SIW Adam & Bronwille: Teaser Ch 01

Chapter One : The Past.

Adam was restless, his wolf agitated. Yet again she'd slammed the door in his face. When he called her an hour later, hoping she had cooled down by then, she again didn't pick up, letting him go to voicemail once more. He left by now, his few familiar words, "Bronwille, can you please talk to me? Just let me know you're alright." Then he always had to bite his tongue to stop himself from adding "I love you".

Two months had passed since the attack on Bronwille in the alley next to "The Viper". At first he called twice every day, then once a day, then every other day. Now he called on Monday and Friday. Not once had she answered his calls, not once had she talked to him when he stood in front of her door.

He was starting to lose all hope that she would get better. Every minute he wasn't needed in his tavern, he spent watching over her, making sure, well hoping was more like it, that she's ok. It was only because of Mia that he knew she was doing somewhat ok. "She gets by," was the usual answer he got from Mia every time he saw her.

The staff at his tavern avoided him like the plague, where as they normally always stopped by his kitchen for a little chat before and after their shift. At first he was fine, then he started being silent and now he was nearly losing it with his mate refusing to acknowledge he even existed. The only ones brave enough to meet his temper were the Alpha's and Beta's of his own pack and the Whelan brothers and their mates.

He grumbled, cursed and growled as he battled with all the pots and pans on his tiny stove. He felt like trashing the place, not caring if anything was left whole or not.

"Hey, Mister Grumpy, I see you're at it again?" a sweet voice said behind him. Suddenly part of his tension disappeared. Mia always had that effect on him.

"Hi sunshine. Sorry for the mood. How are you doing?" he asked, grabbing a towel to wipe off his hands as he turned towards Mia.

                       

"I'm just peachy. This morning sickness is finally giving up ruining my day. Guess I don’t have to ask how you're doing. I could hear the trashing all the way up front," Mia said.

Adam shrugged his shoulders. He was aware his behavior wasn't normal but he had no clue how to solve this whole situation with Bronwille.

"Adam, we got to do something. This is becoming unbearable for you, not to mention those around you and your customers."

"What do you want me to do then? She doesn't answer her phone, at least not for me. When I'm at her door she doesn't even open it. She doesn't even talk back. It's driving me up a wall. I understand she needs her time and I'm willing to give her that, but I'm slowly going insane here because she can't even bring herself to say just a simple 'Yes, I'm fine' or 'No, leave me alone'," he spoke heatedly rattling more pans on the stove in front of him.

"I'm so sorry she's making you feel like this. You know she isn't doing it intentionally, right?" Mia asked.

That question resulted in Adam slamming down a pan with so much force the contents spilled over the sides.

"Of course I know, but I don't have to like it that my mate thinks she has to deal with this on her own. I'd move heaven and earth to make that hurt go away, if only she would let me. It's driving me and my wolf insane. We want to be there for her, but she isn't letting us in," Adam said in a hurt voice. Finally calming down a little he sighed as he turned around facing Mia.

"I don't know what I can do to get through to her without scaring her shitless. You got any options?" Adam asked with a hint of hope in his eyes.

"I have an idea that might help you understand how she copes with everything. Here take this," Mia said as she handed him a tiny piece of paper. "Go to that site and look for the name I wrote down. You know she works mainly as an editor but whenever she's troubled she writes.

I'm going to plead the fifth if she ever finds out how you got this. She barely admitted it to us that it was her. Read her bio page and maybe that can spark a little something to help you along," she added in a mysterious tone.

"And why is it you tell me this now and not sooner?" Adam snapped. Defiantly, he turned his back to her and started cleaning up the mess he had made. Sadly, he only made it worse by his brisk movements caused by the barely constrained frustration that was now building up inside of him, replacing the anger he'd felt before.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you," he spoke softly, facing her again. Looking at the tiny piece of paper, "So what is the meaning of this?" he said as he waved it briefly in front of Mia.

