The person Nathan Lockwood trusted most with Zoe Pierce had just stabbed him viciously in the back.

Erin Xavier, once a greenhorn, had grown up fast, becoming aware of his gendered instincts.

This was just too absurd.

Nathan Lockwood had made so many calculations and plans, but he’d never anticipated a development like this.

Everything and everyone was slipping from his grasp. The moment he looked away, some unexpected chemical reaction would occur.

And he was powerless, only able to discover it after the fact.

Chase Shaw had already snatched Zoe Pierce from Erin Xavier’s arms in a rage. He pushed aside Zoe’s hair and saw it too—the suppression patch had been changed.

Suppressing the fury in his chest, he turned back to the stunned Nathan Lockwood and growled in a low voice, "Nathan Lockwood, get over here and look at this."

Although he didn’t know exactly what had happened, Julian Chambers, who had witnessed the whole thing, couldn’t help but speak up. "You’re all Alphas. Tearing off the patch of an Omega whose pheromones are likely to spill out... that’s not a good idea."

Julian Chambers could see the unconscious person and knew it was the beautiful, good-natured Omega from the team.

It seemed this Omega and Erin Xavier weren’t a couple, which was why the team members were acting so tense.

But regarding their proposal, Julian Chambers felt he had to give them a reminder.

They already knew something was wrong with the Omega’s glands, yet they still wanted to tear off her suppression patch.

Were these Alphas’ willpower all that strong?

He was scared even if they weren’t.

Even an S-Class Alpha couldn’t resist that kind of temptation; how could they expect an A-level Alpha like him to withstand it?

’Don’t do this to me.’

He was genuinely afraid that if they tore off that suppression patch, they’d be fine, but he, the outsider, would be the one to lose control and do something to the Omega.

Regardless, he had to warn them first.

The sudden voice jolted everyone back to their senses.

Only then did they realize that it wasn’t just their own squad members present—there was an outsider, too.

’Should they expose Zoe Pierce’s pheromones to an outsider?’

Everyone’s first reaction was to refuse.

Nathan Lockwood snapped back to reality and pressed down on Chase Shaw’s hand. "Julian Chambers is right."

He looked at Erin Xavier, his expression still cold, now tinged with a detached scrutiny. "Just now... exactly how far did you go..."

When he asked this, Erin Xavier could distinctly feel gazes stabbing into him like sharp blades.

Erin Xavier said with difficulty, "After she had a stress reaction in that environment, I tried to wake her up, but I noticed her temperature was rising. I felt something was wrong."

"She grabbed my hand and made me touch her glands, and after that..." He tactically avoided any mention of intimacy between him and Zoe Pierce, saying instead, "I couldn’t resist the scent of her pheromones and wanted to mark her, but then I realized something was wrong with me, so I knocked her unconscious."

He stopped there, letting them imagine the rest.

Julian Chambers was amazed that Erin Xavier had managed to pull back from the brink at a time like that.

He was older than these Alphas and had naturally dated Omega girlfriends before. He knew that in that kind of situation, an Alpha had no reason, acting only like a beast sniffing out a scent.

But he glanced at the other team members and saw their expressions were grim.

He opened his mouth to try and mediate, but then closed it again. It wasn’t that he couldn’t read the room; he knew that right now, it was best to keep quiet.

After listening to Erin Xavier, Nathan Lockwood made a decision. "Find a Beta doctor to take a look at Zoe Pierce."

Erin Xavier’s temporary mark wasn’t completed. The current state of Zoe Pierce’s glands was unknown, and since she was still unconscious, she needed more professional diagnostic equipment.

"We just ran into a hospital and a Beta doctor," Erin Xavier said, looking up as if trying to make amends.

But Miles Sherman immediately shot down that suggestion. He walked up from behind the others, his eyes fixed on Zoe Pierce. "No."

"That place is a sea of fire now." The Xenobeast Tide had erupted too quickly; in the time it took for them to leave, the Wormhole had already torn open into a much larger rift. "Besides, that doctor can’t be trusted."

If it was a pheromone issue, then obviously this group of Alphas would have to leave her side.

’Let a Beta of unknown identity, who’s clearly hostile toward them, look after the unconscious and incapacitated Zoe Pierce alone?’

’Impossible.’

Zoe Pierce could die at that Beta’s hands at any moment, not to mention she might inject Zoe with some experimental drug they knew nothing about.

After all, if they could develop a way for Betas to pilot Mechas, it wasn’t impossible that they were conducting other, even more absurd and terrifying experiments.

Miles Sherman’s words successfully silenced everyone. Even Nathan Lockwood began to focus intently.

After hearing Miles Sherman’s explanation, Erin Xavier hung his head in dejection. He didn’t know what else to do.

Seeing that the group had regained their senses, Julian Chambers spoke up. "I don’t know if you trust me or not, but I know a Beta doctor."

’That’s right, this was the planet Julian Chambers had grown up on.’

’He must know a lot of people.’

Erin Xavier hurriedly looked toward Nathan Lockwood and Miles Sherman.

Nathan Lockwood and Miles Sherman exchanged a glance, and Miles turned to Julian Chambers. "In that case, we’ll have to ask for your help."

With no rescue from Siren Star, they couldn’t leave Planet B36. The Mechas could only travel in space for short periods, and the distance was too great now. Leaving here wasn’t realistic.

Julian Chambers was part of this whole ordeal, so he was trustworthy enough.

"Yeah, I know several people who studied medicine. The one I’ll take you to shouldn’t have any other... background. You can rest assured," Julian Chambers said, explaining his choice under the circumstances.

The people who became his friends were mostly the peaceable type, whose attitudes toward Alphas weren’t so extreme.

When Julian Chambers occasionally came back, he would share a meal with them and so on.

’Use a man and trust him; doubt a man and use him not.’

Since Nathan Lockwood and his team had decided to trust Julian Chambers, they didn’t dwell on it.

"Zoe Pierce comes with me," Chase Shaw declared, his voice firm.

The question now was, whose Mecha should Zoe Pierce be placed in?

They all tacitly ignored Erin Xavier. No one could smell the scent on Zoe Pierce without getting agitated.

Erin Xavier’s lips tightened into a thin line. His back was slightly hunched, making him look defeated.

His back was still aching. Chase Shaw hadn’t held back at all earlier; his shoulder and back had slammed violently into something. Even now that Chase had let go, a dull, sharp pain lingered, and the strain made it difficult to even lift his arm.

Nathan Lockwood’s eyes darkened, but he didn’t try to wrestle with Chase Shaw over Zoe Pierce here and now.

He was even starting to loathe his own nature.

Always planning for a specific outcome before making a move.

But Chase Shaw had snatched Zoe Pierce into his arms at the first opportunity, and Nathan had lost the initiative. If he were to speak up now, his reasons wouldn’t even be strong enough.