Winter with the Wolf Ch. 01

"What do you mean you don't have any chocolate croissants left?" The perturbed looking mother glared at Mia while the eight year old attached to her arm smeared her grubby fingers all over the pastry display case.

"I'm sorry ma'am, we've sold out for the day and we aren't stocked up in the back because of the storm coming." Mia plastered a sweet smile on her face.

"I don't know why everything is so upset by just a little snow..." The woman shook her head and wandered out of the store.

Mia gave a soft sigh. Many tourists came to the area without really understanding how bad the winter weather could get up here in the mountains. The town of Lake Placid attracted people from all over for winter sports, specifically ice skating at the moment. The main strip of town was littered with young children decorated in skating skirts and team jackets, whining to their parents or staring at store windows. Thankfully it was getting on in the evening and Mia was getting ready to close up the bakery. Locking the front door behind her last customer, she wiped down counters and counted down the register before crawling into her Toyota Rav4 for a forty minute drive home.

Snow sprinkled Mia's windshield as she made her way out of town and onto the mountain road that eventually took her to her little slice of solitude in the woods. She carefully turned off the main road down the winding path that her house was on. She braced herself as her tires slide a bit before catching again. Mia had put off getting her snow tired put on and this year the snow beat her to it.

Why I took snow tires off in the first place is beyond me...it's nearly winter all year long. She thought as she drove past the only house on the same street as her. She slowed her car as she noticed a large red pickup truck pulled up to the house and a moving van. The wooden cabin house had been for sale for as long as she could remember but now the sign was missing. She was curious but there was no other activity outside so she continued on to her home to be greeted by her dog, Moose.

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Keenan dusted off his hands as he shoved his small couch into place around his new wood burning stove. His new place needed a lot of work but it was comfortable. It was set deep in the woods away from many people except one other house down the street. He'd seen a small blue SUV around that house and as he thought about it he picked up the sound of a vehicle driving past his house. His keen wolf hearing allowed him to hear much more than an average human ever could.

Two movers inched in through the front door balancing his coffee table between them. Keenan reach over and took it from them, lifting it with ease and putting it into place in his living room. That was another plus of being a werewolf; super strength.

Keenan felt his wolf stir inside him. He knew it was eager to explore their new found territory and take a run in their piece of forest. Before he moved here, Keenan had lived in the city as part of a pack. Many of his pack mates loved it there but it wasn't for him. He needed the fresh air, open space to run and nature to soothe him. Sure he didn't have a pack anymore...but sometimes it was nice not having to deal with the politics that came along with it.

The movers were unloading the last of his things and Keenan knew he had to take a run to ease his wolf. As he shut the door behind them he made his way to the back of the house and exited through the door in his kitchen into the woods behind the cabin. He jogged lightly into the cover of the forest and went a little farther before he began to strip, his eyes changing already to that of a predator. The moment he was unclothed he ran, urging the shift to take over him as he flowed almost effortlessly into the shape of his wolf.

Keenan shook out his black fur and lifted his nose to the air taking in all the smells of the fresh clean woods surrounding him. His muscles trembled with energy and power. He resisted the urge to prance with excitement and instead he turned back to circle his house, marking his new territory for all other creatures to know. Once business was done, he bounded freely into the newly fallen snow, deep into the woods.

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Mia opened her door to a very excited Akita. Moose paced eagerly by the door, wanting to be let outside. She quickly let him out and watched him romp in the snow. His dark brown brindle coat made him stand out in the pure white landscape. She watched carefully as Moose stopped instantly and froze with his ears held high. After a moment he whirled around and ran towards the house, dancing outside the door to be let back in. Slightly odd behavior for him but Mia thought nothing of it.

After relaxing for a few moments, Mia set to work. She was a baker and she had manners. That meant welcoming the new neighbor and she was fully equipped to do just that. A fresh baked apple pie sounded like the perfect thing to bring her newcomer and she began working her magic in the kitchen with Moose by her feet waiting for things to hit the floor.

