Chapter 188

Chapter 188: A Whole Lot

A whole lot has changed in these past few years. What seemed like a wait for 8 days, turned into 8 years in a blink of an eye. But that doesn’t mean that the things are exactly the same. That’s the thing about time, it does not wait for anyone.

“You there?” Christian knocked on the door of the room that once belonged to Ashton, but ever since then Caleb had taken over it.

“Come in,” Caleb offered and soon Christian walked in. Caleb raised an eyebrow but Christian simply shook his head. “Well, it was a long shot anyways”

“It’s been 8 years Caleb, maybe it’s time to give up”. Christian mumbled after a while.

“On what?” Caleb scoffed without even looking at him. “Be it 8 or 80 years, I am not giving up” Caleb declared. This was not the first time he had to say something like this to his brother, or his parents... even Ashton’s sister and mom.

When Caleb failed to make any connection with Ashton and after many search parties that failed to find him, almost everyone but Caleb started to consider that maybe he is dead. The loss of link is commonly associated with the death of a mate, and that was why everyone was inclined to believe that Ashton might not have made it.

But Caleb knew better. He knew that there was a very high chance that this loss of link signified something else, that is exclusive to Valestine wolf, or maybe simply to Ashton. He was suggested to move on, to find someone else in life, but Caleb was known for his stubbornness. And no matter how everytime he lost a little bit of hope when someone told him Ashton would not be coming back, he was adamant.

.....

“Alright then” his brother mumbled. “Can I ask you something?”

“Uh-huh” Caleb nodded.

“How can you still be so sure that he is...” Christian trailed off unable to finish his sentence.

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“When Warren was dying, Karolyn could tell” Caleb informed his brother. “So what if Ashton is different? So was Warren. He was a human and then a Vampire... and yet the bond of mate’s remained the same between them. She knew that he was dying... and I believe so would I if something were to happen to Ashton”.

“But... you haven’t felt the bond for ages”. Christian mumbled.

“So what?” Caleb asked. “When Warren turned into a Vampire he wasn’t exactly mated... or marked”

“True...” Christian nodded, “But they were fated mates. What if things were different for them” Christian asked.

“What if?” Caleb tilted his head. “Then I will take the benefit of doubt and have faith that Ashton is alive... and for some reason he can’t come back to me”. Christian remained quiet for a while until Caleb spoke again, “let’s not talk about such stuff right now. Tomorrow is a big day for you... I don’t wanna be the sad sack of the event”.

“You are my brother Caleb, you can be anything you want” Christian teased.

Caleb snorted, “Yeah, I don’t wanna be a sad sack”

“What sack do you wanna be”? Christian continued to tease as he felt the environment lighting up a bit.

“The most handsome one” Caleb smirked before getting up. “Anyways, I promised I would take care of everything in the ceremony so go ahead and take a nap. I can tell by your eyes that you haven’t slept for days” Caleb pushed him out of the room, thereby exiting himself.

“I will go get things done,” Caleb mumbled and headed off downstairs. From preparing all the guest rooms to arranging everything it was a big responsibility on his part. But this was not his first time, and somehow he was able to handle things quite well.

Looking at the decorations from the stage he took a deep breath and mumbled, “Now that is what we call a proper show”.

“Sir” he heard one of the butlers call him.

“Oh, hey Mr Gibson” Caleb smiled at him. “What can I do for you?”

“Well... this is a bit hard for me to say, but...” He hesitated. “It happened again”.

“Again?” Caleb frowned. “When was the last time you saw him”?

“This morning when he was getting ready”. Keeping his head low, Mr Gibson answered. Mr Gibson was a man who was a descendant of a wolf. In the line of succession due to multiple mating the ability to turn into wolf was lost. Despite having the wolf gene they cannot transform into one, but who knows... there was always a chance something or the other might trigger it.

Mr Gibson was hired by Caleb when he moved back to the pack. Taking over the role of the sheriff he worked alongside the Mayor, that was his dad for many such purposes. Having a responsibility like that required him to be present at all times, and thus he was rarely home. Which was good for him since he could keep his mind wandering off to his lost mate, but maybe it was not the best solution for everybody. “I got it, don’t worry.” He nodded and dismissed Mr Gibson.

Calling his friend Melanie he asked her to make sure that the things were getting done properly until everyone was back. She was appointed as the head beta after she came back from her own university, and having been a national level martial artist, she indeed had quite the skill.

Taking a break, he headed off to the woods outside the boundaries of the pack. On the outskirts of the small town he found the one house that encaptured exciting days from the days he was young. Sensing the tangy odor in the air Caleb chuckled before heading inside.

There were only two people who had the key to this place, One was Mrs Parker, who often came back here to make sure everything is in the right place, and the other was Caleb, who came here when he missed his mate way too much. The door was still locked but from the mud on the wall of the house Caleb could make out that the house wasn’t empty.

Caleb let out a tiny but poignant smile before heading upstairs till the tiny terrace above the roof, and as expected there stood the guy Caleb was looking for who seemed to have noticed Caleb’s presence, but somehow decided not to pay any heed to him until Caleb called out, “Connor”?