship thing."
    She looks at me and shakes her head. "None of them do, honey. What you need to do is flirt with other guys to give him a taste of his own medicine. That thing you have going with his brother is probably driving him nuts."
    I smile at her but have nothing to say. I'm as guilty as he is. Being with Jake makes me feel happy. Being with Will makes me feel something different. Something I can't name. I look at him again and know it isn’t happiness he makes me feel. It's stronger and scarier. His eyes don't meet mine. I rub my arm to remind myself of what he is capable of.
    We get to the bottom of the mountain and make camp for the night.
    The night air is getting muggy. Summer is painful; the heat is almost unbearable. Even at my cabin, I would lie awake some nights and sweat.
    Leo has gone hunting. Whenever I make camp, he spends his time circling it. He sleeps on the outskirts of it and watches. Some might find a pair of yellow eyes watching them from the woods disturbing, but I find it comforting.
    I drop my pack and roll out my thin bedroll. The women stay to one side of the fire while the men sit at the other. In the dark, it is hard to make out where everyone is, but in the firelight, their figures flit about in the background like ghosts.
    Distracted for the moment with my bow and quiver, I walk into the forest. I can feel Leo near me. His protection of me is most of the reason I feel safe in the woods.
    I sit perched and wait. Something scurries off to the left of me. I wait for the light of the moon to reflect on its beady little eye. As the glint of muted light hits the shine of the eyeball, I release the arrow. A small squeak confirms my