章 15: Is he...?

Ashton stayed home for the whole week Caleb was there. Not that he helped in taking care of him or anything, but he knew that having that smell while going out was potentially dangerous. He wasn't very fond of Caleb at first, but over the past few days he kind of grew on him.

The next day after Caleb left their house he washed up and was headed for the school. He hated that he missed almost a whole week, because they had an important test that was going to be held. He was worried about his grades and was upset that his dreams of ever escaping this hell was shattered. So one can imagine how happy he was when he found out the teacher ( who was a human) postponed the test because apparently she caught a flu.

His day was turning up to be better than he expected, until Matt got a hold of him.

"Hey"! Matt literally shoved Ashton to the locker. As a reflex Ashton made a fist, but put his energy into holding himself back. It was very hard for him to not fight back.

"What do you want"? Just because he won't fight doesn't mean he won't express his annoyance to Matt.

"Where were you last week"? He asked him, as if one wrong answer was good enough to kill him.

"I was stuck with Caleb". He said that knowing well enough that he is feared. He still failed to understand how Caleb was that scary? Is it because they thought he was an Alpha, or was he possibly related to the head Alpha family. Nevertheless it worked and he could see Matt's hand quiver.

"Why"? He asked, tightening his fist around Ashton's collar.

"He got the flu, so we had to stay there. I don't have a license so he refused to let me drive". Ashton came up with an excuse right at the moment. Matt, though skeptical, seemed to accept that excuse as he knew how careful Caleb was when it came to his car. To this day he never even let Matt drive it, even if they were childhood best friends and he had already begged thousand times.

"So, you could have informed me"? He fumed.

"I don't have your number". He said flatly, trying his best to hide his frustration.

For some reason it infuriated him even more. He pulled his collar even more tightly as a warning "Who do you think I am"?

"Matt"? He asked, baffled by the other person's stupidity.

"I am your team's Captain. As a team member it is your responsibility to get my number". He warned him.

"Okay…" He said skeptically. "I thought Caleb told you already", he muttered. He realised what he did after a moment when he recalled the wolf hearing skills Matt had and that he heard him. He was furious again.

"I don't care what you think, whom you are with! You miss practice, you inform me beforehand and there better be a good reason for it"! He spat on his face. "Repeat this and you are out of the team"!

"Matt"! They heard the voice of Caleb. "Let him go, it was not his fault to begin with". He came towards them. Ashton paid a little bit more attention to his scent. He just wanted to check how he was feeling, which due to Matt's presence, could not become a verbal conversation.

He was filled with those stinking Alpha pheromones one again, but after he focussed his sniffing, he could smell a tinge of pineapple once more. The scent had faded away significantly, but somehow there was still a residual amount. Maybe he smelled it because he had heightened senses much more than anyone? Even if that wasn't the case, the smell was not threatening as it could give a false impression of cologne.

"What are you doing here anyway" Matt asked Caleb with frustration. It seemed that he was mad at Caleb too, but he feared him enough to try to control his anger.

"Can I talk to you"? He asked Matt, "...in private"? He suggested.

Both of them left at the other corner and started speaking at a much lower voice. Matt believed he was out of Ashton's hearing range, while Caleb simply didn't care since his biggest secret was revealed to him already.

"What is it"? Matt asked,

"Listen I am sorry for messing up the practice, I know tomorrow is the match and I swear I will show up even if I have a bullet through my heart". He told his friend.

"I wish I could believe you, but the way you skip all the time, I doubt you care about the match at all. The only reason I am being this aggressive is because it is important to me" He sighed. Caleb didn't reply anything to his friend as he knew he was a huge disappointment to him.

"And, why do you keep defending him", Matt asked him skeptically. "Be honest with me, is he…" he took a long pause which even scared Caleb, "...your mate"? He whispered the last part to avoid any wolf ears. That was the same reason Ashton missed that part of the conversation as well.

"What? No"!! Caleb whisper-yelled at his friend, while he could feel a bit warmth in his ears.

"Hey, you can be honest with me. I won't judge if he is" He shrugged.

"He is not, believe me" Caleb tried to convince him. "Can we drop it"? He left without waiting for an explanation.

**************************************

Back at the end of the corridor Ashton was starting to sweat, because according to him the conversation went something like this…

"Be honest with me, is he…"

"What? No"!!

"Hey, you can be honest with me. I won't judge if he is"

"He is not, believe me"

What was he? What did Matt think Ashton was? Did he figure out that he was a wolf too? Or worse, a pureblooded Alpha? If he did, he was doomed. Even though he heard Caleb deny whatever Matt thought he was, he would kill Caleb if it was his fault that Matt was getting suspicious. He just moved to town, not only he was on the verge of screwing up his one chance at a scholarship, but he was also about to be discovered for what he truly is.

He wishes he could turn back time and choose a different place to move. Or maybe simply just avoid Caleb from the very beginning.