Chapter 61: Graduation
Caleb tried not to let the marking bother him very much, but he would be lying if it didn’t at all. A part of him was worried how it would affect their relationship. And a tiny part of him was feeling guilty for making Ashton do it. He himself wasn’t sure why he requested Ashton out of the blue to mark him. But deep down he knew he did not regret it. Maybe he did it because of his unrequited feelings for Ashton.
He wanted to follow Ashton when he went back abruptly like that, but he also knew that if Ashton ran away like that maybe he didn’t want to see Caleb’s face anymore. He had already forced Ashton enough for the day to do sothing out of his comfort zone, he did not want to overstep his boundaries further.
After getting changed he looked at the mirror. Slowly exposing his shoulder from the baggy sweater he was wearing he stared at the mark. Marking was commonly done at the nape of the neck, but it seed that Ashton was careful of the location so the it was not easily visible. He gave a slight smile at that thought. The mark was a bit bigger than he anticipated. Most wolves marks are one to two inches, but his was easily at least five inches.
He wasn’t sure yet how he would reveal this to his family, but one day he had to for sure. But having Ashton’s mark may save Ashton from whatever judgntal wrath his father may get for him. In the wolves community usually killing the mates are a sensitive subject and he hoped his father would hesitate before doing anything to Ashton.
He was about to go to bed when a sudden uncomfortable feeling hit him. It wasn’t heat for sure as there was no pain. It was simply suffocating, like you want to escape but you are held back by sothing you can’t perceive. He had no idea why he felt so overwheld suddenly and decided to take so rest hoping it would calm him down.
The whole night he spent wide awake as the overwhelming feeling kept increasing. He felt a sort of desire, and he wanted to go and see Ashton. That’s when it hit him, it wasn’t his own feeling, it was Ashton’s. While wolves don’t feel each and every other emotion of their mates, the intense ones are felt by them. ‘What is wrong with Ashton’? he wondered.
He tried to call him several tis but Ashton didn’t pick up. He sent him several texts but no reply. Eventually his calls started to go to voicemail due to the phone being switched off. He had patrol duties the next day so he decided to drop by check up on him. With the heavy feelings in his chest it was hard for him to focus and thus was very distracted even during the briefing.
.....
After reaching there he heard loud growling noises which alard him. He was dying to ask what was going on and was glad when Sue opened the door for Caleb. The excitent of being able to see Ashton gave him a bit relief until Sue told him, “Can you co back later? Now is not a good ti”. Caleb’s tiny smile turned into a frown. Sue could tell the other was upset, but there was nothing she could probably do to help him.
“Can I ask what’s going on”? He bit his lip before continuing, “Actually I...” he trailed off realising that maybe he shouldn’t continue the sentence as ‘felt sothing was wrong’. That sentence alone could indicate that Ashton has marked him and thus decided to say sothing else instead, “I can’t reach him. I have been trying to call him, but he didn’t pick up”.
Sue gave him a smile before saying, “I am glad he has got you. Thanks for worrying about him so much”. Caleb gupled, being flustered by her sudden burst of affection. “As you know he is an Alpha, so he is going through his rut”. She smiled faintly at him.
Caleb nodded with an “ahh” as realisation hit him while he recalled all those tis when he was sent to his grandmother’s, who was an oga herself, during anyti any of his family mber underwent rut. ‘That’s why I have this urge to be with him’ Caleb thought. Leaving without eting him won’t be of any solution so he tried again, “Can’t I really et him”?
Sue gave him a sad smile, “I wish I could let you, but you know how good Ashton is at controlling himself right? However in his rut, everything flips over. Even he has no idea what he will end up doing”.
“Maybe he won’t hurt ”? Caleb suggested, even though he himself didn’t believe in his own statent.
“Maybe” Sue chuckled. “But I am afraid I can’t let you take the risk. Even if you are okay with whatever happens, I know Ashton isn’t. I know for a fact that if he ends up hurting you he will end up hating himself”. Sue explained to him. Caleb, out of words tried to think of any alternative solution. If he left like that he will be anxious all the ti.
Upon noticing the conflicted expression on Caleb’s face she held out her hand. Caleb scrunched his eyebrows in confusion until Sue said, “Give your phone”. He did as asked and she typed sothing on it before giving it back. “This is my number, if you are worried or curious about him, feel free to call ”. Caleb looked at the screen where she saved it a Mama Parker, a na that brought smile to his face.
“I should head back then”. Caleb bowed lightly before running off. Just knowing what was wrong was not good enough for him. The urge to be there, to be next to Ashton was strong. Despite trying his best to focus on everything else he found himself being distracted by his worry for Ashton. From ti to ti he left a few ssages for Ashton, despite knowing that he will not be in a state to read it.
After two days he tried to call Ashton one more ti, but it was no different from the previous tis. He called his mother only to found out he was still the sa. He tried his mother every morning since then to check out if Ashton’s condition improved. On the day of his graduation ceremony he didn’t forget to check before going to his school either.
During the ceremony it was a bit crowded. Everyone was teary knowing how they would go their separate ways. The background was filled with the chatter of who was going where, a conversation Caleb didn’t deem necessary to be part of knowing this was as far as he would go. Despite being the last ti he would ever step on these grounds as a student he found it hard to savor the mont.
Caleb stared at the valedictorian while being lost in his own thoughts until his best friend who was sitting right next to him nudged him, “That could have been you” he gestured at the girl giving speech.
Caleb smirked before replying “Never have I ever felt this better about a decision I made”. Caleb was good at giving speeches, being a leader figure does that to you, but with his level of distraction, it was better this way.
His brother who arrived late gave him a giant hug before saying, “I am proud of you”! Caleb smiled before looking around.
“Mom and Dad”? He questioned.
Christian hesitated before saying, “They had to leave the town urgently”.
Caleb pursed his lips before forcing a smile on his face. “I get it, I am glad you are here”!
“Are you kidding? My baby brother is finally graduating high school, wouldn’t miss it for the world”! Christian put his hand over Caleb’s shoulder.
Caleb wanted nothing more than to take his certificate and run away. He wasn’t even in the mood for the group photo that everyone was so exited about. Alas! He had no choice but to wait a lot given how his last na was Wrisberg he had to wait almost till the last student while their nas were being called. The was only one student who was after him and that soone was nad Kurt Zelnick.
It was hard to escaping the hoarding crowd who dragged him along for the pictures and thus he was stuck here entirely for the whole event. By the ti they were done he was both ntally and physically exhausted. He took out his phone to check the ti when he noticed there was two missed calls from Ashton. Realising the implication and feeling like an idiot for forgetting to unmute his phone he rang him back. On the fifth ring Ashton picked up. “Hello”.
Caleb took a mont to smile before replying, “Hi, I see you are finally awake”.
“Yeah” Ashton mumbled.
“I am glad you did not forget to call ” He teased the other.
“My phone is filled with notifications from your ssages and calls, How could I possibly miss them”, Caleb could feel Ashton roll his eyes from the other end.
“Nevertheless, how are you doing? Where are you now”? Caleb asked.
Ashton was quiet for a mont before replying to him, “Turn around”.
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