"At some level she trusts you; or else she wouldn't have allowed you to care for her those first few days.  Her way of dealing with everything is to write, write and write some more. I checked her bio this morning and she put up something new. The first time it took her two whole years to get back. It was eighteen months before she started writing something down, now she‘s put something up after two months.

"That proves she's starting to come around. If I may suggest, read 'Broken Bones' first before you read anything else, even her new submission. Keep that for last," Mia explained. "And well, we don't want you walking around all grumpy and growling at everybody. I thought providing this will help you as well, maybe you can find another way to get through to her instead of getting her door smacked in your face every time."

Turning around, he threw the washcloth over his shoulder and leaned against the counter. The chef’s coat was a tight fight, not hiding his muscular build at all. The seams almost looked like they were tearing up when he crossed his arms.

"I don't know what to do. I don't want to scare her anymore then she already is. I know of that first attack and that it was a close call. But how is me reading her stories going to help either of us? You know I'd do anything for her, just as Chris will for you and the babe and Nick for Fran. I know she went through hell and back. I've seen my share of misery over time. Fact is we don't even know what she saw, if she saw anything at all. I just want to hold her, soothe her, care for her," he spoke softly. The anguish was clear on his face now.

"Oh Adam, I feel for you," Mia said as she walked up and hugged him. Close contact always soothed a wolf, not the same level of soothing a mate could provide, but soothing nonetheless.

Loosely he circled his arms around her, letting his wolf relax from the comforting touch. He took a few moments for himself, letting Mia's words get through to him. Trying to understand what she really wanted him to do.

"So you think if I read her story and her new submission, I may find a way to get through to her?" he asked wearily.

Mia looked up at him, "I'm sure of it. Once you read her bio, you'll put things together," Standing on tip toes she planted a quick kiss on his unshaved cheek, "I'm sure you'll figure it out, grumpy."

Stepping back she turned around to walk out of his kitchen. At the last minute she turned and smiled, "Though I do suggest a shave next time you go to her, she‘s got delicate skin."

Adam chuckled at her remark, "Point taken. Now get back to Chris before he barges in and decides to decimate me for hogging his mate. I'll bring out the usual in a bit."

"You know he's no match for me," Mia smirked before she darted out of his sight. Her smirk turned into a wide smile as she heard his laughter follow her. Do me proud Adam. Bron needs you more than she's willing to admit. Now I just hope Bron forgives me for telling her little secret.

Later in the evening, when he had locked up his tavern, he went upstairs to his flat and turned on his ancient computer. He gave it enough time to load up while he went for a quick shower, washing off all the sweat and hoping it would invigorate him.

After drying himself, he just put on a pair of sweatpants, not giving a damn if he went commando underneath. He pulled off the cap of the bottle of beer and sat down in front of his computer. He looked at the tiny piece of paper with the nice clear handwriting of Mia on it. Taking one large sip of his beer, he placed it next to the screen.

Slowly he typed in the address and waited for it to load. The layout of the site was clean, nothing frilly as he expected in the first place. Not wanting to waste too much time, he entered her pen name in the search box and just a few moments later her bio page opened in front of him.

Most of her boxes were blank. She was between twenty-four and thirty, was single but not looking and her two hobbies were reading and writing. At the bottom of her page there was a button tagged "volunteer editor", it picked his curiosity but he was more interested in her writings now. He made a mental note to check it out later.

Clicking her story page he noticed several stories listed under her penname. Checking the options he let them show in order they were submitted. All her entries were short stories. She'd submitted a few before "Broken Bones", a handful after and then her last submission dated a few days back. The cursor of his mouse hovered above the story Mia had told him to read first.

Reaching for his beer, he took another big sip. As it made its way through his body, he built up enough courage to press that tiny button and waited, again, for her story to load. Maybe I should invest in a new computer, this constant waiting is nuts! he scolded himself.

Then he started reading: 

(And for the rest you'll have to wait until it goes live on Lit)