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“I think I’ll be fine.” Blake presses. “I have a great sleeping bag and I’ll probably stay in my car.”

I relax a little. He’ll definitely be safer in his car. “Well, fair enough. Is there anything else you’re after?”

Blake looks up at me, biting his lower lip. I chew the inside of my cheek. He couldn’t look any ‌cuter with his rounded teeth gnawing on that plump, soft mound of flesh.

I flinch backwards when I realize I’m leaning forwards, scenting the air around the young man. But his eyes don’t leave mine, and his blush floods his neck. Clearly, Blake is just as attracted to me as I am to him.

“N-nothing else,” he stutters. “That’s all.”

I shimmy between him and the shelf, my ass knocking the tent pegs loose from their hooks as I hurry towards the counter. I don’t miss the little chuckle escaping Blake from behind me as he collects the fallen pegs and returns them to their place.

I type in the tent’s POS number since I’ve memorized every item in my store and ring up his bill. Blake sets the tent down against the counter, pulling out his phone to pay.

“How long have you been hiking for?” I ask as I quickly bag his item and sneakily throw in a few protein granola bars without him noticing.

Blake casually shrugs, scratching the back of his neck. “All my life, I guess.”

The bag feels heavy in my grip as I slowly pass it to him over the counter while he pays. Blake’s fingers meet mine as he takes the handle, and my skin explodes with heat. He quietly gasps, pulling away, but his eyes grow heated without a trace of fear.

“Thank you, Arden.”

His voice wrapping around my name sends a delightful shiver down my spine. But before I can say another word, Blake is scrambling from the store and disappearing around the corner.

I find myself standing with my mouth open and my eyes glued to the parking lot as a bright green Subaru Crosstrek peels from the gravel pit and turns towards the mountains before zooming off up the hill.

Looking down at my hand that still tingles with heat, light brown fur pokes out from under my sleeve. My beast rolls through me as I tug at the collar of my shirt, feeling more claustrophobic than ever.

“Maybe I should close up the shop earlier,” I say to myself, turning to look at the clipboard next to me. Groaning, I snatch it up and hunt down my lost pen. “Too bad I have a stock take to finish.”

For the rest of the afternoon, I do my best to fall into a steady rhythm of counting and organizing my shop from top to bottom. But instead of gazing up at the clock, I peer out into the parking lot, my pulse spiking whenever the windows rattle or distant footsteps echo along the sidewalk. But I’m continuously disappointed when it’s just the wind or a passing stranger.

Why him? Of all people, you fancy Blake? I ask my beast, but I get no response.

Ticking off the last of the stock take, I let out a pleased sigh. All done for the season. Now I can go to my cabin and relax for the winter.

I hurriedly toss the stock take into my filing cabinet and shut off the shop lights. Punching in the security code, I slide the front door closed with a sigh.

Beyond the warmth of my shop, the winter wind has picked up since this morning. Now a steady sleet rains down as the clouds form thick layers of snow above my head. I rub my hands together, feeling strangely giddy for the cold weather. Winter is my favorite time of the year. It’s when everything finally slows down. Where I can go to my cabin, shift into my Sasquatch and spend my days doing as I please.

I quickly jump inside my truck, turning the engine on to let it warm up. Yet as I sit in silence, I look up at the sign hanging above the front of my shop.

Cryptid Climbs.

I smile to myself. It’s a name I came up with many years ago when I bought the place. Well before it became a climbing and hiking shop, the previous owners had left it to rot. But now it’s my little pride and joy.

“See you in the spring,” I sigh, pulling out from my spot before turning towards the mountain.

The clouds swirl above the mountains as tiny flecks of snow drift across my windshield, and I begin the long drive up the mountain. Passing by the sign reading ‘Sleeping Giant’, I never fail to smile at the irony of it. With each cliff and rise of the earth, the mountain does, in fact, look just like a sleeping giant.

Cranking into a better gear, I push my truck higher. Twisting around sharp corners and winding between dense pine trees, white piles of snow litter the edges of the road. The further I ascend, the stronger the wind grows until heavy clumps of snow splatter against the side of the vehicle. Winter has officially arrived.

But as I take a steep corner, a flash of vivid green catches my eye. I slam on the brakes, and the truck comes to a screeching halt.

Sitting alone in an abandoned parking lot with growing lumps of snow building by the tires is a familiar Subaru. I know who it is immediately as I ease off ‌the road and pull in beside Blake’s car.

The wind shakes my truck as I hurry from my seat, stepping into the cold. It’s bitterly freezing up here, so much so that my eyes water and my skin prickles as I’m blasted with frigid sleet and ice.

“This is no time or place to go camping,” I grumble to myself, yet the howl of the storm swallows my voice.