His cool lips descended like a feather, brushing against her cherry-red ones.

Zoe Pierce froze on the spot, her pupils dilating in shock.

It was as if her mind went blank for a moment.

The person in his arms... her scent was so sweet.

Chase Shaw unconsciously tightened his embrace. The kiss, which had started as a light peck, changed in the next moment.

He wanted to wring out more of that sweet nectar.

His large hand pressed against the back of her head as he deepened the kiss.

It felt as if all the air was being forced from her lungs. His agile tongue was like an insatiable beast, seeking to taste more, to sample more, plundering every inch of her mouth.

His palm rested on Zoe’s back, feeling the delicate vertebrae of her spine protruding slightly above her slender waist.

His fingers drifted toward a dangerous edge.

"Zoe... Zoe..."

As if sensing her tension, Chase Shaw rested his forehead against Zoe’s and released her lips, murmuring her name over and over.

Her fair, delicate face was now flushed crimson. Her eyes, clear as the moon, were rimmed by lashes dewy as the morning mist in a forest.

Chase Shaw’s breathing was heavy. His hand slid from the back of her head to her nape, where the Omega’s glands were covered by a rough-textured suppression patch.

"Chase Shaw... you’re insane." Zoe’s lips trembled, her heaving chest pressed against the man’s.

Even through the layers of clothing, he could feel the soft undulation.

Chase Shaw’s fingers stroked the suppression patch. His gray eyes were like those of some animal, dark and viscous like thick ink.

"Maybe I went insane a long time ago."

"You’ve known for a while, haven’t you? That we all like you."

Zoe’s throat went dry with nervousness, and she swallowed instinctively.

She suddenly realized that besides Chase Shaw, there were others here. Struggling, she turned her head and saw the others behind her, now slowly approaching.

"Why are you looking at them?"

"I’m the one in front of you right now."

His low, gravelly voice echoed in the darkness.

"Zoe, you’re a bad girl."

Zoe cried out in pain, and a second later, a jolt like an electric current shot through her.

The man’s teeth first bit her earlobe, then his tongue traced the shell of her ear.

It was both numb and ticklish.

"Look at how we painstakingly hid it all."

"Bad girl."

His breath fanned across her ear, accompanied by soft murmurs, like lovers whispering sweet nothings to each other.

’This can’t go on.’ Zoe suddenly began to struggle, but in terms of pure strength, she was no match for Chase Shaw.

"Are you hoping they’ll save you?" Sensing Zoe’s struggle, Chase Shaw asked darkly. "You think they’re any better?"

"They all covet you."

"Zoe, don’t reject me..."

"I can only get a good night’s sleep when you’re by my side."

’He’s lost his mind.’

Zoe knew. They had all completely lost their minds. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Chase Shaw had ripped away the last veil between them. There was no turning back now, no way to pretend this never happened.

Using her spiritual power, she forcefully shoved Chase Shaw away.

The crisp sound of a slap rang out.

SLAP— It landed on Chase Shaw’s face.

Zoe stood frozen, her body still heaving. The hand that had delivered the slap was still trembling violently.

"Chase Shaw, are you sober now?" Zoe pressed down on her trembling hand with her other one. She straightened her back, her pearly teeth biting into her lip.

That slap seemed to have completely burst the bubble.

The others, who had been in a daze, were jolted awake as if from a dream.

Erin Xavier’s mouth fell open in disbelief, his voice even stuttering, "Zoe...?"

Zoe pursed her lips, looking at him. "Do you need me to help you wake up, too?"

Chase Shaw, whose head had been knocked to the side by the blow, reached up and touched his cheek. He silently turned his head back to Zoe. It felt like his world was collapsing. The pain on his face made him realize what had just happened wasn’t a hallucination.

’What did I just do?’

’I forced a kiss on her.’

’And I even did those... other, more excessive things...’

"Zoe," he began, stunned. He was normally such a tall, imperious man, but now he suddenly seemed clumsy. The eyes that were usually as steady and dark as ink were now visibly panicked.

He opened his mouth, but his mind was a complete blank.

He had no idea what to say, only that he was looking at Zoe, completely at a loss.

"Don’t come any closer," Zoe suddenly shouted.

Her shout was directed at everyone who was about to approach, whether it was Chase Shaw, or Miles Sherman and the others.

Leaning against the tree trunk, she slowly slid down into a squat, her mind in turmoil.

"Just leave me alone." Her mind was a mess, unable to think of any solution.

All her plans had changed. Her self-assured plan for detached training, her assumption that they could soberly recognize their relationship as teammates—it was all shattered now.

She had been too naive.

The four Alphas could only stand there, three or four meters away from Zoe, watching as she crouched by the tree trunk. She was curled up tightly with her head buried, her knees pressed to her forehead, hiding her face from view.

No one had expected this day to come so quickly.

So suddenly, so utterly without warning.

’Just now, what had they been doing?’

They had just stood by and watched Chase Shaw do that to Zoe...

Not a single one of them had thought to stop him.

In fact, what they had been thinking just then... probably only they themselves knew.

They had all thought they were hallucinating, that they were actually seeing Zoe.

After all, how could she possibly be here?

She should be safe and sound on the warm Starship, not in this gloomy, bewildering forest.

One wrong step.

Every step wrong.

Now that Chase Shaw had torn away the last pretense, they found they had no way to refute it.

’Could they really be content with going back to being friends?’

The silence stretched on for an unknown length of time before Miles Sherman was the first to walk over. He slowly crouched down in front of Zoe. He raised a hand, wanting to touch her, but his arm didn’t dare, stopping a good ten centimeters from her back, hovering in the air.

"Zoe, there’s something wrong with the air here..."

’So, even if you’re angry, don’t punish yourself like this.’

From the sound of crushed leaves as he approached, Zoe knew it was Miles.

When he spoke, Zoe lifted her head.

That face, which he had seen thousands of times, now brought him the taste of pain once again. Her eyes, clouded by tears, were red and raw. Her delicate brows were furrowed, and she looked at him with even more confusion than they felt.

This time, it wasn’t Damien Pierce who had made her cry.

It was them.

Miles Sherman clenched his jaw, suppressing a sharp pang of pain as he struggled to compose himself. "Do you have your gas mask? Put it on."

"We... won’t touch you."

"I promise you, okay?" His voice was cautious, as if he were desperately pleading.

"Let’s get out of here first. It’s not safe." Even though he was still lucid, Miles couldn’t be certain he wouldn’t be affected. He was more scared than she was right now—scared he might do something irrational.