At Dawn, in the Forest

Chapter 27

"Are you ready?" Aiden shouted from downstairs. Patiently he had been waiting for Dawn to get ready for their first date. He also worked quite a while on his appearance. Aiden wanted to wear something nice and chic, but a suit felt too much. So he finally settled on suit pants and a matching dress shirt. His hair was tamed and combed backward.

"Almost," Dawn replied.

A few seconds later Dawn descended the stairs with wobbly legs. She was still not used to wearing heels. With a death grip on the railing, she carefully lowered herself on each step.

Aiden was in awe the moment he ley his eyes upon his mate. She was absolutely beautiful, he thought. Pride filled in his chest. Dawn had worked hard on changing her life around and the results were paying off.

When Dawn finally set her feet on the floor she asked, "So, what do you think?"

"I think you are stunning," Aiden whispered and planted a kiss on her forehead.

Dawn blushed and said a small 'thank you'. "I don't think I can walk much or fast for that matter. I am not used to the heels yet."

Aiden laughed with adoration. "That's not a problem for me, the more reason for me to carry you," He winked.

Aiden held his arm out for Dawn to take and escorted her to the car. Within twenty minutes they arrived at the restaurant and were settled at a table. It was a small Italian restaurant that honored its ancient history with many details of ancient Rome in its architecture and interior. Together with the fairy lights and many flowers inside, it was a romantic spot for couples to go out for dinner.

Aiden had chosen the restaurant as he noticed Dawn's preference to Italian food and by Dawn's smile when he told her where they were going he knew he had chosen right.

Once the main course arrived Aiden mustered up the courage to start the topic of mates. "Dawn, there is a specific reason why I brought you here today... First, I wondered what do you know about mates?"

Dawn raised her eyebrows in surprise and confusion. She took a moment to think. In the depths of her memories before her capture, she could remember a snippet of a talk she had with her mother when she was twelve. "I have heard of it before, and the only thing I can remember is that mates are lovers. They are partners for life, I think. But that's all I remember."

She took a sip from her drink and asked. "Why?"

Aiden let out a small sigh of relief that Dawn wasn't completely oblivious to the topic. "The reason why I ask you this is because... Is because we are mates."

Dawn's grip on her knife and fork loosened and they fell on her plate, making a loud clatter sound. "Sorry," She whispered.

"It's alright," Aiden whispered back. A silence fell around their table.

Dawn was incredibly confused. Questions swirled through her mind, the biggest one how Aiden knew they were mates.

"How do you know?" Dawn finally asked.

"I think it's better to turn it around. Haven't you noticed any differences when you are around me?"

The young woman pondered over the question. She thought about how they first met when she had cut her hand with glass and Larisa insisted on getting her to the hospital wing. Dawn was hysterical but when she heard Aiden's voice it all went away. More of these moments flashed through her mind and it all started to make sense.

"Did you know immediately?" Dawn asked, not daring to make eye contact for some reason.

"Yes, I did."

"How? And why didn't I?"

Aiden leaned back in his chair. "That's a good question and one I have been thinking about myself. Together with the doctors, we came up with the theory that it is because of your wolf. The mate bond is mostly drawn by our animalistic side, by our wolf form. As you know your wolf was in a horrible state when you arrived. She could barely stay alive let alone recognize her mate. I think over time as you healed and got stronger your subconscious started to recognize me, where you preferred my presence over anybody else, but because of your lack of knowledge about mates you couldn't connect the dots that we are in fact mates."

He took a sip of his drink and continued. "I knew from the moment I lay my eyes upon you." Carefully he reached out for Dawn's hand and held it. It was then she finally dared to look up again.

"You are not mad at me, are you?" Aiden asked carefully.

"No, no, I think it is rather sweet you waited all this time to tell me... I think I couldn't handle it when we first met."

"My thought exactly."

The couple enjoyed the rest of their meal and headed late in the evening back to the pack. When they walked up to the front door of the packhouse Aiden stopped Dawn from entering. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"There is something I want to do for a long time."

"Which is?"

"Dawn, may I kiss you?"

She nodded her head and not a second later Aiden connected their lips in a passionate kiss. As foreign it was to Dawn, it felt familiar at the same time. Their lips were made for each other. Fireworks went off inside of Dawn, happiness filled her. She came closer to Aiden, clutching his shirt while Aiden placed his hand behind her neck. They deepened their kiss further and the whole world faded. Only they existed at that moment.

***

A couple of weeks passed and Dawn's recovery path came to an end. Her health was at its peak and she could live like any other woman her age. Her love life had bloomed as well. Now she knew she was mated to Aiden their relationship tightened. If she was only a few hours away from him, she already missed him. The same was true for Aiden.

This morning she tried to distract herself as Aiden had business to attend to. She went on a run together with Sarah.

"Dawn! Wait up!" Sarah puffed. She was trailing behind Dawn, not as nearly athletic. Dawn laughed. "Oh come on, I am not going that fast. Just a bit longer and then we can go back." Dawn held pace moving through the trees, breathing in the fresh air, holding her heartbeat steady. She turned around and carefully ran backward, making sure Sarah was keeping up. "There you go! Only a bit more, we have to go up here and then we can go back." The forest floor tilted as they moved forward, starting to go up a hill. Dawn took the lead and headed upwards. She fastened her pace slightly to get up the hill faster as she noticed she was getting out of breath as well.

Just before she made it an electric shock went through her whole body. Dawn let out a scream of pain. She fell down and soon another shock pained her body.

"Dawn! Dawn! Where are you?!" Sarah screamed from below, not knowing what was going on.

Two men appeared next to Dawn trying to grab her arms, but there was still fight left in her, so she tackled one of the men and punched him in his groin. The man fell to his knees and soon two other men appeared from the trees. Dawn was grabbed again. She struggled against them and managed to fight them off when she felt another shock. Her body slumped to the ground and that's when Dawn saw they were holding big taser sticks.

Dawn then was grabbed again and carried away, just as she tried to look back one last time before she fainted she saw Sarah being tasered and being left there on the ground.