Page 20 of Unruly Hearts
"Promise me," I beg, looking up at my mate. "Promise me you're done with gambling. I can't... I can't lose anyone else. Not like this. Not to greed."
"I swear it." He kisses away my tears with infinite gentleness. "No more games. No more lies."
***
The next few weeks blur together. Detective Morris calls each day with updates on the investigation. They uncover damning evidence in Ethan's office—photographs documenting tampered equipment, forged paperwork, detailed strategies to pressure my parents into selling.
Word spreads quickly through our tight-knit town. The Wildlife Center's parking lot fills with familiar faces bringing comfort and support. Julie arrives from her bakery with fresh coffee and tearful hugs. The McKinnons leave their hardware store to deliver homemade casseroles. Even Mr. Peterson, our usually gruff postmaster, shows up with his cap clutched respectfully in his weathered hands. We gather together, sharing stories and memories, honoring my parents' legacy.
Through it all, Agis remains my foundation.
Day by day, we find our rhythm in this new reality. Agis puts his mountain-learned skills to use, reinforcing and improvingthe animal enclosures. I begin teaching wilderness safety courses, carrying forward the work my parents loved so deeply.
One evening on the porch, as the sun paints the sky in amber and rose, I watch Agis settle in an enlarged rocking chair he built.
"I want to expand the rescue program," I tell him. "It was Mom's dream to help more animals."
He draws me into his lap, his arms encircling me. "Then that's what we'll do."
The center flourishes under our care. Ethan awaits trial, and soon my parents' killer will face justice. Yet something nags at me.
"Do you think they'd approve?" I whisper. "Of everything we're doing? Of us?"
"They'd be proud," he says softly. "How strong you are, how you care, how you keep going."
My fingers trace the fresh scar on his shoulder, still pink from the shooting. It feels like ages ago, though barely any time has passed. "No more gambling?"
"Never again," he murmurs, pressing a kiss to my temple. "I already have everything I need."
The wolves begin their evening song, their howls echoing through the valley. Our newly planted oak saplings reach skyward, promising future shade and shelter. Here in my mate's arms, I've found where I belong.
Perhaps this isn't the future my parents imagined for me. But somehow, it's exactly right.
Epilogue - Serenity
Summer sunlight streams through the cabin windows as I sort through the last box of my parents' things. The trial ended yesterday—Ethan pled guilty to everything. Murder. Forgery. Money laundering. The works.
"You don't have to do this today," Agis says from the doorway. His massive frame casts a familiar shadow over the floor and I smile.
"I do." I lift out Dad's climbing logbook and run my fingers over his precise handwriting. "Now that I know the truth, I can finally honor them properly."
The last entry still hurts—the green trail, the day Ethan sabotaged their equipment. But the pain has dulled, replaced by something like peace.
On the wall in the lobby of the Red Top Wildlife Center, we've created a memorial—their harnesses, pristine new ropes, and the photos from the evidence locker showing what reallyhappened. Below sits the plaque for the Patricia and James Jones Safety Program.
"First safety course starts next week," I say, leaning back against Agis's chest.
"Your parents would be proud of how you brought their killer to justice,” he says. "How you've protected their legacy."
The center is thriving now. Between the reward money from breaking up Ethan's operation and the restitution the court ordered, we've expanded in ways Mom and Dad only dreamed of.
"Speaking of legacies..." I guide Agis's hand to my slightly rounded belly. "The doctor confirmed it this morning. Twins."
His delighted roar probably startles every animal in the sanctuary. Through our bond, his joy blazes like sunlight.
"Two cubs," he breathes, nuzzling my neck. "Like Talon's."
"The second orc-human twins ever recorded." I turn in his arms, grinning. "Your brother says the new nursery is almost ready."