At Dawn, in the Forest
Chapter 10

To say that Aiden was stunned, was an understatement. There were so many elements of that question that left him surprised. He had to replace his words and voice again when he tried to reply. Before coming to all sorts of conclusions he asked, “What do you mean?”

“Larisa – I mean, the Luna, no, I mean the Alpha female said I was packless.” Dawn didn’t understand the confusion of Aiden. He could hear them as well right? They were just outside.

“No, she didn’t say that in particular. It is only if you were taken before your eighteenth birthday.”

“But I was taken before my eighteenth birthday. So why I am packless? I don’t understand. I was part of a pack before I was taken and I haven’t committed a crime.”

Dawn could see how the shock only grew on Aiden’s face. It was first only the widening of his eyes, but then his mouth fell open and his eyebrows raised. She got annoyed by the delay, she just wanted him to spit it out already, but she kept waiting patiently.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to gawk at you like that,” Aiden apologized, which left Dawn surprised but still impatient. “According to our laws, when a werewolf comes of age they have to be part of a pack of their choosing, they have to go through a small initiation and then they are officially a pack member of the chosen pack. Most of the time it’s the pack the werewolf grew up in. It’s an ancient law, still, it helps to give a good overview of where all the werewolves live and to see who is clearly a rogue and who isn’t. It can also make the difference between a rogue and a lone wolf. Some chose not to become a pack member of any pack and they will be registered as a lone wolf… You didn’t know this?” Aiden asked concern laced in his voice.

Dawn shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe I did know, but forgot, or I didn’t know it at all.”

“How old were you exactly when you were taken?”

“I don’t know the exact age, but it was around the age of thirteen, I think.” Dawn could see how Aiden tried his best to not gawk at her again, like he did before. It was almost funny. She also didn’t know why it came so easy to talk to him, but it did feel good to talk about it.

“Thirteen…” Aiden repeated. “Do you remember from which pack you are from?” He asked, almost hopeful. Dawn shook her head and the shoulders of the man in front of her slacked in disappointment.

“Do you then perhaps know some of the names of your family or pack members? Perhaps the names of the Alphas or Betas?”

“I know the names of my family, I think.” Aiden sat up straight, almost telling her to go on. “My mother’s name is Rue, my oldest brother name is Caspian, this I know for sure. I have to be sure, he was in my mind often. My other brother was named Finn…” And then Dawn’s memory got blurry again. Every time she thought of her father an image of Dr. Willow popped up in her mind which infuriated her. This wasn’t the first time it happened. It started a couple of years ago and she had no idea why it happened.

Dawn clenched her fingers into a tight fist. She hated that the most vile and wicked person in her life had taken the place of one of the people she held dearly close to her heart. She did remember that she had a better relationship with her father than her mother. He was more encouraging of her passions, while her mother tried to steer her away from it.

Aiden lay his hand on top of her wounded one. “Don’t put too much strain on your hand or the stitches will rip… Are you alright? What’s happening?”

Dawn shook her head. “It’s- that’s all the names I remember.” Slowly she unclenched her hands.

“That’s alright, we can work with that. Don’t worry, Mateo and I will do our best to replace your family and pack.”

“Who’s Mateo?” Was all Dawn could ask.

“He is the Alpha male of this pack.” Dawn nodded her head and told Aiden her desire to retreat to her room for the evening.

Shortly after dinner time, Larisa came up to Dawn’s room. Dawn heard three knocks and told the person behind the door to come in. She didn’t take her eyes away from the window, where she was still enjoying the view of the woods. It was almost as entertaining as watching one of her beloved documentaries. Almost. She missed watching the documentaries, but she didn’t dare to ask if they had any copies.

Larisa came to sit next to her. Dawn unconsciously moved away from her. She noticed how the Alpha female was excited. “I have great news, Dawn.” She remained silent. “We have found your family, your pack.” Dawn turned her head toward the woman sitting next to her. Surprise was written all over her face.

“I know, surprising. We had already looked over missing file cases, only they weren’t helpful. Then – with your new information, of course – we looked at the packs in a fifty-mile range from us and the place where you were held. The names you had given were also quite unique and we found them. At least we think so, we are still not sure as is your family.”

Dawn furrowed her brows. “We already contacted them. Aiden told us for how long you were there and we didn’t want to waste any time. As a mother myself, I would want to know immediately as well when my daughter was found… And they decided to come over this evening, well night. They should be here around eleven.”

Dawn didn’t like this. She felt like they went behind her back. Aiden never said anything about meeting them or replaceing them so soon. She wasn’t ready. She didn’t know if she could look in the eyes of her family she slowly started to forget. This was going all too fast.

“You don’t have to worry, Dawn. We – Mateo, Aiden, and I – will be there to support you all,” Larisa put her hand on Dawn’s to show her sincerity but the young woman didn’t like it. Dawn pulled her hand back and stood up. She noticed how she was starting to hyperventilate again. Not wanting to appear weak in front of Larisa she escaped to the bathroom and locked herself in. Larisa asked through the door if Dawn was alright, but she didn’t respond and the Alpha female left the room.

Dawn’s thoughts went over a hundred miles per hour. She couldn’t keep up, her emotions roared through her body, and she had no idea how to deal with them. Her breathing picked up more until she grew nauseous and she threw up. When she finally stopped heaving she sat back down on the floor and took a couple of deep breaths.

Dawn remained there on the floor until Aiden came up to get her. He knocked three times. “Dawn? Are you still in there?” She didn’t want to get up, she wanted to stay there on the cold tiles. “Dawn? Please open up.” There was something about the tone Aiden used that Dawn couldn’t refuse. With all the strength she had, she stood up and walked over to the door, unlocking it. Slowly Aiden opened the door, his eyes softened when they fell upon the girl in front of him. “Let’s get you washed up.”

Aiden helped Dawn clean her face and provided a freshly washed shirt. “There is nothing to be worried about, Dawn. If it becomes too much we will stop the meeting and you can go to your room, I promise.” She nodded at his promise. “Okay, shall we?”