Chapter 178 - In The North

"Axel" both of them mumbled at the same time. Ashton put himself in front of Caleb instinctively and glared at Axel, "What are you doing here?" He spat at Axel.

"I am here for you" Axel pointed right at Ashton earning him a confused yet alert glance. 

"Why?" Ashton asked.

"Look, we apologised. What else do you want from us"? Caleb spoke from behind Ashton who failed to move Ashton despite his desperate attempts.

"Nothing, I just want to share some information, about Valestine" Axel let out an evil smirk.

Finding it difficult to trust him, Ashton asked, "But why?"

"I thought you made it pretty clear that you don't want to help us". Said Caleb.

"I didn't, but then you got me. You were right, I was the one who was unfair first, so consider this as my final peace offering". Axel shrugged.

"Too bad, I am not curious anymore" Ashton shrugged without any hesitation.

"Okay then" Axel turned around to leave but before he could run off using his superspeed, a call stopped him.

"Wait"! Caleb shouted. "We want to know". He declared.

[What are you doing?] shouted Ashton in Caleb's head.

[Trying to get information.] Caleb retorted.

[I thought we were giving up?] Ashton asked.

[With all the hassle we have been through, it would be foolish not to hear him out.] Caleb retorted in his head.

"Looks like you have a lot to discuss. Unfortunately, my time is valuable. I am out" Axel declared. 

"Wait"! This time both of them shouted in chorus.

"Tell us" Ashton sighed. 

"What do you want to know?" Axel folded his arms.

"Well…" Ashton looked at Caleb who gave him an encouraging nod. "Where are they from?"

"The North" Axel shrugged. 

"That narrows it down" Ashton commented earning a quick hit from his mate. 

"I'd be careful with the sass if I were you" Axel glared. "The North is literally the northernmost part. As far as you can go"

Gulping, Ashton continued, "Just head north?"

"Yes, they live at a place which is inaccessible to a lot of creatures, mainly because they will succumb to cold before they reach there. Even werewolves with their increased body temperature cannot resist that cold." Axel smirked. "Us Vampires are exceptions since cold is what we are".

"That makes a lot of sense" Caleb mumbled.

"So, you are saying I can tolerate that cold?" Ashton asked.

"Can't you?" Axel raised his brows. "Have you ever been in a cold place together?" He asked Ashton while he pointed at Caleb with his eyes.

They looked at each other while pondering upon the asked question. Recalling the one time when they were stuck on the tower for an entire night they recalled how cold Caleb was, on the contrary Ashton had no problem bearing with it despite being able to feel the chilly breeze on his exposed skin. They always assumed it was due to the fact they belonged to different ranks. It never occurred to them that there could be a different reason. 

"Seems like you have" Axel commented as he observed the subtle changes of expression on the faces of Caleb and Ashton. 

"Are they… really ruthless?" Ashton asked reluctantly, fearing the answer. He wanted to know, at the same time he didn't. 

"They can be, yes," Axel nodded. "But I have seen exceptions" he let out a genuine smile. They were surprised to see him like that, even if that smile remained there momentarily. Caleb and Ashton couldn't help but wonder why he said that so fondly.

"Exceptions, as in?" Ashton frowned. 

"I have been in each and every place there is to visit in the earth in my lifetime. I have been to the north as well. Back then I was hit by… well let's just say severely injured. One of the tribesmen nursed me back to health". Axel sighed.

"Can… Vampires be injured?" Ashton asked skeptically. 

A fit of maniacal laughter jolted through Axel before he replied, "I am not answering anything about Vampires. But after living in earth for as long as I have, you will realize that almost everything is a possibility."

"That doesn't sound right" Caleb mumbled. 

"Excuse me"? Axel asked. 

"Vampires and Werewolves are deemed enemies by their innermost instincts. How can some creature who is known to be most instinctual be so graceful to a Vamp"? Asked Caleb. 

