Chapter 263 - The New Home

Ashton was soon discharged from the hospital, after which he was headed to their new apartment along with Caleb. As Sue mentioned earlier, it wasn't that far away from the pack house. Ashton packed up all the necessary things he might need for a while and headed off to their destination.

The building was fairly new according to its appearance. Ashton has never been here so he had no idea if this building was here earlier or not, but nevertheless it was one heck of an architecture. It also made him wonder how his mom could afford this place. He would hate it if she took it as a gift, then again it was his mom's decision and not his.

The apartment was labelled as 4b where they waited for Mrs Parker to open up the door. Upon entering, Ashton stared in awe at the beauty of the apartment. "Wow" is all he could say. It was a much roomier space than what they had before, and it looked like this was a loft. 

"I am glad you like it," Sue smiled.. "I can't wait to see your reaction when you see your room".

"My room"? Ashton was surprised. "I have my own room" he couldn't help but be surprised at this. He disappeared for eight years. The fact that despite the uncertainty of him returning, his mother still held out hopes for his return.

"Well, technically it's both of your rooms," Mrs Parker clarified. "You guys are mates, I thought why have separate rooms" She shrugged.

"Yeah, it is filled with my stuff," Caleb admitted. "I need to make some space, I'll be back" Caleb nodded and went away.

"So…" Mrs Parker tilted her head. "What do you think"? 

"About what"? Frowned Ashton.

"I can tell something is on your mind. I am your mother, remember"? She raised her eyebrow. "But, you're also an adult. You don't have to share everything with me" She chuckled.

The way his mother could read him, even after all these years never stopped to baffle him. "I was wondering… how you got this place"? 

"I had some money saved up. When we joined this pack… I had a feeling this was gonna be a bit permanent. So I bought this place. Don't worry, I didn't take advantage of your mate's loaded family, although they did offer" She smirked.

"I didn't mean it like that," Ashton said with embarrassment.

"I know you didn't. I am just messing with you." She laughed. "Come on, I made dinner. I hope you still like beef" She smirked.

"The one you cook? I love it" Ashton smirked. She served them dinner and soon Caleb joined them on the table. 

"It would have been more fun if the girls were here." Mrs Parker remarked. "I would have asked you to come here sooner, but I figured with everything that's going on, you already had a lot on your plate" She chuckled.

"No matter how much I have on my plate, I'll always have some room for your beef" Ashton declared with his mouth full of meat. 

"You know what, one of these days Ashton should cook". Caleb prompted making Ashton freeze. "What? Why me"? Ashton froze.

"Cause, you are a good cook" Caleb declared as a matter of factly. 

"Not in front of her, no," Ashton pointed at his mom.

And their mutual teasing went on for a while until Ashton's mom convinced Ashton to cook the next time they were here. "The girls will be back next month. What do you say about then?" Mrs Parker offered.

"Sounds good," Ashton nodded.

"So… the bigger question that I have been meaning to ask you" Sue took a deep breath. "When is the big day"? She smirked. Caleb and Ashton looked at each other, scrunching their eyebrows with confusion whilst hoping that the other would get it. "You guys are getting married right? Do you have a date? Venue… or anything"? She asked.

"Not.. yet" Caleb admitted awkwardly. "We'll get to it"

"When"? She urged them.

"We have been busy this past week but..." Caleb looked at Ashton who continued for him.

"We will get to it now that we are free" Ashton declared. Mrs Parker narrowed her eyes to indicate how she did not believe him. "We will, I promise". Ashton insisted.

"Why the hold up"? Mrs Parker tilted her head.

"Well, Sue, we actually adopted those girls, Carmen and Ivy. The ones from the Fountain Pack" Caleb informed.

"Wait, you guys got more kids"?! Now Sue was excited for a whole different reason. 

"Yeah" Sheepishly, both of them nodded. 

"That's great!" Mrs Parker congratulated them. "Hold on a second" she vanished only to reappear with a bottle of champagne. "Wedding and a growing family, this calls for a celebration" she smirked.

That night they spent a lot of time chatting with each other having drinks and everything. The evening was surprisingly quaint given how the past month has been. An evening of relaxation was just what they needed before the wedding responsibilities took over most of their free time. 

When it was really late, they decided to call it a night and headed for their respective rooms. Caleb led Ashton to their room, which Ashton examined very closely. The walls were a faded shade of beige which contrasted well with the brown curtains and the dim light in the room. The setup was itself very romantic. Too bad they were not the only ones in this house, or they might not get any sleep at all.

Speaking of sleep, Ashton wasn't sleepy at all. Having slept for so long, not only was he wide awake, but he was also worried that if he dozed off he might not wake up soon enough. As if Caleb could sense what was bothering him, he mumbled, "Don't worry. You won't slip up again."

"How can you possibly know that"? Ashton asked. 

"I don't," Caleb chuckled. "But, even if you do.. I guess it's okay as long as it's nothing serious."

"Alvaro said, I put him in that prison. That I built it. I don't know how I did it, but I want to take it down" Ashton admitted.

"Ashton, you don't know what the consequences of doing that would be. Both of you fight for dominance in the same body… what if in doing so you unleash… everything. What if you get caught"? Caleb asked. "I mean, I feel bad for Alvaro, but I think even he will agree with me."

"Maybe" Shrugged Ashton. "But, I think if we can be on the same terms, communicate well, we can pull off faking who we are. It's already out there I might be a Valestine, I just have to convince everyone I meet that I am not." Ashton sighed.

"It's not that easy" Caleb pursed his lips. "People are suspicious enough of you just because you are a pureblooded Alpha. You really think they'll be easily convinced that you are not far more dangerous.

"Maybe not," Ashton shook his head. "But, I.. I don't want to keep Alvaro in that prison anymore. Thanks to him I got to see my parents today… something I never ever hoped to do ever again. All this time I made him to be the villain, in the hindsight, it was always me" Ashton admitted.

"Look, I still think it a bad idea" Caleb sighed. "A really, really bad idea. But…" he paused. "If you want to do it, then I am on board. I'll help you" Caleb nodded and smiled at him. Ashton returned the smile with equal enthusiasm and kissed Caleb before they both drifted off to sleep. Of course it took Ashton much longer, but he just spent that extra time watching Caleb who never looked that peaceful.