Chapter 42: A Normal Life

Arkham walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. It's none of his business to know what the two alpha males are doing, but at the same time, he's a spy, he's here for information, and anything is better than nothing.

Alphas are aggressive to each other, and most of them don't sleep on top of one another like that, even when they're siblings. Hell, Arkham fought his alpha brother on the regular, with fist and teeth and pheromones. The Aster Children each got their own room with the exception of the twins. Marnette Silverin Aster is the only other Aster child who has someone else in his room, and they're not a pair of coupled alpha and omega.

Then, it clicked in his head. Dr. Velison and his wife mentioned that their son and daughter have been visiting the White Pearl Mansion since they're in elementary school. From what he had heard from the staff, Mar and Liam are just as inseparable as the twins. Trauma bonds people, even between alpha males. So what did they go through to reach where they are today?

That brings him to another topic. The alpha males from the Aster family are quite well behaved. If you don't count David Madison Aster throwing his wine glasses in the air with the intention of harming people, all the Aster children are well behaved alphas. No one was going crazy over omegas nor fighting each other over omegas, even if they get into some sort of argument, they're more passive aggressive than full on physically aggressive.

"Are you alright?" Keller's voice snapped Arkham out of his thoughts. The older butler gave him a sympathetic smile as he closed the door behind him so that it was just two butlers in the hallway. "Yeah, it's really shocking to see things for the first time. Try your best to not judge them. Well, you can judge them, just don't say it out loud."

Like the more experienced butler he is, Keller gave the new butler a pat on his shoulder before he walked out of the hall. Arkham watched the older butler's silhouette disappear, and he let out a sigh.

Just what did Keller see in Staria Sorensen Aster's room? The omega female is mated to an alpha female, and couples' rooms tend to be... Questionable in general. The spy himself never really had a serious committed relationship, but he has a history of a few casual relationships and some friends with benefits before he took up his current job.

His past is something that he doesn't like to think nor talk about because it's so boring compared to his co-workers. Hell, compared to the people in this mansion, the spy's real background is so tame. He grew up with both parents, an alpha father and a beta mother, his older brother and himself. A happy little lower middle class family, living in a suburban townhouse. Even though they didn't live a life of luxury, his parents did their best to grant their children everything they've ever wanted — a roof over their heads and food on the table, second hand toys and books, a laptop that the brothers shared, scent blockers when they came of age, and if they're lucky, they get a vacation every few years. He could say that his parents weren't rich in money, but they were rich in love. They supported his older brother in every soccer game, and they showed up to every play the spy took part in since he joined the drama club in middle school.

They had never had any problem with money until the two alpha brothers had to go to college. Just like millions of other people their age, they took out student loans in order to fulfill their education. His brother went into education, and the spy went into acting. Becoming an actor was not his dream job or anything, he just went into it because everyone said he's good at it. (The organization flat out told him that he has such a plain face, not very conventionally handsome to be noticed but not too ugly to stand out either, so he's perfect for them.)

His parents were very supportive as usual, going as far as to tell him that one day they'll see him on TV. (His parents sometimes send him pictures of when he was younger on a school stage dressed up as a broccoli in a school play, and they'd say that they're proud of him for following his dreams of being an actor even if it's for private shows. He never had the guts to tell them the truth that he's not an actor for a private show company, instead he's a spy for an organization that pays him handsomely to put on a persona and gather information.) Becoming famous is a one in a million chance, and the spy wasn't taking it.

Instead, he took a class where he met a beautiful omega female who then introduced him to the organization. A single gig to get some extra cash for groceries by eavesdropping on people turned into pretending to be an enraged father of a student who wants to take down a local high school principal. Once he finished his degree, the organization had a job lined up for him. They paid his tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt, and with every job he took, it became increasingly dangerous, but it paid him so well. He learned that it doesn't matter who or what hired the organization to get the information, as long as the spy gets what they want, the organization will get paid, and they will pay him. Also, the organization's mission and vision align with his own moral values, so he went with it.

Money wasn't his motivation to do anything since he was young, but he got used to the taste of seeing his parents congratulating him and having the time of their lives as he took them on a vacation to places they can't even pronounce. His older brother didn't question his success, instead the older alpha went along with whatever the spy gave him. It's ironic to see his older brother, the more aggressive of the two alphas, enjoy doing his job screaming and shouting at teenagers while the spy is out risking his life in a mansion of the richest alpha family in the world.

It's been seven years since he started his first mission with the organization, and now he's here in a butler persona and having a nostalgic moment in front of his young master's bedroom.

Jasper Arkham isn't his real name, he isn't 29 years old either. His appearance can be changed easily, he can grow a beard and do a different hairstyle, and he would look like a completely different person, yet he can still fit in a crowd with no trouble. The only thing that's truly his is his thoughts. He looked at his wristwatch, and fuck, he spent at least fifteen minutes in front of Mar's bedroom.

Just as he's about to walk off, the door behind him opened. He's greeted by the sight of a tall alpha with platinum blond hair sticking out at every direction, and the alpha gave him a sheepish smile.

"Good morning, Arkham. Did you come in a moment ago?" The new butler wasn't given a chance to answer as the taller alpha continued talking in his deep and raspy morning voice. "Sorry, didn't see ya there. Next time if you come in, please lock the door on your way out."