Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Second Family

(A/N: This chapter takes place when Ashton was thinking about his childhood while he was in the car with Caleb and the twins. He is reminiscing about his past)

When he was ten years old due to constant fights he got into his foster family, who were humans, gave him up. He ended up going to an orphanage after they failed to find him a decent family. One day when he was returning from his school he went to the nearby park as usual. The place was usually quiet and it always helped him calm down.

That day however instead of peaceful silence there was a shrill voice crying on the corner. There was no one else nearby so he decided to approach the little girl and try to soothe her. He had no idea what was wrong with her so he couldn’t be specific. Seeing no other alternative he decided to do what his mother did for him everytime he was hurt. He sang her a small song which not only made her stop crying but also mesmerized her with his voice”.

“You...sing... amazing” She told Ashton in between her sobs. Ashton smiled at his tiny victory before asking, “Why are you crying”?

“I can’t... find m...my mother”. She broke into sobs one more.

“I will help you find her, please stop crying”! He pleaded to her once more. She nodded at him before her sobs became quieter but found it hard to stop crying altogether.

Ashton could smell some wolf pheromones from her. While he did not want to get involved with any wolves he just couldn’t abandon a little girl crying in the middle of the road. “Do you have anything that belongs to your mom”? He asked hesitantly. She thought for a while before she dug her tiny pocket for a handkerchief. “Does this... count”? She gave it to him. “My mother... gave it to me... this morning, it’s hers”.

.....

Nodding Ashton took it from her hand and carefully sniffed it. He could sense a strong omega scent coming off from it and thus decided to look around for a while whilst holding her hand. “Where did you see her last”? He asked her.

“We were walking together... but I saw a squirrel over there...” she pointed at a rock, “...so I came inside this place”. She said between her sobs.

“Well, this park is empty so let’s look outside shall we”? Ashton offered. After getting out of the park he focused all his energy into his sense of smell as he tried to detect the mother of the little girl.

“How does your mom look like”? Ashton asked her. For a moment the little girl thought carefully before declaring proudly “Pretty”. Ashton was taken aback for a moment before he chuckled.

“I meant like how tall is she? How long is her hair? Something like that”. He explained to the little girl properly. “She...is very tall....but shorter than Dad. She has long hair... this much long” she used her palm to touch little above her chest.

“Do you remember which colour she was wearing”? Ashton asked. “Red”! She replied enthusiastically. Ashton looked around a lot to find someone who fit that description. After looking around along with sniffing he failed to find her mother. After alomst half an hour he decided it would be better to drop her at the nearest Police Station.

In the police station however, he was baffled when he saw another little girl who looked just like the one who was with him. When he saw the woman next to her, not only did she fit the description but also smelled exactly the same as the handkerchief he got earlier. As soon as the little girl noticed them as well she snatched away her hand from Ashton and ran towards them. “Mom!!Ava”!!

The woman was startled and turned around to see her little baby approach her. She hugged her tightly as she thanked heavens for returning her daughter safely to her. Ashton observed the scene with a gloomy smile. Not to interrupt the perfect reunion he turned away to leave, but after walking a few steps he found a someone tapping on his shoulders.

He turned around to see the woman, for whom he spent his evening searching for. “Thank you so much for taking care of my daughter and bringing her back”. She replied to him. He nodded at him before he was about to leave. “What’s your name” she asked him affectionately.

“I am Ashton”. He replied to her politely. “It’s nice to meet you Ashton, I am Sue”. She smiled at him. “Tell me where you live, I will drop you off”.

“It won’t be necessary”. Ashton tried to decline politely. “I am not taking no for an answer” she scolded him playfully. Ashton pointed at the orphanage he was staying at, “It’s right there. You won’t actually have to drop me”. Ashton told her awkwardly.

Seeing the place she felt a pang in her heart. She liked the kid and felt genuinely sad that he had a hard childhood like that. There was nothing she could do about it so she let him go at that moment.

The next day when the sister called him he was annoyed. Usually when he was called it was for some or the other rules he had broken, and there were a lot of them which were yet to be discovered by them. When he went there he was surprised to find out a family wanted to adopt him. He was further more surprised to find out it was the woman whom he met yesterday.

Aware of the fact that the whole family was wolves he did not want to go with them. But when the twin little girls insisted that he comes with them he did not have the heart to say no. Reluctantly, he revealed his true identity to them by releasing his scent, which he was hiding ever since his parents were killed. He was still terrified that the ones who came for his parents will one day come for him...