Boone makes a low sound—agreement, maybe, or just the rumble that means he’s as full of feelings as I am and can’t quite put them into words yet.
“It doesn’t have to end yet,” he says. “I can stay a little longer.”
I smile against his arm. “Yeah,” I murmur.
And for once, the part of me that’s always thinking about tomorrow, about data, about schedules and responsibilities and the next hike and the next hazard, goes quiet.
There’s only this: the blanket under us, the warmth of him at my side, the lingering taste of smoke and spice on my tongue, the steady rise and fall of his breathing, and the knowledge that in a world that’s far stranger than I ever imagined, I’ve somehow found a place—and a person—where I fit.
I thread my fingers lightly into the fur at his wrist. He responds by curling that enormous hand carefully around mine.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
BOONE
Giles,the Wendigo, is in a mood.
TWGiles: Humans backfilled an entire wetland for “better parking flow.”
TWGiles: Do you know what that does to amphibian populations?
TWGiles: Rhetorical question. You know THEY don’t.
I sit cross-legged at my cave desk, one hand cupped around a mug of pine-needle tea, the other tapping slowly on the keyboard. The morning is cool and misty; light slides in through the cave cracks in thin, soft beams. The server fans hum like distant bees behind me.
BrayWatch: Someone in town has been leaving raw meat in the woods because they want to see a monster.
BrayWatch: The bears are welcome to the meat.
BrayWatch: The humans appeared disappointed when bears keep arriving instead. If I wanted humans to find me, they would have done so long ago.
I snort. Calder rarely tries to be funny. He just says exactly what he thinks, and somehow it ends up sounding amusing anyway.
BigFootBoone [admin]: Humans have no sense of carrying capacity OR self-preservation.
BigFootBoone [admin]: Who leaves raw meat and metal jaws in the same place and calls it a plan?
Before Giles can answer, another username flashes into the chat.
MothAkai has joined #us-cryptid-ops.
MothAkai: Wow… look at this little support group.
MothAkai: Are we having FEELINGS before 9am?
MothAkai: Is this allowed????
TWGiles: Go away.
BrayWatch: Mod powers abused.
BigFootBoone [admin]: You’re the one who made this channel for venting.
MothAkai: Yeah, well, I didn’t think you’d all use it like a book club.
MothAkai: What’s up?
MothAkai: Who are we mad at today?
