Mia Winters Novels & Stories

she says not wasting any time walking back into the farmhouse. It is a little hot. Especially since it's only May. We stopped wearing jackets in Pelican Bay, but that doesn't mean it's warm there. Anytime the snow melts off the ground and temps hit above fifty, people in Maine act like its summer, but I'm still freezing there. Huxley leads us into the house and into a large room off the living room. A table big enough to seat twelve fills the space and his sister drops off two additional plates, the ceramic clinking against the wood as she haphazardly drops each one.

The air was pleasant, and there were a few other people walking in pairs. When Miranda stepped aside to let someone pass, her hand brushed against Felix’s by accident. Felix seized the chance and took her hand. Just like that, he held on. Miranda’s hand was slightly cool. She seemed to struggle for a second, but Felix only held it more firmly. Her heartbeat quickened. It had been such a long time since they had walked hand in hand like this. “Are we really taking Mia to Danesia around the holidays?” Miranda asked. “If you’re willing to go,” Felix said, looking at her. “Danesia is beautiful in the winter, and Mia likes skiing. Last time, she complained that she didn’t get to ski enough.”

Space heaters are discreetly placed throughout the area in case the weather doesn't cooperate. Thankfully, it has. It might be late April, but you never know what you're going to get in the Midwest. The weather is unpredictable and often changes in the blink of an eye. It could be sunny and warm one day and snowy the next. "And just look at this party!" Grace exclaims in an awed tone. "How did your mother pull all this together so quickly?" "It's one of her many talents," I joke.

Growing up in Wisconsin, cold winters were something I was accustomed to. I was not prepared for the brutally cold winters in northern Minnesota. I am in my second year at The University of Minnesota Duluth. It’s currently -55° with wind chill. It’s so cold, it hurts to breathe.

It hadn’t felt that cold earlier. Laying my head back against the window, I couldn’t even feel excited about the snow. It was my favorite but all I could do was close my eyes and wish that everything would just go away. ‘Winter, don’t give up. Wake up. Stay strong. Please. He’s coming, Winter. Don’t worry, he’s coming for you.’

Chapter 140: Back at the Lodge After breakfast, they carried all the laundry to the utility room in the main house. Blake showed Shasta how to use the washing machine, and they left it going, returning to the office area. Blake handled some business emails while Shasta read over the lodge brochures. She studied a photo showing the main lodge half buried in snow. "It gets pretty cold here in the winter?" Blake looked up from the computer. "About -15c. That's about five degrees Fahrenheit," he clarified in response to her frown. "The lakes freeze over."

I blink and tear my eyes away from the ocean, only to look at something even more beautiful. Danielle. “What are you thinking about?” she asks. “How I might leave the bar in Owen’s hands and never go home. It would be nice to have this year-round.” “Midwest winters can be brutal. But wouldn’t you miss the change in seasons?” I sweep my hand out at the ocean so blue it blends right in with the sky. “Not if I had this.” “Christmas and the cold just go hand in hand to me. It would be weird not to have snow around the holidays.”

Still, I have about 40 minutes where I have to figure out something to do with myself while they are still making way up here. I decide that I want to be rejected in a place where I normally find peace. Maybe it will help my wolf and I after the rejection is complete. So I pull on a winter coat and my boots. Though it is a comfortable 70-ish degrees in Texas, this is the beginning of December in Maine. It’s cold and even my werewolf blood isn’t going to keep me completely warm in the face of that.

Now Ria was a topic we all did our best to avoid. *** Four and a half years ago *** It was early January—the time of year that’s dark, cold, and snow is a permanent part of the landscape. The roads were so terrible out where we live that it was almost impossible to leave the pack territory, especially if you didn’t have a vehicle made for off-roading.

Mina giggles at him. “Yeah, the storm made everything take way longer than we thought it would. Does that happen a lot around here? Random snow storms at the wrong time of the year?” I ask, surprising Mina and myself at my initiative to start a conversation. He wraps an arm around each of us and starts to lead us through the entryway of the massive house. “Sometimes, not super often though. We usually get snow during your standard winter months. Being by the ocean helps that, but we are not here to talk about the weather. We are here to celebrate the new year. Are you ladies ready for your first UMaine party?”