Page 27 of Wild Heart

After answering one-to-one questions from residents too shy to raise their hands, Natalie found Mason waiting in the aisle, and their eyes met.

"You were amazing," he said softly, falling into step beside her as she reached the back of the hall.

She let out a shaky breath. "I thought I might pass out."

He chuckled. "You didn’t. You lit the room on fire."

Natalie touched his arm, grounding herself in him. "Did I do enough, though? I kept thinking I would forget something," she murmured. "Miss a point. Freeze up."

"You didn’t. You were fierce. You said what needed to be said, and you said it with a kind of grace I don’t think they expected."

She looked up at him, eyes tired but warm. "I don’t think I expected it either."

Mason looked down at her, his expression unreadable for a moment. "I did. And if they can’t see what this place means after that, then maybe they never wanted to."

She smiled. "That’s what I told myself. Still helps to hear you say it."

He leaned in slightly, their shoulders brushing. "I’ve got your back. Always."

And she believed him.

The road back to the sanctuary was quiet. But there was something in the stillness now that hadn’t been there before. A sense of unity. Of defiance. Of hope. And just beyond the frost-laced windows, the forest waited, watching, breathing, alive.

Snow clung gently to the edges of the sanctuary buildings as the truck rumbled back into the gravel lot. By the time Natalie and Mason stepped out, dusk was spilling across the horizon, blushing the sky in lavender and gold. Light glowed from the windows of the lodge and rehab barn, casting a soft warmth onto the snow-packed ground. The air smelled of pine and woodsmoke, grounding them again in the wildness of home.

The town hall meeting felt like it had happened in another world, one of suspicious glares, and voices that teetered between support and condemnation. But here, at the sanctuary, the air was different. Calmer. More forgiving.

Natalie exhaled as they approached the porch, her boots crunching over the hard snow. Mason opened the door and held it for her, his quiet presence a steadying force. He leaned closer as they stepped inside, the warmth of the lodge wrapping around them.

Inside, the atmosphere had shifted. Olivia sat at the table, still pale but upright and alert, a stack of paperwork in front of her. The fire crackled behind her, its glow illuminating the thinscars on her cheekbone and the strength in her eyes. Davey stood beside her, pointing out something on a printout of local business sponsors, his posture confident and capable.

The room smelled like herbal tea and cedar, and even through her exhaustion, Natalie felt a renewed sense of purpose weaving through the space.

"How did it go?" Olivia asked, her voice careful but hopeful.

Natalie smiled, the tension still slowly unwinding from her shoulders. "Better than I hoped. Not perfect. Carson Bell did his best to stir doubt, but we had support. Real stories. And I think it mattered."

Olivia nodded, her eyes glassing slightly. "You did good. You made them see what we’ve been trying to protect."

Mason took a seat, leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "People in town are still nervous. But there were a lot of nods. And that mom from the school? That was powerful."

They needed to see someone fight for the sanctuary and Natalie gave them something real."

Natalie blushed and sank into the chair across from Olivia, warmth flooding her chest. "Now we just have to make sure the council doesn’t back down when Carson pushes harder."

Olivia lifted a page from the stack beside her. "Then we keep going. I’ve already started on the new grant applications. And Davey’s helping me reach out to some of the larger conservation funds. There’s a new round of proposals opening in a few weeks."

Davey grinned sheepishly. "Turns out reading budget spreadsheets is kinda like decoding old video games. Less blood, but more math."

They all laughed, the tension easing for a moment.

"We’re also planning a weekend fundraiser," Olivia continued, more animated now. "Family day, trail tours, animaltalks. Mason, do you think you could lead the fox habitat tour? People always like hearing about the foxes from you."

Mason rubbed the back of his neck. "You really think people want to hear me talk?"

"Absolutely," Natalie said, smiling over her tea. "You have a way of making people listen. You speak like the trees do, quietly, but you’re hard to ignore."

He met her eyes and held them for a moment longer than was necessary. Then he nodded. "Alright. I’ll do it."

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