The Intelligent Brain BEEPED, and Zoe Pierce suddenly realized it had been a long time since she’d contacted Ryan Jacobs.

After confirming she was safe with Ryan Jacobs, she realized with a start that Director Quinn wasn’t with Miles Sherman and the others.

"Where’s Director Quinn?" Zoe Pierce stood up, her voice a little hoarse.

Miles Sherman said, "He saw someone just now and told us to stay put."

On second thought, they couldn’t be sure if Director Quinn had been affected by a hallucination or if he had actually seen someone.

He frowned. They had been too careless. Who would have thought a planet like Gorbog would have such a bizarre place?

Zoe Pierce remained silent.

She didn’t know if she should feel relieved that Director Quinn wasn’t here, that no one else had seen what Chase Shaw had just done to her.

At least the incident hadn’t escalated.

She calmly gave the communication channel to Miles Sherman and the others. They connected to the frequency and reported back to Ryan Jacobs, who let out an immediate sigh of relief from the Starship.

When he learned Director Quinn was separated from them, Ryan Jacobs, though surprised, told the group to return first.

They had been inside for too long. Even if Director Quinn needed to be found, they weren’t the ones who should be doing it.

The group started walking out of the forest.

Zoe Pierce’s body went rigid. Someone had grabbed her wrist. Her expression turned cold as she looked at the person holding her.

It was Chase Shaw.

He seemed much calmer than he had been moments ago, but not by much.

"Zoe, don’t hate me," he said.

Just looking at his face made Zoe Pierce remember what he had done.

’Do I really hate him?’

’No... It’s just that human emotions are too complicated.’

She couldn’t pretend that nothing had happened.

She tried to pull her hand away from Chase Shaw, but his eyes only grew darker. When she finally shook him off, he fell completely silent.

Nathan Lockwood, who had been silent the whole time, watched Zoe Pierce’s retreating back and called out, "Zoe."

Zoe Pierce stopped in her tracks.

"Do you hate us?" Nathan Lockwood always cut straight to the heart of the matter. "Knowing we feel this way about you, are you so disgusted that..."

"...you never want to see us again?"

He bluntly tore away their pretense of peace, giving no one time to react.

Even Erin Xavier turned to glare at him.

They hadn’t dared to mention it, but Nathan Lockwood had just laid it all out in the open.

She hadn’t even spoken, but the anticipation of her answer was terrifying.

The man’s steps were deliberate as he slowly approached, stopping in front of Zoe Pierce. His tall, slender figure towered over her, forcing her to tilt her head up just to see his face.

"No," he continued. "Isn’t that right?"

Zoe Pierce didn’t argue. She knew Nathan Lockwood must have a reason for saying this.

"Running away is useless."

"You already knew. You knew before we even boarded the Starship."

He said calmly, "Running away just hides the conflict temporarily. Now, none of us can go back."

’Yes, everyone’s feelings are out in the open now.’

Zoe Pierce kept staring at him. ’What is he trying to say?’

Nathan Lockwood reached out, his hand hovering an inch or two from her cheek without touching. "I’m so jealous. Why do they all get to be so close to you?"

"I was the one who first noticed how special you are."

"But they keep getting close to you, one after another... marking you, kissing you..."

No one wanted to hear his confession.

Even Miles Sherman frowned.

"You’ve noticed, haven’t you? Our team is on the verge of falling apart." Nathan Lockwood slowly pulled his hand back. "Every single one of us wants to be with you."

The conflict and friction were growing.

But everyone knew they couldn’t just split up.

The Federation’s Friendship Games had them all tied together. None of the five of them could be replaced.

This was no longer a personal issue; they were representing their nation.

None of them would ever tell anyone else about this.

It was their secret.

Like the deepest shadow cast by the brightest light, it was a dark desire that had to be hidden, never to be brought into the open.

So, letting things continue this way would be bad not only for them, but for Zoe Pierce as well.

Every single one of them wanted her.

In that case...

There was only one solution.

"Zoe, the final choice is, and always will be, yours."

He reached out, taking her hand and guiding her index finger to poke at his own chest. The man’s chest was as hard as stone. "Whether it’s me or one of them..."

"No matter what choice you make right now, none of us will be satisfied," he said with a soft chuckle. "Why should we be?"

"We’ve all been holding back, not daring to show you how we truly feel. Why should any one person get to win your favor?"

"So."

"Give us a chance," he continued. "Give each of us a chance. Stop seeing us as your teammates, and start seeing us as Alphas pursuing an Omega. Could you do that?"

Nathan Lockwood’s words left Erin Xavier and the others stunned.

No one could have imagined Nathan Lockwood would say something like that. It seemed he had offered the best possible solution.

It was true. No matter who ended up with Zoe Pierce now, the others would never be satisfied.

But it was also impossible to go back to the peace they had before.

The next moment, Nathan Lockwood tightened his grip on Zoe’s hand. "Choose the one you want to get to know best. For that period of time, the rest of us won’t interfere. You’ll have one month. You can learn everything about him. As long as you’re willing, you can do anything you want."

"It will only take four months." The timeline even ended shortly after the Friendship Games. "Then, whoever you choose in the end, the rest of us will accept it without complaint."

Zoe Pierce looked up at him. "Nathan Lockwood, what do you take my feelings for?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Nathan Lockwood smiled gently, pressing her palm against his chest. "A treasure, of course."

’Something everyone wants to fight over.’

"Chase Shaw was right. None of us are good people."

"Zoe, you’re not indifferent to us." If she truly felt nothing for them, her reaction from the moment this started with Chase Shaw would have been completely different.

One must never show weakness, because once a villain gets a hold of you, they’ll just take and take until there’s nothing left.

"This isn’t a good idea," Nathan Lockwood continued, his voice alluring, "but I can’t think of any other way right now."

Zoe Pierce looked up at the dark sky, and memories of the days and nights she’d spent with her teammates flooded her mind.

"Is this what you all want?" she asked, her gaze sweeping past Nathan Lockwood to the others.

They were all silent. Not one of them objected.

She lowered her gaze. "I understand. We’ll do it your way..."

Nathan Lockwood looked down at Zoe Pierce. ’She’s still too soft-hearted,’ he thought, ’to believe that compromise can buy peace.’

Sighing internally, Nathan Lockwood knew he was a despicable schemer.

Even if Zoe Pierce hadn’t chosen this path now, he had other ways to make her agree.

But she had to ask that final question.

To the very end, she was thinking of them. And it was he who had taken advantage of her kindness, despicably forcing her into this choice.