Chapter 288 - Dread

After the whole day's work, there wasn't anything significant Caleb could find on the recent murder case. He worried about his family finding out, but then again, they deserved to know. Especially Ashton. 

Returning home he was a bit relieved that Ashton had moved out earlier. But amidst everything, Caleb was supposed to help Ashton regarding decorating their home as well. Not to mention he had to look after his kids too. 

Even though he had been the town sheriff for a while, he had never encountered something so demanding that may overlap with his life as werewolves as well. And with Ashton back and two more kids, he had way more to loose. It was hard not to feel overwhelmed right now, but at this moment Christian had much more pressing concerns right now.

It was already about to be twelve when he reached home. The kids were put to sleep by his parents and the butler and before going to his own room, Caleb checked upon the trio separately before going back to his bed.

He was busy showering when he felt a pang in his heart. From experience he knew it wasn't his head, because as painful as heat might be, it never gave the sense of raw dread. He wondered if it had something to do with Ashton, so he tried his level best to contact his mate. 

Unfortunately not only did Ashton didn't respond, but no matter what Caleb couldn't get through to him. To get a glimpse of what's going on with Ashton or not. Now the dread he felt was coming from him as a sense of deja vù hit him. 

"Ashton" he whispered in fear. Getting out of the bathroom mid shower he put on the first shirt and trousers he could spot and ran. After the hectic day he had, Caleb was quite tired, but given how he couldn't connect to Ashton, he couldn't care less.

Luckily Caleb had the address to Ashton's new apartment despite never having gone there personally, and just so that anything couldn't slow him down, instead of taking his car, he shifted and ran. Being the fastest wolf in the pack definitely came in handy.

Once he reached to the new place, he noticed how everything was dark. Caleb rushed in through the window (which Ashton didn't bother closing) and searched for him. Caleb stared at the room in his wolf form and realised that it was a mess. An empty room was hard to mews up, but the torn sheets and certain claw marks on the wall signified some sort of conflict. 

Caleb's panic only increased after that. And that's that's he realised, Ashton didn't forget to close the window, he might have jumped out of it. With Ashton's power, there was no point in tracking the scent. So amidst the pitch dark area, Caleb tried to look for his mate. At this point Caleb definitely wishes he had a flashlight with him.

Caleb spent the entire night looking for his mate, but to no avail. Even in the light of dawn, Ashton's trail seemed lost. Finally with crippling hope he returned home. He didn't know where to look for Ashton, so he called Mrs Parker. 

"Hey, what's up?" She chirped. Her voice made Caleb wonder if or not should he pop the question. Ashton disappearing again was a trauma not just for Caleb but for the entire family.

"Hi, I was wondering if Ashton said something to you or not". Caleb asked.

"About what?" Mrs. Parker asked. "Caleb, is everything alright" she asked in a soothing voice.

"Yeah… I just think Ashton is going through something that I cannot decipher quite well." Caleb mumbled. It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't completely a lie either. Something was going on, he just wasn't sure what it was.

"Um… No he didn't tell me anything. I know Ashton has a hard time sharing, but trust me, you are good at getting him to open up. Just try a bit hard." Mrs Parker urged Caleb. 

Without revealing the truth, Caleb mumbled, "I will try that." He groaned once he hung up. He didn't have the energy or the heart to face his kids right now, and he couldn't help but feel lost. He wanted to call Christian or Sebastian for help, but he knew even they were exhausted as well.

He pondered for a while staring at the ceiling when he received a call. He looked at the number to realise it was from the police station. Must be something with the case. No matter how urgent if seemed, with Ashton MIA (missing in action) it was hard to care.

Finally after fourth ring he picked up "What?!" He snarled, not caring who was on the other end.

"We found someone passed out on the bayou." It was Sergeant Stevens.

"Then call the hospital! Why are you calling me"? Caleb groaned.

"He refuses to go to the hospital. And Frankly, he seems stronger than all of us even in this state." His Sergeant replied. 

"Then call some doctors to check up on him". Caleb suggested. 

"We were about to do that, but he asked us to call you." The sergeant replied. "He seems to know you." 

Caleb blinked at that information, "Wait do you have his name?"

"Ashton Parker". The sergeant replied. A wave of relief and confused washed over Caleb.

"Next time lead with that"! Caleb barked into the cell phone before he hung up. Without wasting even a second he ran back to the police station and found Ashton restrained in one of the cells while he wore some torn up clothes that might have been stored from previous cases.

"Ashton?" Caleb called out. Ashton looked at Caleb with empty eyes. 

"Um…" The sergeant appeared next to him. "We found him naked so we gave him some clothes".

"Yeah, I got that." Caleb snapped. "Get him out of there and bring him to my office. I want to have a private chat with him." He ordered.

"Sir, are you sure about that? He seems a bit crazy and he is really strong." Sergeant declared.

Caleb shot his officer a glare. "He is my fiancé. I got him" he declared. The sergeant was a bit surprised, but without further ado he did as was asked of him. Once Ashton was brought to Caleb's office, Caleb ensured he turned on the heater. No he didn't need heat, but the heater made enough noise to prevent people from eavesdropping. 

Caleb helped Ashton take a seat, and stood next to Ashton.. "Ash… what happened?" Reluctantly Caleb whispered.