In no time at all Mia was gearing up in her coat and boots to make the walk through the snow to her neighbor's house, hot apple pie in hand. Moose whined as she walked out the door.

"Don't worry boy, I'll be back soon!" She called behind her.

Her nose red with chill, Mia trucked through the snow up her neighbor's driveway. She tried to follow old tire tracks from the movers but they were already filling in with more snow. She paused for a moment as she noticed large canine tracks running across the drive. Hmm...maybe they have a dog. I should have brought treats. She thought absently as she continued towards the house.

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A few hours later Keenan flopped down on his couch with a sigh. Boxes lined the hallway by the stairs but he would deal with them later. Just as he was about to close his eyes for a moment he heard footsteps crunching in the accumulating snow on his driveway. He got to his feet and peered out one of his front windows and quirked his eyebrow up at the sight of the woman carefully walking inside the packed down snow from tire tracks with a foil covered pie dish in her hands. Dark brown hair covered her shoulders from under her knit hat. He couldn't tell much about her body because of her bulky coat but her hips generously curved out from under the coat and looked beautiful in her snug jeans as she swayed towards his porch. He snapped out of his stare when her fist struck his front door.

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Mia waited patiently and took a deep breath while she inspected the outside of the cabin. It had some years on it but it was beautifully crafted. Her gaze jerked back as she heard the door open and she sucked in a breath at the sight of the man on the other side. He took up the entire doorway and stared at her with icy blue eyes. His tussled black hair and light scruff of facial hair did nothing to soften the raw power that seemed to surround his body. His...body...

Mia's mind was blissfully empty as she ogled him. He had to be at least 6 ft 4in and his muscles filled out his frame with a small amount of cushion where it mattered. She caught herself and blinked quickly.

"Hi! I uh...I live next door to you. I made you an apple pie." She tried desperately to gather herself as she nearly shoved the pie towards him.

Keenan looked down at the pie briefly before staring into her brown eyes again. His wolf was restless and running just beneath his skin the moment he opened the door and her scent hit his nose. For a moment he thought it was the pie but he quickly realized that the vanilla honey smell was purely feminine and the source was the woman.

"And your name is?" He asked her gently.

His voice washed over her and her skin prickled with goose bumps.

"M-Mia." She replied, holding the pie outstretched awkwardly.

Mine. Keenan's wolf growled inside him but he shook himself hard trying to remember to be normal.

"That's a nice name, I'm Keenan." He took the pie from her and backed away from the door. "Would you like to come in? It's cold out there."

Mia glanced at the opening into his house and saw the boxed piled up. She looked back at his face and tried to find an answer. Accepting his invitation would require walking past him to enter the house. She wasn't sure if she would run away terrified or jump his bones if she got any closer to him. He looked like a combination of lethal and sexual all at once and she just couldn't think straight.

"Ah...no, no that's fine, I'm sure you would like to rest after moving. Please, enjoy the pie and if you need anything feel free to ask. Welcome to the lonely neighborhood of two!" Mia chirped like a teenage girl and began retreating off his porch.

"Thank you Mia." Keenan said to her back.

The sound of her name sent another shiver down her body. His voice was like hot caramel sauce dripping off of creamy ice cream.

Keenan couldn't help but stand in the doorway watching her heart shaped ass wiggle as she walked away from him as fast as she could. He could see his hands fitting around those cheeks perfectly, groping them as she pressed up against his- he shook his head hard and took a deep breath. That woman was trouble if he'd ever seen it.

He closed his front door and for the first time took notice of the pie in his hand. It smelled amazing, though it probably didn't help that he hadn't eaten in a few hours. Wolf metabolism required a lot of food. He placed it on his coffee table and began digging in his boxes. Finally retrieving a fork he sat down and began eating the heavenly pie right from the dish, his mind wandering back to the human woman who shook his world today. His neighbor. Mia. He tested the name on his tongue again, groaning as his wolf shook its fur and leaned against his conscious, voicing his pure satisfaction with Mia.