Chapter 244 - Why And Who?

It was around dawn when Ashton opened his eyes only to find out that his mate had been staring at him. "When did you wake up"? In his groggy voice, Ashton asked,

"A few hours ago" Caleb mumbled. That caused Ashton to widen his eyes to which Caleb replied, "I am a light sleeper. Besides, my hangover is gone".

"Hmm" Ashton mumbled sleepily. "If you want, you can go" Ashton mumbled.

"I know. I was actually here because you wanted to tell me something? I guess I got a bit more drunk for whatever it is" Caleb mumbled. "Just go back to sleep, we'll talk when you are feeling fresh"

"Actually… no." Ashton jolted up a bit once he recalled what he wanted to say. "I was talking with Ariel who told me that in situations like this, they use hypnosis on humans to figure out what their dreams signify. I was thinking maybe I could try something similar." He mumbled. Caleb nodded at him, encouraging him to continue.

"Do you remember the time when you delved into my dreams"? Ashton asked. Caleb nodded reluctantly, sensing the direction of this conversation. "I was hoping maybe you could try something similar again. You told me that you talked with my wolf right? That you actually got along with each other. I was hoping maybe you can do that again"? Ashton whispered. "If that's okay".

"Ashton, I…" Caleb trailed off. "As much as I would love to do that, to help you out, I shouldn't go into your dreams. I was almost trapped there, remember?" Caleb sighed. "When I woke up, my body was ice cold, as if someone froze me or something".

"I… I didn't know that" Ashton shook his head. "But I do remember that you can get stuck in my head, which is why I don't want you to go into my head." Caleb tilted his head in confusion to his statement, "I want you to talk to my wolf. I will give control to my wolf, and maybe… you can convince him to tell you what happened, or why am I dreaming of these now"?

Caleb considered it for a moment, "I can do that" Caleb affirmed.

Ashton smiled and closed his eyes, only to open them again with glowing red eyes directly staring at Caleb. "Ashton?... Wolf"? He mumbled. It felt weird calling him wolf, but he didn't know what else to call. Technically he didn't have a designated name, not that he knew off so that he can acknowledge him separately. After all, his wolf was strong enough to be categorised as a separate persona.

"Can you hear me?" He asked.

"What did you do!?" Ashton, or his wolf in Ashton's form snarled at him, his voice having a tinge of an echo distinguishing him from his human form.

"What do you mean"? Caleb asked.

"You shouldn't have found me… now they'll come for you" He warned. 

"Who are they"? Caleb frowned. "The Valestines"?

"The werewolves," His wolf declared.

"They already did, we defeated them" Caleb shrugged, indicating their recent war.

"Not them… the ones who killed Ashton's parents" The wolf informed. 

"But why..?" Caleb couldn't comprehend what was actually going on. "Who will come after us"?

"They killed his parents, and they believed they killed Ashton too… but they didn't." The wolf mumbled.

"Who are they"? Caleb asked again.

"Ashton's extended family. They killed his parents… just like he said they would" He declared with a load of resentment. 

"Who said"? Caleb asked. His story was so confusing, he had no idea who is who anymore. 

"My father… our father." declared the wolf.

"Wait… why would he say so"? Asked Caleb. "Why were they after him"?

"Because he was just like those wolves we found in the north. He was a Valestine" The wolf declared. Caleb was surprised that this wolf knew. He was more surprised that Ashton didn't. Why would Ashton's biological father tell the wolf something like that and not Ashton? Was it because he was too young back then?

"If you knew, why didn't you tell me? Tell us that you're a Valestine? Ashton wouldn't have been away for so long then? Maybe he would have suffered less" Caleb tried his best to hold his anger. He couldn't help but feel betrayed by the wolf.

"Because I never knew that's what our father was until I saw the other Valestine wolves. Even I didn't know" The wolf admitted.

"So Ashton is a Valestine after all" Caleb sighed. 

"No" The wolf prompted, confusing Caleb once more. "A Valestine has his wolf side dominant, a werewolf has his human side. With us… it's both. Because… we're both." He declared. Caleb raised his eyebrows as a need for confirmation if whatever Caleb was thinking was true. "Our mother was a pureblooded Alpha"

That's when Caleb realised, Ashton was half and half as well. The more he heard Ashton's wolf story, the more he realised how much more similar he was to Connor. It was one crazy coincidence. He still failed to understand one thing, "What is with the dreams then? The ones Ashton keeps having? They are your memories right"? He asked. 

The wolf nodded at him, "Why now"? Caleb asked.

"Ashton is not a child anymore. He should know what I did" The wolf looked away. Wait, so he was trying to protect Ashton all along? And Ashton caged him inside his mind.

"Did you… purposefully sever our connection, back when you were in the north"? This was Caleb's personal question. The wolf continued to avoid his gaze, but he did provide Caleb with a subtle nod. "Why? Why did you do that"? Caleb's voice quivered.

"To protect you. I didn't know what they were capable of. What if they come after you? Or my family? I had to" The wolf announced. 

"But you could have let Ashton know that? Why keep his memories away from him"? Caleb asked.

"That's what I have been trying to do. We might be two entitled stuck in one body, but we don't exactly communicate. His defenses are higher than ever making it harder for me to break through. On those rare occasions where he let slip, I planted those memories that manifested as dreams" The wolf announced.

That's when he realised, Ashton's dreams are followed by Ashton giving control to his wolf. Like when he fought the Alpha of Ice Fountain Pack. Caleb looked at Ashton, to ask even more questions, but Ashton was asleep, given that the wolf was gone by now. He got a lot of answers, and a hell lot of questions, and soon, he needed to figure things out, for the sake of Ashton… for the sake of their family.