Chapter 174

Chapter 174: Being a Leader

Ashton felt broken to see his mate suffer like this. In their entire relationship for the very first time, it was Caleb who pushed his mate away. He tried his best to talk to Caleb, to break through like every time Caleb did when Ashton felt upset, but somehow he couldn’t convince Caleb.

For instance he bought him some ice cream, like he used to do for his sisters when they were sad, and tried to talk to him. Not only Caleb rejected the ice cream but he shut off every time Ashton brought up the subject by saying, “You don’t get it”. If only he could explain properly that Ashton was well accustomed with screwing things up.

From time to time Caleb kept texting Warren to check if he was okay. He would have called, but that would have definitely alarmed Karolyn, and she was very clear on not to disturb either of them.

Warren didn’t mind though. He kept updating on their status even if Caleb didn’t ask. Currently they were hiding at a place which for the purposes of the secrecy Warren didn’t reveal over a text. Karolyn was still furious and she was on her toes for any signs of danger.

After almost a day and a half, when Caleb was on his bed chatting with Warren he suddenly heard knocks on his door. He assumed naturally that it was Ashton so he simply replied to the door, “Go away”!

He heard knocks again which Caleb chose to ignore until it got too much. Frustrated, he opened the door to shout, “I told y-” he stopped immediately when he noticed the other person was not Ashton. “Oh, hi” he said.

“Hi! What the hell is wrong with you?” Christian asked.

.....

“Nothing. What are you doing here?” Caleb asked, surprised by the surprise visit.

“Ashton called. Said you were being weird” Chirstian sighed.

Rolling his eyes Caleb replied, “I am not being weird”.

“Considering how long it took you to open this door, I would say you are definitely being weird”. Christian pointed out

“I just don’t want to talk”! Caleb groaned.

“Why?”Christian furrowed his brows. “For as long as I have known you both, I noticed you were the talkative one”.

“I...” Caleb trailed off, “I screwed up, okay! There, happy?” He admitted and took a seat on his bed allowing his brother to come in.

“You have screwed up before, what makes this time so different?” Christian asked.

“My friend’s life’s in danger, because I screwed up.” Caleb admitted, exasperated.

“Okay...” Christian sighed. “Why don’t you tell me what happened in more detail?” Caleb hesitated for a moment before telling him what happened. He admitted everything from Valestine to the presence of Vampires. Everything. He was worried as soon as he finished his brother would get all over protective and mad as to why he didn’t inform him about the Vampires before, and that he would get scolded.

To Caleb’s surprise Christian was calm and composed till the end of the story which somehow stressed out Caleb even further. “So yeah, that’s it” Caleb mumbled at the end of the recalling and stared at his brother’s face for any changes in his expression that would indicate an immediate lashing out.

“So that’s why you asked me about Valestine the other day?” that was the first thing Christian muttered.

“Yeah...” Unsure, Caleb mumbled.

“Why didn’t you just tell me the truth?” Christian asked. “If I knew the truth I could have tried to help you properly. Maybe you wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place”.

Caleb glared at his brother, “Don’t you remember the way you reacted when I asked about it? How could I be honest after that?”

“I... I am sorry for reacting like that. But if you need any help there is no way I won’t help you.” Christian shrugged. “A little honesty could have saved you a lot of trouble. You are my baby brother, and I will always have your back”. Christian reminded him.

“I know, but this was more about Ashton” Caleb reminded him instead.

“As your mate, that is definitely your business, which means he is just as important to me.” Christian assured. A smile crept up on Caleb’s smile as he heard those words. This is the first time ever Caleb felt that Ashton was accepted by his brother.

“Wait, does it mean... you finally approve of Ashton as my mate?” Caleb asked anxiously.

“Well...” he sighed. “I am not his biggest fan, but he makes you happy. So yeah... why not”. Christian shrugged. That only made Caleb’s smile even bigger as he jumped up on Caleb and hugged.

“Wait, so... will you... figure out about Valestine for me?” Caleb asked.

“Sure. At least I’ll try my best”. Christian patted Caleb’s shoulder. The smile on Caleb’s face remained there for a while, but soon faded away as the situation dawned on him, “What’s wrong?” Christian asked.

“It still doesn’t change that I screwed up though” Caleb sighed. “I regret taking the lead in this situation. I shouldn’t have tried to do this my way”. Caleb groaned.

“And you think sitting here crying about it will change things?” Christian asked in a mocking manner thus receiving a glare from his brother.

“First of all, I am not crying. I am just upset. And secondly I am just worried about doing more harm than good if I try to help or even get out of this room”. Caleb shrugged.

“So you screw up one time and you won’t leave your room”? Christian scoffed.

“It’s not just some screw up, it’s someone’s life I put in danger” Caleb sighed.

“Okay...” Christian mumbled, “But your friend is still alive right? Not all is lost”.

“You don’t get it. I took charge of things and now things are bad. It’s my responsibility.” Caleb sighed. “I don’t think I should be in charge of things.”

Christian let out a small laugh to which he received a confused glance from his brother, “Do you think people who are in charge are the ones who never screw up”?

“Did you and Dad ever screw up?” Caleb asked back.

“What do you think? A good leader is not made in a day”. Christian said. “No matter how experienced you are you are always prone to make the wrong decision, often without realising. But that’s okay, cause a wrong decision is not what decides how good leader you are, but how you proceed after that is what makes a leader a good one”

“Proceed”? Caleb asked.

“When you were at the pack house you had me and Dad backing you up, so you never really got the chance to mess things up. Here, now what you have done is your responsibility and it’s up to you on how you handle it. You can either sit here and mope around all day, or you can go out there and help your friend.” Christian explained.

“What if I mess things up further”? Caleb asked.

“You won’t. Cause this time you would be more cautious” Christian smiled. “You can’t be afraid of doing stuff in the fear of making mistakes. Making mistakes, however big or small, is important. When you make mistakes you learn. And when you learn, you grow” He advised.

“So what should I do now”? Caleb asked.

Christian smirked before he said, “Here is what you’re gonna do. You are gonna forgive yourself and then you’re gonna figure out what went wrong and how you could have handled things better. And then you are gonna find a way to rectify your mistakes.”

“That’s way too generic,” Caleb scowled.

“Of course it is. I am not gonna spoon feed you solutions. You are the smart one, you can figure this much out for yourself”. Christian scolded. “What do you say?”

“I.... I think I know where I messed up” Caleb mumbled.

“Good, try a little harder and you would know exactly what to do” Christian smiled. He hugged his brother once before getting up. I should go, I left stuff on hold when Ashton told me it was urgent”.

“He was exaggerating,” Caleb shrugged.

“I am glad he was” Christian scoffed and left.

The moment Christian walked down the stairs Ashton emerged from the other end of the corridor with a tiny smile. Seems like He heard every bit of the conversation that took place between them. He couldn’t help but feel proud of himself for calling Christian.

When Ashton failed to talk to him, he realised that maybe his brother would be a better choice for a pep talk, because in Caleb’s family Christian was the only one he was close too. Not to mention he had leadership skills that could be handy for proper advice.

He stared at the door of Caleb’s room for a little longer than necessary. When he was about to turn away the door opened to reveal an excited but determined Caleb. The moment Caleb saw his mate standing there he flashed a tiny smile. Going over to him he gave his mate a soft peck on the lips before saying, “Let’s go”. Caleb dragged him by his hand and Ashton was more than happy to follow.