Epilogue

Serena

Isorted through the files that Cerys had sent me. Cam was back, so she”d be preoccupied with him for a few days. It made my heart sing to see her so happy. I didn”t mind covering for her at work. But I had to stop work on time today as there was a tribe meeting.

We”d ended up living in a village near to the forests where Orzesh”s tribe lived. It was a monster-friendly village. The tribe protected us and we provided them with food and supplies in return. Orzesh wasn”t the leader of his battalion anymore, but his fighting skills were still unparalleled. So now he trained the younger orcs when they came of age. He”d found great satisfaction in this and was respected, being allowed to keep wearing his red sash. We split our time between the village and the tribe so our lives were never boring. Maybe one day we”d slow down, but not yet.

I looked at the letter on my desk. It was from Heather. She was coming to visit for the yearly BBQ and had news on the whereabouts of Billy and Daylen. They had escaped punishment so far for what they had done in the prison, and none of us were happy about it. I”d even had a letter from Mrs. Cospire, of all people, providing us with information to help track them down.

The front door opened, and I jumped up and ran out to greet my mate.

”Uk”lah!” Zesh cried. It had only been a few hours since he left but I”d still missed him. I leapt up and threw myself into his arms. He”d never dropped me yet, no matter how recklessly I jumped at him. I wrapped my legs around his thick torso as best I could and dotted kisses all over his face. He walked straight to the bedroom and threw me onto the bed. I squealed and quickly undressed before he could get to me. I”d lost too many good dresses this way. He”d nearly ripped my wedding dress off me, and I”d had to run around the room pulling it off before he caught me. The ripping of the wedding dress was one orc tradition too far, in my opinion. Although the wedding night fight had been spectacular.

He knelt over me, taking in my body. I loved that he always seemed as entranced by it as he had the first time.

”Uk”lah. My dearest love.”

He stood for a moment and flexed his biceps for me.

”Still the strongest,” I assured him.

”I knew it!”

He dove on me, sending Bloodletter catapulting from his shoulder, into the air and nearly knocking the wind out of me in his enthusiasm. I laughed, and Bloodletter landed gracefully on a bedside table. He was used to this now and preened himself before fluttering off to look for tasty insects in the garden. I”d looked up birds and found out that he was a nuthatch. He was all grown up now and very fierce. Except with us. He cuddled up to me on frosty nights and nuzzled in my hair. Our perfect bird and our perfect life. I couldn”t have been happier as Zesh began running his mouth all over me.

The End.