Born 01 - Born

who fulfills that ‘big man taking care of the little girl’ need I have, but I love you. I want you. Even if you don’t need me, I need you."
    I open my eyes again. His blue eyes are all I see.
    "You're wrong. I do need you. Just not to save me from the world. I need you to give me space and earn my respect. Being with you, Anna, Jake, Sarah, and Meg is amazing for me. It's the first time I've ever felt like I'm part of something. I need you to see that. You all have become a family to me. I'm not good at this stuff. I need you to see that I love Jake. I love him for all the right reasons."
    He winces. "How do you love me?"
    I close my eyes. "With all my heart and probably my soul."
    He kisses me again. "I want to give you everything you want and need."
    I yawn and shiver. "I need sleep." And to never have this conversation again.
    He kisses my nose. "Sleep." And I do. I sleep because he is there and I feel safe, even if I hate him.

Chapter Twenty-Four

    Anna walks down the road, gripping the hand of Muriel. Together they look like little lost sisters.
    "So what's the deal with you and Will?"
    I look at my sniper partner and frown. "Nothing. Nothing is up. We're friends. Why?" Mitch and I don’t talk much. He's the strong, silent type.
    "Jake said something. Said he figured he'd lost you to him."
    "Seriously?" I turn and look at him. "You guys are like little old women."
    Mitch, who is a year older than me and best friends with Jake, laughs. He watches through the scope on his gun.
    "We got some action."
    I pull an arrow and ready myself. "Who would you pick?"
    "Jake. Will is an asshole."
    The truck rounds the corner. It's a huge white cargo truck. Will calls them furniture trucks. It has a symbol on the side of it I've never seen before. My bow is ready. My arrow is taut.
    "He is an asshole."
    "Yup. Ready?"
    "Yup."
    The first guy climbs out and just like the last three trucks we've tricked, they immediately go for the intimidation. One guy slams Muriel against the truck. My arrow slices through his neck. He falls to the ground.
    Jake and Will and the other guys come up out of the forest. My second arrow hits the guy grabbing Anna. Anna retrieves my arrow from his heart and wipes it on his shirt. She retrieves the other arrow from the throat of the other man. She wipes it on his pants. I smile. She is disgusting.
    Jake and Will drag the dead men to the ditches. Mitch uses a hunting rifle. He has dropped three in the time it takes me to drop my two. Will opens the back door of the truck and shoots a man as he jumps out. I can see everyone climbing in. Leo and I run down the hill, following Mitch into the back of the truck. I close the door and get ready. Leo pants in the dark.
    Girls cry in the back of the truck.
    "Only two arrows, Em? Mitch out shot you this time," Anna teases me in the dark. The girls in the back with us cry harder.
    Muriel talks softly, "We're going to free you. We just need to drive you to the place where you'll be set free. This is a bad location."
    "You're not the others?" one of the captives asks.
    Jake laughs. "We're like the other others. Can you all find your ways home if we drop you at Green Mountain?"
    "I can."
    "Yup."
    "Thank you so much."
    "God bless you."
    I fish a flashlight out of my backpack and shine it in the back to see the faces. Some are young, but some are older, more like thirty-five. I suspect what those ladies are for. I know it's not the breeder farms.
    "Who are you people?"
    Another flashlight shines around the truck and lands on my face. I shrug. "Just regular people." Leo growls.
    "Oh, my dear Lord, you're the girl with the wolf. I heard about you. They burned my village looking for you."
    I look around for a second, not realizing they're talking to me. I feel my face heating up. "What?"
    The flashlight shines on the roof, so we can all see each other a little bit. A small woman with dark hair and a fat lip nods. "Yeah. They come looking for you. Said they were looking for information about a girl who traveled with a wolf. Said to tell you they was looking for you. Had something you might be interested in."
    I look at Will and Jake. They both shake their heads. "No. Sarah and Meg are back at the retreat."
    I look at her and frown. "They had something that I wanted?"
    "Yup."
    "They come to my village too."
    I look at Will. He shakes his head. "Impossible. They're trying to get to you."
    I look at the young girl who spoke. "What did they say?"
    She shrugs. "Just