That night, Noel lay on his bed as usual, playing video games on his hand. He was focused on his Nintendo Switch, the world around him nothing more than a game at that moment.
Knock knock
Not long after, he heard a knock on the door that startled him a little. But he didn't take his eyes off the game screen.
"Who is it?" he asked.
Before he could hear a reply from whoever was behind the door, it swung open, revealing a man walking into his room.
The man was none other than Regis, and he was staring at his younger brother who was busy with the game in his hands.
"How are you? I heard that you came home looking pale this afternoon. Did Alpha bother you?" he asked sternly but still sounding worried.
"Just those damn punks. They're just people who don't believe I can beat them. So today I proved to them that I can do it," replied Noel, who didn't seem to be thinking much about what had happened this afternoon.
In his opinion, this was not something important to think about or talk about anymore. But it was different for Regis. He was worried that this would happen again and be much worse than he could imagine.
After all, Noel was the only family member he had. Their parents had passed away 15 years ago, when Noel was still very young, only 6 years old.
Noel himself didn't really remember much about his parents because he was still young. In his life, there had only been Regis who raised him.
"If there is a problem, you can tell me. Don't handle everything on your own. You have me as your family, you can rely on me for anything."
The man sat on the edge of Noel's bed, looking at him with a softer gaze than usual. The Omega put down his video game and sat down.
"I know that. But like I said, I've been handling them on my own. So you don't need to worry too much about it," he replied.
In the end, Regis just nodded in understanding, not wanting to argue with him for now.
"The guards said that the car that took you today was the same car that took you home last week. Was it the same professor you mentioned?" the man asked again.
He hoped that this time Noel would answer more honestly, but the Omega still didn't tell the truth.
"Yes. He's one of my professors and happened to be free, so he drove me home after seeing how weak I was," Noel replied again.
However, Regis knew very well that this was a lie, considering that one of the guards at the gate had photographed Alastair's license plate.
He had asked one of his trusted man to find out about the license plate, and it turned out that the car did not belong to anyone.
They could not find any data on the owner of the license plate, so it was highly likely that it was fake. It had been deliberately modified so that no one would know who the owner was.
This naturally increased Regis' suspicions, worrying that Noel had met a stranger who had recently been seen close to him. But he didn't want to say all that to him directly. He wanted to wait and see how far Noel would lie.
"I see. Next time, please thank your professor for me, and if possible, give him a gift from me. Just say it's a thank you gift for taking care of you," said Regis, trying to gauge his reaction.
"Okay. I'll thank him for you. And as for the gift, I don't think it's necessary. He's a good professor and I don't think he expects any gifts."
That answer hurt his feelings a little, because he didn't know since when Noel had started lying to him so often. He wondered to himself, was there something wrong with the way he had been raising Noel all this time?
To the point where he had to lie so often, even seeming to pull away from him. Yet everything he had done was for Noel's own good.
His hand slowly reached for his head, gently stroking his younger brother's hair.
"I'm doing all this for your own good. I love you very much, and I hope you know that. Now get up, it's dinner time." Regis said that before finally getting up from Noel's bed and walking toward the door.
Before he left, he stood right in front of the door, holding the doorknob. He turned his head, looking at him over his shoulder.
"Next time, you can tell me anything without fear that I'll scold you or restrict your freedom," he said, then left the room.
Noel was silent. He knew what Regis meant because lately he had been withdrawing since entering college. Every time he told Regis something about the people around him, the man would always distance him from them.
He knew that what his older brother was doing was for his own good, protecting him from all threats. However, his overprotective nature was quite annoying to Noel, as if he saw Noel as an Omega who always needed to be protected.
"Sometimes I don't understand either, since when did I stop being able to be near you."
For the next few weeks, Noel occasionally met Alastair again on the street. But he didn't ask the Alpha to take him home to the Mansion.
"You always take me home. My brother is starting to suspect your identity. I know you must be a very powerful Alpha, but I don't want any trouble to arise just because of his overprotective nature."
Alastair understood that. He also didn't want Regis to find out his identity, because he was sure Regis knew who he was. If Noel found out that he often met with the boss of the Griffin mafia, their sworn enemy, he would never be able to see Noel again.
"Don't worry. Next time, I'll take you to the turn near your house. That way, the guards won't see me taking you home," he replied.
"Actually, I still don't understand why you often come to take me home. How do you know my schedule for leaving campus?" Noel asked curiously because their almost daily meetings were no longer a coincidence.
However, the Alpha seemed to be able to speak more convincingly in front of the Omega. It was as if he was easing his suspicions. Even though in reality, he had sent someone to go undercover and follow Noel wherever he went so that he would know when the man left university.
"Maybe it's because I can sense your pheromones calling out to mine. So I know when you're outside, in the crowd."
"Really? I've never heard of that before. Doesn't that only happen to those who have been marked?" Noel asked curiously.
Alastair explained that it was possible their pheromones had connected without them realizing it. Noel still didn't understand, and the alpha mafia told him not to think about it too much.
They arrived at the turn near the Ashford family mansion. There, the omega got out of the car and thanked him as usual for driving him home.
"It's not like me to always accept help from someone, but thank you. Next time I have the chance, I want to repay your kindness as a token of my gratitude," he said.
As he was about to walk away, Alastair immediately called out to him, causing him to stop and turn back to look at him. He got out of the car and walked closer.
"You said you wanted to thank me for always driving you home? Well then, how about you accept my invitation to go away for the weekend?" he asked.
"Go out together on the weekend? Where would we go? Would your boss be okay with that?"
Noel asked that because Alastair had told him that he was just an ordinary guard for a mafia group. He didn't reveal his true identity so that Noel wouldn't feel awkward around him.
"He won't be a problem. As for where we're going, I'll take care of that. We'll meet again at this spot on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. How does that sound?"
The Omega man paused for a moment, thinking about his decision, and finally nodded in agreement.
"All right. We'll go this Saturday to wherever you think is good," he replied in agreement.
They exchanged their contact number, then left the place in different directions. Noel turned his head, watching Alastair's car drive away from him.
He wondered where the Alpha would take him on Saturday.
After walking a few steps, he suddenly realized what the invitation meant.
"Wait a minute... Did he just ask me out... on a date?"