My Atypical Wolf (BL)

Chapter 269: Substitute

Ashton waited for his mate to show up for the entire night. He was too tired to stay awake, but he still managed. After around three he started to doze off, unable to keep his eyes open anymore. He checked on Caleb one last time through their link before he dozed off for good.

The next day he woke up late, at around noon. He went to look for his mate, but when he didn’t find him he linked him again to still find him working on a case. Ashton had no idea why Caleb was this invested. Somehow it seemed Caleb cared about this case more than any others.

“Have you seen my Dad”? A childish voice asked from Ashton’s back.

Ashton turned around and looked down to find none other than Connor looking at Ashton with earnest expression. He had never seen Connor this adorable.

“He... he is at work” Ashton declared.

“He is always at work,” Connor grunted.

“Why are you here? Don’t you have school”? Ashton asked as he tried to recall which day of the week it was. It was Wednesday, so it wasn’t supposed to be a holiday.

.....

“Today is Halloween! It’s a holiday” Connor declared with annoyance. “Dad promised to go to the school with me,” he pouted.

“Tell you what, I’ll tell him about this” Ashton offered.

“No, I wanna talk to him myself. Call my Dad, I wanna talk to him”! Connor insisted while shaking Ashton’s arm via his sleeve. 𝙛𝔯𝒆e𝔀e𝗯𝓷𝗼𝘃e𝚕.𝒄𝗼𝗺

“I.. I don’t have his number” Ashton admitted. It was weird how despite being mates he never bothered taking his number. Most of the time linking worked, so he didn’t bother with a call. “I link him, since I am his mate,” Ashton admitted.

“Huh! This is why I should get to have a phone” Connor pouted and left. Ashton contemplated whether to follow the kid or not, but he decided it was best he talked to Caleb about this.

He finally linked Caleb, and made him aware of his presence, [hey, you haven’t been home yet]

[Hi, I’m sorry Ash. The work this time is a bit urgent] Caleb replied.

[But, today is Halloween. Connor is waiting for you] Ashton informed his mate.

[Shit!! I totally forgot about that. I...] Caleb hesitated. [I have missed a lot of key events in his life, I was really looking forward to the halloween] Caleb expressed, disheartened.

[Then come! You have taken a lot of breaks for me, for the pack. Take one for your son] Ashton insisted. 𝙛𝘳𝘦e𝓌e𝗯n𝗼ѵ𝙚l.𝒄𝚘𝑚

[That’s the point. I can’t] Caleb sighed.

[But why?] Ashton urged.

[This one involves a wolf, and not just any wolf, but the leader of Linares pack. It is not one of our packs, but it is still nearby] Declared Caleb. [If only you could see how brutally he was murdered Ashton, you’d realise why I am so concerned. I need to figure out who did this, before this threat becomes a threat to our pack]

[What if the murder had nothing to do with us? What if whoever killed had a personal grudge against him or the Linares pack? Maybe this is not that big of a threat] Ashton insisted.

[I really hope you are right. I don’t want it to be otherwise... but..] Caleb trailed off.

[You can’t be at peace if you are not certain] Ashton declared for him instead. [I get it, but what about Connor? He was really looking forward to a father son evening] Ashton asked.

[Wait a minute, you can go with him instead of me.] Caleb offered.

[What no! He needs his Dad there] Ashton rolled his eyes.

[Hello! You adopted him right? You are officially his Dad. Just go with him, bond with him. You can wear the costume I bought. It’s in my closet, black bag on the left... if it fits you that is] Caleb chuckled.

[Hey! Do not do this. You know if I show up instead of you he would be annoyed as hell?] Ashton tried to persuade his mate.

[I know. But if none of us go he’ll be even more disappointed. Just go with him, show up for him just this once. I promise as soon as I am done I’ll be there.] Caleb tried to convince him.

[Caleb there would always be some or the other threat, you can’t miss out on Connor’s entire life for that can you? Especially important moments like this.] Ashton sighed.

Caleb didn’t reply to him or anything, and pretty soon he was disconnected from the link. Sighing, Ashton headed towards his mate’s room and scoured the entire closet. Finally finding the bag Caleb was talking about, he looked inside it. The clothes appeared gold and red, and on taking out he realised it was an iron man suit.

Ashton was not a fan of superhero cultures that humans seemed to enjoy a lot, which made it only worse that he would have to wear these to a party. Not to mention Caleb won’t be super thrilled to have Ashton in the party.

On the other hand, Ashton’s face would be hidden in the mask, meaning as long as his voice was not heard, he would be able to pretend that he is Caleb.... Unless Connor catches the differences in their body shape.

Should he give it a try? But then Connor would be hurt if he found out he was lied to. Connor’s reaction when he found out that Caleb wasn’t his real Dad was pretty heartbreaking, and he would hate to lie to that kid again.

So, trying to ignore his distaste in the costume, he decided to give it a try... and guess what? It fit him really well. Now all he had to do was convince Connor that instead of Caleb it would be him who would be accompanying him.

He looked for Connor all around in the house. When he finally found him lying on his bed, upset, he called out “Connor”?

Connor froze as soon as he looked at him, “Why are you in my Dad’s costume”? He was furious.

“Um.. your Dad couldn’t make it” Ashton tried.

“So? You can’t have his costume”! He huffed. “What if he decides to come at the last moment, what will he wear then”! Connor shouted at Ashton. Ashton sighed in exasperation. Not only he didn’t know how to answer that, he had no idea how he was gonna convince Connor that he would be accompanying him.