At Dawn, in the Forest

Chapter 26

Dinner went well. Aiden's parents were both warm and loving and welcoming to Dawn. She felt at ease and for a short moment, Dawn didn't feel like a frail young woman who experienced a traumatic past. She felt normal, like any other person in that room.

The food was incredible too. Elise wasn't only good at making beverages, but extravagant meals as well. Dessert was Dawn's favorite. It was a limoncello tiramisu. Even though she had no idea what limoncello was, she appreciated the sour and sweet flavors mixing in the dessert. It was one of the first times here in the pack she actually enjoyed having a meal with other people around a table. For once, her meal wasn't planned out so she would get all the nutrition and was being watched she ate all of it. Not one moment the thought of wanting to leave passed her mind. Aiden noticed it too and he felt incredibly relieved. He was happy his plan worked out. Happy that his family might give Dawn more peace than disturbance as her own did.

"How 'bout we finish that chopping job, son?" Frank, Aiden's father asked after he finished his coffee.

Aiden looked at Dawn first for some kind of approval. Before she could give it though, Elise interjected, "Don't worry, darling. I will make sure to keep Dawn entertained, after all we enjoyed ourselves earlier as well, didn't we?"

Dawn nodded her head.

"It's settled then, you boys have fun."

Like that, the four split up and went to work. The men working on chopping wood, and the women on cleaning the table and doing the dishes. When Dawn and Elise were done they sat outside, watching the scenery of the backyard that was connected to the woods, as were many gardens and backyards over here, and while doing so Dawn watched the two men as well.

Dawn watched with envy, jealous of their strength. She couldn't help but show it, a frown settled on her face, which didn't go unnoticed by Elise.

"What's troubling your mind, dear?"

Dawn shook her head and mumbled a small 'nothing'.

"It's better to let it out, Dawn. Keeping negative thoughts to yourself will hurt you in the long run. So, let it out. Better to a neutral party than to someone close to you."

Dawn looked uncertain, looking one more time at Aiden. Finally, she admitted, "I am jealous of their strength."

Elise face turned serious. She looked at her mate and son and then back to Dawn. "I understand your jealousy, but what I don't understand why don't you work on it?" Elise tone was still warm and not accusing in any way. It was just curiosity. "It might help you mentally as well."

"It's because the doctors don't want me to exercise too much, still. They say my body is still not up to it."

Elise nodded her head. "Ah I see, well, I do support their take on being careful, but I am sure there are some small exercises you can do right?" Dawn shrugged her shoulders.

"You know what, I might know a thing or two to get your health and strength back. I have a wide range of knowledge about food and herbs, and I once had a health scare as well and by doing small exercises I got my body up and running fast. How do you like that, dear?"

Dawn couldn't believe her ears. Finally, she was permitted to move around and to eat nice things without everything being recorded. "Yes, very much so!" Elise laughed.

***

For the next few weeks, Dawn was often to be found at the residence of Elise and Frank. Elise had a short talk with Harper who went through Dawn's medical history quickly and Elise promised to take good care of Dawn as she would be mostly responsible Dawn would stay on track.

Elise did pay attention, but she disagreed silently. She finally understood why her son's mate was so miserable beside the obvious traumatic experiences of the past nine years. Being watched over like a toddler must have felt awful for Dawn, she thought. Elise saw it even as moving backward instead of forward. Dawn needed to learn her independence instead of being cuddled.

And Dawn loved the independence she learned from Elise. She learned about which foods were beneficial for her health and how she could eat them differently. Elise knew how to make delicious meals that were still nutritious.

Next to that, Dawn started to exercise. It started with small movements, easy yoga poses and Pilates moves. The best thing was they all went outside. The heat didn't bother her as much anymore as her body learned to climate itself to differences in temperatures. Working on her strength outdoors in nature, it was the best thing that happened to her in years.

After two months you could see clear results. Dawn's hair and skin looked luminous, her muscles were starting to show and curves were visible. Dawn loved her new weight. For once she didn't feel like she could be thrown around like a rag doll anymore.

Another positive side effect of her new lifestyle was her blooming relationship with Aiden. They spend more time together. They walked long walks, ate meals together (sometimes without the parents), watched movies and other documentaries than nature ones and they were reading together. Aiden would read for Dawn as she followed the words printed on paper to learn again. She loved it.

Dawn didn't feel like hiding in her room anymore and closing herself off from the world. She even tried to keep in contact with her whole family. Her father the most, but also her brothers and even her mother.

Right now, she was enjoying another outing with Sarah again. Now her body had changed she needed other clothes that would fit her better.

"How about we get you some dresses as well? You have killer legs," Sarah winked.

"I never really liked them," Dawn admitted.

"Could you just try one? Please?" Sarah clasped her hands in front of her.

Dawn chuckled. "Okay, fine."

Sarah made a little jump of joy and went back into the store trying to find the perfect dress. She knew Aiden was going to ask Dawn soon on a date. He wanted Dawn to know why they connected so well and explain they were mates. Aiden felt confident that Dawn was ready. She had never been healthier than ever.

"OMG, you look stunning!" Sarah shrieked when Dawn walked out in a red mid-thigh length dress that was off the shoulder. "We need to find heels with this."

"No, no, no. No heels. That is where I draw my line."

Twenty minutes later Dawn walked out with two pairs of new pants, a couple of new shirts, a dress, and a pair of red matching heels. "I don't know how you managed to persuade me to get the heels."

"Because I am awesome!" Sarah sang.

Dawn laughed. She actually laughed, something she couldn't remember well doing so for many, many years.

She thought to herself that everything was going to be all right and actually believing it as well. The evil doctors, losing her case, her family being away, that was not present in her mind anymore. Now she thought about what she would be learning the next day from Elise, or she was looking forward to an evening walk with Aiden or sharing a deep conversation with Frank.

Dawn found happiness, after all that time.

But did she really?

Unbeknownst to Dawn, two men were following her around whenever she was outside the pack borders and would report back to their boss, updating the whereabouts of their best subject they had seen in years.