Born by Tara Brown Page A

her nose on her arm,
"It aint no thing. She died the way she wanted."
    I know the pain Meg feels and the
strength she hides behind.
    His eyes tell me he does too.
    Leo nudges against me. He is nervous. He
whines. I look as we enter a huge camp. The fires are lit making the woods
smoky and smell of food. My mouth waters as my stomach grumbles. I don’t
remember the last time we really ate.
    "New recruits?" A man asks
looking me up and down and nodding his head. Leo lunges at him. I seriously
think the wolf can read minds and that man's mind is not pure.
    He jumps back, "Holy shit is that a
timber wolf?"
    I laugh. I can't help myself. Leo is
hovering over him snarling.
    The men who've escorted us laugh at the
fallen man. I call him, "Leo."
    He snarls once more and runs to my side.
He stands tall and proud with his chest out. He snarls at everyone.
    "You have my friends here don't
you?"
    The man with the smile frowns,
"Who?"
    "A girl and a guy. They're brother
and sister."
    His eyes narrow, "No one has come
recently. Except you."
    "Don’t lie to me. He's tall with
dark hair and blue eyes. He has an injury on his leg. She is younger and about
my size. She has dark hair and blue eyes too. They look alike."
    He shakes his head, "Look we don’t
have anyone here. We don’t take prisoners."
    I look at the guns surrounding us and
raise my eyebrows.
    He laughs, "You were spying on us
and have a huge timber wolf as a pet."
    I don’t laugh. I want Jake and Anna.
    Meg gives me a look, "Why would he
bring us here if they're not here?"
    I shrug, "The smell of food."
    The guy with the gun in my face points to
Leo, "Keep him under control and we can drop the weapons."
    I pat Leo on the head and scratch his
ears. He shakes his head once. He still is agitated.
    The camp is like nothing I've ever seen.
It reminds me of the band of merry men Robin Hood joins in the forest.
    I hear a noise I've never heard before. I
turn my head when I see where it comes from. A small boy with white blond hair
runs past me. He has his arms stretched out. He latches on to Leo, making me
jump to his rescue but Leo looks at me and lowers his body for the child.
    "Andy no. Not the wolf. Oh my god
I'm so sorry." A dark haired woman walks up to me. She looks older, maybe
thirty. She's dressed in a long gathered skirt and a blouse. She's pretty in a
simple way. She looks at Meg and smiles motherly, "We need to get you
cleaned up and get some food in that belly. You look like you must be
starved." She looks at the man next to me, "Watch him for me while I
get her taken care of?"
    The man nods and kneels next to the boy
who is shrieking and hugging my huge wolf. Leo pants contented.
    "His name is Leo. Be careful okay
Andy." The man puts a hand out for Leo to sniff.
    Meg gives me a pleading look as she is
dragged off. I want to reach for her but I don't. The woman with the brown hair
has dark doe eyes that instantly make me comfortable.
    I look around and notice that there are
fires everywhere. Small tents line the forest and lean-tos are staggered
amongst them. I've never seen anything like it. Clothes hang from lines in the
trees. The canopy provides the perfect shelter. I feel like I've entered a
sacred site. Everyone is bustling about, as if on a mission.
    "This is like the Shire."
    "You've read The Hobbit?"
    My neck almost snaps as I look back at
him, "Yes. Have you?"
    He nods and pats Leo once more.
    "Wolfie wolfie wolfie." The
white haired angel cries into Leo's dark fur. Leo looks done with the hug. He
struggles to escape.
    "He's done."
    The man pulls him off, making the boy
make an ungodly noise, "Nooooo Will. I wanna hug the wolfie. I wanna
wolfie. Miiiiine."
    I gasp, "Will?" The eyes and
the smile. He looks almost exactly like they do. "Anna and Jake's brother
Will?"
    His face drops, "Anna and Jake? My
brother and sister?"
    I nod.
    His face grows savage. He lets go of the
boy and grips my arms harshly. He shouts into my face, " Where are they ?"
    I point, "I