章 38: It’s really Important…

(Few hours ago)

Ashton would be lying if he said he wasn't bored of staying inside his house all the time. It's been almost a week and still there was no news of what was actually happening out there. Sure, he knew that the problem was yet to be solved, but he did not know the specifics. Did more people die? Did they figure out who were upto all of this? Did they even have a lead? Any idea on how long would they be stuck like this?

These were the kinds of thoughts that bothered Ashton everytime he was left alone all by himself with his thoughts. To avoid feeling like this not only he spent most of his time along with his sisters, who in fact were annoyed by how clingy Ashton was being, but he also spent it by helping his mother as much as he could.

One morning he received a call from his classmate, "Hey Ashton, can you bring me back my book, the one which you took home accidentally"? Sara requested him.

Knowing well enough the craziness of the situation he tried to suggest otherwise.

"Can't it really wait? You said you had the pdf"

"I do, but right now it's not the book that I need. There is a form that I kept inside my book, which I got signed from the principal. The deadline's today for the submission, I really need it". She insisted.

"What would happen if you miss the deadline"? He asked. "Can't you ask them to postpone it"?

"I wish I could, but it is really important, kind of like life and death important. Please Ashton" She insisted. Ashton took a deep breath before answering, "Alright, I will do that".

He checked the book for any forms just to make sure that he had it for real, and she didn't misplace it somewhere else. When he found it, he put it in the backpack, took a list of groceries his mom made to buy on his way back and left the house. He did not know where Sara lived, and it took him some time to find it despite Sara having shared her location.

She invited him in for a drink or something but he declined politely. He could smell the scent of Matt which was fresh enough to indicate his presence inside. He did not want to deal with that hot-headed wolf. He turned around to leave but soon everything turned black for him.

By the time he regained his consciousness he could feel something was sticking to his lids preventing him from opening them. He could also feel ropes tying him all around. Everything about this situation reminded him of the night with James. This time he decided not to lose his calm and pretend to be unconscious and lay still. He was also aware of Matt's presence due to the smell that he radiated in here.

He was starting to doubt Sara when he heard a noise of metal clicking followed by a faint sweet familiar smell. Ashton began to panic as he recognised the owner and wondered the severity of the situation. Given how he could still make out that it was Caleb's own scent, and the fact it has only been five days since they last spoke, he knew Caleb was yet to recover from his heat completely. He pondered for a moment what should be his next step before deciding to just listen quietly for now.

He heard them talk about all the ways they ended up here. He heard them talk all the theories they came up with. He also heard Sara declare her own wrongdoings one by one accompanied by why she did everything. When she threatened to kill them Ashton felt enraged and an urge to knock her out, but he held himself back to explore the situation further.

At first he was mad at Sara, but when she shared her story he could not help but feel sympathetic towards her as he could relate to what it was like when your parents get killed in front of you. Who is to say he won't do the exact same thing if he found his own parent's killer? Over the past few years he did imagine just abandoning everything he has and look for the killer, but he knew the danger that would bring upon his adopted family so he stopped himself. He did not want to lose his family twice.

He was battling with all these emotions when he heard Caleb whisper, "Ashton"? That brought back his attention back to present, which also meant Caleb noticed him. "Why is he here"?

"You should thank Matt on this one" Ashton heard Sara say followed by a soft "What"? from Caleb.

"He told me that Ashton is your mate" Sara shrugged. "I… I did not" Matt tried to defend himself.

"Of course you wouldn't remember it, you were high as hell. Do you have any idea how many times you have confessed to me that you are a 'werewolf' while you are drunk". Sara smirked.

Matt was speechless at that to whom Caleb whispered, "We make it alive out of here and I ever catch you drinking, I will kill you"!

"I understand that you brought Ashton here to leverage me, but I am already here, so please just let him go"! Caleb insisted. "Besides, I lied about him being my mate. I just said that so that Matt would back off".

"Wait, what"? Matt looked at Caleb baffled at his actions.

"Well, lying is one of your talents isn't it"? Sara gave him a suggestive smirk. "Not so fast. You are good with tricking other's which is why he is staying here until I am done with you. If he catches me doing that, he is not making it alive out of here either". She shrugged.

"I cannot believe you tricked me like this Sara. I loved you a lot" Matt.

"Oh please" she snickered. "You and I both know that if you find your mate you will leave me in a second. As for tricking, you should be used to it given how best friend has been doing that since… well forever".

"What are you talking about"? Matt rolled his eyes at her.

"Caleb…" She smirked. "… Always pretending to be an Alpha"

"He is an Alpha"! Matt insisted.

"Is he though"? She tilted her head before casting some magic while moving her fingers in a certain way. Suddenly the whole place was stuffed with Caleb's original scent. The intensity wasn't as high as the full blown heat, but it was pretty intense. The scent was strong enough to make Matt uncomfortable but he still refused to believe it. Meanwhile Ashton who was doing his best to lie still on the floor clenched his fist tight.

"Can you believe how she is trying to manipulate our friendship as well? Creating fake scents with her magic". Matt asked Caleb.

Caleb looked at Matt before he shifted his gaze to the floor. After a moment of uncomfortable silence he spoke, "She is not lying… this is my real scent".