"Like I said, there are exceptions." Axel smirked. "Also, I think it's pretty clear that Valestine wolves are not typically werewolves. Sure they share common ancestry, but they are quite different" he scoffed.

"So they are okay with Vamps?" Caleb asked skeptically. 

"Of course. In fact the enmity between the Vampires and werewolves are centuries old. Q long ago there was a time when they lived in harmony. When wild hunting was still prominent in the wolves and the place were way less civilized" Axel informed them. 

"Just how old are you?" Ashton found himself mumbling, earning a scoff from Axel. 

"Old enough," Axel declared. "You can ask me about Valestine as much as you want, but do not expect me to answer anything regarding me or Vampires". He said in a chilly voice

"Fair enough," Caleb mumbled. 

"Well…"Ashton thought of any other question he might have had but failed to come up with anything.

"When we first met you, you said they rarely leave their nest. What was that all about?" Caleb asked.

"They are territorial creatures. They do not like to leave or intrude other territories" Axel shrugged. Caleb frowned as it was the same thing his brother told him.

"So, how come if Ashton is one of them, he is here?" Caleb wondered out loud.

"That is something I do not have an answer to, but I must admit, it does tickle my curiosity a little bit." He let out a tiny smile.

"Valestine wolves have more wolf dominated sides, right?" Ashton asked, to which Axel simply nodded. "Is there a possibility that a wolf might get, well stuck in their wolf form"? He asked.

Axel narrowed his eyebrows, "That should not happen unless…" Axel trailed off before he asked, "Do you have a dissociated personality with your wolf?" 

Ashton's eyes widened a little bit as soon as he heard Axel say those words, "Wait, it's not a… Valestine thing?" 

"As far as I know, no," Axel shrugged. "Interesting" He mumbled in a scary voice. "You appear as if you are one of them, and yet you don't. Ashton… Parker was it?" He asked. Ashton's eyes widened as he couldn't recall ever telling him his name. "What are you?" He asked him.

"In case you didn't realise, that is what I am trying to figure out" He huffed.

Axel glared at him but Caleb interrupted, "Okay, let's not lose our calm here" He patted Ashton's back and with a lot of efforts finally pushed him aside. "Axel, should I take this little visit as a sign of you letting go of the plan to attack Warren" He asked cautiously .

"For now" He whispered, maintaining his glare at Ashton before he disappeared. They blinked before they realised that Axel was gone for good now.

"I hope you were done," Caleb asked Ashton, who just stared at the empty space blankly. "Ashton"? He called once more after a while when he didn't receive any response.

"What am I, Caleb?" He asked in a whisper. Caleb was taken aback by the sudden question and he went still for a moment as he tried to think of the best answer he could give him.

After a whole minute, Caleb hugged him from the back and buried his face on the denim of Ashton's jacket. "You are my mate"

"I know, but… " Ashton turned around and looked at him directly in the eye, "What am I? Outside of our relationship. My adopted family?" He questioned more to himself than to Caleb.

"I don't know" Caleb whispered after a whole minute, "But you can always find out?" Caleb shrugged.

"How, we have exhausted our leads" Ashton pointed out.

"Not at all" Caleb smirked. "Axel told you they reside in the north, you can go check it out" He shrugged.

"The north? You do realise that 'The north' is a huge and vague area, right?" Ashton reminded him.

"Not at all. If you rule out all the places whose temperature I can't tolerate" Caleb smirk deepened. "In survival training I had once my lowest temperature was 28 degrees. Just find the places below that range" Ashton stared at him blankly without any visual or verbal response whatsoever, so much so that it almost crept out Caleb.

"Ashton"? Caleb asked carefully.

This time he received a response on his lips, a deep and passionate one before Ashton pulled away and mumbled, "You are a genius! What would I do without you"

Caleb ended up laughing at his response before he mumbled, "Remember that in the future".

"I will" Ashton smirked before pulling both of them into Caleb's room and shutting the door for the night.